Knitting Update & Quilt Kits

I have been knitting up a storm on the Hugs From Home afghan that I started about a week or so ago for Ashley.  I only have a little over 3 weeks to get it finished so I am trying very hard to devote a lot of time to knitting.  Unfortunately, I'm not a very confident knitter and am pretty slow.  I'll probably see improvements by the end of this afghan though!  Anyhow, here is a picture as of last night.  I love the colors she's chosen and the stripes are so pretty!!

Last night I decided to get my Accuquilt Go! Cutter out and start cutting up some fabric scraps that Crooked Brook donated.  At the end of two hours I had two baby quilts cut out and ready to go!  So fun!!  I wrote a long post about it on the Central Ohio Binky Patrol blog....come check it out if you'd like.  Here are a couple pictures to get you interested, lol!

Bye,

Lots of crafting going on!

I've been really enjoying getting back to crafting.  I always feel so much more relaxed and calm when I'm actively working on different projects.  Plus it feels so good to actually accomplish thing!

Yesterday I started on the projects for my Spa Swap on Ravelry that I mentioned the other day.  I've chosen what I want to make, picked out the yarn, and even finished quite a few things yesterday.  No pictures yet though - I want to wait until my partner has received her package.  I'd hate to ruin the surprise!!

Some of you might remember me writing about Ella's quilt a while ago.  We had so much fun working together and her quilt turned out adorable!  Today her older sister, Abby, came over to start her quilt.  She had a fantastic time sorting through all of my juvenile prints containers.  She's picked out her 54 different pieces and tomorrow we cut.  We'll be using my Accuquilt Go! Cutter and the Rag Square die just like I did with Ella.  This is such a great way to make a quick & adorable quilt!

Bye,

Ella's quilt

We finished Ella's quilt a couple days ago!  She seems to really like it.  Last night she brought a card over that she had made.  Absolutely adorable!  Here is a picture of the quilt..

In a week or so I'll be starting one with her sister Abby.  I sure love my Accuquilt Go! Cutter because it makes everything so much quicker.  I can't imagine cutting all of that fringe by hand.

Bye,

I love my Accuquilt!

The little girl next door, Ella, has been begging me to "make quilts" with her.  Unfortunately, I had to put it off some because of my Carpal Tunnel Release surgery.  But now I'm feeling lots better and we finally were able to start last week.  Because she's young, I think headed into 1st or 2nd grade next year, I really wanted to think of something relatively quick and easy that she could help with.  Ella is the type of girl who would get bored very quickly if she had to just sit and watch me make a quilt.

Then I remembered my fantastic Accuquilt GO! Cutter.  How I could've forgotten I'll never know, lol!  Anyhow, I decided to use the rag block die since that would eliminate any need for real quilting later.  The first day Ella came over I let her sort through all of my Juvenile Print tubs to pick out fabric she liked.  She needed to pick 54 fabrics so that ended up taking a couple days.  Then we started cutting.  She picked the one to cut, I lined it up on the die, and she turned the handle to operate the machine.  It worked wonderfully and she seemed to really like it.

All the blocks have been cut now and I'm beginning to sew the cross hatches on each one.  Ella is scheduled to come over again on Thursday and we'll begin sewing the blocks together.  She is so excited!  I love this project for a wide variety of reasons.  For one thing, I think it's great that she is enjoying spending time with me and still showing an interest in quilting.  Also, because of the GO! Cutter, she has been able to be very hands on with the cutting aspect of the project.  That wouldn't have been possible with a rotary cutter.  And finally, because of the rag block the quilt is moving a long very quickly.  I'd imagine we'll have a finished quilt within a few times of her coming over to sew.  That is great!!

I'll keep you all posted on the progress and will get pictures posted as soon as I can!  Have a great day!

Bye,

Wow!!!

I got the most amazing donation for Central Ohio Binky Patrol the other day!  Let me give you a hint.....it came in a big box from Accuquilt!  Any guesses?  YEP!  They donated a Go! Cutter and lots of dies.  The actual kit they sent is called Go! Mix & Match 12" Block Starter Set.  Here is a picture of the machine.

There are 8 additional dies and two additional mats that come with the Go! Cutter.  Here is a picture of all the dies and the mats.

They also considerately included a BIG bag of precut fabric shapes from a recent trade show.  I can't wait to sort through all of these and start playing with the different shapes!  Here is a picture.

With my parents here visiting, I haven't had a chance to play with any of this yet.  I can't wait though!  I am so excited that Accuquilt decided to donate this wonderful product to my charity.  It is going to make the binky making process so much easier!  Thanks so much Accuquilt!!

Also, if any of you have any suggestions or tips on using my new cutter that would be awesome!  I know there are lots of other dies available so I'll probably be wishing for them soon, but for now I want to get comfortable using the machine.  Plus, the dies that are included in the kit seem to be very useful and interchangeable.  Anyhow, send me your tips and tricks!

Bye,