Happy 144th birthday to the greatest country I know.
(Today is TUSAL day, but I will post my picture tomorrow.)
I think that it is interesting that the quilt shop just down the road from me closed right around when I started getting interested in sewing. (It is now a Wind Mobile store.) I took it a wee bit personally, but, you know, not everything in the world is about me. (Hard as that is to believe. 😉 )
Today, just after I started feeling comfortable offering my bags to people, I found out that the FabricLand I most often patronize is going out of business. (And being replaced with a Dollarama, no less. And it is in a fairly upscale neighbourhood. What a weird world.)
Sale, Sale, Sale
I was good and went only for zippers, thread and some pink broad cloth. But, I was bad and came home with buttons and some other fabric too. Still I spent a fraction of what I would have, and I have plans for all of it.
I happened to run into Darlene of Craftkitten while I was there. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to talk long since I wasn’t feeling my best, and she was near the front of the line.
So, do I take the closing of yet another fabric store as a sign? I mean, two of my regular shopping spots closed, and a car drives through the window of the third while I’m there… It is enough to make someone stop and think. But, thankfully, with all these closing sales I’ve got a big enough stash to keep me going for a little while. At least until the fall Creativ Festival anyway. 😉
Trying to rhyme pyramid and red is about as bad as trying to rhyme again and men (which I’ve come across in a few of the little man’s books). Thankfully, my sewing skills are better than my attempts at poetry.
Pyramid Bag
I made another pyramid bag, this time as a gift for Erica of Erica’s Places. The inside is lined with plain red fabric, and that is a handle drooping down there on the right. This one is much larger than the wee one I made before. Of course, I didn’t measure the finished bag, but the fabric I started with was 11″ x 22″. I used the same tutorial as before, which can be found here.
I think it is time I made one of these for myself…
I have a confession: I didn’t stitch one of my pre-picked ornaments this month. When I went through my pile of designs, I decided I really didn’t want to do the one I picked out of the 2007 Just Cross Stitch ornament issue. It no longer appealed to me. So, I dug out that issue and took another good look through it. I had forgotten that I had already stitched several ornaments from that particular issue, so the pickings were a wee bit slim. I ultimately settled on this lovely little design:
Fill With Love by Cathy Jean (Victoria Sampler)
This is Fill With Love from Designs by Cathy Jean/Victoria Sampler. I used the DMC conversion, rather than the silks. It is stitched on 36 count linen I got from Annette of Annette’s Acre in exchange for providing her with some yummy Canada chocolate bars.
Next month I’ll be back on track with my pre-chosen ornaments. Maybe… 😉
I really do do more than stitch smalls and knit socks. Right now I’m on a bit of a shawl kick.
Moor Shawl (WIP)
First, I’m knitting the Moor Shawl by Jen Hansen (Raverly link) using some lovely silver silk yarn from Shall We Knit. It is actually made from silk that is sourced from the leftovers of a luxury goods manufacturing process. Ravelry lists it as light fingering, but I’m thinking it is a bit heavier weight then that. And I have to say that I love it, and I love the colour. It is so me!
Crocheted Lace Triangular Shawl - wip (two flowers complete)
The second shawl, which isn’t very me, is the Crocheted Lace Triangular Shawl by Sirdar Spinning (another Raverly link). I actually ordered the pattern from the UK because I felt this huge urge to make this shawl. I have no idea why, since I tend to look terrible in green, but I’m on my way and I hope it will look great on me (or someone I know) when it is finally done. The yarn I’m using is Sirdar Duet, in the same colour as the model. How unusual for me!
Felicity Shawl - wip (nearly three blocks complete)
And the last shawl is Felicity by Christie Pruitt (a Knit Picks link this time, although it is also available on Ravelry). This is a really neat shawl, using a knitting technique called entrelac (which I’ve done before), but in crochet. I’m using Mary Maxim Bamboo Soft Stripes yarn in colourway Deep Blue Sea, and it is turning out so drappy and soft. I love it!
And I’m sure you all are wondering what happened to my obsession with knitting socks. (Yeah, right!) Well, never fear, there are more socks on the horizon.
Portland Gussets Socks - wip
Socks, socks, socks. Sometimes it seems all I ever knit is socks.
Blueberry Bubbles by Thayer Preece
These are from the pattern Blueberry Bubbles by Thayer Preece. The yarn is a hand-dyed from a company called Yarn Hollow (link to etsy shop). She calls this yarn Summer Love, but the base is Panda Cotton, one of my favourite non-wooly sock yarns. The colour is, not surprisingly, called butterscotch.
Blueberry Bubbles (both cables)
These socks were a fairly quick knit. The pattern was a bit vague is some places, but overall I was able to follow it without any problems. I just wish that it had had separate charts for the left and right leg. The chart worked perfectly for the left leg, but I had to mentally add a stitch at the end of the right leg (less confusing than it sounds, especially once the pattern was established). It also would have been nice if the four row bubble cable and the travelling stitches were more mathematically compatible (by that I mean, I would have liked to know I was on row 4 of the cable every time I hit, say, row 16 of the travelling stitches chart).
Blueberry Bubbles - cables close-up
Would I knit this pattern again? Absolutely, especially since these socks aren’t for me. Next time they will be for me, and I’ll probably be using this lovely yarn:
Dye-Version Bamboo Stretch Sock (sky colourway)
My little guy loves to lure me over to the computer so he can sit on my lap while he plays games or messes around with the webcam. Of course, that means Momma is has a lot of time to sit and work on something small. And, for the past few days I’ve being stitching Mill Hill kits.
Pumpkin Man from Mill Hill (wip)
As you can see, something is missing. Beading at the computer with a pre-schooler on my lap wasn’t something I was willing to try, so Mr. Pumpkin Man is just going to have to wait a little while for his beads.
Holiday Stamp from Mill Hill (wip)
I haven’t made as much progress on this piece. I’ve started dividing my time between knitting a pair of socks and stitching this. But, I really love this design. In fact, I love nearly all of the holiday bead kits that Mill Hill has released this year. My wish list for them would probably be shorter if I listed the ones I don’t want. 😉 Unfortunately, my LNS doesn’t usually get in the larger button designs, and fortunately, the Canada Post strike prevents me from ordering the ones I want.
Hopefully I will be able to get these designs finished and beaded by the end of next week. But, now that I’ve finally got the computer up and running correctly, I really need to finish up my last work assignment (half of which I lost in the crash).
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