Spring Paint

I have been inspired by the colors I see in my yard. I mixed up a handful of my favorite colors today from my acrylics. I have had these wooden beads forever and they were in need of decoration.  I really like the pinks and oranges turned out. I have a large collection of smaller beads that need to be made into jewelry. I wanted to introduce bigger and more modern colors into the mix. I painted just half of the bead on the majority of them. I had left over paint, so I used it up on these eggs. I got at them craft store on sale after easter. I find that many craft ideas come only as after thoughts...ie after the holiday.

Hand Sewing

I am trying to finish up the embroidery on a handful of the blocks for the fence rail mountain king size quilt. (There has got to be a better way to describe that quilt, for consistency concerns I need to come up with something). I decided on using small flowers/ leaves in threes for the Mountain Quilt ;  )  . I seemed to balance on the block nicely. I was attempting to make it look like a crazy quilt. However, it has ended up being more refined. I just stitch whatever comes to mind. I have completed most of them while Hubby watches NBA finals. I do actually like all levels of basketball, though I do find it hard to watch 3 games tailed on to each other.
Meanwhile, I threw this hand pin cushion together very quickly. It was more out of necessity, I lost a quite a few needles and pins recently. I actually found one in my nightgown... while in bed... in a not so great spot... just waiting to stab me.

Ultimately, I will be putting the Mountain quilt with the crochet afghan above. I beginning to think that it might just be too many stripes. What do you think?

Eggs and Bowl

I had an Easter afterthought. I wanted to make a reusable decoration. I came up with the egg. I simply recalled my hat making skills. The yarn colors also make them look like gum drops. Oh well. I got better after each one.

I also created this bowl out of stained sheets and scraps of fabric. I like how low and soft it is against the wood hutch. I created the bowl for this specific spot. I have started to fill up many corners in my house.

I know that its not winter anymore....

I realize that spring has sprung. There are little flowers all over my yard. I have avoided mowing the lawn because it looks so lush out my window.  In the south we had an abnormally harsh winter. I am so enjoying putting on shorts and going barefoot. Unfortunately, I haven' t felt all that great. I  have been getting in the bed earlier and working on crafts. I hope that I can get on the up swing of things so I can spend more time outside. 

Even though it getting warm out side. I still want cozy soft things to surround myself with. I bought this Angora yarn back in February with my B-day money. 

I started the bigger scarf a week ago, when I went to put the edging on. I realized I had stitched a few of the edges wrong. I went to fix one and I ended up undoing the whole thing. I had all these nice size yarn balls wedged between the pillows. When I made the scarf for the second time I ended up with leftovers. I made the little thin scarf to sell. They are both sooooooo soft. I wish that I had enough money to buy a ton of this yarn and make a blanket out of it. I wish I could use them now. 

I also spoke of my yellow dyed curtains for the living room in an earlier post. I had only posted a shot of the teal ones I made for the bedroom. I love the yellow. They let the light in, but the neighbors from looking in.  So, here we are.

Silver Make-up bag

This was my old make-up bag. I made it out of the silver vinyl. I created it before I had the blog. It is the perfect size and very durable. The zipper was never sewed in properly. I have noticed that the holes around the seam at the zipper were getting big and I was losing make-up in my car. So here is prototype #2

I re-used the button, ribbon and zipper. I hope that this one last as long as the other one did. I also mastered the art of putting the zipper in. I really enjoyed recreating the project and working out the bugs. I inverted the diagonal on the side seam. I kept losing the smaller items in the corners. It also makes the opening seem bigger. I didn't do any decorative stitching, it was hard to see on the old one. Took me about 30 minutes start to finish. The hardest part is turning the bag right side out after sewing. The vinyl is super stiff. My hands always ache after using the vinyl to make bags.

