Category Archives: yarn

2010 UFO – How’d I do?

On January 2, 2010, I posted UFO Round Up with photos and descriptions of UFOs I hoped to complete in 2010, or at least make some progress on in 2010.

Here’s how I did! Current status of each project is in red.

To Be Quilted:

January 2, 2010 – Grannie’s Autograph Quilt – This was my Grannie’s and was previously a tied quilt. I’d like to hand quilt it, but I’ve been reluctant to start until I finish my Electric Amish project (see below).

January 5, 2011 – This top has borders and is in the process of being quilted.

January 2, 2010 – Lost and Found Flour Sack Quilt – A quilt top my mom found when she inherited my Grannie’s house. It was originally much longer with holes in several of the squares. I removed a few rows across the bottom (which is not how it was pieced, so it was a pain!) and the damaged fabrics, then replaced those with some of that fabric salvaged from the bottom. The border is muslin, which is also what I’d like to put on the back.

January 5, 2011 – Renamed Grannie’s Trunk Quilt. This top was quilted by my friend Linda and then returned to my mom. Read all about it here.

January 2, 2010 – Yellow/Green Linus X-Quilts (from fabric donated by Laci L) – made from the Layer ‘Em Up book by Sharyn Craig. Easy peasy tops made from just 2 yards of fabric, both are baby-size. To finish by the next Linus meeting, January 16, 2009.

January 5, 2011 – Both quilts were finished and donated to The Linus Connection in January and February of 2010.

January 2, 2010 – Electric Amish (hand quilting project, about 1/3 complete) – modified Storm at Sea pattern. This is the first large quilt top I completed that I intended to keep for myself. I’ve been quilting on it for at least five years. To say that hand quilting is not my strong point is an understatement!

January 5, 2011 – Done, done, done and VERY happy about it! Blogged about here and vlogged here.

Tops to Finish:

January 2, 2010 – Brown Bear (blocks are done, need more borders and to be pieced) – from a pass around with my bee. We made the bear paws for each other. I’ve pieced the units, which still need borders.

January 5, 2011 – Sadly, no progress at all on these. They look exactly like they did a year ago.

January 2, 2010 – HP swap received (blocks are done, need layout, piecing) – from various online quilt block swaps 2007-2008. Not all of these will go in the finished quilt because a few were the wrong size. I’ll save those for something else.

January 5, 2011 – No progress here, either, though I have thought about these blocks a lot over the last year. I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to split them into two groups and make two different quilts. Now, I just have to decide how to do it!

January 2, 2010 – Christmas Cottage swap received (blocks are done, need layout, piecing) – blocks received from the 2009 All About Paper Piecing Christmas Cottage Swap. I’m not in a huge hurry for these since I just got them all, but they’re officially a UFO, so they’re on the list.

January 5, 2011 – I pieced the top, added the trees and the first border at my bee’s annual retreat in March last year (photo taken there on our portable design wall). I plan to do piano keys out of my stash of sparkly Christmas fabric for the last border. The original idea was to be done by this Christmas that just passed, but that didn’t happen!

January 2, 2010 – Layer ‘Em Up 2 for Linus (blocks are pieced, need to be squared and top pieced) – To finish by the next Linus meeting, January 16, 2009.

January 5, 2011 – Top finished in January and then quilted by my friend Marge and donated to Linus in February 2010. I love the way this quilt turned out. As a bonus, I got to meet Sharyn Craig in October and tell her how much her patterns have meant to our organization!

January 2, 2010 – Batik Beauty (finish blocks) – this will likely be my quilt retreat project for March. I’d like to have this top done by April in order to show the NYB class I’m teaching at Honey Bee.

January 5, 2011 – I have a whole stack of these blocks done, which I did take to my class, but the top has not yet been pieced. The class was fun to teach, mainly because I had awesome students, but New York Beauty blocks are not my favorites and I doubt I’ll teach them again any time soon. For now, this project is staying in the bag.

Sewing:
January 2, 2010 – Pillowcases to donate to Honey Bee for the 1 Million Pillowcases Challenge.

January 5, 2011 – Not only did I make a stack of pillowcases to donate (over 10 total!), I wrote a tutorial to share with Honey Bee, which was posted both here and on the Honey Bee website. The Hot Dog Pillowcase Tutorial was my most viewed post on the Sewhooked Blog in 2010!

January 2, 2010 – New Bag with pockets for BB & camera

January 5, 2011 – Done in form of Monk’s Bag 2.0, completed February 2010. I’ve been carrying this bag ever since and am constantly having people ask where I got it. This was another popular tutorial from last year.

Crochet

January 2, 2010 – Twilight Crafts Black & Red Swap Received (layout and finish) – knit and crochet squares. I might make a few more, or I might just border these and make them into a lapghan.

January 5, 2011 – In progress as my “carpool crochet” project. I’m making simple white squares to set between each of the red & black ones. I will likely donate it to Linus when I’m done, though I hate to say goodbye to these blocks!

