2012 in Review - on to 2013!

Hello everyone. I hope you all had a great new year celebration! I had a lovely time with my family with good food and fun activities - just the way I wanted to ring in the new year. :) I'm a little behind with getting this up, but here's a look back at the projects I put together in 2012:

Quilts

I made 9 quilts - 8 of them are completely finished and the last one just needs to be basted, quilted and bound. He's on the list to complete in 2013. My prized finish was my huge Super Mario Quilt. It was in progress for 9 months and I finished it on my birthday in July. That was the best birthday gift ever!

Knits

I learned how to knit in 2012. I started off with the black and white scarf (modeled by myself, but knit for my husband) and ended with the red kindle case. I see a lot more knitting in my future!

Hops and Bee Blocks

I participated in my first blog hops this year and signed up for my first bee. From top to bottom - and left to right, they are: Wicked Hop, Wicked Hop, Dots on Dots Hop, Leafs Me Happy Hop, Red White & Blue Hop, Red White & Blue Hop, Red White and Blue Hop, Think Christmas Hop, Think Christmas Hop, Think Christmas Hop, Color Bee Shocked Bee, Color Bee Shocked Bee. I'm looking forward to participating in more hopes in 2013 and seeing how my first Bee shapes up.

Food

Just a few scrumptious things I whipped up: Super Bowl Chili, Strawberry Mango Soup/Smoothie, Grand Marnier Souffle, Sausage and Roasted Garlic Pasta, Caramel Apple Pie, Skittles Vodka

Small Sewing Projects

I made some of my blog hop blocks into smaller projects rather than into big quilts. I also made a couple other table runners pot holders and pillows. My favorite project was the cathedral window pin cushion.

Small Craft Projects

And lastly, here are the small craft projects I put together. A few wreaths, a Super Mario cross stitch, some Christmas items and some book crafts. I think my husband's favorite was the hollowed-out book safe. :)

I guess when I look at all of these things together I really did make a lot during 2012! I feel like there were so many days I could have been doing something more, but I'd say I'm satisfied with this. 2013 will see more craft, food and sewing projects, but hopefully my skills will continue to improve. I received a new book on free-motion quilting, so you'll be seeing some new designs! Thanks for following along, and happy new year!

More Knits

Remember when I said I was on a knitting binge? Well, I wasn't lying! Since then I have completed probably 2 more dish clothes, a full length scarf, and started a second scarf.

The first scarf I completed was for my husband. I thought about keeping it until Christmas to give to him, but it's in the 30's outside now, so he can put it to good use before December.

I used a wool yarn for the first time ever. I always associated wool with scratchy, but not this type. I bought it at JoAnn Fabrics - Lion Brand Superwash Merino Cashmere. It's marketed as the feel of cashmere and the warmth of wool. They weren't lying! My husband really likes it and it can be right up against his neck with no scratching.

I had to do some blocking on this scarf, which I've never done before. Actually, I didn't even know what it was and I kept seeing it mentioned on Ravelry, so I had to look it up. I don't have a picture of the blocking, but this scarf was stretched out over my guest bed for a day and a half while it dried out with a million pins sticking out of it. I was pretty obsessed with getting the sides to not have any scallops. My husband even told me that the scarf looked good while it was still being blocked, so I can tell he really likes this project. I didn't even have to ask him what he thought about it. :)

If you'd like to make this same scarf, the pattern is a free Ravelry download available here. There's even a pattern for a matching hat if you're brave enough to try. I'm not quite ready for knitting in the round. 

So, here's the second scarf I've been working on. It's another free Ravelry download (available here) if you'd like to try. It's the first time I've ever tried cables and I'm finally getting the hang of it. I had to take the whole scarf out after about 4 repeats because I didn't count diligently enough. I've also dropped a stitch twice somehow (still not sure how or when it happened), but I managed to weave them back up the few rows I had gone without it. There's one obvious mistake, but no gaping holes at least. 

I'm using Caron Simply Soft in Sage Green for this one. I was hoping to give this one to my mother-in-law (she's the one who taught me how to knit initially), but we'll see how many mistakes I make before I make any commitments. It might end up being a little wonky scarf for me. So far it's not curling, so I may not have to block this one out. I think it's the difference in weight of the yarn between the Caron and the Lion Brand Wool.

So, of course these projects have side-tracked me from obligations I already had to get done. Maybe today I'll spend some time with my sewing machine to finish up the last Wicked Blog Hop Blocks. My day to post is Wednesday this week (Halloween!) so come on back then. I have one project done and hope to have one more for you. :) Happy crafting!

Cats!!!

Last night I spent a couple hours' time finishing a long, soft, cuddly, white scarf for myself. I had seen one made from similar yarn while we were in Europe a few weeks ago and I really, really, really wanted one.

Unfortunately, I failed to realize how tempting this type of yarn was for my cats...

