Potholder Swap

Thank you Debby!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

All The Way From England!

Another ornament came in the mail today!
Isn't it too cute?!
A little non-melty snoman :D

Look who is 16!

He went from this...











To this...

Finger Spinning on Chop Sticks

Yes!
You read that right. A couple months ago I read about that on a blog. I wish I had saved it so I could link here for you. It looked really neat!! I decided to try it out on the fiber I received this week in the ornament swap. You can see it in the 1st photo from the post below. Here is my progress today. 1/4 of the bag!!!







The label says 100% Wool. It feels like it may have some lama or alpaca in it. At least that is what my face is telling me LOL it itches a little. ;-) The spinning is coming out really nice though! Can't wait to see how much yardage I get out of it :D

Holiday Ornament Swaps

Yesterday 3 came in! 1st there was the package from Courtney. this was a 2 person group. She sent me the following.


The Next was a group of 6 including me. So far 3 have come in. Here they are!

2 New Yarns

These should be in my etsy sometime tomorrow. the 1st skein is spoken for already. Every other color in the picture is the same ;-) Berry Christmas & Old Bird.

Berry Christmas is full of the pink family, Orchid, Mauve, and Magenta.

Old Bird is a Striper. Depending on gauge you should get 2-3 rounds of color each. I tested with US 2 needles on 68 stitches in the round. The colors are a Sagey Grey and Flamingo Pink

Fun colors, Soft yarn. hope everyone likes it

12 in 2011

I have bagged up 12 yarny projects in hopes of getting them done this year. I especially want to get 2 cardigans for myself finished. One out of tan and navy cotton that I just traded some Noro Kureyon for. The other will be out of my Dunkle Kirsch Wollmeise. I have some beautiful vintage buttons for the Dunkle Kirsch cardi, I'll figure out buttons later on the cotton cardi later (maybe red ones). It looks like 6 pairs of socks. Colorwork, mosaic, and a Wizard of Oz themed pattern! A couple baby things for charity. Mittens, and a couple small shawls. Fun stuff! I know this is VERY ambitious. Only 3-4 are very important to me at the moment, and some of the patterns may change. The challenge is to use what you have on hand. Last year I failed in the regard and ended up getting very little done at all in comparison to years before. Maybe I should shouldn't plan at all.

Sewing wise I have 2 quilt tops that need finishing cut out, and another cut. Of course they all need sewn as well. A little girl dress needs a zipper and hemming. A wool coat needs finished. I need to finish a summer dress even though Summer's over LOL. Make 2 pair of jeans, and several blouses for myself. For some reason I always put those needs aside. And its starting to show in the closet!

So I am going to try and get 12 sewing projects done this year as well!

I guess this makes a kind of New Years resolution....
I hate those haha

Partner Swap Package is in!

I love my swap partner. she is the greatest.

Sew What Trim?

I am making a little jumper dress for a friends little girl. Size 4t. It's almost finished. Hand sewing the neck and arms down, putting in the back zipper, and putting on the ribbons and buttons. But which ribbon!!

Back to School Sale

The boys have started school again. So let's have a sale.
Buy 2 Get 1 FREE
I'll send a new invoice our refund the free item amount through Paypal. Let me know in the message part of your order.

Big Bear Hugs Fiber Club

I finally listed my first club. It is a non-committal monthly fiber club. The first edition is for September. It will contain a 8 ounces of Superwash Wool fiber and a bag to hold it in. Then I will have several goodies in there for people to enjoy. You can find the Big Bear Hugs Fiber Club for September listed on my Esty. It should be fun! Here are a few pictures of past fiber that I have dyed for you to enjoy.

Fruit Trees

So I have checked on my tree again. And with all the rain we've been getting, the Pear is loaded! Several branches are broken :( and the red wasps have made a home eek! There are also more Persimmons than last year. I will say though, that this tree still doesn't put much out compared to other fruits. According to my taste tester, Derek. The pears are bland this year, even with all the rain. Very crunchy, just like last year. Here are a couple pictures of their progress so far...

