Crafting Update

I've done more crafting in the past few days now that school is over then I did all semester, and it feels so nice! Over the next few weeks I would love to focus on WIPs that really have been in the works for way too long, and its quite a lot!  I have a shawl on the needles, socks in progress, a crochet blanket with yarn literally everywhere, legwarmers on dpns, three cross stitch projects, a quilt that needs to be quilted, and another quilt in the works! And to add more fuel to the fire I just purchased two new quilt patterns by Johanna Masko from The Workroom (Donut Quilt and Modblocks).

I would love to finish up my Game of Thrones Socks and my Legwarmers by the time spring semester rolls around, but I would also like to continue to work on some other WIPS as well.  I have a few books I would like to read and my mother and I have been interested in trying a new craft, Putz House Making(under our tree we have a little cardboard stereotype).  All in due time!

Over the semester I did manage to finish reading The Fellowship of the Ring and I finished knitting an infinity scarf (just simple garter stitch).

Over the past few days I have been focusing on continuing making my Christmas Quilt from last year and on my Beauty and the Beast cross stitch.  I'm loving my cross stitch so far and I'm sure I will love it even more once I put the backstitching into it, but my quilt is a totally different story.  I am still a fairly new quilter and my piecing is looking very very bad.  Through this Christmas Quilt I have learned that I am a craft perfectionist.  I want to know that I did the best that I could on my quilt and right now the corners are not matching up, my measurements are off, I have even trimmed off spots to make everything fit and it is not sitting well with me.  So I think I need more practice before I move onto a quilt with this much piecing.  I'm very excited for my two new quilt patterns to come in the mail because I think they will be easy enough for me to practice on and I love looking through finished products on Instagram!  I have plans for a Christmas Donut quilt in place of the one I am working on as well as a Space Donut Quilt ( I found super awesome constellation backing fabric that I love)  In the meantime I think I will tink back and start ripping seams in my other quilt and cutting down fabric.  I can use the fabric for something else!

We are getting ready for Christmas over at our house!  I started baking some cookies and I am almost done with my Christmas shopping!  I hope everyone enjoys the holidays!

F.O Quilt Top

I feel like I have done nothing but sew this whole week, which is completely okay! I felt like this was the first week in a very long time where I was able to sit and put in the hours on something that I really wanted to work on.  I've had the squares for this quilt cut for a few months now (since about November) and I finally went out and got backing fabric and started sewing! 

Maybe it is because I haven't sewn in a while, or maybe it's because I used scrap fabrics that were not made of the same materials (some were 100% cotton, others were not) but throughout this project I did have a problem with some of the dimensions being a bit off when I tried piecing everything together.  I would really like to try to work on making my dimensions and cuts more precise.  I also would have liked the outer boarder to bit a bit wider, but I ran out of fabric.  This quilt is quite big already so I am okay with it being a bit smaller now.  

There are some duplicate fabric circles in the quilt and I wanted it to look a bit random so I just made sure that all of the duplicates were not directly next to each other.  In the end I really like how it came out!  Now I just have to pick some backing fabric and start quilting, but I think that will be on the back-burner for a while!  For now I will be just dreaming about the day when I can snuggle up and knit under this quilt!

I will be going to Otakon at the end of the month which is super exciting!  I went about two years ago with my friends and I had a great time!  I'm more into video games then anime but I still enjoyed going.  My favorite part of the weekend is seeing what crazy costumes people come up with!  As a crafter I am always amazed at what people can make! I really enjoy seeing the elaborate costumes and I always tell myself that I want to learn to sew garments.  I am working on a Final Fantasy costume for myself that I will be doing with my friend so I need to work on getting that done! I'm taking my time with it mainly because I have no idea what I'm doing.  However, she has been helping me when I have questions so hopefully it will turn out good! Two years ago we did a Sakizou costume which was really intense but luckily her mom helped us with a lot of it!  I would love to do one again one year when I learn more about sewing.

You can find my friend Deanna's Cosplay Page Here

Hope everyone has a good week!

-Jess

Sewing Central!

I've been super excited about my new sewing space!  This morning my dad and I put up my thread holder on the wall and I started sewing away!  I acquired two of my grandmother's sewing machines (one is in the sewing desk and the other on the floor) and I am super excited to learn how to use them, but for now I am using my mother's old sewing machine which I have always used and is the one that comes naturally to me.  So this little space is holding three sewing machines!  

