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In the name of that process pledge I took…

…here’s where I am with the latest quilt.  I went back and forth to JoAnn’s several times.  Man, they can be so annoying.  I settled on this thin wale corduroy.  It’s soft but thick enough to stand it’s own with the denim.  Also I love the colors.   Very fall.
So now to decide what to use where. 
I really thought that the red would be the background for sure.  I bought the most of it; I could easily use it for the back of the quilt.
But I like the green a ton, too.
 
Definitely not the blue.
I may even cut squares and just make the whole top of the quilt patchwork-y.  It looks sort of funky and ’70’s to me.  But I don’t want to lost the impact of the embroidery.  So I’m gonna cogitate for a bit on this.
In the meantime, I’ve almost finished the baby quilt I’m making for one of my husband’s co-workers.  I used a remnant from IKEA.  It was a panel and a half of a little scene so I put them together in a way that looks sort of cubist-ish.  I hope it doesn’t freak the baby out to have a chopped up fox on a blanket.

I quilted it using a running stitch with different pinks.  I got bored at the end and changed them up a little bit.  I just have to finish the mitered corners and it’s done.
I took the pictures in my kitchen in order to get the best light.  Have you ever seen such an ugly floor?  We hope to replace it in the next year or so. 
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What I’m up to lately


I’m still working on the running stitch quilt squares.  I’m just not sure about my next step. 
I’m pretty sure that if I just sew all the squares together, the detail of the embroidery will be lost.  
 They need some kind of solid border.

Right now, I’m intrigued by this technique.


I’ve also been inspired by this quilt.

 I also like the idea of putting them in a sort of path formation. 
For now I’ve just set it all aside to think about something else.  
I’ve been having a great time making post cards.  They’re small and you can either stick with a theme and really explore it by making a bunch or make one of something and move right on. 
And you get to make a mess with glue and scissors.
They can really pile up, though.
So I joined Postcrossing, which I really like and recommend, but not everyone there appreciates a handmade card.  
 
It’s so much fun to make postcards, I really wanted to 
send some out to other people who enjoyed them, too.
  Luckily, I found the International Union of Mail Artists.    
I’ve sent a few out including this one: 12-12-12.  I’m really looking forward to getting something in the mail from other artists.  I’ll post some here when I do.
Here are some that I made recently 
but haven’t sent yet.
 
I also made some that are drawings.  They are just from photographs but I changed the faces so you wouldn’t be able to recognize them if you saw the drawing next to the photo.  In fact, the first two are from the same face. 

I love drawing older faces.  They have so much more going on than young, perfect faces.
 
 
 I had so much fun drawing again.  I really haven’t drawn much at all since having the kids.

A couple of nice stacks.  It makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something.
 
 
 PS.  Yes, I had a way better time putting the pictures where I wanted them this time.  Thanks for the ideas!  Still not perfect, though.  That Blogger is always fighting me!
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Part of the fun…

 …is the decision making process.
Do I like these with few, simple stitches best or…

…these, totally filled with lots of stitches.

Or both together.  Whichever I choose , do I mix them with blank denim squares or…

Or just the stitchy ones.
This one is my favorite today.

This one escaped that part of the process because I decided it was a postcard.
I just have to figure out how to address it and affix postage.  Any ideas?  Ones involving duct tape will especially get my attention.

The worst part by far is arranging the pictures on blogger. 

They almost never go where I put them
I’d love some advice there, too.  What’s the secret to controlling picture placement on Blogger?  Quilt squares are waaaay easier.


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At it again!

 I went out to the country to visit friends for a fun day of sewing.  Women and kids just hanging out and playing with cloth and thread.  It was a great group of people and a beautiful Wisconsin fall day. 
“We used to be pants!”
It was a long drive as I got myself lost about three times on the way there.

I tend to get distracted by the fall colors this time of year.  We’ve had so many cloudy, grey days that one bright day dazzled me!  The leaf colors are so vibrant against those blue skies!
Anyhoo…

I pieced together some denim with no end purpose in sight but decided – in this place of safety and positive energy – that this was the time to experiment with something new that I has been kicking around in my head.  So I pulled out my box of embroidery thread and made some simple running stitches through a square of denim unconsciously using some of the colors that I saw on my drive out. 

I didn’t try to keep the stitches totally straight, I just followed them where they seemed to want to go.  Just like following those oddly letter named county highways.
 The squares and the lines of stitches are a little wonky like most things I like and like my drive there.  Always the scenic route for me – usually involuntarily.
It’s a project that’s been there in the back of my head, waiting until I was ready, I guess.  Maybe waiting for that fricking couch to get done.  I’m so glad I started in on a crisp, bright, fall day.
Like a candy store!  I did remove all of the pinks, purples and blues for this project.
 I’m seeing the next OCD quilt coming together here.  I already made four more squares last night.  All in all, a great day.  Great friends + great day + room to try something new = some awesome inspiration!
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Finally for real!

