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Post by choney2 on May 10, 2021 10:15:35 GMT
Good morning and Happy Monday!
All crafters are welcome here as we discuss crafting, life and our weight loss journey. Crafting includes actual hands on crafting, such as crochetting, knitting, sewing, quilting, needlepoint, painting, jewelry making, etc.....plus reading craft catalogs, craft blogs, watching craft you tubes or other crafting videos, chatting here about crafting,chatting with another person about crafting, reading craft emails, thinking about crafting, organizing crafting supplies, going into craft stores or the craft aisle in a store , attending craft fairs,or any other activity that inspires or directs your mind toward a crafting activity- even visiting us here to join in our posts!! There are plenty of days in which the closest we get to crafting is a visit here, so even if you have no time to craft, we would love to hear from you.
We welcome newcomers to our friendly discussion! So glad you are here!! Please feel free to stop in and say hello!!
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Post by choney2 on May 10, 2021 21:45:18 GMT
Quiet day here today, but Mondays usually are. Rough day of babysitting for me- I think Dd and her family were too busy this weekend and the kids behavior reflected that. DGD#2 was challenging for sure. She was tough to reason with, insisting that she was not tired when I knew she was exhausted. Yes I did get her down for a nap. Hope that tomorrow is a better day.
Did not get much time to myself today, but I did continue to read the FMQ book. Lots of good advice and I love her attitude. She does mention that the best thing to do is focus on one problem at a time- and that most problems (unless you are staring and looking for the problem) just sort of blend in and do not look too glaring. You know she is right- My quilt has lots of mistakes and unless you stare at the quilt and look for them, they are not super evident. The pics of FM work in the book are perfect- look machine sewn. I will never get to that stage, but hope that I can improve some.
Might stop back in later on to see who shows up
Ginny
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Post by phyl on May 10, 2021 22:32:50 GMT
hi, Becki and I closed out the sewing and crafting thread this am.For several years it has been the two of us,so why keep going. Becki has joined us on roll call.
we had started talking about taking Sundays off ,the more we talked,the easier it became to close it out.
I had a good Mother's day.still not have made it downstairs to quilting.PHYL
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Post by gramma14 on May 10, 2021 22:35:08 GMT
Sorry about the bad babysitting day. It's great that the book is working for you. I know you will learn some things from it and you will make a beautiful quilt.
Today is one of our rare dark, gloomy, overcast days with a lot of rain off and on. We actually do need the moisture but the sad thing is that all this dries out very fast in this very dry climate. We'll still have a high fire danger.
I haven't got anything reallly accomplished today. I went through the stuff that's stored under th4e bathroom sinks. Vanity type so lots of space for stashing things. I did toss out some things. I also helped dh with his stapler problem and went through another bag that I had packed for our long delayed trip.
I will soon go downstairs and sit and crochet.
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Post by cj59 on May 10, 2021 22:43:39 GMT
Hello Everyone - Hope you are all doing well today  Ginny - Sorry to hear that babysitting was challenging today, hope it's better tomorrow. I give you a lot of credit for continuing with the free motion quilting, I hope you get some good tips from the book. Phyl - Hope you can get some quilting done soon. Ruth - I'm glad you were able to get some things done around the house, hope you get some crocheting done this afternoon and evening. Sue - Hope you are getting some crafting done. I finished the Jelly Roll Race quilt. It didn't turn out exactly like I thought it would and ended up a strange size 64x66. But I used up all that fabric from the fat quarter bundle I'd had for many years. This quilt would be a good one to practice quilting on a long arm machine. I actually made a Jelly Roll Race years ago that I did long arm quilt when I rented a machine at a local quilt shop. This morning I worked on my monthly Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks. The color for May is red. I finished 2 strip sets, a house block and two windmill blocks. So I'm caught up with that. I didn't have as much red fabric scraps as I thought I would. The next block came out for the Sewing Bee monthly quilt along that I'm doing, so I hope to get those finished this week too. I also took some pictures of some of the panels I have so I could see them on my computer and have an idea of what type of border I'd want to put around them. Take care everyone! |
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Post by choney2 on May 10, 2021 23:56:50 GMT
CJ, as usual you amaze me with your level of all the organization and how you gear up for what you’re going to work on next. You figured all along that the jelly roll race quilt was probably going to be an odd size. So it’s not a surprise to you. Sounds like the perfect quilt to practice with a long arm on if that’s what you’re going to do. Your red fabrics organized and ready to go.
Phil, I’m so sorry that that other thread has been closed. Perhaps Becky would like to join us here also? Did you get downstairs to do any sewing today?
Ruth, well even if it dries up quickly glad that you got some rain. It does help keep the dust down. Glad you got some organization work done today. I guess we all tend to collect stuff under our sinks.