Knitting Wars time again!

I've done Hat Wars twice and Sock Wars twice.
Now its time for Shawl Wars!
I've received my target and am now in stalker mode.
Everyone is making their avatar pictures. Mine isn't shrinking right. I may have to get a different one.

New Rooster

Here he is!
Picard the Rooster. Isn't he pretty?!
Same breed as The Grannies were when we first started.... I miss them. Dominique.

My Scavenger Hunt Swap Box Is Here!

I will just post the photos. There is so much in it and I LOVE it! I'll edit back what all is there.

The Box!

The Goodies!

Purple Iris Bulbs
Really cool zippy pouches
Assorted buttons
Hello Panda Shortbread Cookies w/Strawberry filling
Purple Chico Bag
Creamy Buttons

3 Fat quarters of fabric!
Mango lotion
A Verb for Keeping Warm sock yarn

Manos Silk Blend yarn in PURPLES!
A Japanese pattern book! w/charts
Woven bag from India

Local bag
I love the note pad, and they are always needed
fairy stickers...so cute :)
Yummy soap
Wasabe Peas
Sour Watermelon Gummies
Swedish Fish

Welted Fingerless Gloves Pattern to go with the Manos yarn
I think the buttons are up above somewhere. They make a kit with the pattern and yarn!
Sour Patch Kids

Chocolate Covered Sunflower Seeds
Tea
Puppy and Frog key chains. Too cute
LOVE the mints tin
A set of cards made by my Swappee's Children :D

A felted doll pin
and this is a closer look at one of the blurry pictures LOL

This was one of my favorite swaps so far. The Scavenger Hunt Theme was a lot of fun! I think we all have and are making out like bandits :)

Yummy

The Plums are Coming in Fast

The Cherry-Plums fresh from the tree. I think this is about 10lbs. or so. They are no bigger than a quarter.
Here they are being pitted so I can get them in the pot for jam making. This was the last bit of them. Deven decided to do these so I could start cooking the first batch. I ended up with 23 cups of pitted plums. Aren't they dark! They were sweet to eat too ;-)
Here they are! 26 8oz jelly jars full. Plum preserves. No added sugars. I used Stevia to sweeten. They are a little tart. I didn't think the sour skins would make that much of a difference in the flavor but it did. It still tastes great though. Something about doing it yourself :D Now to wash the hard water residue off all the jars and put them all away....

It's Quilting Time!

I haven't done a quilt since we moved back to the states in high school. It was a pin wheel wall quilt that mom and my sister and I did together.

I am going to do the Joseph's Coat Quilt in scrappy greens. I'm thinking a beige cream for the background. Phillip wants brown or tan, but I am thinking that may be too dark. We'll see... I am still collecting greens. I think I am up to 1.5 yards or so of the 4.5 yards needed.

I've cut my 1st template ever. I think I bought the wrong kind. It was the thicker one. I think for this project the thinner template plastic would have been a better choice.

I also have 2 dresses cut out and ready to sew up for the summer. Can't wait!

Pins and needles

Tomorrow is the big day according the the DC# I got in my email from the Loopy Ewe. My favorite "local yarn store". ;) They really aren't local like in town. but the shipping is fast enough that they might as well be. :) The have a HUGE selection of yarns. I even got some Wollmeise from them once! I love that stuff!!! And now I have enough of that color (Dunkle Kirsch) to make myself a cardigan. if only I could make up my mind on the pattern.

So tomorrow is the big day is the for my sock kit light. I can wait to see what's in it. May next year I will win the lotto and get in on the sock kit club :D

Boxbag Tutorial

This tutorial is for my friend Elaine and anyone else having a hard time learning how to make one of these bags. Have fun!

