WIP Wednesday #22 & 100 Day Hustle Update

Well I'm back for WIP Wednesday this week and the halfway mark of the 100 Day Hustle.  Last week we didn't have power for about 2 days (because of Hurricane Sandy) so I just figured I'd save the update for this week :-)  Sorry in advance for the awful pictures, Dylan is on "vacation" this week (aka hunting all day, everyday) and he confiscated the good camera, so I had to take these pictures with my phone (yuck!).

So far no finishes but I have some progress which is better than nothing :-)

I finally cut into my Joy charm squares and made some HSTs which I plan on making into several mug rugs.

I'm still working on the crochet ripple blanket.....chugging away.......slowly.....but surely!

I FINALLLLLLLY finished piecing the Quilts for Kids quilt and got it all ready for quilting.  Just trying to decide what color thread to use for the quilting.  Oh and Bella says HI!

And that's what I've been working on.  Here's the 100 Day Hustle progress report :-)


100 Day Hustle To-Do List:

• Finish Quilt For Kids Quilt (ready for quilting!)
• Green Bay Faux Chenille Blanket (for a friend) (got the GB fabric!)
• Steelers Faux Chenille Blanket (no progress)
• Mystery Faux Chenille Blanket (fabric chosen)
• Mystery Faux Chenille Blanket (no progress)
• Zig-Zag Quilt (no progress)
• Bib Prototypes (still trying to find a good size/template)
• Cloth Diapers (no progress)
• Lots of Mug Rugs (HSTs made, ready to get pieced together)
• Pink/Brown Crochet Lap Blanket (still in progress)

Linking up at Freshly Pieced and Kelsey Sews!

Halloween Reveal

So about two weeks ago I posted a few teaser pics of what I was doing for my Halloween costume...

Well now that Halloween is over and all my parties/whatever are done, here is my reveal!

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...

...

I was Flo the Progressive Girl!!  I made the apron, the name tag, the I <3 Insurance button and the headband (which is hard to see because my hair is so dark and I couldn't get my hair to *poof* like Flo does).  I went to Salvation Army and got the white polo shirt and a pair of white jeans for $6.  So my costume cost less than $15 this year!  I love when I can make a costume for cheap!  And better yet, I won a $10 giftcard for Best Overall Costume at my work's costume contest!

Here are a few other candid pics from the Halloween party I went to...

This one makes me laugh at myself!

Flo is a pro at Soda Flip-Cup

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

**Photo credits to my MOM!

Work In Progress Wednesday #21

Monday I posted a sneak peak about my Halloween costume...and here is another part to it.  

I'll be working with this navy blue fabric and my sewing machine tonight......anymore guesses??  But like I said before, I can't reveal it until after this weekend!

I'm still chugging away at this crocheted ripple blanket.

Remember I said I was having trouble with the stitches being spread out more than I would like them, so I took out 4 rows of work and tried it again??? Well it still wasn't right and I just couldn't figure out where I had gone wrong...so I decided to just start a new section from scratch and then I'll figure out how to join the sections once I get as many rows as I need.  Sounds like a good idea now, but we shall see if that still holds true when I try to finish it!

I am 99% sure I'm finally going to cut into my Joy by Kate Spain charm packs tonight.  I have no idea why I just can't get the courage to cut them up, but time is a ticking and I need to get some stuff made!

And that about sums it up for now.  I'll leave you with a picture of my doggie, Bella chewing on a deer antler on her "spot" on the couch.

And YES, Bella has her own spot on the couch!  There is a blanket down so she doesn't drool or chew her nasty raw hides on our nice couch, and then she has about three or four others that she likes to be covered with when napping :-)

Linking up with Lee over at Freshly Pieced!

Halloween Costume Sneak-peek!

I'm getting started on my Halloween costume tonight and here is what I'll be working with...

I can't give toooooo much away yet, but the finished product will be revealed this weekend.  Anyone have any guesses??

Work In Progress Wednesday #20

Well not much to talk about here WIP wise, so instead I will show off my birthday present my AMAZING husband got me for my 26th birthday :-)

Please excuse Bella's bum.  She just had to check this out :-)

Ahhhhhh be still my heart!!  He surprised me with this 1890 Singer that is in working condition!! I couldn't believe it when I saw it.  I remember a few months ago I had mentioned to him that I would really like to have one of these in working condition, and SAY WHAT?!?! He actually heard what I was saying! ;-)  It's good to know he actually listens...sometimes (haha!).

