Crochet Bucket

 A couple of family members have been feeling under the weather, so I've been playing nurse maid for about a week. That doesn't leave much time for anything else, let alone quilting. At the end of a busy day, I didn't have the energy to start quilting Garnet and Gray, but I was desperate to get my craft on.

One night while trolling Pinterest, I came across this tutorial for a crochet basket. I immediately went to my yarn stash and dug up some pretty colors, along with three random bits of white. If you click over to look at Julie's tutorial, you'll see that I opted to not do the spike stitch. And my bucket finished a lot bigger than her basket, which is probably why it is so slouchy.

 

In just two sittings, I was able to finish this fun bucket. OK, maybe calling it finished is stretching the truth a bit. All the yarn ends are still dangling inside and strategically placed out of site. I'll weave them in someday. Maybe.

Looking forward to a healthier, quiltier week ahead!

First Finish of 2010

I'm really excited about this one. These are the only blocks I managed to get done from the A Tisket A Tasket Block of the Month last year. (This year's Bunny Hill BOM looks super cute, too.)

I chose to work on it as my 1st UFO of the year. All it needs now is a label and a couple of buttons. Buttons?, you ask. In my grand plan, there will be 3 more of these quarterly panels to complete the year. They will each have a tab at the top which can be buttoned down to the back to make a sleeve so the panel can be hung on its own.

In my dream world, when all 4 panels are done, there will also be a quilted base piece that the panels can be buttoned onto to display the entire year. Sounds like a plan, doesn't it?

January

February

March

I am really pleased with the quilting, all free-form, free motion.
Don't ask me why these pictures stink. I think I might have killed yet another point and shoot digital camera.

I suppose I can't stall any longer. It's time to clean the house. Blth.
Then I can start my 1999 Scrapbook!

Green Day

When I loaded the photos for today's post, I noticed how much glorious green they contain.

I decided that I needed a new paper piecing project. Linda at Paper Panache posted a new mystery block this week. I haven't done one in a while, so I printed it out. I have a confession to make. I'm a cheater! I color them in and figure out the design before I cut into any fabric. The blues in the current piece appealed to me, but the finished block wasn't something I wanted to work on this week. It could make a nice gift for a certain family member, so I'll add it to the list. Since it's a mystery, I can't tell you what it is.


On to my next source for paper piecing inspiration: Carol Doak. I signed up for the postcard exchange on her Yahoo group and started looking for a fun block. I played with some different blocks and layouts and liked this one the best. It's a free pattern on her website: Introduction to Paper Piecing. The little blocks are about 1.75" square. I was in a hurry to finish before Pete's track meet, and I messed up the color placement I had planned. The magenta and red are reversed. It should have a color wheel effect. I guess I'll keep this one.

On to the track meet. Pete's discus-throwing technique is improving. His goal is to qualify for the state meet in discus, shot put and turbo jav (it's like a Nerf javelin). He likes throwing stuff!


While I waited for him to take his turn, I worked on a prayer shawl. Gotta love all that green!


My TV watching project last night was the March basket block. The prep work was done so I could just sit and start sewing. Four hours later (Red Sox game, American Idol, The Mentalist and Without a Trace) my block was done.


What color will today be?
Tina

Sprint to the Finish

Only three days left in the Spring to Finish challenge. The border is on Jess's quilt, so I plan to prep the backing and get it layered today. Maybe start quilting? I want to do some "custom" quilting, not an all-over stipple, so I probably won't finish by Thursday.


I think I can finish my first quarter wall hanging with the January, February and March Tisket/Tasket Baskets. I just finished the embroidery on the February block. The bright sun makes the blue birds appear even brighter in the photo than in reality.

I'm having trouble with the handle and top corners of the baskets matching up, which I think I can fix in the next block. Maybe I can catch up before the May block is posted. A girl can dream!


The big magnolia next to the driveway is much healthier this year, thanks to the Jobe's tree spikes. I love how the leaves sprout from the base of the buds.


I saw a great photo on someone else's blog of a bee polinating a flower. There were three bumblers on this PJM rhodedendron in the late afternoon sun. Again, I think the bright sun did weird things to the color. Maybe I'll put one of these on the top of my Mother's Day wish list and see what happens...

Ciao,
Tina