A Little Yarn On The Side

I was so excited about having today off that I almost forgot about Me Made Monday.  Probably better than forgetting that I had the day off, but I did catch it in time to wear this dress today.  The picture is a few years old, but I do know that I haven't worn this dress yet this year.  It is THE best gardening (and cherry picking) dress ever.  I'm not gardening this year, aside from a few pepper plants and two tomatoes that will probably get stunted later in the week by crazy-early 97-degree temperatures anyway, so I didn't feel the need to "save" this for later in the summer. I had a pretty exhausting week for my back, so no sewing on my day off.  However, aside from needing to trim the fringe, my first weaving project is done!!!!!!!!!!!  It's all wool, so it might not be a great scarf, but maybe it could be a table runner?  I think I caught all the actual mistakes, but there are definitely areas where my weaving is tighter or looser, and I ob...

Since I finished this on Friday,   I'm wearing it today.  I haven't even washed it yet, but I don't care.   It's new. Saturday was painfully slow at work.  It was a cold, rainy day, and the weather really affects traffic at the store.  I tuned all the ukuleles, taught myself how to properly hold a cello bow and get a sound out of the thing, practiced guitar and piano, watched some training videos, and was STILL bored.  So   Meet the new knitting project for work.   I'm using "Intense" in Cascade's Heritage Paints, and I love it.  Of course, I love MOST sock yarn.  When I bought yarn back in July, I bought some "extra" yarns and instead of logging them all in my stash, I bagged them up with little cards listing how much I paid and that sort of thing, and put them all in a bin.  One of the things that makes Cold Sheeping difficult is the lack of NEW YARN, so it was a way to surprise myself once in a while without resorti...

Andy is away this weekend, so I had my first Finishing Friday to myself since I don't know when, and the first real "alone" time since I went back to work.  And I made the most of it.  I finished the felted hat, for 400 yards--which is a BIG boost for my knitting totals this year.  Then I dug out this:  Which is over 5 yards of terry cloth someone once gave me when she decided she was never going to get around to using it.  I'm passing it along to a friend who has a new grandbaby and a new sewing/embroidery machine.  With such limited time now that I'm back to work, I had to admit that I wasn't going to ever use it either.  But I am certainly counting it as yards of fabric used or out of stash for the year, so that was an exciting boost--especially as it frees up a very noticeable chunk of space in my sewing room closet.  VISIBLE PROGRESS!  And I haven't bought anything new to fill it!.  After a bit of rest, I buckled down and fi...

Now I remember why I enjoy machine embroidery--it's fast and I can do it while doing other things.  I am still very exhausted when I get home from work, but if I get up early enough--and don't have to spend the entire time straightening out my hip--I have a couple hours in the morning before I have to leave, so I'm working on the free-standing lace and applique ornaments.  I bought this set last year or the year before, and hadn't tried all the ornaments yet, so I'm working my way through all of them.  This: turned out really well, as did this one: I like this one,  but didn't think to do the final top stitching in gold until it was too late.  So I'm making a second one this morning, WITH the gold trim.  They're slow, but I love them, and they look fantastic on the tree.  The fabric is a Christmas organza I found on clearance.  If it isn't stiff enough for this, I'll use a permanent stiffener on them because I really like how it lo...

I wore this dress today:   which turned out to be a little chilly.  I was able to close the store right at 6:00 and get out of there shortly afterwards, and had thought I might get some sewing in, but I went for a two-mile walk after dinner and that was the End of the Energy.   Not quite as bad as yesterday--after we visited a friend in the hospital, I came home and slept for two hours.  I just don't quite have the stamina for work just yet.  But that meant no sewing over the weekend.  The butterfly jacket is SO close to being done, and if I maybe got a quick dress or pair of pants cut out over the weekend, I could still reach 100 yards of fabric for the year.  Maybe even 150, right?  Because it's only May and I'm still allowed to be delusional for at LEAST 5 more months.......................

I've had the loom less than a week, have only practiced with it, and of course I'm already thinking I might need more yarn.  Because I'm insane.   This morning I got down my bag of felt-able worsted-weight wool: And in case you're thinking "Oh, that doesn't look like too much," (in which case, you are delusional and probably have stash issues OR you are just trying to be a really good friend and supportive of my madness), this would be a good time to point out that this is ONLY the worsted weight wool.  There's a whole tub of OTHER worsted-weight yarn....... and some bags with sweater quantities that we're not going to talk about just yet. So, considering I have not actually made a single thing on the loom yet, I think I have a bit of time before I run out of yarn, don't you think?

And I'm wearing the new peachskin pants.  One of these days I'm going to sit down and make a list.  I think I can still do this with 20 new/unworn items, but I'll need to find a bit more sewing time.  And more knitting time.  Who needs sleep?  Besides Theo? I did get 8 towels embroidered last week  under careful supervision: which was probably best as I hadn't embroidered in so long I was rusty and made mistakes.  I even tried a new freestanding lace and applique ornament set, and, by the way, 2 layers of tulle doesn't work very well as the fabric.  Organza might--I'll try that next time.  Cotton works well, and I'm really hoping leftover peachskin does as well:   I made two black and gold ornaments yesterday, but I didn't get one trimmed very well, so it's for the top of the tree where no one can see the little tuft of black sticking out.  I love this one.  The supervisor wasn't impressed, ...

This week we switched my days off, so I had yesterday off and am working today.  Thankfully, I return to my normal schedule next week.  I haven't quite gotten used to that schedule either, but it's closer.  I have been thinking today was Monday all morning, and no week should have two Mondays. There has been knitting, but no sewing.  I'm making a new Begonia Shawl for a friend's birthday.  Did I mention I finished the last one?  It isn't blocked yet, but it's been 85 degrees this week, so it isn't like I'd be wearing it right now anyway. I'm still really tired at night when I get home, so simple knitting works really well, and most of this pattern is quite simple--only the edging needs careful attention.  And the blocking, of course, which is why that hasn't happened yet.  Maybe Sunday?

I finished this dress a couple years ago,  but I know I haven't worn it yet because when I made it, I couldn't fit into it.  Ahem..... I can say a lot of things about the back/hip saga, but one of the biggest struggles was that I had to take pain meds with food, but they upset my stomach.  And of course, it isn't broccoli that tastes good at times like that. Cheese sandwiches do.  And, of course, weight is easier to gain than lose, and if one is just trying to have a healthy lifestyle,  it takes longer but stays off.  So you can imagine how thrilled I was this morning to be able to wear this dress: