Valerean

I should have enough time this year to make one more large quilt, so back in July I went through my kits box and took out the two biggest that I have on hand. Both are really pretty. The Arcadia kit is for a big quilt (maybe full or queen); the Wave kit is for a lap quilt. Since I'm more likely to finish a lap quilt I decided to go with the Wave kit.

This vintage afghan kit that came with my Potential yarn lot dates back to the seventies, according to my research. I remember seeing these somewhere back then -- my aunt might have made a couple. This was one that was sold on eBay, to give you a better view of what it makes. There are a few Sultana kits out there of the same age and similar condition being sold for $50.00 to $60.00. The kit was likely stored in a closet, and while the packaging definitely seemed about 50 years old the yarn turned out to be in pristine condition for its age. The instructions for the afghan were also still in the box, so I might try making it when winter comes around. Image credit: the second pic in this post came from an eBay listing.

To keep my promise to like the holidays from now on I bid on and won a small lot of holiday craft and cross stitch patterns and kits (I want to give cross sitch another go.) There are a dozen of them -- two are duplicates -- and they're for a variety of projects that look like fun. The two cross stich kits are still sealed, and one is Debbie Mumm. Just out of curiosity I looked up prices on everything, and they retail for a total of $96.34. I paid $7.99 for the lot. Savings: $88.35.

Yesterday's show and tell of a yarn lot I got for a minimum bid also included some surprises, like these issues of Workbasket magazine that date back to 1955. Four wooden crochet hooks that look exactly like a eight-hook set Knit Picks sells for $42.99. I think the loveliest treasure was finding this vintage afghan crochet/knit kit still sealed. All the yarn is still in there, too -- it's never been opened. It's tough to estimate the value of this lot, but if I go with a resale price of $5.00 each just for the skeins of yarn I showed you yesterday it would be worth $190.00. I paid $9.99 for the whole lot. Savings: $180.01.

You remember the diamond painting kit that came in one of the lots of art supplies I thrifted, yes? Now say that three times fast. :) I finally found a listing to buy it new at Michaels, and it retails for $16.99 (I paid $9.99 for the entire lot.) After unpacking and checking I found that the kit was new and unused, and decided to start on one of the paintings. This is how much I was able to do in one evening (disclaimer: I work very slow.) Diamond painting can be very expensive; I've seen some kits selling for over $100.00. This one would work as a good starter kit for someone who wants to learn how to do it. The resin beads you press into place aren't quite as sparkling as the other kits I've done, but I like working on smaller pieces that I can actually finish before I depart this life. :)

While Kat was visiting we went one night to walk a mall that I haven't personally visited in about ten years, and there was still a B. Dalton bookstore there. So of course I had to buy something! Ha. In keeping with my old lady love of everything cute I invested in this crochet kit that makes two puppies. Go ahead, snicker. I could instead be fond of explosives, and then a lot of people would be in trouble. Also impossible to resist: the winter issue of Greencraft magazine. Finally I got this sewing book because it has no patterns, and one project I need to make for my new set of crochet hooks. I had a wonderful time at B. Dalton, too, so we might have to visit that mall again before 2034. :)

To take a break after last month's work on the recycled linen quilt project I decided to make this thrifted kit into a small wall hanging. As before I didn't have a huge amount of fabric to work with, and I challenged myself to use all of the fabrics in the kit this time. I went with this simple arrangement and used the novelty cheese print as the centerpiece. The green geometric binding strips and the pink paisley print didn't really work with the other fabrics, so I made them into a backing. Here's the finished project. Because I used the binding strips to make the backing (and because it's a wall hanging) I decided not to bind the edges but finished them with a blanket stitch.

Last month I decided to give diamond painting another go with the sunflower kit that came with my Goodwill thread lot. I wasn't thrilled about working with all that yellow in my face, but I thought since I'd only tried the craft once I should take another chance on it. This particular kit retails for over $15.00 new, too. It took about four days to complete the sunflower with the plastic diamonds, and I did work pretty slowly due to my stiff fingers. Since there weren't as many colors to deal with as was the case with the dragon I made the first time, it seemed a little easier. I also had a smaller area to cover than my first project. The only true annoyance this time was trying to keep the rolled canvas flat; I had to tape it down while I was working on it. Some of the beads have an irridescent coating that adds extra sparkle, which I thought was pretty. The yellow of the sunflower was mostly a cheddar shade that I don't mind so much. I found this...

My last (and final) Goodwill auction lot arrived, and this one has a funny story behind it. I actually didn't intend to bid on it, as I was interested in a larger 15-1/2 lb. lot of quilt kits. The one I got here is was listed as Lot "6LBs+ Quilting & Fabric Squares." Because the pics for both listings looked remarkably similar, I accidentally placed a bid on the smaller lot, which I then couldn't cancel. But it's all for a good cause, so I figured it was payback for all the amazing lots I've won. I bid on the larger lot, too, but of course all the other quilt bidders swarmed and it went for over $100.00 (and not to me.) Meanwhile, I was the only bidder on the smaller lot, which I did win with that first and only bid. From the photos I wasn't expecting much. Some fabric squares and a little scrap batting. Only when I started sorting it out did I realize I was wrong. The quilting and fabric squares turned out to be eighteen neat little ...

Rachel's of Greenfield Birches quilt kit occupied me for most of December and January, but I took my time and followed the directions almost exactly. I've wanted to learn more about applique and working with wool, and this project taught me a lot. Like most kits this one came with almost everything needed to make the 13" X 15" quilt (some quilting thread is needed for the border stitching, and to applique the little bird and trees.) There wasn't an overabundance of fabric or thread, so I had to go slowly and not make mistakes with the cutting, piecing or embroidering. The instructions were pretty clear, too. I deviated from them only when quilting the border (I used a cut-out leaf that I pinned to the fabric rather than try to trace the quilting design on that dark gray cloth) and how I made the binding. I also did some of the applique stitching differently to make the trees look like actual trees. I've never done applique so it was fun to le...

Waiting for my favorite person to arrive for the holidays had me ricocheting off the walls, so I decided to tackle this mini quilt kit. I like small kits, as the time involved in making them is usually limited, and I'm also running out of wall space here at the casa. That said, I really didn't know how much time it would take, so it's carried over to this year. Been awhile since I've done any work with wool (the tree trunks) so it is definitely interesting. I'll post a pic of the end result once I finish it.

I don't often use kits, but when I see a small one that appeals to me I'll give it a whirl. I wanted to make some fabric pumpkins for fall, so I invested in this silk velvet kit. Here's the end result, admittedly a bit lopsided. I deviated from the kit pattern by using a packet of dry rice instead of play sand for part of the fill, and a plastic pumpkin stem instead of a twig (the ones we have in the yard are almost always infested with mites, moss and other things I don't want in the house.) Then I didn't like the plastic stem, which seemed too small, so I hunted around for another one. Final version. It took a couple of hours to complete, and I only struggled with gathering the velvet once I'd stuffed it (which I'll blame on my stiff fingers, not the instructions.) The finished pumpkin made me very happy, which is the whole point.

I've always wanted to make one of those pretty velvet pumpkins, but I'm not keen on improvising one of my own. So I invested in a kit to make a small one. Viscose thread is beautiful, but also very tricky to stitch with, so I bought a palette of Edmar threads in gorgeous shades of green for some stitch practice. I've been dodging posting pics of the summer art quilt because it's still pretty chaotic. But here's where I am with that, and I have another week or so of stitching before I can even start on the beading and embellishments.