2012 Goals!

I figure I might as well set some goals for this coming year. Because that's what the new year is for!

Crafty Goals:

1. Finish the Little Folks quilt
2. On that note, finish 5 (at least crib-sized) quilts this year. I did 3 this year, and I didn't even get a sewing machine until August, so that seems pretty doable to me.
3. Make ONE wearable piece of clothing. Even if it's for one of the babies. One piece of clothing that doesn't necessarily look handmade.
4. Use my craftiness to decorate my apartment in a way that I feel satisfied with. I feel like I accomplished that fairly well around Christmas time, given my budget ($0), and I'd like to continue that throughout the year. This is not limited to sewing or fabric.
   
5. Make more presents for my loved ones. Again, I did pretty well this Christmas, and I'd like to continue that.

Life Goals:

1. Cook at least 1 meal a week from scratch. They don't have to be perfect, or low-calorie/carb/fat/sodium or whatever. Just from scratch. I'll get to the rest.
2. Start saving money for whatever is next in store, be it moving, a new car, a vacation, or some other unexpected thing.
   
3. Make more time for myself. A lot of my time I spend focused on other people. Even crafting is usually for someone else. I need to learn that it's ok to spend time that just for me. Maybe take a vacation with myself at some point.
4. Spend more time with California family, whether it be via Skype, phone, or an actual vacation. It just needs to happen.
5. Just be healthier. I don't care about losing weight. Yes, I'm solidly a plus-sized woman, but I like who I am and I don't need to be skinny to feel happy about myself. I just think that everyone could be a little healthier.
6. Do something new. Maybe learn a new skill, take a language class, something. I miss learning, and I'd love to get back into that.
7. Project 365. Here's to hoping I don't give up on this one in a week.
   

I think that'll work well. For now.

Coolest. Project. Ever.

In case you were wondering what I was up to this weekend.

So There's That

Today, I called my mom, got in my car, and drove to Joann's. There, I picked up a pattern (Simplicity 2274), a half yard of DS Quilts cotton (the name escapes me... Kitschy is involved, I think), and I bought a new sewing machine.

My old Kenmore was just that: old. My step-aunt bought it at a yard sale for 20 bucks. It was kept in her (Hoarders-esqe) house for x amount of time, then she gave it to me. It was a lovely, lovely thought. But it was not good. The tension was always off, it wouldn't pick up the bobbin thread any longer. I'd abandoned it a few months ago to go back to hand sewing.

But the influx of nieces coming my way has made me despair at the thought of two quilts to hand-sew, two receiving blankets to bind by hand, two of everything. And I'm sick of looking at all my quilt-y blogs and being unable to keep up. And so. My new sewing machine is here. Hooray 3 paycheck month.

For those interested (if any): she's a Singer Talent. Not the cheapest model, but very, very basic. I don't need much fluff, just something that can keep up. So far she's bound Baby H's receiving blanket, sewn 5 more rows onto Bean's quilt, and made a burp cloth for Bean.

Here's hoping there are LOTS more projects in my near future :)

Updates. Life Happens.

I know I post these "I'm around" posts every few months. But that's because I am.

It's really hard to motivate myself to craft with no sewing machine. It's such a production to get all of my hand sewing things out, and it's such a mess.

So, here are my updates:

• Nannying is over. I'm now a cubicle jockey. I'm so thankful for a job, but it's definitely not what I was planning on when I got my education degree.
• Moved into my parents house after nannying. A few months later, and I moved into my own apartment. Which is awesome. And soooooo small.
  
• Moving into my own apartment has shed some new light on things for me. First things first, closets. are. AMAZING. I've never really had a closet before. Oh man. One side is for my clothes, and one side is for my never worn clothes/ WIPs.
• Two rooms and a bathroom = no room for a desk or a sewing machine.
• Sewing machine doesn't even work. Need a new one. SO BADLY.
  
• P&K are having a baby girl, named O (I call her the Bean). I'm making her a quilt, and a receiving blanket made from AMH flannel and voile. That is, I will be once I find the motivation/4 hours to hand-stitch the binding on. Le sigh.
  
• D&J are also having a baby girl, named H. L's going to be a big brother! Of course this Baby H is also going to be getting a receiving blanket and quilt. Just need to figure out the logistics.
  

Crafty Christmas

Student teaching, while great in some ways, is not so great on the money front. As in, it doesn't pay anything.

As such, this Christmas is going to be a crafty Christmas! Luckily, I already had my brother and sister-in-law's presents bought (they're hard to make things for). And while my mom would be super happy to get something homemade, I really wanted to get her something specific. I'm not going to mention it here in case she reads, but it's great and she's going to love it.

