I know it's been a long time since I blogged. I did try one day last week, but I could not get into my account. I figured it was some Google problem, not mine, but then I got busy again, and, well, another week has come.
As the title suggests, I have recently refound my love of knitting. I have knit off and on over the years, usually off, but when Lori was here in July, I watched her knitting and it rekindled a long-sleeping desire to knit something by hand. Due to my hate of being cold, I decided I would knit a cardigan to keep me warm during the cold winter months as I type. I found a cute pattern, some yarn on sale, and bravely began. I started the back of this cardigan AT LEAST 10 times. I kept goofing it up, dropping a stitch, forgetting where I was, not liking how it looked. ARGH! That is the reason I go off knitting so frequently. I can't get anything accomplished.
But this time I perservered and the back, tada!, is finished. I am currently working on the left front. Now, whether or not this sweater will be done by cold weather remains to be seen, but I am determined to at least finish it sometime. One of the reasons why I am enjoying the knitting this time is that I have taught myself to knit in the Continental or left-hand method.
I should say I had a sort of Continental style before, but it never felt like I was doing it right, and, well, my fears were confirmed when I looked on You Tube and found a fabulous video of a knitter knitting in Continental style. Why, I said to myself, that looks nothing like what I do. I watched said video several times, attempted knitting, watched again, and finally got the hang of it. It is slow going at first, but if you keep doing it, it becomes more natural, and it is so much faster than American knitting. (It hurts me to say that. I should call it Canadian knitting. Just kidding, just kidding. Don't get out the lynch mob, kids.)
I am posting a link to the You Tube video, but not a picture of my knitting. No, I will keep you in suspense for that until the sweater is finished. Hopefully that's in a few weeks, but, please, people, don't hold your breath. I will not be responsible for any knitting-related fatalities.
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=XuRLFl36tDY
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
The Nest is Empty
Gary and I have been empty-nesters for about a month now. There are some good things about it, and some bad things about it. Here are my top ten lists of the good and the bad about empty-nesting.
Top Ten Good Things About Being an Empty-Nester
10. The house is peaceful and quiet.
9. Eric's room stays very clean.
8. I can get all the laundry finished for the week in two loads.
7. The phone doesn't ring as much.
6. A small roast lasts us nearly a week.
5. I never lie awake at night listening for the sounds of kids coming home.
4. On Sunday afternoons there's two couches available for a nap, no waiting.
3. I can't remember the last time I changed a diaper.
2. The TV can be on CNN for a long time and nobody complains.
1. Going out for dinner costs less for two.
Top Ten Bad Things About Being an Empty-Nester
10. The house is way too quiet.
9. I can't hear Eric singing in his bedroom.
8. I don't do much laundry, so I can't justify a new washer and dryer.
7. We get more phone calls from telemarketers than anyone else.
6. A small roast lasts us nearly a week.
5. I get woken up at night by the sound of my own snoring.
4. Sometimes Sunday naps start before church is even over.
3. I can't remember a lot of things.
2. I think we watch CNN too much.
1. Going out for dinner costs more for two now than it used to for five.
Top Ten Good Things About Being an Empty-Nester
10. The house is peaceful and quiet.
9. Eric's room stays very clean.
8. I can get all the laundry finished for the week in two loads.
7. The phone doesn't ring as much.
6. A small roast lasts us nearly a week.
5. I never lie awake at night listening for the sounds of kids coming home.
4. On Sunday afternoons there's two couches available for a nap, no waiting.
3. I can't remember the last time I changed a diaper.
2. The TV can be on CNN for a long time and nobody complains.
1. Going out for dinner costs less for two.
Top Ten Bad Things About Being an Empty-Nester
10. The house is way too quiet.
9. I can't hear Eric singing in his bedroom.
8. I don't do much laundry, so I can't justify a new washer and dryer.
7. We get more phone calls from telemarketers than anyone else.
6. A small roast lasts us nearly a week.
5. I get woken up at night by the sound of my own snoring.
4. Sometimes Sunday naps start before church is even over.
3. I can't remember a lot of things.
2. I think we watch CNN too much.
1. Going out for dinner costs more for two now than it used to for five.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Forgotten Treasures
Today I was cleaning the kitchen and decided the little table I have in there needed a fresh tablecloth. I went to my drawer of tablecloths just thinking I would get out the plain dark green one when my eye was caught by some pretty 30's fabrics, and suddenly I remembered the tablecloth I had made a few years ago out of 30's fabrics. I wanted to make a Lone Star tablecloth, but I wanted it to lay nice and flat and have matching points and be, well, good. I knew I probably couldn't do that on my own, so I bought a Quiltsmart fusible Lone Star kit.
