Sewing circle

My friends Emily, Amy and I had a fun sewing evening Thursday night. I crocheted with yarn from Fiberpalooza. It is a silk/cormo blend from Esther Purl Fibers. The pattern I am using is from the Fiber Flux Crochet Along. I made a bit  mistake by just starting to crochet from the hank. I didn't know I was supposed to turn it into a ball. I googled and found out after the fact that it is just ridiculous to crochet straight from the hank. I didn't even know what a hank was! I am used to yarn from Hobby Lobby where you just pull from the center. I could kick myself because the Des Moines Knitting Guild was winding for free at Fiberpalooza. I am really not bright sometimes. Anyway, Fiberpalooza was awesome!!! I learned A LOT about how yarn is produced and how blends are made. Emily picked up a drop spindle to learn how to spin. This may lead to alpacas for her.

Emily has made decent progress on her deer. You can now see antlers. The purple-y bit of it's  body is really pretty in person.

Making a demo does work

I made a second baby height chart. This one turned out SO MUCH better than the first. I feel really badly for my friend who received the first one. There are a few wobbles, but it isn't like the last one. I did bias binding and my machine binding corners turned out fantastically. I even put a legit hanger on the back for this one, with corner pockets (not sure if that is the correct word for them). Here are some pictures. SO MUCH BETTER!

Lots to tell

I have several different things to share, so I am going to break them up into different posts.
First story- I went to Indiana for a few days. I took my guild challenge project with me, but I cut my pieces ahead of time so I could take less stuff. I went with the plus blocks and was feeling pretty proud of myself for doing the math correctly. Wanted to use all the pieces, but I couldn't get a complete final row because I didn't have one last square. I used fusible fleece for the backing, quilted it, cutting the back and it looked good. I even showed it at the guild meeting, but something seemed off. It wasn't square. How that slipped by me I have no idea. so even though I had shown it, I ripped it apart, sewed on an extra row by salvaging a scrap and made it square. I did some franken-fleecing to make it work, but it did. If you look closely you can kind of tell that the bottom row is off.

Since I had already cutting the back, I had to do a pieced back. Again I salvaged the scraps to make it work. It totally did and I am feeling pretty pleased with myself. I need to stuff it and use it!

Kind of a bad picture, but here is the final result.

Herding cats, also known as a fabric swap

I skipped the first two rounds, but jumped in for the third round of the Tula Pink 10" Square swap. To save a little postage, we are doing two rounds at the same time and need a couple more people. Mama Spark organizes and I have no idea how she does it. It really is like herding cats. She does have cats so maybe that experience comes in handy. Her blog post has all the details.

http://mamaspark.blogspot.com/2013/03/tula-pink-10-fabric-swap-and-giveaway.html

Yeah, I've been busy

I went on a trip. That story may make a reappearance if I work on something I brought back. I have been doing some crafting, but not a whole lot.

I worked on the Woodland Sampler. I think February turned out well. March is cute, but I left out the 'March' text because it was bright yellow and I didn't care for that. I am waiting to see what colour 'April' is before I decided. I also signed up for the Springtime Sampler. There are 25 frames with a number in each. The control freak in me has shown up with this though. March 21st is the start of spring- the equinox is technically on the 20th, but 21st is the 'traditional date'. The sneak peeks I've seen are more Easter/April themed. Even if I consider them April dates, April 25th is nothing. I guess it is a sampler not a countdown, but I don't get the numbers then. I think I may leave out the numbers. I can always stitch them back in.

I've decided to the Virtual Quilting Bee with Amy Smart (Diary of a Quilter). It just seemed like fun. Her posts are very well written and I think that is what sucked me in. A fat eighth solid bundle from Pink Castle Fabrics went along with it, so I went that route. I don't have any super bright/rainbow type quilts so I figured I should try that. The stack is very pretty. The first block is out, but I haven't done it yet.

I am also working on another toddler height chart. This one has progressed much better than the first attempt. That was so awful. I'm using Riley Blake this time. I am starting to like Riley Blake. I used to be strictly Moda before. Oh and I LOVE Art Gallery. The feel of the fabric is fantastic.

What I REALLY need to be working on is my Des Moines Modern Quilt Guild Madrona Road challenge. I want to do a pillow of interlocking plus blocks. I just can't get motivated.

I think that is it. Wait, one more thing. Fiber Flux is having a crochet along. It is a beginner/refresher one. My plan is to participate. I haven't crocheted in years, so I figured this would be a good way to get back in. I don't have yarn yet, but I am in luck! Fiberpalooza is March 23rd in Winterset. I have missed the first two years, but Emily went last year and thoroughly enjoyed herself. Heartland Fiber Co does a great job with their in store events so I am sure this will be just as good.