A Little Yarn On The Side

Next week, we'll be celebrating the 60th wedding anniversary of two of our very dearest friends.  Andy is making wooden wine goblets for them, and I just finished  My first attempt at a "braided" quilt!  I'm pleased with how it turned out, but it was a bit of a challenge.  Serves me right for not suing an actual pattern.  I (mostly) used some fat quarters I picked up on our trip to Victoria last year, which I think means I get to count it as planning ahead instead of "impulse buying."  We'll save that title for a few of my OTHER purchases. That makes project 63 for the year, which is ahead of schedule for 115 Finished Projects.  And one of the last projects with a real deadline, so maybe after finishing the costume I can pick a real stash-busting project.  Though, with the size of my fabric stash, that might take an entire new wardrobe..........:)

I have used some fabric!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Shocking, I know--a post AND something actually finished!  I'm making this: for a potential Renaissance fair coming up, and since I knew I had 20+ yards of white fabric, it seemed a good pick.  A really good pick, since I think it will be too hot for anything except cotton.  The dress is done, and the vest is progressing!  The pattern suggested cotton as a potential lining, so I'm using the stash of white cotton for that as well.  Let's say I'm doing it because I thought it might be cooler and NOT because it means that I don't have to locate anything else in the great fabric abyss sewing room.  I'm now ready to sew the vest lining to the vest, so more than half finished.  Then we'll be learning how to attach eyelets.  I'm not sure what to think of a new technique that comes with its own pliers, but I have many scraps and will be doing several practice runs first. Not exactly clearing up shelf spac...

True -

I blame the recent lack of blogging on Real Life, which never seems to adequately understand the need for crafting.  BUT: 1.  The garden is almost completely in!  There are a few tomato plants that got a late start which I will still plant.  Thanks to global warming, we're getting EXTREME temperatures around here in the summer (having already reached 90 once in May, which is unheard of), so if the heat strikes tomatoes at the wrong time, they cease fruit production.  So I've been staggering my tomatoes in ago, so when we get 110+ degree temperatures this summer, some of them will hopefully keep going.  2.  The last of the sparkly yarn I ordered back in December has finally arrived: I'd finally given up and deleted it out of my Ravelry stash because in my experience, being on back-order for 5 months is generally a sign it's really never going to arrive.  But, it did!  And new yarn arrived in my house without me falling off my sheep!!!...

Yesterday I shipped this leftover yarn to its new home, so in my Raverly stash (which I sincerely hope FINALLY lists every bit of yarn lurking around here), I have 316 entries IN my stash, and 111 either used up, sold, or given away.  I wish I'd started keeping track the minute I joined Raverly, because there would be a lot more "used up" entries, but 111 is pretty exciting.  It would be even MORE exciting if the sewing room wasn't still overflowing.  The fact that I could have 20 yards of something lurking in my fabric stash was a pretty big shock--even for me.  What else could be lurking in here--50 yards of blue cotton? Fabric for 28 dresses?  Jimmy Hoffa?  I have kept a spreadsheet to try to keep track of fabric (and yarn to begin with), but obviously it hasn't worked that well.  Things that I use a lot and buy in big quantities--white, black, and red quilting cotton, felt--never get listed because I am always using them but often in small a...

The last spicy spiral table runner is done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I love these, and am tremendously pleased with how they turned out, but WOW, are they complicated!  In spite of a busy 3-day weekend, I also finished the latest socks, and the second Magic-themed table runner:  58 finished projects so far this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I still have a table runner I need to finish by mid-June for another anniversary gift, but Andy has been loving the shirt I made him for Valentine's Day,  so I decided to try to make the shirt I originally bought the pattern to make.  It's been on my project list as "colorblocks peachskin shirt for Andy" for a while, so I did actually remember what the fabric looked like, but when I had Andy help me dig it out, I don't know WHAT we were thinking when we bought this.  I'd even sent a picture of it to Andy before I bought it, but looking at it yesterday, we both realized this is fabric Andy would NEVER wear.  EV...

Did I sound at all freaked out that there was a mouse under the bed?  Well, it got worse--he got into my closet! I am not a bold or exhibitionist sort of person, but if it came down to getting clothes out of a closet containing a mouse or going naked, going naked would win--believe me.  I made an unsuccessful dive (which will NOT be mentioned to the physical therapist) to head him off, but I am not the mouser I once was.  Andy stopped what he was doing and we went ON THE HUNT. Armed with a cardboard box and a plastic lid to slide under it, we found he had taken refuge by one of my old tennis shoes, so Andy slammed the box down over the shoe, slid the lid underneath it, and we hustled downstairs and outside only to find that we'd captured a sheepish-looking old nylon.  Gathering up the shoe and the old nylon, we tried again.  He darted into another part of the closet, where we caught an old hanger.  And the petticoat to my wedding dress got a lovely air...