It was so easy to do and everything came out perfectly. I then added more fabric to make a 70-inch circle, plus some cute machine embroidery daisies and voila! Now, the main reason I had forgotten this tablecloth is because when we moved to Lethbridge and we had a large dining room, we put the leaf in the table and it was no longer round, so I hadn't used it on the dining room table in a long time, and the second reason is my mind, sadly, is going. You've heard of the adage, Out of sight, out of mind. That is me in a nutshell. (Hopefully not me in a nuthouse one day!)
I'm trying to put a positive spin on the forgetfulness. When I forget I have things it's like having new things all the time without spending any more money. So here's a picture of my "new" tablecloth. I'm hoping now that I have forgotten a stack of $20 bills somewhere in the house.
Africa Day
In my last post I told you about the project to make dresses for girls in Africa. Since I knew September would be busy, I decided on Saturday (August 30) that that would be my sewing day. I had 18 t-shirts and 18 skirts all cut out and ready to go, and so Saturday I sewed all day and finished them all. I got out the serger, and they are so much quicker with a serger and done better, too, I think, as nothing will fray. Here is a picture of all 18 dresses on my bed. They look so pretty! I really hope some little girls will love them.
I was sewing the dresses for Africa when my sister, Gayle, called to tell me of their mission call, and I wasn't one bit surprised when she said she and her husband had been called to the Nairobi Kenya Mission. I had guessed Africa long before. I figured they were young and healthy, and the church would need to send them somewhere they couldn't send a couple with health issues. They will be working with humanitarian services in the employment center. I'm so proud of them. They will be fabulous.
Saturday really was Africa Day!
Friday, August 22, 2008
It's Not Quilting But It's Fun Sewing!
Our ward is involved in a service project for the Humanitarian Center for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are making dresses to send to girls in Africa who need them to wear to school. Somebody very clever, I'm not sure who, figured out a way to make an absolutely darling dress using a t-shirt and adding a simple cotton gathered skirt. So very cute! Honestly, when I first saw the ones someone in our ward had made, I thought you could sell these in a store. Any little girl would be happy to wear one.
You can download the pattern at this website: http://www.lds.org/ldsfoundation/welfare
It's the simplest thing ever to make them, just straight sewing for the skirt and a little bit of cutting off the bottom of the t-shirt. You'll need a t-shirt, some fabric for the skirt, and a little bit of fusible interfacing to keep the bottom of the t-shirt from stretching. That's it! I have made two so far. They need them from sizes 2 through 14, so here's a picture of a size 2 dress and a size 14 dress. I made these two in about half-an-hour this morning. What a great way to use up your stash and how rewarding to use it for such a good cause. I have lots more t-shirts ready for skirts that I plan to do in the next few days when I have some spare time. Come join me!
You can download the pattern at this website: http://www.lds.org/ldsfoundation/welfare
It's the simplest thing ever to make them, just straight sewing for the skirt and a little bit of cutting off the bottom of the t-shirt. You'll need a t-shirt, some fabric for the skirt, and a little bit of fusible interfacing to keep the bottom of the t-shirt from stretching. That's it! I have made two so far. They need them from sizes 2 through 14, so here's a picture of a size 2 dress and a size 14 dress. I made these two in about half-an-hour this morning. What a great way to use up your stash and how rewarding to use it for such a good cause. I have lots more t-shirts ready for skirts that I plan to do in the next few days when I have some spare time. Come join me!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Yoyos Old and New and Organizing Update
I finished sewing all my lovely red, white, and blue yoyos together to make my flag, which is now framed and sitting on my quilt shelf in the kitchen. I love it! And I love yoyos. They are so easy to make, so quick to sew together, and so darn cute, plus as many of you may know, the best dog in the world was named Yoyo. He was my dog from age 12 to age 18, when he met his untimely demise due to a love of chasing cars. I said he was a good dog, not a wise dog. I still miss him. Honestly. If I saw him today somewhere, I would be almost as happy to see him as anyone else in my family.
