Owl Pajamas!!

I did it! I sewed myself up some PJs with that awesome owl flannel. I didn't have anyone around to take pictures of them actually on me, so these will have to do.

I love how silly they are! There was a slight problem... I didn't have quite enough fabric to make them long enough to add a hem. So I improvised and added cuffs at the bottom. I don't think it looks too bad!

But there may be another problem... I didn't prewash the flannel and now I'm worried they'll shrink to be way too short! I know flannel can shrink a lot so I may have to take off the cuffs and add new ones in a different fabric. But maybe that won't be such a bad thing? It'll add interest, right? And if I get a good color, it will  totally look like an intentional design feature. Totally. Maybe if that happens I'll take the elastic out and add a waistband in the same fabric I pick for the cuffs. Then it will look really planned!

I'll wash them and see what happens... But no matter what, I will make them work! This owl fabric is just too awesome to let go to waste!

Did you do any selfish sewing this week?

Linking up to Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts!

WiP Wednesday!

It's that time again! So! What do I have in progress?

Well, there is my scrappy chevron quilt. I spent a lot of time cutting out little 4.5" x 2.5" rectangles and sorting them by color. I can't tell you how happy I was to finish that part!

In progress shot- hadn't decided to add reds at this point

This also yielded a HUGE stack of 2.5" squares, which will be fun to play with at some point. My smaller dog needs a new, smaller dog bed. I might just make a simple patchwork bed for her with my leftovers ;)

And now I am in the process of sewing them into pairs... and then I will sew them into rows!

Here is a nice, dark shot of my super scientific method for keeping track of all this chaos! It took quite a lot of time to color it all in. I'm crossing off sets of colors as I go. This could take a while! And yes, that is owl fabric you see behind my notebook. The pajamas are also in progress! I also kind of want to take a stab at this boat neck pattern from Melly Sews. The pattern is free for a limited time but only in size small. But if you're not a small maybe if you know how to scale patterns you could still use it? I don't know. Small will probably fit me. I might need minor adjustments, but I love boat neck shirts so I'm going to give it a shot! If nothing else, I know of at least one friend who would fit a size small for sure :)

I have also been working on socks! Look at the socks!

I tried toe up socks this time. I don't know how I felt about the short row toe. I don't like the lumpiness it leaves on the edges... but maybe that's actually a result of my inexpert knitting? We shall see.

But aren't they pretty? I'm using some Serenity sock yarn I picked out of the clearance bin at Joann. Still not confident enough to use my expensive yarn for socks. Maybe next time!

Linking up to WiP Wednesday with Lee at Freshly Pieced! What are you working on lately?

Recent Acquisitions

I had plans last week.I had blog posts all planned out and even took some photos. But let me tell you, last week was the week from Hell at work for both me and Mario. It felt like an endless barrage of nonsense and by the time I got home every night, I just wanted to curl up with a book and forget the rest of the world.

But that's okay. Sometimes there are just weeks like that when everything goes wrong and it's out of your control and you just have to do what you can to make it through the week. And I did. And I had a pretty great weekend, too. So now here are some photos of things I have recently acquired and plan to put to good use.

First up, FABRIC.

I got these pretties at a quilt and craft show in town. It was a seriously awesome day. Just me and 4 friends (including Gwen of The Rainbow Revolts!) who all love crafting to some extent. Everyone left with a little something and then we went and had coffee. GREAT day.

There were actually a few more fabrics, too, but I already cut them up for inclusion in my scrappy chevron quilt. Details on my progress with that later this week!

Also, in honor of Selfish Sewing Week, I have big plans for this piece of awesomeness:

Yeah. Crazy owl flannel! Isn't it awesome?? It was 50% off at Joann, so how could I resist?

Owl close up! This is going to become the most awesome pajama pants in the world. Just you wait.

Next: YARN.

This little ball of deliciousness came from my local yarn store: Kiwi Knitting Co. Highly recommend if you're local! Gwen and I have started a weekly knitting date and we needed some supplies. Well. She needed supplies. I just had a little shopping accident...

But seriously, isn't it pretty?? This is going to make the BEST socks.

But of course, I didn't stop there. At the quilt/craft show, I found the one booth that was selling yarn. And I got into another little accident... I really must stop buying sock yarn! At least until I finish another pair of socks. But with weekly time now set aside just for knitting, maybe they'll come off the needles a little faster!

So that's what I've bought lately. And I have big plans for it all! I better go get started so I have more things to show you soon!

Have a great week :)

A Major Oversight!

Guys. I'm terrible. I wrote up this lovely post about this swap I did with Kitty and Allison aaaages ago and then it languished in my drafts folder, forgotten. Not because the gifts or the friends were forgotten! No way! I have already put their things to such good use! But maybe I was just so excited to use them writing about them here slipped my mind? Maybe? That's my story :P

ANYWAY. Here are the AMAZING things made by Kitty and Allison!

