Joyful Living

Sewing Project

I've been working on learning how to quilt for the past few years and recently decided to try my hand at sewing clothing.  I've always had an interest in it.  My mother has many many patterns in her collection and let me go through it and pick some that I'd like to try.  I found a simple McCall's pattern for a nice robe.  Trevor's current robe is quite short and makes him look like a Roman soldier, so I thought I give it a try.   You can see in the picture the dark blue fleece I'm planning to use.  I bought 5 1/2 yards of it (on sale, of course ) and it is super super soft! I got the pieces all cut out today and now I've just got to wait until I have the time to sit down and sew.  Right at this moment, Monday looks like the earliest chance I will get.  I'm looking forward to it.

Fabric Gift Bags

Baby Afghan is Finished

My baby afghan is nearly completed

I've been making this afghan for my newest little nephew.  I had thought that he wasn't due to come until the middle of the month, but found out on Labor Day that he was actually born on August 28th.   Oops!  So, I've been working hard to finish it up.  The picture I have posted is what it looks like at this exact moment.  I only have about 20 rows to finish the main part of the blanket and then there is a fancy lacey border.  I may be able to finish both today, if not by tomorrow.  I will post a picture next Wednesday of the finished afghan.

I am really happy with this pattern.  It works up quickly and was easy enough for me to memorize in just a few short rows, so I am able to watch a movie or listen to my podcasts without getting too distracted.  I am always frustrated by patterns that are too intricate to do that.  I much prefer to be able to turn my mind off while crocheting.  I'm not saying that I don't enjoy advanced patterns, just that I don't do them as often and tend to prefer patterns I can memorize. 

After I finish this afghan, I will probably work on the quilt I am making for my dad.  I have all the blocks cut and pieced, I just need to finish sewing the top and then sandwich and quilt and then finally the binding.  I already have five (probably more) projects lined up behind the quilt, so hopefully it won't take too much time.  I will be glad when it really starts to cool down here.  That always put me in the mood to sew.

Baby Afghan for New Nephew

Trying Something New! :)

Now that I've finished my afghan, I thought I'd try something new.  Soooooo, I figured why not socks!?!  Here's what I've accomplished so far this evening.  I'll post my progress as I get further along.  :)

New Projects to Dream About

Clotilde had many of their products on clearance and I just couldn't resist these.  I had planned to buy just the walking foot, but how could I pass up the cute patterns and booklets?  I already have plans for most of these.
I'm planning to make these kitchen towels for friends and neighbors... and a few for myself, of course! ;)

I think this would make great wall hangings to change throughout the year.

I thought this jumper was so cute.  I plan to make up a bunch of these for the summer.

I love both of these designs!  The Village would make a cute wall hanging as well.  There are other designs in the booklet as well.  Gingerbread man, snowmen, Snowflakes, wreaths, and Christmas trees.  I'm looking forward to Christmas already.

I just love village quilts and wall hangings!


And here's the walking foot which started it all. :)

Afghan Finally Finished!

Finished projects

I recently finished a few of my projects.  It always feels like I have too many going at once and I'll never finish them all.  Here are two of my most recent ones. 
This is a dresser scarf I made for my MIL.  The stitching is repeated on the other end.  I'm not very fast at embroidery, so this took me about a week and a half to complete.  I machine sewed the hem, but hand stitched the lace.


This pansy doily I made for my MIL also.  I started and stopped this project a couple times, so I'm not entirely sure how long it took.  It usually took about 30 minutes for me to do each flower.  The center went quickly, I remember and assembly wasn't too bad as far as time is concerned. 

I really like this pattern and found out that my grandmother had made this doily herself, but with different colors many many years ago.  I saw it at my mother's home and was amazed that she had used the same pattern so many years before.  I had seen my grandmother's doily before, but hadn't paid much attention to it.  Maybe on some level I remembered it and that's why I was so drawn to this pattern when I found it.

I am very very close to finishing an afghan I'm knitting for my FIL.  I will post pictures of that when I'm finished.  I'm also working on a quilt for my father.  I almost have it completely pieced.  I just need to finish that and then quilt and bind it.  I'll post that too when I'm finished with it.