Soooooo, I've been crafting but not Posting!!

Time to document my crafty life!  

So far in 2015 I have finished a few things.  I have been into yarn for the past year.  Mostly crochet but I did pick up my needles and started knitting again in 2015.  I'm loving it.  Knitting still takes forever, but for garments I just love the look.  So,  what I have completed so far this year is mostly crochet, actually all crochet! 

All items are crocheted.  First two are free patterns on ravelry which I will link here:

baby hoodie

Crocheted Beret

The Third one I learned from a youtube tutorial which I will link here:

I used bernat baby softee for the the baby hoodie and it worked up nice and quick.  I used Vanna White yarn for the beret.  The pattern called for  a nice pom pon on the back but the person it was made for would not want that detail so I left it off.  I also used Vanna White yarn for the Trinity stitch hat.  

I enjoyed these Projects. 

As for knitting I have a pair of vanilla socks on the needles.  Slow going because I am just a slow knitter:

Its further alone than this now so I should be turning the heel soon.  Wish me luck! 

I am also making a sweater!  I'm being brave this year with plans to knit a sweater for myself and one for my son.  And a sweater vest for my husband if I can.  So I have my sweater cast on and its coming along well.  I'm using loops and threads acrylic  for mine because:

1. Its affordable.  For my first sweater, I did not want to spend a lot of money on yarn, because knowing me I might peter out before I finish.
2. I cannot afford to be a yarn snob.....maybe one day, but for now, I am cannot
3. I don't really wear wool anyway. All of my bought sweaters are some form of acrylic

I don't have a picture of my progress yet but it is a free pattern on Ravelry which I will link here:

February Lady Sweater

I am enjoying this one for sure and hopefully I won't come to regret the acrylic.  Maybe if I am uber pleased with the results I will do it again with a premium yarn.  

I am also making a Flax sweater for my son and a coordinating Barley Hat. I have the yarn.  I will be making his in acrylic for sure.  Loops and Threads baby yarn in a dark grey colorway.  I have not casted these on yet but when I get to a certain point in my sweater,  I will cast on the Flax sweater.  

So,  I have been watching lots of knitting podcasts lately and it seems that project bags have become a thing since last I knit.  So,  I naturally feel the pull to have a bag for each of my projects too!  So,  I bought some inexpensive unlined drawstring bags from Etsy seller GalianaCreations.  and I really like my bags pictured here:

I have another one as well but no picture.  This one is now holding the yarn for my son's sweater.  But I was so inspired by everyone's pretty bags that I decided to make some of my own.  Using this tutorial:

I made two of my own. The owly one is big enough for a shawl but is currently holding my February Lady Sweater.  The one with the elephant print is holding a bunch of Red Heart With Love Yarn purchased for the sweater initially but I ended up abandoning that yarn because it was just way too fuzzy.  I love these bags. I included a layer of felt in mine instead of batting because thats what I had. But it turns out that it makes the bags more sturdy and when they are opened, they work like little baskets.  They are not perfect but I am so proud of my work! 

I have plans to make a few more bags.  I have to say I am enjoying my sewing machine! 

So,  thats it for 2015 so far. I did a lot in 2014 but I did not document a lot here. I am planning to do more of that this year. 

As mentioned above, I have really been enjoying a ton of podcasts and vlogs.  Here are a few that I love:

knittingden

BakeryBears

This Homespun Life

The Knitting Room

Pen Hook and Needles

There are tons of great ones!  

Anyway, thats all for now.  Happy Crafting! 

WIP WEDNESDAY!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a sandwich! That's right, Happy in Cali is sandwiched.  On toward the Quilting!



I was inspired by Lee over at Freshly Pieced  when she posted her lunch totes made from this tut:

http://ayumills.blogspot.com/2010/08/tutorial-lunch-bag.html

Here is my version:






This was a very easy project and I highly recommend it.  Check out this and other tuts over at the Pink Penguin. She is a very talented blogger.

The baby quilt is still awaiting a binding and this handbag is done for the most part.

        Please excuse my messy desk at work!


I continue to work on my masters. its so hard!  I am sure I have senioritis and mommy-of-a-2-year-old-itis because I cannot seem to focus on this degree!  I did manage to turn in another paper and got an A on it! Yes!  Moving forward. I will be glad when this particular project goes into the completed pile.

And speaking of my little two year old work in progress, he started Karate class this week. Can you believe they have this for 2 year olds? Right now its all about  teaching them to follow directions, no real technique for about another year or so.  But check out my boy's moves!  Pretty good for a first try!  Forgive the blurs, he was a moving target and I took these on my blackberry.

one last bit of cuteness.



