Ack! Almost the end of the month?!

Really?  Where has October gone?  (Yes, I know it's 'only' the 21st, but um... I have stuff still to do!)  It's been a busy month, not really full of time in which to be bored, as I believe I've mentioned before.  There's any number of things going on in life, from work to house-hunting to those projects which I suppose I should consider scheduled.  And a little socialization, too.



Isn't Baby cute?  (Well, I think so!)



At any rate.  I have now finished my first self-designed quilt.  I've also made the pattern for it, with yardage and everything.  :)  I feel... productive!  So, I introduce to you: Baby's First Steps!

Here is Baby in all his glory: taking his first steps into the big world of humanity - and stomping it flat!  Bright nuclear green footprints mark Baby's path through the city, as do overturned cars and flames.  You never know what kids can get up to once they start walking, that's for certain!  The world will never be the same!

Baby's First Steps is a simple pattern, pieced and appliqued.  The entire quilt is 30"x40", so perfect for a small child or a wall-hanging. 

And just because I could, and because it added to the cute Baby factor, here's a close-up of Baby himself:



Isn't his eye just the brightest?



He's got a bead eye.  I had the right kind of bead just hanging out, so of course I used it!

I think if I ever redo Baby, his skin fabric will be a little less busy, let some more of his details show through.  Maybe a gentler batik... but this is the one I found and liked.  :)  So I ran with it.  And on the whole, I am pleased with how Baby's First Steps came out.

This weekend it's off to a couple of quilt stores with Baby's First Steps to see if any of them would be interested in selling the pattern (if they think there's a market for this style). 

And I start working on the next quilt, which is considerably more "serious" - no wandering giant monsters.  It's a little more tricky - fewer squares and more odd shapes, but tesselated, so there's really only two shapes.  It's got color variants already, but the first one, and the one I am truly looking forward to, is the Boston Molasses Flood quilt.

So, between the Boston Molasses Flood quilt, and house hunting, and all that other stuff, there's not much time to be bored.  I am almost done with the only "I'm bored" project - just one seam left to do and I can post my pics.  It's a stuffed pumpkin from a pattern from... well, it looks like the 1970's, really.  I got the pattern at an estate sale, so there's no telling. 

More finished (and almost finshed) items

It was a relatively quiet weekend - rain, which was nice, and quilting and sewing and such.  Oh, and a visit to Screams Haunted Theme Park.  Very cool! 

On the crafting front - finished my September sewing project (yeah, yeah, a little late.  I have good reasons, really I do).  Now I need to pick October's sewing project.  Should be able to do that tonight, and will post picture of finished project and the envelope for the next one.  As a refresher, here's the Burda envelope:

And here is my finished product, still on the dressmaker's mannequin (Beatriz is her name, and she's been most helpful since I've had her). 

As you can see, I added lace and did not cuff the sleeves.  Yes, it's a little wrinkled; it's linen, so it's going to do that!  I'll steam it well before I wear it and get those pesky wrinkles out.  On the main, I am pleased with September's monthly sewing project. 

And in my defense, this one is late because I lost the fabric for two weeks.  And then when I found the fabric, I lost the directions.  *sigh*  This is why we need a dedicated sewing area!  And will hopefully have one soon.

        Since the Massive Quilt-o'-Doom is done and on the bed, I have been working on my next quilt.  I won't post the picture until it's done - complete and total - but I do have a pic of the test applique I did this weekend.  The colors are wrong (I'm just using scrap fabric for the test appliques, so I don't waste my good stuff) but you can kind of see what it will be like.   Yup.  It's a baby Godzilla!  He'll be rampaging through a city with radioactive trail and overturned cars and everything.  If it comes out right, maybe I'll do some of the other monsters - Gamera, Ghidorah, Rodan... maybe even Mothra. 

Maybe.

At any rate, there's the completed stuff and almost completed stuff and plans for the future.  There's so much going on right now that boredom isn't really an issue.  And I admit that some of my "bored" time has been spent reading.  I enjoy it, and last night read an entire book because I couldn't put it down.  And because it was creepy and I wanted to get to the end and a happy ending (that I suspected would be there) so I could go to sleep on a good note!  The book was Ghost Trackers - written by the guys from Ghost Hunters with assistance from a professional novelist.  Good book!

...she finishes things! (finally!)

The Massive Quilt-o'-Doom is done!  Completed!  Finished, even!  Not the best picture ever, but here it is!  A nice, flame-y looking bargello quilt.

I quilted in the ditch, because it was just easier, really.  It's been a while since I quilted, so I thought for once I would do something easy.  It didn't turn out too bad! 