I have a lamp from my Grandpa, a mason jar filled with buttons, an old vintage Disney tin which holds bobbins and a seam ripper, and my little Tokidoki Cactus Cat on the windowsill to keep me company! I wanted to keep the space simple and clean so I can have an easy time sewing.  I'm sure I will add things and change things in the future but for now it is perfect! 

I have been working on quite a few things this summer so far!  I've been wanting to make a cover for my tablet which is the patchwork with the little porcupine on it!  I have also been working on free quilt pattern I found on Pintrest (but for some reason failed to pin so I have no idea where it is) and I have been really enjoying it!  It is leaving me with tons of triangle scraps so I have been brainstorming some ideas that I can use them for.  I am thinking of doing some more scrap quilts with them or maybe try to do some patchwork bags or cup mats for my Etsy Shop.  I also would like to create some notion pouches and Nintendo DS cases for the shop, but these are all just a few ideas!  For now I am happy to have a permanent place where I can go and be creative and sew!  

"Mostly Void, Partially Stars"

I am finally getting around to quilting my Stars Quilt!  I am so excited!  This is my first quilt and I have learned a lot from making it!  I know, and have accepted, the fact that there are many mistakes that I have made in this quilt but I think it will add to the character and I will take them as a learning experience.  

School has started up again and this semester is going to be much harder then the last.  I wanted to try to finish all of my WIPS lying around the house before school takes over, and this quilt was one of those projects on my list!  I mainly have been quilting it at night because of school and work and it helps me relax and fall asleep.  

I use my mothers old sewing machine.  My dad bought it for my mom when they were dating and I love it!  I love using an older machine, especially one that has meaning.  I am still learning a lot of the different settings on the machine and I am constantly looking back into the manual for tips and tricks.  I started quilting this completely free hand (I am just doing straight lines) and some of my lines were closer together then others and some were a bit wavy.  While I was rummaging through the boxes of accessories to the machine I found a quilting guide which I attached to my machine and it has been so helpful!  It has an adjustable bar that acts as a guide to help with straight line quilting! Now my lines look ten times better!  

I have been really enjoying listening to some podcasts while I am sewing and quilting and even knitting.  I am loving Welcome To Night Vale.  I love the weird sense of humor and I look forward to their little proverbs at the end of each episode!  They have a Welcome To Night Vale mug for sale that is on my wish list!

Hopefully I will be done with this quilt before school gets busy and I wont have to put it on hold again!

Easy Breezy Baked Pancake

Lately I have been obsessing over baked pancakes!  Yes, BAKED pancakes!  They are easy, fast, and so fun to make!  My mom and I have been experimenting and adding a bunch of different fruit to the mix including blueberries, bananas, raspberries, and next on our list are apples and of course peaches! I have been adapting the recipe to make it more healthy as well!

This recipe is perfect for a busy family, no more spending 15 minutes flipping pancakes, stores very well in the refrigerator and it also tastes great when heated up later!

Easy Breezy Baked Pancake with Blueberries, Banana, and Walnuts

Ingredients:
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1T Ground Flax Seed (optional)
1-1/2 tsp Baking Powder
3T Granulated Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 Cup Whole Milk (or Almond Milk)
1 Egg
1/3 Cup Blueberries
1 Banana (sliced)
2 Walnuts (chopped small)
1 T Butter for pan
Cinnamon for sprinkling.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix flour, flax seed, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.  In a separate bowl whisk the egg and milk together.  Combine wet ingredients with dry and mix together.

Melt butter and coat pan.  Pour batter in pan.  Sprinkle blueberries, walnuts, place banana slices, and sprinkle cinnamon on top.  Can sprinkle more sugar on top if desired.

Bake in oven for about 25 minutes until golden brown.  Let cool 5 minutes before serving.  Cut pancake in "pizza" like slices.  Serve with syrup and any extra banana slices and blueberries on side.
Enjoy!

*Note: You can exchange blueberries, bananas, and walnuts for any other toppings.  Try just blueberries, or blueberries and raspberries combined!  Whole Wheat flour can also be exchanged for white flour.

*If sharing this recipe please link to this page. Thank you!

I have also been obsessed with mug-rugs!  I used this mug rug tutorial by Verykerryberry!  It was a great tutorial, super easy to follow, and I loved the result!  I used left over fabric from a bag I made a while ago and I feel super fancy when I am relaxing and using my mug rug and matching knitting bag at the same time! I have made another mug rug which I will be sending to my friend but I want it to be a surprise! The mug-rugs were a great way to practice free motion quilting without having to worry about messing up a huge quilt top!  I am thinking of making a few more before I move on and finish my Star Quilt (which I will do another blog post about when it is done).