Mondog #10: Scraps

Selvedges are not the only thing you can tie to your dog.

Fabric scraps work quite well for the accessorizing pup as well.

Have a happy mondog everyone!

If you have a puppy to submit to me please email me at Chen (dot) AD (at)gmail(dot) com
I would love link your blog tumblr etc.

Sunday Stash: Apples and Smiles

For Christmas when I was trolling etsy (as I do frequently) for fat quarter bundles I really wanted one. But I can't resist looking at what else the store might have. And there was a really good deal on on the Little Apples fat quarter bundle

Everyone freaked out over her Sherbet and Pips line and I am going to be completely honest i didn't really see it. I don't think I was a fan of all the pink really. Because the Little Apples. I wasn't quite sure when I bought it but a fat quarter bundle that was less than $6 a yard is too good to pass up.

And maybe it was the turtles or maybe it is the colors (because I love the color scheme of little apples) But I LOVE this line.

I had to wash this fat quarter bundle (top my dismay) but because I have a side loader right now and washing fat quarts is so much easier than the mess that happened last time.

My camera is still gone (in Wisconsin) and my phone cannot take these beautiful pictures I may have stolen them from Sir Bubbadoo I hope she doesn't mind. Please go check out her website and drop her a comment.

Happy Sunday All!

If I were a fabric...

I'm pretty sure this is the fabric I would be

It has rainbows and unicorns and has glitter on. It is a Japanese import and really hard to find. I scoured etsy and only came up with two fat quarters.GAH! Must find moreeeeee!

Did I mention I loved it so much that I bought it in two more colorways? currently I am looking for the black one. If you know where it is please send it my way. (Must have ALL THE COLORS)

WIP Wed: Some Rainbow Love

When I chose handspunrainbows as my crafthandle I was really expectng to post a lot more about rainbows. Like seriously a lot more. Rainbow isn't even one of my biggest words in my word cloud. How weird is that?

So here is the start of my current rainbow quilt. If you remember a while back I posted about having this idea for a rainbow quilt. Well it took a while and I had to buy a large chunk of grey fabric (which I love and will be using 

These are the Blocks I have so far. Well. The parts of the blocks that I have so far. I am working on chain piecing the crap out of them (which I actually hadn't done before)

I have strips cut for the rest of the quilt but that is about it right now. Will update you all on my progress as I go along. Because I will finish soon. (or it will become one of THOSE WIPs)  But right now I like it enough that it won't. 

Tools Tuesday: Flying Jump

I love going garage sailing (pun intended). For those of you that have seen my house. This is absolutely no surprise. I am a total pack rat. I see things that are cool and I want them. Doesn't matter if I actually have a use for them. I like cool shit. 

This past summer when I went garage sailing I was looking for a sewing machine because my current one wasn't working very well at all. (and actually still isn't) I found this one. 

A little Feiyue FY811 for five dollars. At the time I was told it was working (it wasn't) But I turned the handwheel and it moved. So for five dollars. How could I resist? Mine is in a cute yellow color the one above is just a stock picture.

I just recently got it back from the bobbin doctor invested some money in it and now I have a wonderful little machine.  He specializes in vintage machines. But I highly recommend him for any machine though.

Feiyue means flying jump (or leap) in Chinese. And it is a Chinese sewing machine (that supposedly looks a lot like a Necchi)  And I have decided just now That the name of my Feiyue is going to be Peter Pan. The Chinese word for Peter Pan is "小飞侠"  Which roughly translate to "little flying knight" 

Mine is going to be used mostly for freemotion quilting. It has a dual drive belt which supposedly makes it extra extra strong. and makes it operate a little slower. What this means for me is that when I want to freemotion I will have more control and more even stitches. Not a bad thing in my book. Not bad at all.

Mondog #9 Thirst for Crushing Things

This Mondog is brought to you by my friends Shawn. I walked into the QSCC (The Queer Student Cultural Center) this morning and said, "Who wants to send me pictures of their dog?" Shawn replied and within 10 min I had a bunch of adorablness.

This is Schtan. He is a white German Shepard. (on the left)

And in Shawn's own words

He loves nothing more than crushing things, people, and animals of all kinds with his mass...and looking derpy.

And just look at that derpy derp derp face. What a cutie.

He and Grep need to be best friends! Too bad that they live continents away.

Show Off

It is 25 degrees out according to my phone. But I can't resist showing off my hand knit socks. I am warm enough.

FO: Friday: I am a crafter not a photographer

This FO Friday is brought to you by my inability to rotate these pictures!

When I went home all the way back in December. I managed to do the super cool (read stupid) thing of leaving my camera there. Opps! I left some other stuff too but nothing extremely crucial to my being. 

So if you've noticed that I have been pulling stock pictures from the web lately as well as the quality of my actual pictures have been a little bad. That is because I have been using my phone camera. It is getting by well enough but I'm not sure how to do some of the more nuanced things with it. Like rotating pictures. 

This is actually one of the first things I made when I started working at sewtropolis. I figured that I needed more experience than pure quilting if I had to work in a sewing store and that this bag that was cute and functional would be a great place to start. 

Also. I was seriously in love with that canvas fabric. Seriously how cute is it? It has been sitting at Sewtropolis since October now. And I can't wait to take it home so it can be mine mine mine. (did I mention that I want it to be mine?) 

But first before I can take it home I decided that I wanted to teach a class on it. Because it is cute and the perfect size for a day of light reading. So I thought I would share the wealth/joy of an adorable bag. 

Even if the pictures are sideways hopefully you all can see how cute this bag is. The grommets in particular I am in love with.

If you are interested in learning how to make this bag I am teaching it March 29th give the store a call or sign up online!

WIP Wed: Baby Knitters Just Don't Understand

Recently I have had almost the exact same conversation with two of my friends who have learned how to knit from me.  (well I taught one how to knit and she taught the other how to knit. So I sort of taught him)

It went like...
Me: Do you ever knit something and then put it down, forget about it. And then randomly remember that you have this half completed thing. Then for some reason you HAVE TO FINISH IT. It just has to happen.
Them: No, I've never really gotten that.
Me: Well you're a baby knitter. You don't understand.

I have been knitting this sock longer than they have been knitting. Or at the very least I have been knitting this sock for about as long as they have been knitting.

This sock (that I didn't take pictures of until much later) is one of those projects. I  started this at the start of last spring semester (it might have been around mid semester of first semester or second I don't keep real good track)

I cast on knit it furiously and finished it. Cast on for the second sock and then let it sit.
When I started the Year of Projects (which is on hold right now because I am a student and I am trying to have priorities) I tried to finish up this project. by the time I got to the cable part, the pattern was no longer free online. I had to sort of look at it from the other one and figure it out. And honestly they are probably going to be a little different.

But now this sock is nearly done. And soon I will have a wonderful great new pair of socks to wear. (That are RAINBOW)

For other awesome WIP posts I am linking up with Tamis Amis Besure to check them out!