live the abundant life

here's one of my latest wall art pieces...

i was inspired by President Monson's message in the January 2012 ensign. i wanted a way to remember his challenge all year long, so i made this piece of art to display in our living room. i started out with a black and white version before playing around with the colours to match our decor.

i think it's so awesome, i want to share it with whoever wants it. if you would like a copy, either black and white or custom colours, please email me (lindsayladwig(at)gmail.com) and i'll be glad to send you a high res file that you can print yourself! unless i suddenly get innundated with 100s of people, i'll do this for free.

the file is meant to be printed on an 8x10, but if you would like different dimensions, i'll be happy to alter it for you. though i may have to charge a fee!

enjoy! and watch out for my other word art pieces throughout the coming year.

second crocheted item

yeah, i'm like that. "go big or go home!" so this is the second ever thing i have attempted to crochet. it's still not entirely finished (i only have one crochet hook, and i need a different size to do the dress...) i don't want to do the face before i settle on the colour for the eyes (buttons! how cute!)

i showed her periodically to my husband and he just said, "you make me sick! you can do anything!" aww, what a lovely compliment! but yeah, i believe i can. i think i've not been crocheting exactly right, but now i know! and she still looks beautiful...

now i'm getting addicted to amigurumi dolls/animals. it's super easy, and really cute. i knew i wanted to crochet for a reason! i'm going to find a couple of different projects so i can practice the different crochet stitches.

FYI: the pattern for the doll above is free and can be found here. the finishing instructions aren't as clear to a novice doll maker, but since i've knitted many dolls and figures, i just worked off the pictures. enjoy!

First Postcard Swap

i recently joined a yahoo group: fabric postcard swaps. the first one i was able to join in with was themed Winter Playground. i already got one beautiful card from one of the ladies, who lives in the Netherlands. she designed a card that looks like rabbits frolicking in a snowy landscape. i eventually came up with this beauty:

i sewed strips of blue fabric together to make the background, and cut out and appliqued the figure of the girl ice skating. it didn't take as long as i thought to make four of these, but it seemed like a long time! i'm not sure that i like applique that much to cut out a bunch of tiny little shapes. anyway, it's done and i'm happy with it.

Christmas Crafts

i thought i'd better update my progress on some knitted figures i've been workin on these past few weeks, but first, here's my christmassy decorated fireplace!

it's our first christmas in our new home. i really like our fireplace and wanted to decorate it for christmas with the limited decorations we have. the lights make it 100% more awesome. :)

i've also finished up these guys:

i only had to add the holly leaves and berries to his hat - he's been mostly done since last christmas... but i do still have to do his brown sack and fill it with little toys. but i've been mainly working on:

Mrs. Claus is done! she's so cute and cuddly!

so now they're happily living together on our fireplace. i'm excited for christmas!

i crocheted!

still no one has taught me how to crochet, so i did the next best thing: went to youtube... i found a few videos to teach me how to crochet a granny square. it was pretty simple. it took a little time to get the jist of it and to get my fingers moving. although, i still can't seem to hold tension in the yarn quite right.

anyway, here's what i made:

not bad for a first attempt. now i want to learn how to join different colours effectively. before long, i'll have another beautiful blanket, or a couple of hats! :)

first craft in ages!

i'm gradually coming out of hiding... school is winding down, and before long, i'll be back to blogging  about everything crafty! :)

i recently joined a couple of yahoo groups; a monthly dishcloth knit-along, and a fabric postcard swap group. i'm very excited about that one! anyway, i made my first dishcloth:

pretty cool eh? i'm looking forward to using some fun knitting textures and patterns while in this group. i used Lily cotton Sugar n Cream variegated yarn to make this cloth. they have so many gorgeous colour combinations, of which i couldn't help buying half a dozen...

i've been working on a couple of knitted dolls too, but they're not quite finished. give me a few more days.

interim...

i know it's been too long posting a blog post when my computer takes a long time to even load the page! well, we've moved into our first home. it's a very exciting feeling, which i'm trying so hard to hold on to - we've already had some trials with plumbing, but hopefully all will be well for the next few months...

i've done zero crafts except my aforementioned new knitted afghan. and i just can't seem to pull out the sewing machine until we've unpacked. my creative juices aren't back to flowing yet. i have some ideas of things to make/do for christmas, which i'm very excited about, but for now, it's back to getting rid of boxes/packing gear.

working "on the fly"

i'm having serious sewing withdrawls. all this packing and sitting waiting for our house to close is getting a little frustrating. there is definitely no room to break out the sewing machine in our boxed up apartment, so i started a new, easier to manage project which i can pack up in an instant - a new afghan!

i thought i'd post a few pictures to prove that i'm working on something but yes, i do really miss my sewing machine!

this afghan is from Lion Brand Yarn. i love their free projects! this one is called the Nature in Natural Afghan. it uses chunkier yarn than i normally work with, so it's coming along really fast.

i've already earmarked this afghan for a special purpose, which we'll have to wait and watch come to fruition...

our closing day should be tomorrow, which means this weekend is moving weekend!! i'm over the moon to be a homeowner, and to have my own creative space, at last. fun things are happening!

hopefully i'll be back to sewing very soon. i've been so inspired by a lot of blogs lately...

