quilt top

Here's a quick update in the quilting department: I finished a quilt top tonight!  Yeah!  My sewing machine is on the fritz so I haven't been doing as much sewing but yesterday and today my machine was in a good mood :)

I have to say this came together really quickly - it's taken awhile timewise to get to here but I haven't actually spent much time on the quilt - does that make any sense?  Like actual cutting and sewing time haven't taken much time at all.  I love the colors.  I have a trip coming up so quilting it will have to wait a couple weeks.  

So, this pattern is basically the Floral Gatherings quilt that is on the Moda Bakeshop.  I literally saw it one morning and then went right out to the craft house and started it.  I did omit the sashing but otherwise the same.  I don't buy pre-cuts so I just used what is in my stash and I love that.  Each star is 36 inches square so as it is without sashing this is 72X72 and I think I'm just going to leave it like that.

shortest longest sock in the world

Well, we're at the tail end of the 4th of July!  I am still awake because people are still shooting off fireworks in my neighborhood.  I feel that I've made good use of the time, though, I've been knitting, knitting, knitting!  So the longest sock in the world part 2 is turning out to be much quicker.  Hurrah!   I think the momentum from finishing the first sock is propelling me :)  It's like, the first one just dragged on and on and I finished and it was like YES! I wanna do another one!  And I felt like I had just accomplished something great!  So anyway that's good news because so far I haven't suffered from "second sock syndrome" which is where some people finish the first and then dread having to do another so then just don't.

I know the lighting is awful here, but it's super late so no natural light to be had.  I put the socks next to each other so you could tell how far I've gotten just this week!  You can kind of see the thin light blue line which is the waste yarn that will become the afterthought heel.  Soooooo, that means I'm officially at the half point!  The striping is just a skotch* off from the first sock but it's so close!  The first toe started on green and the second on the periwinkle color.  Oh geez I'm just rambling on because I'm so tired!  Um and it's now the 5th of July so I think I'll call it a night.

*PS Skotch is a Scott-ism.  It means just a little bit.  I don't think it's a real word, he pronounced it sk - oh- ch.  Not scotch like the alcohol or tape or Scottish.

beef, it's what's for dinner

Yeah, yeah...two posts in one day.  But seriously!  I grilled steak!  By myself!  I haven't tried it yet, it's "resting" but it sure is pretty :)

goodies from Mom

I'm home for lunch as I am most days....and there was suddenly a knock on the door!  The mailman handed me the most delightful package from my Mom!!!!!  I love getting anything in the mail with her handwriting :) Just makes me happy.  And then of course are all these goodies inside-

I'm glad I took a later lunch today!

longest sock in the world.

Let's talk about socks.  Last year I decided I was just going to learn how to knit socks.  I knit my first pair and was so excited, bought a bunch of sock yarn and started right in on another pair!  Somewhere along the way hit a little wall.  Ummm, I started this sock in October (!) and finished it Thursday night.  In my defense, there were some holidays in there.....ugggggg, it's useless - I got distracted!   That's why I'm calling these the longest socks in the world because it's taking me for-ever!

Isn't it pretty, though?  It's a bit bigger than my foot as it is a gift.  I may have to re-do the bind off because it is verrrrry hard to get around the heel.  I did an extra stretchy bind off but I tend to tug my yarn after a stitch to tighten it which is from making bunnies and softies.  You don't want the stuffing to show through. 

Well, I was encouraged that I finished one sock and dove right into the second one.  This is what I have so far.  It's weird, I did the same toe up cast on and same amount of stitches on the toe but this one has a different shape?  IDK but I'm just going with it :)  I did also add 2 stitches hoping that because I think I must've done that on the first one to get the pattern right around the ankle/leg part once the pattern goes all the way around.  On the foot part I only do the pattern stitch on one side.

 I caught Joey snoozing so deeply yesterday.  He snores so it's extra cute.

 Okay, so today I made an apron out of a t-shirt.  My friend Brooke asked me to make it for her out of one of her Mom's t-shirt.  Her Mom, Kathy, passed away a few years ago so I was SUPER nervous to cut into the shirt!!!!  Oh man.  My initial thought was to do a rounded apron with the polka dot fabric in a ruffle around it.  But, I have a thing with exposed seam so I nixed that.  I mean, I did line the back so the knit fabric wouldn't roll in on itself so I could have done the ruffle around in there but then I thought it might get too heavy because it's actually really thick knit fabric.  Anyhow!  I did a quick google search to see what other peeps have done and this one seemed easy and accommodating to what I wanted.

 So this is what I came up with.  I folded up the bottom of the shirt and to cover the seam on the other side I sewed on a thin grosgrain ribbon over top.  Then, just did a simple lining of the red polka dot, turned it inside out.  The seam at the top is where I left the opening to turn it, which I covered up with the tie!  Easy peasy.

It was a gorgeous day today, and even though I was inside sewing I had the windows and door open and listened to Hunger Games on CD.  V.nice.

I had to share this picture of George, she has half her rump on the computer and I love how her belly fur is all tufted out!  She's such a turkey!

sticky tags

I bought this jar today to make sun tea.  I had a bit of an inside joke with myself because as I was washing it before filling it with the water to make tea I wiped over the sticky tag at the bottom (the upc).  Why I was laughing at myself is because I have a tendency to leave tags on things after I buy them.  Obvious tags.  And it used to drive Scott crazy!  Like cuckoo crazy.  He'd come across something with the tag on it and he'd say "why don't you remove this?!"  and I'd shrug and move on, still not removing the tag.  And he didn't then either.  So, it became a thing.  He'd come across one and I'd hear "grrrrrr!".  And I'd just smile.  It was just one of those things.  I actually took the sticky tag off this jar.  Would it make him crazy to know that I waited until he was gone to start removing tags?  I don't know, maybe :)  And for some reason that made me smile today.  And feel a bit like a turkey bird.  Eh.

striped bunny finish! finally

And here we are at Sunday....lazy Sunday :)

This would be George lounging on the chair arm with her arm hanging like a jungle cat in a tree.  Love her!  She's got such an attitude!  Pardon George. 

Today I finally, finally finished the striped bunny that I've been working on for ages!  Good lord this took forever!  Not because it was hard to knit or even very big, but mostly total lack of motivation!  But!  It is done.  I had written down my notes from the ballerina bunny that I improvised the body on and then took it one step further and made the head in the round also.  I'm pretty happy with the way this little guy turned out.  I had been shooting for gender neutral but now that it's done I feel it's distinctly male - yes?  eh.

The only gripe I have with the finished product is the color changes on the right arm.  In the photo above it would be the left side of the photo.  I don't think it's super, super obvious but I see it.  Also, a small thing is that the rotation of the body is just off a bit.  Without seeing it in person it's hard to tell what I mean.  Um, it's like the body wants to rotate a bit, like turn.  I think that must have been from the placement of my needles and the way the decreases went along the top/neckline?  idk.  It's minor.  I'm really glad I tried out the head on double points.   love the look of no seams.

Okay, so I know I said I was going to cut back on looking at things/watching things.  BUT!  I came across a new to me video podcast that I lurve!  It's called Bakery Bears.  Seriously. Love.  It's a husband and wife who both knit and they are British - say no more, right?  I mean, you all know about my serious crush on the UK.  Everything just seems cooler over there and it's not just the accent.  I mean that helps, obviously but really, they're just witty and funny and they knit so it's awesome.  Check it.

I may or may not do some sewing today.  I have over-extended myself a bit and so therefore don't want to do anything!  Uggg.  I may force myself to work on one thing.....plus bonus incentive is that I got Hunger Games on CD and it's out in the craft house!