Acorns of all shapes and sizes

Late summer is always a fun creative time for me. My dear friend, M, has a birthday in August and I always have the best time making things for her. She and I both share a love for autumn so this year I thought I'd use the icon of all things fall-ish, the acorn, as inspiration.

Acorns of all shapes and sizes :o)

It all started when I happened across the super cute acorn patchwork pillow pattern by Bridgette of The Family Hearth. This is a great pattern for using up scraps of low volume fabric! I love the bold, graphic design! I made my pillow with a simple envelope style back.

Acorn patchwork pillow - pattern by Bridgette from The Family Hearth

For the quilting I used masking tape to mark simple diagonal lines in order to stitch an "X" through each square.  It's always so fun to quilt small projects because they fit in my Janome sewing machine without any tight pushing or pulling to get the quilting done.

After the pillow was finished I did a bit of searching for some acorn accessories to go with it. On Pinterest I found the pattern for patchwork acorn potholders made with fabric on the front and a dish towel backing.

Patchwork acorn potholders

These patchwork acorn potholders by Therm-o-Web are so easy to make, and again, scraps are the name of the game! I really like how the fabric squares end up on point in the potholders. I lined them with Insul-Bright to make them more heat resistant in addition to the dish towel backs.

Finally, I just wanted one more small item to tuck into the package and decided on the little crochet acorn. This pattern comes from Kristi of the blog Engsidrun. I was able to use scraps from some of my favorite yarn for these sweet little acorn.

Crochet acorn

I am fully aware that I probably got a bit carried away with theme gifts, but I had such fun that maybe I got away with it? Hope you enjoy the first days of fall! I know I will :o)

Crochet a Little Caroler

I think every knit and crochet enthusiast can relate to that lost feeling of not having anything on the needles/hook and wondering where inspiration for the next project is going to come from. Don't you love finding a sweet little project to work on?

Crochet Carolers - my adaptation of the Jolly Wee Elf knit pattern

About a year ago I came across an online yarn shop called Churchmouse Yarns & Teas. They also have a brick and mortar location on Bainbridge Island,Washington - the complete opposite side of the country from where I live. In one of their recent holiday newsletters they featured a sweet knit pattern for a Jolly Wee Elf. I don't knit {yet!}, but I am pretty comfortable with crochet and thought I'd be able to adapt this little design to a crochet version.

Crochet Carolers

For my little carolers I used Patons Kroy Sock FX yarn in the Clover colorway. This variegated yarn was so fun to work with as each caroler turned out looking like his little suit was different from the others. For their faces and scarves I used bits of sock yarn I had left over from other projects. I just made myself rough notes on the construction of the caroler so each subsequent caroler is a bit different from the others.

To help the carolers stand up I wrapped a bit of {new} fish tank gravel in plastic and tucked it in the base of the caroler, then continued to stuff with fiberfill. It's really the hats and arms that give them their individual personality.

Merry Christmas!

I can hear these little carolers singing:

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born.
O night, O Holy Night, O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night, O night divine!

-by Adolphe Adams

These sweet little carolers have gone to live in their new home with my dear friend M :o)

Wishing all of my online friends a

 Blessed and Merry Christmas!

The Scarves of Summer

Although quilting is what I blog about the most, personally I enjoy crochet just as much. I almost always have two crochet projects going on at any one time. It is fun to have one project that challenges and grows my skills and a second one that falls into the "social crochet" category. This type of crochet is portable and easily done in situations that do not require a great deal of concentration and counting - such as riding in the car, or while visiting with others.

This past summer I did a lot of social crochet and loved every minute of it. I was able to make four gift scarves. This first one was with an alpaca/acrylic mix yarn. A sweet young lady, S, whom I've know for her entire life, was heading off to the University of Virginia. I thought a school spirit scarf would be a fun gift :o) The yarn colors are Dark Apricot and Midnight.

