Stash Blaster: Week 5

Well, January is over and February is already in full swing.  How did you all do blasting your stash?

I think I did pretty well.  I finished at least 1 project each week (see them here) and didn't increase my stash by much.  I had already warned you that I'd be stocking up on Lizzy House's Constellations and Pearl Bracelets, and thought I'd throw in some feathers for good measure.  

I also bought Megan Nielsen's maternity/nursing lingerie set pattern.  Yesterday I picked up a gorgeous raspberry colored knit (pictured below) at Walmart for the nightgown and also to make a baby wrap to carry Wiggles around in.

Plus my Plucky yarn from December also came the same day.  It's a gorgeous tonal teal/blue called Skies of November that I'm sure you will be seeing knit up very soon!

Raspberry knit

Week 5's completed project was a pair of baby mitts that I made from a mini skein of wool that I spun and kettle dyed a lovely green.  I made up my own simple pattern, making them similar to a pair of toe up socks, but without the heel of course.  ;)

Another project I made last week was a giant duffle for our friend, Ash, who will be going to manage a ranch in Russia for the next 3 years.

I allowed Cord on the couch for size comparison

The bag was inspired by Studio Cherie's Travel Duffle (which I someday need to make), but by the end of it the only similarity was the shape and the webbing handle.  Really, it's just a big box bag with a pocket on the outside.  

And when I say "big" I mean BIG.  It measures at approx. 26" x 14" x 16"!  My Holiday in London duffle fit easily inside it and there was still tons of room.  And the Holiday in London is not small either.

Plus the entire bag was made from my stash!  I even had a heavy duty 54" zipper that I'd thrifted recently.

The outside is denim with a cotton lining, bandana print outer pocket, and 3 1/2" webbing handle.  I did forget to add zipper tabs, but the bag works just fine without them.  I even got to use my new serger to finish off the exposed seams on the inside.

Jake loves this bag, so I'm sure I will be making another one in the near future.  :)

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I've also been dyeing and spinning more things for the shop...

100% Wyoming alpaca, will be listed in the shop later this week

Handspun & kettle dyed 100% wool, "Tide Pool", for sale here

 ...and even sold my first skein of handspun yarn!!

Handspun & kettle dyed 100% wool

Now it's time for you to link up!  Any crafty projects that you finished between January 27th and February 2 are welcome.  Also, I will be drawing a giveaway winner for all projects linked up during the entire month of January (weeks 1-5).  I'm still deciding what the prize will be, but I've got some good ideas kicking around my head.  And don't worry, it'll be good!

Please be sure to also share a link back to here on your linked up post.  There's a button on the sidebar that I'd love if you used too.  Thanks so much for playing along!  I love seeing what everyone else has been making and it really helps me to stay motivated and on task too.   :D

Stash Blaster: Week 3

I have a button!!  I've been scouring the interweb trying to find a tutorial that I can understand and finally found this one at Between Naps on the Porch.  If you are html impaired like me this is the perfect tutorial for ease of use and explanation as to what I'm actually doing.  That being said, the button works for me, if for some reason it doesn't work for you please let me know and we can troubleshoot together.  :)

This week I decided to pull out my recently thrifted crock pot and attempt some yarn dyeing.  I was so excited with the results of my first attempt that I grabbed some roving that I'd stashed and kept going.

100% wool roving, dyed and ready to spin

Keep an eye on my shop for new hand dyed handspun yarns later this week.  And perhaps even some roving for you spinners and needle felters!

I also knit up a little cap for Baby Tuckey using some leftover yarn from my Blair cardigan (which I still need to re-bind off and find the right buttons for).  Even though this hat is green it reminds me of a pumpkin, I think it's the knot on top, so I named it the Pumpkin Head hat.  It's super stretchy and long so it should fit Jelly Bean for several weeks, perhaps even months!

Seaglass Pumpkin Head

Next to a can of pop for size comparison

Full length view

Now it's your turn, link up your projects from the past week so we can root each other on and continue blasting our stash!

If you haven't finished any projects this week that's ok, show me what you've been working on.  But be on the look out for a giveaway in 2 weeks.  All linked up finished projects completed during the month of January will be entered into the drawing.  They can be 15 year old WiPs, just so long as you finished it in 2013!

{Sew} Modern Monday

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend! It was in the high 70s here & I was wearing a sundress yesterday!! Today it's in the 30s & trying to snow. You gotta love springtime!

For me it was a weekend of quilting firsts for me.

Saturday I used 505 spray basting for the first time, I'm in love! It's so quick & easy to use.

And I got the vertical lines quilted on my Tula Pink couch quilt. I decided to use some of the Aurifil thread we got from Sewing Summit last October, used the 28 weight in lime. What a great thread!! I will definitely be buying more in the future.

This was actually my second attempt at quilting a large quilt on my home machine. They first time was my very first quilt & it was pretty much a lumpy disaster. The nice thing is that quilt was just going to go in the car so it didn't matter how ugly it turned out. At least my corners matched up! ;)

Since I only have about 20 yds of thread left after finishing the vertical quilting I will be doing the horizontal lines in a reddish brown some time this week.

I also finished my black & neon quilt top (second picture down on linked page) & will be finishing that up hopefully over the weekend.

There was also some dyeing (above) and redwork (below) going on over the weekend!

Linking up to {Sew} Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations