Daddy's Girl Pillow

Technically this is the Farmgirl Photo Pillow from Stitched in Time by Alicia Paulson, but I've renamed it the Daddy's Girl Pillow. I squeezed this little project in yesterday...somewhere in between sorting through 2 closets, a dresser and 4 boxes of clothing, moving furniture from one room to another, packing up Christmas decorations, rearranging two closets, tidying the kitchen, living room and dining room, posting on my blog and running errands. Can I just say, I was unstoppable yesterday??? It was awesome.

But back to my original topic...I made this pillow for our baby girl, my way of letting her know I'm okay with her being a daddy's girl. Afterall, I was one. I have always loved this photo of my dad holding me...there is something about the way he is looking at me. Since my dad's passing this photo has become even more special. To me, it looks as if he is in awe of his new role as dad. His eyes are gentle; he looks amazed and content. I have no idea what he was thinking of course, but to me, this picture captures my dad's personality in a way my words cannot. Working on this was also very healing for me. So many of the projects in Stitched in Time are perfect for family storytelling. This book arrived in my life at just the right time.

Also, printing on photo fabric turned out to be so flippin cool! My mind is racing with ideas for B&W pictures of my grandma in the 1940s, baby pictures of my mom and what I could turn them into. The brand of photo fabric I used was Printed Treasures and it's available at JoAnns (but kinda pricey so use a coupon). Stitched in Time has a ton more ideas for cool projects (check out the flickr group to get an idea). You could easily use a whole pack of the printable fabric as you work your way through the book.

Craft Book Challenge

Last night, I made these. They are from Bend the Rules Sewing. Finally I am making things from this lovely book, which I've had for many months now, but am only just now making things from it. I've sorta decided to give myself a challenge...to make something from each and every one of my craft books and patterns. I have this bad habit of buying lots of craft books. Too many. And then I end up feeling overwhelmed trying to decide what to make. So from now until the end of the year, I am going to strive to make something from each book I own. I'm not entirely sure if it is possible to complete this challenge by then, being that I am part-time crafter, but we'll just see what I can do. Here are my rules:

1. Make at least one project from each book.

2. Japanese books are included, so improvise!

3. It is okay to pass on a book or pattern if I no longer like it

4. If I no longer like it I must sell it on ebay or give it away to someone who will appreciate it.

5. Deadline for completion is January 2009, however if I am making a genuine effort and can't finish by then, I reserve the right to extend it.

6. Blog about my adventures right here!

7. It is okay to make multiple projects from one book if I am on a role.

8. Purchase of more craft books is okay as long as I have been making things from my current collection

I think that will do for rules. I like to make lists, which is one of the reasons I made these rules. Plus it just feels like a more official challenge if I give it rules...and I am not naturally very self-disciplined if you hadn't been able to guess from the nature of this post -so rules help a person like me. So here goes! Does anyone else have this craft book problem? I notice I do not seem to have this problem with cookbooks, only craft books...

Update, Disasters, Thoughts etc...

Over dinner last night, Kelli told me she was waiting for a blog update, so I guess here it is. Whoa is me...I am down my trusty laptop. It is a long, long, long, awful story...too awful for my nice little blog, but it has nonetheless resulted in less online time for me. Here is a nice, neat list of what has evolved since my last post on January 22:

1. Discovered crafty pod casts on CraftSanity. I don't know why I never listened to these before, but what fabulous background noise for creating and driving! I am finaly learning to use an I-pod! Go me!

2. Made a pincushion, pattern can be found here :

3. Got kinda sick

4. Made knit dishclothes while watching our latest Netflix addiction, Big Love!

5. (Saving the toughest for last--well, almost last) I basted and machine quilted my little red quilt. Sadly, this was not fun, and I feel lucky to have survived! Seriously. First off, I had the brilliant idea to lay a sheet underneath it, to keep the quilt from getting cat hair and other grime on it of course and well, I basted the little sheet right to my quilt. Yes ma'm I sure did! I decided to just cut the sheet off rather than re-baste. So it wasn't so bad, just a minor detour actually. Well then today, I finally decided (which really means: got the guts) to machine quilt it, which I have NEVER done before. I researched and researched. I even practiced! But it was really hard! Explitives may have been spoken. I should note that I do not have a walking foot for my machine. And it is a mechanical machine, so there ain't anything fancy to help me out. It was VERY rough at first, but I finally figured out that lowering the feed dogs halfway did the trick okay. You really can't tell how "beginner" the stitching looks unless you really look close, so now that it is all said and done, I can take a deep breath. I did not ruin my little quilt after all. Yay!

6. Lastly, I have been thinking a lot about hosting a monthly craft night. Not at my house, but maybe at the library? My thought is, a library meeting room has plenty of space, a kitchen, plus tables and chairs and outlets for sewing machines. I've been thinking a lot about the social side of crafting, but yet I do all of my creating solo. It would be kinda nice to get together with other crafters once in a while and create and even learn from each other. I know of crafty people out there (and they are mostly librarians, but this IS who I primarily interact with), but I also know folks are busy and I am not sure I could gather a crowd. But then maybe I should just do it...

I Heart Mail

Over the last year as I have become more and more crafty, I've also been steadily getting more and more mail. A few reasons: more magazine subscriptions, swaps, fabric from japan, ebay purchases, etsy purchases...

I think this is one of my very favorite crafty side effects, it definitely beats the messy living room!!! Today after having a crazy last hour at work, my heart pounded with excitement when waiting for me on the coffee table were my copies of Mix Tape! It almost made up for being called a bleepety bleep by an angry teenager this afternoon...which although I've been called worse, sometimes it does get under my skin, no matter how thick it may or may not be...but anyway I am digging my new reading material so far. It's short and sweet. Quick to digest. Perfect for a gal with a full brain like myself...and although it didn't completely stop me from feeling grumpy tonight, it at least made my Monday feel a little bit better and that can go a long way...