Thursday, December 31, 2009

knit and stitch bits

since i was knitting on the trip from home to "da border" (bout 17+ hour drive) i did a lot of knitting...

-2 skull caps


-pair of barbie pants...
*which i have to find to snap a pic of...


-started and am 1/2 done with a sock...

on a small bubble bottle ........................................on a cream soda bottle

-worked some rows on my sweater...
after working on the sock pattern...the sweater pattern just seemed sooo easy! 38 rounds to 12...yeah, easy peasy lemon squeezy

i think i'm a bit burnt on knitting so i started working on quilts...that and hurricane lu was harrassin me "ma, stop working on my friends quilt and work on mine...." haha..oops

so here's a quilt for my aunt's kids.....*shudders* yes, the like cowboys


and 4 more flowers :) the hurricane picked out the petals and i sewed them for her...next, hand appliquing them down. i'm super excited bout her quilt...haha, prolly more than she is :)


with new babies being born, i'll be making s'more hats/booties and quilts.
and...last but no least....
a surprise in ze mail! "socks a la carte" you sly boots you!

Sunday, December 13, 2009

slow for the cone zone

"we're here to get you there"




my ol man works at caltrans and asked me if i could make a hard hat and cone for the christmas basket at work.


the cone is from ravelry and the hart hat is a simple hat pattern. the ridges were made by crocheting a chain stich on the top.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

stockings

a couple of months ago, i was asked if i could duplicate some stockings. shure thing, i got nothing else to do *sits back and cackles*

i figured the lady would want them as soon as december rolled around. and shure enough, she called and asked how the stockings were going...um, fine? 2 down, 1 half way, and another one to be made...


i've looked online to find a pattern for the Tunisian crochet and nothing! several sites state that this is a lost art....well, yeah...you cast on like knitting and pick up stitches, then close the loops like crochet...it's killer on the wrists!

so i guess i should finish up the white one and start the last one....



Thursday, November 12, 2009

friendship sampler quilt

i was inspired by a blog on making a wall quilt for my new craft room.

deciding on what kind of quilt to paint on my wall was a bit frustrating. there are SO many beautiful quilts. even if decided on a block, the possibilities are endless.

so it got me thinking on what type of quilts i like.

samplers! (i do enjoy them at Costco haha)

so here's my check list on the wall quilt
-taking measurements of the wall, divide and conqure! haha, i mean, figureing out how many blocks will go on it
-asking family and friends to pick a block they like
-arranging the blocks
-stenciling on the wall
-then, paint party!

*lightbulb* oh! and then i can make it for reals!! brilliant!

running a chain link

i won a table runner kit from the quilt guild earlier this year and finally got around to making it...well, the top at least.



now all we need is a table.

and now that we've already spent several nights in our new house *happy dance for being homeowners* i figured i should finish up the 1930's quilt.

and in our new house, there's room to lay the 8x7 rows of 11" block in the livingroom. teehee :)



the last couple of days, i've been to excited to just sit and knit, so i finished the quilt top by adding the 3 borders. the quilt was suppose to be a 6x7 block but it would only fit the top of our bed.


to give you an idea of how big the quilt top is, i added the bathroom door as a referance.
prairie points are added instead of binding. haha, we'll see if i get to that point after all the quilting!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

pullover! no it's a cardigan...

no no, it's really a pullover. telemark pullover from ravelry.com

i havn't tried it on el chuckster cause he's been napping and all boogery...didnt think it would make for a flattering picture



very easy and fun to knit up!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

spiders and a hurricane

finally finished my wrist...arm warmers w/ spiders on it. first ones ever!
spider wrist warmers
the left is a bit worn out...i'm thinking i should block them.

and...because the contest at handmade memories requires mittens/gloves AND hat/scarf...i made *peter griffin* a hat!
hurricane hat
i'm debating on whether i like it or not...my first non-brim hat. i usually dont wear my hair down and when i do, it's tucked under my hat...i'm wearing it now...so far, it's okay

both patterns were on ravelry.com
the spider from the gardener and the hat is the hurricane hat

and while we're on the subject of hats....
viking hat

my ol man's a viking!
the pattern had earflaps but he wanted braids

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

they come in green!?

mannequins!!!





oh yes...i want one....why?

why not? i can use it to take pictures of my finished knits or sewn projects without needing the help of my ol man! haha

shure could've used the mannequins hand while taking a pic of the left wrist warmer...and there are parts for sale too!

and, halloween's coming up! i can scare the trick-or-treaters (the 4 or 5 that we get)!!