I will say right now this is SUPER picture heavy. I may have to split into two posts. We'll see :D

This tutorial is being done without a zipper foot. Not everyone has one. I do, but I thought I would do it this way. Sometimes it's a pain to keep switching them out.

First off you will need two fabrics, interfacing, a long zipper, tape measure, and some pins.
Cut your materials 16x12, 17x13 somewhere close. Or bigger! Your zipper needs to be 2-3 inches longer than the short side.

Next we place the zipper on the main fabric upside down with the fabric right side up.

Then we line the interior fabric wrong side up, and pin them all together, making sure everything is lined up straight at the top.

This sewing foot has three lines and a clear viewing area. My needle is set for the center line. The fabric is filling the entire viewing area. The metal bar of the foot is against the zipper. You can feel the zipper with your fingers as you guide the materials along. This should help keep you a straight line, not always though.

We made to the end! So far everything looks great.
Now, turn your fabrics so that the zipper is on one side like this and finger press. Then start sewing. You want about an eighth inch seam on the fabric side.


Now back to square one. Main fabric facing up with interfacing underneath. Zipper then the interior fabric facing down.
It will look like this when you hold it up in the air.

Here is where you repeat everything you did on the first side of the zipper. Now it time to put your hand into the main fabric tube and pull it out.
It will look like this. One side has the finished edge the other does not.
It is now time to fix that. Unzip the bag . Finger press again and sew. Pick the side that is most comfortable for you. Zipper on the left or right. I don't know why this picture flipped. But if you look close the metal bar on the presser foot is "in the ditch". This is a good thing. I moved my needle to the the left notch position. This is a guaranteed straight line :)
Here we are at the end of the zipper. It's not that bad. Just make sure to keep the rest of the bag material out of the way and to turn the zipper straight :)

Now we need to bring in the measuring tape and pins. You are looking for the center. Always measure. And do it for both ends. Pin it to keep the zipper from sliding. ETA open the zipper halfway so you can open the bag at the end!
Now I actually forgot about the handle and tab. But found these in my scrap pile. Whew! They were already finished and measure 12 inches by 1 inches-ish. They were probably the same width of the short end of the fabric by 3-4 inches. Then double folded and sewn down both edges. I just cut the other one short so it could be a tab. ;)


Here is the placement of them. Zipper end gets the tab, and zipper head gets the handle. Rough edges to rough edges. Curve to the inside.
Find the spot you want for your seam on the sides. It isn't always going to be 5/8's or 1/2 inch. I left the selvage on the brown fabric so this time I thought it would be quite a bit. I was wrong... I have had to cut off an inch or more on one side and only a little on the other. It evens out sometime LOL Always backstitch a few time on the zippers/handles, they get a real workout.
This is really important. PLEASE be careful when you are trimming the extra off! That bunch right there in the middle can be thick depending on the fabric you choose, and if your scissors slip or twist you could really get hurt.... Oh and those dots... I poked my self with a pin. :(
Here we are all trim and no cutting accidents :) Did I forget to mention to make sure the zipper was open half way before sewing ends shut... I am so sorry if you made it this far. Let me edit that right now!
This is the magic spot on my machine for making corners. Anywhere else and they come out wonky.
It's time to make the corners.... I know its the scary part. Here is a front and back picture of the first corner before sewing.
I line up the corner with that magic spot. Pull back and start sewing.
This is an aerial view of a corner with the handle end. You don't want it in the way.
Here I am making sure the triangles are the same size before I start sewing again.
Here we are. All the corners are done! Almost home free. :)
Clip the corners off leaving about a quarter inch. If you have pinking shears, even better.
Tada!! All done. You should feel super! You did a great job finishing this. Hopefully it was easy for you. I had the hardest time figuring out how to do one of these things on my own :D

Notes*
Finger pressing - using your fingers to even out the fabric and flatten it before sewing.
Pinking shears - larger heavy scissors that cut zig zaggy triangle edges on your fabric to prevent fraying/unraveling.