Crafty goodness

I know, I've been on a bloggy tear. Don't worry, it won't last!

My brother & sister-in-law are expecting a daughter very soon - the family betting pool spans October 30-November 10. I knit her a couple of hats, but they live in a warm place so it's hard to know how much use she'll get out of anything else. I will probably do a sweater at some point, but I'm not in a huge rush.

I DID want to get her some crafty goodness, though, so I asked some super-crafty friends for very (VERY!!!) easy sewing projects I could do. I was counseled to do a very simple blanket, and some burp cloths.

Blanket directions:
1. Cut two squares of fabric of the same size
2. Line them up face to face
3. Sew them together, leaving a four-inch gap in the stitching
4. Turn the bundle inside-out through that gap
5. Hand-sew that hole closed
6. Do another round of stitches around the whole thing
7. Do some stitching in random spots in the center area of the blanket so the two sides stay attached to each other.

This took me a LOT longer than it should have, but I got it done and am pleased with the results. The cloudy side is flannel and the pink side is cotton; I thought I pretty cleverly made the stitching-down bits look like rain.

Burp cloth directions:
1. Cut a skinny strip of fabric the approximate length & width of the center of a cloth diaper
2. Hem the strip all around
3. Sew it to the center of the diaper

This was faster, and not really as satisfying. Maybe I need EVEN CUTER fabric if I do this again. (See that? I'm already forgetting the teeth-gnashing involved in this project...)

I mailed the crafty goodness off to the expecting couple and they were quite pleased. These were their first burp cloths, so they promptly draped them all over their shoulders as a test run. We were on a Skype video chat and it was quite fun to watch!

A new new thing

I have a new thing! After helping with the quilt earlier this year, I decided it was finally time for me to learn to sew - on a sewing machine. I resisted it for a long time since I didn't have the equipment and didn't want another expensive hobby that makes stuff I don't necessarily use (see also: knitting - I have a LOT of hats and stuff... though I also knit baby gifts and love my knitted socks and sweaters; and I'm happy to have a skill to make something special for friends who aren't well).

But ... I decided to learn anyway after I enjoyed the quilting project. I don't think I want to make more quilts, but I wanted to know how to do it at last. My friend has given me the long-term loan of her dead husband's sewing machine, with the injunction to make him proud, so I'm equipped! I found a 10-week class at a local community college, and it's been perfect. Most of us had never threaded a machine or loaded a bobbin, so I fit right in.

 

Pajama bottoms.. someday soon!

So far we've talked about the machines, about fabric, have done test stitching on a piece of paper to practice going in straight lines, and have pinned and cut out what will be pajama bottoms. I think next week we may actually sew some seams!

Now that I've got my toes in, though, I'm already trying stuff on my own. I made my very own cloth napkins earlier this week - well.. I made one so far:

And I also sewed a tube of fabric, filled it with bulgher wheat and steel-cut oats (they were inexpensive/on hand) and some lavender buds from my yard, and made a microwave-able heating pad to drape on my neck and shoulders. Actually I made two of them - and I just love it. I've wanted one for literally years and finally have achieved it! 

And, in the back of my head, I've wanted an apron like this for ages, too:

I like that it doesn't drape on the neck or tie in the back - easy on & off, but looks like it's pretty secure. I don't love that it's $88 but I realize it's sold at a specialty shop. Anyway, I want to make one like that. I had a hard time finding patterns at first, but got some help from a friend, and have found one that looks promising. And a couple of stores have fabric sales this weekend. So.. stay tuned, friends. I expect I'll make one based on the pattern that my friend found, and will then probably make some improvements on it. Fun!

Now it can be told

I've been keeping a crafty secret for six months! One of my very best friends got married this weekend, and two local friends and I conspired to make a quilt for the brides. Talk about blog-fodder! It was really hard to not mention it. And now that it's done it's hardly worth the blogging, alas.

Here's a picture of it on the long-arm sewing machine:

And here is some of the detailed quilting we did with the machine:

And a shot of the mostly-finished object:

I guess we got it done in about four months, from buying the fabric to hand-sewing the binding. It was a fairly simple pattern, and my quilting-expert friend probably could have knocked it out in a weekend, but with three of us and busy lives, we really did have to schedule our work nights!

I made a photo book for the recipients so they could get caught up on the process of making the quilt, and since I found a 60% off coupon online, I made small soft-cover versions of the books for the quilt-makers to have.

It was great fun, and I don't imagine ever making a quilt again. But now I can assist my expert friend when she wants some clumsy help!