A little bit of what I have been up to

I don't get much time to sew since I have a little guy home with me all day, but I have been working on so many things! I have some quilt blocks done for one of my family room quilts. I have been knitting socks, but haven't finished another pair just yet. Soon, I hope. Here are a few of the things I have finished.

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine moved to the east coast. I wanted to do something for her darling little girl, but I wanted it to be more than something I just happened to pick up at the big box store. I decided to make a personalized tote bag and matching crayon roll to go with the coloring books I bought. I love the way it turned out!

The triangle crayons are supposed to help toddlers learn to hold a pencil properly.

My daughter saw the tote bag and asked for one of her own with the exact same fabric. No problem. I love these little tote bags!

I had a baby shower to attend last week and she is having her first girl. So I made a car seat canopy. I love these car seat canopies! The best part is they keep germs off of baby. They also help keep baby cool on the face of the sun, which is where we live.

Cotton Candy Van Dyke Socks

 I spent Christmas and New Years with my family. It was loads of fun, and I visited a fun little yarn shop, Unwind, in Sandy, Utah with my mom and sister. 

While I was there I picked up some pink and purple Cascade Yarn Cherub DK to make my daughter a pair of socks. A couple of days before that, I picked up a copy of "Socks from the Toe Up" by Wendy Johnson while visiting my aunt. After looking through it, I knew I had to have my own copy, and I knew that knitting socks didn't have to be as difficult as it was the last time I knit a pair. I promptly went to the yarn/antique shop next door to her home and bought it. I couldn't wait to get started. 

The instructions in "Socks from the Toe Up" are clear and easy to understand. The author explains the basics of knitting socks and what makes a good fitting sock, so you could eventually make your own sock patterns. 

I loved knitting these socks. I used the Van Dyke Socks pattern. The pattern is actually for a woman's mid-calf sock, but I knew I wanted to make my 7 year old a pair of socks. It calls for a sport weight yarn.

The Cherub DK is lighter than the sport weight yarn I picked up at the same time. It is actually closer in weight to some of the sock yarns I have in my stash. This worked out perfectly for me, as I needed to make a sock slightly smaller than what the pattern offered, and this allowed me to do so without altering the basic pattern right off the bat. The only alteration I made was when I got to her calf and needed to increase it to fit comfortably. Fortunately, I needed to increase it just enough that I could fit in another repeat of the lace pattern.

Seriously, if knitting socks has not gone well for you in the past or you just want to give it a whirl, pick up a copy of "Socks from the Toe Up". It makes knitting socks super simple. I highly recommend it.

Sewing Table

I desperately needed a sturdy table for my sewing machine. The plastic folding table just was not getting it done. I built this table and then it sat in my garage for a full two months before I stained it. Why? Because I really really really don't like staining anything. It is much more gray than it shows in the picture, but I just couldn't a good picture for color, because my house is yellow and reflecting onto the table. So far I am liking it, but may end up building some sturdier legs for it. The legs are from Ikea.

Quilt for Abuela

Last summer my husband started making plans to go visit his Grandmother. When he started making his plans, he requested that I make her a quilt. The only information he gave me is he wanted it to be her favorite colors: pink and purple. I picked up this fabric at a local quilt shop that was having a moving sale. It is Eden by Lila Tueller for Moda. The pattern is Diamond Diva by Heather Mulder Peterson. I love her patterns. I originally picked up this pattern to make a quilt for my family room (which I haven't done yet). This pattern was so easy to piece and went together nicely. While this quilt isn't done in colors I would choose for myself, I am very happy with the results. I will be using this pattern for my family room quilt.

In other news, I picked up some beautiful Christmas fabric today that will match my family room perfectly.