So stop on by freshly pieced to see what everyone else has been up to!

Works In Progress Wednesday

I am joining in on Works in Progress Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced! I am planning to do this every week!  This will motivate me to keep working on all my UFOs and hopefully finish some great projects this year.

.

So, this is my friendship braid inspired quilt top.  I saw this tutorial over at Missouri Star Quilt Company:





I realized that I could use my Accuquilt Go and the Chisel Die to create my version of this quilt.

I laid them out a few times before I found this layout that I love.



 Here, I have pieced that strips and added the first border.



Hopefully I will have the entire top pieced by next Wednesday and then it will be ready to quilt.  I am going to attempt some straight line diagonal grid quilting. Hopefully it will work out. I have to say that I really love  my Accuquilt Go!  It saves so much time and with all that it going on in my life, I do all I can to save time!  This is the first of I believe many quilts that I will be able to create using my GO!

My other work is progress is not quilting related or even crafting related. Its my Masters Degree!  I am happy to say that though I am still working on it after 3 years, I am so close that I can almost taste it!  I will actually be done by the end of June! I am so excited.  My program is completely online and the school is in Salt Lake City. So if I actually want to participate in the ceremony, I will have to fly to Utah.  At first I was thinking, whatever, who cares as long as I get the degree. But this has been such a battle that I think that once I finish, I MUST walk down that aisle and receive my degree. So, Salt Lake City here we come! ( probably next year though since they only have two ceremonies per year.)

Oh, how about a 3rd Work in Progress:  The Cuteness!



He will be progressing for a while though I know time is flying pretty quickly.  Its so hard to believe that he will be 2 years old next week!  My husband and I have been looking at his baby pictures and some from just one year ago. Its just amazing how much kids grow in such a short amount of time!


We are planning to take him to Legoland. Hopefully I will be able to visit a quilt shop in the area while we are there!  Stay tuned for more  pics and updates!

Whoopdidoo and Dickery Dock! Its the Holiday Season!

Its so hard to believe that we are in the midst of another holiday season and the year is coming to an end. I don't think I lived up to any of my new years resolutions but its been a great year anyway! We are enjoying our time with the little guy and with friends and family. I have to admit that I was a bit overwhelmed because I have a lot going on. I was going to give up on all the new things I did last year that I had hoped would be the beginning of family traditions for us. But I woke up the other morning reflecting on how happy I was last holiday season and decided that I had to change my attitude. Instead of focusing on the overwhelming stuff, I decided that the traditions must live on! Even though its hard to get anything done with an active 20 month old running around, I decided to sacrifice and stay up to get everything done. Afterall, I am only going to have one Christmas 2010 with my family so I have to make the most of it. So I have been up sewing every night trying to get our family pj pants done. I thought I did not have time but I have two pair basically made,(just to to hem the cuffs and add elastic to the waist) I will make my pair today.

We also joined some friends and made holiday cookies and going out to view Christmas Lights. Some neighborhoods go all out and its so fun to see. My son was totally into it as you will see from the pics.



We also decorated our tree finally:






And I have completed all of my blocks for the baby quilt I am making using the tube quilting technique. Its coming out great. Its so far from perfect but I think its going to make a great gift.







I think I am going to add white flannel sashing and then I have another blue lamb print for the border and backing. Its turning out nicely! I really love easy techniques that work up quickly and this one fits the bill.

Finally, just a little more cuteness!

OC County Fair, Quilting and more cuteness!

I think I may have said before that the one thing that I have always been sure of is that I wanted a family of my own. When I think about my life now, I just smile. I mean, life is not perfect, we have debt, we live in a small apartment, we are not working at our dream jobs and I have been battling infections all year. But even with all that, I am very happy because of my family! I am sort of shocked when I say that I am happy. Its because what matters most is family and good solid friendships and I am rich in both. I have a fantastic husband, a wonderful baby boy who is growing up way too fast, a fantastic extended family who love us all and who have completely fallen in love with my son ( although, who could blame them, he is so precious!), wonderful wonderful friends all over the world who have rejoiced with us and mourned with us. I feel so very very rich! I finally have the right perspective on life (at least, right now I do!). I could not ask for more.

