2017 Finish-a-long third quarter finishes

Back in July, I set a goal of four projects to finish this quarter. Well I didn't do too bad! Three of the four projects are finished. The fourth, that darned New Hexagon quilt, is still hanging on. I did get all of the hexies joined, but the borders are not yet added and quilting/binding is yet to be done. Maybe next quarter!

Here are my finishes for Q3:

My new ironing board cover was a quick finish and continues to make me smile every single day...

A pink baby quilt has been delivered to a new baby girl in Ohio....

And fancy foxes to a baby boy here in Texas...

So not a bad quarter! Q4 will be a bit slow, just like last year, as I am getting my other knee replaced next month. That will be my major finish for the year!

I'm linking up my finishes here

ironing board cover

As I showed in my last post, my ironing board was seriously in need of a new cover. I bought 2 yards of this cute cotton fabric CHEAP at Joanns (because seriously, I'm just going to trash it, right?) and set right to work.

I'm mostly documenting this here for my own future reference (although I will undoubtedly forget it is here & recreate the wheel anyways. oh well). 

When hubby helped me create my ironing station, we staple gunned the batting & original cover to the top board. I planned to make removable covers down the road.

I cut a piece of fabric, 67" x 25" and rounded the corners (fold them all together & use a small plate)

press under 1/4" all the way around, then press under again, 1/2". 

Stitch it down all the way around, forming a casing for the elastic. Don't forget to leave an opening at one end!

Thread the elastic through (I used about 3 yards). You can stitch the ends together when you get the fit you want. I'll be honest, I just tied mine in a double knot! It goes under the board & you can't see it anyways.

Stretch the cover over your board, tighten up the elastic & poof! you're done.

I wonder how long I can keep this pretty cover clean and pretty. Any bets?

This is my first finish in the third quarter of the Finish-a-long.... took about an hour!

ellyn's place makeover

After 2 years in our "new" house I've been reevaluating some of our spaces. One side of my studio space had a table & large bookcase that had become a huge pile-up spot. No matter how hard I tried, I could not keep the clutter straightened up. The table was basically useless. I realized what I really needed was more storage space!

Ikea to the rescue! Two KALLAX units later, I had regained floor space and cleaned up the mess!

Not only that, I managed to eliminate the ironing board that always seemed to be in the way. After seeing the pressing station on Sew Katie Did I knew that was the right solution for me too.

IKEA sells the wheels to fit the KALLAX units too! I followed Katie's directions and I adore my new pressing station. It fits perfectly against the wall, but can be rolled out if I need to iron something large. Perfect!

I used the rest of a vintage sheet to cover it, so it matches my mini ironing station that stays next to my machine. I have to admit, stripes were probably not the best choice as it was impossible to get them straight! Ah well, the way I destroy covers, I'll be making a new one before you know it. I think I will make removable covers from here on out, and just put them over the existing board.

This smaller unit gave me the perfect space to store many of my weaving supplies as well! I had been struggling to find a home for them.

Fingers crossed I can keep this space tidy more effectively now!

a week in Charlotte

I'm just home from a wonderful week visiting my friend Kathie in Charlotte, NC. You might remember that I visited her when she lived in Asheville. Back in 2014 I was fascinated with Kathie's weaving, just as I have been for the 20+ years that I've known her. But, I didn't know enough to really appreciate what she does. THIS time.... now that I've been weaving for a couple of months on my rigid heddle loom, THIS time I had a solid appreciation for everything Kathie does. And a million questions! 

We went to visit her off site studio where she was working on weaving baby blankets....

 And we spent TONS of time in her studio at home. Check out this yarn! Kathie has every single color of 8/2 cotton that WEBS sells...

 Look at the light streaming into her space...

 even her shuttles look pretty in a basket on the shelf...

 and bobbins in another basket...

and guess what? Kathie taught me to weave on her small floor loom! I learned so so much. Check back tomorrow if you want to see what I made in just a week!

Raskog ironing space

My pal Mahriam had the brilliant idea to create a small ironing table on top of her IKEA Raskog cart. You can read about her creation here at Three Owls Handmade. I decided I needed one too, used her idea as a jumping off point and made my own variation (with lots of help from my sweet hubby)....

We started with an 18"x20" piece of plywood, bigger than Mahriams. It hangs out over the edge of the cart top....

we added 2 12" strips of wood so that it won't slide off of the cart. Hubby nailed these on from the top, with the inner edge of the strips 2 3/4" in from the side edges....

For padding, I layered a piece of Insulbright (20"x22")and a piece of cotton batting (20"x22") on top of my fabric (cut 24"x26") for the fabric I used a vintage sheet because I loved the colors and the stripe. Also, I have plenty left over for a cover for my regular ironing board...

We wrapped the batting and fabric tightly around the board and stapled it to the back with a staple gun (tip, you'll want to get short staples, we used 1/4", so they don't poke through the top!), mitering the corners and neatly tucking the edges under. My cover is not removable which is fine with me, I can always add another layer over the top if it gets yucky (WHEN it gets yucky!) or remove it and begin again.

I love how it fits perfectly next to my machine!

Ready for my next piecing project!

ellyn's tidy place

I have a confession to make. I'm a slob. Seriously, I work so hard at being neat and tidy but most of the time it just doesn't happen. But today, for at least one day, my studio space is clean and tidy! I thought it was a good time to take a few pictures to share. I love this little corner behind the door....

 Check out my new scrap cart! I got it at Walmart and it's perfect for scraps. I have them all sorted by colors and type (solids, low volume, etc)

 My new mini from Mahriam is hung and looks awesome above my cutting table...

 And my fabric is all neat and tidy too! I bought some additional baskets to match my new cart for the rest of the scraps. Fabric pieces fat quarter and larger are all folded and sorted....

It may never look like this again! I think I'll just go sit in there and not touch anything. Maybe. For a minute....

Kathie's studio

Wow, I really disappeared on you, didn't I? A little unintentional blog break I'm afraid! I did have a great excuse last week. I went to visit my friend Kathie in Asheville, NC. We hadn't seen each other in years but it felt like no time had passed at all. She was a gracious hostess and we had a wonderful time. Today I thought I'd give you a peek into Kathie's awesome home studio. 

This first corner would be a spot where I could function well, the sewing/ironing station. 

But after that, I'm lost! Kathie is a weaver. She has been a weaver for as long as I've known her (much longer really!) and I have always admired her beautiful work. Here are two of her gorgeous looms....

 While I was there, Kathie had her looms set to weave some of her fabulous "towel towels" as she was being filmed for a video for the website This Land, which will be featuring some of her towels soon. I'm so happy to have one of her towel towels in my kitchen!

 Look at all of those beautiful colors of yarn waiting to be made into wonderful things!

 Kathie has threatened to put me to work if (WHEN!) I visit again. I'd be perfectly willing! Thanks for the great visit my friend!