About today, Cleo, beauty and further sewing/quilting adventures of Elizabeth

It's done!

My first sewing project is done...

a patchwork green and white pillow :)

I am giving it DV to my church munchkin for his birthday...

I did the pattern and all the sewing myself!

I am quite pleased as I have only been sewing about 3 weeks.... 

Cleo looking cute, but never trust a cute cat,

she was after Mr. Husband's jacket for one reason or another!

I had a nice lunch today...

organic chicken strips, rice and salad...

while reading more of Song of the Lark...

It's begun!

The quilt for my darling goddaughter!

I cut out squares, 5x5, starting with a 

10x10 piece...

Like above,

then cutting it 5x10 

and then cutting two 5x5 squares out;

I did 4 layers deep so it equals 16 squares cut with 

only a few cuts!

My Quilting Friend told me this trick

before she left for May-July adventures with her

husband who is a scholar... 

Picture on the left shows how 4 cut squares of a 10x10 equal four squares in each...

all in all I did 22 fabrics (mainly fat quarter size) cut into 4 squares for 16 squares per 4,

thus with a total of 88 squares...

I also have two charm packs,

a charm pack is a bunch of precut squares,

the ones I got are 5x5, so perfect for this quilt...

 the colours above (the squares that are not 'stacked' 

in a line but are in 'front') are from the charm packs...

With the 6 fabrics I have yet to cut and the charm packs,

I will have a total of 158 squares... and I only need 165 squares total for the

quilt top, so I am nearly there! 

Am really pleased!

I cut the 22 fabrics for 88 squares this afternoon...

the omnigrid (see picture two of the quilt pictures,

with the plastic grid on top of the dark fabric)

helps cutting go quickly; 

I never knew that I could use that and rotary cutter

to quilt!

I actually can't cut very strait with a scissors, 

truth be told, 

but with the tools mentioned, I can cut quite strait,

so am really pleased! 

*

My parents are coming DV in a week for a week's stay

so I may not get a lot more work on this

(am hosting a tea and other things next week 

before they come)

but I am excited about my progress so far!

On other news, saw this cool vintage dress today!

And finally had a local ice cream cone 

with Mr. Husband!

I am very thankful!

Yarn Along: Blue, Song of Lark and Adventure of Ascent

Wow! Wednesday Yarn Along already!

Well, I did not get as far as I hoped on my blanket...

I failed to realize that I did not have a lot of the yarn

in the colour I am doing with me in my knitting bag,

when I was on my long car ride to church... so 

after I used up what I had... I went on and 

finished a wash cloth instead,

which I already gave away to our past Sunday night's

dinner guest ... 

(a post on that meal later I hope!)

But I still did make some progress on the blanket

and I got a new skein of yarn

all ready now to continue!

I am still reading Song of the Lark by Willa Cather

and also 

Adventure of Ascent: Field Notes from a Lifelong Journey 

by Luci Shaw.

Both are absorbing reads and are giving me 

a sense of rest in the midst of a lot of business

that my days amount to...

*

On another crafting front, 

I have finished the top of a small

checkered green and white pillow that I am making!

It's my first sewing project and I have made up

the pattern myself, of course...

(just like my knitting it seems...)

The double square/long rectangle is where

the one side of the blanket is going to start/end, FYI.

*

I am loving the sewing I get to do!

I am always amazed at the many crafty folk who do

lots in terms of knitting and sewing;

I am still trying to find a good balance in terms of time for this!

*

So, what are you creating and crafting?

Yarn Along with us!