I knit something!

Something other than a baby hat!

I knit a scarf! (and yes, those are the needles still dangling from the scarf. I haven't gotten to the lesson on how to cast off or bind off or whatever it's called.) I did a seed stitch on this, which is mind numbingly tedious! (knit one, purl one) I love the results though, and think it will be super cozy next December. I used a bulky alpaca/acrylic blend yarn from my favorite knit shop, Black Sheep Yarn Shop. I think I need to tackle maybe one more scarf, before I move on to something more advanced. I'm not sure I can handle another seed one though. So, knitting friends, how shall I knit my next scarf?


Oh, and the only reason I got this scarf done, was because we went to visit my MIL this weekend, which meant 7 hours of drive time (no, I wasn't driving! Or at least, only passenger seat driving.)


Here are a few pics from her back yard:

Meet be back here tomorrow, for my bag tutorial on Sew Mama Sew!

Pillow Palooza

I spent a good amount of time yesterday organizing all most of my vintage sheets, and found a ton (well, about 20) pillow cases!

So, in honor of my awesome pile of pillowyness, I'm having a sale in my shop. Buy 5 pillowcases, get the sixth one free! (or, 2 free fatquarters!) 
Sweet dreams!

Exciting!!

I feel like I've been a little MIA lately, but with good reason.


This is what I've been up to (and this isn't all of them!)

A bunch of them went into a knitting shop nearby, the rest into my  Etsy Store.

But the really exciting news is that this little bag

will be featured as a tutorial  on Sew Mama Sew on Monday!


I'm beyond thrilled to be featured! The gals at SMS are so great to work with. I can't wait for you to see the tutorial!

My Teen Crushes

My hubby ventured into the darkest corners of the basement today, and hauled out the boxes of records. Please tell me you remember records!


After almost 20 years in an oven of an attic, and another 2 in a damp basement, I was dubious they had survived. But survive they did, and they sound, well, they sound like records, scratches and all.


I was so happy to find my boys, Michael and David, in good shape.

As a tween, I was convinced that I would marry Michael Jackson one day. I had only planned on dating David Cassidy for a little while. And the Monkeys? Not so much. Dating myself? Totally. But I am who I am and I don't give a damn....(okay, see if you can fill in the rest of that line!)

So, I must ask: who were your teen crushes?

Pouches Galore!

I had a great mail day yesterday, with a total surprise package from my friend Tammie! Such a surprise, that when I saw the package, my first reaction was, uh oh, did I forget a swap or something? Nope, just sweet Tammie sending a thank you for guest posting during her Sew Full of Love week. 

How cute is that?! Oh, and there were other goodies inside. They just didn't make it to the photo shoot.


Sunday, the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild met. I gave a demo on how to do (or, as it turned out, how not to do) a zipped pouch. Really, nothing went right with this demo. I tried to top stitch, but then my machine got hung up on the fusible fleece I used to line the outer fabric. (I love the fusible fleece, though. Gives just enough stability, with a little softness, too!) As I was picking out the top stitching, I ripped a hole in my pouch. Awesome. But, I didn't give up! Here's the final product:

I always like to have a purpose for my bags/pouches. This one is for going to concerts and sports events ~ you know, for those times when you just need a phone and a credit card? This will be perfect (about 7" tall).


While at our meeting, I finished up this pouch. I was super excited about this one, because I've really wanted to try some "rustic" embroidery. The center print is from Spoonflower (a freebie sample, I think - I've had it forever).

It's a pretty good size ~ about 10" x 10". I wanted something that I could put a sketch book and pencils in. (I'm terrible at sketching, but maybe if I have something pretty to carry my supplies in, I'll be more inspired.) Thinking about adding a strap to this one and make it for of a satchel.


I've got some other "pouch" things in the works, but nothing I can reveal right now. Stay tuned until next week!

Guild Meeting Tomorrow

So, of course that means a flurry of sewing today. I'd really rather not be sewing at the last minute (which, technically, would be tomorrow), but I always seem to leave the guild stuff until the last few days before our meeting. 


This month, we had a challenge to create a logo block that represents the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild. We'll vote on all the blocks submitted, and the winner's block will be our logo block for all sorts of things ~ stationery, membership cards, etc. I've lived here less than two years, but long enough to know that the Baltimorons are crazy about their Ravens and Orioles. Although not terribly creative, this is my entry.

I do love the pattern. It's called Garden Gate and you can find it here: garden gate

We also have a block of the month challenge. This month, spring is the theme. A giant hexy flower is my submission:

I made the hexy flower over a year ago. If you ever look at the posts of my design wall, you've probably seen it hanging out in the corner. Well, now it's on a block. I've been working on my free motion sketching lately. Maybe I'll be brave enough soon to actually do something on a quilt!

For our Round Robin this month, we had to do setting squares, and add applique. Again, applique is not my forte, but I went back to the hexagons again. This is just a little peek, as we're supposed to keep them a surprise.  I worked on Lainey's quilt this time (loved her colors!)

In other quilting news, I've stalled on my strings. Too many other things (mainly spring break!) jumped in front. But now that my guild stuff is finished, I'm ready to jump back in.


I'm starting up another round of Bee Vintage, my vintage sheet quilting bee on flickr. I'm looking for a few more people, with a May start date. If you're a vintage sheet lover and want to get in on this, hop on over to the flickr group, read up on what we're doing, and if it sound good, send me a flickr message.


Speaking of flickr, I've been pretty inactive over there, as far as bees, swaps and quilt a longs. But this one, I think I'm going to do: The My Precious QAL. The idea is this: cut into your precious fabric that you've been hoarding. Make whatever you want, however you want, but take your best stuff out of the museum and cut it up!


I've been holding on to my small stash of modern meadow for 2 years, now. I think it's time.

I've got close to 3 yards. Certainly enough to make something. Actually, don't you think it would look awesome in that garden gate pattern?

Oh No!

I' ve become one of those people. You know who I'm talking about. The ones that leave their Christmas decorations up way past January. And past February. And into March.


When I was doing my quilting marathon, I really had planned to get this one quilted:

I just wasn't inspired to quilt it in any particular way, and then the day/weekend/week was over. Another project for another day.


A few days later,  we had friends over for dinner. And I realized, much to my horror, that I still had this hanging in my kitchen:

Despite 80° temperatures, daylight savings and the spring equinox, I failed to notice there was still a snowman on the wall. Awesome. So, as I was taking flannel frosty down, I sadly realized there was nothing to take his place. Wait a minute! A sweet little veggie quilt would look great there! So, with a little ripping and re-sewing, I came up with this:

Serendipity! Now, I'm still not sure how to quilt it, but I have the perfect space for it when it's finished.

Farming....

Is hard work. Really hard.

I want to plant a garden this year. Unfortunately, our soil is terrible. Actually, I think calling it soil is generous. It's more clay than soil.  So, I enlisted Kyle's help when he was on spring break and we built a frame to make a raised garden. 8' x 10 ' sounded like a good size at the time. He went back to school, and I ordered up the dirt.

I have spent the better part of the week moving the dirt from here:

 To here:

That's three yards or about 50 wheelbarrows full of dirt. I'm already exhausted, and nary a tomato has been planted. Now I just need to figure out a way to keep the deer, fox and bunnies out of the garden.

So tell me, what are your favorite back yard garden veggies to plant? And what do you do with all your zucchini?