in the sewing room

I thought today was a good day for a sewing update.

First off, the quilt is finally finished.

It's my second completed quilt top, and the first quilt that I quilted by myself on my machine.  I am pretty amazed that I ended up with a pattern of fairly "straight-ish" lines.  This time I used the machine to sew on the binding too, instead of sewing the binding on by hand (I'm not as happy with the end result, but time constraints made it necessary.)  The backing is a flowered sheet I used to have on my bed as a kid... I can't believe how nice the sheet is given how old it is... my mother takes good care of her sheets!   She was nice enough to let me make off with a bunch of old sheets from her linen closet during our last visit.  The rest of them I have stowed away for future projects... And the fabric for the quilt front was a gift...
I think the birthday boy is pretty happy with it.  and I'm pretty happy to check that off of my to-do list finally. Some things stay on that list for a very long time!!

And now, of course, it's time to fill the list back up again.

Here are some things catching my eye tonight...

I LOVE this bag by Betz White:  To see the pattern details here...http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/sewing/Accessory/Olive-Swing-Bag/4000

and for that matter, I LOVE her new fabric line: Stitch.  If I was going to buy fabric, I would be buying some from her new line... it is lovely!  But I'm not buying fabric (I have to keep repeating that line to myself) so I'll be using something from my stash for this project...

Unless I do buy the fabric, and if I do, then, I'll be using something from Stitch :)

See?

And also, there is this cuteness...

which you can buy here if you want to make one too...

and lastly, 

I am imagining a skirt or maybe just a new apron in this fun fabric:

Notice how the center of the circles is chickens standing on eggs?!  I love that!!

And then, the last thing I wanted to do was show you my new benches in the craft room.

Previously they were electronics work benches, now being utilized as a cutting and sewing table.

And there is a shelf running along the bottom of each for storing stuff.  

So now I have room to sew and cut, which is essential.  Still not sure where the ironing board is going to go now.  I'm thinking I'll hang it on the wall somewhere, but since I need it frequently it would probably be better to just have it somewhere accessible where it can stay all the time... 

hmm...

a Hoot, a Hat...

I have always wished to spot an owl around here... but so far, I've had no luck.  So I guess I've started collecting some of my own in the meantime.
First there was this guy...

And then I started knitting this...

That one belongs to the designer Kate Davies, isn't it lovely?  (I hope I'm not doing something bad by using her photo here... I fear I am... Please click on her photo and be directed to her great blog Needled for pattern  info)

Now - here's mine...

 Some day... some day it will be done.  That day will not be anytime soon if I continue knitting it at the completely-disinterested-rate of abut 3 - 4 rows a month...   I don't know - knitting a sweater is something of a commitment that I guess I just can't put my whole heart into right now.

So in the interests of having an owl-craving "instantly" gratified... I made this instead.

It took one day.

That is so much faster.  I can handle that kind of commitment right now :)

One day.  And one happy boy who claimed it before it was even off of the needles, and proudly wore it immediately thereafter...   You know how I love it when they wear my wool!  Very gratifying!

Of course, I made it for myself, because that's what I do... and I'm hoping to wear it every now and then, but the weather's so mild right now having one hat for two people has not been much of a problem.

I will tell you though that I was happy when I tried it on because it is the first hat in the last 10 or so I've made that have fit me perfectly... not too big, not too small.  And it's a lovely soft alpaca, that just feels so nice and squishy... and a dark grey that makes my eyes look dark gray when I wear it...

So he better watch out... because now that I'm thinking it over, I sort of want that hat back.

What am I saying???  It only took me a day... I guess I could just make another one!!

                                                            ***  Reading ***

This week I'm reading Child 44 along with my book club.  I'm half-way through, and really enjoying it... My friend, who finished the book over the weekend, says she was not expecting the turn it took at the end, so now I'm really excited to crawl into bed and read again tonight... When I'm done, I'll be starting book 2 of the Hunger Games...

And to my surprise, the first edition of Taproot magazine came unexpectedly to my mailbox this week - so I've been reading that in bits and pieces, and getting excited about planning this year's garden adventure.  Maybe this year my tomatoes will finally do well and the skunk won't kill all of my pumpkins... each year I get a little bit better at this gardening thing.

What are you reading?

                                          *** Posted along with Ginny at Small Things ***

6

Math enthusiast.  (Want to hear me count to 389?)

Lego master.

Good friend.

Caring brother.

Early riser.

Morning snuggler.

Music lover.

Bender of rules. (especially in board games)

He who asks ten questions in one single excited breath.

Popcorn eater.

Friend to chickens and cats.

Tae Kwon Do kicker.

