patchwork chenille rug

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

Last summer my friend Tara and her family came to visit. We sat on the floor and played fabric and had a great time dreaming up ideas of things to make. This week I made a bath mat that we brainstormed during that time. It's been on the mental list for at least a year!

It's just a simple patchwork rug, backed with chenille, but I love it so much. It feels good on the feet. (I had the chenille in my special stash of fabrics for a LONG time...so I was happy to finally find a good use for it!)

I cut 48 unique prints of 30's repros (from a stash I inherited last year!) and sewed them together. I bar tacked the layers of the rug together at each junction for stability. I could have hand stitched them, but I wanted it very durable, as this will probably get used and washed a lot. The rug finishes at about 24" x 32". The best part is, I get to hand deliver it to Tara! I can't wait!

Now, it's your turn! Please link up your finishes for the week! Thank you, as always, for joining me for finish it up Friday!

it's all about the scraps!

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

Late last night I finished knitting another rag rug. (Tutorial here.)

So many scraps were used in this project, specifically selvages (I love those little numbers peeking out of the middle!) and strings that are too narrow to hold a seam allowance. I used strips between 1/2" to 7/8" wide. Lots of them!

This rug is quite bulky, because I knit 3 strands together on size 35 needles! I may have been overzealous in my scrap usage, but my bowl of scraps is nearly empty now. So, it's all good!! The rug measures 27" x 22". Now, to decide if I will use it in my bathroom or my kitchen....

Yesterday afternoon I skyped with a friend for a little hand applique lesson. I made my first squircle block from Carolyn Friedlander's book Savor Each Stitch. I absolutely loved the process AND the finished result. While I want to start a new project, and while a whole quilt of these squircles (on a patchwork background) would be lovely.....

I decided that I needed to make it into a pin cushion. You know, because I was running low on those. Ha!!!!

Ok, so we all know that isn't true! (By the way, isn't that the happiest photo?!?!?!)

If you have questions about pin cushion construction, please see this post. It's the same technique I use for nearly all my cushions, I just change up the patchwork each time. I believe that this goes without saying, but you can make them any size you want. And definitely, the more the better! :)

How about you? Do you have a finish to share today? If so, please link up! Thanks, as always, for joining me for finish it up Friday!

happy to be home

I'm home from quilt market and I get to stay put for a few weeks. I'm so thankful! It's been a crazy few months and I'm completely beat. My main objectives for the next several days are to rest and clean...because that makes sense, right?!?

My craft room is looking quite "worked in" and I need to clean it up before my husband evicts all my stuff. He's a patient man, but even he has his limits! I plan to post some after photos if/when I see this cleaning project through. It might not look THAT bad, but that's the beauty of photography vs. real life. Ha!

I got a copy of Sew Organized for the Busy Girl by Heidi Staples at market over the weekend. I LOVE the cover....I would have bought the book just for that! I started reading through it this morning and I have a feeling that it is going to help spur on my craft room cleaning. Hurray for perfect timing! It was great to meet Heidi, too. She's super sweet!

I came down with a nasty cold, so I pulled out some old hand work projects in an effort to stay put on the couch for a few hours. I can't relax unless my hands are busy, so I'll be splitting my time between knitting a giant rag rug (tutorial here) and...

hopefully I'll get some hand quilting done on this baby, too! This is the one time that it's handy to have a lot of works in progress. :) All in all, not a bad way to spend a blustery Monday!

 

For all of you who were asking questions about pin cushion construction in the last post, I can certainly do a post about it at some point soon. Stay tuned!

 

Happy Monday to YOU!

even more scrap projects

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

I spent most of the day yesterday making little ticker tape coasters for the Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild coaster swap. They were FUN to make and it was a good way to use up some tiny scraps. Each coaster is about 4" square.

I made a set of four for the swap...and a few extras, because I was experimenting with finishing methods. I'm happy to count these as scrap project # 69.

I made this cutie pie little pin cushion for a friend. (Pattern here.) I want to make about 100 more! I love the shape and size of it. It fits perfectly in front of the sewing machine. Genius!  I used scraps for this as well, so it's project #70. (Because I know someone will ask, I used crushed walnut shells to fill it.)

And....the last one for today, another crocheted rag rug. These things work up FAST, which is awesome! (Tutorial here.) I think it turned out even better than the first one. I LOVE it! It's scrap project #71.

Now it's your turn to link up. Thanks, as always, for joining me for finish it up Friday!

busy, busy, busy

I spent most of the weekend at a quilt show in Red Wing, MN. It was delightful to meet like minded women and I enjoyed visiting (and laughing) with many of them. It was a good time! (Good morning Jan in Apple Valley!) I displayed quilts from the book and also spent time demonstrating free motion quilting. So, an added perk of the weekend was getting my sock monkeys quilted. Sweet!

