OPAM Catch-Up

I've been slacking off on the reporting of my OPAM finishes.  It's not that I haven't done anything since May, just that I've mostly been on Twitter instead of blogging so I tweet my finishes and never get around to actually posting about them on here.  So today I'm going to make up for that and catch ya'all up on what I've done this summer!

Eeyore cross stitch, June

In June I finished this fun cross stitch.  It was more straight stitching that actual cross stitching, but it was still really fun.  Marshall was really excited when I told him I was making it for his room.  He has the "E is for Eeyore" one hanging on his wall currently.  He loves Winnie the Pooh, and I fell in love with this simple design when I saw it at the store.  Now all I need to do is find a frame that will fit it (it's kind of a weird size) and actually hang it on the wall.  But at least the hard part is done!

Birds Nest necklace, August

I kind of took July off.  I figured I could take 1 month off out of the year, since I know I'm going to be getting things done all the way up until December, what with Christmas and all.

Strawberry pin cushion, August

In August we hosted a day retreat for Salem Days and did all sorts of fun crafts, projects, and sewing things.  We learned how to do the hexi flowers for a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt, we made pincushions, pin holders, burned edge flower pins, birds nest necklaces, and even learned how to make awesome (and easy!) cinnamon rolls.  It was a lot of fun.  Lunch was included, too, and we had lots of trunk shows.  I promise some day I'll actually post about it.  I took a ton of pictures, just haven't gotten around to actually posting yet.

Magnetic Pin Ring, August

 In September, Mike said that I had too much fabric and couldn't buy any more until I depleted my stash a little.  I'm sure it has nothing to do with the 85+ yards of fabric I came home with one day after a $2/yd sale at our local quilt shop.  So, I reorganized my fabric, crafts, WISPs, patterns, and sewing area into something cleaner and more manageable (I now have 24 plastic Sterilite drawers full of fabric, WISPs, and notions).

Bambi soft book, September

I decided that since I had purchased fabric to do a whole bunch of different projects, I'd better finish those up first.  I made 6 quilt tops (but since they aren't quilted and bound they don't count yet) for Marshall and baby.  I finished a quilt top that I thought I had thrown away years ago!  I finished the quilt top I had made for a Mother's Day present (now to get it quilted for Christmas).  I had a random Honey Bun of fabric and sewed it into a quilt top for baby.  I also finished the quilt top and the bag for the Above All Fabric quilt along this past spring.  I found a panel of fabric I had bought to make one of those softy books and whipped it up in about 30 minutes (Bambie, see photo below).  I actually felt pretty productive in September, even though I didn't get a ton finished completely.

Above All Fabric bag, September

I also whipped up a table cloth for our kitchen table, with matching napkins, from a random layer cake that I had lying around.  It's super cute, and I love the bright colors.  I happened to even have some yardage from the fabric line, so it worked out perfectly for me!  I designed and made a mail holder to hang on the wall, too, but it's not quite done yet, so I can't count it.  Maybe next month!

Napkins, September

This month, I've felt added pressure to get things done.  With the holiday season quickly approaching, I know that my personal schedule isn't going to be as open as I'd like.  I'm also worried that when the baby comes I won't have anything ready for her.  What if she comes early?  That's my big concern.  If she comes early, she won't have any quilts, my glider won't be finished, I won't have curtains hanging in the room.

Table Cloth, September

So, as a result, I finished recovering the cushions for the glider we bought back in June at a yard sale.  I bought it from my sister-in-law, Jana.  We had big plans for it.  We were going to totally redo it, but time management got the better of us and all we really accomplished was repainting it black.

finished glider & cushions, October

The cushions have been sitting in the middle of my living room floor for several months.  This week I finally decided to tackle the dang things!  I ripped them apart, made a paper pattern, and quickly pieced together new cushions.  I used Joel Dewberry fabric (that I've had since June!!), reinforced with medium weight interfacing.  On the back cushion I just re-inserted the original cushion with several layers of batting for added padding.  On the bottom cushion I bought a piece of 2 inch foam and squished it in there.  The bottom cushion didn't turn out perfect, but it sure is comfortable!

Floor Pillow, October

I put the whole glider back together last night and it didn't fall apart when I sat in it, so that is definitely a good thing!!  While I was testing it out, I decided that I needed an ottoman or something to put my feet on.  Glider ottomans are Ex-Pen-Sive!  So, what I decided to do was to make a floor pillow instead!  I used this awesome tutorial from Living with Punks (eliminating the handle, since I won't be needing to move it around much).

Yoshi Slug, giving up his guts

When it came time to stuff the thing, I realized that rather than rip into my new bag of stuffing, I could just rip apart Yoshi Slug and use all the stuffing that was in him.  It worked out perfectly!  I even had a little left over, which I shoved into my newer stuffing bag.  Now Yoshi Slug is tucked away neatly in a drawer, not taking up very much space, and the floor pillow is finished.

Marshall was pretty excited when he woke up this morning.  He came running into our room shouting "What's this round thing that matches my chair?  Is it for me to sit on?!"  He then spent the next ten minutes bouncing around his room on the floor pillow.  Glad it's getting some use already!

I have big plans for November, as it quickly approaches.  I'm hoping to actually get several quilts for baby, and other family members, finished, quilted, and bound well before Christmas.  I know, it probably won't get done, but at least it's in my plans!