I don't have a before picture, but this is what the scarf looks like now, and this is the culprit:

I guess I should have seen it coming. At one point during the knitting process I stored the 1/2 completed project in a closet while I was gone at work. I came home to find the knitting needles splayed out on the bedroom floor and the skein of yarn disconnected from the partially knitted scarf. One of my cats had chewed through the yarn, but neither of them would confess to the crime!

At that point in time I figured they were after the knitting needles and the skein of yarn since that is what they usually go for. Boy was I wrong! Last night, I finished the scarf and left it on my kitchen table. I also left the skein of yarn out on my living room couch. (I didn't mean to leave that out, I just forgot to put it away in my sleepy state around midnight.)

Around 3:00am I heard a ripping noise. My cat (see above picture), Sasha, loves to get into things in the middle of the night. Usually she finds some piece of paper on the night stand or she's biting the tag on the comforter, going after the cord for the blinds - anything she can get her paws on. So, I didn't really pay too much attention to it at first. A few minutes later I heard the same ripping noise and I knew I wasn't going to get back to sleep if I didn't stop her.

I turned on the light and to my horror I found that she had dragged my scarf off of the kitchen table, into our bedroom, and had been pulling on it with her razor sharp claws and gnashing on it with her teeth! Needless to say she was escorted from the room with a stern look from me. Upon entering the living room, I found the skein of yarn on the couch untouched!!! I would have rather found that in a tangled mess than found my scarf all torn up. Both the bedraggled scarf and then unscathed skein of yarn were placed in secure, unopenable-by-cat, places until I could properly care for them in the morning.

When I got up for good this morning, I looked at the damage and realized the scarf can't be saved. I tried to weave the pulled out yarn bits into the scarf, but it was just too stretched out. It looked like it had lots of holes and plenty of misshapen parts. So, my cats now have a new soft, white, cuddly cat toy.

My husband told me that the next time I go to the craft store I have to keep in mind to buy things that aren't so tempting to our cats. I told him that the things that are tempting to the cats are also tempting to me! So, I guess I can't fault my pets for having good taste in yarn. I'll just need to keep it out of claws' way.

Here's a picture of my other cat, Leia. She's not quite as curious or destructive as Sasha, so she hasn't destroyed anything that I've made. She does like to lay in some curious places, like the bathroom sink or the laundry basket full of clean clothes...





I love them both despite it all! They're just too darn cute to be mad at for long. C'est la vie! Happy crafting!

Inspired

My husband, Alex, and I just returned from a 2 week long trip to Europe. It was amazing and we had a wonderful time, but I'm glad to be back home. Unfortunately, he had to whisk off on a two-day business trip right after we got back so I'm at home with just the cats. I guess that gives me lots of time to reflect on our trip and all of the wonderfully crafty things I saw!

Our favorite stop on the trip was to Porto, Portugal - famous for Port Wine (yum!!). This city is very artsy. Everywhere we turned there was a little street market with local artists selling their creations. I fell in love! These are two things that we purchased for ourselves:

The left picture is a hair barrette made from a zipper (I guess I'll be the only one using that, but Alex thought it was really cool). They were also selling necklaces and bracelets to match these, but they were all a little too large for me. The right picture is supposed to be a necklace, but we are going to use it as a Christmas ornament for our tree. It's made out of comic book pages and newspaper that has been rolled together and shellacked. The vendor was also selling baskets and bowls that he had made with the same technique. I want to try to find a tutorial for this, or see if I can figure out the craft on my own. The bowls he had were really unique, but I really didn't have room to bring one home.

Everywhere I turned, at any city we went to in Europe, all of the women were wearing scarves. I guess this is a big trend in the US as well, but much more so in Europe. It seemed like they thought they would be committing some type of fashion crime if they didn't wear a scarf every day. I saw a lot of these type of T-shirt scarves for sale in Porto, and I want to make one of those soon. This picture on the right is just one I found online from Make & Do Girl. But... I've started another knit scarf. I'm so new to the world of knitting that I wanted to give it another shot with better yarn. This scarf is so soft compared to the one I made for my husband, and coming out much neater. It's still getting warmer here every day, but not too warm to still wear a scarf.

The last major thing that inspired me was the Rose Window in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. It is so beautiful, colorful and vibrant that I can't help being in awe of its splendor. Someday, I really want to make a quilt that tries to capture its beauty - or maybe a cross stitch. Either way I won't be able to do it justice, but I like the idea of having a crafty work of art made in its honor.

I hope you've all been inspired recently to create something beautiful and unique! Happy crafting

Linking up to Freshly Pieced today for WiP Wednesday.

Knit Scarf Finished!

Hello everyone from Europe! My current hotel in Paris graciously has free wi-fi so I can share my finished knit scarf expedition while I'm abroad instead of waiting until I get home! :)

So, after much scurrying around at home to get ourselves packed (and a lot of help from my mother-in-law to clean out our refrigerator (thank you again!!)) we got ourselves off to London on time! However, I hadn't finished the scarf yet!! I only had the very last large black stripe to do on the scarf so I willed myself to finish it on the bus. Here's pictoral proof that I was knitting on-the-go.