School spirit scarf

I found this V-stitch pattern in the Fall 2012 issue of Interweave Crochet. It is the featured stitch for the Thistledown Tunic pattern. This stitch really makes for a warm fabric - perfect for football games!

This alpaca yarn is so nice and soft

The next three scarves all feature the same stitch pattern, but are made with different yarns. I believe I may have invented this stitch by accident. I thought I was following the directions for a stitch called the double V, but it turns out I did it wrong. However, I really like how my stitch turned out, so I continued to use it on all three of these scarves. 

The first of the three is made from an acrylic/wool blend Red Heart Boutique Treasure yarn in the Horizon colorway. I just love this yarn and working with the variegated colors was so much fun! I couldn't put it down because I kept wanting to see what was going to come next. This scarf was made as a birthday gift for for my dad's wife, J, in joint celebration of her birthday and retirement :o)

My interpretation of a double V stitch

Since this double V stitch was so easy to do and looks nice, too, I used it on a scarf for my dear friend M's birthday present. This next yarn is Lion Brand's Amazing in the Aurora colorway. It's a wool/acrylic blend. Goodness the shading in this yarn is beautiful!

My interpretation of a double V stitch

Finally, I made a scarf for my favorite birthday buddy, A. This is another sweet young lady whom I've know all of her life. We both celebrate our birthday on the same day, but 34 years apart. This is also Red Heart Boutique Treasure yarn, but in the Abstract colorway.

My  interpretation of a double V stitch

These four scarves saw me though several hours of car travel and sweet summer evenings out on the deck. Thank goodness for friends and relatives to make things for!

I'd love to hear about what's been on your knitting needles, or crochet hook :o)

Just in Time

{Way} back when I was in college I majored in business administration. This major required classes in economics, and I have to say they were probably my least favorite classes. It has surprised me, in my adult life, how much economics really does apply...and not just to money, but to many different aspects of life. 

One economic principle is that of "Just in Time." In college we were applying that to inventory and the laws of supply and demand...not stock piling inventory, but purchasing it just in time to be used. Boring to a young college co-ed, but important to the cash flow of a company. 

I find that as I live and work "just in time" is happening all the time. At school we train our teachers "just in time" for the technology they will be using with students. At home I cook dinner "just in time" for family to arrive home and eat it. Cleaning the house happens "just in time" for a guest to arrive {bad, I know!} Even crafting pursuits happen "just in time" for a gift that needs to be given. Sometimes all of this "just in time" drives me crazy. 

If I am honest with myself I can see how I cause a lot of my own "just in time" issues by how I choose to spend my time. At some point earlier in the year I made the decision that my sewing was getting a bit out of hand. In an attempt to keep up with the ebb and flow of the online quilting community I was starting to loose meaning in the things I was spending my time working on. Many projects were being started, but few were actually getting finished. Each new start made past unfinished projects a bit less precious and desirable to finish. 

With this knowledge under my belt I resolve to be more intentional about what I work on and not get drawn into beginning projects that have little real purpose to me personally. I'm finding joy in cheering other on from the sidelines, but not feeling compelled to always join in. Now I will say that occasionally a bit of impulse is a good thing, because it does help to keep creativity flowing ~ at least for me.

Wow! If you're still reading at this point thank you for listening :o)

I will share my latest "just in time" finish...but, I'm happy to say that I started these socks back in June in order to enjoy every step of the process while crocheting them. I did just get them finished this morning "just in time" for a delightfully cool autumn day :o)

I realize these are just plain, utilitarian socks, but I am oh-so-happy to have them finished! They turned out exactly as I hoped they would: cozy and soft :o)

The yarn is Patons Kroy Socks FX in Cascade Colors. The design is a hodgepodge of patterns: 

• the toe area comes from Patons Women's Twisting Lace Socks
• the heel & cuff areas comes from Patons Kroy Toe Up Socks
• the foot and ankle are my design (just simple half/double crochet stitch)

I've wanted to make myself a pair of these ever since I made socks for my brother-in-law last year. My yarn is a bit more chunky than what I used for his, but I'm liking them :o)

How about you? Do you live a whole lot of life "just in time," or have you learned to master your schedule and live a bit more intentionally?