L, my 1.5 year old nephew, loves cars. His third word, after Mama and Dada, was car. And so, I made him a Matchbox Roll from an old pair of jeans, a fat quarter of Patty Young's Flora & Fauna Dandelion in Lime, and some scraps. The road is black duck cloth from G's curtains, and yellow scraps are from my scrap bag. The tie is a sweatshirt hood string from an old sweatshirt that I don't wear anymore.

My step-sister K is extraordinarily hard to buy for. Her lifestyle is that if there's anything she wants, she'll just buy for herself. She loves entertaining and cooking; she's very modern, though, so most handmade items don't really fit her style. I've been thinking for a long time, and I decided that she'd really enjoy cloth napkins for when she entertains. I had a spare yard of Tula Pink's Hushabye Dragonfly in Aqua lying around, so I cut it into four squares that measured 18" x 18". The finished napkins are about 17" squared with the seam allowance, and it's quite time consuming doing it by hand, but I'm really quite happy with how they're turning out!


You can't really see the hems that well, but I swear they look good.

Hexagon Love

Hexagons are a trend that seem to be flooding the online quilting community. As a lover of hand-sewing, this seemed like the perfect project for me! I had some leftover Little Folks 2.5" squares, so I traced the hexagons from my computer screen onto paper, cut them out, basted the hexes, and sewed to my little heart's content.


I'm pretty happy with how it came out :)

So Maybe I Sewed a Little...

Summer's almost over, and my camp job is ending in just a few days. It was wonderful to be with kids again. Especially these kids. Oh man I love em.

Anyway. The summer wasn't totally sew-free. I did have to make felt patches for the kids I watched! Every camper gets a "cabin" patch when they come to camp, and it's the counselor's responsibility to make them.

Here are mine.

Can you tell I had a little bit of fun :)

Buttercup Bag!

It's done! I made it and it's pretty and I like it.

It's a little small for an everyday purse, but as a concert purse? Win.

Break's Done

My spring break is now effectively over. Well, I have today. But that's it. I think I did pretty well on my list.

1. The two curtains for G are all done, AND I even made him another one for the other side of the basement. They fit perfectly, and I think he is really happy with them.
2. I got my dress all finished up. I can't wait for summertime when I can wear it!
3. I have everything I need for the Buttercup Bag. Even though I didn't get it finished, I can blame that on not being able to print out the pattern, and at least now that I'm at school, I'm capable of having it done.
4. I planned out entirely the California Dreamin quilt. Mostly I'll be using the Morning colors, but there will be some Afternoon colors (confession: Afternoon is my favorite of the two, and I can't bear to part with 2 of the quarters). Since it'll be mostly pink, it's going to be a little girl's quilt. Now all I need to find is someone with a little girl.
5. I have rethought and reworked P&K's quilt. More on that to come.
   

Spring Break, Update

1. Half done refurbishing that dress. I'm pretty happy with the first side. There's a lot of by hand work, but if Mom's Christmas Quilt has shown me anything, it's that I know how to hand-sew well.

2. I have one curtain done for step-dad's birthday present. I cannot start the other until I know if the measurements for the first are correct, so I'm waiting on him.

3. California Dreamin' quilt is all planned. I think I'm going to start the cutting as soon as I have a proper mat on which to cut them. And a new rotary blade.

4. I have bought all I need for the Buttercup bag. All I need is to print out the pattern, then I can get started with cutting, piecing and sewing.

5. I started a little book for L. More on that later.

Spring Break. Woo!

My plans for spring break?

Job Interview, Dentist appointment, step-dad's birthday present (black curtains for the basement), California Dreamin' quilt top planning (I'm thinking about using the pattern from Amy Butler's book Little Stitches for Little Ones), a buttercup bag (I hope), and restyling a dress I bought at Goodwill (start rant: Ok Old Navy. I really like that you're making things in larger sizes for girls like me. But if you're going to make something bigger, please tweak the design? PLEASE? Because really, skinny spaghetti straps on a XXL bodice? That's not going to work. You won't get sales, I won't get a pretty dress that fits me well. End rant).

Yup, I think that'll keep me pleasantly busy.

Pocket Tissue Holder

Another small project that I made for my Mumma. This time I followed the tutorial on Skip to My Lou exactly as it said. It's not perfect (it can't quite fit a tissue pack in it), but it's cute enough to make up for it.

Like that fabric in the background? Yup, those are my sheets. I almost wish I didn't love them so much, then I could cut into them and make something cool (that is already the plan for the flat-sheet, when I stop using the set). Hopefully I'll be able to find a better background soon. That isn't the floor. Oh the small space I have to work with!

L's Crayon Roll

I made this crayon roll for my nephew, L. He is 9 or 10 months old and definitely can't use it yet, but I couldn't resist! Sorry for the bad picture; dorm rooms aren't exactly famous for their excellent lighting. I used a tutorial from Skip to My Lou, but I modified it to make it smaller, and so each crayon could have a special colored slot.

I think I'm going to try to wait to give it to him for his birthday in May; we'll see if I can hold out.