I skipped Bible study this evening because I was so tired ( only slept 4 hours last night). I did some free motion work. I just used up my one bobbin for the night. The book has excellent instructions, and while I’m still not perfect I understand why she tells you what to do and how to work with improving your stitching. She wants you to work on one aspect of free motion work at a time, whether that be stitch spacing, or stitch line spacing, or the shape of what your stitching. Tonight I worked on the spacing between the rows of stitching and I think I’m doing better with that. And she is absolutely right, when you look at the work from a distance, the flaws do not show as much. Think I am half way done with my free motion work.
Hope everyone has a good evening.
Ginny
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Post by gramma14 on May 11, 2021 20:08:43 GMT
There's not many of us here either but we are a great group even if we are small. It would be great to have Becki here.
Ginny I hope the little one is feeling better today. From what you said it sounds as it she's usually a cheerful little girl. I hope you can get in some quilting this evening or just rest if you feel that's better for you.
CJ, you always have such great ideas for blocks and quilts. It's so nice to see all your finished projects
Well last night I was working on baby socks. I tried to follow the youtube but that wasn't working all that well so I went to the written pattern she mentioned and that worked great. I gt both done and wove in the ends. Now I have to look for buttons for the sweater because the little car and truck ones just didn't look right on this particular sweater. They need to go on a larger one. I also wove in the ends on the tiny hat.Anyway, what Ginny said is so true...a written pattern is the best but it's also nice to have a video to go to when you wonder what the pattern designer is talking about. There are some though that make the written pattern and the video different. Then you're really confused
I remembered on Sunday that it's a hat day so I used a pattern that I saw that looked really nice but it sure is an unusual hat and very interesting. YOu start by making the ribbing band they go around that and make 7 stitch chain loops. Then in the next row you twist that loop so that it looks like one of the cancer awareness ribbons and crochet two double crochets into the loop. It's a little time consuming and, although the picture that comes with the pattern shows a nice thick hat it actually has some large openings. When lying on a table or something it does look nice and thick. ON the head it looks open. Still I do think it would be fairly warm. I probably won't make anymore of those though.
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Post by choney2 on May 11, 2021 22:48:13 GMT
Hope everyone had a good day!
Ruth, that hat sure sounds interesting with the twisted loop. Wonder how some people come up with these neat patterns. Even with somewhat large holes some hats can be pretty warm. I have some granny square afghans (which have their share of holes) which are warm, as long as its not windy. Yes, a youtube sure can assist in making some sense out of a poorly written set of instructions. And that would be confusing if the youtube did not agree with the written instructions. There is an art to writing instructions and providing them in a video. I give you a lot of credit for working on baby socks. Wow they are tiny to start out with, and then even smaller when making something to fit an infants foot.
think this past weekend, Dd and her family were way too busy and the kids had no routine. DGD became the victim of that, which is why she was so unreasonable yesterday. She is a quirky little girl- and I mean that in a good way. I have a wonderful relationship with her, she is usually sad when I leave at the end of the day. The kids were better today- good day of babysitting. I ended up getting both in or naps for about 15 minutes and got some crochetting time in. Not sure I will quilt tonight- after 2 days of babysitting I might just watch TV and call it a day. DGD did inform me that she would like me to make an afghan for her. Of course in her favorite color, pink.
Hope everyone has a good evening
Ginny
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Post by choney2 on May 11, 2021 22:52:21 GMT
Oh- a funny story! I had the kids out for about an hour- and while it was sort of warm, it was very windy. DGD asked for a hat, and I figured DGS needed one too, he is less than a year old and does not have a ton of hair.I found a hat made by my mom (originally made for my Dd) for DGD and an adorable dinosaur hat for DGS. He turned it into a full time game, taking the hat off - even though it had to feel good on his almost bald head. We had fun putting the hat on and off..... which DGS found humorous. the hat was a little bit big for him, but it was soft and warm. So cute.
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Post by gramma14 on May 12, 2021 0:09:22 GMT
I'm glad you and the grandchildren had a better day today. Yes when their routine is messed up for a couple days it really affects them. Children can be amused by the simplest things...like the hat off and on game. He sounds so cute. They both do.
I did find buttons that were a better fit for the sweater and they are tiny airplanes so are really cute and do look in proportion to the sweater. I also found that I hadn't woven any ends in on the sweater or the scratch mitts so I did that and now the whole set is done except I have to find some ribbon for the scratch mitts... I have a whole box full of ribbons too so that won't be hard unless I don't have a color that goes with the sweater. It's baby blue and white so I probably do. After I was done with all that I worked on another blanket I have in progress that I pick up when I want to work on something easy.