First up, from Kitty:

A PERFECT little mug rug to pretty up my cubicle at work and some lovely fabric :) Isn't that star fantastic? And the quilting! The quilting is so perfect! :D It really makes me happy to have it around with me in my otherwise drab little cubicle!

Next up, from Allison:

Allison made me a pretty fabric roll up case for my crochet hooks and knitting needles! Look how greeeen it is! I love it so much! And look at all the wonderful fabric she sent along with it!! ALLISON IS AWESOME. End of story.

Shot of the inside:

EEEE! It's so perfect! I did have one little case I crocheted for myself a while back... but with the addition of knitting, I just didn't have enough space for all my stuff!

I can't believe I never posted this! Seriously, Allison and Kitty are so amazing! I am so glad I decided to start this little blog, if only it meant I got to "meet" these two awesome girls. I love you guys! Thank you sooo much!!

If you're wondering what I made for them, you can go here and here to check it out! I totally forgot to take photos before I put things in the mail... OOPS.

Hey, if you're into architecture at all, Kitty has been writing these amazing posts while she travels around Europe for a study abroad program. There are seriously fantastic photos of the most amazing buildings. And she tells you all about them and why they're cool! You should definitely go check it out!

I do have more things to show you this week! Just have to get my ass in gear! See you soon :)

Help me Make a Decision!

This is a yarn-related post. I know. Weird, right? But in addition to sewing all the things, I also knit and crochet all the things.

But you see, I have a problem. I went through a bit of a blanket-starting frenzy at the beginning of the year and now I have a conundrum. Which blanket do I choose to finish before the end of the year?

Here are my options:

This isn't all of the squares

Option 1: Gray and yellow granny square blanket. I used the pattern for the blocks from here but obviously went with a different color scheme. I really like these blocks! They finish up at about 7" square, so they're nice a big for a granny blanket. It isn't the best yarn I'm using- Red Heart Super Saver a friend bought me in these colors for my birthday. But still, it would be a nice little throw.

Option 2: Rainbow ripple. This is made with Bernat Mosaic yarn- the one that looks like a rainbow (don't remember what they called the colorway). I'm using Attic24's ripple pattern, which is super simple to memorize and makes this a nice, mindless project. I kind of love how one side is more yellow/orange and the other is purple/blue. I hope it continues this way throughout!

Option 3: what I think of as the Spring blanket. I am using another of Attic24's patterns here for granny stripes, just making the colors go for 6 rows instead of just two. This one is pretty big- this is folded in half. I'm using 4 colors of Caron Simply Soft for this one (can you tell I was way too broke to by anything but acrylic yarn at the time?). This is another good, mindless project. I only have to think at the beginnings and ends of the rows.

Do you see the paw up there? My smaller dog is always curious about what I'm doing and is notorious for crawling into my lap when I'm knitting or crocheting something and laying on top of my foot while I'm trying to sew... Adorable but slightly annoying sometimes :P At least by this point I had gotten her to lay down to the side of where I was taking pictures... (see below!)

So which would you choose to finish first? I plan on finishing all three eventually, but I'd like to have one done for sure before the year is out. But I love them all and can't make a decision! So help? :)

Bonus: shot of my little helper, Lizzie.

Oh well, at least she didn't try to steal any of my squares!

Linking up with Sew Cute Tuesday at Better Off Thread!

A BIG Finish! On a Friday! YAY!

Yes, you read that right. I finished something! A big something! My wonky triangles quilt! LOOK!

EEEE! Isn't it fun? I love how scrap-tastic it is :) Please excuse the un-buried threads. I really wanted to get a photo before work and there wasn't time for both!

Here's the back:

I really love the back. I told Mario that and he said, "You always love the back!" He has a point. Maybe I need to make a simple, graphic quilt and let it be the front. Might be fun!

I quilted it in an all over meander using Gutermann thread in grey. I thought it would be best to blend into the background and let the colors pop!

The binding is from Cloud 9 Fabric's collection for JoAnn. I love it! It works so well as a binding, don't you think? I did make an OOPS with the binding, though... I cut my strips too wide. I was just in 2.5" strip mode from cutting bits for the upcoming scrappy chevron quilt and I didn't realize my mistake until I was halfway through stitching in the ditch for the final round! So, oh well. The back has a wider binding frame than I would like, but I am still really please with how it turned out :) 

AND NOW I CAN GET BACK TO SWOONING. Omg. I'm so happy. I love this quilt, don't get me wrong, but I really want to finish the Elephant Swoon! 

Linking up to Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts and TGIFF at Quokka Quilts