Yo-yo

Can you believe I'd never made a yo-yo until last week? It seems like such a sewing and quilting staple, and they're so easy!

My mother-in-law bought nearly every Clover yo-yo maker there is for my step-daughter for Christmas along with a few Indygo Junction patterns because she knew it would be a simple place to start. Victoria sewed one of these, I did the rest. I had to do at least one to explain how to make them to her, but the pattern called for so many! I picked up the needle and thread and made a few more just to help her out.

Of course, I'm working on my own projects this week (these are not for the basket blocks, but they do look kind of cute there), but I'm thinking about working a yo-yo into my next project.

This week...baskets

Amy is holding another challenge! I have yet to win one of these, but the beauty of Amy's challenges are that even if you don't win the prize, you still get a finished project out of it.

My goal for this week is going to be to finish the 12 blocks I have cut out for my latest quilt project. I have one done right now and a bunch more in progress.



I am chain piecing (here is a really great explanation of what that is), but I ran out of both thread, and white on white prints for the backgrounds this week. Add to those a few misdirected half square triangles and I have a few blocks almost done, a few just cut out and a couple that are half finished. I can't wait to be done with them all! I have been wanting to make basket blocks out of large floral prints for a long time. I initially planned on buying some Kaffe Fassett, but I'm glad I waited because the Amy Butler fat quarters I got for Christmas are perfect!

Repurposed

Almost two years ago I posted my patchwork bag tutorial. Back when I made those bags, I accidentally cut enough fabric for two of the second one. I have had the front and back panel of that bag unfinished in my basement since April, 2009. Yikes!

I went on the hunt through my stash to find some baby girl appropriate fabrics to make a gift out of and stumbled across those panels. I decided that, realistically, I probably wasn't going to make them into another patchwork bag, and brought them out to make one of my favorite patterns.



Mrs. Perkins by Melly and Me! I cannot sing the praises of this pattern enough. It has never failed to turn out adorable, no matter what fabrics I make it in and kids just love the 19" tall giraffe, especially babies!



I like her better with buttons, but I hate the thought of her sitting on a shelf because the baby's mom is too afraid to let her play with it. I stuffed a cat toy deep inside this one, a trick I cannot remember where I picked up. Just a little bell in a plastic ball so she rattles very quietly. And not a choking hazard because the bell and ball are surrounded by layers of stuffing and fabric.

While I'm sharing tips and tricks, let me show you one of my favorite ways to make stuffed animal eyes.



Polka-dot print felt! The irises are already printed on for you to just cut out little ovals or circles. I bought every square of this blue that I could find when it went on clearance at a local craft store. If I ever find more colors (maybe I should Google that?) I will buy them for sure! It's nice to have the option of a shortcut sometimes.



P.S. Some other Mrs. Perkins I have made since the blog can be found here and here.

So far...

2011 is not going well.

My son has been sick since Sunday. I didn't mention it Monday because I thought it was a 24 hour bug, but then last night my entire bed was doused in regurgitated hot dog at 10:30 PM. I'll spare you the amount of bodily fluids I've cleaned up today.

This is on top of my sewing machine not being repaired when I picked it up.

Then I bought a new sewing machine, because I got a decent amount of money for Christmas and I really felt my machine was lacking after completing my Christmas projects on my mother-in-law's. I didn't get one anywhere near as nice as hers, but I found a decent machine in my price range.

It shipped to my house missing four feet. I'm supposed to be getting them mailed to me for free.

So today I picked up my finally fixed old machine. I dropped it off in the case, and the shop neglected to close both latches on it. I neglected to notice until the one latch holding it closed finally gave out on the steps leading into the house. A piece of it broke off. Not an important piece, and as far as I can tell the rest of the machine wasn't damaged, but I'm annoyed at the senselessness of the whole thing.

I told my husband I think the universe is telling me not to sew right now.



But I have projects to complete. Laugh at that would you? The above picture is actually these pieces from last January finally sewed into blocks. I didn't touch this quilt for an entire year!

Every time I scrolled through my photos to find one to put on the blog I'd come across some of the blocks from this set and I'd wish it was complete and on my bed.

I'm thinking if I can finish it, it will knock two things off my crafty resolutions list. Something for myself, and something larger than a lap quilt. Plus, I think the scraps from my Amy Butler will all fit in perfectly with my color scheme! I'm excited to get to work on it.

Monday Moments

My mother-in-law, who just so happens to live three hours away, was actually brought into town for business this weekend. We got to meet her for a quick lunch at a local restaurant, but nothing more since she was on the clock. Still, the kids loved the double treat of eating at a restaurant and seeing their grandma.

We came home from lunch and got everyone dressed and ready to go sledding. I don't even know how long we were out, but everyone was beet red and ready for cocoa when we got home. I had my camera in my pocket the whole trip, but didn't snap any photos. Sometimes it's nice to just slide down the hill and be a part of the action...instead of sitting at the bottom trying to catch it.

Sad face

I finally broke down and used the sewing machine today. I was trying to finish up my embroidery first, but it was taking forever and I really wanted to finish at least one thing I could put on the blog.

So I got out a scrap piece of fabric, threaded the machine and sewed a few lines. Everything looked wonderful. I ironed and got out the rotary cutter. I put my Amy Butler in the machine and this happened...



Ugh! I grabbed a piece of navy blue fabric from my scrap bin for contrast and sewed some more lines until I got a similar result, then I packed the whole thing up and headed back to the repair shop.

I don't blame them at all for sending it back to me. Even I was convinced things were prefect (or else I never would have got out the good fabric). It was kind of rewarding to have the owner of the shop looking at my machine and saying, "Weird!" repeatedly. He explained, though I already knew, that I had one of the most simple machines on the market and there isn't really anything to go wrong on it. I thought that maybe it wasn't holding the adjustments to the tension, but he thinks it's the timing.

Bottom line: I lost my baby again for at least one more night.

Number six

I finally got the call that my sewing machine was ready for pick up last night (all of nine minutes before they closed, so it is still not in my eager hands!), and thank God, because this is the last of my Christmas projects to show you. Quilt number six of 2010.



I did the same type of backing that I did for the Making New Friends quilt. (This one was a Spumoni Bali Pop that I found on clearance somewhere, not sure if I ever mentioned that.) Only this time I actually took a photo of the full back. The batik I used was maybe a little too coordinated here. It looks really nice in person, but in the photos and from far away there isn't much distinction between the colors.

Did you notice that I said this was the last of my Christmas projects? I was not able to finish my super secret surprise one. So it isn't a surprise anymore and I'm still working on it. It is very close to being finished and I took photos along the way to show you, so there will be a big post on that soon (I hope!).