Archive for March, 2009
Pattern Workshop at Unravel
Monday, March 16th, 2009
Class Announcement!
I’ll be teaching at Unravel here in Las Cruces on March 28
(Check with the shop for time and fee.)
We’re going to work through the Textured Circle Shrug from Glam Knits: 25 Designs For Luxe Yarns
You can choose any worsted weight yarn (including any of the new cottons, linens, hemp, or blends at the shop) to make this a great accessory for those of us who live in the desert!
Posted in Book Talk, events | No Comments »
Tweed Coat Collar Tutorial: finished
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
Here’s what the collar looks like when it’s all finished. You can see how it curves around the neckline and even has a little height to the fabric at back neck.
TA-dada-DA.
Sorry if my rugged patio is distracting! I took the photos for today’s post outside because now that it’s nice weather, Mazie wants to be outside ALL THE TIME. I’m encouraging it!
AND…Here’s where I am on the crochet rug. It’s only about 2 feet long, so I need to keep going. I’ve got a lot of these fabric strips, but they may not all go together colorwise. We’ll see.
The whole point of crocheting this rug is to get rid of junk lying around (fabric strips) and save $$. BUT. I’m looking at the colors in this rug and wanting a new set of towels for the big bathroom. Hold me back. Maybe I can somehow add some of these colors to the towels we already have?
Posted in crochet, tips and tricks, Q&A, Bring Back the Zen | No Comments »
It’s cloudy here!
Monday, March 9th, 2009
…and yes, that deserves a blog post! It’s title-worthy!
We get about 360 days of sun in this part of NM, so I really relish these cool, cloudy days.
I’m making a chicken / black bean / rice / tomato / cilantro / onion / garlic soup in the crock pot and doing laundry. Mazie’s taking a little nap.
It’s quiet, cloudy, cool, and the house smells of soup and clean clothes! I’ve got the windows open and there’s a breeze and lots of birds are chirping. I’m so effing COZY I can’t stand it. It’s cozy with a little tinge of rainy-day melancholy.
I started working on a new rug for the bathroom. The one we have now is made of recycled saris, and little threads of silk are everywhere. (It’s been through the washing machine many times.) Mazie has been spotted eating these threads…so I’m putting it elsewhere.
The new rug is (going to be) crocheted. I used to make a ton of braided rag rugs, and have lots of strips of fabric. Crocheting seems like a more direct method of construction. No braiding. No sewing huge braids together.
This is about an hour’s work.
I don’t have a pattern, I just chained about 10 sts, then dc and turn, sc into each st of chain. Then at each end, I do 2sc in every-other ch, to turn the corners smoothly. (In other words, I’m winging it.)
My hands are a mess right now, aren’t they? I’ve been stressing the last few days and my eczema is in full effect. And I’m biting my nails. I can stop biting them for months at a time, then something triggers it again. If I file them down all smooth, I can usually stop. I read someplace the nail biters are perfectionists. Which is why we / they bite. Can’t stand any jagged edges. I think it’s nerves, more than anything.
Posted in crochet | 2 Comments »
BOOK SIGNING AT UNRAVEL TONIGHT!!
Saturday, March 7th, 2009
I’ll be signing copies of Glam Knits at Unravel tonight, starting at 5:30.
Posted in Uncategorized, events | 1 Comment »
Knitting last night and Mazie and Mommy…on our own today!
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
Last night I got together with a couple of girlfriends and knit.
And here’s the start of Cindy’s Reclamation scarf. She strung semiprecious stones onto beading floss and is adding them into her scarf as part of her Project Spectrum project. It’s going to be really neat. She’s knitting it with sock yarn on 3s.
Here Kathryn and I are modelling our Lemongrasses (this was actually the week before last week):
Today my mom seems to have Mazie’s cold. We usually get up and have breakfast, then go over to Grandma’s and hang out, but today…we are on our own.
My mystery quilt is over there, so we’re finding other stuff to keep us busy.
So far, we have:
Had breakfast, had lunch with Daddy, done a load of laundry, made our beds, started to sort the folded laundry so we can put it away…all while listening to the kids’ XM radio station.
This station is so cute. If you have XM radio (we get this station through the satellite TV) and kids, you should give it a try. Mazie is a real music person, and she loves to listen to the silly songs and sing and dance.
I’d still like to make it to the PO and maybe the health food store. We’ll see.
Posted in just chit chat, Patterns | No Comments »
Quilt in a bag…now with chart!
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
I’m working on a quilt that I had cut out several months ago. I even stacked all the pieces in twos, ready to be stitched together.
Yesterday I got all my two-piece stacks sewn up, but when I laid them out I couldn’t figure out how they were supposed to go.
I searched all over my office yesterday and I can’t believe it, but I found the chart!
Tomorrow I’m going to lay all the pieces out again and see if I can make sense of this.
(I’m still on knit-vacation.)
Posted in sewing | 1 Comment »
More sewing
Monday, March 2nd, 2009
Yesterday I put the batting and back on my quilt, and even got the whole thing hand tied! WAHOO!
I think it will be a good gift.
Today, I cut out and started assembling ten little sunhats.
Last year, I made Mazie and her friend Sylvie each sunhats similar to these (with different fabric and less streamlined) and people wanted to buy them off the girls’ heads. SO…this spring I want to be prepared and actually have a few on hand. A few might end up on etsy, too. The hats are completely reversible from reds to blues, and are all Anna Maria Horner fabrics from fabricworm.
The last couple of weeks have been full of deadlines, so it’s nice to not be so email-focused and calmly sit and sew.
The big news is that my FIL is out of ICU and it looks like they are heading back home this week. WHEW!
Mazie is doing better, she’s still got her cold but it seems to be clearing up.
Not much happening, which actually feels GREAT!
Posted in sewing | 3 Comments »
A day in which I do not knit…
Sunday, March 1st, 2009
Mazie woke up at 7 am today! Usually she sleeps until at least 8, if not 9 or 9:30. But she doesn’t feel very well. She’s got a runny nose and a cough. We took her to Urgent Care today just to make sure it isn’t bronchitis or pneumonia. It isn’t. Just a cold. She’s asleep now, poor little thing.
Here she is yesterday doing the sign she made up for “guitar”…she holds one hand out and with the other one she strums her belly.
I’m not knitting today, after the hubub of the last few hours I’m not even looking at yarn. Well, I have to look at it because I’m basically surrounded by it…but I’m not looking at yarn longingly. I might even be shunning yarn.
Next weekend is two really good freinds’ baby shower. And I want to make something special. SO. Remember back when I was quilting? I’ve decided to finish one of the tops that I started and give it to the new baby.
Here are the life stages of this quilt so far:
Pile of partially-assembled strips and squares:
Top:
Cutting the batting:
I found a really cute automobile-themed flannel for the backing. It’s Mazie approved, so I think New Baby will like it, too.
