Block party crochet style

Not that kind of block party - the crochet kind, where I've hooked up 6 lace things and need to block (shape) them.  I'm only going to post pics of two of these items, as the remaining four are intended as gifts for a family member who is subscribed via email.  Whether or not those emails get read, I am not taking chances.

OK, item number one: a doily coaster for my desk that does NOT contain a counting error!  I have one already for my coffee cup that has a counting oopsie, but wanted a correct one for my water glass.  Here it is, pinned out after a short hot water bath.

Lace doily coaster blocked and pinned

It looks a whole heap better now that it's pinned out.  For the record, I did adjust a couple pins after gimping the pic.

Now for a little fun item: a crochet lace snowflake.  This one turned out right with six points ... I already pulled out the counting oops with seven points.  It's a little difficult to see since the foam board is white, so I'll probably snap another pic with a dark background after it dries and gets a starching.

White crochet lace snowflake pinned out

Hubby suggested putting a hang loop on it and use it as a tree ornament.  I told him I left the loop off since I wasn't sure how it would turn out!  LOL - this is definitely my preferred version of a snowflake, since the real kind is accompanied by COLD.

I'm working on multiple items for use in the kitchen, so that will get its own post soon.

Hats and buckram

Wearing my grey linen sunhat around has garnered compliments and a sense of accomplishment ... and has prompted a new sewing request from hubby.  He wants me to make him an "Indiana Jones style" hat from the leftover brown canvas to match his coat.

One problem: I am out of buckram.  Hancock says they will no longer carry it, and the buckram at Hobby Lobby is way too thin and light.  I had bought what I had at WalMart ... before they shut down the fabric sections.  There is still one local WalMart that never had its fabric and sewing section shut down, but it's across town and a royal pain in the (*donkey*) to visit, but I am left with no choice but to brave their hosed-up parking lot and screaming howling (*children*) as a last local resort before springing for buckram through online sources.  Can you tell I consider a trip to WalMart to be an ordeal nowadays?  (Insert cranky Mom rant about how I would have been backhanded in public for even the milder half of behavior I see in EVERY WM visit ...)  (Insert car-owner rant about how all but one dent in my vehicle has come from the WM parking lot ...)

I guess for some things, a woman just has to grab her ovaries and do it, ordeal or not - to quote one of my better Sergeant Majors from my army days.  Bleh.

It's either brave WM, or a minimum order of 5 yards of 60" wide heavy millinery buckram for white ... which would probably last me more than a decade.  I'll need lunch first.

UPDATE: Online order it is.  What's left of that store's fabric and craft section isn't worth the drive anymore.

Lace doily coaster!

I did it!  I just finished up a lace doily coaster from a free online pattern.  The instructions seemed about as clear as mud to me, but I just reread them however many times it took until I thought I grasped the idea ... and while it may not be perfect - and might not even be as the pattern is trying to call for - I am still quite pleased with the result.  Before I steamed it:

Lace doily coaster before steaming

And after a round of coercive steam ironing:

Crochet lace doily coaster after steaming

I realized I needed some scale (after being reminded in PR chat that my last set of lace trim pics lacked a quarter for scale) and I just happened to have a one dollar bill in my back pocket.  I was too excited to notice I forgot to tuck the tails in ... while that is now done, the coaster is already in hubby's glass display case with a leather-wrapped metal beer mug sitting on it from the set I bought him at Ren Faire last year for his birthday.  It is just the right size for his mug, too.

Even with the vague instructions, this took less than 48 hours to crochet ... so I am thinking of knocking out a set of four as gifts.  I have some blue-purple variegated crochet thread that I am just itching to break out and play with ...

Crocheted hatband on V8405 sunhat

Snapped a pic of my new crocheted lace hatband on the sunhat, and have a couple ideas for more (since I planned for them all to be interchangeable anyway).

V8405 sunhat with crochet lace hatband

My thinnest satin ribbon was too wide to weave through the band part at 3/8 inch wide ... so I will probably make the "bars" taller on the next one since I am still wanting a peekaboo ribbon.  I'm not sure the shade of lavender really matches the linen, though ... but I still have white, blue, and of course pink crochet thread to play with more.

I also need more coffee this morning to achieve actual coherence.

Kitchen hot mitt: Return of the sewing mojo!

For a few weeks now, I have been saying I need to replace my hot mitt and hot pads since they come out of the wash looking bedraggled ... I am sure hubby was beginning to think I was just talking, but the sewing mojo has returned this morning alongside that proverbial wild hair!  I'm classifying this as a knockoff like my pillowcases since I literally grabbed the old hot mitt, set it on some wrap-paper from Hobby Lobby (they wrapped my glass candle in it), and traced around it with an ink pen.

Hot mitt pattern

I suppose it might be possible to achieve "easier" another way, but for me this was the most convenient.  I added about a 1/4 inch seam allowance around all but the wrist area since I intend to simply use binding to cover that up.

For those who find my handwriting difficult to read: I cut two for the outside fabric, two for the inside fabric, 4 layers of cotton batting, and four layers of thin cheapy cotton muslin to keep the batting out of my feed dogs.  I even cut it out immediately:

Hot mitt layers cut

Now ... which machine to pull out and stitch the fabric and batting layer sandwiches?  I did think of having hubby or son man-handle the Anchor onto the table for me, since Anchor had no problem ripping through linen and buckram ... but I still have black thread in the bobbin and really prefer a drop-in bobbin over wrestling with getting a metal vertical in properly.  Same issue with Timex - vertical bobbin.  So I'll probably grab another low-priced workhorse of mine: my Brother CE5500-PRW computerized that has gone through 8 layers of canvas (and is another one where I don't sew delicate fabrics with).  I've reviewed it over at PatternReview, but haven't posted a pic here on the blog.  I'll try to remember to snap a pic while quilting together the layers before assembly.

Speaking of quilting ... this batting ain't cheap!  And I even waited for the 50% off sale to buy mine.  Then again, neither is the quilting cotton section fabric.  It is also a pain in the (*donkey*) to lay out - the crib sheet sized piece I bought wasn't folded perfectly straight before packaging.  I'm saving every last scrap of it in a zippy baggie to stuff stuff, like maybe a cat toy or a bumroll.

Finally, my inside fabric came out of my scrap bag, which holds more canvas and duck pieces so it will most likely contribute more to the hot mitt/hot pad project as inspiration strikes.