Summer handwork {sewing & crochet}

Something about summer just makes me want to do handwork. Whether it's sewing or crochet it's just so relaxing to have a portable project to take outside. Last week I reached into my unfinished projects and pulled out my English paper pieced Lone Star and got started with adding the background fabric. I knew it wouldn't take me very long to get it done, and in fact it's almost finished. I'm getting ready to take a trip and have been searching for something to take with me for some down time. So...I guess I'll just have to start a new hand piecing project to take along...darn :o)



A couple years ago I bought this magazine, Sew Scrappy, by Better Homes & Gardens. I've looked through it many times - there are some really great scrap quilts in it. I've had my eye on a few of them...just waiting for the right "need" to come along :o)



This quilt, Autumn Twilight, really caught my eye! I've always been drawn to stars. I don't need a quilt, but I do need new covers for the pillows on our couch. The current covers fell victim to a teething puppy quite a while ago...we've just been living with them. I'm thinking four stars per side will do nicely for new covers. 



Temptation is always there to go out and buy new supplies, but I've got more than enough fabric to meet the needs of most any small project so I've reaching into my stash instead. My plan is to go with an assortment of red stars {the center one with the curling ribbons may not make the cut} and use the low volume cream for the background fabric. 



This is my little hand sewing kit. It's all stocked up ready to begin the pillow covers. I made the square and triangle templates from scraps of cardboard I keep on hand. The pattern in the magazine calls for 6" finished blocks, but I resized my hand stitched blocks to finish at 10" in order to fit the 20" couch pillows. 



I believe I'll also take along some sock yarn to get started with a new pair of socks. Ever since I made these mean-green hunting socks for my brother-in-law I've been wanting to make a pair like them for myself. I like the toe section from one pattern, and the heel section from another pattern. For the foot and ankle I'll probably follow what I made up for my brother-in-law's socks. 

I do believe that between these two projects I'll have enough handwork to last me through a summer of enjoying time outside on the deck. How about you? Do you like to fill your summer with any handwork projects? If so, I'd love to hear about them :o)

Clever?!

Do you ever marvel at the clever creations found all around us? It can be seen everywhere. For example, here is a fabulous succulent wreath from the Christmas display at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. This wreath is so amazing because of the the precise placement of texture and color...so clever!

Debbie of A Quilters Table is the host for the February Faith Circle quilt. She selected the Vice Versa block by Gen X Quilters. This block design is just so clever! I love it :o) Here are the two I made for our bee quilt:

I look at things like this and I wonder...how did AnneMarie think of this? Was it a sudden inspiration or did she ponder, sketch, cross out, and finally arrive at this Vice Versa block? She says blocks for this series were studied for positive and negative space and the inverse relationship that can be created. Clever, clever, clever. 

In one of my previous posts I mentioned my desire to someday be a designer. I've tried a bit of designing while crocheting socks. I've combined toe, heel and cuff construction from various patterns, and used my favorite stitches for the foot and ankle/leg sections to make these socks. 

Socks I made for me :o)

Socks made for my brother-in-law :o)

It's been fun (and at times frustrating) and takes me quite a while to get a finished product that actually fits. I find that one of the hardest parts of the design process is writing down what I did so I can actually replicate it again. I might call this mish-mash of sock parts a kind of franken-pattern for socks (taking from several different sources), but is it clever? I don't know. 

Back in the fall I started sketching out some ideas for my own quilt block design and then creating layout options for it. I've found that it take time, and it takes quiet. One of my layout options is pretty straight-forward and what might be expected of the block, but dare I say it...I think my second layout option just might be clever :o) It will be fun to make up these quilts and see just where they stand. 

Meanwhile, here are a couple of pictures from the huge snowstorm we had today. I just love snow and never tire of the beauty and wonder it creates in the world. Enjoy!

What's up next?

