Sweet love

I really love creating things, yet I am very critical of what I create...darn I do have to work on that.  This past month I decided to join a quilting group at Katja's Quilt Shop here in Kamloops.  They meet the 1st Saturday of each month and you get a pattern for a project plus a demo of how to put it together which is perfect for me!

This past month we have been working on a table runner and 4 little log cabins.  I enjoy the cutting and the sewing (mostly) it is the finishing work that has me bogged down.  The actual quilting and binding...I know the more I do it the better I will get but man it is frustrating in the mean time.  Considering I went through 2 full bobbins of thread on 1 project...yikes that is a lot of picking out stitches I am happy with it so far...now to just get the binding right...I've got to learn to look at the "other" side more often to be sure everything is looking right!

I'm not quite done to show you the table runner yet but here is a picture of my 4 log cabins...these came together through the generous donations of two very lovely ladies who gave me big bags of scraps!  I think I might be hooked on the whole log cabin thing and I think I have a jelly roll just calling out to me to do a log cabin throw...pillow...something...lol

...and a sneak peak at the colors for my table runner too!

Miss "T's" Birthday

We are extremely blessed in this house to be able to have Taylor live with us.  She has been here for a year and a half now and we seem to be coping well with an extra teenager living in our home.  Yesterday she turned sweet 16.  We didn't see much of her what with going to get her "L" with her dad and then spending the afternoon driving around with him then dinner with her sisters.  But in a few quiet moments I was able to give her the gift I made for her.

I have been inspired to try one of these and have seen many examples.  This is what I made:

I outlined the writing in a thicker black so it shows up better.  She was very pleased and I was happy she liked it.  There are so  many options when making these I love them.

new tools

I made a lovely mothers day card the other day...I was very happy with how it turned out and my dear friends were very complementary on it.  I was at my friend Anne's for an afternoon of card making and got to use some of her tools.

So while out shopping the other day I decided I needed to get myself some of these tools as well and off I went to the office supply section at Walmart and picked up these beauties...

I colored the owl in the card and really liked the effect...needs some practice but I'm happy with it so I picked up a package of sharpie colors.  Now to just keep them out of the hands of my daughters!  I am looking forward to making more cards I really love making each individual card.

Adventures with my daughter

My girls are in Calgary this weekend for a Comic Con Expo.  They will get to meet some of their favorite actors and are so excited.  Part of this whole experience is them dressing up as some of their favorite characters from comics or anime stories they follow.  Emily has attended before and had easy costume ideas, but this is Meghans first big conference and she wanted to make a costume...well she wanted me to make her costume.

Now I am no great seamstress, but I can "wing it" pretty good when it comes to making things...so we set off on this adventure together.  1st up was a plush hat, she found a pattern and downloaded it...taped it all together and cut out the pieces...at some point I thought to myself "wow that pattern is huge" but off I went to do something else...it took a bit of work to cut it down to the right size...after we cut it all out but it turned out ok...definitely not perfect but it works...

  She was happy...I tried not to see all the things I did wrong.

Next up was the backpack, she wanted one made...I decided due to cost and time I'd just make a cover for a backpack she already had therefore it didn't have to be heavy duty to hold all her stuff...after a few false starts and lots of stitch ripping... :( even broke my stitch ripper...I finally managed to make a reasonable replica...I am quite proud as this was done with out any type of pattern...yay me!  I then had to cut a pair of pants, expand the waist and hem them...let me say not my favorite part of the project at all....thankfully her shirt is long cause it looked like a dogs breakfast once I was done with it...and no I will likely never hem another pair of pants...thank goodness for long legs!  So here are the pics of the final results...she is happy and I am happy for her ... oh yes and cudos for her as she made the sword with very little help from me.

  She is Finn, from a show called adventure time...Have fun my love...

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Finally something new.

I was given a lovely gift at Christmas from an established quilter...it was a "mug rug" I had seen pics on pinterest and thought how cute.  But now that I had one in front of me my thinking changed to what a great idea...small quilting project that would allow me to work on some of my skills for sure without the huge workload of a full quilt.

That having been said it still took quite awhile for me to get my act together and make one.  I haven't been able to purchase any new fabric as finances are very tight at the moment and I so wanted to get something that had a little picture on it.  Sometimes my wants keep me away from what I can create.

So with my sisters birthday approaching I knew I needed an easy project, as I have been unwell for the past 6 weeks, so I thought I know I can do this "mug rug", and off I went to my space.

The first one took me the better part of the day just figuring out the pattern and cutting the pieces, of course picking the fabric takes the longest :).

Now other than my nit picky eyes that find every flaw I have to say I am very happy with how this turned out and the second one I made was done in quick order as I have it all figured out now.  So here is the finished product.


eeeee... I love it...

To you....from me

There is nothing more satisfying than making something for someone else.  Oh I do love making things for me too.  But there is a certain amount of excitement when you are doing it for someone else.  Oh and stress too ~ will they like it?  Will it be good enough to give away?  Will they notice all the little errors?

The heck with it ~ just do it.  I had the privilege of making a gift for a friend this week.  It was a pillow for her birthday, I've already made 2 prior to this so I am starting to get the hang of it, of course just when you think you have it all figured out something new pops up but hey that's the quirkiness of handmade.

I love the planning and executing stages of making something for someone.  Asking other friends for advice on colors etc.  The satisfaction of completing the project and knowing you just learned something new! (that usually is everytime I craft, amazing how much stuff there is out there to learn everyday!)

The best part was when she opened it and exclaimed...how did you know I love these colors and patterns!  Yay, score!  Not everyone has a positive reaction to something you make and as a note to those who have received something not quite their style ~ remember the heart that went into it.  Always remember to keep your negative thoughts to yourself ~ nothing harder on a crafter than to hear what someone doesn't like about it ~ just tuck it away and don't use it if it is not for you.

Anyhow, what better way to give and to receive than to give a gift that you made.  Here is a picture...not the best lighting but I forgot to take one before I left for the evening ~ I should have gotten one of her holding it ~ oh well this will have to do.