Quilt and OPAM August

Ok, so I did finish a project for August OPAM, but it wasn't the quilt I was working on... Instead, I made two pillowcases for Craft Hope. The current project there is to make pillowcases for kids and teens with cancer, to give a bit of cheer to their hospital rooms.

As far as the quilt goes, I am not happy with it. I thought that because we live in Florida, I would make a "summer weight" quilt. So I chose a flannel for the back and went to work. I thought that because there was no batting, I could skip the walking foot. HAHAHA! I now have a lot of ripping to do. I don't know if it is my machine or the combination of the flannel with the muslin top, but I have small puckers- YUCK! In fact, I am debating whether to trash it completely and start over instead of all the ripping. :(  I am determined to make SOMETHING for my friend with a new baby, so we will just see what happens :)

OPAM 2010 March Finish

I have been doing a lot of knit and crochet lately. I guess I can sit and do that while sitting next to hubby at night, so I like that. Plus I have an older machine, which I LOVE by the way, so it kind of makes a whirring noise that I'm afraid will wake the kids, overcome hubby's TV show, etc. etc. I have several projects on the needles, but I do have some finishes :) Here are my OPAM finishes for the month of March: Numerous knit dishcloths as gifts, to sell, and for the Batten Disease Auction and this crochet doughnut at the request of my daughter :0 I think it turned out pretty cute :) All the patterns are from Ravelry- my latest obesession! I have also been watching Quilting Arts on TV and I am working on a few concepts for art quilts. I am excited to get back to quilting, I just need to get more time and energy, argh!

OPAM 2010 February finish

I have not been doing a lot of creating, mostly trying to get well! But I do have a little time in the evenings to do some knitting and crocheting. I finished this little garland and have it hanging on my hutch in my dining area now :)

Scrappers Give Thanks!

My kids and I are doing a great challenge called "Scrappers Give Thanks"! We are so excited to send cards for soldiers to use to write home to their loved ones ♥
If you have scrapbooking supplies (paper, hybrid, or digital) on hand, consider making a few cards for this cause!

Scrappers Give Thanks

OPAM finish for October

I can hardly believe that I have finished a single project this month, but I have. It is small, but complete! It's a cute little skirt for a friend's daughter :) It's recycled denim (my old jeans) and a piece of the sheet from the girl's little pet shop curtains I made.

OPAM Finish for September

Here is another very small project, an embellished dish towel. Homeschooling has been keeping me from sewing, much to my frustration!  However, the homeschooling is going VERY well. My DS is like a new child and has his happy back :) I really can't ask for more than that!

This is one project that has been on my to do list since July when I found this cute fabric about friendship. The one section says "The journey to a friend's house is never too far to travel". This is just a little gift for a friend :)

Front Porch Party

Bre at All Along Life's Path is doing a 'Get to know you' type thing. It's a little 'front porch party'. Everyone is supposed to add ten things about themselves. I decided to give it a try to, let me know in the comments if you do it too, I 'd love to read your 10!

1. I love to sleep in... because I'm a night owl!

2. I grew up in a VERY small country town in Colorado, but since then I have visited and lived in so many places and cities. Yet, I still feel like that small town country girl inside :)

3. I am very focused on my kids during this phase of life, but I do look forward to the time when they grow up...

4. I love rocks and fossils! I am a geologist, after all :)

5. I absolutely detest doing dishes. I will do almost anything to delay having to do the dishes...

6. I am a "shoe person" who loves shoes, but am most comfortable being barefoot- go figure!

7. I'm really not much of a TV or movie watcher. I would rather make something - with fabric, yarn or paper :)

8. My favorite scent is pine trees. It reminds me of camping and fishing trips in Colorado and Wyoming when I was a young girl.

9. If someone had told me earlier where/who I would be today, I would have laughed hysterically. But I am pleased with the journey.

10. Currently, I am addicted to Facebook and catching up with old friends!

Random Challenge

I went to Sweeter Living today and saw an awesome random challenge to make a band album cover :) I love my band name: Nealyda (a type of moth). I decided to do it, here is my cover:


Now join in for some fun!

These are the rules:
1 - Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3 The last phrase of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
3 - Click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover art.
4 - Use photoshop (elements has a free trial) or similar to put it all together. I used Publisher and saved it as a jpeg.
5- Tag some friends to join in

I tag anyone who reads this and would like to try!

Bunny Project

I have completed another project this month- with help from my DD. As far as the bunny goes, she picked out the pattern, did the tracing and cutting and stuffing. We modified it a bit and didn't paint it. She even drew the face! I did the machine sewing. It turned out very cute :) We were both pleased.

OPAM completed project for May

Here is a photo of my completed project for the month. It was my first attempt at a doll and was a little more difficult than I had imagined! In the end, I like his expression and his hair, although I modified the pattern when it came to his hair and his "dress" became a tshirt as well. All in all, I like him. He will be going to an orphanage through a project from Craft Hope.

Completed Project

Here is a peasant top I made. I ended up buying a new pattern for $1.99 at WalMart. I just happened to see it and liked the sleeves better than the last one. I lengthened it a bit, since I am kind of tall. I'm happy with how this one turned out :) I added a closeup of the fabric just because I think it's so pretty!

Next Project for OPAM (One Project A Month)

I was looking for a quilt top I made for my mother (a few years ago) and found these blocks. I think I'm going to make a little lap throw size quilt out of them. They were leftover scrap blocks and I just have to make one block to finish up the center panel. I'm thinking I'll add a border or two of scraps from my stash (hopefully I have some large sized fabrics as I tend to buy fat quarters a lot!) I WILL find that top for my Mom, maybe for next month...

I also found these 4" blocks, and only 2 of them, maybe I will make something from them as well :)

February Project for One Project a Month Challenge

Here is the peasant shirt made from the blue and brown paisley fabric. I was worried about the necklinek, but it turned out great. I am not real happy with the sleeves, they could be more streamlined and less "dolman"ish. I think I can solve that problem the next time I cut out the pattern. I am learning as I go along. Really I'm a quilter, so maybe the next project will be a quilt project! :) I wouldn't have finished this one without the challenge to keep me going. And I finished just in time for the end of the month, whew!

His Holy Name: Righteous card

Work In Progress

I am working on a shirt for myself using this fabric that I purchased over Christmas. I think this is going to be my February project for the challenge! I am getting close, but thought I would give a sneak peek at the fabric :) I am just in love with the pale blue and brown paisley!

Protector

my latest challenge card

His Holy Name Card

This is my title card for the His Holy Name Challenge at Faith Sisters.

for the His Holy Name Challenge

I am doing a 3x5 card box and filling it with the names of God. There isn't a lot of room for embellishments, so I am having to try to simplify!

January Challenge Project

This was a quick and easy one. So easy I almost feel guilty- but I may make up for it in a future project, so I will hold back on the guilt- LOL It was a partial project intended to be a bag, but i just didn't like how it turned out. I would have preferred larger seams so I could snip them for a more ragged look. But since I didn't want the panels to go to waste, I kept them. And lately I have been wanting a fabric bag for trash in my car, so... I finished it up without handles and viola! I have a handy trash can!

Challenges

May Britt and Kris Meares have started a challenge to finish a project a month. I am going to play along and see if I can get some of my unfinished things to become finished items! Want to play along too? This one is my sewing challenge.

I am doing a scrapping challenge with Faith Sisters called His Holy Name to scrap the names of Jesus for the next year (every two weeks). Check it out if you are wanting a faithbooking challenge!
Here is my first try at something small (3x5 card). It was more difficult than I anticipated!