Personalized Rag Quilt

This was an absolute joy to make…first because I'm so excited about the impending arrival of the newest member of my extended family and second because it gave me an excuse to buy some very happy fabrics.

I followed this tutorial by Lo Ray Minky and went to town. For the letters I printed out the name in a very large font, outlined and then cut them out and used them as a pattern to cut the fabric. I did not hem the letters…I'd have missed the baby shower deadline if I did. I just simply sewed them on with my trusty Elna. They will rag a little over time, but I made sure they are secure.

The fabrics came from Joanne's and the backing is minky and it was a cinch to sew, although I did have to clean out my sewing machine afterwards. If you are wondering how to clean your machine, this blog post I found will give you some great direction. I also keep some cotton swabs next to my machine. I find they pick up the lint quite well.

If you haven't done a rag quilt, pace yourself. Although they are super easy, they are also are very time consuming and can be tedious.  Although in the middle of all that quilting I felt like quitting the rage, oh, I mean rag quilt, I personally feel the results are worth all the snipping!

Here's a few tips for rag quilts:

1. go ahead and get the spring loaded rag quilt  scissors. You will need the extra sharpness to cut through all the layers of your exposed seams. Plus the spring action will help with hand soreness.

2. The smaller the cuts on the seam allowance the fuzzier your ragging will turn out, but try your best to be consistent.

3. When you are done with the cutting, take your quilt outside and shake it….a lot. In every direction. And then shake it again. This helps to reduce the amount of little loose threads in your washing machine.

4. Wash (I recommend using a quick cycle the first time) and use fabric softener.

5. Before putting it in the dryer, take it outside and shake it again. Also clean out your washer's drum-there will be clumps of little loose threads in there.

5. Dry. And then shake it outside again. And clean your dryer lint catcher.

Have fun making your rag quilt!

A Quilt for My Hubby I *lovingly* Sewed

My husband loves denim and flannel, and has the closet to prove it. So I convinced him I'd make him a wonderful quilt out of his two favorite fabrics if he'd just give me a couple of his extra large flannel shirts.

I'm pleased to say he did, and now he has a great quilt and someday one of our kids will enjoy it also!

However, this project did not get pulled off without great "beginner quilting escapades". Although I am not new to sewing, I am new to quilting.

I admit to blurting out a couple of swear words…and breaking a few needles….and thread breaking…and threatening to not finish the project. Finally I stepped away, took some nice, deep breaths and headed to the local quilting store, where I explained my project to a worker, who assumed I was not using batting. Um…yes. I am using batting in-between the denim and the heavy flannel backing. In fact, it was spray-basted to both the quilt top and the quilt bottom. She kindly responded "Well, it sure will be warm on a very cold night." Problem is I hate being cold and we don't camp, and our power bill is always on time, so I figured I'd better remove the batting.

How fun to remove all the stitching on this quilt. (sarcasm, anyone?) It was messy. Sticky. Frustrating. But I did it. Since everything had already been trimmed and ready for binding before disassembling it, I thought I would forgo the binding and just rag the edges. It came out very nicely…finally. And it's not stiff as a board and only useful in the Arctic Circle. The key was to clean out my machine of all the lint that was in there from the rag quilt I made previously, having the right denim machine needles and a bigger stitch. I stitched in the ditch around all the squares (twice, mind you).

Quilting Found Me!!!

Well, my crochet hooks are put away in their pouch and my yarn is up on a shelf in a bin after a couple of extraordinary samples of "nailing it." I trust you know what "nailing it" means, but if not, click here to find out. I was seriously doubting my DIY prowess after my family laughed at my "shrimp bunny" which was supposed to be an adorable rendition of a long-limbed bunny.

I quit for a while, but just for a little while. My creative flame was re-ignigted during preparations for my son's school's fundraiser. My friend was discussing a rag quilt project she was planning on doing with her son's class. It sounded so simple, fun and a way to get creative again. Also, I must admit that somewhere in the back of my mind I wanted a new sewing machine too.

