American Jane Happy Camper

Have you visited an American Jane booth before? It is my favorite booth to visit every year at PIQF. Their fabric is just so adorable with a vintage feel. I bought a Happy Camper half-triangle charm pack last year at PIQF. I must admit I struggled with this shape for a long time, but finally assembled this cute little quilt with just one charm pack. I love all the prints in this charm pack, but the final quilt is a bit small.

This measures 31" x 31"

I am probably going to add borders to this piece to make it bigger. Any suggestions on what to do with this quilt? I think it's too small for anything...

The weather has been so beautiful in California; I am off to enjoy this beautiful day!

Knitted Vest with Zipper

Remember this vest I started last year? I finally dug it out of the basket this weekend and finished seaming the shoulders and sides. I also picked up stitches around the neck and finished the collar. I had so much drama with the zipper but finally got the right one for vests. Who would have known that there is so much to zippers?!

 Separating vs. regular zipper

I first got the 22" "polyester" brown zipper shown on the right, then realized that this will not allow me to "open" up the vest! Duh! This just isn't going to work! Why do realizations always occur after I have already made the purchase and opened it!? So I stopped by another fabric shop in the area that carries "separating" zippers, such as the white one shown on the left in the picture. See how these two look different? You want the white one on the left for cardigans, vests, or jackets, and the one on the right for purses, etc. 

Separating zipper in action. 

I wish the store carried this zipper in brown though. They had such a small collection of separating zippers, so this white will have to make do. Now that I finally have the right zipper, I can insert it. I have never inserted zippers into knitwear before. I basted the edges of the vest with a bright yellow yarn so it can be removed easily later. We will see where this takes me! Wish me luck :)

How hard can it be!? 

By the way, we are celebrating Lunar New Year tonight. I wish you a very happy Chinese New Year. It's the year of the dragon. What's your Chinese zodiac sign?

I See Foxes

I finally got around to finishing these cute foxes I started around the end of last year. I purchased the paper piecing pattern from Sonja; she has the most adorable paper piecing patterns. This was my first attempt trying paper piecing, and her instructions were so easy to follow.

I decided to use a green border for this mini quilt, and I think it came out pretty cute. It also matches my wall color! That was a coincidence. It's hung on one of the walls in my sewing corner.

Back of the quilt.

I used Denyse Schmidt's collection for the back. Do you use cute fabric as backing for your mini quilt like me? It is going to be hung on your wall and no one will ever see the back! I think I should just go with muslin next time. I hand quilted this mini quilt by echoing the two foxes; love the way it came out! 

Round Basket Liner

I was commissioned by a friend to make her a lining for a round basket she got. I recalled making a liner for a round basket many years ago. At that time, I used a hot glue gun to adhere the liner to the basket. But thanks to Google, I was able to find an excellent tutorial online without using a yucky hot glue gun this time around.

She picked out this brown floral pattern -- super cute!

It's amazing what you can find on the internet these days, isn't it!? I only had a dark red ribbon available on hand, but she can definitely swap it out with a brown one to go with the fabric. I can't wait to see this basket filled up with her gorgeous malabrigo yarns!

I am itching to do some hand quilting. Must assemble a quilt top so I can get those thimbles on my fingers asap. I am thinking to make something with these Japanese taupe fabrics I got from PIQF last year. 

Ah, I am in love with Japanese taupe fabric.

I cannot wait to have my hair done this weekend. It's so disgusting I wish I could wear a hat to work to just cover it all up! San Francisco, here I come!

Pressed, Unwashed, Cut, and All Ready to Go!

I visited my local quilting store and found the perfect fabric for the "I Spy Charm Swap" that I am participating in. I was surprised to learn that the store actually had a few fabrics from Sarah Jane's Children at Play collection! This is one of my favorite fabric lines; I was this close to buying the entire collection at one point online. I must say touching those fabrics in person at the store was so surprisingly satisifying!

Anyway, here is the fabric I selected for the swap. What do you think!? It's by David Walker - Hopscotch, Girls at Play. It was love at first sight. This print was just too cute to pass up. Also, I think the tiny figures are perfect for the "I Spy" theme.

The girl on the bicycle is my favorite.

We were asked not to pre-wash the fabric, which meant, I immediately started pressing and cutting it into 5"x5" squares. One yard of fabric turned into 56 squares. Ah! So relaxing and rewarding. Can I just do that going forward!?

 56 squares all ready to go!

OK! I am shipping these off to Jennifer tomorrow. Can't wait to see what others have picked out.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Scraps!

Scraps are in this year! I love my scrap fabrics, but we all know how long it takes to save up enough scraps to make anything. Jennifer at Ellison Lane Quilts came up with a great swap idea where everyone purchases one yard of fabric, cuts them up into squares, mails these cut up fabrics to Jennifer, and she will collate them for everyone participating. Thank goodness I was fast! The list is now full. I have no idea how 55 people (including me) acted so fast. Now I need to find a cute fabric for this swap.

I am going through caffeine withdrawal (long story) and am having these throbbing headaches. I am not  going to be a happy camper this week.

Hello 2012!

I made a few of these tissue covers for friends. They are small, light and make perfect gifts for international recipients. I used Coco Stitch's very simple tutorial.

 

These covers are double sided.

I also finished making a project with tons of hexagons. I have no idea what to do with it, but I enjoyed piecing those hexagons together (no pictures, sorry).

I hardly knit at all, isn't it weird? I guess the weather just didn't get cold enough. 

Happy New Year, everyone! I wish all your dreams come true in 2012!