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Post by choney2 on May 12, 2021 11:04:42 GMT
Good morning,
Ruth - one of the many things I love about you is you always have another project lined up and ready to work on. What is the blanket you were working on last night? Does this blanket have a specific person in mind or will this be donated? Glad you found some cute buttons for the sweater. There really are some adorable buttons for children’s wear and they can really make a lovely garment even more sweet. Sounds like you will have no problem finding a ribbon for the scratch mitts. What a charming set you are making.
I went to bed last night- slept almost 8 hours which is unheard of. No crafting yesterday but i hope to get back to quilting later on.
G
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Post by choney2 on May 12, 2021 18:24:17 GMT
Just got an email from Missouri that my quilt will be done in about a week!!!! Cannot wait.
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Post by gramma14 on May 12, 2021 18:54:16 GMT
Ginny, that's wonderful! I know you can't wait to get the quilt back and give it to your daughter. It will look so great in her nursery.
The blanket I'm making is the Crystal Waves pattern in rows and made with Premier Parfait yarn. I started making it for my dgd's baby but then I made therse other two...the one with the shark made with Lion sweet deligts in a color called Puppy, and the set with the sock, sweater, etc in Jaime baby yarn. I also want to give her one I already had made maybe a year ago with Bernat Blanket yarn. This one will be good for floor time.It's thick and cushiony.I will save some of the blankets I've already made for more and future greatgrands and donate some when I find out if they are accepting donation. I have a place in mind...True Care.Still have to call them but they give out a lot of baby items to their clients.After I get the Spiderman blankets done I'll make more with donating in mind. I think you asked one day about the Spiderman blankets, if they have a logo. There is one on Youtube that has a logo but I think I'll stick to one of the ones that have just the web.
So what kind of afgan will you make for your dgd that requested one yesterday. A good idea would be to check the DAisy Farm Crafts site. She has so many amazing blankets most of which are baby size but she has the multiples listed so that you can make any size you like. She has so many that I love that I haven't even started making hers because I have a hard time choosing which one to start first! She even has blankets that she made to go with a specific child book. And she has some beautiful gingham blankets which, if you like those, I know you wouldn't have any trouble making one. I'm going to do the one with the crumpled griddle stitch or the plain griddle stitch. I love her even moss stitch blanket...well as I said there are quite a few I love.Her patterns are both written and on video.She recently just had a long awaited grandson and shows him with some of her items.He's a cutie
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Post by cj59 on May 12, 2021 21:25:48 GMT
Hello Everyone Ginny - Sounds like you have been having fun with your grandkids. How exciting that your quilt is almost done, I'm sure you can't wait to see it. Ruth - The tiny airplane buttons sound so cute. I bet the whole set is beautiful. I checked out the Daisy Farm Crafts website, there are some pretty patterns there. The weather here has been very nice, I'm enjoying it before it gets hot. I finished the blocks for the Sewing Bee quilt along for this month and started working on a 3 yard quilt that I had pulled fabrics for. temeculaquiltco.blogspot.com/2021/05/mini-mondays_01105596206.html - Sewing Bee for this month www.fabriccafe.com/Heartland-3-Yard-Quilt-Pattern-p/091829.htm - 3 Yard quilt I picked a type of toile fabric in cream and medium green, along with a solid cream and a darker green fabric. I've made all the shoofly blocks, but when I lay them out next to the toile fabric, I don't like how it looks. The greens are just too different. So I've been looking through my fabrics to see if I can find another one that would work better. I have a few choices, so I just have to decide. Hopefully I can figure it out so I can finish that top this week. Hope you are all doing well and getting do some crafting. Take care! |
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Post by choney2 on May 13, 2021 0:38:10 GMT
Good evening!
The IPad is acting wonky, so I will be brief.
Ruth, I forgot about the Crystal waves afghan, but do remember you were working on that. Such a pretty afghan and the colors are great. You had mentioned the color puppy, which is so appropriated for something for a little one. I did check out that daisy farm site, and really liked the crochet mixed cluster baby blanket. If I end up making another afghan for DGD I might attempt something like that. Spider-Man blankets??? Wow, you are wonder woman Ruth. Bet they come out adorable.
CJ- so sorry that the green fabrics did not work out as well as you liked. In your private stash of great fabrics, I hope you can find something that works. The great thing is you only need one yard. Someday I will have to give the fabric cafe quilts a try.....I do have the instructions for some here and they have some great designs. Yes, enjoy the lovely weather. think its supposed to start warming up soon.
DD stopped in this evening, so I did not get my usual evening quilting in. tomorrow is another day. Looks like most of the local fairs will be open this summer. Looking forward to attending and seeing all the quilts on display.
Phyl- have you gotten downstairs to sew?
Sue, we miss hearing from you!!!
Ginny
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