Anastasia's Creative Clutter

Was MIA but now I am back

2010-06-02T16:34:00.002-04:00

As many of you know my computer took a nose dive back in early March. I was using the husbands work computer for a while and then that came to a halt when I went to Florida in April. Well, when I got back we were finishing up the craft room - no, not THE craft room MY craft room. It is still a mess so you will have to wait for a picture. It is about 90% finished and I am in the process of decluttering it. Well that is the plan anyway. My stashes are too big so i am going to have to find new homes for lots of stuff....maybe I can figure out how to put a list/picture on here and get rid of it that way. Hmmmm... I will have to play with that one. :) Well, again I am back with computer now so I will be more attentive!

Made a Laptop Bag

2010-04-30T18:29:00.006-04:00

I made a laptop bag this afternoon out of my brothers' Marine fatigues. It was not that hard... but I did not write down what I did to make it. That will be another project in itself! What do you think?

Quilt Box BOM done

2010-02-16T19:43:00.003-05:00

The second block for my local quilt shop was available this week. So the girls and I braved the roads with all the snow and went to get the material. Here is the block. Please someone tell me that it was worth getting pushed off the road into the ditch and then having to get pulled out because I was too deep for the 4WD to be useful!

Combination of two of my passions

2010-02-15T17:19:00.002-05:00

I finished another quilt top but this one also includes another of my favorite pass times - cross stitching. The pattern is from Catia Crafts. At the time it is a complementary SAL but now you have to pay a small fee for each section. As you can see I only did the "blocks" but I am thinking that I will probably do it again in its original form to see the completed work for myself. What do you think?

Pinkeep

2010-02-14T09:35:00.002-05:00

I finished my pinkeep last night. First I found a piece of my dyed material and stitched my initials on it with a few ladybugs. Sew it together with some used 2-in-1 detergent sheets (for an added good smell) and a piece of cereal box cardboard and VIOLA! The picture is awful but it is the best one out of all 10 that I took.

WIP- Molly's birth announcment

2010-02-13T10:49:00.002-05:00

I have been slowly working on Molly's announcement. I have until August 10th to have to finished and framed for her. I think I can do it....

First attempt at tatting

2010-02-13T10:47:00.004-05:00

I went to a class at the library this past Monday and learned the basic steps to start tatting. The picture is not the best but you can at least get the idea. I am still practicing a lot but someday I will get a real project started.

Snow Dyeing

2010-02-13T10:25:00.005-05:00

The girls are ready to add some color to all things white in the bucket!

First up is pieces of Aida cloth.

Muslin - some are fat quarters and the others are 1 yard pieces.

BOM Updates

2010-02-13T10:17:00.003-05:00

Bunny Hill Designs
Block 2

Pacific Patchwork - Quilt Happy, Quilt Often
Block 3

Quilting this week

2010-02-13T10:13:00.002-05:00

This is for a fellow quilter that is going through some tough times with her grandson. The group is making her a friendship quilt.

More scraps gone!

Yeah! This is the last of the 3" scrap squares!

What I have been up to lately....

2010-02-05T17:37:00.004-05:00

Ok, first up is a BOM from Florida Cabin Fever Quilting Guild. It is free and actually really easy.

Next up is a scrappy quilt that I made for my cousin's first baby. Well at least one of these two are going to go to him. He was born on February 2nd.

Next is a free embroidery pattern that had 6 blocks related to Valentine's Day. It is from ... well I don't have the link anymore and there is not a link on the printout. I will keep looking for it.

This next one was in my "to do" pile from last year. The pattern is called Turning Twenty Again. It uses 20 fat quarters and is huge! I am going to use it as a picnic blanket this spring/summer with the girls. Last year we did a lot of picnicing.

This is the new applique/redwork BOM from Bunny Hill Designs. It is a full year of snowmen. I am going to have it all in bluework so that it will hang in my guest room during the winter holidays.

Block two came out today... I am going to start it tonight.

This was also in my "to do" pile from last year. It is just a simple pinwheel pattern.

