Cast on a new pair of socks. This yarn is extremely pleasing and it's my first time using yarn with some ★ glitter ★. I am attempted an asymmetrical toe for fun.
Completed the Summer Stich-A-Long with Wild Olive and the project is seriously the cutest.
Started on a Hitchhiker!
Used Wild Olive's generous free template to embroider a flour sack tea towel. This really brings me joy and brightens up my kitchen.
My mom request that I make a quilt for my uncle. I think, to go more masculine for this one, I ended up purchasing a flannel fat quarter bundle and used a tutorial to create these gorgeous bear paw blocks. Since I had some cutoff scraps, I decided to add sashing and cornerstones and completed the entire top of this quilt. I think it turned out awesome and I am pleased as punch.
July came and went so fast, here is my crafty recap.
Worked on my Seaweed Socks by Wendy D. Johnson, the colour is Pumpkin Pie by Candy Skein.
Made massive progress and completed my Insects cross-stitch sampler by Johanna Masko.
Participated in a Summer Stitch-A-Long with Wild Olive, embroidering adorable summer themed characters onto hexagons with the intent of a surprise final project.
Started a new cross-stitch project of course.
Went way out of my league when I found bundles of rhubarb at the farmer's market and ended up canning some Rhubarb Chutney out of my Food In Jars cookbook by Marisa McClellan. Oh my word. This stuff tastes AMAZING.
All In A Row by Amanda Jennings took me one day to make and has been bringing me joy as a coffee table runner every since.
Cut, pieced, and completed an entire quilt! Just the binding needs to be done to finish it off. My mom requested a quilt for my aunt with her favourite colours which happen to be turquoise and orange. I put together a Sparkling Cider quilt, because I've always wanted to make one.
I finished the binding on the Girl's Best Friend quilt I improvised out of the cutoffs from the half square triangles of my Pow Wow quilt. It's been in the wash and dryer to get that divine crinkling installed.
Found a fun new sew along that involves embroidering on hexagons. More to come...
Made a Teapot Cozy and whipped up a little hexagon mug rug with scrap fabric to give as a set to a friend.
There is an adorable pattern that I've been tempted to try for awhile now and had some time to put it together and it was so much fun, but also really hard to commit to a colour palette. The project is The Have It All Wallet by Straight Stitch Society.
May was an incredibly productive crafting month. Here is the run-down.
I bought the book Little Stichesby Aneela Hooey and quickly became enamored with every single detail. This book is amazing and I am thrilled. I sewed and embroidered a little needlebook and a little baggie to hold clothespins and am thrilled with each item.
Also from Aneela Hooey [huge fan over here], I made her Project Book Pouch and immediately put it to use.
I sewed a set of flannel baby blankets and hand crocheted around the edging, when I had my first baby, someone gifted me a used version of this blanket, very pre-loved and it lasted so well and was so very hardy that I reverse engineered the design and have started making my own versions. I find it very fun to pick out the flannel and chose a coordinating or contrasting thread for the crocheted edging. I love challenging myself to come up with creative crochet designs.
These cute teacups got my attention and I decided they had to be stitched up right away. I almost always say yes. Fancy a Cuppa by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.
A huge project, way out of my comfort zone and knowledge circle was a piece of freakin' luggage. That's right. Luggage. This is The Weekender Bag by Amy Butler. Admittedly, the fabric probably wouldn't have been my first choice, but the heavy fabric require was a out of my budget and because there is a decent amount of notions required, I chose the lesser of all the evils from a hugely discounted section of the store. I can not believe I successfully made this durable, useable, perfect bag. The lining, the pockets, the heavy duty zipper, and even the Pellon interface stuff that is very stiff.
Cast on a new pair of socks this month.
Sewed a little Coffee Mug Rug and learned how to paper piece, a bit of a learning curve, but I can see how it opens up so much in terms of sewing.
Got even more miles on my sewing machine by whipping up a SockSack by Ramona Rose. I already love how this sock sack keeps my yarn from getting tangled. Probably my favourite feature is the snap buttons to feed the working yarn through.