I also had time to start a knit a rag rug from my strings/selvages. This project EATS scraps, which is a great thing. I've got plenty!
A few more details....because I know someone will ask. For this rug I'm using size 17 needles. I cast on 40 stitches and I'm using 2 strings (about 1/2" to 3/4" wide each) held together as one 'yarn'. See the tutorial linked above for the complete how-to.

Oh, and I finished this top on Friday afternoon, too. This is my lazy zig zag quilt top made from a Posy layer cake and an additional row of grays from my stash. I really like the gray row...it cut the sugary sweetness of this line just enough. Besides, I have a hard time sticking to just one fabric line for a quilt. I'm working on writing up a tutorial for the lazy zig zag, so stay tuned! I'm looking forward to quilting this one up.

Happy Monday to you!

making it right

A few weeks (months?) ago I was looking closely at this rug, which resides in my kids' bathroom. I love the scrappiness of it, but it never was quite right. (Kinda like me, ha!) Anyway, the rug was shaped like a trapezoid rather than a rectangle. It always kind of bugged me and folding it in half only disguised the oddball shape a little bit. I decided to a take a stab at making it right. The worst that could happen would be that I had a big ball of fabric 'yarn' to knit again. Right? So I pulled out the cast off edge, picked up the stitches to the best of my ability and started knitting again.

I'm happy to say that it worked! I finished the rug (again) this afternoon. It's about double the size that it was....now measuring about 33" x 41". It feels soooooooo good to step on it. Truth be told, the new and improved shape doesn't make the texture any better, but my obsessive nature sure feels better about it!

So, my question to you is, have you ever done anything like this? Please tell me that I'm not the only (crazy)one who has to go back and fix things after they are finished...even if it is years later.

A bit more detail on the rug....

This rug is knit with a single strand of fabric 'yarn' on size 17 needles. More details in this post.

I've also made a bulkier version using size 35 needles and the tutorial for that is here.

I'd also like to mention (because I get asked this all the time) that they are machine washable and go through the dryer just fine and dandy. They wear very well, too!

finish it up Friday, week 16

Welcome to week 16 (!!!) of finish it up Friday! Can you believe we've been at this finishing business for that long already? Doesn't finishing feel SO good???

I finished my largest knit rag rug to date. This was made using gigantic (size 35) knitting needles. It measures  28" wide by 35" long, and it's an inch thick! It literally weighs almost 5 pounds. It's one of my favorite things that I've ever made.

This is the ultimate scrap project. For the fabric, I used skinny strips, strings and selvages that otherwise would have been tossed in the trash. It feels so thrifty and SO good to make a rug out of those seemingly useless leftovers. The rug looks instantly vintage...like something that would have come from Grandma's house. In a good way! :)

The texture is incredible! It massages your feet when you step on it. An added bonus, I get a sneak peek of some of my favorite fabrics in the rug. So much goodness!!

I worked on this rug off and on for about 2 1/2 months. I only remember that because I got a fresh batch of selvages from Jennifer at the quilt retreat last November and I started it after that. :) Thanks so much, Jen! This is one of those projects that is nice to have going at all times...which means I think it's time to start another!

Now it's your turn! Please link up your finish for the week, then go ahead and cheer on some of the other finishers, too. Thank for joining in my linky party! Happy Friday to you!

rag rug wip

I love to reuse/repurpose things. I also have an unhealthy love for rugs. Handmade rugs? All. the. better. This one is pretty zany, I'll be the first to admit it. But so far, so good!

I started with this stack of previously worn knit shirts. Some were pilled, some were slightly stained and some of them shrunk up funny in the wash. (Hate that!) I deconstructed them and cut them into approximately 3" squares. Thank goodness for my rotary cutter!

I selected a few upholstery samples that I had in my stash (these are 18" square). Then, I basically used this tutorial (thanks Vanessa!) for attaching the knit squares to the upholstery squares. Working with 18" squares made the process pretty manageable at the sewing machine. Any larger and things would have gotten awkward fast!

These totally remind me of those little tissue paper flowers we used to make in grade school. The ones where you used little tissue papers wrapped around a pencil eraser and you dipped them in white glue, then attached them on a background piece of paper. Remember those?

So far I have two squares done and four left to go. Once all 6 squares are made, I plan to zig zag them together in a 2 x 3 layout. (Now THAT should be fun. Heh.) If all goes well, this will be my new entryway rug.

I started this back in May (oh, my!) and I'm blogging about it now in hopes that it will motivate me to finish! Because I really, really could use a new entryway rug. In fact, I could have used a new rug a few months ago. :) I'm also linking up with Lee for WIP Wednesday.