Excited learner.

Beginning reader...

You are six today.  As I knew someday you would be.

And you are awesome!

Beyond what I dreamt you might be.

:: This Moment ::

A special moment I want to pause and remember...  visit Soulemama to see more.

Happy Weekend!

Making Mittens

I have been knitting quite a bit lately... Just small things, mittens... hats... more hats...  Those mittens are made from Berocco Remix - a 100% recycled mixed fiber yarn, it's so soft, and I love the colors it comes in.  And you know that I love that it's 100% recycled too... And the hat is a new thing I'm tinkering with... more details when it's done...

I think I keep grabbing small projects mostly because I have a bunch of yummy yarn that I want to make into sweaters for different members of the family, but I haven't found the right patterns yet.  So while I sit and stare at my yarn piles and try to figure out what to turn them into, I'm keeping my hands busy knitting away at hats and mittens, and also I think, this guy next...  So cute!  Of course, I'll have to make two.  And oddly enough, he's been a project-on-hold for a while because of all the yarn I do have in my stash, I don't have anything white, or even close to white.  I guess I don't usually like white.    And I don't feel like spending money on yarn right now, so I guess I'm waiting for a white yarn to appear in my yarn closet (yes, I said yarn closet).  I don't suppose that's likely to happen... but who knows?

And thanks to a new friend I made at work, I have been reading books much more often and even participating in a book club.   I'm so glad to be part of a book club, I love to talk about the books I've read with other readers so that's a happy addition to my pretty sparse social calendar.   Last month's book was The Language of Flowers, and then we read the Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman, which I really enjoyed.  The story centers around the lives of four women who come together through different circumstances, and whose job is to take care of the doves (which were important for their, um, ability to produce fertilizer for the community gardens)... in a Jewish settlement in the desert in 70 C.E., when the Roman army's took Jerusalem and then systematically conquered the rest of the Jewish cities and settlements... The settlement is on top of the mountain Masada, King Herod's previous stronghold.   I love historically-based novels, and while this book was a long read at 500 pages, it was worth it.

I promised myself when I finished, I could read the Hunger Games.  Which I did.  Loved it!  Not starting the second one until I finish the next book club book, which I'll tell you about next week :)


Linking with Ginny at Small Things.

Grateful for...

... coffee just about done brewing in the kitchen.  smells good.

... a freshly tuned piano, and about 45 minutes of uninterrupted time to sit down and play.  Someday they'll be old enough to let me sit and play, but right now the sound of the piano is an immediate call to attention and they come running.  Not to hear me play, to pull me away.   Of course, when they're old enough to leave me alone to play, they'll also be old enough to have practicing of their own to do...

...  homemade sausage lentil soup and a chunk of sourdough bread packed in my lunch.  I love soup for lunch.
And a nice big slice of lemon poundcake for dessert.  Or you know... breakfast.  Or after breakfast snack.  Or... whenever.

...  watching the sun come up this morning, in a completely quiet house.  Looking out the front windows and

...  seeing trees cleared out of the yard, (such a lot of trees!!!  and wood!) making way for some fruit trees this Spring.  A goal we set when we bought this home 5 years ago... finally happening.  It's very exciting!

... also grateful for a husband who can turn the fallen trees and brush that's all around us into a cool little play hut for the kids in a matter of minutes.  He's a crafty guy too - there's no doubt!

... the addition of 2 new work benches from Mike's shop which have been re-purposed into a pretty perfectly sized sewing and cutting bench in my craft room... I'll show you pictures of that this week after I get the space a little more organized.

...  time spent this weekend filling up and then leafing through more family photo books, another project that was waiting for EVER for the right "not too busy" weekend day to come along.  The kids love seeing pictures of themselves and laughing... so I'm happy that I dug the loose pictures out of their hiding spots and got them into  a book.  They're not really in the best order, chronologically speaking, but it's close enough.   I love a LOT of crafty things, but a scrapbooking enthusiast... I am not.

... the bright new paintings of robots I'm seeing around here.  And along that note... the newly-scrubbed dining/craft/art room floor that is now 90% paint dribble free, thanks to an hour on my hands and knees with water and sponge.  Looks right shiny down there now!

And then, just for fun, something I'm not  so grateful for:

The ENDLESS pile of mismatched socks and the hopeless task of sorting said socks with mates.  Egh.  Everytime I see this pile, I'm tempted to haul out the trash bin and just send them all flying into it with one swoop of my arm...  But then,

... our feet would be very cold.

                                                          What are you grateful for today?

This Moment: The trees are tapped!

Sharing a special moment of the week, a moment I want to pause and remember.

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