I also made a larger one but the picture was not as clear as this one.

This is the first block from a local quilting store that I am working on. I don't think that they have a website but here is the address if you are untested. The Quilt Box, 490 Flynn Road, Dry Ridge, KY 41035. 859-824-4007. It is a year long BOM and in the end I will have a queen size quilt in Civil War repos! The pattern each month will be the same but the fabrics will change.

This one was just a ton of leftover blocks I had. I decided to just put them together to get them off my work table.

This is a baby quilt for the charity Quilts for Kids. The organization sent me everything to make the top and fabric for the backing. All I had to do was put it together and quilt it. Easy-peesy! Send it back and a little one that is not feeling so good will have a warm quilt.

And last but not least, these are the birthday presents that I made and sent to my mother-in-law. I found the pattern for the cat in a fleece animal pattern book at the library and used oriental fabric to make him. The picture in the frame is actually a piece of silk that I painted on. I have had it in a box for years but I have not know what to do with it. I made if for Pati (my MiL) but was waiting for the best thing to do with it... well this is what I came up with. I know boring but at least she has it now.

And there you have it... everything I have been up to in the past few weeks.

Finsihed another great book!

2010-01-15T13:13:00.004-05:00

This one is called The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone.

Here is the story: In the fall of 1941, the German army approached the outskirts of Leningrad, signaling the beginning of what would become a long and torturous siege. During the ensuing months, the city's inhabitants would brave starvation and the bitter cold, all while fending off the constant German onslaught. marina, then a tour guide at the Hermitage Museum, along with other staff members, was instructed to take down the museum's priceless masterpieces for safekeeping, yet leave the frames hanging empty on the walls - a symbol of the artworks' eventual return. To hold on to sanity when the Luftwaffe's bombs began to fall, she burned to memory, brushstroke by brushstroke, these exquisite artworks: the nude figures of women, the angels, the serene Madonnas that had so shortly before gazed down upon her. She used them to furnish a "memory palace," a personal Hermitage in her mind to which she retreated to escape terror, hunger, and encroaching death. A refuge that would stay buried deep within her, until she needed it once more...

Seamlessly moving back and forth in time between the Soviet Union and contemporary America, The Madonnas of Leningrad is a searing portrait of war and remembrance, of the power of love, memory, and art to offer beauty, grace, and hope in the face of overwhelming despair. Gripping, touching, and heartbreaking, it marks the debut of Debra Dean, a bold new voice in American fiction.

More Quilt tops finished

2010-01-11T18:04:00.003-05:00

Two more quilt tops finished this weekend.
The first is a black and white baby size quilt top. I like it but I do not like that the skinny and fat stripes are not sewn down completely. I would think that would be a hazard for a baby. I will have to revisit this pattern later and see if I can come up with something to make the stripes better.

This is the redwork BOM from Bunny Hill Designs that I finished in December. I have finally put the sashing on and now just need to quilt it.

For those of you who are interested there is another BOM that started this month and it is a year of snowmen. I am going to start that one next.

UFO's finished this week

2010-01-11T17:57:00.002-05:00

Finished some UFO's this weekend. The first one is a Challenge from Sapphire Stitching from last year. I finally finished it and made it into a journal cover.

The second finish this weekend was a scissor fob that I started forever ago.

Hopefully this will be the first of many UFO finishes this year!

Finished another top

2010-01-09T14:07:00.002-05:00

Finished the sashing on the Bunny Hill Designs BOM from last year. Now all I need to do is quilt it! LOL Along with all the others that are in the basement waiting to be quilted. Someday....

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

2010-01-06T20:32:00.003-05:00

Just finished my first book this year. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. Really, really good book! I started it on January 1 and finished it last night (Jan. 5). It was increditably hard to put down and although I had to every chance I got to get back to reading I did. If you are looking for a good love story/history book this is a good one.