*cackles*

Thursday, October 15, 2009

prehistoric log cabin

finally finished a baby quilt for a friend...and good thing because the baby showed up 11 days before schedule!
prehistoric log cabin
while quilting it during the hurricanes' nap, i came up with the quilt name. the blue/red/green block reminded me of the center part of a log cabin block, and since it had dinosaurs, i figured prehistoric works.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

gnoming around

with halloween approaching fast, the hurricanes needed some costumes. from the get go, lu wanted to be a fairy princess.

so last week we took a field trip to jo-anns and she picked out her costume fabric.
princess fairy

knowing what she was going to be, the next problem was figuring out what el chuckster was going to dress up as. chuck norris, charlie horse, an orange cone...then a friend suggest a gnome...doh!
gnome

the ol man's brilliant idea was to take pictures at prairie creek park on the way to his folk's house.

here are some of the shenanigans that went on...
IMG_5785 IMG_5797
IMG_5799 IMG_5798

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

four dollar find

at the rummage sale last saturday, i bought a working necchi sewing machine and table for four dollars!!
necchi

took out the necchi and replaced it with the kenmore and bam! i have my first sewing machine table!!
new sewing table
with babies arriving the next couple of months, quilts, hats and booties are on the list.

try as i might, i couldn't get into the "bowtie" quilt i was making for a baby girl. *cackles* easily solved with a quick trip to the local quilt store.

the bowtie blocks are going to be made into premie quilts for the guild to donate.

the hats babies are going to get are a knitted hat from a pattern on raverly.com

knit hats

this weekend is going to be busy with quilting some baby quilts and a fairy costume for the hurricane...gotta get those halloween party invites out soon!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

i need a rake

to catch the leaves i've made



one of the first (and favorite) of 25+ leaves: knitted maple, oak, and aspen and a bunch of small "autum" crochet leaves

IMG_0914
the knitted leaves are from "playing in the leaves" by jackie erickson-scheitzer.

and with about of week not knitting/crocheting leaves, i was busy making hats, poncho and an elmo dress....all deadlined for the second week of sept!

for a six year old boy- r2d2!! i couldn't find any caron simply soft blue or black but found all three colors in redheart soft yarn and for 4 for $10 ! score!
IMG_1315

1 year old girl - pirate bootie!

IMG_1348

and the last project for the weekend a crocheted "coming home" poncho

IMG_1344

haha, and this weekend, i knitted some more leaves and another priate hat
IMG_1551

Monday, August 24, 2009

rainbow babies

rainbow babies!

what a great way to use up all my acrylic yarn....with the cheap yarn leaving my stash, i have room for some nice stuff...like superwash wool, or noro yarn, or some fancy solid color sock yarn!... *evil cackle*

so, with my acrylic yarn, size 7 needles, i made my first babie. i'm going to adjust the pattern so i can use my dp needles instead. i prefer a seemless body :)




i still need to add eyes, mouth and some cheeks

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

link by link

...i make progress in the chain link quilt.
a pile of blocks sections


six links
















Thursday, August 13, 2009

chain link

i guess i can say i'm the first generation quilter in my family. i've been teaching my mom everything that i learn and am amazed at how far she's gone w/ a little (okay, it was a hard shove) push.

and so, with that, the quilt that i have was for our wedding from a family friend. my mom has one in the hand quilting phase with hawaii elvis that i'm still waiting on. pst, dont tell her, but i think i'll pro'lly finish mine first....dang it.

so...with that in mind...

this is a project i'm working on for the ol man and me. chain link from Link to the 30's



haha, i realized the quilt was going to fit the top part of the king size bed...so i needed to adjust it and add more blocks...'bout 26 more. oh darn, guess i'll have to go back and get more reprint fabrics :)

so here's the block in it's pre-sewn form...can you belive it, i actually had the grand ol idea to hand sew ALL the pieces (they did it in the 30's, why couldn't i?)....mm, no, maybe i'll just hand quilt it instead :) haha



it's funny how i've got this one i'm so anxious and excited to do....when i've got so much more that i had already started and are waiting to be finished....just off the top of my head...

-grandfolk's golden double wedding ring
-hurricane lu's dresden flower quilt
-jefe's salsa lonestar quilt
-momala's mother's day '08 to machine quilt

friojles man...we better hurry and find a house to fit all the ufos! :)

sweet cherry pi

i was hoping to finish the dress for her fourth birthday, but finished about a month after. not too bad.



i used cotton ease "cherry" and for the trim, the wool ease sparkly both from lionbrand. i also added pony beads on the bottom of the points for a "cherry" effect. next are the stems for the cherries.

the pattern was from knitty.com: Elenka


Monday, August 3, 2009

a bit of catching up

for my brother's high school band fundraiser, my mom donated a quilt...haha, she tells me that she volunteered me to make it haha :)

i've been slacking on keeping up with what i've made.