Seat cushions on ‘A’side
I’m calling this DONE!  It’s probably about a year of work and avoidance of work to make this couch cover.  I’m ridiculously proud of it.
‘B’ side
I consider it done just today because this is the day I attached some elastic loops around the legs to hold in in place.  It’s looked finished for weeks.
Here’s the seat back.  I’m glad I took months and month off because in that time I made some quilts and came up with this piecing idea.  Everything else I had tried before was super awkward and had stumped me.  One vote for procrastination!

By the time I really figured out the piecing thing, though, I had reached the back of the couch , you know, the part that sits up against the wall.  It’s my favorite part.
So here are some of the details.
These pictures are just for the record because no one will ever see it unless I completely rearrange my house.  Don’t think I’m not tempted.
Remember this post? (Scroll to the end)
You’re still welcome!  
Thar she sits, in all her glory!
 
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That ultrasound had better be right!

Finally, I get to make a mess! Well, really, it’s a quilt. 
It’s a baby quilt for my new grand niece.  She’s due any day now.
It’s sewn together on the sewing machine.
Then I quilted it together by hand with embroidery thread. 
This is the back side.  I love the digital effect.
In process
The front is linen.
I used a floral skirt and beige pants.  The beige pants were actually really nice but had a pleated front – such a shame.  The stripes are from a pair of XL capri pants.  Another monstrosity taken off the street.  You’re welcome.
The backing is a really soft flannel.
I sewed around the inside of each square with different colored thread.

I wish I had only used dark colors but I’m not unhappy with it over all.
It’s the quickest quilt I’ve ever made.  I made the whole thing in less than a week.  I’d love to see it after it’s been washed a few times.  I think (and hope) it will age really nicely.

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Up!

It’s been a while since I posted but my house is staying pretty clean … you know… from the not making a mess making stuff.

BUT… I do have a little news. Two of my quilts are up at the Monona Public Library as part of a Staff Art Show.  Here are some pictures but if you’re in the area, you should really go check them out.

Log Cabin Quilt made out of Corduroy

Denim Quilt
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Rated R for content

Fair warning about the links in the post’s title.

I have cleaned up my craft space so well that I can’t make anything.  The yarn is in a big bin with bins of fabric on top of it.

It’s so tidy that it’s intimidating. 

I needed something portable* to do.  
It was this book and then this web site that led to this flickr photo set and that led me to cross sitich.
And I am pretty bad at it.  I made the two smaller ones for the kids and didn’t even realize that I was doing it wrong.  I had space between each stitch and it just didn’t register that mine didn’t look like the ones in the book.

I then made several that got thrown out because I thought you could make it up as you go along.  You can’t.  It’s math-y.

Then I found a free program online to design patterns.  Now I’m hooked.  It’s the cheapest crafty hobby I’ve ever had and it’s pretty brainless once you get going. 

I threw them in the frames really quickly and I need to press them and then re frame them but I was so happy when they were done.  I love the really sassy ones but the fact is, though they make me laugh, I don’t want to see them on my walls every day.  So I’m stuck with the sassy-ish ones for a while.
Just till my kids grow up and move out.

Some of the work posted on flickr is really inspired.

Hopefully the house sells quickly so I can go back to making colossal messes.  One and a half weeks to the open house!
*Yes, I know that knitting is portable.  But I have this one huge project to finish that I have some sort of crazy person block on so I can’t start anything else until I finish the big unfinishable project and yes that makes sense if you aren’t really thinking at all. 
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On the one hand…

I finished it!!!
Here it is, early into the hand sewing part.  Notice how close together the stitches are.
Much further apart at the end…

This is the very last bit of hand stitching that I did on it.

Back side

I thought that adding the pocket and belt loop would look really cool as part of the binding but was a huge pain to hand sew.  Live and learn.

Done and done.  One the other hand, it’s time to move on to…
Cleaning the craft space.  I didn’t take a before shot.  This is in the middle of the process.
Seven full bins…that are visible…
Here’s what I’m throwing away.
On the other other hand…Let’s not talk about this tucked away corner from my mosaic days.
…or this one….
….or..this..one…

PS – I know it looks like I found the camera but actually I didn’t.  We had purchased a warranty on the first camera.  You know, those things you pay for, never use and kick yourself for the whole time.  We had a month of the three years left on it when Matt remembered it and so got the camera repaired just in time.

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Train Wreck

I am having some trouble posting here. 

My camera is missing.  I know it’s somewhere in our house. 

I also haven’t finished anything to take pictures of (If I had anything to take picture with) because we are busy prepping our house to put it on the market.  We are hoping to change neighborhoods.

I could post pictures of the basement wall I painted or the empty spots where the furniture I’ve given away was but they aren’t interesting. 

Plus- again- I have no camera. 

This has slowed down the Etsy shop, too.

I haven’t given up, though.  I will be back to posting once the camera resurfaces.  It’s bound to with all this crazy decluttering.  In the meantime, please enjoy this train wreck from the ’70s: