WIP Wednesday #6

December 1, 2022Posted inB's Darlings, Finished Projects, Knitting, Sewing, WIP Wednesdays

Hi friends! How was your Thanksgiving? We had a lovely time with family that we had not been together with on Thanksgiving for several years.

I have been working on a new project I am so excited to start sharing with you guys! Studio time has been limited the last month or so with kids sick, me sick with the lingering crud, holidays and life, but I have a new pattern line I have managed to snag a few minutes to work on. Meet my new friends!

I am calling these guys B’s Darlings and I am working on a whole line with interchangeable clothes and accessories. The animal dolls themselves will be sewn and then I am creating both knitted and sewn clothes and accessories, which I am loving! Since I have been writing both knitting and sewing patterns for a month shy of 14 (fourteen!!!) years, it is bringing me so much joy to combine the two in one line. I have started with just bears for now, with one that accidentally came out looking like a cat, so some kitties will be soon to follow (plus many more creatures I hope!). My next step will be to write up and lay out the patterns for you guys to make your own, but I am also planning on offering a few of the Darlings as finished toys as well.

This is the gorgeous stack of linens and yarn dyed organic cottons I have to play around with to make more Darlings. I’m excited to see how they come out, and I can’t wait to keep making more tiny clothes and knitted items.

Thanks to the magic of life I just got invited to sell my first Darlings at a Pop Up sale at an artist friend’s pottery studio and I couldn’t be more excited! I will be busy making bear friends (and hopefully some cats and other creatures) for the next couple weeks and the sale will be from 11am-4pm on both 12/17 and 12/18, just in time to snag those last minute gifts for the holidays! I will share the address and more info later, but make sure to mark your calendars now!

I hope you like the Darlings as much as I do! I will share my progress as I get ready for the sale. And, I am planning to get the pattern released in January so you can make your own Darlings as well.

What about you? Are you getting time in this busy part of the year to get a little sewing, knitting, and creating in? I’d love for you to share with me in the comments what you are working on!

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WIP Wednesday #5

November 16, 2022Posted inSewing, WIP Wednesdays

Hi friends! I don’t know how things are going with you guys, but it has been rather whackadoodle dandy around here! We have had some illness go through the house which has stuck around and is still lingering, and it has meant not much WIP happening around here. But I have gotten a few things finished that I can share!

I did get the giant quilt plus the smaller football quilt finished for my Stepmom. Buuuuuuuuut I didn’t get pictures taken before I handed them over. Oops!

My second Christmas quilt is “on” my long arm frame, as you can see in the above photo…..

I got a few little ghosties finished to give to my youngest and his trick or treating friends on Halloween, but that was the day we came down with whatever illness has held on and he ended up not going. I guess I am ahead for next year!

And finally, this is a fun little sneak peak of what I am working on right now and hope to share very soon!

What projects are you up to? Are you working on Christmas present sewing? I have a few of those projects to start next!

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WIP Wednesday #4

October 20, 2022Posted inQuilting, Sewing, WIP Wednesdays

Hi friends! Well, it has been a rather wacky week and I haven’t gotten very much sewing done since the weekend. I haven’t gotten the giant nautical quilt loaded on my long arm yet, but I did get started on a football quilt my Stepmom asked for that she is going to gift to her 9 year old grandson.

Here are the fabrics I picked. I found a cute Seahawks bundle on Keepsake Cottage Fabrics and they had the fun helmet fabric as a backing bundle as well. Then I added in this fun football print as well.

We decided on just a simple patchwork of squares. I started cutting them at 6″ (so they would be 5.5″ finished), but a couple of my fat quarters were a tiny bit under 18″ after I pressed them so I ended up making them 5.5″ squares, which will be 5″ finished. This is as far as I got though…I think I got through most of the things that were keeping me out of the studio so far this week, so hopefully I will get more cutting and sewing time in tomorrow and Friday and will maybe get enough time for piecing to get the quilt top finished!

What is your WIP Wednesday project this week? Have you had a wacky week like me? I’ve heard it seems to be going around!

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WIP Wednesday #3

October 12, 2022Posted inIn Progress Pics, Quilting, WIP Wednesdays

Happy Wednesday friends! How has your week been? I don’t have a ton more sewing progress to show you since my last post, it feels like my sewing time has been used doing other things this week. And I can’t even tell you what those things were, the week has gotten away from me I can’t believe it is Wednesday already!