-pair of socks using the circular needles and superwash wool


my hurricane liked them a lot so she snagged them :)



-the "emerald twist"

queen size, cotton fabric, batting, machine quilted. i decided not to add any quilting in the center of the twist 'cause i thought i'd take away from the twists. the backing is a black queen flat sheet (my ol man's idea)

Friday, July 31, 2009

butterflies and babies

my ol man's cousin had her first baby and named her after her late older sister. with butterflies and roses in mind, i quickly made her a quilt. and so the baby wont be cold in our cool climate, superwash knitted booties and hat :)



i've been practacing my machine quilting on small quilts and uber excited with my results.
the hat and bootie set made with superwash wool

Friday, June 26, 2009

mini socks

after making a pair of socks for myself, my hurricane asked for a pair too. i figured i'd try out a pattern from 2-at-a-time socks for her. i didn't have the required size 2 circular needle so i just used my double points. well lo and behold! they turned out awesome!!! but they're too small for her soon-to-be four-year-old foot! so now they're my son's.

i'm excited and amazed at what i can accomplish out of one skein of bernant sox yarn.



Friday, June 19, 2009

sunbonnet sue

there's a nostalgic essence of sunbonnet sue's that draws me to them. this is my first rotary-cutter sunbonnet sue for my ol man's boss's new baby girl. i had knitted a hat and booties to hold them over till i sent a quilt.

the design is from Big Book of Quick Rotary Cutter Quilts.

and it's also my first machine quilted with my daring foot :)

it's amazing how much faster machine quilting is than hand quilting! haha duh!

sunbonnet sue

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

fox in socks

why yes i am a fox in socks...mulit-colored knitted socks. with the jo-ann's gift card i received for mother's day, i bought some yarn and ta-da!
my socks!
size 3 double point needles and Bernant: sox yarn and pattern and my goofy (and a bit too big) socks are done. i'm on a roll!
today i purchased different yarn for socks to make for my mother...maybe i'll try a new pattern.
knitted socks
i also finished hand quilting my ma's "sweet tooth" quilt with i love lucy fabric. i'll post pictures later.

and!!!

my youngest brother is learning how to crochet! his first project: blue single crochet scarf for his girlfriend :) teehee

Monday, June 1, 2009

Tennesse Star

i was so excited when my ma bought me 50 Fabulous Paper-Pieced Stars and when my sister-n-law announced they were preggers again, my light bulb almost exploded.

in my ma's stash, there was a sesame street white background with alphabets that i knew would go well with the chosen star.

i started to meticulously cut out all the letters needed for the quilt top and since the sex of the baby wasn't going to be known until the birth, i used the primary colors and green.

my second paper pieced quilt, hand quilted

Tennesse Star

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

sushi shawl

i'm finally finished!

i bought a total of 8 balls of cascade yarns superwash wool (brown, black, white, pink) and a green in 100% acrylic and another bulky pink.

and after a month of knitting and crocheting non-stop...i give you....sushi!
IMG_3025
with a border of garter, the "platter" is in stockinette. the "fish" is knitted in stockinette with a garter in the middle and a garter green veggie. the rice and nori is crochet in half-double crochet. there is aslo a stockinette "ginger" and crocheted "wasabi."

Monday, April 6, 2009

are you ready to crop!

saturday was an all day scrapbooking event that a friend and i attended.

man, do i feel out a place! metallica shirt, tattoos, and my clearance paper among the creative memories stuff....dont get me wrong, that stuff's wicked, but too pricey for me.

a friend suggested that i scrapbook my quilts. with a new book and a bunch of 8x10's i got to work. it's funny because i thought i was going to be done with my pictures and leaving early. oh no. i was there the whole time!

damn women and their cattiness....sugarcoated viciousness.

so now i need to reorder some of my older pictures of the quilts i've done to make a "back in the day" collage.

i'm excited.

haha, another project in the making!

ugh, stupid dinning room table looks like a scrapbook land mine! paper and scraps everywhere!

well, i guess since my sister-n-law had her kid, i should probably finish up his quilt.

adios.

Friday, April 3, 2009

sushi roll

at handmade memories yarn stores, there's a shawl contest going on till the end of this month. the only requirments are that you buy the yarn at the store and make it within a certain size.

if i'm going to make a shawl for myself, it's going to be something that screams "me."

so i'm making a sushi roll shawl.

it's going to knitted in brown and the sushi is going to crocheted (and some knitted) and appliqued on.

IMG_6924

so far i've knitted about 11"...only 51"

i think i'm going to start on the sushi