WHY? I need your help! (and a link party)

In weeks full of burocratic craziness, making things is what keeps me sane! :)

The Ongoing Project List:

1. Growing Up QAL - completed two April blocks, an one May block (cannot share)
2. Splendid Sampler - two blocks done (see below)
3. Charity quilts - no progress
4. SK project - no progress
5. Molli Sparkle's "The Honey Pot Bee" - shared on March 1st!!!
6. Project QUILTING - "Old times, good times" COMPLETED (see below)
7. En Provence QAL - no progress
8. Journaling into my Quilter's Planner - no progress
9. 70273 Project - no progress
10. Book binding - two little notebook done (see below)
11. Twilters! Bee - March block done (see below)
12. MP pillow cover - done! it's my entry for Project QUILTING (see below)
13. MP hat - changed my mind... made a little pouch instead (see below)
14. 2017 Pantone Quilt Challenge: entries will be open from May 19 to May 29. My piece is ready since January :)

--

When the Challenge 6 of Project QUILTING was announced I had a hard TIME finding the inspiration :). I didn't want to interpret it litterally as I imagine many would and I always want to be different :) Well, time made me think about "old times"... "old times" "fun times"... and this means Disney! :) yes, from where I was able to read to waaaay after I started college, every week, I read the Topolino (an italian comics magazine with the adventure of Donal Duck, Mickey Mouse and their friends and family). That is why I made the following piece (inspired by recent books about Art History... aren't these duck Mona Lisa and Cezanne's duck model just so cute??)

"Old times, good times"

(38'' x 23'')

Now WHYYYYY??? WHY DID THAT HAPPEN???
Of course I refer to the red bleeding :( :( :(
I know why the bleeding happened, I forgot the color catcher, that is not my question...
My question is, WHY did only ONE fabric absorbed the red loose color?
I am a scientist so I want to know...

The two applique pieces are absolutely perfect, no change in color there. This could be because they have Heat'n'Bond on the back, which may change the physical properties of those fabric pieces.
Ok.. that makes sense...
What it DOESN'T make much sense to me is why the absorption pattern is not consistent.

You can see above that the ombre fabric absorbed all of the red color but right against the part where there is a lot of red, the light blue fabric didn't absorbe a thing! The backing fabric also didn't absorbe anything and it is not any more pink than when it started.
The ombre fabric is designer high-quality fabric...
The light blue fabric is designer high-quality fabric...
The backing fabric is big box store fabric...

So can someone help me understand this phenomenon?

By the way, I am not too sad about the bleeding because I was planning to applique flowers around the two Lady Ducks anyway, so no problem there... plus the slight pink tone of the background now makes it more integrated with the other colors of the piece :)

--
My last two Splendid Sampler blocks... my total count is 44 and I have a plan to put them in an interesting layout... more on this later next month

Block 98 and Block 91

--
My block for the Twilter's Bee swap

--

Two more little handmade notebook stitching the bookbinding :)

--
I was planning to make my mom a little knitted hat... then I tried to knit a head band... after 1 hour of knitting I remember that I highly dislike knitting :)

Then I found this video for a cute Accordion Pouch by Shabby Fabrics: it is sooooo easy, sooo fast and sooooo cute... Another Xmas present for 2017! :)

--
How about you? What are YOU up to?

Link it here and share it with me!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Not much sewing (and a link party)

Due to an unfortunate encounter between the sidewalk and my knee, not much sewing this week :(

But I have been planning and adding new project on the list!