The cat HAD to make a guest appearance.  She's been sitting on the quilt since I got to the point of binding it.  She particularly seems to like the yellow area - brings out her eyes, I suppose.  :)

Anyway, I hope to have a better pic of it on my bed this evening, but I had to take it to work to show my co-workers.  (And then I ran off and forgot it and had to go back for it... good thing we don't live far from work!).

I've started cutting the pieces out for the next quilt - Baby's Day Out, aka the Baby Godzilla quilt.  More pictures as they happen.  It's smaller, so hopefully it won't take as long to do.

And I finally got my Halloween pennants up at work.  The ribbon is hard to see here, but it's a fancy ruched-looking textured ribbon that does add to the look.  I'll get a better picture up here after I get one. 

And I failed to get my Burda pattern made.  Got everything cut out and ready - and then lost the instructions, so I couldn't put it all together!  I am going to get another copy tonight (grrrr) so I can make it.  *sigh*  Already behind.  But I will catch up and get back on track!

More designs?! Really?

I really need to sew faster.  And win the lottery so I can get a quilting machine and stand, so I can quilt as fast as the ideas are flowing.

Yes... there are now two more ideas in the queue.  One can easily be postponed.  The other... well, let's just say that I was enthusiastic enough to make a test piece to make sure it did exactly what I thought it would.  And it did.  I have quilt pattern!  (yayayayay! arms flailing like Kermit the Frog). 

But... but... I'm not done with the Massive Quilt-o'-Doom yet!  *sigh*  Right, right... put other ideas down.  Step away from the ideas.  But... it's so lovely!  And it's not something I think I've ever seen before!  (I'm almost afraid to post a pic, so I won't.  Not yet, anyway).  Right now, the newest one (the one that I made a test piece for) is called Boston Molasses Flood.  With a few minor color changes it will be called Isaac's Storm, after the Galveston Hurricane of the early 1900's.  Both events happened in the early 1900's, so there's one connection.  All the flooding and damage is another. 

I have the tutorial for the pennants almost done - except that I left the pattern piece at work, so I can't scan it in currently, which means I couldn't supply it, which I want to do... so that will have to wait for tomorrow.  And I really need to get my stamp made.  Yeah, I'm going to dabble my toes in the selling of patterns and finished stuffus.  Soon I will jump onto the Etsy wagon (and hope I don't ever wind up on the Regretsy page.  If you've never been there, GO.  Really).

But boy... I really need to get a move on!  Halloween pennant being worked on, September sewing project being worked on, Steampunk-ish jacket being worked on (well, I cut out the pattern today, does that count?), and MQ-o'-D being worked on.  Oh, and the beginnings of a doll. 

... Crafting Condor?

 Crafty Condor?  Something?  I want this as my stamp for patterns and stuff.  Because I think he's cute!  (I also made a Christmas version for cards and so on... because I could).  I like his little spats and the fact that he seems to be smiling.


There's that done, then!  Stamp stamp stamp stamp! 

And managed to finish two other "hey, I am bored" type projects, including the one mentioned in the last post.  I went home that night and started, and now I have the finished version.  No letters on this pennant, because I'm too lazy to get out the embroidery machine and figure it out right now.

The banner of pennants for fall.  I wanted something to decorate my cube, and here it is!  Short and simple, it's all of four pennants long and five acorns.  It's all made of scrap fabric, with tea-dyed lace around the edges of the pennants.  It's cute, and for once, it's actually what I saw in my mind's eye.  Since that happens so rarely, I will take it!

I'm pretty sure I'll wind up making more for various holidays/seasons/etc.  Oh, and ignore the state of my cube... it's a little messy.  Work and all, y'know.  Here's a closer view of one of the pennants:  I think they came out rather well, actually.

And.... more pics!  More finished projects!  (Well, one more, anyawy...).   I made a pair of spats.  Not steam-punk spats, but "I want something to keep my ankles warm during winter and be bright and cheerful at the same time" spats.  :)  Pink isn't usually my thing, but I like the fabric.  It's striped on the other side.  They are completely reversable, with buttons on both sides.  The pattern was one I made up... it's not perfect yet.  I have a revamp of the pattern, so when I make pair #2, they should fit better and go higher up my leg.  But these work for a first attempt!

The other thing I finished was a new needlecase based on the purselet pattern.  Pics of that one later, because there are already lots of pics here!  And one again, I have tutorials in mind... just have to get around to doing them!

Tonight I SHOULD have time to work on the massive quilt... hopefully.