Here is a picture of the cloth Yoyos, and as for the dog, Yoyo, I used to have an old black and white photo of him, not very good, but now I can't even find it. I know it's around somewhere, not lost forever, but lost for now, so imagine a cute, little Lassie-esque dog, only smaller and that's Yoyo.
As for the organizing update, I have been having great success! I organized and refolded all my fat quarters, took out the ones that weren't really fat quarters (corner missing, too small, too big). Here is a picture of said fat quarters. I know you may not see the organization in this, but I can. I guess that's all that really matters.
The next thing I did was fold all yardage one-half yard or greater and put a label on it stating the yardage and the width. I just did labels written on masking tape. They don't stick all that great, but they're okay for right now. I don't want anything permanent anyway. I have two places for this yardage. The drawer below the fat quarters is for pieces one yard or less. Then I have a tote (not pictured) with anything over a yard. How jealous are you?
Lastly, here's a picture of some strips I have cut from scraps. I have cut widths from 12.5 inches down to 1.5 inches, basically leaving the scrap as big as I could. If it was big enough to make a fat quarter, I cut a fat quarter out of the scrap, put that with the fat quarters, and cut the rest into strips. I'm still trying to decide how to organize them, by size, by color, by type of fabric (flannel, stripes, florals, etc.) or a combination of all of the above. I would say I'm about a third of the way done with my scraps. I think they will be so much more usable now.
So hooray for me! Hooray for Yoyos (old and new)! Hooray for fabric that is so fun to cut and fold and touch and create with!
Here is a picture of the cloth Yoyos, and as for the dog, Yoyo, I used to have an old black and white photo of him, not very good, but now I can't even find it. I know it's around somewhere, not lost forever, but lost for now, so imagine a cute, little Lassie-esque dog, only smaller and that's Yoyo.
As for the organizing update, I have been having great success! I organized and refolded all my fat quarters, took out the ones that weren't really fat quarters (corner missing, too small, too big). Here is a picture of said fat quarters. I know you may not see the organization in this, but I can. I guess that's all that really matters.
The next thing I did was fold all yardage one-half yard or greater and put a label on it stating the yardage and the width. I just did labels written on masking tape. They don't stick all that great, but they're okay for right now. I don't want anything permanent anyway. I have two places for this yardage. The drawer below the fat quarters is for pieces one yard or less. Then I have a tote (not pictured) with anything over a yard. How jealous are you?
Lastly, here's a picture of some strips I have cut from scraps. I have cut widths from 12.5 inches down to 1.5 inches, basically leaving the scrap as big as I could. If it was big enough to make a fat quarter, I cut a fat quarter out of the scrap, put that with the fat quarters, and cut the rest into strips. I'm still trying to decide how to organize them, by size, by color, by type of fabric (flannel, stripes, florals, etc.) or a combination of all of the above. I would say I'm about a third of the way done with my scraps. I think they will be so much more usable now.
So hooray for me! Hooray for Yoyos (old and new)! Hooray for fabric that is so fun to cut and fold and touch and create with!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Scraps No More
I was lamenting to Lori the other day about all my bags of scraps and how useless they are, mostly because I don't remember I have them, and I don't like digging through bags to try and find something suitable, so I go buy more fabric, which is fun, but not necessarily frugal or even necessary. She told me a great idea for organizing my scraps, and then I read another good idea in the latest issue of American Patchwork and Quilting that I will also pass along for any who may not have read it.
Lori's idea is to take all your scraps and cut them into the largest usable size you can. You need to decide at the outset how small your smallest scrap will be. Personally, I don't think I'm going smaller than 1.5 inches, as that will make a one-inch finished square. That's small enough for me. So, utilizing Lori's plan, if you have a scrap that is smaller than a half-yard but bigger than a fat quarter, the first "scrap" you would cut is a fat quarter. Then from the remaining fabric you would cut squares as large as you can until the scrap is used up, and any itsy-bitsy leftover pieces you can feel good about throwing away.