Also, today is my brother's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! he's getting too close to 30 for comfort... that means i'm close behind! he, and my lil sister, are coming to visit next week - we haven't seen each other since my wedding 3 and a half years ago! i can't believe it's been that long. we've got a lot of catching up to do.

AWOL

i can't believe it's been this long since i blogged. seriously didn't see this coming! i've really missed sewing lately... school is hard this semester; i'm taking classes with lots of reading that i'm not used to. i'm a scientist doing business classes. it's hard! anyway, it's a lot of fun and i'm learning a ton, so it's satisfying.

also, the hubs and i are about to close on our first house! that's obviously taking a lot of my time. we should be moving in just a few weeks, so i'm sad (and happy!) to say that my sewing stuff has been packed up. i just can't sew when i'm in this feeling of limbo, so i'm putting it off for a while.

but i'm still following my favourite blogs. look what i came across from Green Fairy Quilts:

isn't that just amazing?! holy cow!! such an acheivement. okay, i'm going to say it. i would LOVE to make one of these one day. and i have an ambition to make a whole quilt by hand (maybe not the quilting... we'll see!) and i think i may get inspiration from this one. i love how it's so colourful and not one block is the same. a quilt like this is priceless! yeah, so check back in 10 years to see if i've actually done it...

i also got my hands on some of this fabric:

i found it a while ago... it's so enchanting. i found some inspiration for what i'm going to make out of this one, but it'll have to wait for a few more weeks. i'm very excited!! my favourite are those buildings and the people, or "1001 peeps"!!

hopefully it won't take me a month to post again, but i can't promise anything! i miss blogland, but i'm too excited for my house right now!!! EEEK!

a little embroidery update: block five

we're nearing the start of block six, so i thought i'd get finishing four and five before i'm overloaded with school work... (i'm a little behind on four, but here's five!)

here's a close up of the embroidery, although not the best quality picture. i love the bunting. i have a feeling i might go overboard with it soon on the run up to christmas & decorating...

so it was back to school for me yesterday. so far so good. i'm hoping i'll be able to keep up with things in the blogging world - maybe i'll have to set aside my saturdays while the hubby is working to catch up on all the bloggy stuff. here's to a successful semester!

fair results

okay. first things first, right? let's pick a winner of the St Patrick's Day giveaway... here it is:

and no. 7 was:

congratulations annemarie! you have the same name as my little sister! and it looks like you have the Irish luck... please email me your address information to lindsayladwig(at)gmail(dot)com and i'll have your prize out to you pronto.

now onto more prizes...

i'm so happy to report that all four of my items entered at the state fair won a ribbon of some sort. my afghan took first prize in its class as well as two other awards. i couldn't believe my eyes!

this afghan seemed to take the longest time to complete. i started it around last summer, i believe around the time when my sister was visiting. i loved the look of this right away, so i gave it a try - it's my very first attempt at cable knitting. i love how the tree branches seem to intertwine around each other.

then the border is made up of leaves sprouting out from the blanket. these are what seemed to last forever! but it really makes the whole thing look beautiful. i love this blanket more and more as i stare at it. i'm not sure if i'll make another like it, so it might just be a one of a kind in this household. i finished it near the beginning of the year - probably just before i started this blog. hence, no posting about it.

anyway, back to the fair... my knitted scarecrow also won a first prize ribbon in the knitted dolls category. yay!

my quilt was hanging way up high (and i'm kinda glad because it's so white) and was awarded a third place ribbon in its class.

one of my favourite quilts that i saw in the whole fair was this dragon appliqued quilt. don't those dragons look great? it won a best of division award of some kind. it totally deserved it.

the samurai cross stitch that i made for my brother took a second place ribbon. i wanted this item to win something most of all so that my brother could say he has an award winning piece of art. :D

cross stitching takes such a long time, so it's not my most favourite craft to be working on, but i love some of the results. i thought this Noah's Ark piece was beautiful.

and i really like the map of Oregon... (i'm now looking to find a UK map/Ireland map in the same style - anyone know where i could find one?)

the hubby and i loved this cake. super gory, complete with eyeballs and intestines hanging out!

i absolutely love the folds in this cake. especially that bottom layer. i wonder how long it took to do. it looks like a lot of work!

we also got to see a medieval show complete with sword fighting and jousting. it was pretty awesome, but the accents were BAD!

here's my favourite picture from the whole day. i was trying out my panning technique. not too bad for a novice panner. he looks great.

we had a very enjoyable day at the fair. now i'm already thinking of what to make for next year's fair to top this one!

a little craziness

only about a day left to enter my giveaway, so go ahead and leave a comment!

meanwhile, a little update on the crazy nine patch for the hubby. i've sewn all the main block pieces together - all 72 of them! phew! the hubby wants it a little bigger with plenty of drop on either side, so i'm waiting on some border fabric to make it a few inches bigger. this is going to be one crazy beast to quilt...

i love this fabric line though. and the best part is that i have the equivalent of two charm packs and almost a whole jelly roll left over to make some other fun things! so worth the cost. :)

it's the fair tomorrow! I'm excited!

the fair's coming to town

it's fair time again! i'm always excited when this time of year rolls around and for this fun event. this year i'm entering four things...

