Tetris QAL Week 5

Ok, so I know I've only been posting about the Tetris QAL... and yes today is just another post about the same thing. But I'll post something new soon, promise!

I'm linking up to Week 5 at Happy Quilting

Tetris QAL Week 4

Just a quick post to show you my block for week 4...

Tetris QAL Week 3

Third post of the day, and now I'm caught up to the QAL at Happy Quilting!

I took some photos of my grid, but they didn't turn out very well, so they got trashed.

 Here's the pre-sewn block. I added some more background fabric and didn't use all the pieces for the week because I want to make the game a losing one. Plus I'm not sure I bought enough of the fabric for the colored charms. I knew I would end up using more black than any other color, but I maybe should have done some math rather than just guessing how much less I'd need. Oh well, I guess we'll see what the blocks for week 5 and 6 look like! Worst case scenario I head back to the store.

Here's the finished block

And the quilt so far! 3 of 6 blocks done!

I'm linking up to Week 3 of Happy Quilting's Tetris QAL

Tetris QAL Week 2

 Here's my grid for week 2. I ended up switching the pink and orange L shaped pieces because I didn't want two Tetris pieces of the same color next to each other.

And the finished block. Half-way through piecing this my machine started acting funny, so I took it all apart, cleaned and oiled it. I was pretty annoyed at the time, but my machine ran a lot better afterward so I guess it was worth it : )

2 down 4 to go!

I'm linking to Week 2 of Happy Quilting's Tetris QAL

Tetris QAL Week 1

I know I haven't posted in awhile, so you get three posts today to make up for it! Yay! 

I joined my first QAL, which happens to be a Tetris Quilt-along over at Happy Quilting.  Great timing because I had recently promised a friend I'd make him a Tetris quilt. I'm a couple weeks behind on this post, but by the end of my 3 posts today I'll be caught up with the QAL again. 

 Here are my 5" charms

 And laid out so you can see the colors I chose. I was being kinda picky about the black fabric so it took me awhile to find decide what I wanted. For good reason though, my plan is to make the game a losing game, so there's going to be more black than the other colors. I also tried to find black that had some grey swirled in it so it looks like an old static-y TV

 Here's the grid I used for week 1 (and week 2, but ignore that 'cause we're not talking about week 2 yet :) )  After I filled in the grid, and then looked at Melissa's week 1 block, I realized they were exactly the same! OOPS! I guess we have the same strategies when playing Tetris! I thought about changing it, but decided not to. I figured since I didn't even look at her finished block before I made mine, and there were bound to be some duplicate blocks in the QAL it wouldn't be too big a deal.

 All the pieces stuck up on my design wall. I love how convenient it is! (I know I've been using it long enough I shouldn't still be excited about it, but I can't help it, I am!)

And my finished block! 1 down 5 to go!

I'm linking up to Week 1 of the Tetris QAL

WIP - Rag Quilt

A couple years ago when I was visiting at home my mom gave me the fabric and showed me how to make a rag quilt.  I got all the blocks cut, stacked and about half quilted during that visit. I brought them back home and they sat in my closet til last winter when I pulled them out and finished quilting the blocks. I laid them all out on the floor but never quite got to piecing them, and eventually had to pick them back up to get them out of the way. I'm finally working on it again though! I have all the pieces up on my design wall, and I have a few of the squares sewn together so far. After that all I have to do is cut and wash it!

Here's a closeup of two of the blocks....

And the reverse side

This quilt is so thick, warm and soft, it'll be great to have for next winter!

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesdays at Freshly Pieced

Thread Holder

This thread holder has been on my to-do list for awhile. The inspiration for it came from a blog post I saw awhile, but I can't find it anymore  :(  The blogger used a picture frame, replaced the glass with a piece of wood and mod-podged some pretty scrapbook paper over it. She then put in some nails like I did to hold the spools. If anyone knows the post I'm talking about let me know so I can update this post! 

While I was searching I found a couple that were similar to the original one I saw, but that used dowel sticks drilled into the wood instead of nails. Dowel rods might have been a good idea for me 'cause as you can see from all the crooked nails my hammering skills need some work haha

My intent was to use a frame like the original blogger did, but I didn't like the ones I found at the thrift store. I decided I'd have to get a piece of wood anyway, so why not just skip the frame all together? I used some scrap wood I had around the house, painted it green and put in some nails. Easy Peasy!

