Quilting with Beyoncé

So I have known for a while I am not your average knitter, scrapbooker, or quilter.  Whenever I go to any local gatherings like this I am usually one of the youngest. This doesn't make me feel out of place, but it does make for interesting conversations.  I was making a few things recently (while listening to Beyoncé and then Rihanna) and I thought, does the typical quilter/knitter/scrapper know all the words to XO and Work? I find it hilarious because you can never judge a book by its cover. I remember one time about 2.5 years ago, I was looking at thread in a big box store and I was just checking all of the thread to see what was available. A lady came up to me (a customer, not an employee) and said "Oh, that's quilting thread, is that what you're looking for?" I slowly turned to her (because I had to be sure this was really happening) and said "I'm just looking, I'm getting new thread." She pressed on with "Well, that's for quilting, I mean you're not quilting are you?" This last part was delivered with a mix of derision and panic. I responded "No, I just wanted new thread...do you work here?" Realizing her error, she fumbled a little and said "Well the machine thread is over there...this is quilting thread..." and proceeded to roll her cart away. I laughed because a.) I could not believe you tried to deny me this thread, b.) You don't know me so you have no idea what I'm looking for, and c.) Why would it be so shocking that I might be quilting? It's not like if I buy this thread I'll use up all the quilting space in the world. My quilting doesn't hinder your ability to quilt, but the confusion in her face was so real. I giggle to myself everytime I buy thread now, since I can quilt and I've graduated to embroidery, I'm using all of the good thread. I also think sometimes when I'm knitting, quilting or scrapping that I am not the average crafter, because I do craft to music you might not expect and I may not look like everyone else in the guild, but I'm just as happy as anyone else to show my work! I hope everyone feels that free when you're creating and don't let anyone make you feel nervous about it. Happy crafting (cues Drake-Hotline Bling)!

New fabric and thread stash. 

Flannel Blankets in Record Time

Hi there! I am on a craftastic voyage and I wanted to try making some swaddling blankets and I found this really cool tutorial that walks you through a self binding flannel blanket. I finished this one in a few nights and I took several breaks.

I started with my front and back. 

I spy elephants! 

Next I lined up my layers.

Lining up my layers. 

Then I did my stitching on the wrong side. 

Leave open a 5-6" length. 

Finally ready to turn it inside out. 

Here's the blanket turned right side out. 

Finally, after some top stitching, this flannel blanket is done!

Nothing left but a wash and press. 

Try this out if you need a quick baby shower gift or some more blankets around the house, or to donate. Happy crafting!

My First Jelly Roll Jam Quilt

I wanted to start another baby quilt and ended up finding this awesome pattern for jelly roll quilts! I love the idea of jelly rolls, coordinated bundles of fabric that are pre-cut into strips! It's wonderful. So I started with a really fun roll with some vibrant colors and patterns. 

I used the roll on the left. 

Then I started the pattern by piecing my strips. 

Only 15 more to go. 

Then I cut my blocks using an acrylic 6" x 12" ruler.

This part was really fun. 

Next I arranged my blocks according to the pattern and started making them into bigger blocks.

I assembled my top. 

Only batting, backing, and binding now (The 3 B's) 

Now the backing had to be picked out after this was assembled so I could get an idea of how the colors looked together, I decided to go with blue flannel again, but this time with orange binding.

Binding half done. 

Here is the finished Jelly Roll Jam Quilt. 

I need to press this, but it's finished! 

I thoroughly enjoyed making this quilt and it came together over the course of 3 days. I even had time to start a new project. 

Flannel Animals :) 

That's all for today, I hope you shop for a nice jelly roll and make one of these awesome quilts, happy crafting! 

A Craft Evolution

When I first started this blog, it was called engiknitting because I'm an engineer, who knits. As I started to expand my craft horizons, I realized I loved a lot of different crafts, and I wanted my site name to cover that. In the past few years I've discovered knitting, crochet, paper crafting, sewing, and quilting. What has been so great about this is that anytime I discover something "new" to me, I can easily find a community either online or in person that has people with wells of experience. More often than not, they are happy to share their knowledge with someone eager to learn, it keeps crafts going and builds new relationships.  I feel a sense of accomplishment when I learn a new skill and that makes me want to get better at whatever it is I'm doing/learning.  I have been extremely lucky that I have encountered so many people that are more knowledgeable than I am and gracious enough to help someone learn. I hope you've experienced that same warmth in your own crafting adventures! My next task is to use my Big Shot with the new strip die and plates I just got, I will definitely post about that experience here soon! Happy crafting!