The Spunky Diva

Working through my second 'Howlcat' {pattern by Alex Tinsley}.   This one is in a green and brown combination of wools.  The brown  tweedy  yarn is 100% wool by Lion Brand, and was worked in a p1-k1 for 10 inches. I am loving the green mohair blend {if it only has 10% mohair is it really a blend?}... I am using a modified 'Feather and Fan' stitch - Row 1: k2tog x 3, yo k1 x 6, k2tog x 3, k2 - Row 2: purl.  Stitch markers are every 20 stitches, with a double marker to indicate the 'beginning' of each row.   Started the second section without the Purl row, but the tension was super unstable and you couldn't see the design clearly {pic 1}.  Once the Purl row was added, the design firmed up and you can see the lace design {last pic}.

Here is a sneak peak of the Mug Rug I am creating for the swap.  The partners are kept secret…. So, I can’t show to much.  Otherwise it would give away the ‘secret’. The pile of scraps I started out with. The front has her initial machine embroidered in lime. And in keeping with the ‘scrappy’ part of the swap… I strip pieced the back using a quick assembly method .  This went together very quickly, and was a lot of fun.  Now I just need to finish binding and quilting it!  Not bad for someone who is the master at procrastination.  This doesn’t have to be mailed for another two weeks!

Hey there! I am in the process of getting Week 4’ Blocks completed.  Both of these blocks are super cool, and seeing all the variations posted in the Flickr file for this quilt-along as been very inspiring.  I love how crisp the Diamond Mine block looks in this refreshing ocean blue and lime combo . Well… onto my progress… I have all my triangles sewn for Diamond Mine.  Layering the squares together, and sewing on either side of the diagonal line makes piecing these a snap.  Here is the link to the details on this method from Week 2 that Ryan and Charlie posted.  I first saw this method watching Love of Quilting on T.V. from Fons and Porter . As for the Fourth Inning block… I have two layout options that I am considering.  Take a look and tell me what you think.  {This way my final block for this week will be a ‘big’ surprise} Option 1           Option 2 Thoughts????? Since I shared a tip last ...

Used 6.5” strips from used jeans to cover a 24” x 24” Super-Sized pillow.  A fun pillow to add to our western/country style living room.  One more item off my to-do list! Linking up with: The CSI Project, Reduce ~ Reuse ~ Recycle Projects

Here are photos of the completed Fresh Flowers Quilt with fabrics from Moda.  I still have to finish quilting the layers, but all the pieces are together. It does not have a traditional binding.  I wanted the backing fabric to ‘wrap-around’ to the front side.  So, I attached the backing {with the batting attached} to the pieced front, with the ruffle insertion attached, leaving an opening to turn the quilt inside out.  I then closed both ends when I attached the silky, carrot fabric.  Flipped the quilt inside out, sewed down both sides along the ruffle, and now it is ready to be quilted. I just love these fabrics.  The printed text fabrics are just lovely.  Wordy = cute! Linking up with: Mid-Week Mingle Follow My Back Tuesday Santa's Gift Shoppe Blog Hop Making the World Cuter Monday Pink Hippo Party at Pinkapotamus Take A Look Tuesday at SugarBee Crafts Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog

The quilt top has gone from this sneak peak shot... To this... I love the orange silky fabric and the fun pleated trim I found at Hobby Lobby... The fabrics used in this quilt top are Fresh Flowers from Moda .  This entire quilt top was pieced together using a Jelly Roll, and there is still fabric left over to add a piecing strip to the quilt back.

Went to Kohl's the other day, and found some really fun appliqued placemats.  Making pillows of of these placemats was done quit a bit, and linked up by several people to the different link parties.  Here is a tutoral on how to create these fun easy pillows: Easy Placemat Pillows by Meredith at Heardmont.  I have to admit though... all I did was use a seam ripper to undo about 4 inches of stitching, stuffed the placemats, and then restitched using mathcing thread.  Took about 5 to 10 minutes to create each pillow.  $2.50 per placemat and half of a $3.00 - 12 ounce package of poly-fil = less than $5 per pillow.  Making this a thrifty way for you to add some festive holiday pillows to your living room. I really like the peaking bunnies!  While checking out the Easter placemats I also picked up a very cute St. Patrick's (70% off = $1.00) and a fun Valentine's placemat.  I figure these can store flat until next year, and then get 'stuffed' jus...

