Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Projects for the Newbie:

(First of all, I'm really grateful I uploaded these to blogger when I did, because since then, the use of a knock off apple cord from Hong Kong has fried the motherboard of my computer, and if I decide to fix it for $400, I may or may not lose all the data on my computer, which I last backed up in late November.... So basically, I have what photos I have on my blog!) 

The reason I even wanted to make a quilt was to use crochet edge bias tape... I just think it looks so polished and feminine, I was determined to find a quilt pattern to make so I could use it!  Like I said on my Instagram post, I decided on this isosceles triangle quilt because it looked easy enough... well, getting all those points to match up wasn't actually too easy.  Now that I've done it once, I think I could cut a better triangle pattern and do a better job in the future.  I do have a vision for a giant picnic blanket, with huge pieces, maybe triangles, maybe hexagons... so we'll see if that ever happens.  Also, the "quilt" will have weighted corners so I'm not constantly finding heavy objects for the edges and then having the children move them.  Just a thought.
Here, you can see the backing, which is the print I love and am getting a little too obsessed over. I chose the solids for the front based on this material.
My other favorite project has been learning to knit!  A dear friend in California taught me how on this "egg" photo prop over Christmas break.  I have zero idea if it will be the right size for a newborn, but it looks cozy and will likely be just fine!  The best part was that my friend Margene bought the yarn ahead of time so I didn't even have to debate or get educated on what to buy.  Once I got home and was looking for a place to store the leftover yarn, I thought I may as well get rid of some more yarn so it didn't take up so much space.  And then the hat was born.  It looked kind of plain once I was done, so I added the pom pom and called it a day!  Don't look too closely as there is no technique and I seriously just guessed with each stitch I took, skipping and combining stitches until it came together at the top! 

One of, if not the best part of having a custom crib bedding Etsy shop, is that I get allll the leftover fabric! Burp cloths have been one of the most useful, efficient uses of this stash.  I've probably made 17 or 18 in the past few weeks, they are such a quick sew and almost free to make!  The chenille backing is pretty cheap once I cut each yard into several cloths.  Plus, this is such a fun way to have and use cute fabrics in my life, without being too kitchy or homemade... These are my go-to baby shower gift as my student budget is pretty tight, and I think people want something handmade from me.  So I made all these burp cloths, half to give away, but now Scott is loving all the ones I was planning to gift, and I just can't part with the ones I intended for our new baby girl!  But honestly, I don't need 20 burp cloths, so we are going to have to make some big decisions ;) 

Who would have thought that my style could change over just 3 years time?!  It has.  No big bows.  I don't think I ever got too huge with Tatum, but for this baby, the smaller the better!  I had the best time in the trimmings shop (and a friend took T so I could really explore!!) and came away with some cute new bands and ideas.  Again with the fabric leftovers, score!
 That leather one second down kills me!
 And the biggest project I've tackled:
 I Love You All The Time is our favorite book.  It is such a sweet story about a bear who knows that his Mama loves him "all the time," when he's happy, sad, excited, mad, even when she's on the phone, or busy with other things, she loves him all the time.  Whether he is walking or crawling, silent or talking, when he's awake or when he's sleeping, she loves him all the time.  It is so sweet when Tatum randomly grabs my hand and says "I love you ALLL time, Mama!"  Since I couldn't find a printable on Pinterest, I decided it was up to me to make it myself.  (And now the .psd files are gone...) I knew the look I wanted and got to work in Photoshop drawing each flower/leaf/bud and then manipulating them to have variety and look different around the page.  I love how it turned out!  Next problem:  How to watercolor.  I used a bit of my Christmas money to get a set of watercolors (Um, even without a coupon, the Michaels brand semi-pro palette of 36 is cheaper than the KIDS CRAYOLA 6 color set.  What a rip off!) and some watercolor paper- the key ingredient.  This was my first attempt, but I think watercolor is pretty fun and there is more technique than I thought.  The biggest thing for me is not being afraid to leave white space.  The colors run into each other and that's okay (Well, actually, that's the point!) it doesn't have to be perfectly filled in or exact.  Sounds like a good time to me!


 And this zipper?  Couldn't keep me away.  I am pretty ashamed that I've just mastered installing a good looking zipper, but I guess better late than never.
Who knows what other projects are in store before April 10th!  The more the better!!

6 comments:

Claire said...

You're amazing! LOVE LOVE LOVE the backing and so cute in a little pouch! I have yet to sew a zipper...so intimidated.

The Apron Gal said...

You are so talented! I love all these projects, they are all so thought out and beautiful colors and patterns!

Jessica Holly said...

ok the same thing happened to me with a knock off power cord on my mac!! I luckily didn't lose everything but they told me I might- I'll cross my fingers for you!! Also, this is all darling!! I want to try that bias tape on my next quilt!

Chelsea said...

Superb job on all your skillz and talents! And I LOVE your tags on all your great bedding and stuff by the way. Can I just tell you that you seem to be doing a really good job with life. And I'm glad a bunch of the good stuff is all documented here on your bloggie blog!
AND I really hope your computer gets working again. A repair would probably maybe be worth it I think. One of my old MacBooks went bad, and it would've cost $350 to fix it, and I chose to just get a whole new macbook instead. By my new mac caused me problems for the whole time. It was a lemon of a laptop, which is weird for apple. So with applecare they basically ended up replacing all of the inside stuff.
And then my cat knocked water on it and it stopped working... Anyway. Moral of the story is, I wish I would've repaired my old lovely trusty white macbook.
This is quite a long blog comment. :) I haven't looked at your blog for a while so I'm just catching up.
PS Maybe getting a new computer and not repairing the old one would work better for you. You're the one who will know! :)
PPS Good job at your life.

Chelsea said...

Sheesh! Can you come to Norway to help me make things for my baby? haha! Her nursery is not looking nearly so lovely as what you have cooking' :) I love your fabrics and color choices!

Chelsea said...

Also, the same thing happened to my Macbook motherboard with a knock-off cord. Pretty horrible...