3rd PIG finished....and in time for Christmas

I forgot to take a picture of the completed stocking before wrapping it up to ship, but I will when she opens it and (hopefully) hangs it on the mantle.  I really thought I would enjoy the detail work and appliqué.  Nope.  I hate all of the little pieces, embroidery, sequins and stuffing of impossibly little pieces.  Thankfully I only have one more felt appliqué kit in my stash and it is a Christmas wreath so I can wait until Fall 2014 to take on that PIG!

Working with sequins and beads on the go

I am working on the Irish Santa stocking in felt applique, embroidery and sequins.   I discovered a great way to manage my sequins and beads during this project.  Paper cupcake liners!   I put each color of bead and sequin in a paper cupcake liner.  When I am ready to take the project on the go (remember, I travel on business alot!) I can just stack them up, put an empty liner on the top of the stack and put them into the empty plastic container that I bought them in at the store.  It snaps securely but if I was packing for air travel, I would probably put a couple of pieces of tape on the top just to be sure it stays that way.

2nd PIG - neon hat and scarf

neon hat and scarf set

The hat and scarf set are completed.   The hat is a slouchy beanie and the scarf is the "no-roll" pattern.   I found the pattern for the scarf on a Google search and came across "No-Roll Scarf pattern by Gloria Dattman.   Here is the link to the pattern:
http://web.archive.org/web/20080110083436/www.knitlist.com/2005/no-roll.htm .

The hat is from Crazy Aunt Purl: http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/archives/2011/06/easy_slouchy_ha.php.   I did turn up the ribbing in the picture but that is definitely not the way to wear such a hip hat - it is designed to fit loose, slouchy and no rolling of the ribbing.

1st PIG done!

Tshirt tote bag for Solar Bears games

First PIG is completed!   I took the t-shirt from opening night for the Orlando Solar Bears and lined it with an old teal colored t-shirt (purple and teal are team colors).  After cutting off the sleeves and rounding the neckline, I took some purple cotton double quilt binding and bound the handles to give them strength.  I then turned it inside out and sewed up the bottom, again used quilt binding to give the bottom some rigidity and strength.  I cut off about 4" from the bottom of the t-shirt to make it a better size for me.   If you leave it full size, it will be a very deep bag!   I put a large grommet below one handle opening so I can thread through my wallet strap and secure it in the bag.  Love that it is completely washable and dryer safe!   I would recommend using smaller t-shirts for this project.  Next time I might sew the bottom up from the outside and fringe the bottom so you get fringe in both the outside and liner colors.  You could also then add beads in the team colors to the fringe.  Depending on the t-shirt pattern, a deeper neckline for the bag opening might be helpful as well.

Next up:  I am waiting for the felt applique kit to arrive from Amazon that I need to get done for a Christmas gift, so I am going to work on a knit hat and scarf set from my stashed yarn for the charity box.

Considering:  I woke up in the middle of the night and thought that I don't really enjoy cross-stitching as much as I did in my younger, more patient days.  Maybe I should find someone to trade cross-stitch kits for yarn or felt applique kits or fabric.....

Really! How many PIGs can one person have?

Although this is not a true revelation, I decided today that purchasing six more craft kits in two days is probably over the top ridiculous.  I have more PIGs (Projects in Grocery bags) than a reasonable person can complete in a normal lifetime.  And I went to Hancock Fabrics today to buy the notions that I need to try making a t-shirt tote bag from a free souvenir t-shirt given at opening night for the Orlando Solar Bears.  

I lots of crafty interests, including

• knit (hence the boxes of yarn in the storage unit, but I am really good at doing beanie and scarf sets for charity - 20 sets completed this year), 
• cross-stitch (lots of cute kits in the top of the closet waiting to be opened, others with the threads sorted and cloth prepped in zip lock bags, two others in progress in Vera Bradley book covers so they are easy to travel), 
• QuiltMagic (tuck and go, look of quilted wall hangings, but no sew),
• felt applique (the six kits bought this weekend), and
• piece quilt flimsies (I've given up claiming to quilt, because I hate the finishing and rarely get the PIG beyond piecing the top).

So, the purpose of this blog will be to track my completion of PIGs, UFOs,  crafty projects and anything else that consumes my time but results in a tangible output.

Cindy, Jim and Michael Crandall with Betty Buschmeyer (Cindy's mom)

Although I am writing this blog as a personal journal, if you are reading this, welcome!  My husband, Jim, is retired and we have been married for 33 years.  I have been a registered nurse for 30 years and work for a medical management company.  I travel frequently both for business and pleasure.  It seems like I am always busy but love the feeling of producing something tangible at the end of the day.   I collect PIGs and pigs (pink, cute, curly tails) in all shapes and sizes.   2014 is the year of my completed PIGs, but I'm sure I'll find a few more pigs along the way as well.