Times Are Hard. Make Stuff.

So I’ve been busy making little things.

I wanted something to keep USB sticks in that would attach to my work badge. That way, I wouldn’t leave my thumb drive at home or at work. But all of the cases I found were ugly and I just couldn’t bear to buy one. After all, this thing is going to hang around my neck everyday, five days a week.


In the end, I decided to make some myself. They were really easy to make. I used scraps from my Olympic quilt and scraps of batting. It was fun and cheap and I was able to use stuff I already had on hand. What more could you ask for? And I get a bit of pretty in my workday.

Speaking of the Olympic quilt, I have actually started quilting it. I’ve been stuck on what to do and I think working on the USB pouches got me unstuck. It helps that I also cleaned my studio, which was on the verge of being condemned.

So I guess making little things can lead to making big things and when all else fails, clean up.

Bad Blogger!

It has been a long time since I posted. But I have a good excuse.

I literally fell off the face of the earth. Seriously.

I was walking down the street, I tripped, and off I went.

Maybe not. But I got a new job and it felt that way. The new job is great but it has changed everything about how my family lives our lives from day to day. It has been a huge switch to go from working at home for 4 years to working in an office every day. For example, things like having enough socks becomes an issue. And I forgot how cold offices are. Check out what I'm working on keep warm.

So the blog along with my craft studio got dusty. And now I'm playing catch up with projects that have been languishing.

But its good to be back.

Working Day and Night

I got the scraps on my design wall fused down. Here's a taste. I'm not ready to show the whole thing yet.


I've also been crocheting scarves like crazy. I can't show them here since they are gifts. But if you want to peek at a few of them check me out on Ravelry. I'm citygirlq.

Safe and happy holidays everyone!

Give Love

Give water.

Separation Anxiety

It has been a while since I posted. But not because I haven't been busy.

I'm hand quilting the quilt I swore I wouldn't hand quilt.

I finished piecing the Olympic quilt.

Which left me with lots of delicious scraps to play with.

And I've done a lot of crocheting.

Mostly I've been dealing the work/life stuff that causes me to neglect my blog. I always manage to find time for a creative life. Just not the time to talk about it.

The Return of Gordon Gartrelle

Remember that episode of the Cosby Show where Denise told Theo she could make him a knock-off of a designer shirt for the big dance? And it came out all lopsided with long arms? And Theo was mortified?

I have a love-hate relationship with garment making. The idea of is always a bajillion times better than the reality for me. So when I realized yesterday (in what I am sure is just the first of many 11th hour school projects to come) that my son needed an outfit for culture day at day care this morning, and I thought "I will just make him a really simple shirt", someone should have stopped me. I even found a pattern that said "fast and easy" right on the package. Three times. That should have been my signal to throw it down and run away. Because it was neither fast nor easy and I don't know how many times I have to be lied to by packaging before I learn my lesson. In the end, I just improvised the collar because I could not make heads or tails of the so called directions.

But I did manage to get it put together. And it actually stayed together all day. I expected it to fall apart halfway through the day. And, like Theo, my kid only cried a little when we put it on him. I'm pretty sure it didn't cause any long lasting psychological scars. Fortunately, my son does not stand still long enough for anyone to notice the various improvisations, crooked seams, tucks, and threads I refused to deal with properly because it was late and I just wanted to be done. I'm going back to quilting.

Hello My Name is (Part 2)

I finished the calling cards. I don't really need calling cards. I just wanted to see if I could do it. It was more of an exercise in seeing if I could focus my artistic point of view in small space with limited images and text.

They are the size of standard business cards and made from fabric that has been used in other projects. I also decided that they had to incorporate hand work so they have some type of embroidery or beading on them. I created an image from a baby picture to go with the text for the reverse side. I used an iron on transfer to get the image and text onto the fabric. Mostly because I wanted to try out the iron on transfer stuff.

I put an eyelet in my favorite card and tied it to the bag I made with a piece of scrap ribbon. I will probably attach the rest of them to future projects. It is a good way to use up scraps of fabric. And one day, when we have gas in our state again and can leave the house, I might actually be able to give them to people. They are calling cards after all.

I didn't use anything like a stiff stabilizer or fusible inside the cards because I don't like to hand sew through that stuff. So the cards are flexible which I kind of like. I embellished the back of the cards before stitching the two sides together because I didn't want the stitches to show on the back. And the whole thing is put together like a pillowcase because I don't like binding. I guess my artistic point of view also includes a certain amount of laziness. I'm okay with that.