First quilt-top in 2010

2010-01-06T15:25:00.003-05:00

I finished this today. It is a gift for a birthday but I am not going to say for who as she is probably going to read this. LOL

The monsters would not leave me alone long enough to take a picture without them in it so just look between them to see the top. :)

Secret Santa Swap

2010-01-06T15:17:00.003-05:00

I have finally got a minute to post about the secret Santa swap that I was in through the Sapphire Stitching Yahoo Group.

First I received a package from 123stitch. I opened it as I had ordered something myself. What a surprise to find that it was not my order but a gift! My partner was paying attention to my love of fairies!

Then just as Christmas was coming to an end I received a squishy in the mail full of goodies.

I got a pattern with the buttons to complete. A fat quarter, some evenweave, a cross stitch pillow kit. Some Christmas stickers, two different trims, three speciality threads, some ornament embellishments, and two handmade doilies. Love it all! Now I just have to figure out what to do with it all!

UFOs are leaving my cabinet!

2010-01-06T15:03:00.005-05:00

Ok, so one of my goals early this year is to finish these three UFOs. Before i start anything else....well I am going to try anyway. LOL

This one is a freebie from Sapphire Stitching .... only problem... I cannot find the pattern! I know it is in my cabinet, but at the moment it is MIA.

This one I started about 3 years ago and every time I pick it up I get about an hour into it and decide that I don't want to finish it. I don't know what it is about the pattern but I just cannot finish it. Maybe this year will be the year! Cross my fingers!

And last but not least, my daughters' birth sampler. I promised my mother-in-law that I would not finish this before she finished my first daughters' birth sampler but as Peyton is soon to be 4 and Molly will be 3 this year I think that I have waited long enough. I plan to have this one finished by August when Molly turns 3.

So ok, the plan of attack: find the pattern, find the fire, find the little girl before she is grown!

Red & White topper done

2009-12-19T21:29:00.003-05:00

This is a topper I finished last week. It is 50"x50". I like to but I am going to do another one to try and line things up a little more.

Redwork BOM finished!

2009-12-19T21:04:00.005-05:00

This is the first BOM that I have ever done. I had a great time doing it and cannot wait for the next one to come out. This one is by Bunny Hill Desings. Super fun and I cannot wait until I get it in to a setting to quilt!

MIL Ornaments

2009-12-15T19:09:00.004-05:00

I am making ornaments for my mother-in-law this year. She gets one for everyone every year and never gets one for herself! Sooo I decided to make up for the past 9 years that I have known her and make one for every year. Here they are:
In 2000 I met my future mother -in-law. I remember the day very well. The first words out of her mouth were, "Want a margarita?" I kid you not! She was smashed!! It was great! So I found a lime and added a beaded hook.
She taught me a game called Casino that her mother-in-law taught her. Apparently it is a rule that the mother always wins. So attach a beaded hook to a card and viola!
The woman takes pictures like there is no tomorrow! She has moved into the digital world now but I remember one of the first Christmas photo sessions that was with a 35mm and guess what ... there was no film in the camera! So a permanent reminder attached to another beaded hook.

The woman is queen and she is not afraid to tell you that she IS the Queen of Quite A Lot. So find a sparkly crown and ornament done!
Oh, did I mention that she is a sore looser? She still likes to poke people with a wooden spoon when she does not win - especially at cards! A wooden spoon it is!

She is the "glue" that keeps so many people's lives together.

She became a Grani in 2006 when my first daughter was born. Peyton picked this ornament out today because "it is Grani's favorite color!"

She became a Rani in 2007 when my second daughter was born. Molly still does not really pronounce the G in Grani. She picked out this ornament today.

This year she is going to spend Christmas with us in our new house. I purchased a plain white ornament today and added some beading to make it sparkle. It is suppose to me a snowball... I plan to get her good this year as she lives in Florida where it does not snow! HA!

I only have one left to make and it is the one that is giving me the hardest time! I will update later when I come up with something.

This weekend has been busy...

2009-12-06T16:13:00.003-05:00

Ok so on Friday I made a shower curtain for my girls' bathroom. I wanted to make it girlie but still adult. Does that make sense? Well I decided on a black with white print. It is a little hard to see in this photo but it is a swirlie design in white on the black background.

