Say Goodbye to 2010

The end of the year is here!  It's time to review my 2010 goals.  And I must say, this is the first year I had such success with the year's resolutions.

The year began with a list of my ideal--all the things it would be awesome to accomplish.  I did an amazing amount of stuff in 2010.  I had twin infants to care for and free time was in short supply.  As much as I hate to say it...This very difficult past year has made me a stronger person.  And =-P to the people who love to inform me of just that (and to those who 'would love to have twins' or think it's just as easy as 2 young children).  =-P  You don't tell a person that when they're up to their neck in it, you wait until the struggle is long over. 

Anyways...

Things I've learned:

• Time is sooooo very precious.  Use it wisely.
• Not to procrastinate so much.  Really, what point does it serve?
• Take care of yourself so you can better take care of others.
• Accept imperfection.  My house isn't super clean and my kids throw tantrums (isn't that supposed to be everyone else's kids?) but without a magic wand that's the way things are.

This is my 2010 project list.  I recently added things that were on my mind, just needed them out of my head.  More than half are not even started, things I'd like to make.  That's okay, wouldn't want to make my UFO pile any bigger.

Projects Underway 2010

• His and Her xmas stocking  I want to make a double stocking, connected in the middle. 
• Magnets for babies
• Recipe box or binder
• Paint wooden shelve tower thingy
• Hideaway book technique Have the practice books, just need to borrow some rubber tipped clamps.
• Rice bed warmers There is a shoe box full of the inner bags with rice inside; they just need covers.
• Shutteryfly Baby Album Currently editing the selected pictures. 
• Hanging bag for dirty kitchen towels
• Wardrobe for barbies  Patterns are on sale New Years.
• Hem baby shirts with bottom snaps.  2 down
• Coffee lap quilt w/ light boarder  
• Coffee lap quilt w/ dark boarder 
• 20 cat mice for TAILS donation Must call and ask if they take homemade toys.  Then just need to drop off the cute mice. 
• 10 cat mice kits
• 10 melted record bowls
• Petal Bag #3
• Package 4 petal bag kits for the show
• Package 5 bag patterns for the show
• 100 Cat Mice  39 - 20 for Tails = 19 completed
• Various Unfinished Projects I should do a pictured list of these. 
• Iris Card Practice  Yes, do it!  I call procrastination. 

 Projects Completed 2010

• USA Heart Patch ironed onto jacket (December 31st, 2010)
• 2 bottom snapping shirts hemmed (December 30, 2010)
• 3 stuffed minis completed (December 29, 2010)
• Home town pictures Took pics on 3 different days.  I'll try for more next year.
• 4 rice warmers (December 23, 2010)
• Mouse Cat Toys (Count: 39)
• LeaderEnder Bib (November 2010)
• Springy Line Bib (November 2010)
• `250 Buttons (November 2010)
• Starburst Bib (11/18/2010)
• Blk n wht quilted bib #4 (11/14/2010)
• Green quilted bib #3 (11/14/2010)
• 2 green and black baby bibs (11/8/10)
• Made 4 charm packs 5"x5" (11/2/10)
• Very First Quilt UFO (October 2010)
• Rainbow Petal Bag #2 (October 2010)
• Petal Baby Bib (October 2010)
• All 5 Paintings Listed on Etsy (10/05/10)
• My Own Petal Bag Design (10/3/10)
• Rooster Plushie for Babies (September 2010)
• Rainbow Petal Bag #1 (September 2010)
• Plushie for Babies01 (September 2010)
• Garage Sale (09/18/2010) A bust but I gave it my best shot.  Just giving my stuff to Goodwill from now on!
• Baby Table Bumper (August 2010)
• Jeanne's Quilt (August 2010)
• Petal Bag (07/14/2010)

Goals for 2010

• 100 Peacock Project: draw, sew, paint, or craft 100 peacock inspired things  Ummmm, I did 2 things--a pencil drawing and buttons.
• Design a quilt or sewing pattern to sell Did it!  Petal Bag.
• Crochet 25 projects 0
• Learn basic knitting 0
• Complete 25 quilt projects  Quilting, not even close, but add all the sewing projects I counted 18 completed. 
• Complete a rough draft on all 3 of your writing projects No.  But I did work on a 4th story.
• Complete baby calendar and scrapbook for babies 0
• Be ready for May 2011 craft show in Paw Paw 0
• Get back into old clothes Yes!
• Have another garage sale Yes!
• Keep blogging Yes!
• Read 25 books 2, maybe 3 books.  I have a list somewhere. 
  
  So there you have it.  Not too shabby. Goodbye 2010!

The Coffee Quilts

Pictured here are my 2 coffee quilts.  One has a dark boarder and the other is a light brown boarder (only because I didn't have enough dark brown).  I do like the dark brown quilt better.  The darkness brings out the fabrics better.

