While I Was Gone...

So I kind of fell off the internet.  It's that Christmas crafting rush, but mine starts before Thanksgiving, and then I'm just pooped.  I make things, but just don't feel doing the last step, blogging them.  Luckily, I kept up with the photographing, so now that I have my mojo back, I still have pictures of stuff that I've sent away.

So now I can show you what I was up to when I was away!

This was the second center I've worked on for our Round Trip Quilts Bee.  (The first one is here.)  Jenn, from  Never Just Jennifer, and I was in love with it the second she posted it to Instagram.  I was glad I didn't have to wait long to get my hands on it.

She's a fellow New Hampshire-ite, and wanted a quilt that was all about our awesome state.  Her notebook was full of great ideas, like those maple leaves, mountains, snowflakes, and flying geese.  I got this at the height of geese migration when all the fields are full of flocks coming and going, so I had to do some flying geese.

I first added that strip of red to tie in the red maple leaves Leanne had added and then started pulling all my bright and low volume scraps to make the geese.  I really didn't have a solid plan or pattern, just made geese in a bunch of sizes, then moved them around until I got a pattern I liked.  (My one regret, is that pointed the geese flying out of the corner, and not into it in proper flying "v" formation.  Next time!)

The last step was the corner.  Red again to mirror that red maple leaf, and some Anna Maria Horner blue.  It's called Migratory Lace, so I kind of had to use it prominently, and it reminds me of trail maps, and NH has some great hiking and skiing trails!

I love this one, and can't wait to see what happens to it next!

Here, Let Me Distract You With A Cute Pouch!

So I really intended to do some sewing on my Flying Geese quilt, but totally got a headache, which lead to caffeine, which lead to an urge to stay up late and make something where I don't have too think to much.

Anyway, I bought a bunch of zippers to make pouches for kids stuff.  I got big ones, like 22" to make bigger lunch/car trip pouches, and small ones to make "quick, my children are out of control and need a quiet distraction" pouches.

I think this will be exactly what I use it for.

After much searching the internet for decent free pouch tutorials, I decided on the Open Wide Pouch from Noodlehead.  Seemed really easy to make, and the kids can actually see what's in there without having to dump everything out.  (Though, they will probably dump everything out anyway.)

Look how many cars fit in there!  We could have a Restaurant Table Grand Prix!

The pattern called for a 10" zip, but I had 9" and 22", so I just used the 9" and shortened the bag an inch.  I also cut the corners on the bottom a little smaller, but the rest is the same.  It was really quick too, so I managed to finish before my caffeine crash.

I love this little fox!  Glad I saved at least one from the corner trimming!

The bottom is pretty awesome. 

And while I had all those little bits of pretty scraps around, I figured I might as well make another pin cushion.  Plus, my cup of tiny strings was full, so it made just the right amount of stuffing for this little guy.

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday!

WIP Wednesday

Pulled a bunch of fabric from the scrap bin to work on blocks for the Sew Pieceful Block swap.  Almost finished, just have to do the last couple and decide if they're good to send or if I want to redo the colors.  (It's so hard to pick colors for other people!)

Trying to figure out the layout for my flying geese.  Drew this up, did some geometry, realized that I forgot how geometry worked after my half curve up at the top left turned out wrong.  I did salvage it and managed to get both half curves done, but now I'm a bit sewing machine shy.  So I'm putting off the two full curves.  

Hemmed the second Washi Dress in the car. Yeah, that's right, I got some coffee and hemmed in the parking lot.  I have a problem. 

Finally got past the ribbing!  I'm redoing my Sweatshirt Sweater and practicing my Continental Style knitting.  It's pretty slow-going since I'm still trying to form the muscle memory, and because ribbing is sometimes evil, but now that I'm past it, we'll see how just straight up knitting goes. 

Linking up with Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday!

WIP Wednesday

I may have enough geese to make a quilt.  Should probably do more, just in case.  Still have to decide if I want to go with my plan for a layout.  And if I do, I'll need a nice quiet evening to do math and whatnot to get it all together.  Quilters definitely use their geometry!

Restarted the Sweatshirt Sweater after frogging the entire torso.  Now I'm working the next size down and knitting in the continental style of knitting because I'm new to it and I knit tighter.  I just hope that it comes out in a size that I can wear!

And here are some shots of the Washi Dress in progress.  I may have had a friend bring over some Sangria, because nothing makes cutting pattern pieces better than drinks!

And some shots of it in the machine.  The pattern came together pretty quick, even though I was new to shirring and elastic thread.  Just a few more finishing touches and I can wear it!

Linking up with Freshly Pieced!