Other than admiring this bad boy (or girl??), I haven't really accomplished anything sewing or crocheting wise this week, oh boo!  But my new toy is motivation to get some things done from my 100 Day Hustle list...just so I can play with this!

Until next time!

Work In Progress Wednesday #19

I've been chugging away at my crocheted ripple blanket at a nice pace, until last night.  I had finished another section of brown and moved onto the first row of the beige/tan section, but it just wasn't looking right to me.  The stitches seemed to be more spread out and not as tight as the first few sections. 

 

Sooooo I decided to pull out the five rows that I didn't like and I'm going to do them over again.  Not sure what happened though...maybe I missed a stitch somewhere??  Anywho, so this is where I'm at with it now.

 

 

Annnnnnnnnd since I pulled a whole section of brown out, this is the aftermath...

 

 

Just gonna pray this doesn't become an ugly mess while I try to reuse it!

 

I got my charms cut for the I <3 Kona Charm Swap all done and ready to be on their way.  You can check out my post about the charm swap HERE.

 

That's pretty much all I've worked on the past week.  Gotta get my bum in gear and work on my 100 Day Hustle list.  I'm hoping to cut into some of those Joy by Kate Spain charms this weekend!

 

Finished:

• Charms cut for Kona Charm Swap

In Progress:

• Quilts for Kids Quilt--I realllllllly need to finish this and get it sent off
• Ripple Blanket
• Make and try new bib pattern
• Cloth Diapers
• More scrubbies and washcloths
• 100 Day Hustle List

Linking up over at Freshly Pieced

 

Kona Charm Swap

About a week ago I joined my second Charm Square Swap and I just LOVE the idea of this one.  This one is called the I <3 Kona Charm Swap hosted by Alyssa over at Pile O'Fabric.  The groups filled up fast and I'm glad I was able to get a spot!  I can't wait to build up my fabric stash with some Kona solids charms.

So here's the deal with this one...each person is responsible for getting two colors from the color group they were placed in, and then cutting the fabric into 56 charm squares.  I had to choose from different shades of purple and these are the colors I chose.

The darker purple on the left is called "Magenta" and the lighter purple is called "Lupine."  Now i know you are thinking "Isn't Magenta more of a pink?"...well that's what I think but this is Magenta according to Kona so we are gonna go with that. :-)

Once you have all the charms cut, they get sent off to the Charm Swap leader who sorts them and sends everyone their package back.  The great thing I found about charm swaps is you send in one (or in this case two) fabric(s) and you get back 56 different shades or prints!  Like I said earlier, it's a great way to build a fabric stash!  

I can't wait to get my package back and share the goodness I receive in return for cutting my two yards of fabric! :-)

Work In Progress Wednesday #18

Well it's Wednesday, so it's time to update what's been going on around here.

The only thing I've really worked on the past week is the pink/brown crochet Ripple Blanket.  It's coming along nicely for my first big crocheted work and I'm very motivated to get this finished, like, NOW!

Monday I received my charm pack from the Shades of Gray Charm Swap that was hosted by Ellie Q over at Color My World.  I haven't had the chance to look through all the different charm squares yet but when I do I'll be showing some of my favorites!

Last week I joined another charm swap, the I <3 Kona Charm Swap over at Pile O'Fabric.  

I'm just waiting for my fabric to arrive so I can get the squares cut and in the mail.  Can't wait to get all the colors back from this one!

Lastly, I'm finally gonna tear into my two packs of Joy by Kate Spain charm packs to start working on some Christmas items (which are part of my 100 Day Hustle list!).  I was so excited when I bought these that I was putting off actually taking the packing off!  It's all so pretty!

I'm definitely making some mug rugs with these, but I'm thinking I might make some hand warmers as well.  I'm hoping to get into that this weekend.

Here's the round-up:

In Progress:

• Quilts for Kids Quilt--I realllllllly need to finish this and get it sent off
• Ripple Blanket
• Make and try new bib pattern
• Cloth Diapers
• More scrubbies and washcloth
• 100 Day Hustle List

And as always, linking up over at Freshly Pieced.

