This and That

I sold my first item from my Etsy Shop! I was almost sad to see my little bag go. ;) I also sold some stuff on Ebay and now I have money to buy more yarn and other craft items. I made 6 felted glass cases for the shop with all the wool yarn leftovers I had. They are really easy to make but my hands told me afterwards that they had had enough.

The baby quilt is finished and ready to be packed and given. The baby shower is this Sunday. I also made a card for the occasion. If I may say so, it is definitely one of my better quilts. I always do my best work when I make something for someone I care about. And my sewing machine was really cooperating and not giving me any problems while quilting it. Good Girl! ;)


I also finished the two crochet baby blankets but for some reason I cannot get a good picture of them.
My dad will be getting one of my felted glass cases for Father's Day and I made a card for him too.


Now that all this is finished I will dedicate the next week to catching up with my WOBQ blocks, several of them are rather complicated and I did not want to make them just in between other projects. I am still behind with my 12 x12 x12 challenge pieces but for some reason I can't find the motivation to do them.

I have a knitted sweater for myself in the works and once that is finished I have at least three new projects lined up. I am also still working on the pink baby blanket.

The weather keeps getting warmer and warmer and we are having some air quality problems. We try to go walking in the evening as often as possible and I found that if I go even though I don't feel like doing it I feel much better afterwards. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are church nights so we can't go anyway. We decided to make up for that by walking 1 hour on the remaining days rather than a half hour.

WIP Wednesday

I have not done one of these in a while, so here it goes. These are a few things I am currently working on.
A bunch of granny squares for two baby blankets. I had originally started with a different pattern for the blue yarn, but it got too big and I did not really like it. I undid what I had and started over.

A baby quilt in blue and yellow, using 6" snowball blocks. I just bought the fabric for the border and hope to get it basted by the end of the week.


I just bought myself a bunch of yarn for a jacket. It is Icelandic Jewels by Yarn Bee and was on sale at Hobby Lobby - I never can resist a yarn sale. ;)


And I made the last bags for my Etsy Shop last week. Five small and one big cotton bag. I still have to take "official" photos and list them. I am going to take a break from bags for a while unless somebody orders one in a specific color (hint, hint).


I am also working on my 12 x 12 x 12 piece for May and I am - once again - hopelessly behind. For some reason I don't like working with a deadline, it turns on my old school behaviour - do anything else except what you are supposed to do. ;)

Bags, bags and more bags!

Making these bags is like eating potato chips, you just can't stop at one. :) The pattern is so quick and easy, I decided to make a bunch of the little felted ones and offer them in my Etsy Shop. I also made two more of the bigger cotton ones, one for myself - in purple and yellow - and one that our pastor's wife asked me to make for her - in turquoise and white. So I actually sold my first bag! I also made a small cotton one for her little daughter, who knows, maybe all the little girls will want one too. ;)

The Good and the Not-So-Good

My day started pretty good. I had a lot of energy and a list of things I wanted to do. First I did my strength exercise, then I had an online chat with two friends. Next I read my Bible passage for today and the chapter for the Women of the Bible Study. Then I finished the bag I made for my Mom (the pattern for the little felted bag works very well for a bigger version). I used Sugar 'n Cream yarn, double stranded, a bit hard to work with as my hands are telling me today but it makes for a nice sturdy bag.
Then I made a Mother's Day card for my mom. It turned out just fine and I like it (I hope she will too).
Next I started working on my April piece for the 12 x 12 x 12 challenge, as usual a bit late. I had a great idea and set to work. I had some photos printed on fabric and since these pieces will never get washed I don't really care whether the ink is set or not. I was almost finished with the top when my &%$§/&% iron decided to leak all over it. I am sure you can imagine what it looks like now. I am mad as a hornet and I hope we have enough extra money for a new iron. I hate that thing. I am not going to try and safe anything from that piece, luckily I have enough of the materials I used to start over, but it is really frustrating when half a day's work gets destroyed in an instant, especially when you feel that you did a pretty good job with it. Argh!
The fact that Miss Kitty decided to deposit another hairball on the carpet did not really matter much anymore after that. ;)
Our sweet pastor challenged us yesterday to see something good in everything that happens to us this week. I guess the good in this is that I did not throw the iron through the closed window. :) I know, things could be a lot worse, I just hate to waste time (and fabric).

WOBQ

This is my version of the block for the Widow of Zarephath. The original block calls for 21 small appliqued diamonds and I don't want to do that. The original pattern is called dinner plate, so I just used a patterned fabric for the plate, I like it and since it is my quilt, that's just fine.

WOBQ

This is the block I had to stop working on when my eyes got so bad. It is the block for Rizpah and I used the English Paper Piecing Method for it. I chose colors to symbolize the elements of her story: Pink for the love of a mother, red for the shed blood of her sons, brown for the bare ground she sat on and dark purple for her grief. Her story can be found in 2 Samuel 21:8 - 10

Felting

I am always ready to try something new when it comes to crafts. I had tried felting before but I was not sure if it came out right. This time I found a pattern for a felted mini tote bag in my crochet calendar and since I still had some yarn left from my first try I decided to make it. Well, I think it is cute. ;) I took a picture of the bag before and after it got felted. I think the pattern will also work well with cotton yarn and there might be a mother's day gift for my mom in this.

