Hunkered Down

I wish I could post a picture of the craft room right now. It’s a bit messy, considering that I am now working on about ten projects, all due for Christmas. But, since there is a good chance people reading this blog may be recipients of my gifts, I am going to have to hold off on doing pattern reviews and showcasing my finished goods until after the gift-giving season. But, in order to have good blog posts, I have to hunker down in this room for a good bit of time to execute all of my ideas.

All is not lost though! I promise to have a few good projects to post before Christmas. I am taking two sewing classes in December, one on making cloth bowls and the other on free motion quilting. I also hope to complete some decorations for the house and share my festive spirit throughout the Thanksgiving and Christmas season.

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is two weeks away?

New Sewing Fun!

I was so excited to receive my copy of One-Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins in the mail today via Amazon. I have been wanting to get my hands on this since my coworker brought back from BEA a promotional brochure about the book. There is something super-appealing about the purpose of this book. Now I can buy a yard of a cute fabric without a particular project in mind and know I will find something to do with it.

I haven’t had much time to read through it yet, but I am already eyeing up the oven mitt and hot pads, the quilted circles shoulder bag, the not-ugly car trash bag, and the origami organizer, just to name a few cute patterns from this terrific project-filled book.

I hope to post finished projects and review the patterns from the book in coming months, so stay tuned!

Finished: Favorite Things’ Sleep Well Pajama Pants

After a super-fun weekend with my good friend Emily, I am excited to write and show off my new pajama pants. After purchasing this fun  “Gothic Flower” fabric from Patty Young’s Mezzanine line made by Michael Miller Fabrics last month, I finally got around to stitching it up using Favorite Things’ “Sleep Well” pajama pattern.

My friend and I each made a pair of the pj bottoms, which we promptly lounged in all weekend.

Click to read more about how they came together.

Halloween Festivities

I’ll be spending Halloween with my husband and best friend from college. We’re going to a Flyers game this afternoon and then will watch the World Series and hand out candy this evening. What a day!

We kicked up our Halloween celebration yesterday with several activities, including a kids’ costume parade in a neighboring town. One of our at-home activities involved making yummy decorated caramel apples. Seriously, this is an easy project if you buy the caramel apple wraps. We rolled the caramel-wrapped-apples when they were warm in toppings like chocolate chips, sprinkles, and nuts. They are so yummy! I recommend cutting them up to eat so you can share!

Finished: Fall Leaves Garland

Fall Leaves Garland

A few weeks ago, I mentioned my love of the colors of fall leaves and that I planned to construct a fall leaf garland based on an example on Ohdeedoh. I finished the project this weekend and am very delighted with the final product. It will be nice to have on display through Thanksgiving.

To learn more about how I made this project, click below.

Finished: Birthday Scarf

Christina's Scarf: A Classic Ribbed Pattern

While today is my birthday, I have enjoyed knitting this scarf in the last few weeks for my friend Christina, whose birthday falls one day before mine. I love knowing people with birthdays around mine because this time of year is so magical. The weather is turning crisper by the day and the leaves are at their peak colors. Plus, I always had creative Halloween-themed birthday parties growing up. Happy birthday to  Caitlin, Christina, Maryann, and my Aunt Peg, who all celebrate their special days in late October.

I am excited to be one year older and even more excited that I am still a few years away from turning 30. I really enjoy being in my twenties and am glad to continue the decade.

I Love the Bright Greens in this Scarf

Alright, now, back to the scarf. I knitted this with size 11 needles and stuck to a classic knit, purl, knit, purl ribbed pattern. I fell in love with this yarn at Ewe and I. It is from Chile and is 70 percent merino, 20 percent alpaca, and 10 percent silk. It will be a luscious cold-winter day scarf. Hopefully that cold weather is still a month or so away!

Deadlines

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

The holidays are coming.

Maybe it is because the week-long business trip I have been anticipating for some time is over or because the Thanksgiving issues of Martha and Vegetarian Times arrived today, but all of a sudden I realize that we’re in the countdown to holidays. And, as a crafter and DIY-er I have to begin making some choices about how to use my time.

I am already completely set for Halloween, since I finished my new decoration (the table runner) a few weeks ago. But now I have to finish my Thanksgiving runner, put together my leaf garland, and begin thinking about holiday gifts. Why didn’t I start doing all of this in July when I first thought of it?

One of the biggest challenges as a crafter is accepting how much time you have to complete projects. I would love to make awesome, handmade decorations and gifts for everyone, but that is seriously not possible. So I think I’ll pick a few nice gifts to make for select people and enjoy shopping at local stores for others’ gifts. I don’t want to ruin my holiday season by overdoing the DIY. After all, I am hosting my whole family for Thanksgiving and traveling to Idaho for Christmas. Oh, and there’s still a business trip to Montreal on queue.

On that note, I better begin making my list of handmade gifts and plan some time in my schedule to get them done!

Take Me Away!

In a few hours, I will be on the plane headed to Frankfurt, Germany, for the annual book fair. This is my fourth trip over to Frankfurt, so I know the routine well. While it seems like traveling to a foreign country (especially in Europe) would be a blast, I often find myself counting the days left since I am by myself and without my husband and cats.

However, the work portion of my trip is somewhat exciting and this year I have thought long and hard about what projects to bring on the trip to occupy my time. I am packing several knitting projects, books, DVDs, and magazines. Plus, I’ll have my computer when I am over there so I’ll be able to blog regularly. Hopefully I can even upload some pictures while I am there!

Fall Foliage

I had the good fortune to spend four years in Ithaca, New York, as a college student and savor the beautiful fall foliage of the Northeast United States.  As a lover of fall, I felt that I had finally made it when I arrived in Ithaca for my first semester. I had a view high atop South Hill, where I could see gold, red, orange, and brown leaves for miles lining Cayuga Lake.

My Fall Leaves (From Felt)

Now that I’ve been in Pennsylvania for some time, the leaves are still beautiful but do not have the magic of the leaves in Upstate New York.

Thinking of the changing colors of fall, I decided to do a craft project that helps me remember my days in Ithaca. I am making a fall leaf banner, thanks to an idea on Ohdeedoh posted a few years back. I even used the template linked on the post to Martha Stewart’s leaves.

I am excited to use my Heather Bailey felt. I’ll post more pics of the finished garland in the coming weeks.

Heather Bailey Felt

I am excited to share photos of the Heather Bailey felt I received in the mail yesterday. She debuted the product line in September, and it features rich colors of felt that no mass-produced felt sold at a chain craft store could compete with. When I saw the felt in Heather’s newsletter last month, I went into overdrive thinking of felt projects.

My Heather Bailey Felt Is Here!

Low and behold, I had an idea for a project (which I can’t disclose here since I’ll be making it for a family member/friend). I started the project last night and look forward to working on it throughout the coming weeks. I also bought some fall colors in hopes that I could construct a fun decoration for Thanksgiving, since my whole family will be visiting and it could contribute to our festive mood. Anyway, we’ll see . . .

All Rolled Up

Here are the pics of the beautiful felts. I ordered lots of colors: Blueberry, Cherry Pie, Dark Chocolate, Fairy Pool, Ginger Root, Marigold, Mustard Seed, Peacock, Pumpkin Pie, Strawberry, Smooch, and Winter Sage.

Some of My Colors

I’ll be sure to display the finished projects featuring these lovely felts and I look forward to ordering more!