WIP Wednesday.....orrrr Thursday #17

Ummmm yeah I'm late...I know, I know.  But I have an excuse this time!!  

I had to take one of our cats,Mrs. Kitty, to the vet last night after I got home from work.  Her recent health is a loooooonnnng story, but I'll try to make it short.  After we moved last year she began losing weight.  She used to weigh around 15 pounds and now she's down to 7!  When I took her in May they did bloodwork and found that she had an infection in her mouth.  So we sent her in for a dental cleaning and they had to pull an infected tooth.  She gained a pound in the week after that visit but she hasn't gained any more back so I wanted to take her to get looked at again.  She will be on antibiotics for a few weeks (they believe there is an underlying infection in her mouth still) and then we will see how things are going after the antibiotics.  Here's a picture of Mrs. Kitty, the lover kitty who once you pet once will NEVER, EVER leave you alone :-)

Anywho, back to the real meaning of this post.  I skipped WIP Wednesday last week because, well I hadn't accomplished anything.  But I have a few things to report on this week!

First up!  I am participating in the 100 Day Hustle over at Kelsey Sews, so I have my list wrote out and I'm ready to get things moving!  You can see my To Do list HERE.

Last week I did manage to make two bibs from patterns I found on Pinterest and let me just say I need to submit my creations to that Pinterest Fail website.  I mean they look like bibs but when I went to figure out where the KAM snap should go on each one I noticed how stinkin' tiny the neck part was, so I didn't even bother finishing them.

That to me does NOT look safe enough to put around a baby's neck...might just be my opinion but that's what I'm sticking with.  I honestly don't really like many of the bib patterns out there so I think I'll just draw one up on my own, especially so I can make sure I like the size of the neck area.

I've started on my Pink/Brown/Beige crochet blanket.  I decided on a ripple stitch and Lucy over at Attic24 has a great tutorial on this crochet stitch.  She's so clear and makes it easy to understand (just remember I can't / refuse to learn how read crochet patterns...just show me already!).  I'm already liking the way it looks!

And that's about all from this week.  Here's the round up!

In Progress:

• Quilts for Kids Quilt
• Ripple Blanket
• Cloth Diapers
• More scrubbies and washcloth
• 100 Day Hustle List

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.

100 Day Hustle!

H-U-S (clap, clap) T-L-E (clap, clap), H-U-S-T-L-E, Hustle Team Hustle!

Bringing back my cheerleading days for the the 100 Day Hustle hosted by Kelsey over at Kelsey Sews.

September 22nd not only marked the first day of fall...it also marked 100 days left of 2012!  Which means I need to get my butt in gear if I am going to accomplish a *mostly* homemade Christmas this year as far as presents go.  So I'm linking up to Kelsey's party and hopefully it will give me a good push.  

My to-do list is forever long.  I accomplish one thing, and add about three.  My list contains a lot of projects I want to have done for Christmas time, but it also includes some things I just NEED to get done.  Here is what I have so far, but I'm sure I will be adding to this as we go!!

100 Day Hustle To-Do List:

• Finish Quilt For Kids Quilt
• Green Bay Faux Chenille Blanket (for a friend)
• Steelers Faux Chenille Blanket (for a certain 9 year old sports fanatic girl)
• Mystery Faux Chenille Blanket (for another 9 year old, no fabric yet)
• Mystery Faux Chenille Blanket (for a soon to be 3 year old, no fabric yet)
• Zig-Zag Quilt (for me of course!)
• Bib Prototypes (I've made 2 so far, didn't like either one)
• Cloth Diapers
• Lots of Mug Rugs
• Pink/Brown Crochet Lap Blanket

So there it is, now I better get working on this!!!

Moda Bake Shop's Love It. Pin It. Win It.

Moda Bake Shop (which for those of my friends who aren't into sewing/quilting....MBS sells fabrics and provides recipes (aka patterns) for sewing projects, sorry no food here! hehe) is having this great contest right now called Love It. Pin It. Win It.

Here's what you need to do to get yourself entered (which can be found on THIS POST):

LOVE IT
Browse through the Moda Bake Shop recipes and choose your favorites.