Then I had some dress-up material that I found this past summer on a trip to Florida and immediately thought of their bathroom. I did not know at the time what I was going to do with it but then it came to me - wall art! I cut the panel up and made individual pieces. I mounted all the pieces onto foam board and then hung them on the wall.

And yes, that is a black tree. I bought it for Halloween for next year but then when I started to decorate for the holidays a few weeks ago I thought about how I was going to have mainly black in the bathroom so why not. I am still without lights on it but they are coming.

Ok so then today I made a quilt top for a Christmas present that I need to send to Florida. The person it is for loves purple so I dyed some material yesterday and cut it up today. Really like the top but I think that there are two squares that are a little to close in color so they look like one rectangle instead of two squares. Oh well, live and learn.

So that was the weekend in a nutshell and now I am off to try to finish another quilt top for a different gift. I will try to get a picture up tonight.

This weeks dyeing

2009-12-03T18:08:00.003-05:00

Playing with dye this week I found some neat ways to layer the fabric to get different results. All of these pieces of fabric were originally white muslin. I used dye from Dharma Trading Co.

This first one was done with all three primary colors, folded into sections and then just put splashes of dye on them to see what would happen. The same was done with the second piece, only it was folded differently.

These next sets were done in layers. I first put a piece of muslin in the bottom of a container and added the first color, then soda ash, then the second color, then soda ash, then the third color then more soda ash. The results were really neat!

This set was started with yellow, then blue, then red. The red was really saturated and got all the way to the bottom yellow layer.

In this set red was the bottom, then yellow and finally blue. Same three colors just applied at a different time and the results were completely different.

In this last set blue was the base color then red and finally yellow. Once again completely new results!

This was really fun and I am really enjoying this new hobby of mine! If you want some of these different fabrics for your crafts let me know! I have all the formulas written down.

Latest stitching finishes

2009-12-03T17:47:00.005-05:00

Here are this weeks finishes.

Tuesday:
This was suppose to be a clothespin angel but when I finished stitching it I saw a mini tree skirt instead. I decided to leave it like this and I hung it in my girls' room with their fairy tree.

Wednesday:
This saying was taken from something that I saw at Cracker Barrell. It may have been a pillow but I decided that I could make it just as easily as buying one so I did. It is now a pillow for my "blue holiday room".

Thursday:
I started this last night and finished this afternoon. It is a free pattern from My Big Toe Designs called Christmas Snow. In the original pattern the swirls go up above the word now and the star but as I was getting round the top of the star I decided that it was too much and started ripping it out. I like the simplicity of this better. I stitched it on 18 ct. aida that I dyed myself.

And there you have it. A week in the making. I also did some other dyeing .... lookin the next post for pictures.

Some quilt tops I have finished in the past few months

2009-06-20T22:03:00.003-04:00

There have been some improvements to my quilting but not enough to really boast about. I have only jumped out of the box once and Derek said that it was hideous so I think I will stick with what I know! :)

Here are some of the tops:

Bach is on the move!

2009-06-20T21:59:00.003-04:00

Ok so Karlie, my little neighbor from across the street, has finally given me the information on the blog she is creating while in Europe. She has taken but one picture of my little sock buddy but at least it is a start. If you would like to see him overseas click here. I have already given her a hard time about the lack of pictures so maybe she will pick up the pace a little. Don't hold your breathe though, as you will read she did not follow the list of instructions upon arrival in England!

Cow exchange

2009-06-20T21:57:00.003-04:00

Sorry for not getting this on yesterday Pirjo!

This is the cow exchange that I received from Pirjo... my little ladybug cow.

New sock babies

2009-06-19T17:38:00.002-04:00

Here is the latest addition to my sock animals. I made him for my neighbor Karlie who left for her 6 week tour of Europe. Lucky girl!!! His name is Bach (you know like a chicken says - clever huh.) Anyway, she is suppose to be carrying little Bach here around with her on the many adventures she is taking. Thus far, according to her mother, poor little Bach has not seen much more than the inside of her bag. I will keep you posted on her/his adventures.

