My first crochet project

I've tried knitting and found it wasn't for me.  I decided to try crocheting since I covet crocheted blankets and have no one to make one for me.  I got out the Crocheting for Dummies book from the library, it's really helpful with great images.  I used a small ball of yarn and a crochet hook that I picked up from a second store in town and I gave it a try.

I've been meaning to join a learn to crochet course, but it just hasn't worked with my schedule.  I'm sure I will eventually, in part to meet other crazy crafty people, but also to pursue my goals of blanket making.

Here is my first project.  I guess it could be a coaster.  Notice the random widths as I drop and add stitches.

I also put the final coat of paint on a little wooden shelf that I rescued from the side of the road.  I had to nail the one foot back on, but otherwise it is in great shape.  I took a can of brilliant white enamel paint back to the hardware store and the nice man there put a drop of black in and a drop of brown, so it is now a soft off-white.  I'm not sure what the ultimate destination or use of the shelf will be, but I might put a lamp on it in my living room.  This is the shelf pre-painting:

Cute baby bib

This is a bib I made for a friend who is expecting her first baby this fall.  I didn't come up with the idea, but I found it so long ago that I don't know where it came from.  You can buy terry cloth in a roll at the fabric store.  It is a bit of a pain to embroider on terry cloth since you can catch the loops and pull them through accidentally. Eventually you get the hang of it though.  

I made a similar bib a long time ago, but I like this one more with a warmer yellow as the edging.

Quilt for Grandma

I learned how to sew from my mother.  She in was taught by her mother, my grandmother.  For a long time I had wanted to sew something for my grandmother, but I never knew what I should make.  During my last visit with her I noticed two wooden end-tables in her living room.  I sneakily measured them, tucking away the numbers for later use.  I thought that I could make her a little quilt for one of the end tables.

I don’t remember where I found the cut-out below, I think it came from a design magazine.  I liked the colours, the shading and the shapes of the leaves and flowers.  It became my initial inspiration, leading to the embroidery.

My grandmother’s place is pretty stereotypical grandmother style: pastels, a bit dated, but cozy and welcoming.  I wanted the quilt to fit in, in her living room, but also show my style (a mixture of organic and geometric).  Rooting through my fabric I found some suitable pieces; pastel cottons, the strong green and some old floral remnant that I inherited from my other grandmother (it just goes to show that you never know when you’ll use a little piece of some fabric, so you should keep it!).

For the quilting, I did mostly in the ditch along the seams.  To add another level of detail and reinforce the organic motif I added some hand quilting copying the flower shape.

I pinned the paper shape to the fabric and quilted around it, cutting away pieces as I went, using it as a guide.

The quilt has been mailed off and through the grapevine I heard that my grandmother really likes in, in fact she suggested that I make her a matching one for the other end table!