Summer Inspiration

Wow. I can't believe I haven't posted in a month! I'm so sorry to all of my dear blog friends! I'll try to get back into the habit of posting regularly!

At the moment I seem to be in a dresses mood... summer dresses. With flip-flops... Or cute hemp-heeled sandals... Bright colors, full skirts, perfect for almost any occasion, and lots of fun to wear!

There are great selections at two of my favorite places to shop - Old Navy...





...and Target.





Yes, I like stripes. Can you tell?

I'm thinking about trying to make my own knit dress this year, but I'm not sure if I am brave enough to work with stretchy fabric.

In other words, I'm very excited today because I've pulled my flip-flops out and am hyped about wearing them again, and Celtic Thunder's newest CD finally arrived from Ireland; it makes me happy. :o)

Anchor Bag

My old cross stitch bag was just a freebie I got from a homeschool conference. It worked fine, but it was very small, making it hard to fit everything. Even finding anything without completely emptying was hard! So when I saw these bags at Forever 21 for $1.99 I decided it was time for an upgrade.



My "cross stitch bag" carries stuff for my cross stitching, quilting, and any other portable project I'm working on, so the larger bag is much nicer! I'm loving all the extra space, and the anchor is totally me! How perfect!

Last January Craftings

Okay, I didn't get all of my January Sew 12 hours posted while it was still January... So here is a conglomeration post for the final hours in the January portion of the challenge!

Firstly, two more days of cross stitching resulted in most of a yellow flower...



A friend helped me make my very first pair of earrings to give to another friend for her birthday! It was so fun, I may have to get some tools and start making more jewelry! And I think Amelia likes them, so I'm happy. :o)



And the last hours went on this toddler dress I'm making for a competition. I've never entered anything I've sewn in a competition before, so I'm a little nervous... But hopefully everything will go well!



Hooray for the 1st month of my challenge being completed! I'll try to get my hours posted more in sequence this month... We'll see how it goes. ;o)

Hours 4, 5, and 6 - Bed Quilt

Remember that nautically inspired quilt my sister and I are working on for our bedroom? Well, I decided it was going to be finished this year (completely through the hand quilting), and after my *clears throat* success *shuffles feet* with such goals last year, I've decided to put in a lot of work early this year. We've completed 9 squares, so only 7 more to finish!



Hand piecing is nice because we can keep our hands busy while chatting or watching a movie. :o)

Hours 2 and 3 - Owl Gloves

Days 2 and 3 of my Sew 12 Challenge went to my fingerless gloves with the cabled owl. They are finished and I simply love them! However, they are a bit too small for me, so I'm going to give them to a friend. Am I not a very friendly, giving person? lol



It's good to be knitting again! Though I had trouble deciding if knitting really counted for my Sew 12 Challenge. I finally decided it's more of a crafting challenge for me...



And, just so everyone knows, I really have done several of my challenge hours; I just haven't gotten around to actually posting them. I'll try to get everything up while it's still January!

Hour 1 - Pink Rose

My first hour of sewing for the Sew 12 Challenge went on my Paula Vaughn cross stitch. One of my 2012 Resolutions (which, by the way, aren't terribly "resolute"...) was that I would finish this cross stitch. So when I was chatting with my family for a couple hours last night, I created a couple more flowers, the larger of which is this pink one.



Time to put the yellow flowers around it... :o)

A Cape to Keep Warm

For me there has always been something attractive about capes. Enormous hoods call to me, and extremely large lengths of fabric billowing in the wind make the most beautiful shots.

So it was time I had a real cape myself. But I had to decide what I wanted. My sisters had used this pattern, which worked out really well for the body of the cape, but I wasn't sure about the hood. I wanted an Arwen hood that draped perfectly about her face, and I liked the fur inside Susanna's hood.



So with mainly those two women as my fashion inspiration, I set about making my own adjustments to the hood.


And it ended up being MUCH larger than I ever imagined. I realized after the fact that hoods don't just keep getting larger, but are cut smaller about the face. Oops. The down-my-back hood was not exactly what I was going for, but it's really not too bad. I may take it apart and fix it someday, but for now I'm happily content with my cape just as it is. :o)


I decided to use a frog for the closure, as I have always loved the way they look, and I love the finished product so much! It's very simple to use, and looks really good, too. I highly recommend them!



I think this is the most fabric I have ever used at one time, and it was quite an experience! But a good one, and I think my cape will get excellent use for all my winter costuming needs.