Any fat quarters can then be put with your fat quarter stash, and the remaining squares can be sorted according to both size and color. For example, you might have a shoe box or Rubbermaid container, whatever, for all your eight-inch blocks, and within that container, blocks of different colors would be in different Ziploc bags. Or, conversely, you could have a container for all yellow fabrics, for example, with Ziploc bags for each size. I'm not sure which would be more useful. I suppose everyone will have their own preference.
The second idea for organizing scraps comes from Kathie Holland, whose quilt, "Scrap Happy" appears in the October 2008 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting magazine. Kathie buys half-yard cuts of fabrics, and then when she gets home, she cuts that half-yard into two fat quarters. One fat quarter she leaves as is, and the other fat quarter she cuts into strips of 6.5, 4.5, 3.5, and 1.5 inches. I haven't done the math, but I assume that uses up all the fat quarter. She organizes her stash then according to widths, not color. Kathie says this method gives her fabric to use for nearly any application, piecing or applique, including up to an 18-inch square from the fat quarter. For those of us who love the scrappy look, this is an awesome way to organize those fabrics.
I'm planning to use a combination of the two methods. If I have a half-yard of fabric, I will cut it like Kathie recommends. If my scrap is less, I will cut it into strips or squares as per Lori's suggestion. If the strip is long enough to be useable, I will keep it as a strip. If not, it then becomes a square. I think I want to organize by color and then by size, so my boxes will contain all strips or squares of one color, then organized by size.
I have a lot of work ahead of me to organize my fabric this way, but I think when I'm finished I will be amazed at how much fabric I have. I am hoping it will inspire me to make a lot more scrappy projects, as I love that look. Scrap on, quilters, scrap on!
Lori's idea is to take all your scraps and cut them into the largest usable size you can. You need to decide at the outset how small your smallest scrap will be. Personally, I don't think I'm going smaller than 1.5 inches, as that will make a one-inch finished square. That's small enough for me. So, utilizing Lori's plan, if you have a scrap that is smaller than a half-yard but bigger than a fat quarter, the first "scrap" you would cut is a fat quarter. Then from the remaining fabric you would cut squares as large as you can until the scrap is used up, and any itsy-bitsy leftover pieces you can feel good about throwing away.
Any fat quarters can then be put with your fat quarter stash, and the remaining squares can be sorted according to both size and color. For example, you might have a shoe box or Rubbermaid container, whatever, for all your eight-inch blocks, and within that container, blocks of different colors would be in different Ziploc bags. Or, conversely, you could have a container for all yellow fabrics, for example, with Ziploc bags for each size. I'm not sure which would be more useful. I suppose everyone will have their own preference.
The second idea for organizing scraps comes from Kathie Holland, whose quilt, "Scrap Happy" appears in the October 2008 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting magazine. Kathie buys half-yard cuts of fabrics, and then when she gets home, she cuts that half-yard into two fat quarters. One fat quarter she leaves as is, and the other fat quarter she cuts into strips of 6.5, 4.5, 3.5, and 1.5 inches. I haven't done the math, but I assume that uses up all the fat quarter. She organizes her stash then according to widths, not color. Kathie says this method gives her fabric to use for nearly any application, piecing or applique, including up to an 18-inch square from the fat quarter. For those of us who love the scrappy look, this is an awesome way to organize those fabrics.
I'm planning to use a combination of the two methods. If I have a half-yard of fabric, I will cut it like Kathie recommends. If my scrap is less, I will cut it into strips or squares as per Lori's suggestion. If the strip is long enough to be useable, I will keep it as a strip. If not, it then becomes a square. I think I want to organize by color and then by size, so my boxes will contain all strips or squares of one color, then organized by size.
I have a lot of work ahead of me to organize my fabric this way, but I think when I'm finished I will be amazed at how much fabric I have. I am hoping it will inspire me to make a lot more scrappy projects, as I love that look. Scrap on, quilters, scrap on!
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