More cute hats

Now that I think about it, I have finished some things in 2013. I made a couple hats for Stash & Burn's Use it Or Lose It challenge.

 



Pattern: Top down bonnet by Adrian Bizilia (ravelry)

Needles: US3

Yarn: S.R. Kertzer Down to Earth Cotton



Pattern: Quynn by Woolly Wormhead (ravelry) modified to have 8 extra stitches.

Needles: US7

Yarn: alpaca, bought @ Shepherd's Harvest festival

Papa hat

Me in my Uptown Coat, Isaac in his "papa hat". This was back in November when we were waiting for snow. Now we can't wait for the snow to leave.

Isaac loves his papas. He calls this his papa hat. It is in fact a Huck Finn cap that I made using the Sew Liberated pattern. It was not easy - I had a lot of difficulty with the brim, but it was worth it. He wears it often, he loves it, and he gets a lot of compliments on it. I'm already planning a papa hat in the next size up.

I made my jacket years ago in a class at Crafty Planet. It is probably the sewing project I am most proud of, definitely the garment I am most proud of. I am planning another jacket for next fall that will hopefully top this one.

I finished something!

I designated 2013 as the year I finished things. Hmm. Well, I've finished one thing. I made a baby quilt for my high school BFF, who just had her baby last week.

 

I wanted to make a hexagon quilt, similar to this one that I made for my niece. I wanted to make it with a rainbow of fabrics and have it be kind of an I-Spy quilt. I dug through all the bits of fabric I've saved from past projects, which was super fun. I had previously made my friend a quilt for her college graduation and her wedding, and I was able to work in fabric from both those quilts. I also used fabric from two quilts I made for Isaac, the quilt for my niece, from the big pink quilt, and more. I love that I can remember where I used each fabric.

As I sorted through my stash I found a plethora of greens, blues and purples. The three red pieces you see are all of the red fabric that I own. That is all of it. Three pieces of red. Tied for second-to-last in my stash are yellow and orange with four pieces each.



On the back I put three prairie points on the bottom right side. I think they are pretty cute, I will probably be adding prairie points to more quilts soon. I love that these prairie points are the same fabric as the binding for my friend's wedding quilt.

This quilt was so fun to put together that I am already planning a duvet cover for myself.

Embroidery tool kit

I organize my embroidery supplies in a small ArtBin.

 

I've got the usual floss, thimble, hoops and measuring tape. I also keep a stock of extra bobbins, printouts courtesy of Wild Olive, a box of Thread Heaven, and a Prismacolor water soluble pencil. If you use thread, you should use Thread Heaven! That's the motto on the box - cheesy but true. I only bought it a few months ago and I wish I'd bought it sooner. It really keeps thread and floss from tangling while stitching, and it makes stitches look smoother. The Prismacolor pencil is my favorite for drawing or tracing patterns on fabric. It washes out with water - I don't even use soap or agitation. It doesn't stain fabric, doesn't smudge like chalk and it doesn't fade like marking pens. It's the best!



I made an envelope clutch using this (free!) pattern from See Kate Sew to hold projects. The only change I made to the pattern was using magnets instead of a button. I used the Prismacolor pencil to doodle on the faux addresses - you can see the pencil markings totally washed out. My sister made me the cute envelope needle book a few years back.



The clutch is 7.5 x 12.5 inches, just big enough to hold one project and tools. I always keep my needles, needle threader and Gingher scissors in here. My current project is (gasp!) cross stitch instead of embroidery - a pendant. I found the laser-cut blank at the Workroom, and took inspiration from their flickr gallery.

This post is my entry in the &Stitches embroidery toolkit competition. Go check out the other entries!