29,000 Stitches

That's my estimate of how many stitches went into the Autumn Afghan.

Some more statistics:

60" x 70" finished size
3 borders
140 rows, 2 rows per stripe
180 stitches per row (all double crochet in granny stitch clusters)
12 colors (mostly Caron Simply Soft, some Deborah Norville Soft Worsted)
2400 yards (6 full skeins + 6 half skeins)
4 months
106 hours

LOVE this pattern! From Attic 24

To top it off, I decided to make a pillow with this beautiful owl fabric, which was part of the inspiration for this crazy crochet color explosion to start with.

I don't if there is a specific way to attach crochet to fabric, and at this point I was too tired to look it up. I just sewed a blanket stitch around all four sides of the pillow, and used that as my foundation to crochet the striped border.

Three of my mismatched buttons and loosely chained loops hold the pillow envelope closed on the back.

All ready for a nap!

I am pretty amazed that I stuck with this for four months, rather than putting it away and letting it age like the rest of my UFOs.

On that note, I'm going to unearth some of those poor, forgotten projects, and see if they can be salvaged.

Katrina

Cactus or Pincushion?

Pincushion cactus:

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Cactus pincushion:

I started with the tutorial from PC at Meijo's Joy. (So cute!) I drew a cactus-shaped paper pattern that looked like a good size for some 2-inch clay pots I got at the craft store. I used the pattern to cut out 6 felt pieces for each cactus.

I made the base narrow, but this was unnecessary since it gets hidden in the pot, and it also made it more difficult to stuff, so I think next time I will make the base wider.

I used a very short stitch and a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

I backstitched a good 1/2 inch at each end at the opening, since that part gets the most stress.

Turned - almost a cactus!

After turning, I stacked three of the cactus pads together and stitched them together through the center, bottom to top.

This was extremely difficult with the thick felt - I could barely get it under my presser foot!

nice and even at the top

In some cases the tops did not come out even, but I can disguise that with fancy pins!

very uneven!

Each little section had to be stuffed - I used polyester batting.

Stuffing is easier with long tweezers and very small bits of batting.

I packed it tightly so the cacti would be very solid.

Once all six of the cactus sections were full, I slipstitched the bottom closed.

This will not be visible and will not have much stress on the stitches.

Now for the little pots. I decided to have some plain and some wrapped in a loosely woven fabric that looks like soft burlap.

For the plain pots, I glued a piece of cork to the bottom just in case the pot is placed on wood furniture (we don't want scratches).

The pincushions will be top heavy, so to keep them from flopping over, I placed a small handful of pebbles in the bottom of each pot.

To finish, I simply glued the pincushions into the pots. Then it was finally time to put the pins in!

I made some fancy pins with beads and earring backs. (They are hiding my uneven cactus tops.)

Here I pinned bee and ladybug buttons to the pincushions.

I call this one the princess cactus.

The finished cactus garden.

Now, these were supposed to be gifts, but will I ever be able to let any of them go?

Katrina

The Autumn Afghan

This blanket is only my second crochet project, after a skinny and unevenly stitched scarf, and I admit that the scope might be a bit grandiose for a beginner.

The finished size, if it ever does get finished, is supposed to be 60 by 80 inches. I started this back in November, or possibly even October, so I can’t remember why, exactly, I thought that size was necessary.

It’s a granny stripe pattern based on Lucy’s gorgeously gorgeous blanket of gorgeousness.

The important thing for me is that the stitch looks fancy but it is super-simple and very repetitive, so I can’t get into very much trouble. (Although I do occasionally do a group of four or one instead of three if I’m not paying attention.)

This Autumn blanket is now a Winter blanket, which is very nice for working on, and under, while watching TV in the chilly evenings. But if I don’t hurry up and finish, it will be a Spring blanket.

Katrina

Craftsy

Are you a fan of Craftsy? I’ve spent enough time on there to warrant the full expression: fanatic.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned my lust for learning: the multiple 4-year degrees that I dragged out to 6 or 8 years just for the joy of taking classes, the online writing courses, the annual art retreat… those were the days. Unfortunately, education is exceedingly expensive, and taking classes just for fun has gone beyond the reach of my fixed income.

 

Thankfully I can afford Craftsy. As you can see from my course list, I’ve gone a bit overboard in signups. Mainly because they keep having sales!

 

I've managed a bit of weird, wobbly crochet, thanks to talented instructors Vickie Howell and Linda Permann.  

I know, I said I did not need any new hobbies! I was wrong. Between crochet and quilting, I’ve had a nice break from sewing.

 

Katrina

Quilting

I thought I’d better post something before the end of October, just so my poor old blog didn’t fall into the category of lost-and-forgotten and start falling off everyone’s reading lists.

I did start a number of blog posts over the last month and a half, but they either got too boring, or something else interrupted, and I could never quite finish. The same could be said for most of my sewing and crafting projects!

However, I did have one success, at least in terms of completion.



A quilt!

This was a multi-purpose project. Originally, its raison d'être was to use up the acres of quilting cotton in odd colors that had inexplicably accumulated in my stash. Then, as I piled up the bits of brown and gold and plum and rust, I saw a nice trend toward earth tones (my version of earth tones), which started me thinking about living room décor rather than bedding. So the quilt’s second purpose was to camouflage the couch.