1. my star sampler quilt
2. the epic tree of life afghan which took forever to make. it just occurred to me that i haven't posted about it on this blog... i'll write more about it when i have fair pictures.
3. a cute knitted doll that i made from a Jean Greenhowe pattern. in fact, he's the guy on the front page of her website.
4. and finally, a samurai cross stitch that i made for my brother.

i'm anxious to see how they do against all the other awesome craftspeople. there were some amazing projects being submitted whilst i was there. one lady had a beautiful crocheted blanket. note to self: learn to crochet!

happy st patrick's day - a giveaway!!

*** this giveaway is now closed. thanks for all the lovely comments! and stay tuned for future giveaways! ***

okay, i know it's not really st patrick's day, but i wanted to share these with you. these are some really cool embroidery designs by Sara over at the split stitch. a while ago, she sent out a request for interested persons willing to stitch some of her designs. when i read it, i jumped at the chance!

she then sent us a list of patterns we could choose from and when i saw "st patrick's day" i knew my choice was made...

as a native irish born lass, it appealed to me straight away. i couldn't be more excited to incorporate some fun irish embroidery into my homemade crafts. so i got to stitching!

sara drew up a bunch of cute images, which i have come to call 'irish icons'. they're simple, straight to the point, mini patterns of what every person probably thinks about when they hear about 'the irish/ireland'

although i'm irish, i'm a non-drinker... so the following pattern represents root beer for me. mmmmm! i can't get enough root beer. seriously. i could never get bored of that drink!

while stitching these little cuties, i had to go out and find a smaller embroidery hoop than my 14-incher. although 14" works, it was really too big for these guys. so i bought this really cute small embroidery hoop. and guess what? i'm giving it to one lucky reader! complete with this cute leprechaun hat stitched loveliness. it's probably my favourite pattern out of the whole group. i haven't mounted it permanently on the hoop, in case the lucky winner wants a working hoop.

the second item i'm giving away to the same lucky winner is this irish themed clutch. isn't it awesome?! i found the pattern for this clutch while blog surfing, when i came across Anna's clutch tutorial.

i included some more stitchery on the front of the clutch, with the ireland flag as the ruffled background.

i found this funky clover fabric at Joann's a couple of years ago, which works perfectly for the back. and i used some other green fabric from my stash for the insides.

so that's my giveaway. these two beautiful items up for grabs! simply become a follower of my blog, and leave a comment below telling me what your favourite thing about ireland/the irish is. i can't wait to hear your responses!

so, good luck to ya!

the giveaway will close on friday 19th august at 10pm mountain time. so that gives you a week and a day to enter. it IS open internationally - i know what it's like to live in a different country than the US and not be able to enter stuff!

[also, apologies for the BAD lighting in these pictures. maybe i'll retake them tomorrow with better lighting...]

beginner's luck happens

i have to give a shout-out for one of my favourite bloggers. i joined in an embroidery quilt along with Clover & Violet, and am thoroughly enjoying it. i blogged about my first couple of blocks, and even entered for their giveaway. and i won! i hadn't entered a lot of giveaways before then, so it was kinda a case of beginner's luck. and this was my prize. i was so excited to receive it when it came. yay!

but not only that. and this is why Clover & Violet are so wonderful. she even sent me some scrappy supplies to make my own ruffle coin purse! BONUS! i can tell already that she's one of those rare gems that goes above and beyond her duties. THANK YOU!!

and this morning, i sat and sewed it together. i think i need to work on my zipper tabs a little more, but i'm really happy with my first attempt. also, i didn't have a ruffly-making machine foot; this was all manual folding! not bad, eh?

so go and visit Clover & Violet and see what they have going. they have some AWESOME tutorials. ;)

here's what i've done today:

i actually haven't had a sewing day for a while, and with the start of school rapidly approaching, i thought i'd get some in before i'm drowning in homework.

i finally got all the squares sewn together for the hubby's quilt. it going to be a mass of crazy nine-patches like these:

and here's my big pile complete, and ready to be sewn into a quilt top. i would have soldiered on through sewing them all together today, but the lighting is so bad in here in the evening, i kinda don't like to sew at night.

i also had to catch up on my skill builder sampler quilt. this week (or rather last week, and i'm only just getting around to it!) was learning bow ties. these must be the easiest configuration to sew in the world. and i really like the look of them and the shape they give. now i'm thinking i want a whole quilt like this. oh dear...

coupled with a handful of movies, i'd say my day was nice and relaxing and productive on the sewing front. AND i managed to do the dishes and a load of laundry. not bad. ;)