The Ongoing Project List:

1. the SK project - no progress
2. SYS2015 future projects - missing few steps to complete the object!
   (this is going to be my project for A Lovely Year of Finishes - May)
3. D wall hanging -  no progress
4. B quilt - no progress
5. Spangled Stars Quilt-along - joined and planned my version
6. Block Swap Adventure - waiting for May project
7. Tapestry Crochet projects - kitty pouch done, block for afghan planned

The EverythingElse List:

1. Embroidery calendar - no progress
2. Animal blocks for charity quilts - paused for a while
3. Project of Doom 2015 @ Fandom in Stitches - paused for a while
4. College Days Blog Hop blocks for tote/grocery bag -  no progress
5. Alice in Wonderland quilt - no progress
6. As You Wish -  no progress
7. Happy Halloween wall hanging -  no progress
8. Crazy optical illusion -  no progress
9. Memory quilt 2 - no progress.

--
Susan (quiltfabrication.blogspot.com) shared several color options for the great Quilt Along Spangled stars!! I loved the design since she first posted it, but the initial color scheme was a little bit too white to be a drag-around quilt ;) her different Color Ideas are just so inspiring! I love all of them, but I decided to go for one that may work best with the scrappy look my quilt will have ("flowers in the garden").

Of course I couldn't just pick a color and a size and call it a day :) because that's just not me! I had to customize it even further! I took that design, imported it in Gimp and played around with size and colors.
So this is my current plan

Original design by Susan,

my current draft: modified layout for colors/size

I wanted a more "square" look, so I took the twin option and cut it down a bit. The final size should be around 69''x75''. 

Then I like the idea of the blue background, but I thought that having a completely scrappy layout would be too busy. So I will try to arrange the blues in a gradient order. I am not sure yet if I will use a single color for each row or if I will make it scrappy across the row as well... I have to start sewing the blocks and see them in real life :)

Cannot wait to start!!

Click the button for more information!!

  

--
Since I went back to crochet (for SYS2015) I have been in love with the simplicity of the single crochet stitch and I found this wonderful technique (called tapestry crochet) that allows to create fancy designs with two colors and just SC!

Googling around I came across this fun kitty bag (by Carol Ventura): the objects made with this technique have very intricate designs but they are super simple!! It's just all single crochet, worked with 2 strands at the time (one carried inside the stitches, and then you switch between the two colors when needed). There are several video tutorials and instructions on how to do it, so it's not hard to get obsessed with it (like I am right now ;) ).

So this is my first try at this technique:

(Dimension: 7'' x 5'' x 2'')

I modified the final object adding a zipper and boxed corners (I don't know if people do that with crochet objects... but I thought the pouch was too tall and too flat for my tastes... and boxing the corners seemed to be the perfect answer for both issues :) ). I love the final result!!

And now I am obsessed with this technique and I want to make myself a "sampler" afghan. But first I have to figure out what I like and how it looks like :) so I designed a little pattern and decided to stitch it with different methods. Then I will evaluate the results and pick the one I like the most for the afghan.

So this is the design. It is pretty simple but it has several key components (curves, sharp points, narrow strips, full shapes).

My tapestry block design... and my helper helping out ;)

First try: all SC, turning the work after each row

(Dimension: 5'' x 5.5'')

Assessment:

• I like the texture: it's tight and full but not too heavy
• it's simple and works out pretty quick
• since SC is not the same front/back, there are some issues on the edges where color changes
• for the same reasons, sharp points (1 SC) are not so precise. The same issue can be seen for the narrow strips (both vertically and horizontally)

I don't know if this is going to be the winning approach... let's see how the others go :)

--

What are YOU going to link?

An InLinkz Link-up

SYS 2015 - Final comments on crochet!

The skill of the month was crochet and for me Pren's tutorial (available on the SYS2015 page) was just the beginning!

So this is what I made and what I learned:

-- 1. one fun coaster (with acrylic yarn)

This helped me getting back with the practice of crochet with simple stitches. It also taught me a new technique, since I never tried surface crochet before!

-- 2. slippers (with acrylic yarn)

This is my first wearable project! They are the most comfortable slippers I've ever had in my entire life!! They fit me like a glove (well, like socks ;) ), they are warm but not too much, cozy but not to tight... basically just perfect! And a great way to test color combinations!!

