Here are my bags! I decided to make these when my mom discovered 600+ plastic bags i kept "meaning to recycle" under my sink while helping me clean my apt. She threw them away and i almost threw up. all that plastic. from then on, i vowed to myself i'd never bring home another damned plastic bag. then, i looked up tutes on craftster and i was hooked on this pattern! I decided the most i would need at one time was 5... and that's because i only go shopping every 2-3 weeks.

I also had an aha! moment trying to figure out this bag, which, i had with the Jordy as well. the tutorial was amazing once i wrapped my head around it! i accidentally sewed up the handles with no holes for your hands. oops! you really are an inventive chica, though. i used them at kroger 2 days ago and they held SO much, and the bagger didn't blink an eye when i said i had my own bag.

i was having a hard time with the french seam, so i just made a little bias tape out of my lining and covered the raw edge at the bottom with that. as you can see, my bags are black and white patterned outside with bright solids on the inside. i got all of my fabric at joanns... unfortunately the closest nice fabric store is Paducah, KY about an hour and 15 mins away

i made sure to make some with "boy" colors and patterns too so maybe i can con my bf into using them

thank you so much again!

many moons ago, i completed a quilt, far exceeding my expectations of awesomeness. it was, the mario quilt of 2004 (http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=11325.msg88387#msg88387). i submitted it to craftster not thinking anyone would really undertstand my quirkiness, my humor in the old meets new... but from there it seemed to sort of spark a following?? of sorts, and inspired many a craftster in their quilting and thinking outside the box. for that, i am happy and flattered that so many thought it was such a great idea and wanted to try out the technique for themselves!

but here's the problem.



this has been its home for the past, oh... 2 years. my tastes have changed and while i still think it's super rad, it doesn't go with my decor and it just doesn't fit anywhere.

so my question is, what shall i do with this piece of art? i really love it and it would take a lot for me to sell it, seeing as though i consider it my proudest creative achievement... but it really doesn't do any justice at all sitting in my hall closet. does anyone have any ideas at all?

my favorite movie ever... now in t-shirt form! my first stenciled project. the letters and hearts were painted freehand, mainly because cursive is so hard to do as a stencil and i added the hearts as an afterthought.

i got some of these knitting counter rings for christmas, and while making a belt i looked at them and thought, they'd make a great tiny belt! so i put the tiny belt on my wrist

http://www.puppies-and-rainbows.net/crafts/DSC01543.jpg

i got some of these knitting counter rings for christmas, and while making a belt i looked at them and thought, they'd make a great tiny belt! so i put the tiny belt on my wrist

http://www.puppies-and-rainbows.net/crafts/DSC01543.jpg

wow. just, wow. i cannot believe all the compliments i've gotten over just this dumb thing i appreciate them soooo much, you guys!

to answer all your questions... (sorry i haven't really posted anything... i've had some personal issues in my life to deal with)

Were the small squares difficult to work with?
- yes and no. once i got the hang of it and got a rythm going, it was a piece of cake. yes, very tedious cake.

How are you planning to bind it?
- this is how it looks as of now:







as you see, i binded it in black with about a 1 inch binding.

How much you think a work like this would cost if you were to sell it (if i were a gazillionaire I'd convince you to sell it to me!)?
- wow, i couldn't even put a price on it, i don't think. materials alone, i'd say about $200-250. but i am quite attached to it and also the labor i put into would have to factor in!

Is it hand quilted or machine quilted?
- machine, on a sweet sixteen machine.

How did you map out all of the colors ... or did you find it somewhere?
- i found the screencap on a website somewhere, then made a grid on PSP 8 to "map" it all out (each little block on the grid was 1 inch). its all very mathmatical. but all the colors were already picked on the screencap for me.

I have Paint Shop Pro 7, but I am not very familiar with using it.  How exactly did you graph out the picture so that it printed so nicely?
- i wish i remembered EXACTLY how i did it :| i don't though. i know it had something using the graph and grid properties, screencapping the whole thing (print screen key) and graphing it again.

Could you do the same thing to just about any picture - or was it just because Mario was a video game to begin with?
- you could really do it with any picture (heck, look at Chuck Close!), but i found Mario would be the easiest. plus, i really found humor and became almost obsessive in taking a virtual character and making it into something tangible. i really dig that.

Also, did you have to change the amount of colors in the picture or did you just go with what the print out gave you?
- i went almost exactly to what the print out gave me, i wanted it as close to the real thing as possible.

Besides who doesn't like mario?
- lame-os.


why couldn't you strip quilt it
- too difficult. there was no real pattern to where the blocks were going to go, and i really didn't want the headache from trying to figure out a non-randomized pattern to strip quilt it, either. plus, i kind of like using the long way, sometimes
 
how are you going to back/batt it
- i used a red to back it and used a thin cotton to batt it. it's really nice, but not too fluffy!

what kind of fabric did you use
- cotton solid, mostly moda because i got a discount working at the shop and got to use the nice stuff

what's the total size of the quilt?
-i believe it is 6 feet by 8 feet. that was the size i was aiming for, at least. i haven't measured it since completion. (maybe i should?)

Are you going to use it?
- yes, it is currently draped across my papasan chair, once i get the binding ALL done (still need to hand sew in parts) it will be used as a blanket. my friend bonnie was like "why don't you hang it on a wall?" i thought, that's boring, that's not what quilts are made for! i'd rather enjoy it and wear it in


again, thank you all SO much for the compliments and sweet comments! wow, i can't believe it. you guys are great! i love craftster

UGH! FINALLY!! my mario quilt is complete. i started working at my aunt's quilt shop this summer and have been quilting for quite a few years (started when i was 16, i am now 19) and the environment i was in all summer totally rubbed off on me. i NEEDED a huge project to accomplish. i needed to quilt. i got the itches, so to say! i just finished the top tonight and i am going to quilt it tomorrow on my aunt's sweet sixteen longarm... but i wanted to post pics of it before quilting so i can show the back! it is insane. i used tiny 1 1/2 inch pieces for everything. and i couldn't strip quilt it, either. anyway, for my quilt i wanted something fun and kitchy, and not so much grandma-y. i also think making quilts out of pictures is toatlly cool. so, i was thinking... pixels would be the best route to start out with. and who better than our pixelated friend MARIO to be featured?? so i went online for some screencaps of games, then graphed the picture out into pixels on Paint Shop Pro 8. the rest, is history.










how big the squares were, compared to my hand.


graphed out picture of what i wanted the quilt to look like.


the remnants of my squares.

anyway, although it was time consuming (took me over 3 months), it was really simple once i graphed it all out. i laid out the squares for the specific block i was working on on the table next to my machine, and i picked them up as i went along. you should all try it and see how it goes! just make sure all your seams match up