just because...

devil kitten

[completed] v-day masks

his & hers

To celebrate this past Valentine's Day, our local paint pottery place threw an awesome VDay event and posted details online. Adam and I immediately registered to be one of the limited number of couples present and paid a small deposit to ensure our seat. The event featured a buy one piece get one piece half off promotion - and there was even champagne, cheesecake, and chocolate covered strawberries!

We had a lot of fun, and it was a lovely way to spend Valentine's Day together. We spent our usual ridiculous amount of time trying to decide what to paint. Adam loves Venetian masks, so when I saw two different masks available, I knew we had to choose those to paint. We decided not to consult each other on how to paint the masks, but we still (accidentally) chose very similar color schemes.

hers

The above mask is my creation. I went with a solid red background, and painted on details with little squeeze bottles of cream and black paint. My mask is supposed to be feminine - see the eyelashes on the left eye? - but not too girly. I googled a few images while my background coats were drying to get inspiration, but tried not to be too literal. Overall, I'm really pleased with my mask!

his

Adam went in another direction entirely, and made a very abstract mask. He used the same red I did for the top portion of the face, and painted the lower portion of the face pink. Then he used sponges to dab on red for the checks and used foam shapes to do the black heart and question mark. I painted on the black teardrops for him, at his request. I think his mask is super fun and whimsical, and I love the punch of black. I made fun of him for his imperfect painting, but secretly I love it.

I can't wait to be able to hang up these masks somewhere (hopefully in a new house!). I think they will look great, and will always be a reminder of a romantic yet fun date night together!

[wip] superhero granny square quilt

Today I decided to turn some of my colorful scrap squares into something real. So I stitched together a piece of Spiderman and some red, yellow and black squares into a granny square block, following this tutorial.

This is the result!

This is my first time working with so many tiny pieces (the squares finish at a mere 2 inches). It's honestly a bit tedious, but I like the result. I haven't decided how many of these granny squares I'm going to make, but I have lots of scrap squares!

tiny colorful scrap squares

piles of 2.5inch squares

 Yesterday, I decided I wanted to make another scrap quilt. I've been determined to use up my stash, and the scrap bin was still overflowing (despite making a scrap quilt already). I wavered for a long time between making a granny squares quilt or a modern scrap baby quilt. Then I realized that both quilt patterns require 2.5inch squares, so I set aside my internal disagreement about which pattern to follow and started cutting up scraps. As you can see, I have a rainbow assortment. Each color pile has at least four different prints in it, and the stacks are surprisingly tall.

so cute

I've been playing around with different arrangements of the fabrics, and I think I will start off trying to make a boy granny square quilt, using my superhero and novelty fabrics as the centers of the granny squares with rings of bright non-pink colors. But I can't decide what I want the background fabric to be - grey? I think that would work best (the only white I have is a floral tone-on-tone print, which doesn't suit this concept). I also have tone-on-tone black prints, but that might make the whole thing too jarring. So I think grey would be best - and I have enough in my stash. I am just loath to use it because I don't want to have to buy more for another quilt!

That's the drawback of only wanting to use your stash... I recommend stocking up on basic neutrals before deciding to rely on the stash alone!

[completed] scrap quilt

front of the quilt

Just now, I finished the Arkansas crossroads scrap quilt I've been working on for awhile. I'm happy that this quilt is completed - it isn't my favorite, and I'm glad to be done. Honestly, I am a little disappointed in how this quilt turned out. I was super excited when I first started cutting the fabrics and piecing the blocks, but my enthusiasm and fondness for this quilt waned as I progressed. 

detail

I still love the color palette, and the fact that so many of the fabrics are scraps from other projects that I loved making. But I'm not so fond of the border fabric, and I feel that the quilting did not lend anything special to the finished product.

detail

I had a really difficult time deciding how to quilt this one. I ultimately decided on stitching in the ditch around the squares, and then stippling inside the white fabrics. I'm not sure how else I could have quilted, but this option didn't turn out quite as I had hoped. As you can see below, I encountered some puckering. And I think that stitching in the ditch sometimes detracted from my perfectly matched points.

puckering

You can see the quilting more clearly on the back. I didn't have enough of the solid black fabric for the whole back, so I pieced it with some of the same print I used for the border on the front. I do love a pieced back.

the back

The quilting doesn't look bad, but it's a little odd. I do like the Xs that the stippling created.

detail of the quilting

All in all, this quilt just isn't my favorite. I made it with the intent to donate it, and hopefully some kid somewhere will love it!

[wip] scrap quilt

sassy and the quilt
ignore the dehumidifier in the background

Today I finished quilting my scrap quilt and trimmed off the excess batting and backing in preparation for binding. I laid the quilt on the floor (reason #87 why I always wash my quilts after completion) to measure the sides to determine how much binding I need to make. Sassy immediately decided to sit on the quilt. She loves quilts - and anything that isn't the floor.  

sassy's distain for the camera

I decided I had to snap a few shots to document Assassin's love for my quilts. Sassy and her lovely black fur is reason #88 why I always wash my quilts.

sassy's suspicion of my presence

But she's just so darn cute!