Here is Ms. Diva modelling her newest addition to her hair accessory collection.  These fun felt stitchies are designs from GG Designs Embroidery and are fantastic!  Using felt and hair clips , they are very quick to stitch-out and I foresee many more of these being added to her hair accessory collection.  {As you can see her morning milk wins out over being a complete photo ham.} Here is the group photo before cutting each one out: I love well this blue flower clip matches one of Ms. Diva's  new outfits from Great-Grandma C. The designs I used from GG Designs Embroidery are: Butterfly Stitchies Flower Stackable Stitchies and the new Leaf Clip Snap Barrette Stitchie I am thinking that I may need to get some of these stitched out this month, LOL! Linking up with... Take-A-Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee

Check out this new item that will be arriving in the Spunky Diva store soon: Travel Tissue Cases! These fun fabric cases protect your tissues from the wreckage caused by other items in your purse over time. Keeping your tissues fresh and ready for when you need them. I use a variety of fabrics to create a unique and useful accessory. Some of the fabrics are brand spanking new, while other fabrics used have been upcycled from a previous life {typically no longer used clothing}. All fabrics are washed and dried prior to construction to insure that if the need arises you can through it in the wash and not worry about shrinkage. Here are some more photos of the Fresh Cherries Tissue Case.   

 Here is the completed Curtain Valance for Grandpa's room.  We used the tan and blue fabric Mom found at Fabric.com.  This is the same fabric I used for his Christmas Gift . . Here is a picture of the pillowcase. We are going to change out the fabric behind these doors and make a leg rest cover for his recliner. To create the valance, we did a 2" ruffle at the top, and 3.5" gap for the curtain rod, and then double stitched along the bottom of the rod space.  The red line is the top of the fabric where it is folded.  {The fabric above that is just extra fabric I had the valance laid on top of for the photo.}

Hey Everyone ~ I can't believe Ms. T is already eleven days old!  She is doing very well, and she has her one week/two week old check-up today {I will tweet her new stats when we get out of the Doctor's office}.  Ms. Diva continues to amaze with me with how helpful she is trying to be.  No mean feat for a 15-month-old.  She already has an 'understanding' that Ms. T's binkies are not hers, and is determined that the baby's bottle needs to be held by the person holding the baby.  Otherwise she will hand you the baby's bottle, LOL!  Having Ms. T at home motivated me to finally get around to redoing the seat cushion for the rocking chair.  A task that had been on my to-do list for waaaaaaay to long.  Here are the results. I am not terribly thrilled with the finished look, but it is uber comfy.  I used a four inch foam from Joann's {purchased New Year's on sale}, and some micro-suede {also purchased at Joann's during the New Year's sale}....

One of my goals ( more to goals of 2011 to be posted in a goal post, almost sounding sporty here, later this week ) is to be better about using up fabric that I have been collecting this past year like a fiend.  Have questions about the amount of fabric... check out these posts: Fabric Posts .  I also want to continue learning new sewing skills in 2011.  I purchased a ruffler foot , and decided there was no time like the present to get started on ruffles! Since I used fabric I had on hand, a shirt Ms. Diva was outgrowing, and the ruffler foot... technically this project did not cost a cent.  {technically}  One of the issues with a lot of Ms. Diva's shirts is that she is very tall in the body, and even though she is already wearing 18m and 24m shirts they still tend to be to short.  So... this purple shirt became the subject to my first ruffling experiment.  I used a 6.5" strip of the Hearts fabric folded in half (no wrong side showing), and ruffl...