January 2, 2010 – Turn Around Granny Square ‘ghan (more rounds? and finish) – Oh geez, these have been sitting for at least a year. I’m uninspired as to what I need to do next. More rounds? Just put them together? No idea!

January 5, 2011 – Completed and renamed Jewelled Granny Ghan. Gifted to my in-laws for Christmas 2010 because they are awesome.

That’s it for the 2010 UFO Round-up update. Would you like to see a 2011 version? Let me know and I’ll get to work on what needs to be done this year!

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Super Long Spiral Boa

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Every once in a while, I get an idea that will not leave me alone. I have a friend named Wendy. She loves rainbows. LOVES. Like loves adores worships…you get the picture. I had wanted to make her something rainbow-worthy for a while, when I came across a skein of Red Heart Kids in Crayon, which inspired me to create an awesome, HUGE scarf for her.

I wanted the project to be a surprise, but I also wanted her to know I had a project in the works. Yeah, I’m funny like that. I shared this photo as a teaser!

This is part guidelines, part pattern. It’s super simple and works up really quickly.

Super Long Spiral Boa

~4 oz of worsted weight yarn
Size H or I hook

Loosely cochet an RLC (Really Long Chain). Mine was about 6′ long and reached to my knees. Yours can be shorter or longer.

Row 1 – sc in to the third ch from the hook, and in each ch across. Chain 3, turn

Row 2 – 4 DC in the same st as the turning ch, 5 DC in each st across.

Finish off.

See, I told you it was easy!

When you get done, your spiral is likely to not be 100% spirally. Not to worry! Find a place to hang your scarf…a hook, a clothesline, your bff, etc. Working from one end of the scarf to the other, make sure all the spirals, well, spiral! It might take a few minutes, but it will be worth your effort.

Did you watch today’s TTMT? I made a matching hat using Amber (of Amber’s Originals) Bella at the Beach (on ravelry).

Add your Sewhooked-related photos to my flickr group and you might be featured in a future post!

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Carpool Dishcloth

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printable pattern

Recently, I’ve been working on dishcloths for a dishcloth swap among my friends on Livejournal. While digging through my patterns, I found a scrap of paper from around 2000 that had instructions I’d scribbled for a dishcloth.

Once I worked the pattern up, I realized it’s not just a dishcloth, but one of the favorites I’ve been using in my kitchen for years!

I’m naming this easy-peasy project “Carpool Dishcloth” because I can make one in it’s entirety as I wait for my two kids at their two different schools. I sit in my car with my windows down and crochet while I wait. If you follow me on twitter, you probably have seen my carpool craft photos!

Made using Peaches and Creme cotton yarn – the pink/black/white dishcloth is Black Cherry, the other colorway is Sunflower.

Carpool Dishcloth

Size H Hook

worsted cotton yarn

ch 36

Row 1: sc in 2nd ch fr hook; ch 1, sk 1, [sc in next ch, ch1, sk 1, sc in next ch] [across]

Row 2: ch 1 turn, sc in 2nd ch fr hook; ch 1, sk 1 [sc in next ch, ch 1, sk 1, sc in next ch] [across].

Repeat row 2 for pattern until dishcloth is approximately square.

To add a border, continue the pattern around, making a sc, ch 1 sc in each corner and making sure to skip rows as you work down the sides, work pattern in the back side of sc on the foundation row and up the other side. Finish off.

Happy crocheting!

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A Hot Month For Linus

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Tomorrow is the monthly meeting of The Linus Connection, which means this is the day of the month where I gather all the things in my house that have been accumulating to take to Linus for donation. The quilt above made from the leftover pieces cut from a Storm At Sea quilt that was set on point. It’s the same quilt I call Electric Amish. I’ve been hand quilting it for an interminable number of years now, and I sometimes wonder if it will ever be finished. Completing this toddler version with the leftover pieces of Electric Amish is a small victory and it gives me hope to finish the mama quilt some day.

This next quilt I’ve dubbed Stash Monkey and is made from what I have left from the Log Cabins For Linus collection I held in the earlier part of 2010. There are still a few orphan blocks in my bag, and I hope inspiration will strike again and I will come up with a quilt that’s just as fun as this one! Made from orphan blocks and scraps from my own stash.

Brand new in my life this month are quilts quilted by me on a long arm machine! Dianne, the owner of Honey Bee Quilt Store, where I have my day job, very generously allowed us to use the store’s HandiQuilter to finish up some Linus quilts. Not bad for a beginner! I also quilted the Baby Storm At Sea.

This granny block ghan is made from the very last of the donations from Go Get Granny (the yarn half of Log Cabins For Linus). All of these blocks were donated. I joined them all together and wove in the ends. As you can see here, I’m experimenting with hanging afghans the way I do quilts. It works…sort of. I just love photos taken in natural light, but afghans are not a fan of being hung. Shared in this TTMT.

This gorgeous quilt was made from a top donated by the ever lovely Laci. She sent this to me some time ago and it ended up going to a professional long arm quilter that donates her skills to Linus. It’s all done now and the quilting is just lovely. It was featured in this Talk To Me Tuesday (sans binding), where you can see the beautiful quilting close up.