My couch in its original state

My dog in his preferred spot on the couch back

 

The couch after 7 years with the dog
(that's the other dog - she can't believe it, either)

 

I recently added a couch cover
(hard to say whether this is an improvement, but at least it's washable)

 

Quilt totally distracts from misshapen couch back
and tacky cover!

Matching pillows

 

And just a general comment on quilting: now I remember why I don’t do it. It’s a huge pain! The planning, cutting, and sewing together are all very enjoyable, but the quilting itself? It’s a horror of lifting, turning, pulling, puckering, running out of thread, and getting stuck by pins. I can see why most people use long-arm quilting services, but it’s too expensive for me. I priced a few local services and even for this small (48” x 80”) piece, the very lowest price I could find was $58. Imagine doing a bed-sized quilt!

Anyway, my next quilt will either be done by quilt-as-you-go, or a rag quilt, so there will be no dragging of gigantic, heavy pieces through my little home sewing machine.

 

Katrina

 

The Cuddly Cacti

These fabulous new additions to my cactus collection do not have thorns, spines, glochids, trichomes, hooks, needles, or any other exterior unpleasantness. They are soft, squishy and perfectly huggable!



Outside on a visit with their spiny cousins

They are crocheted cactus made by the amazing Urban Rustic. Visit her blog here, but I warn you, after viewing the results of her talent and energy, you will end up with an uncontrollable urge to sew, knit, crochet, hook rugs, do quilting, photography, needlepoint, and have more cats, dogs, lush English gardens, and clever turn of phrase.

Completely crocheted, from the pots all the way to the flowers

Happily (for me), she developed a case of compulsive cactus-crocheting earlier this summer and ended up surrounded by them. I was thrilled to be the recipient of some of her incredible handiwork.


This is Cornelius, who resembles
Carnegiea gigantea, the saguaro cactus.




The saguaro Source





This is Stanley - his shape is similar to
Stenocereus thurberi, the organ pipe cactus.



The organ pipe cactus Source

 

So I now have miniature representatives of the two iconic cacti of the great and beautiful place that I live – the Sonoran Desert. And I can keep them inside, and I don’t have to worry about over- or underwatering them.

Thank you, lovely blog friend Urban Rustic, for the beautiful cacti!

 

 

 

Have you received an unexpected and/or hand-crafted gift recently?

Katrina

A Fine Mess

It was such a simple plan: I’d move some of the stuff off the shelves so I could brush the feather duster over the top layer or two of grime. Then drag the fabric bins out into the hall and run the vacuum around. A good couple of hours and I’d be done, with a nice clean room.

That was Tuesday morning.

This was the situation by Wednesday afternoon:

 

My simple plan did not include allowances for investigating the contents of each and every container, deciding I didn’t want half of it, then deciding whether I wanted to throw it away, give it away, or sell it, and then reorganizing the remaining half.
 

The good news is that as of Friday night I had all of the to-go stuff out of the room, and it’s looking pretty clean, open, and conducive to creativity again.

 

The bad news is that all of the stuff I took out hasn’t really gone anywhere, it’s just sitting in the hall. I guess that’s some sort of progress?

 

Katrina

Actual Finished Objects - With Roses

Since many of you wanted to see my rose project, I’m happy to say I can finally share a view of the final product.

You will recall that a “rose pillow” was requested, but there were so many possible interpretations that I was a bit overwhelmed. I did not have time for intricate quilt piecing, and my eyesight is not good enough for extensive embroidery, so that narrowed the field. I thought a large center flower would make more of a statement than delicate vines or tiny rosebuds, which knocked out some of the other choices. Finally, I could not decide between applique and ruffles. So I did both!

For the applique, I downloaded dozens of rose shapes and then re-drew a few parts to make the shape I wanted.



White-on-rose pink floral cotton appliqued onto light pink broadcloth

 

The ruffled rose was created with satin blanket binding, gathered with a long machine stitch, and sewn to the pillow in a spiral to create the flower shape. I read a couple of tutorials on ribbon roses and although most of them are meant to create more three dimensional flowers for brooches or hair ornaments, I was able to use the gathering in this flat application.

Pink satin blanket binding on dark rose pink broadcloth, pink button center

To keep the pillows “matching,” I used the same color thread for the embroidered name (not shown in pics), the same color piping, and of course the same size. They are filled with 16” pillow forms.

For easy cleaning, I put a zipper in the back so the pillow form can be removed.  

The rose pillow project is officially done!

Katrina

Coming Up Roses

In order to quell my impatience over my clumsy hand (still can’t work scissors), I’ve been making plans for the gifts I wasn’t able to finish in time for Christmas. One of them was a special order: a pink rose pillow.

The pillow part is fairly straightforward, mostly a question of size and shape. But the rose aspect is so complex, so multifaceted!


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Will the rose (or roses) be printed, painted, embroidered, appliqued, quilted, or three-dimensional made of fabric petals, gathered ribbons, felt, or some as yet unknown type of design?


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I got so many ideas I had to start tracking them on Pinterest.  

 

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fabrics on fabric.com

 

 

So far I’ve experimented with a couple of ideas, and already learned a few lessons! (Hint: check your fabric content before embroidering, as cotton-lycra does not work well for this. LOL)

Katrina