This weekend, was all about family, even my crafting! DH and I took our little one to the Orange County fair. We had a blast. The little guys clapped the whole time as we walked through the rides, exhibits and games. He could not do much, but he seem to really enjoy just being there adn seeing everything. This was my first time at the fair. It was truly like an old fashioned fair. There was a working farm, there were pie eating contests and arts and crafts exhibits. Beautiful quilts, woodworking projects, knitting and crocheting. I was inpired to enter one day ( not sure when though!). Then there was the food. Why is it that they fry everything at fairs? Check out some pics:

So this was a great family day for us. So cool to watch our son experience life.

In crafting, I have a finished object! I actually worked on this all week to try to finish is. It was supposed to be done in feb for our anniversary. Of course, it just did not work out. But I managed to get it done. Its sort of an art quilt, totally improvised by me. I think it came out great. Its so not perfect but I love it!



We ended the weekend by teaching Sunday School to the 3rd and 4th graders and I thoroughly enjoyed the kids!

So, you see, a fantastic, fun filled, family weekend!

cooking and quilting

Today, I spent most of the day with my little family. We enjoyed going to the local farmers market this morning because we had an evening service today at Church. After the market we came home and while I cooked for the week, my husband watched the baby and washed 3 loads of clothes.

I had a marathon cooking event in my kitchen. I try to cook a few things we can eat throughout the week on the weekend so I don't have to worry about it through the week. This weekend I made:

beef stew
rice
pasta sauce
beans from scratch
squash/potato soup and

this:
Cookie Sheet Chocolate Bars

I am planning on taking a nice portion of these to my bible study group this week. The turned out great! See:







I love the Mennonite Girls Can Cook site. They really can! I have made 3 of their recipes so far. All have been hits!

I have not quilted this weekend but I did a lot before I left for my vacation. Here is a sneek peek of my next crazy shortcut quilt:





Here are some closeup shots of the decorative stitches I am using for the quilting.




I love the little hearts!

Finally, I will leave you with some cuteness!

Its been a while!

I have not posted in while but I am happy to say that things have been going well. My son turned 1 in April and we had a great party to celebrate. Tons of people came including my mother and sister all the way from Chicago. Its so hard to craft with a toddler in the house( Yes, he is walking! He started walking about a week after his 1st birthday.) So as far as projects go, I have 1 crochet UFO, 1 knitting ufo, and two quilting ufos. I can only craft every so often and most of the time its late at night. I did find and join this great crafting group and I did manage to finish one of my 3 quilting. The women in this group are so fantastic! People do all kinds of crafts. There were quilters, crocheters, knitters, scrapbookers, one cross stitcher and an embroiderer and a papercrafter! Wow, all I can say is wow. 24 people came to this meeting and I am so encouraged to have found these like minded women. I brought the quilt that I have been making for my son. It is not perfect, but with the help a fantastic quilter in attendence, I got it done!



The pattern is from this Book:

Crazy Shortcut Quilts.



It was very doable for a beginner like me.

I am so dang proud of myself and I am looking forward to making more of these.

I met so many great women, one of whom is the author of this Blog:

The Quilt Engineer

This lady is a true artist. Check out her work on her blog.

I think I am getting better at mothering and balancing all the things in my life (who am I kidding?!) I am hoping to find time to blog more and craft more, even if I have to stay up until midnight to do it!

I am still working full time and going to school. Hopefully, things will slow down a tad once i complete my masters!

Craft Day!

Well, I have been so busy lately, studying, writng a paper and preparing for our adoption. I have not had much time to craft at all. So, I decided that this weekend, I would craft all day long ( while washing 4 loads of clothes, of course!). My husband had to work ( on a Saturday, no less!) so I had the place all to myself. Our place is not that big so it was nice to be able to spread out and not get in his way. So I was able to make a dress. Its not quite finished because of course, I made plenty of booboos.

This is the pattern:
Butterick B5040



I am making view B. I still need to put the bands on the sleeves and put the hem in. But overall, I like it. Looks better on Me that on my twin.




And speaking of my twin, I got her from HSN last year. I just took her out of the box yesterdy. I really like having a dress form. HSN is so great because they have the easy pay option so that you can sort of pay a little per month until its paid for. I also got a serger this way ( which I have to learn how to use soon!)

I was given a lot of Jo Ann's Fabrics gift cards for my birthday in December. I have great friends! I was able to put them all together and purchase this at the After Christmas sale:

The best sewing table ever. It opens up on both sides and offers a pretty big work space. So much better than cutting on the floor!.

So, I had a great day, at home, doing my sewing thing. Hopefully, I will finish the dress today and take a picture of me wearing it!