For right now I am only making small quilts as quilting them is easier and they are faster to finish.  The dark brown top is done but the light brown is still being pieced.  Not too much left though.

I'm getting so tired of using scraps for leaders-n-enders.  I have way too many and little motivation to work with them.  So I decided to create leaders/enders with a purpose.

I picked out a simple design from one of my new magazines.  Here are the fabrics for it.  Now I know what you're thinking--Not another new project! 

This is different; those scraps are driving me bonkers.  I'm not going to go wild cutting out squares.  It's just for leaders/enders, sewn in between piecing.  Only a small amount will be cut at a time.

Holiday Goodies

 Surprise!  My family gave me exactly what I wanted for x-mas--templates, quilt magazines, batting, fabric, a small rotary cutter, and button making supplies.

 On top of the very generous gifts, my aunt-in-law gave me 4 gift bags of fabric "scraps".  What she called scraps turned out to be quite large pieces of fabric.

 Aunt C is a teacher and in charge of the costumes for the school plays.  The pieces she gave me are too small to make costumes.  She keeps these leftovers but had no plans for them.  Now a small portion of her collection is bestowed upon me.

  It will definitely be a challenge to find the perfect project for each fabric.  There are cottons or cotton blends; I can't tell for sure.  Home decor fabrics and what feels like raincoat-ish fabric.

I'm thinking the mushroom fabric in the bright green and yellow would be a cute toddler shirt.  Doll clothes, barbie clothes.  The plaids could be a crocheted or braided rug.  And I need to think of something to make for Aunt C as a thank you for the fabrics.

Anyone else have ideas of what to make?

Final Resting Place

During the holidays I was finally able to get a photo of Jeanne's Quilt in its final resting place.  Here it is at my mother-in-law's house.  It hangs on wall in the den and it looks awesome there too!

Project Photo Safety

 

At the beginning of the month, I read a blog from LauraC at Laura's Mommy Journal .  It was all about her photo organization system.  She backs up her files in 2 places and prints out everything as well.  Mine weren't nearly as safe so I made it a goal for December 2010 to protect my precious memories.  

The List:

1. Organize photos
2. Transfer photos from my computer to external drive
3. Upload photos to Shutterfly 
4. Make a Shutterfly album – Babies’ First Year
5. Purchase shutterfly album

I've been working hard on this project--one reason not much sewing has been going on.  Organization, backup to external drive, and upload to shutterfly is complete up to mid December.  Yay!!!  I've even made a share page, which allows me to share with friends and family on a password protected site.  I do put pictures up on facebook but I put everything on this site, even the embarrassing ones.  I thought it would be nice for various members of the family to be able to pick out their favorites to keep and enjoy.

#4 - In progress.  I've picked out and copied the images I'd like to put in my Babies' First Year album.  Editing is done a few at a time as there are a lot of pictures and it's a tedious process.  After editing is complete I'll upload them to shutterfly and begin the fun part.  Probably won't put all in the album but I wanted a nice selection to work with.

My Last Minute Xmas Gifts

I needed 2 last minute gifts for the extended family.  There is a shoe box of unfinished rice warmers in my craft room.  All they needed was the case.  So, I finally buckled down and made them.  The unknown was holding me back all this time; I was afraid of not making them right, of making a mistake.  Of course, how silly, no one does everything right the first time.  After I got the first one done I was able to trim down the measurements to the correct size. 

The next few were a breeze. It's a pocket case.  The back is made of 2 overlapping pieces and the rice warmer just slides in.  Each couple got a red and a green.  I added a card so they knew what the heck they were.  Dab with water, microwave for about 2 minutes, and place in your bed before hopping in.  It's great for those cold winter nights.

Couldn't Resist Starting Another One or Two

A new pattern intrigued me and I couldn't resist starting something new using different coffee themed fabrics.  In my attempt to use up my stash I decided to cut pieces for 2 coffee lap quilts. 

The difference between them is the border.  There was only enough dark brown fabric for one quilt so I choose a lighter brown for the second.  I have begun piecing these together and found that the dark brown is perfect for this color scheme.  Unfortunately, it is to late to change the second one.  I've already cut, begun sewing, and I don't want to buy anything new.  (Trying to use up what I have, remember?)  These are going to be for the craft show in the spring; someone is bound to favor the lighter brown boarder.

Hexagon Jean Patch

I noticed I have been crawling around a lot--at work cleaning and at home with babies.  So before my jeans wore out at the knee I wanted to patch them.  From experience, I know how hard it is to patch after the fact with frayed ends going every which way.  There was a cool hexagon patch in one of my magazines so I chose a hexagon patch.  The above picture is one knee and the other is just one big hexagon. 

It looked great and subtle, which is what I was going for.  It was my wish that no one would notice if I wore it to work.  Anyways, the awesomeness did not last long.  After much more crawling, the stitches are coming loose!!  On the applique and the inner stitches.  And there is a definite fading from wear. 

