Little Sewn Whale Cards

Well I guess I had so much fun sewing that valentine for James that I decided to sew some more cards! I mulled over possible alternatives to the heart, and few shapes seemed smooth and non-concave enough for me to sew around with a zigzag stitch. I finally settled on a whale, which is cute and somewhat sewable! The tail gave me the biggest trouble, and I think it's easier to do with a narrower zigzag. I totally wanted to sew some more fabric to some paper, but I ran out of time. I left my sewing machine out on the desk for a few days, refusing to relinquish the idea that I would have a chance to make some more pieces, but eventually it had to be tucked away into the desk to make room for my laptop. Boo.

Breezy

I am probably the worst seamstress in the entire world, somehow screwing up a simple straight line of a pillow seam. But luckily the required precision of a living-room toss pillow is very hand-wavy, and I sucessfully recovered a pillow! It was previously a forest green pillow, clashing entirely with our current nautically-themed decor. Plus the palm trees of this new fabric can help remind us of more tropical places. :) This simple pillow design was somewhat inspired by Amy Butler's pillows, which are gorgeous and beyond my price range. Being crafty myself, I am less inclined to purchase something that I think I could re-create in my craft room. Of course, that rarely happens in reality, but the thought of my being able to make it always deters me from buying the real thing. Anyway, I like the way this pillow came out!

Back In Business

Well I went on a kind of crafting hiatus during the month of January, as I devoted every brain cell to thinking about fluid flow and heat transfer. Happily, I passed my exams, and I am actively working to forget all that info I taught myself during those long hours of studying. And what better way to do that than to craft? I've started working again on my good old 64-square afghan, of which I have completed maybe a third of the required squares. Here are a few of my latest:I'm making more of an effort to pay attention to gauge, as many of my previous squares are varying sizes. But sometimes you don't realize the shrinkiness of your square until you're almost done, and by that time I don't have the patience to rip it all out and start again with a different hook. I'll make it all work in the end...

My latest sewing project was to make a curtain for the kitchen! It turned out pretty well, since I stuck with the tried and true (rectangle), but the lovely fabric brings a needed splash of color to our cold kitchen. I also made a matching potholder, which is a little crooked but still super awesome.