Still cross-stitching away and completed my whole darn Fruit of the Month project! All done! Finished! The end! It was highly enjoyable and gives me a lot of joy when I see it hanging in my kitchen. Since I completed that project, I immediately planned another. This adorable little sampler is Insects by Johanna Masko.
Cast on and finished a one skein project which is a darling shawl called Marin by Ysolda
After assembling my Pow Wow quilt by Cluck Cluck Sew last month, I was left with a bunch of miniature half triangle scraps. Without a plan or real idea, I started sewing the scraps together. By adding sashing between the blocks I had sewed, I was able to come up with a decent sized quilt. I called it Girl's Best Friend because of the diamond squares.
Knit and finished some plain stockinette socks in a fun colour called Swamp Fox by The Wacky Windmill
I completed a whole entire bag with interfacing, a lining, a zipper and I'm beyond pleased with it. The bag is The Art Student Tote by Anna Maria [Check out her AMAZING quilt patterns]
Acquire some very exciting new skeins of Yarn from Candy Skein
I decided to just sew a Happy Birthday banner that can be reused. We celebrate A LOT of birthdays in my house. And they seem to happen every year for some reason ;-)
Made some marmalade (!), I've never canned anything before in my life but learned everything I know from Food in Jars. I even bought Marisa McClellan's first cookbook. The recipe I used from the cookbook is Three Citrus Marmalade which uses oranges, lemons, and grapefruits. Kind of weird that I chose to make marmalade because it's not something I've ever enjoyed, but I happen to have a huge mixed box of oranges and grapefruits. I was quite shocked how amazingly delicious the marmalade turned out.
Worked on my Fruit of the Month cross-stitch project and completed July and August.
Finished cutting fabric and sewed a while pile of half-square triangles AND sewed the entire top together for my Pow Wow quilt by Cluck Cluck Sew
This month I tried wet felting with a super cute slipper pattern by Tiny Owl Knits called Hopsalot using some Wacky Windmill yarn.
Finished knitting my Van Dyke Socks by Wendy D. Johnson. Loving the purple.
Got finished with the month of June on my Fruit of the Month cross-stitch by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.
Finished hand-quilting a little quilt in a postage stamp style with sashing. Made with a cherry themed fat quarter fabric bundle from Pink Castle Fabrics.
Started cutting fabric for a quilt for a pattern by Cluck Cluck Sew. The fabric I chose is a fabulous bundle from designer Laura Gunn and features poppies.
Stitched up Latte Love by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.
Sewed up a little kindle case with adorable hedgehogs.
I finally took the plunge after lusting over everyone's knit socks and taught myself using Socks from the Toe-up by Wendy Knits. I purchased fingering weight yarn from The Wacky Windmill in the colourway Creek Bank. The pattern I chose for my first sock knitting attempt is a pattern from the book called Lacy Ribs Socks.
There was a lot of progress made and a happy finish to a quilt that has been a long time in the works. This quilt was made with fabric that my mother picked up at fabric stores alone the way when out on motorcycle trips. I followed the tutorial for the pattern Modern Plus by In Color Order. Instead of my usual preference for free-motion stippling, and the squares laid out a perfect grid, I decided to quilt this using a freehand version of an orange peel and I am ecstatic with the result.
During this month, I took some time and sewed myself a little notions pouch using some stash fabric, I used the pattern Open-wide zippered Pouch by Noodlehead.
I decided to make a little lap quilt as a gift and knowing the recipient loves the soft feel of flannel, I decided to purchase a little layer cake fabric bundle. Since there was a bit of a time crunch, the layer cake was perfect to whip up some half square triangles and an entire quilt top in almost no time at all. The gift has been given and was very well received.
I finished up a colourful quilt that was also a gift and a bit of a rush order as well, so chose a relatively simple bar pattern. It was a natural fit to quilt this one by simply following the lines and it came together really quickly.
As treat, I cross-stitched my way through December with a super cute little Kawaii Winter Wonderland by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.
