Crafting and Shopping and Swapping OH MY!

While my writers block is still firmly mortared in place, my crafting inspiration has been up and running for the past few weeks. If I am ever going to get back into my blog groove I figured that posting up some new crafts is a great place to start.

I've been back to swapping on Swap-Bot since I am in the down season at work, so there have been a lot of new crafts around my craft table lately. If you have never tried Swap-Bot you should go there right now and check it out, if nothing else go read the Swap-Bot Blog, Rachel has the very best links to new projects and fun tutorials there every week, and she also puts up an Etsy round up each week which is well worth looking at.

I am working on a new tutorial for a Needle Case for one of the group swaps I am hosting, here is the preliminaries:

I will be posting the whole thing up as a tutorial once I get the test version sewn up, and if you don't want to wait take a gander at these beauties you can grab over on Etsy right now:

by fiberliscious on Etsy

by fiberliscious on Etsy

by Homespunstitchworks on Etsy

Impatient Crafting #2 - Pillowcase Dress

I'm all about instant gratification, I have always had a deep love of Polaroid cameras, ice cream cones, vacuuming and anything else that gives me a quick and easy sense of accomplishment.

Sewing is a time intensive craft. I LOVE to sew, and I hate to sew. I love the finished product, the feeling of creating something that someone else would have paid tons more for. I love the look on my kids faces when they get a new blanket, purse or anything that I made. I love the "Ohhh, where did you get that" from friends and family and my proud kids saying "My mom made it".

I HATE that it takes so darn long! I hate that I have to follow a pattern to the letter to get the awesome results that I want. I have made MANY a halloween costume, labored for hours, and hours to get just the right stitch, corner, seam. I won't lie, they all came out pretty freaking cool, but they took forever.

When I started to blog and read blogs I realized there were so many cute things out there I could make that were fast, best suited for the Impatient Crafter. I whipped up a pretty fantastic blanket in a few hours, and this weekend I tried to make a cute pillow case dress (note the word 'tried' over there?).

It needs help.
I need some guidance here peeps, how can I fix this so it looks just a little less like a pillowcase, and just a little more like a cute dress?

PS. Tell me you don't LOVE this hair Lili is rocking? Yep, I had the CUTEST little pony in there and right before picture time it got ripped out and the bed head appeared.

So what do you think? How do I fix this up?

Linking this project here, Come check us out!

Impatient Crafting #1 - Quickie Quilt/Blanket

I got busy on Autumn's blanket today. I had already sewn the stripes for the top. Today was just getting the "sandwich" complete. Now traditionally when making a quilt it takes many steps. You normally add the top to the batting with basting stitches and then add the back and there is hours of quilting the two together, but I am an impatient crafter. Through this whole process there was no measuring. I cut the strips freehand and then sewed them together with no pinning so the top was a little wonky at first. I pinned the sandwich together (back, batting, top) right sides out, there is no need for turning.

At first I was going to be totally lazy and sew it in 3 stripes long ways, then after I put the first stripe of stitching down I realized that it was not going to work that way. It was bunchy and there was no guide to make the line straight. So, with some help of my mother we pulled out the whole line of stitching and started over. I stitched down one side and then flipped it and stitched down every other seam on along the stripes instead. It worked like a charm.

These fabrics were $1.00 USD a yard at Wal-Mart. I love their "fabric of the month" program in the craft section. Each month they have a quilt and all the corresponding fabrics as a special. The NEXT month those fabrics are always put on clearance, the month after that they are put on the $1.00 rack. This was February's fabric choices. I admit the patterns make your eyes go a little goo goo, but after it was all finished it was very girly and fun.

I have made 5 quilts now, 3 were traditional and took forever, the other 2 were impatient quilts like this one. The one thing about quilting that I love is that when you are all finished they are so pretty and it's something that will last forever (hopefully). I especially liked the look on Autumn's face when she snuggled into it tonight.

The whole house has come down with a nasty creeping crud cough. The kids are all propped up with vicks and tissues by the bed and I am off to make some green tea with honey to hopefully soothe my sore throat. hope you are all well!

Guess!

What's coming up?