First it was my computer, and now my camera has about had it. This makes it significantly harder to update, and even though I'm not slowing down on making things, probably there won't be new posts until after I get my tax rebate. :)
Things I've been working on recently, that I can't show pictures of:
Two days ago I made two paired bunny rabbits for a friend's birthday, they were very marshmallow shaped, and about 18" tall. Both made out of fleece, one was white with a light blue side gusset, and a cute smiley face, the other was purple with a dark blue gusset, and a killer bunny face.
I have also been working on a quilt, the first I've ever made following any sort of instructions (2 books: Lap Quilting with Georgia Bonesteel for square patterns, and First Time Quilting for general tips on assembling the thing). It turned out alright, I think I had intuitively already kind of gotten myself on the right track for what I needed to do and where I needed to go, but it was interesting making up the squares and seeing what the book told me to do vs. what I would have done on my own. This project was worked on in conjunction with a couple friends, with some minimal tutoring, they were able to work my sewing machine and cut the fabric (the rotary cutter makes this very easy), allowing me time to plan out and supervise, and complete the parts that involved a little more know-how. It was a fun experience though, working with friends, as I usually complete a project start to finish all on my own!
My friend Andrew moved to LA a while ago, and his girlfriend Staci recently moved in with him. To celebrate their moving in, my friend Emmelia and I embroidered two sets of napkins for them. Her initials set is the one with the yellow thread, and mine is the one with full names written out in blue (apparently, I'm not content with simple initials; I also think I just wanted to embroider more, without regard to how that would affect the design...). After we finished our embroidery, I hemmed the edges with matching pink thread, so they wouldn't fray, and then got to work on the second half of my gift.
Andrew's really into tie-dye, and Emmelia warned me that if I made anything in a plain color, he'd be liable to tie-dye it, so I figured I'd head him off on that one. I found a tie-dyed knit shirt at a thrift store, cut it open, and applied heat-fusible interfacing onto the wrong side to keep the knit from stretching as I sewed. I also crocheted 2 circles from some thicker yarn I had lying around to use as the center of the potholders. As a sort of last minute whim, I added the braided loops, though they're probably the biggest thing I would want to go back and change on this project. I stitched the crocheted pieces into place on one side of the potholders, and then closed them up around the edge, flipped them right side out, and closed the flipping hole, inserting the loop at this time. If I had to go back: I'd change the loop, and I'd hand stitch the hole closed. But, really, I just wanted to know how well this method would work out. I might make more of these in the future, and on those occasions I will be more particular about the details.
