Quilt Update
So it’s been awhile since I posted. I have to admit that I’ve been lazy. I tend to get bored of large projects fairly quick unless it’s a gift for someone. This explains why my Hobbes doll is still just a head.
I DID make some progress on my quilt though. I cut the smaller triangles and chain stitched them. I probably should have planned how to mix and match the pieces a bit better since I have more of some colors than others but I suppose its too late for that.
Chained pieces
I laid out my quilt today on my bedroom floor. I decided to just go with the scrappy look. I have too uneven of a number of prints to make a pattern. And since I’m a bit OCD about these things I tried very hard not to have any sort of pattern accidentally show up in the quilt (it’s either all random or not random at all, I can’t have half and half). I must be really bad at counting though since I found that I was short 7 pieces of the larger triangles. I just finished cutting them out but I’m too tired to get out the sewing machine and sew them up. I still need to cut out the white pieces as well.
Pieces laid out
I’m debating whether or not I want to add more around the sides. Maybe a white border?
Started Quilt
I started my quilt yesterday! I know – it was Valentines day – I didn’t do anything lol. In fact, I actually went to Walmart to buy a self healing mat and rotary cutter. I found this little set that came with the rotary cutter, acrylic ruler, pins, needles, AND a how to quilt book for around $15. I thought it was a pretty good deal so I got it. I picked up 3 more fat quarters as well too add a bit of color variety to the fabric I had already gotten. I found packs of cloth at Walmart for 8 bucks! You get 2 prints and 2 yards each. 4 yards for 8 bucks? I don’t think I’ve ever seen fabric that cheap. It’s not that bad either… of course the choices weren’t that great but I think the two I got were pretty nice. I particularly like the pink prints I got.
Here are all my tools together:
Quilting Materials
The checker blue is something I already had and decided to just use up the rest. I guess my quilt will be a bit scrappy but I wanted brighter colors for spring. Since those two packs each have 4 yards of fabric I actually have way more than I need for one quilt. I’m thinking I might use the rest for the back just to save me having to buy more. I still need to buy the solid color fabric though.
I started cutting the kaleidoscope triangles yesterday and got them all done (with some extra). I learned you gotta cut like you mean it with the rotary cutter though. At first I was barely even denting the fabric. Maybe the blade just isn’t sharp enough? And I don’t know if my pattern was off or if I was just moving the ruler when I was cutting, but I wasn’t able to ever cut, flip the pattern to cut again and have the edges line up like the person who wrote the instructions was able to… Thus my cuts aren’t ALL the same but I think it’s close enough?
Kaleidoscope cuts
Kaleidoscope cuts
I meant to do the 45 degree triangle cuts today but I got too distracted making dinner and… watching Youtube (oops). So I guess I will do that tomorrow.
Finished Dress
In a previous post I mentioned that I decided to do this dress as my first sewing project on my new sewing machine. Well, I finished it last week! 
Here it is:
Big Buttons Dress
While working on it I began thinking that perhaps the yellow pattern I got wasn’t the best choice – it looked so much better in the store than it did once I started sewing. But its still cute (reminds me of doll dresses) and looks nice over white leggings. I think I want to make a second one but with a brighter color for spring. I’m not sure when I’ll get around to it though (I get bored of patterns after doing it the first time).
The dress took me much longer than I expected! Maybe it’s because I’m not used to using a sewing machine. I also ended up taking it apart and resewing after trying it on the first time I got the zipper in. I realized it was just a tad tight and I should have perhaps used 17 inches as my shoulder measurement instead of 16. It wasn’t tight enough that I couldn’t wear it but I knew that if it wasn’t comfortable then I would never wear it and it’d just become a waste of cloth. So I took apart the darn thing to let it out an inch and now it fits great. Taking it apart also gave me the chance to serge the seams between the top and the skirt (which I had forgotten to do before putting on the zipper), so I guess it all worked out.
By the way – I love having a serger! I never knew such a thing existed until recently. It made my dress feel so nice and complete once I was done. I was so proud of the neatly serged edges on the inside of my dress that I took a picture of it lol.
Serged seams!
