Welcome to my blog!

Welcome to my new blog! If you are looking for someone who is chaotic, disorganized, and generally lost, you are in the right place!  If you want order and neatness, well ... you are gonna need to move on.  My brand of chaos may make you cringe.  :)

So, I'm new to blogging, which means that the format of this blog will probably change radically over time as I borrow ideas from smarter bloggers than myself.  Besides, it'll be easier to rearrange this blog than to rearrange my bedroom.  

I love to craft, so it makes sense to me to start by sharing a recent craft project for which I have pictures.

I found a project in the magazine "Quilts and more" from Winter 2012 for a No-Sew Wreath.  I liked it, but didn't move to make one until similar wreaths started popping up on Pinterest.  

Now, if you've never been on Pinterest ... Wait, is that even *possible*??  Honestly, Pinterest is flatly addictive.  I can't figure out why, but it is.  Don't go there.  Really.  If you go, you don't get to blame me.  :)  I warned you.  >.>

So, the wreath is all over Pinterest, and my magazine, so I figured I'd give it a go for fall.  A visit to Hobby Lobby at the end of October netted me a pack of brown fat eighths, a pack of orange fat eighths, and a pack of red and orange fat quarters.

Wow, eighth is one weird looking word.

Instructions are something like this: cut all the fabric into strips (the magazine suggested 1/2inch by 5inches), tie them onto a wire wreath form, and enjoy.  It is suggested to use pinking shears to cut the strips so they don't unravel.

Reality is more like this: 

1. Discover that finding a pinking blade for my rotary cutter ain't gonna happen, so hand cut all that fabric with 30 year old pinking shears.  
2. Well, 30 year old pinking shears hand out blisters, so only cut a little at a time, mainly while sitting in a parking spot in downtown waiting for a child to get off work.  Reward is a lap full of fabric bits.
3. After 3 weeks of cutting, decide that measuring is for "the birds" and "eyeballing it" is okay.
4. Once all the strips are cut, throw them around the floor in some strange celebration that only fabric lovers can grasp.  My husband is clearly not a fabric lover.
5. Pick up the wire wreath form to realize that it is a 14" circle with four lanes of traffic.  Four.  Wait, seriously, I gotta fill **4** channels.
6. Start tying.  Realize you can't ignore the colors by grabbing fabric willy-nilly.  Fight the urge to go OCD.  Throw more fabric around.
7. Keep tying.
8. Celebrate when a channel is done.  Do steps 6 and 7 three more times.  I recommend tossing fabric bits from time to time to keep the family on their toes.  I mean, after all, mom might be crazy so let's all "get along" with her.
9.  Buy "The Avengers" so you can tie strips while being entertained.  So. Much. Eye. Candy. Wow.
10.  Finish final tie, fluff, stand back, and enjoy.
11.  Give husband the stink eye when he says, "the colors are muddy from the road so you can't see all the colors used." 

So, here's some pictures of the wreath I made.

I really thought it turned out pretty well, despite the fact that I ignored the suggestion of "always make sure the right side of the fabric is up".  I got tired of that one pretty early on.  

I also lucked out and found some fall-type picks in storage from 15 or so years ago, and put them in place around the wreath.  Unfortunately, most of the picks were broken, so not much to choose from.  (And I was feeling too cheap to go buy more.)

My husband said that the deep red pumpkin is the easiest to see from the road, so I kinda wish I'd had more. I really did enjoy making the wreath, although I almost gave up about 3 weeks in.  The pinking shears weren't doing my right hand any favors.

I thought I'd give you a little close up so you can see what to do better.  In other words, don't be like me. :)  Still, I really like it.


So, I triumphantly put the wreath on my front door on November 24th, almost 1 full month after buying the materials.  And, to my dismay, my 16yo (who decorates our house for Christmas), took it down on November 30th.

6. Days.

Well, there's always next year!  That is, if I can find it.  This is what chaos looks like in our household.

Blessings,
Kimberly, the Joyful Mom