I'm going to remove the patches.  :=( 

Good news, though.  The 2 pairs of jeans I fit into are becoming baggy.  I'm very close to fitting into a smaller size!!!  The goal is to loose all the weight gained in college (or close to it). 

Love the Pink Theme

I call this one Pink Fun.  I've always loved the pink themed colors.  This is one of my UFOs from years ago.  I've sandwiched the layers and begun quilting. 

My current skill goal is to perfect my binding.  I've read a couple of tutorials and plan to follow those techniques to the letter. 

Baby Bibs Done

These are the last two bibs I completed.  The bib making bug is satisfied, for now. 














Just experimenting here.  The center was made from my leader and ender scraps.

Ran out of Button Sets

I have completed my bag of buttons--over 200.  There were the messed up ones and the few I made for family with my babies' faces.  I wasn't about to count but it should be at least 200 buttons for the craft show. 

Musings 001

In this photo you can see an unfinished bib and some petals for a bag.  Since I have soooo many 'leaders and ender' pieces I decided to do the same system but with a little more purpose.  Instead of scraps I'm going to try to use pieces from another project--e.g. petals, cat mice, or bibs.

Photoshop Fun

Started too Many Projects

Another bib underway. 

I started trimming my 'leaders n' enders' to 2" wide.  Then strip pieced them to make these squares.  I used one to make a bib.

As you can see, it's still in progress.  Not sure if I will make another like this, perhaps I'll just save the squares to make a lap quilt.  Any ideas out there for my scrap blocks???

I was the Guinea Pig

When I see a pattern in our buying habits I start thinking--How can I do this myself?  I no longer purchase granola bars, I've perfected a couple of great recipes.  My husband loves my peanut butter granola bars!

After being on a ravioli kick, I convinced my husband to make a batch with me.  Our first attempt...not so great.  The recipe said cook 10-15 minutes.  After 3 minutes my husband was insisting they looked done.  "They are even floating to the top," he said.  I told him if he really thought so he should take one out and try it.

I take the squirming babies to the living room and guess what happens next.

A minute later he brings me a bowl of ravioli, complete with sauce.  Surprised, I accept and prepared to admit I was wrong.  Until I tried them.  Under cooked!  When I asked if he tasted one he said, "no".  NO??? Guess, I'm the guinea pig. 

We went through this process once more.  For some reason, Husband was really timid with these ravioli so we still ended up eating an undercooked meal.  Oh well, we will try again soon but next time I'm in charge of the kitchen.

Block Experiment Turned Bib

I am definitely in a bib making phase.  It's fun, it's fast, and it's great practice. 

I started off experimenting with a technique found on Film in the Fridge (I'm so glad I wrote that down!); it's the starburst block.  I just wanted to try it, not necessarily take off on a whole quilt or something.  Because this was just an experiment I did not allow myself excessive time picking and choosing fabrics, only 5 minutes.  That must be a new sort of record. 

It was definitely a fun block, a bit time consuming, requiring a bit of anal attention to detail.  But it's just so cool when those points meet up exactly right. 

I have not been in the mood to start a new quilt project so I decided the block would be great as a bib.  Here is the template I made.  It's extra wide because I wanted to use up as much of my awesome block as possible.

 

All pinned, right sides together, ready to be sewn.  Don't forget to leave the opening for turning right side out!

All done!  I hand sewed the opening shut.  It's wild but I love it.

Lovely New Buttons

Again, I've been using mostly found images for my buttons.  I have sketches in the works.  My plan is to draw (and possibly paint), scan into the computer, and alter in photoshop.  Well, that program is giving me a lot of grief!!  I know basic photoshop but I can't seem to figure out how to do these specific, yet easy manipulations!  After hours of playing around and figuring out lots of other cool stuff to do, I tried Microsoft Word. 

And guess what...It took me 5 minutes to do what I've spent hours trying to do in big bad photoshop!!! Pictures of those ones later.

 These 3 button I used fabric scraps.  Now don't get deceived, they are not fabric buttons like you'd use on your sofa.  I still used the mylar sheet over the top.  Now, I can transform my cool fabrics into awesome buttons!
 (a lot of exclamation points in this post isn't there?)

I love my button maker.

Bibs Three and Four

 

Baby Bib #3.  I made the same hour glass squares as the first 2 bibs.  This time I did not alternate colors but faced the squares in the same direction.  

 

Bib Four; I ventured out of the color safety zone of my first 3 bibs.  It's slightly bigger too. 

Scraps are Becoming

Here are some of my 'leaders and enders'.  I have a huge stack of random scraps sewn together and one of my goals is to make something out of them.  So I pulled the pile out of the bag, ironed, and began trimming. 