PIN IT
Pin and re-pin photos* of your favorite recipes on Pinterest with the tags #modabakeshop #modafabrics #lovepinwin.  Be sure your pin is linked to the recipe itself, and not the MBS home page.  You can enter as many times as you like, but the winning pin must have the three tags {#modabakeshop #modafabrics #lovepinwin}.

WIN IT
Four random winners will be chosen from the tagged photos.  The grand prize is a set of the ingredients to make your favorite recipe (fabric will be from what is currently available).  Other winners will receive a current Moda pre-cut.

But that's not all!  You can also write up a blog post explaining why you've chosen your favorite recipe and link it up HERE.  Two additional winners will be chosen from the linky party to win current Moda pre-cuts.

The contest runs from September 14-22 (closes at midnight CST).

**Caution - some photos on the MBS can't be pinned due to the Chefs copyright settings.  Just choose another!

Okay now that those details are out of the way (and you have gone and pinned some recipes to win!) here is my favorite recipe from the Moda Bake Shop...

Source: http://www.modabakeshop.com/2012/07/vintage-modern-pinwheels-quilt.html

I am really loving this Vintage Modern Pinwheels quilt made by Karin over at Cascase Quilts.  I just love the way the blocks play with your vision.  I look at it one time and I see the white pinwheels and the next time I look at it I just see the crooked squares.  And I think this pattern will look great with fabric that goes with any season.

I've already decided that if I don't win the MBS Love It. Pin It. Win It. contest that I will start looking for the fabric to make this quilt!  I love this quilt, I really do!

WIP Wednesday #16

Not much getting done around here.  But I have made a few more crocheted washcloths like this one.

And since I don't have anything else to show here are some pictures of me and my wonderful husband, Dylan and our doggie Bella! :-)

Dylan and I at the Jason Frye Memorial Motorcycle Ride.  Dylan was friends with Jason, who was a Marine that was KIA while serving in Iraq in 2005.  His parents and friends put on this ride each year to raise money that is going towards building a community center in his honor.

Canoe day trip during our "vacation"

Bella being brave and getting the in the water (she HATES being wet and she can't swim)

 And here's my round-up:


Finished

• A few more crocheted washcloths

In Progress:

• Quilts for Kids Quilt
• Another Green Bay  Faux Chenille Blanket
• Cow Fabric Project (half remains!)
• Test out my new KAM Snap Plier set! (still haven't done this yet, pathetic, I know!)
• Cloth Diapers
• More scrubbies and washcloths

Linking up to Work In Progress Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced!

Scrubbie Dub Dub

I keep talking about all these scrubbies in my WIP Wednesday posts and I've had a few questions about them come through my email so I figured I'd write up a quick post about them.

Just to be clear, this pattern is NOT mine but it is available for free (woo hoo!) a few different places online.  Dylan's Aunt Tami (you are going to be famous!) found these on Pinterest and said how simple they were so I decided to make some.  She followed the pattern available HERE.  Now I'm going to be completely honest and tell you all that I can't read crochet patterns.  When I look at a pattern written out like that one (although this one isn't bad), it just looks like a bunch of jumbled letters, numbers and puncuation marks to me. 

So I went out and found THIS video tutorial on YouTube and followed it.  I'm a self-taught crocheter so it's much easier for me to watch someone while they are explaining it, rather than trying to read all that pattern jibberish.

I like making these scrubbies beause they are so quick and easy to whip up.  I like to crochet a bunch and then finish them all off at the same time.

Then one day while I was finishing some scrubbies, I thought that it would be nice to make matching washcloths to give with the scrubbies.  Then I found these ribbed washclothes over at Aesthetic Nest that match perfectly! 

Well, of course they match, both patterns use the same stitch!  The washcloths are quick to make as well, especially since you don't have to worry about the increasing and decreasing on every row.  Right now I only have two matching washcloths but JoAnn's is having a great coupon commotion next week, so I will be picking up the same yarns I used for scrubbies to make some matching washcloths.

I have started carrying around a small bag with my crochet hooks and some yarn so anytime I have a few minutes of time to spare I work on scrubbies or a washcloth.  So if you have some free time give these a try!  They are super easy and simple but you will fall in love with them and want to make millions!

