Hooked on Needles


Thursday, July 21, 2011

More Crocheted Dish/Wash Cloths

Crocheting with cotton yarn is the way to go during the hot summer months. And of course making something small that won't heat up your lap is necessary! I've been spending my crochet time in the evenings working on cotton dish/wash cloths. They are colorful and quick and the perfect summer project! Take a look at this set that I finished recently...


More Crocheted Dish/Wash ClothsDon't these colors just scream SUMMER to you?


More Crocheted Dish/Wash ClothsThey remind me of sea glass and ocean water, with a little corn on the cob thrown in there for flavor!


More Crocheted Dish/Wash ClothsThis bundle of 10 inch crocheted dish/wash cloths is available, along with a few other colorful bundles, over in my Etsy shop.

I made my annual trip to Keepsake Quilting this week. In fact, I made two trips! For the first visit on Monday I was accompanied by my 6 year old Grace who prefers little scraps of fabric from my sewing room over thousands of bolts of fabric in a store! So I went back again this morning by myself and did some real shopping! I know I said I wasn't going to buy anything, but you know how it is...the temptation! But you should be proud of me. Everything I purchased was from their 'outlet' shop which is where they put all their clearance fabrics, kits and patterns. I'll take some pictures of the goodies I found and share them with you soon!

Happy Stitching!

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Sunday, July 17, 2011

Oh no, I think I've been BAD!

I discovered Shawna over at 1choice4quilting and her 30% off page, plus free shipping for orders over $50. I had no problem reaching the $50 mark and getting free shipping with all the great stuff she has over there! If you haven't shopped with Shawna before, hop over there and check out her site. Lots of fun things to look at and great service too! Now would you like to see what I purchased?



Shopping Loot - charm packs and Central Park Sudoku quilt kitIt's no secret that I love charm packs, and I found six of them that were calling my name. You know it's rude not to answer when you hear your name being called. So I answered.


Shopping Loot - charm packs and Central Park Sudoku quilt kitI also love doing Sudoku puzzles and all fabric by Kate Spain, so when I saw these Central Park charm squares as part of a Sudoku quilt kit, I just had to snag myself one of those! They are also available with charms of Lovely by Sandy Gervais, Oasis by 3 Sisters and Perennials by Kansas Troubles. I think this will be a fun little quilt to make!

Hop on over to visit Shawna and check out the wonderful giveaway she is hosting right now. You won't be sorry!

Wasn't that a fun shopping trip? I thought so! I'm going to try really hard to resist any more shopping on my annual visit to Keepsake Quilting this week. But of course you can bet I'll have something to show after that! Maybe I should change my name so all those thousands of lovely fabrics won't be able to call to me. Nah!

Happy Stitching!

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Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Now HERE's a Quilt!

Hand quilting, machine quilting, knit or crochet...I say do what you enjoy. Personally, hand piecing and hand quilting do not interest me in the least, but I can certainly appreciate a beautiful quilt that has been pieced and quilted by hand. Here's one that my sister made which is pieced and quilted entirely by hand. The only machine stitching on it was the first stitching of the binding to the edge of the quilt. Every other stitch on this whole quilt was done by hand. Amazing!



Sarah's hand pieced and hand quilted quiltDon't you love how she displayed it on the diagonal?


Sarah's hand pieced and hand quilted quiltThese pieces are only about one inch wide finished, and every corner matches up perfectly!


Sarah's hand pieced and hand quilted quiltI just love the colors she used too, against the off white corners.


Sarah's hand pieced and hand quilted quiltThis design looks different depending on how you look at it, so it's fun to see it from anywhere in the room...lots to look at!


Sarah's hand pieced and hand quilted quiltQuite a fabulous work of art! Just so you know, she doesn't usually keep her table lamp in her chair! I moved it to take these pictures!

I just returned from a long weekend visit to Pennsylvania with my two younger children to spend some time with her and her family. My kids love visiting their PA cousins and all their pets. We experienced our first geocaching adventure which was quite fun, and the kids got to ride the horse and pet the dog and play with the sheep. And I got to take pictures of this beautiful quilt! A great trip all around!

I'll be visiting my favorite quilt shop in the whole world very soon. That's Keepsake Quilting up in Center Harbor, New Hampshire, of course. If anyone is going to be in that area and shopping at KQ, let me know and we can make a shopping date. That would be fun! I'm going to try to limit my fabric shopping this year, but I'll be sure to share my trip with everyone, fabric or no fabric.

Happy Stitching!

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Sunday, July 10, 2011

Rainbow Swap Progress

Have you ever had a quilt design idea in your head, and you try it out, and it doesn't work, but something else even better comes of it? Well, that is what happened when I started cutting and sewing on these Rainbow Swap Squares that I showed you the other day. I had this idea stewing around in my head since receiving these squares back from the swap hostess, Craftytammie. When it was finally time to start cutting fabric and sewing it to the colorful squares and laying it out, my idea didn't work. Not at all. It made me wonder what I was thinking in the first place. How could it have been so wrong? But wait! Turn this block, turn that block, oooooh I'm liking what I'm seeing here! Not at all what I had planned, but I'm very pleased with the progress so far. Take a look...



Rainbow Swap ProgressHere you can see that each square of fabric has been bordered just on two sides with a small white sashing.


Rainbow Swap ProgressBy alternating how each block is positioned, the color squares don't line up exactly but each square is still bordered on all sides with the white sashing.


Rainbow Swap ProgressI really love the looks of this layout and can't wait to have a few hours to sew it all together. Then I'll have to decide on backing and binding. Any suggestions? Should I go with a solid color for one or both? Should I try to find a colorful stripe for the binding and piece a scrappy backing? What would you do? I'd love to know!

Happy Stitching!