Unfortunately, I had to throw my knitting needles and the excess yarn away at the airport. I probably could have taken all of it through security, but i didn't feel like lugging the excess stuff around Europe with me for 2 weeks. I have more needles and I can always get more yarn when I get back home.

Once we got to London, we headed to our hotel for a pick-me-up nap and then headed out to the Fulham Football Club for the soccer (football) game we had planned for that afternoon. London was chilly and misty/rainy the entire time we were there, so the scarf actually came in handy more for keeping me warm than it did for letting my husband show off his Fulham fanfare. Here's a picture of me sporting it at the game and in the Tube around London. I'll add a picture of my husband wearing the scarf as soon as I'm able to get them off of my phone.

So, my first knitting experience was a success! I even learned how to bind off via YouTube video on the bus on the way to the airport. (I finished the scarf with about 2 minutes to spare before we had to get off the bus!)

Now, we're in Paris and just got back from viewing the Eiffel Tower at night. The weather isn't quite as cold here and really just gets a bit chilly at night. So, the scarf has been retired to my duffel bag for probably the rest of our trip. Everyone, both in London and in France, wears scarves all the time, so I've been inspired to make myself a knit scarf out of some snuggly material when I get back. I hear it's 80 degrees in Wisconsin, so I probably won't need it for a while, but you never know! Happy crafting!

Knitting!?!

My husband and I are leaving for a two week trip to Europe soon. We are super excited to get away and see some new places we've never been before. One of the first things we are doing is going to a soccer game in London on the day we arrive in Europe. I'm a little bit nervous to be in the stands with all of the soccer hooligans, but I'll have my husband there to protect me so I'm sure I'll be just fine. :) Anyway, with the completion of my jelly roll quilt I didn't really have any smaller WiPs on my to do list. My husband quickly had a suggestion for me.

He asked if I would be able to make him a scarf for the soccer game. I looked at him and said, "If I quilt it maybe, but I don't know how to knit and I'm awful at crochet." He said, "What if I challenge you to knit one?" I looked at him with a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me look. We only have a few days before our trip and I know I'm just terrible with yarn crafts. But, I'll admit, I was intrigued...

So, of course I accepted the challenge! (He is a sweetheart though and has told me several times that I don't actually have to finish this scarf by the time we leave.) I already had some white yarn from a wreath that I made a little while ago, so we just had to get some black. He even came to the craft store with me! Here's a picture of the scarf that my husband would like. At first he chose one with words on it - and I quickly told him that there was no way I could do something like that in a couple days! Maybe once I get different types of knitting stitches down I'll be able to make him a better scarf for next winter. I'm definitely not that great at it right now.

After watching a few youtube videos, I figured it wasn't as hard as I had always thought knitting was. I got my mother-in-law to teach me how to "cast on" and to do the basic knit stitch. After a few tries I got it down and then started going. I'm hoping that I'll have this done by the time we leave for Europe. I have a feeling all of my free time will be dedicated toward making this scarf, but I find it quite enjoyable actually. It's definitely going to be a little lopsided and not as good as it should be, but it'll work! I feel like I should have started with a pot holder instead of a soccer scarf, but I know it's something my husband will appreciate. :) Happy Crafting!

Valentine's Yarn Wreath

Today I thought I would try my hand at a yarn wreath. I've always liked how these look and my sister is having a housewarming party, so I'm going to give her the first one as a housewarming present. I think it turned out quite well, but my husband doesn't think it has enough "stuff" on it. He thinks the whole wreath needs to be covered in flowers for it to look like a wreath. I showed him other examples of it online and his response was, "oh" - so I guess that means he's OK with it. Oh well, because I plan to make one for our door too!

So, I started off with a Styrofoam wreath form and wrapped it tightly in red, gray and white yarn. This took about 90 minutes to do since I started and stopped with different colors of yarn. I also didn't wrap the wreath form with anything underneath the yarn, so I had to make sure I was wrapping tightly enough so that none of the Styrofoam would show through.

Then I cut out circles in red, light pink, white and black felt to make the felt roses. I made a few larger ones and mostly small ones for an accent.  I found that if you roll them like I show in the picture - on the top of the felt toward the center instead of underneath - they open up more like roses and the petals look a little more natural. Then you can glue the very center of the spiral to the bottom to make it all stick together well. Once I had them all rolled and put together I glued on the feathers for the background behind the roses. Then I arranged the roses and glued them on.

The last piece was adding a bit of ribbon to hang it on the door. I think for the one I make for our door I'll have the ribbon be a bit longer. I don't know that I like seeing our apartment number through the middle of the wreath. I'll have to play around with it.

I think for the wreath that I keep, I might wrap the entire wreath form in red yarn and then crisscross the white and gray yarn over the red. Maybe it will look a little bit like argyle then. :) I'll probably do the same thing for the roses and feathers since I like it. Anyway, I've seen many of these wreaths around and there's probably a million tutorials for it so I have no idea who to credit for this design. I've seen it too much, so I don't remember where I saw it first. I hope you try it out, because it was a lot of fun to make! Happy crafting!