My very last offering this month is my final Carpool ‘Ghan for the 2009-2010 school year (also featured in the video linked above). Both of my kids are musicians and honor students, which simply means they carry a ridiculous amount of stuff to and from school. I drive them back and forth, as well as taking them to music lessons, rehearsals, etc. That leaves me sitting in my little car all by myself more time than I care to count. What’s a girl to do? Well, if she’s crafty, she brings something to work on! I make afghans for Linus when I’m waiting, keeping a bag of yarn and a crochet hooks in the car just for that purpose. You’d be amazed how much I can get done sitting in my car every day! It’s a good thing I finally finished this one, seeing as how the new school year for my kids starts on Tuesday!

The Linus Connection meets the third Saturday of every month at St. Phillip’s in Round Rock, Texas. Check out the website for more information.

Happy Crafting!

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Birthdays and BFFs

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Just over a week ago, I got to do something that I look forward to all year around – see my best friend, Jewells. We live hundreds of miles apart and with our kids still in school, we’re lucky to get one visit a year.

I’ve talked about Jewells here before, when I shared the quilt I made for her 2008 birthday.

Jewells always shares amazingly thoughtful handmade gifts. She’s knitted socks for me, made “snowballs” for my kids (who rarely see snow here in Texas) and just generally shared her talent, creativity and thoughtfulness with my family.

Due to a variety of circumstances beyond her control, my birthday gift for this year was belated. Parts on back-order and such created one delay after another for her. Due to the delays, she was able to do something that I can’t remember happening in many years – hand deliver my birthday gift!

I’m so excited to share this truly wonderful gift here. This gorgeous perpetual calendar was an idea from a craft store flier than ended up morphing into a whole new design that Jewells made especially for me.

She pieced, stitched, stamped, glued, stenciled, covered buttons, crocheted and oh my gosh, I don’t know what else! Look and be amazed. I am truly a lucky girl to have had such an amazing friend for almost half of my life.

Oh, and? It was her FIRST QUILT ever!

Jewells talks about this project here and even more here!

The whole Kit And Kaboodle! Why coffee? Because it’s been one of our favorite past times since our time as college roommates and we still enjoy sitting over a cup o’ Joe and chatting the day away.

The months are stamped on felt which sticks right to the velcro. Each month is customized with coordinating ribbon!

The months have their own nifty little pouch for storage.

Each date was stamped on fabric, which was then used to make custom velcro-back buttons.

The set includes the calendar and two pouches (one for the months, one for the days). Even the back is coffee themed!

I repurposed a cafe rod and hooks for hanging this beauty in my foyer. The cafe rod and hooks were cream and brass and have been primed and spray painted black.

Thank you, Jewells, I can’t even express how much I love the time and thought that went into this gift. Even better was getting to open it in front of you!

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Ravelry Shoppe: Bubble Cloche

5 Minute Baby Booties

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Well, okay, you’ve got me. Five minutes might be a bit of an exaggeration. Even so, I’d say 10-15 minutes tops to make these sweet little booties that I designed to accompany some loom knit baby hats I’ve been making to donate to a hospital where a friend works.

Make them for a baby you love or a baby in need!

queue on ravelry

printable version

You Need:

small amounts of 1 each – baby yarn and worsted weight yarn. I used I Love This Yarn and Bernat Baby Jacquards. You can also use two stands of sport/medium weight yarn.
K Hook

Ch 3, join in first st to form loop.

Round 1: ch 3, 8 dc in loop, join with sl st at top of ch 3.

Round 2: Ch 3, dc in each st around. Join with sl st at top of ch 3.

Round 3: Ch 3, dc in each st around. Do not join.

Round 4 – 5: ch 3, turn, dc in each st around.

Cuff: Continuing from round 5 and working along the side of the previously worked stitches which make the opening of the bootie:

Ch 3, 2 dc in each of the next three dc. Dc once in each of the next two dc from round 2 that the beginning and ending sts of round 3 are worked in. 2 dc in each of the next three dc. Join with a sl st to the top of starting ch 3. Cut, leaving about an 8″ tail. Whip stitch the back closed and finish off.

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sew awesome: The Princess

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Being blessed with friends the way I am, I guess it’s no surprise that I have royalty on my side! This sewhooked Sew Awesome award is looong overdue and well deserved.

When I put the call out for for help with blankets for Linus, The Princess, aka Amber of Amber’s Originals, not only made and donated blankets to The Linus Connection, my favorite charity, she designed this brand new pattern just for Linus!

And then she posted it for everyone to share…for free.

The Texas Brick Blanket, from Amber’s Originals

I’ve been working on my very own version of this awesome blanket. The technique is different than anything I’ve ever crocheted and I just love the way it’s turning out!

My version, in progress.

Amber, you ROCK, thank you for sharing! See more of Amber’s original, creative and downright cool work here.

If you make a Sew Awesome Craft or any pattern, craft or recipe from sewhooked, I’d love to see a photo. Email me or add it to the sewhooked flickr group.

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