A Block-and-a-Bit

After cutting out all those squares, I had the chance to work on my new quilt a couple of nights last week.  I laid out the pieces in at least 10 different designs and was finally able to come up with this block that I just love!

It's actually a little bit more than just one block...we`ll call it a-block-and-a-bit.  I was intending on maybe doing something like these granny square blocks from Blue Elephant Stitches - the colours and the x's are just beautiful, but I really wanted to make it my own (plus eliminate some of the white).   So, instead of adding white sashing around each block individually, I decided to set in all of the plus signs to each other. I'm really liking how it's turning out, and can't wait for the finished product. 

The projects were all set aside for Family Day weekend!  We've had a great weekend here in Bowmanville - snow on the ground, above zero temperatures and the sun has been shining!  Family day began with bacon and eggs and continued with tobogganing, games, a little hike, and simply sharing some wonderful family time! 



My parents also visited for part of the weekend and we had a great time just hanging around...plus, they brought cinnamon buns, so it was an extra deliciously good visit! :)

Opa, Elliott and Mr. Snow in our backyard (yes, I cut Dave out.  I think he'll be thankful!)

Opa and Arlyn.

And on a completely different note...you may know that I am in love with vintage Pyrex bowls. So much so that I thought I would share my find with you!  I came across this one on Thursday last when out with my daughter; my heart started racing when I spotted it because I just love the colours.

Okay, I know that it might seem like this bowl has nothing to do with crafting at all, but believe me, it does! Do you ever see something that just inspires you? Well, this is it for me. I've added this to the inspiration bank in my brain. :)

My current collection - sorry for the blurry pic!

Hope you're all finding inspiration today.

~Karina

Baby Boys...

I've been up to a few different things over the past week that I'd love to share with you.  In fact, I think I'll do that right now!  :)

I bought a box full of knits at a garage sale last summer for $10, and then I came across this tutorial from Omi Creates last week.  What a great little project to get my feet wet with sewing knits!  I'll be the first to say that my little number ain't perfect, but I can't resist posting it because it's just too darn cute!

I broke two snaps in the process (one because I put it on backwards and had to rip it out), but it was worth it!  Luckily for me a have a cute, little, three-week-old nephew to try this little onesie out on...maybe in a month or two.  On that note, I FINALLY got to meet my littlest nephew this past weekend and he is so precious. Silly me forgot my camera, but I'm sure Joey's mom would love to send me a photo or two!

To add to the baby boy craze, I had the option of making one of three projects for my Curves Class from Rachel at Stitched in Color and chose these little bibs...

I've lovingly dubbed them the 'lumberjack' bibs and have my eye on a little lumberjack who could make good use of them!  These bibs were made out of flannel and are so soft and I imagine will be wonderfully absorbent.  Sewing curves is a little daunting, but I've managed to get some practice in the past few weeks!

Oh, and I've started cutting my material for a throw quilt for my living room!  I was originally going to attempt the Retro Flowers pattern but thought maybe I should wait on that until I'm a bit better at sewing a curved seam.  Since I haven't ever made a simple patchwork quilt, I've decided to give that a go instead.  I feel like it may be some sort of 'right of passage' to become a real quilter.  :)  I've got about 750 2.5" squares to cut out, but I'm already half done so I'm on my way!

And for those of you wondering, no, I haven't given up on Elliott's quilt (nor have I finished it)!  With all the excitement of placing another fabric order online I didn't buy quite enough backing fabric.  Oops!  It's been kind of nice to have a break from it for a couple of weeks, but I think I'm ready to jump back in to its enormity!  Don't worry, when it's completed you'll know about it (because I'll be shouting it from the rooftops while jumping for joy).

I hope you are all having a LOVEly day. 

~Karina

I Love Roy(gbiv)

I've been obsessed with the rainbow sequence lately.  Good ol' ROYGBIV.  There's just something about it that evokes happiness, ya know?  Over the past few days I've gone a little crazy with the sequence, so hopefully if you're not feeling 'top shelf' at the moment, by the end of this post you'll feel a little bit brighter inside!  :)

I mentioned a few posts ago that I was about to begin a beginners sewing course in an attempt to get into pattern making for fun.  I have been to two classes so far, and though I am familiar with a lot of the terms, processes, etc., I've been having a great time!  One of our first assignments was a bit tedious (sewing straight by eye to form a grid), so I decided to jazz it up a little with thread colour selection!

Okay, so, minus the crooked grid, it turned out great!  (In other words, I hope our instructor is marking based on colour selection rather than actual sewing skills...)

Last night I got together with a few wonderful ladies from church while the gents absorbed the sights and sounds of the Superbowl.  I had such a great time and came home with this lovely rainbowy gem which is now hanging on our banister:

View from below!



A few of the ladies had asked if I would help them make the heart garland from my previous post, but since we only had two hours, we decided on making felt heart garland instead!  There are a bunch of different tutorials online, but I mainly got the idea from here and here.  I love how simple it was to make and how FANTASTIC it looks!  I think I may have to make a garland for EVERY special occasion...shamrocks, here I come!

Last rainbows but not least rainbows, I cut out a few more felt hearts with Elliott today in order to make a few V-day cards.

Please don't judge my drawing skills...  :)

Elliott's card to his cousin - front

The inside.

Don't you feel better now? 

*happy sigh*

~Karina

Play Apron for Arlyn

So, I was getting a little frustrated with not completing any projects, so I set some of my big projects aside and worked on this little gem:

I opened up my Oliver + S  Little Things to Sew book and picked out the bias-trimmed apron for Arlyn.  Okay, so it's not perfect for Winter, but I had the spring/summer in mind (maybe playing in the backyard/sandbox/garden?)!



I used some fabric that I picked up from a thrift store (steal!) and matched it with some lovely light blue fabric that I had in my stash...okay, okay, I know that these colours are almost EXACTLY like the example in the book, but the colours just looked so cute I couldn't help myself!  Plus, this brown is the only dark colour that I had in my stash (and you know how easily dirt shows up on light fabrics)! 

I haven't added the velcro closure at the back yet...the only stuff I had on-hand was the stick-on kind that really gums up my sewing needle (yes, you can say trial and error).  :) 

Back panel - missing Velcro!

Oh, before I go, my dear mom gave a gift certificate to Hawthorne Threads for my bday and here's the lovely fabric that I selected.  I think that I will be making something for myself (what?!) out of it!

Notice the little helper?  :)

I promise to start actually making things out of the fabric I'm continually posting...someday.  :)

Hope you're all having a great week!  And, if you're visiting from Rachel's Curves Class, I'm so glad you came by...can't wait to meet you all!

~Karina