A Little Yarn On The Side

Yesterday I got up at 6:00 and took a 3-mile walk before work as it's been so hot that our after work walks are impossible for me right now.  Then I had a super busy day at work and didn't even leave the store until 7:00, so there wasn't any crafting at all yesterday.  I did  remember Me Made Mondays and wore the crop pants that match this jacket, of which I don't seem to have any pictures.  It's supposed to cool off a bit soon to something under 95 at least, so maybe I'll get to wear the jacket soon.  Finding enough things I've made to wear something new every Monday isn't really a problem, but the 20 NEW ones is a bit challenging.  So far, nine things have been new.  I think I need to step up the sewing a bit.  There are a few unworn scarves and shawls, but it's already 97 degrees in the first part of June, so I don't think there are going to be any knitted items for a while. Why does it always seem like my life boils down to: must craft f...

So Theo has figured out what Fridays mean and when they occur, because he's with me as soon as I wake up.  And we certainly did a lot.  We hooped some embroidery, furred up a table runner, and spent a lot of time trying to figure out which thing to lay on to be MOST in the way.  The poor cat--he was up and down on to this piece of fabric, then that one, but I have discovered that 3 projects is the optimum number to make sure that I have access to at least ONE at any given time.  So, I finished two new ornaments, got the rest cut out, and then plopped them in the sink to remove the stabilizer.  (Theo doesn't care much for that part).  I also got a table runner finished yesterday,  and prepped a second that I just finished up this morning, and got this ready for hemming: It's a simple table runner on a woven poly-cotton blend that ravels like crazy, but I bought this fabric at least 2 years ago with this exact project in mind, but had n...

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.......................