Apron Swap

At the next quilting guild meeting we have an apron swap.  I've been hunting all over pinterest and the web for something to catch my eye.  I ultimately decided on the Purl Bee Unisex Adjustable Apron.  I like the utilitarian feel of it.  But wanted to kick it up a notch.

Originally I was thinking of adding some fun embellishment or paper pieced pocket. 
Think applique kitchen utensils
Or paper pieced cup of tea
Or appliqued letters such as "eat"

However on my search for fabric I found an easy way out - fabric that already had a kitchen design, and coordinated well with the main fabric.  I could add a little ric rac and a bright fun apron tie - yes this would do the trick.


The instructions are very well written and straight forward.  I didn't follow exactly - e.g. the pattern tells you to fold your fabric in half to cut out the main body of the apron.  My fabric was extra wide and so I didn't want to cut a big hole in the middle of it - I was actually able to cut out the main piece, to specification, out of one half width of the fabric.  But like I say, the fabric I'd selected was quite a bit wider than your typical quilting bolt.  Plus for the pocket, I fussy cut the design I wanted vs trying to get the measurements exact to the pattern.  So nothing major - just little tweaks.



The end result is simple and pretty.  I'm really happy with how it all came together.
Thing is... it doesn't really fit me.  I think Unisex Adjustable Apron should read His and 'Tall-Hers' Apron.
You see it fits hubby perfectly.  Although it may not be his choice in style ha ha.



But at 5'2" it seemed to drown me.  Looking at the pictures I've seen online they have it folded in the middle (which must be the adjustable part).  And in fairness, that approach works.  It just isn't as cute on me, with that fold, as it is on Joe. :) 



Let's hope whoever ends up with this is a good deal taller than I am.  Or who has a hubby/significant other who isn't afraid of a nice pop of pink and a little ric rac ha ha!

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend?
Love
Sam
xxx

Work-In-Progress Wednesday

Tyk and Tynd:



Curio Quilt, row F:

Squares, squares and more squares...

I've been spending a lot of time working on quilt squares these last couple of weeks.

First up are the Denver Quilt Guild Quilting Bee squares.  Last month I had Lorrie's box.  Her theme is 'everything goes with denim' and she was looking for strip squares.  As a newbie quilter, I have a lot of fun working on these types of squares - no perfect points to be created... no corners to match up... wonky lines encouraged... It's all about the colours and the fabrics and creativity. 

In Lorrie's box there were a number of Kaffe Fassett fabrics, and so I dug into my scrappy stash to complement them with some of the bits and pieces I had leftover from my Mum's quilt.  I really love those Kaffe polka dots. Here are the 4 squares that I contributed:



Here's a snap shot of all the squares that Lorrie has received to date.  I think this is going to be fabulous when complete.  A fantastic theme, that was pure joy to work on.



I'm ahead of the curve this month - I received Teresa's box last week and already have my squares done.  Teresa's theme is a wonky log cabin using purples, greens and pinks.  She encouraged each participant to throw in some orange.  Since she also had Kaffe in her box - some of the shot cottons - I was able to complement with some Kaffe shot cotton in orange that I had in my stash.  I am extremely happy with the outcome:



Here's a snapshot of all of Teresa's squares to date.  I really enjoy seeing these come together now that a number of squares have been created for each theme.  I think this particular quilt might be one of my favourites, and can foresee that I'd make one of these myself.  Lovely isn't it.



My little 'Vanna' certainly seems to think so :)))



In fact, Naomi has been intrigued by all this quilting and asked if we could make a square together today.  We did.  A wonky log cabin square for Bertie's Blankets.  You can read all about it on the Bertie's Blankets blog.




Finally, but most importantly, I've also been working on Mum's Curio Quilt.  Here's where I was yesterday afternoon:



And here's the progress as of the early hours this morning :))



My plan for this evening is to add some more squares for the next row.  I am tickled with how this is coming together.

Have a lovely evening,
Sam xxx

Big Tease

I ummed and aahed about whether I should post my holiday/birthday loot on the last post.  You see, I went a little crazy and I'm a touch embarressed :o( 
(You know you've gone over the top when the owner of one of the yarn stores asks if you've lost your mind!)

But here goes.  It is good stuff and so definately worth sharing.

In Tutto they had these wonderful Tyk and Tynd scarves on display that used a combination of Kauni Effektgarn and a lace weight alpaca.
 


The Tyk and Tyn scarf pattern was written by one of the chaps in the store.  It is a simple, and yet very effective design:  the alpaca provides a colour wash that helps smooth the transition of colour changes in the effektgarn.  The other advantage of the laceweight alpaca is that it really 'lifts' the Kauni.  Kauni is great, but it is not the softest of yarns.  However combined with the alpaca, this scarf has an airy and snuggly feel to it. 

