A Little Yarn On The Side

After an 11 week absence , one is finally going to get their sewing machine back right at the time when one is too busy canning to be able to use it.

No more dog sitting! I have found the camera cord!  The new power cord for my laptop arrived! And yesterday was my 40th birthday (which explains why this update is coming today instead of yesterday) So.... I spent Sunday and yesterday crafting, and to show for it I have: a new bag for fall.  This was Jeeves's first project, and at first I thought he was having problems still, but it turns out the problems were being caused by the microsuede I used for the lining.  I added a little free-hand decorative stitching to the outside, and am really quite pleased with the results.  It's a bigger bag than I ever usually carry, but that does mean I could carry more knitting than usual, so it's really a win-win thing, don't you think? Then it was time for the true test for Jeeves, and he does seem to FINALLY be fixed.  Whoo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Someone is even happier to have Jeeves back than I am... And in another week, he might finally stop sleeping on top...

And when either: A) I'm no longer dog sitting and shuttling back and forth between two houses or  B) Myself, my camera, my camera cord, and the one laptop cord that we're now sharing are all in one location, I'll show you the bag that is my first finished project with the newly-returned Jeeves!

Not only because we finally have a picture of the socks, but also because I have figured out how to share a picture of the socks from my laptop.  This is very big news, because it means that A) the puppy has not chewed up a second cable, and B) I have figured out the Linux/Ubuntu methods of sharing pictures, which are different than the Windows/Microsoft software programs on my desktop computer.  In all other things, I really have learned to prefer Linux (especially on that money issue), but getting photos onto the blog has been a bit.....problematic.  I have been able to add them sideways or upside down, but tonight's right-side-up achievement is, perhaps, a first.  So....I will also show you the September Project of the Month which is the brown pajama top for Andy's coffee pjs, which wouldn't be quite as necessary now that I've found the missing pajama top.....except for the fact that now I can't find the extra material that I was going to piece together to ma...

What happened to the blog updates?  Well, I am dog & house sitting for friends, and in order to get ready for that, I spent Friday running errands and Saturday making salsa.  Then I wasn't here for 24 hours before one of the dogs chewed up my laptop cord, so as soon as my battery ran out, my laptop was done.  Andy ended up loaning me his cord until we can order a new one from Dell, so here I am.  Or at least as long as Andy's old laptop holds out. However, there has finally been some knitting, and the Sunshine Socks are done!!!!!!  They would be project 61, so 39 left to go and 117 days left to get there.  Theoretically, the part for Jeeves should have been shipped 13 days ago, and IF they couldn't find an even slower method of shipment than predicted, and IF the repair guy works this week and IF they bother to call me when Jeeves is actually ready and IF they actually fix the existing problems without creating any new ones, I could be embroidering i...

It's the first of September, and my totals for the year stand thus (don't you just love it when you can use an obscure old word like "thus?"): Finished projects:  60 Total skeins of yarn used:  39.1 Total yards of yarn used:  8673.5 Total yards of fabric used:  63.69 With 4 months to go, I need 40 projects, and I'm really hoping to hit 100 yards of fabric used for the year.  I would have sworn I have used up more than 39 skeins of yarn, but as there has been a lot of lace happening, that probably makes sense.  BUT..... could I at least reach 50 by the end of the year???????? And what am I doing working on a quilt????????????

A LOT of progress.  With a sidekick who is still not quite sure if he likes Bernie, I finished the last block for the Christmas quilt, sewed all the blocks together, added a small border, then swept the floor downstairs so I could do this I'm sure other people have different ways of doing this, but taping the backing onto the floor and then pinning everything onto it is the only way I don't get massive puckers in the back of the quilt.  In the future, if I were to use this quilt design again, I would make even numbers of blocks for each row--that way all the edges would end with the same color.  But, I think this is going to be a nice size, and I am STILL hoping to finish it for a Christmas gift (I know--I could have brighter ideas during the 100-projects year), so I'm going to live with it as it is.  The backing is massive because I first had tried putting together a back piece that was only slightly bigger than the quilt top....and discovered after washing it,...