I'm linking up to Tea Rose Home's Link Party

DIY Jewelry Holder

I finished my jewelry holder! I've been seeing a lot of these on Pinterest, so I combined my favorite aspects of several to create this:

I found a frame and a framed mirror at a thrift store for less than a dollar apiece! I got some spray paint from Hobby Lobby (they always have a 40% off coupon on their website and can take the coupon on a smart phone, BTW). I took the glass and backing out of the frame and sanded both frames. I couldn't get the mirror out of the frame, so I just covered the mirror part in paper.  After that, just spray paint! I ended up using the entire can of spray paint to cover the brown, so if I were to do this again I would probably use a primer.

Word of advice... don't hold the paint too close or you'll get drips on your frame (like me)

Luckily most of the drips were on the back so it's not toooo noticeable

 

 After the paint dried I just hot-glued the lace and trim. When i bought the lace I picked a lace that was a little thicker so it would hold up my earrings, and that had a lot of holes in the design to make it easy to hang up the earrings. While I was looking for lace I found some blue trim on clearance (I love clearance finds!)  My bedroom walls are light blue so I added some of the trim to the frame as well. 

I considered gluing the branch to the frame, but they were both a weird shape that didn't fit together very well, so I ended up just making a fabric sling and hot-gluing the fabric to the frame.

 Finished frame

Finished mirror

 Here you can see how the branch's "sling" looks from the front. 

And one more picture for good measure ;)

More Later,

Kandra

A Design Wall and Hanging Baskets

I finished a couple small projects I am excited to show you. First I put up a design wall!

All I did was pin a white blanket to my wall. I used thin straight pins so the holes wouldn't be so noticeable. I just used an old blanket I had that has a 'sticky' texture. I have no idea what it's made of or what the name the type of blanket is. When we were little my sisters and I called them the "itchy blankets" and refused to sleep with them on our beds. Now I love them! My mom gave me several of these blankets. One I've been cutting up and using as batting, and now I have one on my wall! It's really big, basically from ceiling to floor and around 8ish feet wide. I considered using flannel or something similar but never felt like that would be sticky enough, but turns out I had the perfect materials all along for free! The only downside is the Ariel print on the reverse side is visible BUT it's not really that noticeable so overall I'm really happy with it. 

I made some hanging baskets for my sewing room and kitchen! I still have a few more to make for the sewing room, but they are handy so far. For the basket on the right I used this tutorial by Mother Huddle to make them. She shows how to make them in several sizes, and the tutorial is really well written and easy to follow. She suggested using something in the bottom of the basket to stiffen the basket and make it hold it's shape better, and I didn't... that's why it's kind of sagging. I also didn't use any interfacing or stiff fabric, in hindsight I probably should have and will when I make more. 

The basket on the left was an attempt gone wrong to make a sandwich bag (that's why it's lined with plastic) that I just made into a basket to store my hot glue sticks.

 

Here are the baskets I made for my kitchen. I was going for functionality so they aren't really all that pretty. I used the same basic idea as the tutorial, but used the leg of a pair of jeans so I only had to make a bottom seam. Yay for recycling! Another perk of using denim? It's stiff enough to hold it's shape without interfacing. Yay for skipping steps! :)

 That box with fabric coming out of it are my unpaper towels. Thrifted flannel sheet, cut into rectangles with my pinking shears and inter-folded so they popup like Kleenex. I can use them for anything I would use paper towels for; throw them in the wash, and I never had to buy paper towels!

 

For the kitchen I used a curtain rod hanger and a dowel stick (it cost like $1 total!)

In the sewing area I used two large command hooks 'cause I didn't want to put any more holes in the walls. A little more expensive but the plus is the rod sits closer to the wall so the baskets sit up straighter.

I'm considering painting the dowel rods in the kitchen and sewing room, what do you think?

More later,

Kandra

A Little About Me...

Hey Everyone!

I have decided to start a blog! It's going to be mostly about sewing and quilting, but I'll probably throw in some of the other crafts and hobbies I do. (I have a lot of random interests, as you'll soon see :) ) 

A little about me-- I started sewing here and there at a semi-young age. My mom and grandma taught me the basics, but I'm also self-taught (much of it from blogs!). I really like sewing as a stress reliever; few other things make me feel calmer and happier.

I have several projects that I've started but haven't finished, but plan to soon so I have something to blog about! Part of the reason I wanted to start a blog is to focus more on quilting and other crafts. I have also gotten so much inspiration from other blogs, I hope to spread a little of that inspiration to others. 

I'm really excited to be part of the online crafty blog community and hope to interact with some of you soon. Also, I love comments, so feel free to leave lots : )

More Soon

Kandra