To involve the kids in this quilt, my friend had the class outline the stars from old jeans. The back is red flannel and the squares are 12" x 12". Her fabric choice and arrangement are impressive! 

Fast forward a week when I took my vacuum cleaner in for service. Little did I know my favorite vacuum dealer is now expanding his sewing machine inventory. I walked in to drop my vacuum off and about 11 minutes later I walked out with a brand new sewing machine. Time to get started sewing!

So here is my first rag quilt, which was inspired by a tutorial on Lo, Ray & Me's blog. Could the baby's name be any longer? I mean, it was my first quilt and all ;)

If the Yarn Fits

I have small feet. In fact, many manufacturers stopped producing my size, which is a mere 5.5. I know there are smaller feet than mine out there, and I'm sure those feet are sporting a few kid's shoes. I don't spend a lot of time shopping for shoes due to the frustration of hearing "the smallest size we have in these is a 6.5". I tend to have a couple of favorite pairs and wear them until they are obliterated and start to embarrass my children (secretly it is a little fun).

Imagine the irony when we moved into our most recent home and in the closet I found 72 shoe cubbies in my closet. All for me and my little feet. I shopped and bought more shoes, delighted to find some in my size. Honestly, I could have more shoes but it would become a slippery slope now that I have room for them. You know, like having a potato chip; you can't just eat one.

Shoe availability aside, I still had a bunch of lonely shoe cubbies...and two bags of yarn sitting on my closet floor from the Ben Franklin's going out of business sale. 

Voila!

I wonder if yarn or shoes will be cheaper?

First Hat

Here it is: my first crocheted hat ever! I used a free pattern from Ravelry by Pippa Wilson. I think it came out wonderfully.

After looking at it over and over again in the mirror, I thought a nice, big crocheted flower would add some panache. It did! It reminds me of a hat my mother made us when my sisters and I were little. 

One other addition I will make next time to this hat pattern is to add another row of the ruffle at the bottom. Or add another row somewhere else. It seems a little shallow otherwise.

This was an easy and quick pattern. I was thrilled to finish my first hat ever!  

Happy crocheting!

I Only Have Eyes for You!

Today I'm not including a project I've done, but a frightfully fun gift my sister sent me in time for Halloween.

You know you are loved when you open a box in the mail with a set of crochet eyeballs, complete with the optic nerve. 

Even though they are only crochet, a delightfully squeamish response is what they've gotten. My husband is especially creeped out. The kids think they are funny...sort of. Even my skin crawled when I saw the optic nerves.

The pattern was found online, but if you are interested in making them, be sure to read through the comments, as the pattern is in British terminology. My sister didn't realize this at first but when her eyeball was coming out the size of a pillow, she thought she may have missed something. 

These eyeballs are about the size of a baseball.

Keep your eye on the ball! (ha ha)

Be careful if you do this project....don't poke your eye out with your hook. 

 Eye wouldn't trade my sister for the world. Eye love her. Eye don't know what eye'd do without her...

The Price is Right?

This weekend my family and I went to a school fundraising fair. The flier that convinced me to go said there would be "25 craft vendors". I was in! I wanted to shop around and see what was going on in the crafting world since we're pretty new to this area. 

I found a crocheting table (in between all the home party tables-any thoughts on this subject?) and looked through her goods. She had a TON of scarves, fingerless gloves and hats. I mean a TON. My daughter spied a crocheted ruffle scarf. Even though I could crochet it myself, I figured I would buy it because it was only $5. FIVE DOLLARS. I thought my eyes were deceiving me; I thought the dollar sign was a 1 and it was really 15. Nope. I didn't mind buying it. I'm all for supporting schools and also supporting vendors at a craft show. But really, I was disappointed. This woman didn't think too much of her time investment. 

There are a couple of other craft fairs coming up. I'm going and I'm taking notes. Is it worth it to even have a craft booth? Please answer!