Mailart galore!

2009-06-19T17:17:00.006-04:00

I started my journey in the mailart world and I am loving it! I have received some really neat packages in the mail. So far there are three in my collection.

The first theme was houses.

I received this from Joanne in Malaysia. The envelope is all made by Joanne using a cross stitch pattern for the house and decorative backing element. The lettering is done in backstitching and it is line with material. Inside there was a postcard of typical dwellings in her country as well as a cross-stitch kit and some DMC floss holders.
The second exchange I was in was themed "sweets."

Again from Joanne this time filled with floss, a postcard of a market in Malaysia, a sucker,"Sweet My Life" sewing kit and some hand cream.

And finally the exchange that had just started is the "roses" theme.

Again, cross stitched but this time from Lody in Iowa. She sent with it some floss in the colors that were used on the envelope and some charms. I am still working on this one for my partner!

Notions wins

2009-06-19T17:06:00.008-04:00

This month I won the notions exchange and I have gotten some really neat things! In the order I received them...

First, from Joan:

a piece of aida with some charms.

Next, from Ann:

A whole goodie package! Filled with material, charms, needles and a memo pad. Oh, and look at the stamps! What a bonus!!!

Next, from Peggy:

Bead Party braclet kits and star charms! There was also a handmade bookmark...but I am using it and I forgot to get it before the picture. I will do that tonight. And again, look at those awesome stamps!!! Keep 'em coming! :)

Next, from Shellie:

Ceramic charms and that little box....a pattern with a charm! How cute!

Next, from Terry:

Another package of goodies including material, needles, and buttons.

Thank you so much ladies! I love it all!!!

Breadcloth Exchange

2009-06-19T17:02:00.002-04:00

Isn't this breadcloth just the cutest thing! It has a cross-stitched ladybug in the center with the saying "Bread shared with friends make any meal a feast" along the edge. The backing is a heavy canvas type material with ladybugs and dragonflies on it. I love this and have used it many times already!

Birthday Goodies

2009-06-19T16:15:00.003-04:00

I know my birthday was in April but there was a lot that came and I don't remember sharing it all.... so here are some pictures. I have everyhing from needles, to material, to kits!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

After a long vacation

2009-06-19T16:14:00.001-04:00

I have returned to some amazing gifts in the mail. I am going to post them all individually so that I can give them all their fair share of the spotlight! So...enjoy!

Birthday Packages!

2009-04-13T21:13:00.002-04:00

I know that I have not posted anything about the wonderful packages that I have received for my birthday ... and I honestly have no excuses except I am lazy! I took a picture...or two tonight to share with you all.

Ok so the camera is acting up now! Can I not have a night where things go smoothly?!?!?

To be continued...

Newest addition to the blogs

2009-03-17T08:29:00.000-04:00

I have decided to keep track of all my creative things online and here is where I am going to start.

Here is where the creativity flows....

And yes, this is clean!

Currently I am working on some cross stitch, quilt tops, emboridery, and dolls.

So lets start with the .... dolls. While Pati, my mother-in-law, was here visiting we made some nifty little dolls out of socks and gloves. Here is the result: From left to right - George the cat, blue cat (no name), Walter the bunny, blue cat (no name), El Gato. Not in photo is Juanita the bunny. Since making these little creatures the girls have taken them just about everywhere and don't let me pick them up usually because they are napping. It is truely amazing that these guys were all awake at the same time! :)

Next we will look at the quilt tops. Now I did not finish these all this week but here they are from the beginning of this chapter in my creativness...

Derek does not like this one, he says that the green throws it all off and that the strips and circles don't go together. What do you think?
Ok, well I was going to add some more quilt tops but apparently I have added too many pictures. Next time!

The cross stitch and embroidery will have to wait as well as they are suprises so I don't want anyone to see them yet.

There you have it...my creative side in a nutshell for today at least. What do you think?