I'd also picked up a couple of patterns in Tutto.



My favourites are:

• Olive
• Starling
• Coral

Go check them out on ravelry :)

And finally in Tutto they had this Shibui yarn on super sale.  Anyone that knows me well, knows that I love a bargain.  And this is where it all started to go downhill.  In fairness, it started innocently enough with a couple of skeins that I could use to make something for a friend's baby boy. (I have a simple striped cardigan in mind).



But then I saw the olive colourway... ooh Joe loves olive. 



And then there was the red/coral colour that just called to me.
 


Hmm willpower out the window, I left the store armed with more yarn than one person should really purchasing!

Not letting that stop me, we went onto the next store.  In Oodles Yarn and Beads, there were these fabulous Dyelot hand dyed hanks that consisted of a variety of yarn types.  They looked cool, but I wasn't sure what you'd do with them.  It was Joe who pointed out one of the sweaters that was made from said hanks (like how I did that... totally trying to shift the blame :o)))  He was right - the sweater was fun and different... and the hank also came home with me. 



The owner of the store advised that the hank was enough to make a tank top.  But that you really need to add another skein to it, to make a long sleeve sweater.  Lo and behold, look at this lovely Mad Tosh that was already in my stash - I think it will work perfectly!



Santa Fe craziness over.  The next day we went to Taos.  New day = clean slate.  Right? ;o)))

In Lori's Yarn and Fiber I picked up the following Schaefer yarn.  Pretty isn't it.  No plans for this one as yet.



The fabric I purchased was a variety of fat quarters that were primarily designed by a local Taos artist.



Here's an apron that we picked up for our Christmas gift box, that was made by the artist, using her fabrics. I thought it was cool, and am loving the deep rich colours.



Whew!  What a haul.  Now back to knitting and making good use of my stash.
Have a wonderful weekend friends,
Sam
xxx

Crafty Shop Hop

Hello Friends,
I've been gone for a couple of weeks:  Part of the time away was spent on vacation, celebrating my birthday.  We hit the road and went to visit the in-laws in Arizona, and then back via Santa Fe and Taos.  It was a fun trip, and we got to go to a ball game, visit Sedona, see a meteorite crater... and much more.  I also managed to seek out, and plan trips to, a number of yarn and fabric stores (oh yeah, happy birthday to meeeee!)

In Santa Fe we visited Tutto:



Tutto is an upscale yarn boutique.  There are numerous stunning sweaters, scarves and hat samples in the store.  Plus yarn brands and patterns that you don't typically stumble across, but are devine!  One of the chaps in the store couldn't have been more helpful: I asked about patterns and yarns and he offered great advice. 



The next yarn store in Santa Fe was Oodles Yarn and Beads:



This is a really welcoming store.  The owner, and some local knitters were hanging out, chatting and knitting.  They invited us to hang out with them.  I do love a store where my hubby and daughter also feel at home, and this was it.  Hubby spent time chatting with the knitters.  Naomi was hanging out with one of the knitter's dogs (and it was tough getting her to leave without said pup!)  Meanwhile I got to ooh and aah over the yarns and sample sweaters that had been created by the owner's daughter. 



Then came Taos.  I went to Taos Quilting store first:



This was an Aladdin's cave of a store that had a strong influence of the south west in their selection of fabrics.  I managed to find a number of fabrics that I hadn't seen before  - turns out they were designed by a local Taos artist!  Soo often I visit craft stores and find much of the same in many of them.  But not on this trip - each store had something that was unique, or not typically found in many stores.  It was a delight to stumble across fabrics and yarns that I'd never seens before.



Speaking of unique, Common Threads was the next fabric store I visited.



Wow!  This store had a variety of fabric types; not just quilting.  Again, a high-end, upscale store with some interesting finds.  A fabulous modern layout, beautiful fabrics for decor, dressmaking and quilting.  Wonderful notions - buttons, ribbons, ...  Absolutely lovely!  I'll be back!



And finally Lori's yarn and fiber.

 

Another welcoming yarn store, where I spent a good amount of time chatting with the lady that worked there.  There were skeins of yarn hanging outside that were dyed by the owner.  Wonderful shawl pins and other silver smith work in the presentation cabinet at the front of the store.  And a variety of yarns to feast your eyes on :)



Oh yes, it was a good trip indeed.

Hope you are all well and have fun vacation, or staycation plans, this summer.
In the mean time, wishing you a very Happy Mother's Day,
Sam
xxx