A Little Yarn On The Side

1.  When it's really cold, a white chocolate martini relaxes sore back muscles more than Valium. 2.  Always update the blog before the white chocolate martini............

Okay, I had really believed I could finish one sewing project a day this week, so I think we can tell that either the pain pills are having a lasting effect OR it's been too long since I did much sewing.  But, now on my 5th sewing vacation day, we have: finished pajamas!  I do need to tack down the facing just a bit, but want to let it hang for a couple hours before I do that.  BUT, they are done, I have used up 5 yards of fabric from the stash, and I am wearing these babies tonight because while we're maybe going to get a high of 17 degrees today, it's dropping to 2 degrees tonight.  I am beginning to hate winter.  So is Theo, whose life got even worse with the finishing of the pajamas: so I took pity on him and have the next fabric laid out for pinning,  which has cheered the Cabin Fever Kitties immensely.  Theo has barely been off of it since I laid it down.  Poor little guy--I didn't realize how much he was missing sewing. ...

Today was a sore-back day, so my goal to sew every day might fall apart today, but there HAS been knitting.  There are even pictures of the knitting.  Now if only I could remember where I put the camera, I would be showing them to you..... It's hard to say who is enjoying the cold less--myself or the cats.  Usually, they like to go out in the backyard for a bit first thing every morning.  When Andy is home, Theo believes this should be at 5:00 AM.  However, since Andy's been gone, Theo has decided sleeping in is a fine and dandy program and FAR superior to going outside with single-digit temperatures.  We're pretty unanimous in this feeling, actually.  For the first couple mornings, Theo at least wanted the option to go out when I went downstairs to make coffee, but I think he's decided that the open doors make things just too chilly, so now he doesn't even ask for the option.  Even though he's now 6, this is the first real winter he's seen with...

It's right here where I should be showing you a finished project.  And you'll notice there isn't one.  Last night I hosted knitting night at my house, and did spend a fair bit of time tidying downstairs, and since it's been extremely cold here and everyone is just recovering from the holidays, there was a lot more wine and general fun than actual knitting last night.  Killer night--but not much knitting. Yesterday I decided to kick off my sewing adventures with a scarf project I'd seen online somewhere, using some scrap yarn I have: but it looked a little too kid-craft for me.  So I ripped it out and will send the unknown yarn to my youngest niece, who has learned to finger-knit and who will probably find something to do with it.  Nice way to kill an hour of my time, but not what I had hoped for.  Oh well. I did manage to get some pajamas cut out in spite of my "help," Theo hasn't been terribly excited about the sewing room since the shelvi...

In the morning, I'll be running Andy to the airport for a work trip, and since we're having an abnormally cold snap (currently 8 degrees and sinking), nor am I to lift or do anything I would normally do, I am going to sew (if I can sit) and knit (if I can't) like a maniac while he's gone.  I'm not sure what the first project will be, but if this single-digit-temperature nonsense continues, I'm thinking something involving flannel, fleece, or wool............

Aside from buttons, there is a finished sewing project! And not just ANY sewing project:  This was my oldest sewing WIP. That's right--this dress has been AT LEAST 7 years in the making--potentially 8.  I had learned to sew in sewing 4-H as a kid and hated it, so I didn't do any sewing until I bought my first house.  Then there are all sorts of expensive-to-buy-but-easy-to-make things one needs, like curtains and that sort of thing.  I also ended a 5-year relationship, and decided I needed to do something new to take my mind off things, so I bought a cheap little sewing machine from Costco.  AND LOVED IT.  Of course, I'd forgotten almost everything I'd learned, so this dress was maybe the second or third dress I attempted, and it was just too hard for me at that time.  But it's made from a nice pin-wale corduroy (I think), and it has survived 2 moves, 2 shelving projects, and 7 years in a WIPs bin pretty nicely.  I think these are the butt...

For someone who is not a big fan of colorwork, 55 colorwork Christmas ornaments might seem like an insane challenge.  It took me three days to finish ornament number TWO:  and about an hour or two to finish one that I made up: I don't know if it's following charts or trying to manage the longer floats without having them show through the white that is so slow, but I'm hoping to get a bit better by ornament 5 or 6.  Otherwise it's going to be a long, LONG year. Thankfully, I do have lots of ornament options, and this morning I cut away the excess stabilizer from the lace ornaments, soaked them, and now they're drying on a cookie rack.  The stabilizer is made from cornstarch, so it's harmless, and I learned last year that wet ornaments are SUPER sticky so they can't be dried on a towel.  I still need to make one more piece for the light blue snowflake, and when they're dry we'll see how the 3-D ornaments work.  This is a new technique for...