WIP wednesday #43

This seems to be a no-quilts time, 'cause I'm always involved in extra projects... hope to be back in line soon...

COMPLETED PROJECTS:

- kindergarden pillow: here you can find the specific post. It's been much appreciated by Smurfette#2's teacher.

- girls' bedroom light blind: the girls' bedroom is a bit poorly lit during the day, so it really needed a veiled blind. I already purchased the right piece to try this project out and I finally spent an hour during a quiet evening to tackle this item off my to-do list. This is how it's turned out. Just the right effect with so little effort! (sorry for the not so ideal light...)

girls' bedroom: there's only one roof window, so poor light

view from the lower standpoint

detailed view (see the roof imperfection? yeah, right...)

It really was simple to sew and now is off my to-do list!

Too bad now there's a new blind in the list, this time obscurant (for nap times)...

PROJECTS IN PROGRESS:

- fishnet: yeah, you just read that. Fact is that we bought a basket ball for Smurfette#1 but she didn't like the bag for it, so I thought I could do a string net with knots used by fish men... what a fool! It's quite simple, but very long. Now I know how sailors spent the time on their vessels... time-consuming.
Since I'm not a sailor, nor a knots expert, I'm probably not using the right method, but it's working so who am I to complain? It's coming out just perfect for the purpose.

- lunch bag: just like last week (on hold)

pre-sewn lunch bag

- Paths in my Garden quilt (king size quilt) - on hold while I wait for more fabric

- Secret project #1 (lap size quilt) - bought solids I needed and figured out how to make the drawings...

- Chains of Love quilt (twin size quilt) - on hold for priority reasons

THIS WEEK:

completed projects: 2

in progress: 5

new projects: 3 

for the love of knitting

With the end of summer and autumn slowly approaching, I itch to pick up my knitting needles and try something new.

Knitting has been my very first crafty thing, at the age of 6. I always went to my grandma (my father's mom) to spend some time with her in the summer, and she taught me to knit. She wasn't a grand knitter, but she did make garments and she could manage simple projects. She taught me the basics: I learned the rest by myself, with practice.

In almost 30 years I've knitted sweaters, scarfs, gloves, shawls and baby bed covers. One of my latest works is in fact a bed cover which was a gift for my sister's firstborn:

It also has been used for son#2 and now I'm using it for my Smurfette#2.

Knitting is unfortunately a time-consuming crafting, and I can't engage in complex or long projects at the moment, so I resist the itch and neglect my needles a while longer...

realization

I need a serger.

I know, I already have my fantastic Gracie, and really it should be enough... but I want to sew garments and such and I REALLY need a serger... I'm planning on making it my Christmas present (group present, it's quite expensive).

Now the question is: which one? I'm in love with Pfaff, so I might choose one of those... but I must talk with someone who have or know it very well. Any suggestion?

As for my personal preference, if I didn't have a budget limit, I'll go with this one:

PFAFF Coverlook 4.0

Isn't he pretty? (I don't know why I think of it as a 'he'.... but it suits him)

I probably just need something less professional, but I like to dream big.

small blog meet @ lilysquilts

Hi everyone!

Thanks to lilysquilts for hosting again this wonderful virtual meeting, which I'm attending for the second time.

If you are new to my blog, here you can find a brief introduction. And whether you're new or not, you are obviously welcome to browse through my posts and contact me at this address.

As for my August production, there's nothing much to say, since it's been summer vacation time.

Most of the time I planned and worked on the back-to-school thing for Smurfette#2. Well, it's more to-school, without the back part, since she's less than 8 months old... but kindergarden is quite tough nonetheless. Here's the kit I completed the last month:

bibs and towels

bib bag

change bag

tote

As for the quilting session, I finally finished my Chrysalis Sudoku Quilt, which I'm tempted to keep for myself, by the way...

front

back

binding

I know, not so productive... but I can't spend too much time in my sewing room when real life's calling, now, can I? wish I could.... don't we all to?

kindergarden pillow

I've finished Smurfette#2's kindergarden pillow, which is supposed to be used when listening to storytelling... so the softer, the better.

I went with 50x50cm in size and polyester for extra softness. And being a stay-on-the-floor pillow, a soft cotton cover (with a very practical zipper) that can be easily washed whenever it gets dirty. The pink fabric I used for the kindergarden kit was just perfect for this project also.

the finished pillow

And because a simple cover never seems to be enough when it comes to kids, I added a fabric butterfly, with big wings which I left free (the butterfly is sewed on the pillow at its body). Smurfette#2 could play with the wings when listening to her teacher.

big butterfly on the pillow: I used the same color palette as in the kit

detail of the free wings

And because I recently discovered I did have a fantastic zipper foot, I made good use of it and with no efforts of sorts.

The final touch: the name is embroidered with the embedded alphabet of my sewing machine (Gracie).