On another note, I’ve decided my next sewing project will be a quilt! I’ve seen so many on Pintrest that I want to try! At first I was just going to do boring squares but then saw this quilt along and loooved the kaleidoscope look. It’s not quite so boring as just squares and I got quite a few ideas going through the Flickr group associated with the quilt along. I’m just not sure if I want to use fabric I already have or go and buy fat quarters from Jo Anns or Walmart (which has a smaller selection but is 50% cheaper).
I figure I will start soon though. I have a friend coming up to stay for the weekend in March so it’d be nice if I could let him use a real blanket instead of the Snuggy I usually give him lol! I think the only problem is how I will wash it at the end. I have one of those half sized stacked washer/dryer combo things and I highly doubt the quilt will fit in the washer once it’s done. I’ll have to find a laundrymat somewhere outside my area since there are only apartment complexes around here and they all have onsite or in-apartment machines.
Hobbes Update
Just a quick Hobbes update. He’s coming out pretty well. I ended up ripping out his stripes twice because I’m not very good at color change. Then ripped out the bottom of his head once because I wasn’t paying attention and missed some rows. I guess it wouldn’t have made too much of a difference but I can be a bit of a perfectionist about these kinds of things.
Hobbe's head
I have to admit, it feels a little weird having his head sit on my desk though…
Crochet Hobbes and No Poo Update
So I’ve finally stopped being lazy and started on a new craft project. I found this awesome tutorial on how to crochet Hobbes from the Calvin and Hobbes comics! You can find the pattern here. I’m being cheap and just using Red Heart yarn which isn’t the softest but you get a lot for cheap (especially from Walmart) and I figure this way I can make more than one if I wanted. I just started last night. So far it doesn’t see too hard, though I think the biggest hurdle for me is not getting bored while making it (that tends to happen a lot with me and big projects).
Hobbes in progress
Over the weekend (when I got this yarn), I also made a new base for the cage of my rabbit. I used to use a rug I got from Walmart but she chewed a hole through it and I was worried she’d end up chewing the apartment carpeting. So no more rugs for her! Instead I got a piece of wood and some self adhesive flooring tiles from Home Depot. It was quite annoying that I had to pay for the whole wooden board (8 feet long) even though I only really needed half. I ended up just getting two pieces… just incase I ever need a piece of wood lol.
Momo's cage
I think the tiles are a bit too slippery for her. Bunnies don’t have padded feet like cats and dogs so they need flooring with some friction. I threw a towel in there for her for now but I think I’ll have to buy a piece of carpet or something to line the cage.
I also cheated on my no shampoo thing this weekend. Sort of. I used diluted dish washing soap to get rid of some of the oil. Just some of it. I was going home for Lunar New Years and didn’t want my mom making comments about my hair haha. I cheated a bit yesterday too. I decided to try making a paste of coconut oil and baking soda. I’m not sure why I thought to put (more) oil in my hair but I thought the coconut oil might be moisturizing. And it was! I used a bar of soap to wash it out after working it into my hair and my hair was really soft after. Of course I realized I may have ruined my efforts in trying to transition my scalp to the whole no shampoo thing…
My sewing machine also came back yesterday from repair. I am still quite pissed that it came broken (even though it was new!) but I’m glad to have it back and working. The guy who repaired it did what Singer SHOULD have done: left a piece of cloth with test stitches sewn in to show that they actually tested the damn thing. Now I gotta email Singer to get reimbursed for the return shipping… They told me they would pay for it but the guy at the warranty place said that they only do the warranty repairs and that I have to pay for the shipping back. Seriously, I am very unhappy with their customer support. It took the longest time for me to get a reply from them in the first place.
New Sewing Machine
Well anyways, I’ve decided this dress is going to be my first project. It looks simple enough and is mainly straight lines. I’m going to look for fabric this weekend. I figure I can wear a long sleeve shirt under it while the weather is still cold and then can wear it alone in the spring!
One last crafty thing before I go. Here’s an interesting paper heart fold I did. I found the tutorial on Pintrest here. I’m not sure if I followed the directions correctly (diagrams aren’t exactly super clear). But it came out pretty good:
Paper Heart