text: KnitWriteCookGo (and Sew): 2013
  Wishing you all a wonderful, warm and merry Christmas!
  Posted by DonnaW at 8:49 AM No comments:
  Pedro is visiting his gramma's "jungle" for the first day of winter. He likes all the foliage.
  Socky Hat
  Today I cast on a sock weight hat for mom. The pattern is Socky Slouchy Hat, free on Ravelry.
  I am using Premier Yarns Wool-Free Sock Yarn in the Vegas Lights colorway.
  I am making good progress on it and hope to have it done and blocked for the New Year.
  Happy fast knits to all~!
  Here is the batch of Christmas table runners that I made for the season.
  These are done off the 10-minute table runner idea and are fast and fun to make. They make lovely hostess gifts.
  Posted by DonnaW at 7:39 AM No comments:
  They are on my Make list for next year, when I have more time.
  Hope your crafting is making you happy~!
  See-Through Zippies - Gifted
  The batch of see-through zippies that I created out of the fabric I purchased from Fringe in Salida.
  I blended the eye-popping eyetalian fabrics from the apron and kitchen projects we did earlier this year to finish the bags.
  They were gifted to my knitting folks as their Teacher's Pet of the Year Award. Each have a different reason to be Teachers pet.
  Cute card from the cat
  I received the cutest card from Pedro for Thanksgiving.
  His sweet adopted grandparents mailed it for him from Missouri.
  A big thank you to B&J for their help. Pedro kept it a big secret here at home.
  Posted by DonnaW at 6:26 AM No comments:
  I saw this video tutorial at Crafty Gemini.
  With leftover charms from the latest charm school project, I created a holiday postcard. This first one is destined for the quilt shop.
  I plan to make some more of these and send them out this year. The first one will be a test through the USPS to myself. I want to see how damaged it gets, I may have to mail them in mini manila envelopes so they get there in good shape. More later on the test results.
  This is a fun way to use up scraps. I hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend.
  The second attempt of bus passes were successful.
  I am sending all three to CatWithCats and she can choose her favorite. Then, hopefully, will pass on the other two to her fellow riders that might need a lift (RAK activity).
  Or, she can use them for luggage tags.
  I will be making some more of these for luggage tags myself. They are a really cute way to use a favorite piece of fabric.
  Have we had the opportunity to blend turkey day with a menorah. Here is the explanation to the unique phenomenon:
  "Thanksgivukkah is a pop-culture portmanteau neologism given to the convergence of the American holiday of Thanksgiving and the first day of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah on Thursday, November 28, 2013. Thursday, November 28 will not fall during Chanukah again until the year 79811."
  In my first attempt to sew with clear vinyl I created a test for a bus pass holder for my friend CatWithCats. It was a failure. The opening for the bus pass was too small.
  They will be very cute and I will remake them this evening when I get home. It was a learning experience.
  Vinyl is not the easiest thing to sew on/with. I used wax paper to sew on the vinyl and that worked well.
  These may make up cute for gift card holders, would not need the hardware on them for that purpose.
  Posted by DonnaW at 9:11 AM No comments:
  At the beginning of the fall, I went through my bucket of bulky weights and decided it was time to destash, so I have been knitting hats to donate.
  Today I emptied the bucket and saw that I have quite a few, so the plan is to visit Black Forest on Friday and give them to one of the disaster recovery groups to give out to the fire victims.
  I still have yarn to knit and will keep these on the needles for days that I need a mindless project to work on.
  In the spirit of thanksgiving, I am grateful for yarn and needles and the skill to use them. Knit On!
  Posted by DonnaW at 3:58 PM No comments:
  Posted by DonnaW at 5:24 AM No comments:
  I finished the Jelly Roll Tote and love it. It finished out about 23 by 22, is big enough to fit a project box and more in.
  I added a water bottle holster to the lining and two carbiner loops. These items keep me organized and neat.
  This is a fun way to use up strips of fabric. Next time I do this I will try combining different width size of strips to give it more interest.
  Project notes: this was done with Sweet Pea by Kansas Troubles and the video tutorial Three Totes from One Jelly Roll by Missouri Star Quilting Company. The pattern is also in Quilting Quickly Winter 2013 edition.
  My cooking is still mostly for others so I can try recipes I think look interesting. This post is about just that.
  I found this great recipe at The Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond) blog and wanted to share it with my monthly potluck group.
  It is called Crash Potatoes and they were yummy with meatloaf. The blog post that goes along with the recipe contains the recipe as well as a great story about her boys. I hope you enjoy.
  Posted by DonnaW at 6:22 AM No comments:
  I got very excited when I received an email from Missouri Star Quilt Company regarding a tutorial with pattern idea for three totes from a jelly roll. These are the strips I chose from Sweet Pea by Kansas Troubles.
  Needless to say, I have gotten the top of the bag done, just waiting for another hour or so of free time to do the handles and lining.
  This one showed me that I will need to use a medium weight batting for the next ones, this on is a little flimsy. I was using up some lightweight batting that I had a leftover pieces.
  It will make a great shopping bag or to take projects to quilting/knitting classes.
  Posted by DonnaW at 6:04 AM No comments:
  This weekend is has been short bouts of squaring up the 112 squares needed to make the star in the
  Little Bites - Chip project that I will be doing at class this week. My first impression is I won't be making a lot of this kind of project with my current time schedule.