What's up next? This is a questions I seem to always be asking myself. Sometimes I don't want to finish a project because of the void left behind once it's done. I have a deep need to always have something (or several somethings!) in the works at all times. 

Last night I finished working on a pair of crochet travel slippers to keep in my suitcase. I don't know about you, but I can't stand to walk around in a hotel room without something on my feet...especially on the always-cold bathroom floors! 

These slippers are an easy pattern by called Bernat's Super Value Family Slippers by Bernat Yarns and the pattern is a free download. The pattern has sizing for adults-both men and women, and for children...very versatile! I've made several pair now using various yarns. If they are to be a gift I usually add a pretty crochet flower on top :o) This pair is for me and I'm not a frilly type of gal so I left them plain. I love this super-cushy Baby Blanket yarn by Bernat!

Crochet is one of those things I find is easy to carry along with me so I always have something to do if I find myself waiting somewhere. A couple of years ago I bought way to much yarn to make these pillows for a sweet friend from church who shares the same birthday with me: 

As a result of this huge investment in yarn I've been trying to work my way through it...using up the stash, so to speak. I have made a bit of a dent in some of the skeins. For example, this Starling bag by Alice of futuregirl craft blog has been my go-to lunch bag for the past couple of years:

Next, I used up more of the yarn on this handy crochet hook/supplies case. For all of the pattern and design links click here to go to my flickr post which includes all of the details in the photo description.

 Finally, I've used a nice bit of the yarn up making storage bowls. These bowls are so handy for holding project supplies in my sewing room! I am going to try to make a dent in some of this sage green yarn by making another one of the large bowls. The large bowl is a free pattern called Al Fresco by Drops Design. The two small bowls begin using the base from Rainbow Nesting Bowls Kimberly of Seriously Daisies, but the remainder of the construction is my own design. 

So, that is what's up next for me...how about for you?

All's Quiet in the Shadows...

...really, it's not. All is entirely too busy in the Shadows of the Blue Ridge resulting in my blog being pretty much silent. Before I catch up on what's been happening here let me share a couple of Fall photographs:




We are so fortunate to have a Civil War preservation park directly beyond our back yard so we enjoy beautiful views of the woods all year around. I really have no favorite season as they each have beauty of their own. 

Okay, now that we are all calm and peaceful from the beautiful views on to the descriptions of stress what's been going on over this way:

At the end of the summer I was all prepared to dive right in and begin on the fabulous Penny Sampler class taught by the talented Rachel Houser {StitchedinColor.com}. For about the first 4-5 weeks I was able to keep up with the pace of the class. Here is my sampler quilt so far:

The super idea of using the black line drawing and pasting pictures of each block on top comes from Nicolette {DutchComfort}...she's brilliant! Anyway, by now I should be finished with almost all of the blocks and starting to stitch them together. I hope to make some good progress on these blocks this weekend.

One thing that has been taking up so much of my time is these mean, green hunting socks:




I am so happy to say they are almost finished!! I've been kind of making the pattern for these up as I go along...maybe they are a kind of Frankenstein of socks, if you please. I've used little bits of instructions from several different sources and had to redo portions of them a few times to get them just right. They kind of have a funny story behind them. Last year during Christmas I was teasing one of my brother's-in-law that I was going to make him a pair of homemade crochet socks. Mostly I was doing this because I knew he would never take me up on the offer. Well, my other brother-in-law overheard me and said that he would wear a pair of crochet hunting socks if I could make him some. I could never say no. He chose green camo for the color. Wow was it hard to find yarn in right shades. This yarn is Ivy Malagrigo Sock Yarn. It's the first time I've used their sock weight and I have to say...I can't wait to make a pair for myself...not in green, though!

All of the other busyness is not so fun as sewing on sampler quilts, or crocheting socks. Mostly it comes from the school year starting back up again and attending way too many meetings. Hopefully things are now coming to a more manageable pace. 

Happy Fall to you! Here's to cozy mugs of hot chocolate and snuggling under quilts :o)