Design Wall Monday–Jan 14, 2013

I spent my t.v. time the past couple of days sorting and organizing some of my scraps.  There is still a large bin needing attention, but now I have some plastic shoe boxes with pre-cut strips and squares ready to be used.  

One of my goals for this year is to drastically reduce the amount of scraps I’ve collected.  In order to accomplish this I plan to add the making of a scrap quilt to each month’s agenda.  I also have a lot of fabrics in my stash that I’d like to use as well. 

The pattern I chose to do this month is a Mystery Quilt, “Bittersweet”, that was sponsored by Missouri Star Quilts on Quilters Club of America in March of 2012.  Yes, I’m a little late in getting started.  Anyway, this pattern calls for (628) 2-1/2” squares so it should give me a good start on my goal of using up those scraps.  So far, I have nine of the (24) 16-patch squares done.

I've also started collecting all my serger and fabric clippings as well as bits of batting which I plan to use as stuffing for a kitty bed.   Maybe I'll piece the bed cover and use up even more scraps!

I'm linked up with Patchwork Times, Design Wall Monday.  

Happy Quilting,
     ~Diane
  

On The Needles - Jan 11, 2013

This week has been slow, knitting-wise.  I got another pair of fingerless gloves cast on and loaded onto two circular needles so I can knit them two-at-once.  The cuff ribbing is complete and I'm ready to begin the patterning.

No progress to report on the grey socks which I think I started back in November.  These are for my hubby and so they took a back seat to the Christmas gifts I worked on.

Be sure to visit Patchwork Times blog for links to other great projects.

Getting It Done - January 2013 -  Progress Report

I'm happy to report that I've complete three of the four items on my list.

1.  Quilting:  The star wall hanging has been quilted and I've set another goal of getting it labeled and bound by the end of the month.

2.  Knitting:  still working on the fingerless gloves
 
3.  Sewing:  I made the jammie pants and, with the left over fabric, was able to make a matching top.

3.  Pattern:  I finally got the instructions and graphics to an acceptable state.  I add the Quilted Gift Bag pattern to my Free Quilt Patterns page.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting.
                           ~Diane

Blog 1-Year Anniversary

Wow!  I can’t believe that its been a whole year since I started this blog. 

In honor of the big occasion I have posted a new, free pattern. 

Quilted Gift Bag

For more information, click on the page tab “Free Quilt Patterns”.  If you want a copy, just send me an email request (my email address is on my Contact page). 

My patterns are electronic form, (PDF files), and you will need a viewing program in order to open and print the patterns.  You can download a free version of Adobe Reader HERE. 
Thanks for visiting Pine Point Designs. 

~ Diane

Design Wall Monday–Jan 7, 2013

With the start of a new year, I’ve been cleaning up the old.  I spent one day straightening up my sewing room organizing my supplies, fabrics and unfinished projects.  Now I have a tub for the current month’s Getting It Done projects (priority) and a second tub for “bonus” projects.  The Bonus items will be worked on AFTER I get my priorities done.

One of my goals for this year is to participate in a Block of the Month.  I failed miserably last year having only completed three or four new blocks.  Craftsy.com has a new BOM class for 2013 so I signed up and began the January block.  I’m not certain I will be making the sampler quilt at the end of the year.  The fabric collection that is used is not my style so I’ll have to give some thought to what color scheme I want to use.  In the meantime, I’ll make scrappy blocks that could be incorporated in quilt backs. 

Offset Log Cabin Block

Offset Log Cabin block

I did these 6” blocks using up scraps.

 

 Here are some more layout options.










I’m linked up with Judy at Patchwork Times.  Be sure to head on over there and see what other’s have on their design walls. 

Yesterday, I spent all afternoon gathering pics of the projects I made in 2012 and created a blog page 2012 Projects Gallery. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Feel free to leave a comment.
~Diane

On The Needles - Jan 4, 2013

Not much knitting progress to report for the past week.  I've been organizing the sewing room and doing a little garment sewing.

The purple fingerless gloves need the thumbs finished.  This is easy to set aside because it won't take that long to complete.  

The gray socks are still at the heel stage.  I'm doing short row heels and am just looking for some quiet time to concentrate on getting them right.  I made a cardboard form to insert into the sock on the right to get an idea of what they will look like on a foot.  The ribbing pattern draws the fabric inward and makes them look strange otherwise.

Be sure to visit Judy's blog, Patchwork Times, for links to other On The Needles posts.
   

Sewing Recap–Dec 2012

    Quilted Gift Bag

This holiday gift bag was a test of one of my patterns I’ve been working on.  One of the most difficult aspects of pattern design for me is the writing of the instructions.  My goal is to describe the process of constructing a craft project in a clear precise way and sometimes that means I have to write, test, and re-write. 
 
I had this cotton border fabric in my stash for years and knew that someday I would find the perfect use for it.  All I had to do is pick out a contrasting lining.
 
I used some thin polyester batting leftovers and quilted simple horizontal lines to accentuate the candy cane trim.  I also free-motion quilted the outline of the bears.  They are sooo cute.  

 

 

      Serger Zip Bag

I bought my MyLock 234 serger in 1987.  It was put to use a lot in those days making turtleneck tops, leggings, sweatshirts and other home décor items.  But then it sat, unused and collecting dust for nearly 20 years.

This bag is one of the projects in the Beginner Serging class with Amy Alan at Craftsy.com.  Even though I’d used my machine a lot in the past, this is actually the first class I’ve taken and I’ve learned a lot.  Because mine is an older machine it has its limits with regard to stitch types and does not have some of the newer fancy knobs and gadgets.  In spite of that, this has been a great refresher and inspiration. I plan to use this bag to store hold my machine’s power supply and peddle as well as extra accessories.

                                      Knit T-shirts

I’d been thinking about making some long sleeve t-shirts when I saw a new class offered on Craftsy.com .  Meg McElwee is the instructor for Sewing With Knits: 5 Wardrobe Essentials and provides patterns for a fleece hoodie, scoop-neck and v-neck tees, fold-over waistband pocket pants with shorts option, surplice empire-waist dress, and a fold-over waistband skirt.  The Craftsy platform is perfect for me because I can access the class on my own as time permits. 

I dug around in my fabric stash and found some light-weight t-shirt knits to use for my first projects.  I’m not really sure if they are jerseys or interlocks. The aqua shirt was the first one I made.  I blogged about it here.

 
For my second t-shirt, also a scoop-neck version in periwinkle, I adjusted the pattern to add some extra to the side seams.  The neck band did not lay as flat as I would have liked but its good enough.  

 







My last t-shirt is this burgundy knit.  Unlike the other two t-shirts, I bought this fabric recently.  It is really light-weight and soft.  I had problems with the neck band not laying flat, so I unpicked all the stitching, including my top-stitching, and started over.  By comparing the pattern piece with the band I just removed, I discovered that it had stretched about 2 inches longed in the process of my sewing it on the first time.  I cut it back to proper size and reattached it to the neckline.  Much better result.  

For this shirt I used the next larger pattern size and made the bottom hem more like a shirt and not straight across like the other two.  I also used my serger for all the shoulders, sleeves, and side seams.  I like the nice clean finish on the inside of the shirt.


 
      A Mobius Scarf

I also made a Mobius scarf from my left-over fabric. 
I cut a piece 37” (cross-grain) by 10” wide then folded it in half length-wise.  I found instructions for constructing a Mobius scarf posted by Weekend Designer here.  
I’ll most likely make more of this type of scarf.  Hummmm…..I wonder if you could make it with more than one twist?  Something to consider for a future project.

Happy New Year - 2013