  Once I have all these trimmed up, I have to lay them out in the center square and determine their placement then I am ready to sew. Hopefully I will get to that point before Friday.
  It was a beautiful day on the eastern plains today when I went out to the National Mill Dog Rescue facility to deliver the kennel liners.
  One eager volunteer gave me a whirlwind tour and explained that most of the dogs had been picked up this morning to be fostered as the facility was getting ready for 80 more dogs that were being brought in from rescue attempts in Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas.
  It boggles the mind that people run these kind of doggie sweatshops to get puppies. So sad the state of humanity.
  The folks with this rescue are doing some amazing things to rescue dogs of all breeds and try to help them find some normalcy for the rest of their days. If you would like to learn more, click here.
  Posted by DonnaW at 5:46 AM No comments:
  Thank you for your service to our country and for our protection.
  Posted by DonnaW at 6:03 AM No comments:
  This project I did for a co-worker who has been cleaning out her aunt's house. Both she and her aunt are critter people so I thought this was the best use of the flannels and polar fleece that she brought me.
  The co-worker is writing up the donation note in memory of her aunt and will deliver them this week to whichever animal rescue/shelter she has decided on.
  Pedro offered his help by holding down the ones to be sewn while watching the finished pile grow next to him.
  Posted by DonnaW at 5:40 AM 1 comment:
  No, not Pedro; I did this one for my friend CatWithCats.
  I got to meet up with her recently for lunch and a visit to the quilt shop, Sewceity, in Castle Rock.
  This mat was made from the scraps of the sashed placemat test I blogged about earlier this fall.
  She can use this one at work if she likes; it adds that homey touch to your desk space, or at home.
  Our visit to Sewciety netted a treasure trove of fine fabric choices for her, she blogged about them and her upcoming mystery quilt challenge led by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.
  Happy end of fall to you all~!
  Posted by DonnaW at 9:19 AM 1 comment:
  In the recent months I have become excited about the modern look of quilts that use traditional blocks that tweaked to achieve a fresh, new look.
  I just got to read through the new book The Modern Quilting Bee Block Party that tells about virtual block party's. It has some great ideas and the gals that were involved have good blogs.
  So, I have added some of this blogs to my blogroll under Sewing Inspiration for anyone interested. I love the look of the wonky blocks especially and have plans to use up some of my scraps to make a bed runner out of at least four different ones.
  Note: the picture is borrowed from wombatquilts.com - it is a great representation of what I am playing with. Thank you.
  Posted by DonnaW at 7:20 AM No comments:
  This year was fun treats, cute mug rug, and watched Hotel Transylvania with my neighbor.
  The cute broom critters are hiding a Tootsie Pop, clever paper crafting from another neighbor.
  All in all, a fun end to October.
  Posted by DonnaW at 8:44 AM No comments:
  More small accomplishments
  I just finished what had turned into a year long project that began as a simple test of a bag pattern.
  The next step is to get it mailed to the intended recipient.
  These little bags are cash and carry by Terri Atkinson with the little wallet she also designed. Too cute in these fabrics.
  Now, on to larger projects that need finishing before the end of November.
  Posted by DonnaW at 8:19 AM 1 comment:
  MIA - have returned
  It looks like I have been missing for nearly a month. I was not stolen by aliens or picked up as a prize for a sheik, or run over by a herd of reindeer, just been so busy my eyeballs hurt.
  I have worked on zippies. And I have worked on free motion for fall mug rugs. There was lots of decluttering and sorting and reducing of all manner of things in my household. At one point Pedro was afraid he might be next, I told him NEVER!
  And I have either taught or hosted or took a class every Saturday for the last two months. And this is all in my non-working time.
  The monster mat is a tray liner for mom to use to serve dad his meals. I thought she could use something bright and fun to make her smile.
  All and all it has been a fun fall. I am looking forward to the Thanksgiving break.
  I will try to do better blogging. It is nice to have it portable.
  Posted by DonnaW at 3:41 PM No comments:
  Today I had the pleasure of driving to Denver to deliver contracts to the state.
  Since I had to go to lunch somewhere I opted to find and try Cake Crumbs in the historic Park Hill district.
  It was a day of beautiful weather, yummy veggie sliders lunch and cupcakes to bring home. So glad I had the opportunity to find a little adventure today.
  Posted by DonnaW at 11:53 AM No comments:
  Finally, I am getting to the finish work on this piece.
  I love how it looks, tried just a raw edge applique technique with an echo quilting around the area. I think it looks okay for my first attempt at this.
  It will be a gift later this year but not going to tell you for who, that will spoil the surpise.
  I see you all now going - oh, I hope it is for me! Time will tell. :-)
  Some of you know that I am a huge shark fan, no, not the sharks on ice, the real live swimming creatures. And, with that said, a huge fan of shark movies. For me it started with Jaws and has continued from there.
  Last night I got to see new cult movie, Sharknado from. The Sy Sfy channel. It was wonderfully horrible bad, a true B-rate movie. However, the premise is great and the story line is acceptable. I don't need to own it, but it was great to see it.
  While I was getting ready to watch it I was ironing on the applique sections of my Charm School 2 project.now I am ready to stitch and quilt this piece. I hope it's recipient truly enjoys it.