Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Every Woman Needs a Little Fuzzy Black Scarf?

Okay, maybe not as common as the little black dress comment, but how far off could we be? I am actually knitting away at scarves to build up my supply from the Christmas Craft Show. This is made with fun fur and is about 23 inches long with lots of fuzzy fun.
It is not only fashionable but also gives you that warm fuzzy feeling. Actually it was quite simple to knit by casting on 23 stitches and knitting every row. The fuzzy yarn does not seem quite so full until you get the whole thing done and it all comes together.
there will be more fun fur scarves coming as well as some other fun crafties as I redo my crafting room in my house. Stay tuned for more knitting fun.

Monday, March 21, 2011

A Little Angel

I just showed you the train quilt block that I finished for my play room, where my trains will be.  As I uncovered that, I also uncovered this little gem.  It works on the same principle, a laser cut foam block with a pattern.  This one is in the form of an angel.  I am not an angel collector but I have someone that I work with that is.  She actually collects Santa's and Angels so this one will be for her. 
This block is smaller than the train and has many more pattern shapes to cut out and fit into place.  Working for the outside in, this one offered some challenges with curves and unusual cutout shapes.  However when it is done, it is a glowing site to see.  My co-worker hopefully won't see it until Christmas, when I give it to her as a gift (does this mean I am ahead on my Christmas Shopping?).

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Quilting Back to the Station

I mentioned in my last post that I was redoing my craft room. As part of that I have had to clean it out. I mean clean it as in six trash bags left the room for the dump, there are three boxes of shredding and two bedrooms stuffed to the rafters with miscellaneous items such as my various train sets. As part of this massive cleaning effort I came across a crafting project that just called out to me to be completed. Some time back, while I was in Florida I came across this really cool shop in a flea market that sold quilting blocks. Literally blocks for quilting. They are foam blocks that have padding on the top. A laser cuts a design in each block and you cover it with fabric giving the design that quilted feel.
There are traditional designs, but the one I chose was one based on trains. When I came across it I set it aside so that I could get it done before my room is finished so that I can hang it up to go with the new motif. That motif includes trains. You see my father and I loved to play with our trains and set up boards in our home in Missouri. Now I have the trains and plan to hang track from the ceiling so that I can enjoy my trains again. This quilting design is one of the largest I have tackled and did take a couple of hours to complete. The fabric comes with it and you have to cut out the fabric into corresponding pieces for the design. You can use a tool that comes with the project or a simple butter knife to tuck all the fabric pieces in. When you get done it turns into a pretty awesome piece that takes no sewing what so ever.