July TSNEM – Knowing When To Give Up

If you follow me on Instagram you may have noticed me mention lately being in a bit of a creative funk. I've been making a lot of things for swaps lately (which I'll finally be able to show off!) but I haven't been doing any cross stitch and I don't have a project that I've been really, really excited to work on. I've been working on embroidered cranes for my 1000 crane quilt so at least I'm accomplishing something. But the deadline is so far away and there's so much to do, it's hard to really get excited about it at this point. I am also stuck in this place where ... Read More

Experimental Stitching – Fusion Hexagons

It's been awhile since I've done some experimental stitching, but this idea made me drop everything so I could try it right away. Someone sent me this link to a crochet and fabric fusion blanket and suggested I do it with hexagons. I've been seeing things like this floating around Pinterest but it never crossed my mind to do it with english paper piecing! I looked at the link and immediately had to try it. I really love how it turned out but unless I can figure out an easy way, I can't imagine making an entire quilt like this. For the first one I tried doing it ... Read More

Finished Mira’s Blanket!

It's been a long time coming but I finally finished Mira's blanket! She's 14 months old, but it's better than my track record with Evie's blanket which still isn't finished. I really love the 30 for 30 crafting challenge because it's making me pick up projects that I haven't been wanting to work on. I'm so glad to be able to tick this off my list. Now I'm moving onto Evie's blanket. I have had all the squares finished for months but it's the joining that's been holding me up, that and the inevitable weaving of ends that will have to happen. I wish I could go back ... Read More

August Challenges

CraftingGeek is doing another 30 for 30 Crafting Challenge for August. We're onto day 4 now and I am almost done with my first project. During the June 30 for 30 Crafting, I did a lot on Mira's blanket but I ran into some technical difficulties and didn't work on it for a bit. Now everything is figured out and I'm back on track and determined to get it finished. I just have a little bit more of the border to do and then the ends to weave in. I should be done this week. I switched around projects a lot last time and I want to try to focus on one project for a bit. ... Read More

Book Review – Amigurumi at Home

I've been doing a lot more crocheting lately because I am trying to finish Mira's blanket. I try to limit my yarn projects I have at any given time because I'm not as good about finishing them as I am with embroideries and cross stitches. However, once I finish this blanket I am going to be making something from Ana Paula Rimoli's new book Amigurumi at Home: Crochet Playful Pillows, Rugs, Baskets, and More. This book has an amazing selection of really unique patterns, there isn't a single granny square to be found. But there is a cupcake rug, a tooth pillow, a robot ... Read More

30 for 30 Crafting Challenge Done!

I made it through the 30 for 30 crafting challenge and I'm pretty proud of what I've accomplished! I finished the French knot color wheel. This became my main focus for awhile and I'm really excited to have finished it during the 30 days. I didn't work on Evie's blanket at all but I'm almost done with Mira's. This is the hardest to see a lot of progress on, but I've done 4 rows around. I have 4 more rows and then a border and I'm finished. I still have a few more designs to stitch up and a lot of hexagons to make, but it made good progress on the Wild ... Read More

30 for 30 Crafting

I craft for way more than 30 minutes a day, but I still feel like this #30for30crafting challenge that Jess from The Crafting Geek set up will be extremely beneficial for me. When talking about my creative process I mentioned losing momentum on projects and leaving them unfinished. This happens way more than I wish it did, so I'm going to use this challenge as an opportune to revive some of them. For at least 30 minutes a day I will set aside my current project and pick up one of these almost finished WIP. Evie's blanket I finished all the squares for this months ... Read More

Handmade Christmas – Ackbar Coffee Sleeve

I kind of can't believe I forgot to post this! I saw this Admiral Ackbar coffee sleeve on on Pinterest and knew I had to make it for Josh. There wasn't a tutorial, just a link to a Flickr photo. The creator answered my questions and I got started. The original is definitely neater. I should have made the sleeve tighter, it falls off a bit. I chose a more challenging shaped mug because of the bulge so it doesn't fit as well as I would have liked. The eyes gave me a bit of a challenge as well. My original plan was to do a magic circle for the back of the eyeball ... Read More