-- 3. crochet hooks cozy (with acrylic yarn)

This little project was done just to try crochet both from right to left and from left to right. The square is worked in rounds, but I added some extra rows just to make it a rectangle and to try this new technique. It is not that hard, just a little slower ;)

-- 4. cat pouch (with cotton crochet thread, size 3)

(not done yet, missing final round, closing, zipper)

I wanted to try something different but that didn't require any fancy stitch. Googling around I came across this fun kitty bag (by Carol Ventura)  and I discovered a new technique called tapestry crochet.

The objects made with this technique have very intricate designs but they are super simple!! It's just all single crochet, worked with 2 strands at the time (one carried inside the stitches, and then you switch between the two colors when needed). There are several video tutorials and instructions on how to do it, so it's not hard to get obsessed with it (like I am right now ;) ).

The only two things you have to be careful are how to change color (that's the easy one) and how to do it without getting all your yarn balls twisted and tangled (that's the less easy one). The first row of cats (bottom) was done before I new the proper non-twisting technique and it is much less precise than the following ones. But watching few videos after trying it out really made the difference and now this fascinating technique is my go-to for cute crochet objects: I see more of these as Xmas presents for 2015 ;) 

So how about you? Have you being crochet this month? Why don't you enter your projects in the link party below?

For this month in order to be eligible for prizes, you are asked to make a square crochet project using the pattern for the basic square in the tutorial, with any decoration design you like!

In the tutorial, we also listed some other objects (bags, pouches, etc): you can also enter any of those as long as you add the edging and/or the surface decoration using the technique described by Pren for the dishcloth. 

You can still link up blocks and projects from the Foundation Paper Piecing and Quilting tutorials!!

For rules about what will be accepted in those cases, please refer to this previous post and this other post.

This month the prize is offered by me and it's the bundle depicted below 

A crochet/knitting book, a fun measuring tale, yarn needles and some bon bons :)

I will draw a winner (using random.org) on May 6yh between all the entries in the link party. 

International participants are welcome!!

Remember that in this link party only projects belonging to the SYS2015 series should be added 

(I reserve the right to delete any non compliant link). 

This link party will be open all year long and you can add as many finished projects as you want! 

The same link party will be shown on the SYS2015 page.

Each link will give you a chance to win one of the monthly prizes.

An InLinkz Link-up

SYS 2015 - My second project, where is yours?

We are three weeks in, for our crochet month!
You can find the tutorial that the wonderful Pren shared on the SYS2015 page!

I decided that one project was not enough so I made another one! :)

But this time I turned the square into a little pouch to keep all my crochet hook warm and cozy!

I made the square following the pattern, then I fold it in thirds, closed the sides with the first round of border with the different yarn and decorated one side with the cute border in the pattern! Then I added three fancy snaps because why not! :)

And what are YOU making? Let's get the party started!!

Remember that in this link party only projects belonging to the SYS2015 series should be added 

(I reserve the right to delete any non compliant link). 

This link party will be open all year long and you can add as many finished projects as you want! 

The same link party will be shown on the SYS2015 page.

Each link will give you a chance to win one of the monthly prizes.

For this month in order to be eligible for prizes, you are asked to make a square crochet project using the pattern for the basic square in the tutorial, with any decoration design you like!

In the tutorial, we also listed some other objects (bags, pouches, etc): you can also enter any of those as long as you add the edging and/or the surface decoration using the technique described by Pren for the dishcloth. 

You can still link up blocks and projects from the Foundation Paper Piecing and Quilting tutorials!!

For rules about what will be accepted in those cases, please refer to this previous post and this other post.

This month the prize is offered by me and it's the bundle depicted below 

A crochet/knitting book, a fun measuring tale, yarn needles and some bon bons :)

I will draw a winner (using random.org) on May 6th between all the entries in the link party. 

International participants are welcome!!

An InLinkz Link-up