Pillowcases

I managed to burn through slightly more than 4 yards of fabric in the last couple of days making king sized pillow cases. I used novelty fabric purchased at least 5 years ago featuring fantasy characters (such as dwarves, castles, elves, wizards) and one yard featuring castle windows. Made a specialty pillow case out of the castle windows and 2 king sized pillowcases for my sister who is into playing Guild Wars (Online fantasy game). Had enough left to make one for my own king sized pillow. Haven't figured out what to do with the leftovers. Click on thumbnail for a closeup of fabric.


My plan was very simple. I chose to use only the one fabric instead of the currently popular method of using a different fabric for the edge. Commercial King sized pillowcases are 19 x 42 inches, so I trimmed off selvedges and cut fabric into 39.25 lengths (includes 5/8 inch seams). I sewed 1/2 inch edge down on one side (do on opposite sides if doing a matching pillowcases) as it prevents later fraying. Sew the 2 sides together leaving one edge open. I use a 3 inch hem and stitch twice, about 1/4 inch apart for a nice finish.

I am frustrated with Photobucket right now, so am trying posting photos from Webshots. Bart was determined to be in every photo, so here he is, checking the softness of a pillow.

Afghan and Cleaning

The 2 color afghan (Woolease) is coming along nicely. I have reached the length of the original pattern, but since I'm adding an extra stripe to make it longer, still have a week or two left to go before I start the edging. Got a lot of crocheting in due to health issues (that danged cold just would not give up the ship!), so I was at least productive in that.

On the quilting front, I've come to slowdown. Still working on my Garden Party swap and had to take the time out to sort through and reduce my scraps. I discovered a couple of boxes of them and have to get them down to fitting only in my plastic scraps bin. Just pressing wrinkled scraps does an amazing job of reducing the space they take up. I've sorted out a number of larger pieces that are really only suitable for crafts, not quilts, and will donate them somewhere as they are too small and chintzy for doll clothing. Once this is done, I can get back to quilt making.


For knitting, yes, I do plan to work on those socks as soon as I get the above mentioned swap completed. I want to send the dragonflies in with the bees to save postage, so the race is on to get them done in about a week and a half. As each dragonfly block takes an entire evening (and that is after it has been pinned!), it is a tad time consuming.

Finally, the new law regarding children's products was stayed for a year. Hopefully some meaningful adjustments will be made to it. When you consider that this law mostly hurt those who were doing the right thing in the first place, it is really annoying.

Afghan and Swap Blocks

I have been having a heck of a time trying to post to Blogger. I know the problem is with my computer, but it is so darn frustrating. Photobucket is also giving me issues, giving a link instead of a photo. Anyway, enough griping.

The 2 color striped afghan is halfway done. While I did have a lot of progress on it in January, much of that was due to watching Desperate Housewives DVDs which averaged 3-4 hours each. Almost done with season 4, so I don't really expect to finish this afghan until March. Currently, it is about 45 inches wide and 43 inches long. I'm thinking about 70 inches long and then I will add the scalloped edging.


Also have been working on swap blocks. Finished an Iris and the sewing portion of the bee blocks. Still have to add attenae (sp?). This is a 3 part swap and my final part will be appliqued dragonflies. They will probably look better than my Iris' since I've had more practice now.