When I first started this blog, I was doing a really good job of keeping up with it. I took some terrible pictures, linked up to tons of parties, and did as many "weekly" posts and I could. I think it's this reason that I kind of fizzled out. It was a lot of work, and I felt pressured to turn out great post after great post and try to procure a lot of readers. I wanted to make tutorials for everything and basically just tried to follow every single tip to getting lots of readers.
After thinking about what I love most about my favorite blogs, I've come to a conclusion. I love personal posts. I used to think that I had to have lots of perfect crafts/tutorials/projects to have people like my blog (and maybe I do), but I'm going to emulate the people I truly admire. I really thought about changing my blog name altogether, but thought I'd stay with what I've got. I hope you'll still stay with me (: Feel free to skip over any posts that aren't your style! I'm about to make this a mix of topics (something I once read wasn't a good idea for a blog...rules were made to be broken, right?) Thanks for reading!
(Thanks to Target for these adorable Andy Warhol-inspired cans. I totally realize these don't match the topic...but every post needs pictures, no?)
So I have a ton of jersey left over from cutting up all my t-shirts for my (still unstarted) t-shirt quilt.
Found a tutorial on Love Stiched for something similar a while back (here). Made thicker pieces and decided to mix colors for interest. Made the one above and this one below for middle sister who is going to Central Michigan University.
Couldn't make some for one sister without leaving the other one out. Used some strips of my old high school t-shirts for littlest sister who plays lots of sports and always needs a headband.
Here are all four together. They're super easy and a lot of fun to make!
I have this thing about gift-giving. I really hate buying gifts for people. Pretty much I like to make things hard on myself. J is impossible to buy for--he never knows what he wants, and when he does, he just buys it for himself.
Last Christmas I decided to make him a quilt. And, in typical fashion, I went way out. Start out practicing on a mini-quilt or placemat? Not my style. I made him a quilt that is taller and wider than I am. It's a bit over 5ft square. He went to the Ohio State so the block O seemed like a fairly easy pattern to make myself, and it was!
I just pieced together some extras and matching fabric for the back. I actually kind of hate it because it looks like a giant letter "F."
Too bad I didn't realize that before. I'll probably add a label at some point which should break that area up. Oh well, it was a learning project.
It was at this point, when it went in the washer, that I was freaking out. Would the fabric bleed? (Couldn't find my color catcher sheets) Would it actually get crinkly? Would my hand-stitching on the binding hold? It did (:
Rolled it up.
Tied it with a spare piece of jersey.
It may not be perfect, but he really likes it. I did a simple straight-line quilting grid about 1/4in away from the seams. On my little machine it was difficult, but totally worth it. I can't wait to make another--more girly this time.
One of my favorite blogs, Lil Blue Boo, is doing a journaling series called The Lil Journal Project. Now, I've never been good at keeping a journal, but I love writing. In this project, Ashley has been posting journaling prompts--really awesome ones. Here's my first week. Day 1: She gave us a quote to write...with our non-dominant hand...I hope I never break my right hand.
Day 2: Map the first classroom you can remember. I decided to do the classroom I student taught in. The one where I was truly a teacher for the first time. This I will love to look back on.
Day 3: A list of simple pleasures.
Day 4: People Watching.
Day 5: Practice Handwriting. I decided to start a list of names of people who are really important in my life. This list is ever-growing--each in a different handwriting style.
Want to join us? You should, it's really great! I use the prompts and have been able to make them relevant to me.