WOBQ

Just finished another block, this is the one for Jezebel. I have a bit of a problem with these "bad girls" of the Bible. On one hand I'd like to use fabrics that symbolize their wickedness but on the other hand I don't want my quilt to become ugly. I think this combination is a pretty good compromise. ;)

WOBQ

Now that the issues with my bad eyesight have been resolved, I am (once again) catching up on my WOBQ blocks.
Today I finished the blocks for Leah and the Queen of Sheba. They are both machine appliqued. I decided to give up on hand applique for this project, it is just too time consuming and I'll never be able to get caught up.

More walking

After church and lunch on Sunday we went back to the Environmental Center, this time we walked a few of the trails in the nature reserve instead of the greenway. It was very warm and I really enjoyed all the young fresh greens all around me.

Out and about on a Saturday

First thing we did this morning was sleep in. :) After a nice leisurely breakfast we went on our way. First we checked out the yard sale at our church, which benefits Relay for Life. We had contributed some stuff and it would not be a yard sale had we not bought something to even the score. :) I found two nice pieces of fabric and I never could resist a cute kitty cat. The whole purchase came to $1.25, which even we can afford.

After filling up the car we went to the Farmer's Market to check out what's available already. Oh how I wish I had a garden! The market was full with plants, flowers, tomatoes and herbs, lots of beautiful kitchen herbs! I know one thing, once I do have a garden, I will have purple and yellow flowers only, lots of veggies and lots of herbs. Since we have to wait at least another year until we will qualify for a mortgage, I have a lot of time to dream and plan.

After the market we drove to the Environmental Center and walked the greenway. It turned into quite the nature walk. In the parking lot I saw a lizard, which kindly posed for a picture.

My smart book about backyard fauna told me that it is an Eastern Fence Lizard, cute little thing, looks like a dragon. :)

We also saw a bunny (in the distance on the left side of the picture), Del caught a goose in flight and I really begin to appreciate the makro function on my camera for taking pictures of flowers and insects. The whole area is now bright green and looks like a jungle, we had plenty of rain and the level of the lake is high. We also saw lots of turtles, but did not get close enough for a picture and a chipmunk hiding in the undergrowth. I love walking there, hearing all kinds of birds and every so often something rustling in the dead leaves besides the greenway. It was nice and warm and sunny today, with just a little bit of a cool breeze. I hope the cold weather is now behind us and we can go walking more often. Here are the other photos.

1962

In 1962 (the year I was born in)

John F. Kennedy is president of the US John Glenn becomes the first American in orbit when he circles the earth three times in the Mercury capsule Friendship 7 Cuban Missile Crisis occurs when Soviet offensive missile build-up is discovered Cuban Missile Crisis is averted when President Kennedy and Soviet premiere Krushchev agree to remove missiles Maryiln Monroe is found dead in her Los Angeles home The drug thalidomide is recalled when it becomes linked with severe birth defects in thousands of children worldwide Pantyhose becomes available for sale in U.S. department stores Jim Carrey, Sheryl Crow, Jon Bon Jovi and Tom Cruise are born New York Yankees win the World Series Green Bay Packers win the NFL championship Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley cup Lawrence of Arabia wins the Oscar for best picture The Beatles release their first recording: the single "Love Me Do"/"P.S. I Love You" Johnny Carson debuts as host of The Tonight Show

What Happened the Year You Were Born?

WIP Wednesday

I am still trying to get used to my new glasses and it is not going very well. Something is very strange, I have to turn my head to the right in order to get a clear picture for reading, if I keep it straight I get a fuzzy spot on the right side. I am going back to the eye doctor on Thursday to find out if I can afford to have just the reading lenses put into one of my frames. I want them for reading and sewing around the house. I have not tried sewing with the new ones yet and I am wearing my old ones for crocheting and watching TV.
I have started two baby blankets and have picked out some fabrics for a baby quilt. I will make 6" snowball blocks and use some of my 30s repro fabrics for it. I don't know yet whether I'll be putting the baby stuff into my shop or give it away as presents.
The last picture is a teaser for my 12 x 12 x 12 challenge piece for April. Yes, I know, it is due on the 13th, but if I don't see any better soon, I'll be late again.

A Blessed Easter to All!

WIP Wednesday

Well, sort of anyway. I got my new glasses and I am now trying to practice with them. I have to remember to look out the top part when I am moving around and I have already found out that I can NOT wear them when watching TV. I would have to sit up straight and keep my head still, usually I am laying around on the sofa or the floor when I am watching TV, so I am still using my old glasses which is okay, because my distance sight has not changed much. I have noticed that I can read much better now, but I have not tried sewing yet. The glasses make me feel a bit dizzy and I am not wearing them all day. I am way behind on all kinds of things and hope to be catching up soon.

Happy Birthday Blog!

My little blog turns 1 today, how time flies. :)