I really don't know what happened to the last week!

I think this week just disappeared into a puff!

I can tell you that I completely scrapped the disaster that I started last week .. and I know you all agree that it is better that way! I now know that 1" half square triangles are completely a bad idea! Next time, I will do normal sized ones and they will be just fine.

Ok - since that was out of my system, I needed a new idea for a table runner, and I really didn't have one. So I went over to the Moda bake shop and picked this recipe. I made this one a little bigger than suggested .. but the top and back were done really fast. Now, I have it ready to quilt, and I should be done in no time! It used one charm pack, and I just happened to have a charm pack of fandango lying around! Perfect! Didn't even have to buy any fabric. I really liked the idea that I could use up some fabric I had already!





I also made myself a new scarf this week.



I think it looks a bit weird in this picture, but I have yet to master taking a picture of myself ... so this is all you can see right now. I think it's called an infinity scarf. Anyway, Anna Maria Horner sold these kits on her site with the material perfectly cut for these scarfs (18" x 72") = but of course they were all sold out.

I really really wanted one - so I just bought two yards of the velveteen and two yards of the voile. TOTALLY worth it! I love love love the scarf. Not only is it really warm, but it feels dreamy too! I actually have enough material to make 3 scarfs from what I bought. Perhaps one day I will get to that.

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What was I thinking ...

Next up in the crazy swapping life I am leading is the Spicing up the kitchen swap. Not that I have finished the other two, but I am getting pretty close on the other ones.

So .. I had this great idea to make a table runner. But, why didn't anyone tell me that teeny tiny squares are a really bad idea?? Not only is it an incredible amount of cutting and piecing. But you burn your fingers when you try and iron them!

Anyway - they don't look too bad when you look from a distance.



... but up close they are a bit of a disaster.



So now, I have to make a decision. Do I bail on this idea, and start with a fresh idea for a table runner. OR, do I stay with it and finish this off. My worry is that if I stay with it, I won't be proud to send it to my partner. Any advice would be welcome : )

I am going to walk away for today, and either continue with the madness tomorrow, or start fresh. I'll let you know ...

Next up ....

... is the Scrappy Mug rug swap!! I almost finished two mug rug tops over the weekend. My secret partner had suggested quite a few different things, but one of the colour combos she mentioned was red and aqua. Well, I just so happen to have a lot of red and aqua!

I started by pulling out some fabrics, and next thing you know I had this!



I didn't really start with much of a plan, I just knew that those little owls needed to be a focal point.



And before I knew it, I had two tops almost done!!



I thought the the bottom of the two looked a little plain, so I fussy cut a few more of those owls, and turned them into hexies!!



Now I just have to sew those little hexies down, and get started on the quilting!

Technically, I think you only need to make one mug rug .. but they are so fast and easy to make, that I can't see harm in sending two!!

Swaps, swaps and more swaps!!

A new year brings new swaps! I am totally addicted, and have committed to 3 new swaps. Right now I have sooo many ideas running through my mind that I keep flipping from one swap project to the next.

First up, is the potholder pass. The theme this time around is monotone. I picked blue ... and this is the inspiration that I gave my partner.



The secret partner I got picked brown. At first I thought I had minimal brown in my stash, but I am pretty sure I had more than enough. I have been working away, and I think I have the tops done!!



I am pretty happy with them, and I hope that my partner likes them too! I used the tutorial from Twin Fibres for the one on the left ... and just used left overs for the other one.

I will tell you about the other swaps soon : )

Failure

I like to crochet ... and since my daughter started in competitive gymnastics, I am spending A LOT of time at the gym. I figured I better do something productive while I was there.

This week it was a failure.

The actual product looks great! But sadly it is totally too small.



I only brought the yarn and a crochet hook - no measuring tape. So when the pattern said that the hat should be 3 inches after the fourth round for the right size, I had to eyeball it. I thought it looked good ....

Oh well, I am going to start again, and this time use a bigger hook. And bring a measuring tape!



I guess my nephew just got a new hat ; )

Serger fun!

In a couple of weeks I am going to take a class at The Workroom. It is a class to make a t-shirt! I am pretty excited about it. I have sewn lots and lots, but jersey, or any stretchy material has always scared the pants off me. It always ends up stretched and yucky.

So .... in preparation for the t-shirt class, I just took a one night serger essentials class. It was great! I know actually understand how the machine works, and can thread the beast with only small amounts of pain. I also think I will have that jersey beat. During the class we made some rolled hem napkins. I had no idea I could do this with such ease!! LOVE them. So much.





I have also been slowly working on sewing the corner triangles for the quilt a long.



When I started sewing the first triangle down I noticed a critical error. Sometimes I need to give myself a little slap and repeat the matra, measure twice cut once!! I made the grey trapezoids too small. GAH!! After beating myself up over it for about 8 minutes, I realized there is nothing I could do, so I will just re-draw the corner lines and go with it.

Oh well ... just means my squares are not going to be 12.5 inches each. They are going to be around 11 inches instead .... No one but us will know.

Finally ... on a side note. My sweet boy is 10 today. 10. It feels like yesterday that we were brand new parents with no idea how much love we would feel for this boy. We have a big day of skiing planned, and it's time to pack the car! Talk to you again soon.

Welcome to 2011

The start of a brand new year ... love it! Time to start new lists and come up with some goals. I don't exactly make resolutions, but I do like to think where I want to be this time next year, so I suppose that's similar??

For this year, my goals include:

- finishing up more of my works in progress
- start using more of my stash fabrics
- continue to be healthy (eating and exercise); generally I am pretty good, but we can all be better right??

I think that's it for now ... we will see where we are this time next year : )

Anyway - I have been in Ottawa the last few days, and we had a grand time. Lots of time spent in hockey rinks, but we did have time to visit the Parliament buildings.







We got home last night, but I have been hard at work on my quilt a long in between loads of laundry! Here are a few pictures of my progress.





You will have to excuse the mess in the background. We haven't taken the tree down yet as sewing was more important, and this is the only spot that was big enough to lay out the whole quilt. Hahahaha!

Well - here's to a great 2011!!