Old Blue

Progress has been made. Six old shirts and a lot of long seams. The blanket top is done...I think.

A whole field of blue. Thank goodness the elbows went out on the stripy number at the last minute, the stripy bits really pulled it all together.

Still deciding if I should add sashing to the sides and ends. Or a pop of color somewhere. It'll make a fine picnic blanket in the end. I'm calling it a blanket and not a quilt, for I imagine I broke far too many quilting rules along the way to make it a proper quilt.

Is anyone interested in just how I put "Old Blue" together? let me know and I will work up a little 'how to' when it's all done.

Have a happy day!

Maverick Craftwork

I started a project that is a wee bit outside the norm for me. I usually make things that are useful in some way, as opposed to "just because it's awesome". There is something downright practical about me and making. That doesn't mean I don't get carried away and color outside the lines from time to time. I have ideas and they swim around in my mind occasionally making a big splash. Well, it was about time I paid attention and did something about it. I went maverick!

Not only did I go maverick but, I went multi-medium! I haven't been overly cautious, I have not plotted it all out down to the last detail, and I have let the piece guide me along. There have been messes, mistakes, wonk, and an undoing or two. Guess what, I'm loving it!

It's almost finished, I think. I'll be sure and show you when it's done. For now, I am just going to enjoy this new found freedom of expression.

Have a maverick day my friends!

Old yarn, New tricks

So, I mentioned in my last post, that this year I was going to try to learn some new tricks. Over the holiday break, I had visions of unfettered crafty doings, what with the engineer off the week after Christmas, I was thinking that there would be all this time on my hands to do some handiwork. Turns out, it didn't quite muddle out that way. Instead there were some last minute gifts that needed finalizing...and I found myself wrapped up in the daily embrace of my families togetherness and kind of just pottered about with them. Then there was the big New Year's Basement Tidy, which took quite a lot out of me but, there is a nice clean slate to wreck my crafty havoc upon and that is good.

I did manage a few new tricks with my "crochet affair", which gives me hope for the future.



I received a couple of crochet books as gifts and have set about stumbling my way through the reading of patterns.

The turquoise square is from this book. I have only made up the one block so far and found it reasonable. I look forward to trying out some of the other blocks.

The other two motifs are from this book...

...which so far, I really like. I have heard that her other book is quite good as well.

I was also fortunate enough to receive a gift card that allowed me to purchase some yarn, which was becoming a point of anxiety due to the challenge and the fact that like the rest of the blogging world, I too have become crochet obsessed. Really, new yarn is such a fabulous thing.

The only thing I have made with my new yarn is the purple flower motif in the top photo. I am still stewing about it, thinking up ways to show it off in all it's glory.

Stay tuned for other new tricks and I will be back later this week with more. More of what you ask? One never can tell.