Rainbow Hexagon Needlebook

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I so rarely make things for myself, but I signed up for the Selfish Swap over at Things for Boys and it seemed like the perfect chance to make some things I've been putting off. First up is a new obsession of mine, these little hexagon needle books. I've made three so far, one for a swap that has to stay secret for now, and one that I will be sharing soon. But the third one, this is for me! I used this tutorial from My Three Sons and it goes so quickly. I used 1" strips and sewed them together with a 1/4" seam. I basted them like I normally would onto a ... Read More

WIP Finish – Another Hexie Headband

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One of my 2015 goals was to finish more projects that I have started. I started the year off strong and then tapered off. Instead of finishing existing projects I just keep starting more... Stephanie at Swoodson Says posted a link with different headband patterns she's made and it reminded me of a long, long forgot WIP. Last year I started playing around with making English paper pieced hexagons out of old t-shirts. I had this idea to make a headband, I hoped that even with joining them the hexagons would be stretchy. It didn't work quite like I envisioned but I ... Read More

An Online Fabric Store – Bunny’s Designs Fabric Supply

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I've only bought fabric online a few times, a couple charm packs here and there. Since the bulk of my sewing is english paper piecing, I need such small amounts of fabric. Nearly every online fabric supplier I've come across has required 1/2 yard cuts and that is so much more fabric than I need most of the time. 95% of the time I buy 1/8 yard cuts. These equal out to be 4.5" (sometimes more depending on the store cutting it) and it works out pretty perfectly for making my hexagons. Plus it allows me to get a huge variety of fabrics for really cheap. I ... Read More

Best Birthday Ever Swap Gift

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A few months ago I posted about sign ups for the Best Birthday Ever Swap. My friend Kristy and I have both been a bit swap obsessed recently and we decided it would be fun to organize a swap to ensure you get fun birthday gifts. My first partner's birthday isn't until June, but I decided to make something for Kristy's birthday this month even though she wasn't my partner. Kristy loves budgies so I knew I wanted to cross stitch some for her. I used water soluble canvas and stitched this design up (I found a random Japanese sticker picture doing a Google image ... Read More

10 Year Anniversary Quilt

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Last year I created an origami crane cross stitch pattern and in the back of my mind I kept thinking about how neat it would be to stitch 1000 cranes. But my logical side told me that idea was crazy and I should focus my efforts on reasonable projects instead. I seriously started thinking about it again last week and was trying to figure out how to make it happen. My first thought was to get an enormous piece of fabric and embroider them all onto it. While I think that would have looked cool, it seemed silly because then what am I going to do with a giant piece of ... Read More

Nerds Craft It Better Swap – What I Sent

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I've done yet another swap, this one was the Nerds Craft It Better swap on Instagram. Sign ups were all the way back in January and the ship date is just now coming up. While I like having plenty of time for swaps I also feel like such a long deadline can be a bad thing and cause you to put things off. I already showed off the Mario 1up mushroom necklace (and shared the free pattern) but here's the rest. My partner listed other nerdy things she was into as well, but I couldn't resist sticking with the Mario theme. I designed a Mario and Luigi cross stitch pattern ... Read More

Free Pattern Friday – John Hodgman Quote

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If you aren't familiar with John Hodgman, television personality and internet superstar, then you are missing out. I can't even pinpoint how he came onto my radar, but I remember listening to the audiobook version of The Areas of My Expertise* in our apartment in Milwaukee and crying from laughing so hard. We've had the pleasure of meeting him at the book signing for his second book, More Information Than You Require* and he was amazing. One of my favorite podcasts is Judge John Hodgman where he dispenses internet justice with the help of Bailiff Jesse Thorn. One ... Read More