fo: Birch-Newsprint-Clocks-Whatever Quilt : finally done!

So uh, do any of you remember the quilt I planned out and quickly sewed up back in, oh, March 2015?  The one that I stated in this post that only needed to be bound by the bias binding I'd already completed?

I just finished that sucker last night.  Oops.

To be fair, the mostly-finished quilt got tucked away for one reason or another ::coughIhatebiasbindingcough:: and then forgotten until I moved into my new place.  And then I got into a fight ::coughinstigateditinafitoffrustrationandheartachecough:: with the Ex and basically cut him out of my life while I heal before I could claim the blanket I bought in Mexico.  This meant I had no blanket for the couch in my often-chilly basement suite.  AND THEN I started using the unbound quilt, so now my couch is full of wee little threads of yarn that came off the edges of the quilt, and the thing was starting to get a little ratty.

Obviously it was time to bind that sucker.  The moment that the sewing machine was unearthed, I did so.

Guys, don't look to closely at the binding.  I vaguely used this tutorial and completely machine-sewed the binding on.  But instead of neatly stitching the final side down, I triple-stitch zigzagged that sucker down.  To reflect the triple-stitch zigzag that I "quilted" the blanket with. Yes.

Whatever, I don't care how ugly the edging is, because I now have a cozy and bright couch blanket to snuggle under on my evenings off as I knit and watch unending episodes of Last Week Tonight on youtube and read shoddy Star Trek fanfic.  :D

My life is obviously complete.

wip: Quilts and Sweaters and Garment Sewing Plans (OH MY!)

I've got two projects on the go right now that I'm determined to get finished asap.  Because wow do I ever have a lot of wips!

The first is my quilt.  This thing flew through my sewing machine, and all it needs is the edges bound!  I tried making continuous binding for the very first time, and despite a lot of confusion and almost making a bunch of rings instead of one long strip, I managed to get 150" made up!  Now to make up another 150", and I'll be ready to finish this thing off!  It's looking so bright and cheerful, and I'm so glad it's nearly done, yeh gods I'm tired of man-handling this beast.  SO much more unwieldy than a sweater or a dress.

I should've learned this lesson already from the blanket I made my Mom this Christmas, but sometimes it takes a few tries before this aging dog learns something new.

The other project I'm stubbornly being monogamous with (for knitting, anyways) is my Cardboard Cafe.  I powered through the front right side with the help of a few late nights, and just cast on the front left side this morning.  I had a root canal done today though, so I'm distracted and achy and utterly useless for knitting.  So instead of knitting, I dug around in my pattern and fabric stash, and brainstormed some garments to make to go with my new cardigan!

I'm still in love with my Coral Laurel (even if it's a wee bit too snug on me right now), and I'm thinking another tunic-length dress and a top would be perfect makes, since I mostly have the fit down.  I didn't take a photo, but a quick fitting showed that I need to do a small FBA and maybe add a 1/2" to the centre back to make it fit a bit better this time, so it's nice to know that in advance.  This pattern might become a TNT for me!

I'm thinking that funky orange for the shirt, and either the woven plaid-like shirting or the purple floral for the tunic-dress.  I'm SUPER keen for the orange, since I've been trying to find the right t-shirt pattern for it for YONKS, so I'll probably start with that.  I think it'll be fun with my Cardboard Cafe, don't you? 

What do you guys think?  Subtle plaid or loud purple for the dress?

Guess Who's Quilting!

That would be me!  I bought this fabric in the fall in one of my bored-at-work-impulse-shopping-for-crafty-supplies sessions, and while I loved the fabric on arrival, other projects called to me.  But in the last couple of weeks, this project has been weighing on my mind.  Today, I finally dug out my cutting mat and roller blade and started to chop it up!  No sewing yet, I don't have time to start this afternoon, but soon. 

So excited!!  Do any of you quilt, considered quilting, or just fallen in love with all the pretty quilting cotton?