Kaffe Quilt

Look, I finished it! It ended up working out great. The perfect size for a throw. About 60x60. I debated and debated over what to do about the quilting. Again, I could see myself messing up the fabric. Finally, I decided I would  just simply stitch in the ditches. I was super happy with that choice. I washed it and it came out so soft almost a little puffy. I am super excited. I love the Kaffe fabrics together. It really works with what I have in the living room (the yellow matches the dyed curtains perfectly). The backing is the yellow from the trim and a few scraps. I think that was the fastest I have ever completed a quilt. I did not want to use super thick batting. I am excited too because I have left overs of this fabric. More Pillows??

Silver Flower Bag and Kaffe Quilt

 I made this bag for my sister awhile ago. I forgot to take a picture before I gave it to her. I used the waste band of a pair of wrangler jeans for the inside. It made a nice set of pockets for the bag. I made it rather large so that she could get some books in it. I used silver vinyl for the bottom to make it stronger. I would love to make a few more like this to sell at some point. I was so thankful that she sent me these images. I this was fairly easy one day project.

I also worked on this quilt for the living room. I love this Kaffe fabric. I cut large squares from the fat quarters and then I used the leftovers to make a long binding. I am going to use a yellow to finish off the quilt. I think it will be a nice blend and contrast.  I am really excited by this fabric and hurried through this project. I just could not cut up these awesome prints. I wanted to leave the squares as big as I could. Cant wait to see the finished quilt.

Busy Day

I have finally completed all of the blocks for the king size mountain fence rail . I used up a heck of a lot of fabric in order to create the 224 7.5x7.5 blocks. It feels good to put the fabric to work. After I embroider on a handful of blocks I will start on piecing it all together. This will be interesting to see how heavy it is. I want to quilt it. I am super concerned that I wont have the room to do it. We'll see!

I also created these super adorable pillows out of Kaffe fabric. I recently fell head over heals for this fabric. It certainly spices up my boring leather couch. A quilt is next to come!!! So super excited over these little guys. I bought the best inserts I could find. I have found it makes a huge difference. They are the perfect size.

This is precious! Wow, I think I am in love. This is the type of baby stuff that I love. I am going to try to create some birds to see if It can be done. Oh I remember making hanger mobil when I was in elementary school. I was a pain to keep balance! Super whimsical!  I wonder what she used to make the ring?

Yarn and Cross stitch

This is a pretty little sampler I found on flickr when looking for inspiration. I really like the colors she used. I unfortunately lost the link to the image. I think that I am really drawn to the floral designs. It was titled "My Quaker Lady". One day, I will complete one of these little samplers. The spacing is so nice I wonder if this was a pattern or an original design.
Got a beautiful Birthday package that had a yarn cross stitch kit in it. I really like the colors that came with it. I have made little coasters so far.
I also went to yarnbirds here in my home town. This was my first trip to this wonderful establishment. The shopkeeper was wonderfully helpful and very kind. I will definitly be back. Ill show what I have started soon!

Crochet hats

I made these hats for My hubby and I. It was my second and third attempt at hats. I looked at a quick beginning video by teresa to get started, but I winged the rest. Hubby wanted his beanie to be a little long. It ended up being a funny shape. I wanted mine to be full in the back. I am fairly happy. I am going to try again.

My sister took these pics of on my birthday. She got a fancy camera for Christmas. Too many buttons though! Thanks!

My sad overly used quilt

I did this to this pretty little topper. Gasp! My mom found the top at a yard sale and tacked a back on in the 80's.  I don't really remember seeing it until high school and I left for college and took it with me. I know that the holes weren't that bad when I took it. Remember that the blacks and dark blues were being chewed up. I feel sad when I look at it. It is sooooo soft and the perfect weight, but it has terrible shredded fabric and the seams are coming apart so I am putting it up. It cant be washed! I cant believe that I did that! Oh I am ashamed. I know some of the fabrics are from the 40's. They feel like kleenex lotion tissue. (I know that is uber specific, but I am bit of a tissue snob) I don't think that I can fix it! Too far gone.  I am going to have to create a replacement from the purple king size Mountian quilt scraps. (Blogging of,  I pulled it out last week and ironed the blocks and strips and sized it up and figured out a game plan. I am finishing that UFO soon!) I am never gonna be able to make it soft enough!