Special Thanks to My Mother

It occurs to me often to always remember my roots, and where the gift God gave me was encouraged and directed: MY MOM! If it were not for her teaching and guiding me through my younger years, I would not have been offered an instructor position at Joann’s. I am SO incredibly grateful and with I could tell her how much I appreciated her pushing me. Today I just wanted to celebrate her life of creativity by sharing some things from her quilting scrapbook, which I was so blessed to have copied and passed along to her granddaughter (my daughter). She was an amazingly talented woman who gave her all until she just couldn’t any more. Take a look!

Just one page of SO many showing her color schemes for quilts, the cost of fabric and who they went to.

Local newspaper article about the quilting group she was in, and all the hard work they did to raise funds for the nursing home she and my dad were a big part of. That's my mom in the back to the far left.

Another page showing her quilting group, along with an article from the Omaha World Herald about their fund raising. She was SO frugal, that this sheet of paper probably was a left over from my dad's business back in the 70's.

Mom lived a long life and did much for many people. I could not be a prouder daughter.

My Family in the 1960's.

THANK YOU!

Mar 18 2012

iPad Clutch

Totally switched directions this afternoon after looking through the old scrapbooking stuff. Didn’t feel like cutting another bag out today, so something smaller with a lot LESS detail looked rather good. I had some awesome fabric left from another project and there was JUST ENOUGH (do you believe it?) to complete this project. There was not hardly one inch of anything left over. That’s what I’m talking about! LOL

That cute button there on the bottom left of the flap? It’s not a button! It’s a jewelry bead I found somewhere and that good old German glue is doing its work on it as we speak. That baby isn’t going anywhere! I really like the tight fit these clutch’s give the iPad. No room for a notepad, just loose papers maybe in a pocket on the inside. And one day I will figure out how to SIMPLY put the magnets on that silicone skin inside. Those things are ruthless to these hands! Any suggestion, I’m all ears.

OK, that’s probably the last blog for the week! It’s a six-day work week for me this time around, so if anything gets done in the craft room, it will be a miracle.

Happy crafting and thanks again for stopping by!

Mar 17 2012

Craft Tote Finale

Finally, the craft tote and ditty bag are completed and ready to list in the store. That’s my least favorite part because I never know what to say about it really. But thought I’d throw this photo up of the complete set!

Going into the Etsy store today.

This will make my 3rd listing today, but it’s time to get sewing again. There’s some wonderful fabrics that I found that will get worked up into this same design – yep, with ALL THOSE POCKETS!

Jan 30 2012

Father of the Bride

It’s funny how sometimes I think of projects I’ve done, and know exactly what was on TV or what was happening in the house when it was getting worked on. Well, last night will be no different when it comes to having a memory while knitting.

After spending the afternoon downstairs, ironing and knitting, Bill calls down to me and says “Father of the Bride” is on. He wanted me to come upstairs and watch it with him. OK, no problem, I adore that old movie. He, on the other hand, had never seen it. So game on, or once the old gal had one up on him as I’ve seen it a gazillion times.

The Aftermath.......

My dear one has walked both our daughters down the aisle, and he gets a chance to do it one more time this coming summer – and this movie truly moved him. He could understand every line and emotion Spencer Tracy was going through – even the nightmare of him trying to walk his daughter down the aisle. With all the conversation we enjoyed as we both sat at the dining room table discussing this movie, I will never forget what item I was working on:

Brown Sheep Limeade Tote

This project has sat for over 2 months without a stitch more done, but what a great way to get it back on the working table.

What memories are you making for yourself? Sometimes those are the biggest blessings of all. Happy crafting!

Dec 29 2011

The Ultimate Challenge (and a free knitting pattern)

While surfing around the web on Christmas, we came across the greatest and funnest Ultimate Challenge ever! Somewhere along the line, I have been blessed by being called “McGyver” and people ask me first when they are ready to throw something out if I could use it or make something out of it! So here’s the deal………
Now Seeking America’s Most Talented Crafters!!!

