Baby Name Chevron (or Zig-Zag) Quilt

Here's my third quilt! And I am happy to say that it is getting easier. This is my first time using a blocking method.. from this awesome tutorial here. As soon as I saw it I had to make one for my friend Kris and her new baby. For a project like this, you just have to find the perfect person to give the gift to. I've learned that some people don't appreciate handmade gifts like they need to be appreciated. I mean, it wasn't hard, just very time consuming. Like I posted about before, I am in looooove with the chevron pattern. Which to some people say its technically not chevron.. it's zig zag. Whatever you want to call it, here it is! 

Getting the general layout before sewing it together. I double checked everything more than twice. I had no intention of using my seam ripper! 

Final product. Love how it came out!!! 

You can see some areas where the stripes are a little uneven. I have a feeling this goes back to my crooked sewing. HAHA. By far, the longest I've taken on a quilt. One day of cutting and sewing. One day of quilting and then a day of appliqueing and binding. I'm planning to make a queen-size one for my bed... which'll probably end up taking a week if I ever get around to it :)

I also made this car seat cover from this tutorial here. Super cute and super easy! My favorite combination  :)

Happy early Christmas Grayson! Hahaha

EDIT: I've been getting a few questions on how I did the name "GRAYSON" I basically followed this tutorial here.. using the font "smiley monster." I actually just reversed the letters on photoshop and held the heat n bond up to my computer screen and just traced from there (the lazy way hehe) I then ironed onto the fabric and sewed around the letters with a zig-zag stitch (my preferred way). Hope this helps! Thanks for the compliments :) 

Halloween Costumes :

It's Halloween time! I love Halloween mostly because I love making things :) When I was younger Halloween was all about revealing costumes purchased from Legg Avenue.. you know the sluttier the better! However I think I'm over that period (Or just older and fatter) and am leaning more towards comfy and cute. Mostly comfy (and cheap!).. i.e. my costumes the past two years. 

Cheshire cat in 2010. Super easy.. I messily threw together a pink and purple skirt from knit fabric and had a striped purple and pink tank. Crocheted ears attached it to headband and then a tail to attach to the skirt.. and VOILA! Cheshire cat :) Probably came out to less than $10.

Glee fanatic over here. So of course I was a female Warbler in 2011. Found a JCrew blazer at Goodwill (score!) for $8. Sewed on bias tape I bought from Jo-Anns $2. Bought the patch from ebay for another $2 and then the tie somewhere online for $15. $27. The tie made it a little expensive :) AND BTW NOONE REALLY KNEW WHO I WAS! 

So this time around I REALLY wanted to be comfortable. I saw this  on pinterest and had to make it! You can read the tutorial if you want.. it's pretty detailed but I was too lazy to and just kind of looked at the picture.

I just took my most comfortable dress and used it as an outline for the fish costume. Then added a hood and cut out scales and glue-gunned them to the dress. I just bought two yards of fleece fabric (on sale!)  at Jo-Ann's for < $10.

Aaaaand here's how it came out! Not bad.. of course it looks way cuter on that little kid. Stupid me I used fleece. Should've stuck with the knit fabric. Living in southern California for so long you would think that I would know by now that it would still be like 80 degrees at the end of October. At least it was sleeveless ;)

Adventure Time: Finn's Backpack

So Halloween is just around the corner, and earlier this month my friend Barbara asked me to make her Finn's backpack from Adventure Time to add to her costume (which I really should start watching since earlier this year my coworker had asked me to crochet Jake the Dog from that show too!) Anyhow never having made a backpack before.. Challenge Accepted!!

For those of you who aren't familiar, here's Finn, his backpack, and his dog Jake. Haha.. they're a little weird looking if you ask me.

So here's the final product! I completely winged it.. I just kind of put the bag together the same way as my Amy Butler weekender and it didn't come out too bad. I just wish I should have used something stiffer to give the backpack more shape. Oh well! 

It's a fully functional backpack, with a large zippered pocket big enough to store a sword and whatever else you might need for those adventures ;)

Lap Quilt

I've been practicing my quilting and used this lovely fabric I found at my local fabric store, Sew LA, to make my second quilt. I made it as easy as I could. 2 yards for the front, 2 yards for the back, and then quilt and bind away! Took only an entire day to make. Still struggling, but thats okay I'm keeping this blanket for those cold days of snuggling on the couch with a good book :)

Still having a lot of trouble with the binding. I think the problem is I don't sew in a straight line and can't maintain the 1/4 in.. or cut the layers together evenly  

AND THEN.. I somehow sewed the binding together the wrong way HAHA.  Oh well. That's why I'm keeping it. 

The finished product in use. Looks cute on my couch.. if you're looking from far away. :)

Fish FIngers and Custard

I'm geek and I am in love with certain things. Harry Potter for one, Doctor Who two. Okay and Sherlock. And Once Upon a Time. And LOTR. Okay let me stop before I look like a supergeek. But I do get very attached to certain characters. And last Saturday was the last episode of the eleventh doctor's current companions, Rory and Amy Pond, my favorite companions by far. I would be lying if I said I didn't cry. A lot. I'm like the Doctor, I hate endings especially endings to something as wonderful as the Ponds. I wanted to throw a doctor who party.. but unfortunately for me, nobody I know watches Doctor Who. Which means I have noone to get my Doctor Who references, my tardis mug, my tardis phone, no one to make Doctor Who crafts for. I have no support whatsoever. Hence this post, just to rant a little and let anyone here who watches doctor who to shoot me an email. I'd love to talk to you. Really. Just don't be a creeper. Thanks.

Anyhow, I think I'm just going to spend the rest of my week brooding and eating fish fingers and custard. For those of you who don't get it, the Doctor had just regenerated into his eleventh reincarnation, and meeting little Amelia Pond for the first time needed something to eat and henceforth came fish fingers and custard.

Aaaaaand here's the fish fingers and custard. Of course being vegetarian I can't exactly eat real fish fingers and custard. I found this and its delicious! 

Would've looked more realistic if I had made the cookies thinner. I forgot they spread a little when they're baked. HAHA. Oh well. There's always the Christmas episode to look forward to. Until then, Bye Bye Ponds.