Archive | Stash Bash RSS feed for this section

Quilting by the seat of my pants

By on August 28, 2012 in Sewing and Crafts, Stash Bash

Yesterday made me very happy!!  Why? Because my little project of turning our big dressing room area outside of our bathroom into a nursery began to come true and I am told that by tonight I could probably start putting my nursery together.  I’m so excited.  A few weeks ago after the whole well pump fiasco I didn’t think it could happen. So, I have launched into a fury of finishing baby projects and starting a few that I had planned on.

Not sure if you remember my blogging about this quilt made of 100% stashed fabrics.  It is made of fabric I have had for years which I used to finish this rag rug a few weeks ago, it also has fabric from two of Poppa’s old suit shirts which I had saved for something or other.  Normally for baby projects I feel the need to make it “special” by choosing all new fabrics specially for the occasion but this time I forced myself to shop at home just like I have been doing since the new year.  If you have not visited my on a Thursday, come by!!  Thursdays are my Stash Bash day where I share whatever project I have made from only stashed materials and I ask you to share yours too and link up to my blog.

I love quilts but honestly only make them when I am expecting a new baby because…..I am terrified of math and quilting requires a lot of it.  I have read that quilting with children helps them learn their math.  Oh, but it would also send me running for the hills with fabric strips dragging behind me.  This time I started cutting at the cutting table only to realize that I could not handle standing there for an hour with a rotary cutter and ruler.

Plan B!!  What would happen if I just made a template and used that to sit comfortably in my rocking chair while cutting the pieces I would use in the quilt?  You know, like the old days.  I decided to try it and just make a quilt and let go of the perfection, after all, the most amazing quilts I have seen were made by women that could not read or write and knew very little formal math.  Many of them made these quilts to cover their children from the elements as a matter of survival with whatever fabric they could save.  They didn’t even have a sewing machine like I do.  I decided to just do it and just quilt by the seat of my pants (except I don’t wear pants…did I ever tell you that before?)

I am almost done with it, (I sat down to work on it a little and next thing I knew it was pretty much finished)  I will share the final with you at my Stash Bash here on Thursday but so far, I love it.  It is far from perfect but my baby never took that quilting class with me 7 years ago so he/she will not notice what I know is not done correctly and we will all be happy and the baby will be warm and snuggly under this momma made quilt.

Excuse the terrible lighting…by the time I got this far it was late.  I totally cheated on this quilt but I am happy with it and as long as no real quilt makers see it, I shall be fine : )  Here is the pinning all the layers together part in order to quilt it.

Linking up to my wonderful friend Nicole today and now I am off to buy some paint for a few baby furniture pieces…

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or follow me by email at the top right hand of the screen to have future posts sent to you. Tricia (Crunchy Catholic Momma)

Comments { 1 }

Stash Bash

By on August 23, 2012 in Knits and Crochet, Stash Bash

I’ve never met a crafter without a stash of some kind. This year my goal is to use up all the craft supplies I have spent money on that are taking up mental and physical space in my life.  Join me here every Thursday for a Stash Bash. 

Wow, I can’t believe its been a whole week since I have been here.  Compared to last week where I shared three projects, you would think I had fallen off the planet.  You might also think it might have something to do with the baby (thanks for all the emails but I’m still here and still prego) and I guess it does directly indirectly.

Let me quickly explain before this mornings worker shows up at my door.  In the last week we figured out I have at best three weeks till labor day and probably more like 1-2 weeks.  As I have said before, I would love to get to the end of my pregnancy which would be 3 weeks but I am walking around like I should have a walker and an AARP card hee hee.  So we have switched into frantically prepare for baby mode.  This inlcludes redoing our kitchen (new countertops, new sink yada yada, more on that later when its is completed), moving a sink in my bathroom out of a dressing area which will give me a perfect little nursery right off my bedroom to put little one in and all the projects that will end up in the new nursery.  All this while trying not to “do too much” and stay as rested as possible.

I have been shopping for all the items in the homebirth supply list (its long) and am trying to figure out what I have and what I really need to get for this little ones first few weeks when I pretty much hibernate in my cave of newborn bliss. I did have an episode of highish blood pressure (go figure, I always have low blood pressure) on the one morning that my midwife shows up to my house for a visit.  I am contending with a terribly painful pinched nerve for which I am seeing my wonderful chiropractor.  So you see….I have a good excuse for totally being absent from here this week.

That does not mean I have no stash bashing project to share with you though.  This week I completed another little hat out of sock yarn.  I made it up as I went along (though I did write up the pattern as I went) and I love the variations in color.  I need to weave in the ends and hand wash it. 

So what have you been up to? I love to see what you come up with. I have added the Mr Linky to the bottom of this post for you to link up your Stash Bash projects.

Here’s what to do. There are no rules. 
Just use what you have and try to not buy new supplies, unless you need it to complete a project that you are making from stuff you already have in your stash. 
Take a picture of your project or progress and blog about it or post a picture to flickr.
Then come back here on Thursdays and post a link to your post.
Don’t forget to link back to the Stash Bash so others can find us and get encouraged too.
Fair enough?     

P.S.  Its so nice to hear from other stash bashers so if you visit some of the links don’t forget to leave them a quick little comment.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or follow me by email at the top right hand of the screen to have future posts sent to you. Tricia (Crunchy Catholic Momma)

Comments { 4 }