A Variety Of Craftiness

For the past couple of months I haven't been too crafty. I do pick up my stitching on some evenings, but getting things done in the craft room has not happened. Working some extra hours, and working different times has thrown my routine off completely. I guess I'm one of those people who thrives on routine!

I did do some sewing for a gift at Christmas. I made this project bag for my group's December stitch day. As I mentioned in the past, we exchange gifts at each stitch day, and I thought that someone would really like this.

I used the Twisted Stitcher's project envelope instructions for this, and love the way it turned out. Because of a weird early snow, we had to postpone our special Christmas extravaganza stitch day until January. And that suited us just fine!

I opted for a magnetic snap for the closure for this one. You can get them very inexpensively at Amazon.

The snap shows on the outside of the project envelope so I needed something pretty to cover it. I looked around at Joann's and didn't find anything, but when I looked through my own jewelry making supplies, I found this! I think it's a connector of some sort, but it worked out perfectly because I could sew it right over the snap.

Don't you just love the lining fabric? You can't see it here, but it's sparkly!

Meanwhile, other people have been crafty! Here's another edition of Other People's Creations.
In case you're not familiar with this feature of my blog, I'll explain. Occasionally I like to show what other crafters are doing. They are mainly friends of mine and I do have some talented friends!

Let's start with some knitting. My daughter in law, Stephanie, always amazes me with her knitting skills. She was working on this sweater when she and Matt visited for Christmas, and recently sent me this photo of her completed project.

Wow, right? Not only is it something that can be worn, it's incredibly detailed. I haven't mastered knitting, so this to me is wonderful. As are these socks.

See, I told you she is amazing. I'd say she has a gift for knitting.

My sister, Sheila, crafted a beautiful gift for each of us at stitch day.

She made these rose ornaments out of polymer clay. Again, this photo doesn't show the real beauty of this flower. They're luminous and kind of iridescent, as well as very detailed. What a lovely gift to receive!

And all of us Sisters In Stitches were lucky to receive another wonderful handmade gift.

Thea presented us with these sweet pin cushions. She used deep red velvet fabric and a pretty button to crown the top.

This pin cushion is very solid as it's filled with a combination of emery and crushed walnut shells.

How lucky are we to receive handmade gifts? As crafters/sewers/stitchers, we all know what goes into handmade items, so it's pretty special to be gifted with something that someone made.

I hope you enjoyed seeing the craftiness of my friends and family, as well as my own! Please stop by again. I still need to find a good balance of work and working on my own creative projects. So hopefully, I'll get back to more regular posts. Watch for my Wipocalypse post coming at the end of the month for my stitching progress! Until then, have a great week!

Other People's Creations - Supersize

Usually my "Other People's Creations" feature comes in a post alongside of some of my craftiness.  But today, I am devoting this entire post to some of the most amazing creativity I've seen in the past few months.  And none of it is mine.  This post is going to be picture heavy, so get ready to ooh and aah.

First off is the quilt that Stephanie made.  Just by looking at it, you would never know that this is her first quilting project. 

Steph took a quilting class at her local quilt store and you'll have to agree that this is an awesome first project!  Great color combination and beautiful work!

She also put her knitting skills to use in making this lovely knitted blanket.

Just look at the detail.  Steph will be donating this blanket to the veteran's hospital through the afghan group at her church.  That just warms my heart.

Let's move on to a little stitching.  No.  Make that a LOT of stitching.  Peggy, one of the Sisters In Stitches, brought her latest finish to Stitch Day last weekend.  We all had to stare at it for a while.

The design is "Alpine Seasons Crossings" by Chatelaine.  I've shown photos of this while in progress, but after 20 months of stitching, it's finished.

Note the beadwork.

Detail of the center.

You know what?  These pictures don't do this beautiful work of art justice.  But it's the best I can do in this space.  Absolutely gorgeous!  And wonderful inspiration for all of us stitchers.

Last is a gift that I received for my birthday from my sister, Sheila.  You know how I love getting handmade things and this is no exception.

It's a wall hanging that she made from squares and rectangles of textured and patterned polymer clay.  Isn't it awsomely pretty?  She crafted each piece and then attached them to a canvas. 

A little close-up detail.  I can see the imprint of Spirograph wheels and cookie press discs.

Her own flower design.

An imprint of some tiny branches, a few beads, and more cookie press discs.

She used a leaf from her yard to create the imprint on the right.

Another leaf imprint and a bead.

How lucky am I to receive such a wonderful gift?  I love everything about it - the colors, the shapes, the patterns.  The Spirograph imprint is meaningful because it was one of our favorite toys as kids, and Sheila still has our Spirograph.  Every single piece!  The cookie press disc imprints are also special.  Our mom made cookie press cookies every Christmas, and we continue the tradition.  I have hung my wall hanging on the wall at the entrance to my craft room, where I'll see it each day. 

So what do you think of my amazingly talented friends' creations?  As much as I like to stitch, sew and craft, I also like to see what other crafters are doing.  It's why I follow so many different blogs.  I find it inspiring, and I hope that you found this post inspiring too.  Now get out there and craft!