I have heard several references recently to Christmas being only 6 months away which is crazy. However, when I think of the 109 degree high we had the other day cooler Christmas temperatures sound great. Then thoughts of Christmas turned to what can I make for Christmas? Last year I purchased a few Christmas fabrics, one of which you've seen on this blog because it's the same fabric as I am using for my Christmas quilt. The other is a new fabric that when I purchased it I thought I would make place mats but as I started thinking this week I decided that I would make napkins instead.
Yes, I could have made traditional square napkins but that would have been too easy so I searched for napkins and came across a circle pattern where the napkins can be folded into Christmas trees, perfect! I was excited for these and have made two sets of 4 already. They aren't for sale yet as I'm waiting for Christmas in July but here you can get the sneak peak. They are stitched with a gold thread to accent the gold stars on the white Merry Christmas print and to add a little extra shimmer to your Christmas decor.
I have been away for awhile now as you've noticed. The first week of June was incredibly busy as I was working, teaching Vacation Bible School and came down with a bad cold and major sun burn so then I was nursing myself back to health as well. Since then work has been busy and today I finally sit down to sew and as I go to turn my project right side out I realize that I sewed it incorrectly! Yes, I was upset by this and decided that it was time for me to put the sewing aside for the day because obviously I was too distracted as I was working to really be productive.
However, I have been productive on my quilting and after tonight I should have all my small starts finished so that I can meet up with my neighbor lady and do the trim and I will finally be DONE! Yes, finally done after a 6 month project that has taught me a lot about quilting.
1) I will not hand quilt my next quilt and I may never hand quilt again unless it's a place mat then I may consider it...
2) 6 months is too long to drag out a project
2) Sewing baby items is more my style because I see immediate results
So stay tuned for finished pictures and remember anything on the blog can be purchased!
Today I was eager to finally make some beer cap coasters so I went garage sale-ing to find exactly a cork board. As a child we went to garage sales and second hand shops which I must admit were of little interest and of slight embarrassment as I entered jr. high. Then throughout high school and college the only reason I went to such places was when looking for a costume and this has carried into my adult life. Now, with my new direction of crafting I have started sale-ing again at least a little. My favorite sales are those at churches because they often have loads of goods for very little money. I searched high and low but there was no cork board to be found at the sale. Then as I was nearing the end of my search I did come across 2 foam place mats and decided they would be perfect!
When I got home I gathered my materials, sorted out all of our beer caps as we've been saving them with the help of friends for a year and a half and had over 225, and then I began working. All in all my project took about an hour and a half and when I was done I had 12 completed coasters or 3 sets of 4. Below is the full picture of what I completed but I've divided them into sets of Coors Light/Bud Light, Shiner and Leinenkugels/Schells.