I did get a few more navy fabric’s for the king sized quilt I am working on. I didn’t feel like I had enough dark fabrics for how many light fabrics I had, so I grabbed these locally this morning and ordered some other navys to mix in that should be here in the mail tomorrow.

I did manage to get some progress done, but I am sort of pausing now until the other fabrics arrive tomorrow. Those top three strips are sewn together though! That bottom one is not, nor is it long enough. Because of the repetition with the fabrics (can spot the matching fishy fabrics that touch?!) I think I will add a few more strips between before sewing that bottom one to the rest of the top. Also, do you remember how I said I might add a row of half height rectangles between the big block strips? Yeah, apparently that went out the window today….

I pulled this gorgeous yellow/gold/pink bundle out to press while I wait for my navy fabric to come in the mail. This is going to be my first free pattern I post on my blog here and I am super excited to get started on it so I can share it with you soon! I found this bundle in the Ember and Lamb Etsy Shop and have been saving it for the perfect project.

I’ve also gotten a bit of knitting on my sweater in this week, although not much and I didn’t manage to get a photo.

What about you? Have you had time to get some creating in this week? What are you working on? Leave me a comment below and let me know!

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WIP Wednesday #2

October 5, 2022Posted inIn Progress Pics, Knitting, Quilting, WIP Wednesdays

Hi friends! Want to see what I am working on in my studio this week?

I haven’t done much knitting in a long time, but decided to pull out some yarn over the weekend and start on a sweater. I got in a minor car accident and got rear ended about five years ago and it tweaked my shoulder. It was painful to knit for a few years, and then I fell out of the habit, and then the last couple years have been a black hole…. I was working on this simple Vasa sweater pattern from Paper Tiger back in 2020 and put it down. I picked it up again this summer and wasn’t loving it, so I decided to start over with a couple yarns from my stash. I’m using a Merino and Silk blend called Findley from Juniper Moon Farm. It is a lace weight and not the sock weight yarn used in the pattern, but I did a little swatch and decided to knit a bit of the pattern and see if I like how the fabric looks and feels once it gets a bit bigger. I really just like knitting for the process more than the product, so I don’t mind knitting without knowing if I will love what I am working on, with the possibility I will rip it out. Coco the Toy Poodle doesn’t mind either since it means extra snuggle time.

My Stepmom asked me to make a king sized quilt for her and my Dad. My Dad is a fisherman so she has sent me some fishy themed fabrics to work with, and then I have found a few more (of course!). I got all the fabrics pulled together and laid out today and I just need to dig through my stash and find some good basics to mix in. I haven’t decided what I am doing for the design yet, but I will share it with you when I figure it out!

This adorable fisherman fabric from Dear Stella is going to be the back. Aren’t these little captains too cute?!

This is a sneak peak at a pattern I am working on that I hope to be sharing with you soon! I got these samples finished Monday and I am excited to get on to taking process photos and writing up the directions.

What are you working on this week? Leave me a comment and let me know!

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WIP Wednesday #1

September 28, 2022Posted inWIP Wednesdays

Hi friends! I am feeling very excited to share my creative projects with you again on this blog! Just like my FriYays posts, I decided I would do WIP (Work In Progress) Wednesdays and share whatever I am working on each week.

In the past I always used to be very “hush hush” on the new patterns I was working on before they were released. I know there may still be some projects like that in my future, but I have decided any self released patterns I work on I will share progress pics with you as I go. So, wanna see what I am up to right now?

I am currently working on a Christmas quilt pattern, and I just got one of my two samples onto my long arm. These happy colors and cutie critters are making me smile as I am working on the quilting. 

Unfortunately my long arm is *just* too short to be able to do one whole triangle without advancing and rolling back the quilt on each one (they look like trees in the snow on the whole quilt). Do you see how close I am?! It’s like an inch and a half.

It still works and I have gotten into a rhythm with advancing and back tracking on the frame. I have a small 15” long arm, but this is the first time it has been an issue. I have had the machine a little under a year and have quilted about 18 quilts on it, so overall it has been awesome.

But do you see how seriously close I am?! I just need to make it to the top of that triangle….

These adorable stockings and socks are just killing me with cuteness!! The fabric is Pixie Noel II from Tasha Noel for Riley Blake and it is just the sweetest.

How about you? What are you working on right now? You can tell me in the comments below or even add a link to your insta or blog if you have an in-progress photo!

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