They are being separated into 2 piles--2" wide and 1.5" wide, length varies.  Now, instead of adding more misshaped sewn scraps to the pile I am sewing the trimmed pieces together. 

Don't worry, I didn't forget about that single square made awhile back.  I just didn't feel like making another one tonight. 

Notebook 2

Just doodling button and bib ideas.

My Very First Baby Bibs

I had this idea in my head and finally decided to put it down on paper and then fabric.  It turned out exactly how I imagined it!  Don't you love when that happens?

From end to beginning.  I have the hardest time imaging how fabrics will look when all is said and done.  But these turned out amazing!

Blog Marathon Commencing...

So, I haven't blogged in a while, although I often visit and admire my blog during the day.  This is when I'm watching the babies and can't do much of anything creative.  They have eagle eyes; if I grab my sewing box or sketchbook they are on me like...like 2 curious, into everything babies.  The babies limit my adult activities to: dishes, a bit of straightening up, computer time, sit ups, button making, or TV.  (sigh).  I'm excited for the day when I can sit the kids down to craft or draw and I can work on my own projects. 

I managed to round up some of the mice I have made for the cat.  A couple in the middle are old store bought mice.  Can you tell which are the handmade ones?

During quiet time, I cleaned out 2 misc. boxes; things look cleaner now.  My goal is to find a new home for these boxes or the contents.  When I have guests spend the night I'd like it completely box free. 

And, of course, after all this cleaning I'm eager to make something.  My jumbled fabric pile in the closet-YIKES!  I know, I know, I need to store my precious fabric better.  I'm in the process of getting a bunch more plastic storage bins.  We're going to be buying some shelving for the basement.  Some of my stuff can go downstairs. 

Beautiful Charm Packs

100 squares, 5" x 5"

I made 4 packs of fabric charms with a large variety of colors and prints.  2 of each print, a couple of singles. 

This was fun.  And I developed a renewed appreciation of many of my fabrics. 

Kitchen Marathon

During my second round being sick as a dog, I didn't get much accomplished in the last week.  But I was very proud of myself last night; I stayed up late to do dishes and cook.  Luckily I am almost healed.  I accomplished:

• Baked 2 pumpkins (for baby food and baked goods)
• Roasted pumpkin seeds (coated with sugar, salt, cinnamon, and olive oil)
• Steamed and froze batch of zucchini (for babies and me)
• Cut up and froze a ton of green onions
• Dishes Dishes Dishes

Go Me!

Oldest UFO Completed

 It took me a while to decide how to finish this quilt.  The top would fit a double bed but I just didn't want to spend that much time quilting it.  I thought about cutting it in half and doing 2 quilts in order to make the process easier.  And I thought about cutting it down a bit and using the extra for scraps.

In the end, I chose to cut it in half, using half as the backing and half as the top.  The binding was done partially with trimmed ends from the top and for the rest I used a fabric I'm just not that into anymore. 

It's a lap quilt now.  Finished after 10? 15? years.  The girls like it a lot.

One of My VERY Old Unfinished Projects

At first glance you might deem this a very mismatched, ugly quilt top.  And for a long time so did I, which is why I never finished it.  This is my very first quilt top I made YEARS ago.  I don't even remember how old I was--Jr. High? 

After moving all my stuff out of my parents' home I discovered this quilt top.  All these years later it doesn't look so ugly.  The mismatched corners don't bother me.  It has character.  It is part of my sewing past. 

What I've learned from this quilt...

1. Don't give up.  If a project isn't going like you want it to be, push through, call it a practice round.  But don't stop reaching for your goal.
2. Start small.  I remember sewing this and thinking, "This is too small; quilts are supposed to be bigger."  I should have made a small quilt and went larger as I gained experience. This one was originally a queen size, there are some chunks missing so now it has been trimmed to a double.  For the life of me, I can't remember why I cut pieces off the quilt.  What did I make???
3. Quilts can be anything you want them to be.    
4. Plan first.  I quilted with these fabrics because they were what was in the house.  I didn't particularly enjoy them together but I wanted to sew.  It's better to wait and sew with fabrics you enjoy than to do a project with materials that don't feel right.  You won't be happy with the progress and it might end up like this quilt top--unfinished over 15 years later. 

Petal Bag of Different Colors

Another petal bag completed!  I love this color scheme. 

Buttons!

Here are a few of the fabulous buttons I've been making with my new professional grade 1.25" machine.  I've been using mostly found images from old magazines and a couple books.  I found an extra copy of a Where's Waldo book so I scanned all the pages into the computer and printed off a few.

I've been working on simple sketches and playing with my babies' pictures in photoshop.  I definitely need to make some baby buttons!

It is HERE!!!!!

Look, they're practically dancing with joy, too!!!  My button maker has arrived.  I can't open the package just yet, must wait for feeding time.

Inside the first box are 2 little boxes...

Ta Da!