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Friday, July 8, 2011

Rainbow Swap Squares ~ So Colorful!

Recently I participated in a swap hosted by Craftytammie called Swap a Rainbow. I think I may have mentioned it here when I signed up for it. Anyway, I cut my blocks and sent them in and then waited patiently for my package to arrive. Oh boy, what a package! Check out the 200 squares of fabric I received in this fun swap...



Rainbow Swap Squares ~ So Colorful!I laid them out on my husband's pool table (shhh, remember he doesn't like it being used for girly stuff like quilt design!) in color rows. Aren't they fabulous? I just love how the tricycle fits right in with all these great colors!


Rainbow Swap Squares ~ So Colorful!I just looked at them for a while...


Rainbow Swap Squares ~ So Colorful!...from all angles. Here you can see more of my mess under the ping pong table, which is my cutting table too, with appropriate mats of course!


Rainbow Swap Squares ~ So Colorful!I decided using all of the squares in one quilt would make it too big to quilt on my domestic machine, so I took half of the squares away. Then I decided I didn't want a square quilt and I didn't want blacks and browns, so I took those two rows away. And I rearranged the colors so they are sort of diagonal instead of in rows.


Rainbow Swap Squares ~ So Colorful!And I looked at this arrangement for a while. Then I decided what I wanted to do with all these colorful squares of fabric.

Were you in this swap too? If so, thank you for such pretty fabrics! Have you put your squares together yet? If you've posted about how you are using your rainbow squares, please leave a comment below with a link so everyone can see.

Would you like to see what I am doing with these 80 colorful squares? I'll show you next time! I promise!

Happy Stitching!

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Thursday, July 7, 2011

Sewing Room Social Tote Bag

I bet you can't guess what I've been up to. Or maybe you can! I just can't seem to stop myself. Every time I finish one tote bag, another one just about starts itself! Now why can't cleaning toilets happen that easily? You know, once you finish cleaning one, you have the overwhelming desire to rush right into the next bathroom and do it all over again. Yeah, not in this house either!

Anyway, this bag I just finished is made using a charm pack and one fat quarter of Sewing Room Social fabric designed by Jacquelynne Steves for Henry Glass Fabrics, plus some yardage of a delicious Kona green. Jacquelynne's blog is The Noble Wife and she always has something fun and creative going on over there. Stop in and say hi, but not before you check out this bag...


Sewing Room Social Tote BagIt was a super bright and sunny day here today, so the outdoor pictures look a little washed out, but the colors and prints in this fabric line are just gorgeous. The detail in the designs of Jacquelynne's fabrics are just amazing, so fresh and sweet and lovely. You can click on the pictures to get a closer look.


Sewing Room Social Tote BagBoth the inside and the outside of this tote bag are quilted, as well as the handles.


Sewing Room Social Tote BagThis bag is large enough to use as a tote bag for hauling your sewing projects to and from your sewing circle or guild meetings, but it's also not so big that you couldn't use it as a large purse, if you like to carry a large purse!


Sewing Room Social Tote BagThe inside is made with yardage of this wonderful soft green Kona solid, and boasts two large side pockets and a swivel hook on a strap to hold your keys. Also included is a matching scissor fob, seen at the bottom of the bag, to keep track of your scissors at your next stitchery gathering.

If you like this bag, you can click over to my Etsy shop for more information about it, including measurements. As usual, if you are local, you can save yourself shipping costs by just emailing me if you are interested in this bag or any other item in my shop.

Now I must get back to my sewing room. I think I hear another tote bag calling me, or is it a quilt I am hearing this time? We'll see!

Happy Stitching!

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Monday, July 4, 2011

Sweet and Sour Tote Bag/Large Purse

This bag was fun to make too. I used two charm packs of Sweet and Sour fabric from Connecting Threads and some yardage of the same line. It's big enough to be a tote bag, but also a nice size if you like to carry a large purse.

See what you think...



Sweet and Sour Tote Bag/Large PurseI picked out the light colored background charms from the charm pack and only used the warmer colors.



Sweet and Sour Tote Bag/Large PurseThere are four large lined pockets and four small lined pockets on the inside, and the bottom is stiffened with an insert wrapped in the purple swirl fabric. The whole thing is machine washable.


Sweet and Sour Tote Bag/Large PurseThis bag would make a great overnight bag or vacation purse. It has lots of space to hold all your big stuff and the pockets help to organize the smaller stuff. It's listed over in my etsy shop if you're interested in owning it.

Happy Stitching!

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Sunday, July 3, 2011

Red and Aqua Tote Bag - Fun Color Combination!

It seems the tote bag bug has bitten me once again! You know I just love designing and making bags, and summer is the perfect time to use them for all sorts of things. We spend lots of time at our local library in the summer so it's great to have a good bag to haul all those books to and from the library. We also take trips to the park, and outings here and there, so having a sturdy bag to carry sunscreen, hats, water and snacks is necessary.

Here is my latest bag, already listed in my Etsy shop for sale. Check it out. It just might be the perfect bag for you!



Red and Aqua Tote Bag - Fun Color Combination!The Red and Aqua color combination is not one I would have ever chosen on my own, but after joining in Jane's Red and Aqua Disappearing 9-patch swap some time ago, I realized what a fun and cheerful combination it is. I recently finished piecing the quilt top from that swap and I also pieced the backing using the darling Plain Jane fabric you see as the lining of this bag.


Red and Aqua Tote Bag - Fun Color Combination!Isn't that fabric just so happy? I love it!

This bag is a very generous size and features a large inside pocket and a strap with swivel clip to hold keys. The interfacing in this bag is Peltex which makes the bag very stiff and able to stand on its own. If you want more information about this bag, or if you are interested in having it for yourself, click HERE and check it out in my shop. I don't think this one will be around for too long!

Happy Stitching!

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