A New Adventure for Everyone! (And a Giveaway)

I had an idea the other day.

I really enjoy crossing things off my crafting to-do list. Even though I am just cross stitching  all of these old projects, it gives me a great sense of satisfaction to finish something; whether it is a project that has been on my back burner for weeks, months, or (let's face it) years, completing something always feels good.

I feel a little selfish having all the fun over here, so I thought I would invite all of you to have fun with me. Here's my idea: CraftBusters. Together we are going to bust all of those old crafts you have hanging around in your house.

Maybe it's that quilt you started a decade ago.  You are going to finish it.

Or maybe that painting you started but then you moved and you can't find all the stuff, so why bother starting it again. You are going to finish it.

 Or maybe it's that craft on Pinterest with the pallets, mason jars and burlap that just sings to your crafting soul but you just can't seem to find the time to get it done. You are going to finish it.

You are going to finish one of these in the next month.

The Guidelines for my CraftBusters Project:

• Pick a crafting project that you started but just never got around to finishing. It can be sewing, painting, quilting, quilling, knitting, crocheting, binding of books, etc. Whatever. It doesn't matter. Just pick a project that you've put down and resolved to finish it. 
• Finish that project by October 28, 2014. And I mean FINISH it.  None of this, "Well, I just have to add the binding," or "Just three more coats of laquer and I'll be done." You can look at your creation and say, "This is finished. Nothing more needs to be done." Remember: budget accordingly. If you can't afford to finish this project-pick another one. 
• By October 28, 2014 email me at sewingbl@gmail.com . In that email, send me a picture of your finished work and a brief description of what you made and what you are going to do with it now (is it a gift? Are you going to hang it on the wall?). 
• On October 31, I will post the pictures and brief descriptions of what everybody made in the past month here on the blog. 
• If you finish your project and submit your picture to me I will enter you in a contest to win a $25 gift certificate to JoAnn's. No one is sponsoring this giveaway but my husband and I. I just want to give you a little reward for working hard and getting something off of your to-do list.

That's it. Finish a project. Submit a picture and a brief description. Win a gift certificate (possibly)! 

Don't worry if October is just way too busy for you. I'm going to do this for the next 12 months.

So what do you think? Wanna have fun with me and get stuff done? I thought so!

Questions? Leave 'em in the comments section, I love to hear from you!

Happy Crafting!
Kate

Bees in my Bonnet

Last week I had a bee in my bonnet. And that bee was the plug to my sewing machine. I wanted it.

I needed it.

I tore my sewing area and bedroom apart looking for it.

My mother-in-law went through boxes I am storing at her house, looking for it.

I complained-both online and off- that all I wanted to do was to finish this ONE project.

I've been cross stitching so many projects--see them here  and here--but not being able to finish them to completion that I think I needed to finish something-anything-to feel like all was right in my little world.

Then I remembered: I am married to a hoarder   someone who doesn't easily throw things away. A man who has been into computes since the 80's. A man who has a shoebox filled with floppy disks. A man who has a legal box filled with adapters and plugs.

He used to have boxes and boxes of wires. 

A man who had not one but two but THREE of the types of adapters I needed.

Once I found it, I was up in running within 10 minutes. You see, last week I had a different bee in my bonnet-it was to use this fabric in order to make a pillowcase to go with the quilt my mom had made my son.

Fabric I'm usin'

Quilt it's going with (I was not an English major). 

He has a nautical theme on his side of the room and I thought the pillowcase would help tie things together nicely. 

Mom told me about this really easy YouTube tutorial she had used to make pillowcases and I had to try it out. 

The pillowcase couldn't have been easier to put together and it looks great. 

I followed the YouTube tutorial (found here) and less than an hour later I had this awesome pillow. 

I love the detail of the accent fabric. 

And it works perfectly with his bed! 

So easy. Seriously, go make a pillow today. All you need is a piece of fabric that is 24" x WOF, a coordinating piece that is 12" x WOF, and a 2" x WOF for the accent piece.

WOF = width of fabric

Not only did I make the pillow this week but I was able to finish my WELCOME cross stitch. 

This is where I was last week:

And here it is completed:

I hate my iPhone camera. 

If you are interested in making this cross stitch it is called "Gardening Welcome" and can be found here. I found it at Hobby Lobby earlier this year. It's been around for awhile-I think Mom made this at least 10-15 years ago.

Next big ticket item to find: the charger for my camera battery; these iPhone photos are horrible!

Until next week!

Kate

Dashed Dreams

I had high hopes for today, friends, high hopes.

It appeared that the sun, moon and stars had aligned in my favor: the oldest was in Kindergarten and didn't need to be picked up for 2.5 hours, the youngest was sleeping peacefully, and the middle one was running around out back with his new water gun he had picked up from Grandma's yesterday.  In front of me I had a quick little project to make that would satiate this need to create and to get something out of my laundry basket that would only take an hour.

As I was gleefully cutting, pinning and following a tutorial along on YouTube, I was mentally writing my blog post about how easy and fast this little project was! I couldn't believe my luck! I couldn't wait to share it with all of you.

This is what I was working with!

Then the part to start sewing the first of three seams came up and I paused YouTube. Right now my sewing area is in a bit of disarray because of the staging process and I needed to find the pedal and the plug to my sewing machine. Pedal? Check. Plug. Where's the plug? WHERE'S THE PLUG??

I searched high and low. There's not much to go through since I have gotten rid of stuff and have organized the remnants. The plug is nowhere to be found. I believe it is in storage an hour north at my in-law's house.

I'm so bummed.

I have progressed a teensy bit on my cross stitch.

Here's where I was last week:

And here's where I am today:

Not only can I not have the plug for my sewing machine but I can't find the battery charger for my camera. But you can see in the poorly lit picture above that I have backstitched what I had done last week and started working on the O. 

Here's hoping I find the plug next time I'm at the in-laws!

Fall Quilt Complete!

So, does anybody  else have the back-to-school-bug? Because my whole family has it. We all just look and feel miserable. My folks left yesterday (*sad face*) and my mom took it home with her. Sorry family in Arizona!

This last week has been busy! The house is all ready to be put on the market: it's cleaned and staged and ready to go. I'm feeling simultaneously excited and nervous. The only thing that is pressing on my mind is finding new schools for the kids and putting them through that transition. I know, I know. It's not a big deal to switch schools when they are this young. The only thing they are worried about is if all of their stuff is going to come to the new house as well. Thinking about it, that sounds pretty nice: selling the house "as is" and not having to pack as much and starting over at the new house. I guess if money was no object...... oh well, a lady can dream, right?

Moving on....

I finished the Autumn Sampler!  Here it is in all its glory:

I think it turned out quite nicely. It's amazing how the back stitching in the corners really bring out the quilt blocks. For those of you keeping track at home, this is called "Fall Quilt" by Stoney Creek. You can find it here.

Granted, it's not completely finished (as in to hanging quality) but at least it is all stitched. 

I started the next project to keep me busy while the house is on the market and I can't make a huge mess, i.e. no quilts. 

I'm about halfway done already. I really like fast projects! 

Don't forget to join in on the social media fun! You can Like me on Facebook here or follow me on Instagram here. 

Happy Sewing!

Kate