Are you ready to show America your unique, creative skills?

Do your friends refer to you as the “MacGyver” of arts & crafts?

Can you create, design, build and implement visually stunning
and out-of-the-box creations on the fly?

A MAJOR CABLE NETWORK & the Executive Producers of “CUPCAKE
WARS” and “HALLOWEEN WARS” are seeking Arts & Crafts Designers
for a new competition show.

Each episode will feature Arts & Crafts competitors who battle
against each other for a $10,000 prize and an opportunity to
publicly showcase their craft masterpiece!

Casting Males & Females, (18 and over) with fun and upbeat
personalities that can think on their feet!!!

If this is you, we want to hear from you ASAP!
Email craftcasting@gmail.com the following information:

-Send us your full name & contact numbers
-Tell us what city you live in
-Tell us in a short paragraph about you and your specialty
-Pictures of you and samples of your work

Here is someone’s YouTube audition. Don’t think I could actually do that. But I could sure use some help writing up an audition email!!! Any takers on that one?

Can’t leave without throwing in a free pattern. Found this lovely thing this morning and will put it into my own library – it would be perfect on the front of a handmade purse. Don’t ya think?

Click the photo and you’ll go directly to Berroco for the free pattern download. ENJOY!

Oct 29 2011

Double Diamond Prairie Cable Bag – SIXTH in Series

The gray cable ‘wine koozie’ is now completed. It came out somewhat smaller than anticipated, but it’s a good size and I’m happy with how it came out. It is listed over on Etsy (which I did first for a change). Check it out, leave me some feedback. I love to hear from each and every one of you!

Front of Double Diamond showing black shadow felting

Inside of bag - showing off its argyle innards

Cherry Blossom bag is all that’s left to line – but I feel the need to knit something horrible. Do I pick up the ice blue, the orange, or WHAT??? It’ll be a surprise.

Thanks for checking in over here – we love having you. :)

Sep 24 2011

Steeples On the Plains Handbag – Update on the 3rd Bag in Prairie Series

Team TygerLily had one LONG meeting last night. It was overdue. Do you ever have those times when you know you just need a good swift kick in the keester to get you back on the right track? I truly believe that’s why we make one fantastic team.

So to get things started on this bright sunny Saturday, the turquoise knitting just HAD to get worked on. As I said in an earlier post, when the yarn is gone, the piece has to be finished. There is no other way! Decided to take a pic of it outdoors since it’s SO gorgeous outside to get it’s ‘before’ picture.

Steeples on the Plains - The Before Pic

I wanted to try a new top edge to see how the felting would work, so hopefully you can see the last few rounds were a basic K2 P2 ribbing. Being careful not to run out of yarn on the bag itself, there was enough left to do a flip-over closure. I was absolutely going crazy with excitement over the way just the basic knitted piece came out – and the felting was about to begin. So after about 20 minutes of some hot agitation, the bag came to rest back on the WII box covered with a garbage bag. And out on to the porch for it to dry and take on the perfect boxy shape we wanted.

Steeples On the Plains - Felted and Drying on the Deck

Yeah, I know our furniture needs a facelift, but that’s a project for next spring – maybe. :) Anyway, there she sits, upside down and her tongue hanging out, soaking wet. But not for long. The K2 P2 ribbing was the perfect top edge and the flip over closure could NOT have worked out better. There is a very richly colored paisley pinwale corduroy just waiting for the gal to dry so it can become the perfect lining for what we believe to be a perfect bag.

At some point, and maybe not this weekend, we will be welcoming our 3rd in the Prairie Series: Steeples On The Plains Handbag. Excited? You better believe it! Made from 100% wool from the outlet shop at The Brown Sheep Company in Mitchell, Nebraska.

Go get a little creative yourself – and enjoy the journey.