WIP Wednesday #15--"Vacation" Edition

So technically, Dylan and I are on vacation this week.  We decided we didn't want to go anywhere this year but figured we should still take a week off together.  That being said I'm not getting much done but so far we are having a good time.  

Yesterday we had a pretty simple day...lunch at Olive Garden and some shopping.  Then we came home and decided to put our canning skills (or lack thereof because I have NEVER done any canning before...ever!) to the test and can some pickled jalapenos.  We had 3 jalapeno plants come up in our garden and it took them a while to do anything, but now they are producing so much it's hard to keep up with.  We had enough that we froze after picking and some fresh (as in 26 peppers that were picked in two days) to do a small batch of pint jars (6 to be exact).

We were a bit nervous during the process and we even high-fived a few times when we heard the "pings" of the lids sealing.  I'm happy to report that all 6 of our jars sealed and will now sit for the recommended 3-4 weeks in the pantry to maximize the flavor.  If they turn out good, I'm predicting Dylan will have them all eaten within 2-3 months!

Today we took a day trip to Ricketts Glen to hike the trails and see the waterfalls.  We had a great time and we took A LOT of pictures so I'll do another post later in the week with some of our pictures.

We got home from our day trip in the early evening so I was able to get my fabric cut for the Shades of Grey Charm Swap.

Just have to get it to the post office and send it off!

Tomorrow we are going canoeing/fishing.  Here's to hoping we catch some good fish!


Finished

• Shades of Gray Charm Swap--charms cut and ready to send!

In Progress:

• Quilts for Kids Quilt
• Another Green Bay  Faux Chenille Blanket
• Cow Fabric Project (half remains!)
• Test out my new KAM Snap Plier set! (still haven't done this yet, pathetic, I know!)
• Cloth Diapers
• More scrubbies!

Linking up to Work In Progress Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced, with this weeks guest host Emily of Mommy's Nap Time.

WIP Wednesday #14

I'm a little late to the party this week...but I'm here!  Dylan is back on nightshift and we are both trying to adjust to a new schedule (I don't have much to adjust to except that now I can go to bed whenever I want since he doesn't get home until around 6:30am).  BUT I actually have some stuff to show!  Say what?!!? :-)

After Dylan left for work tonight I was able to finish up what I'm gonna call my Sewing Utensil Holder.

This was so simple but I think it will be a nice addition to my Thread Holder and my new "shelves" (more on those later!  It's just a tin can that I painted with the same paint I used on my thread holder, and then I hot glued some vase filler rocks to it with a few little bling rhinestones mixed in.

The other day I got my fabric that I ordered for the Shades of Gray Charm Swap and here's what I chose.  I already had a fat quarter of this same fabric before the swap was announced, so as soon as I decided I wanted to be a part of the swap I KNEW I was going to buy more of this fabric (and how ironic that the fabric is from the Shades of Grey line by Daisy Janie?!).  I just need to get this all cut up and in the mail and then wait for my return package!

I'm also working on a matching washcloth for a pink scrubbie I made.  It's coming along nicely and it will go perfectly with it's matching scrubbie.

Speaking of scrubbies....here's how many I have made so far!

Yes I put the scrubbies in Bella's doggie bed to get a picture.  It actually looks much better than how I had them splayed across my sewing table.  I've probably made around 30 of these already.  They are so easy to make while sitting there watching The Big Bang Theory re-runs, or to take my mind off of work during my lunch break.

Oh and have you noticed my blog name on my pictures now?!  I've also been playing around in Picasa lately.  I'm still getting the hang of if so don't judge me too much yet!

Here's the round up:


Finished:

• Sewing Utensil Holder
• More crochet scrubbies...I've lost count at this point :-)

In Progress:

• Quilts for Kids Quilt
• Shades of Gray Charm Swap
• Another Green Bay  Faux Chenille Blanket
• Cow Fabric Project (half remains!)
• Test out my new KAM Snap Plier set! (still haven't done this yet, pathetic, I know!)
• Cloth Diapers
• More scrubbies!

And of course, I'm linking up to Work In Progress Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced, with this week's guest host, Michelle from CityHouseStudio.