Aug 29 2011

English Garden Bag – FREE Pattern

For the garden lovers in your life, here is a fun felted bag pattern that’s free for the taking! Found this hanging over at Crystal Palace Yarns and if this isn’t exactly what you were looking for, what is it INSPIRING you to do??? Just think of the possibilities. This bag could be the host of some incredible embelishments all made by YOU! How about Christmas? Spring? Fall? Halloween? Get inspired, get creative…….

Click on Image for FREE PATTERN

Thank you, Crystal Palace Yarns………. You inspire……..

Aug 20 2011

Prairie Land Cable Knitted Handbag – Part 2 in a Series

This project with Brown Sheep Company yarn just gets better and better the longer it gets worked on. Today was the day to take the original knitted bag from a previous post…

Knitting Completed - Photo and description in previous TygerLily post.

The original size before any altering got done was about 20″ wide and 14-1/2″ tall, and that was laying flat with no shaping. I am in love with this oatmeal color. And as I’ve said before this Burly Spun from Brown Sheep Company is a joy to work with during the knitting process.

Since there was a little time today, and the washing machine was available, the knit piece was put into a sweater bag to heat up in the washer and give it some agitation. The good kind, mind you. :)

Knitted Purse ready to 'felt'

I didn’t plan on it fitting to a tee like this, it just happened to work out. Doesn’t matter once it gets all heated up. A pillowcase would have worked too, but I could see during the agitation process exactly how much ‘felting’ had been done and if it needed more.

It took over 1/2 hour of HOT water agitation to get it even close to where I wanted it.

Upside Down Felted Bag

This picture may not look right to you, and you would be exactly right. Once he was all finished getting beat around in the washing machine, he came to rest on two cracker boxes (inside) to dry into the form desired. The bottom of the bag is about 3 inches deep. This is where he will sit until he is SO dry and formed that we can escort him down to the sewing room to give him a proper lining and handles.

To give you an idea of how much he melded together, this finished size is 16″ across and now only 9-1/2″ tall. It’s absolutely perfect. The cables softened up beautifully and are hugging themselves just a little tighter. Honestly, this is exactly what was in my head when I started this project while on vacation!

Please watch for the steps on completing this purse. It is the first in what will hopefully be a “Prairie” series of one-of-a-kind handbags. This one will be “The Prairie Land Cable Bag”, unless a better name comes along. :)

Thank you, Brown Sheep Company, for your fabulous yarns that can only inspire us knitters to do better!

Aug 14 2011

Prairie Field Cable Knit

After enjoying a marvelous week on the road, travelling across our own state of Nebraska, it’s time to dig a little deeper. We experienced something so wonderful out past Scottsbluff that it encourages me to get a little more serious about my hobby.

Visiting Brown Sheep Company is something highly recommended for anyone who is interested in textiles. The pictures in our heads of their quality production and product will not soon go away. We have no pictures to share as there were no cameras allowed in their production area. Trust us, it was incredible.

The first piece knitted was using Brown Sheep’s Burly Spun, an incredible soft and silky 100% wool in a bulky weight oatmeal color. Never have I enjoyed knitting a TygerLily creation as much as this project. And just about every inch of the two hanks purchased was used to knit this cabled bag, reminding us of the fields and prairie we enjoyed on our trip.

Prairie Field Cable

This project was knit on circular needles over 122 stitches. The base is garter stitch (on 10-1/2 US changing to 13 US for body) in hopes of having a sturdier bottom panel. It is still quite large as far as bags and purses go. The next step in the process will be to felt and form it to a workable proportion. I am hoping that the thicker bind-off at the top will add a little more thickness to the opening. But if not, there are other ways to strengthen the lip. Still thinking of the perfect lining for this, but know that it deserves to sport some leather handles. The felting should soften the cables on the front and back, and at that point it will get its final name.

For those who are wondering why WordPress, it is because we are getting serious. This is just hopefully a step in the right direction. As fun as Weebly was, discussions between my husband and myself have led us down a different path of seriousness. But even in the most serious of hobbies, there’s always going to be fun.

Please keep checking back to see what other ideas are getting worked on.