Amigurumi

Here's a "Happy Friday!" from a little purple penguin friend. She was Little Bit's "Happy Brother's Birthday" present. She loved her and named her Annie.

New Skirt

I have had this skirt for me cut out for well over a year now. (Tells how often I actually sew for MYSELF, right? LOL) I kept pushing it aside, needing to work on more urgent projects, like clothes for the kids, or more interesting projects, like my fall quilt. But FINALLY, I got around to this the other day. And while I won't put it in my favorite things ever catagory, I'm fairly pleased with it, I must say.

New Look 6811




I will say that I shouldn't have used such a busy fabric and still did the pockets. They blend in and you can't even see them. It would have made more sense to just do simple ones for all that they almost disappear into the pattern. Also, as cute as I thought the fabric was (and I wasn't about to use expensive or my favorite to try out a pattern I wasn't sure I'd like anyway), it's really hard to match, actually, and I don't think this particular shade of pink (almost a salmon, but not exactly) is actually anyone's color. LOL Also, since I cut it out a YEAR ago, I've actually lost a smidge of weight since then (no complaining here) and it's a tad too big. (ah. Darn.) Of course, I had added a little bit of width to it, so now I can make it exactly by the pattern and not have to worry about that. So, that's good. :) But all in all, I have to say it's a simple, good pattern, and a nice skirt. :) Best of all, it's COMFORTABLE!! Which is a HUGE plus for me. I think I will definately use this pattern again, though this time, I will use a khaki or a linen for it, maybe, and I think I want one long one for this fall. (Though as hot as it's been lately, it's hard to think it will EVER be cool again! LOL)

Squares and More Squares

As I've recently mentioned, I've just learned how to crochet. Or at least, how to read patterns and crochet in the round and...gasp...make granny squares (giggle). Long, long, long ago, my grandmother taught me how to make a granny square, and for the life of me, I'd forgotten it all. I tried once, about two years ago, with very little success, but later, when I had more time to sit and actually pay close attention to what I was doing, the steps just fell into place like it was the easiest thing in the world. And so, because it's fun and kinda' addictive...and pretty cool looking, I think...I decided to make an afghan for me, using some of my favorite yarn. Or, I should say, my favorite affordable yarn. Oh, I could happily pick out some nicer, more luxurious yarns...cashmere? lambswool? But I also didn't really want to spend $100 or more on my afghan. LOL Plus, I wanted something easy to throw in the wash for when, say, my sweet little baby throws up on it. (As all parents know will likely happen eventually.) I also didn't want to do the traditional little squares, so I'm doing a lot fewer BIGGER squares (note the hot wheel car for reference to size...they're pretty big.) in the colors of my living room. And I think it's going to turn out quite nicely. I plan on doing some sort of border, too, but I'm undecided on the color. In reality, it may wind up being whichever color I have the most leftover in the end. LOL

Oh, the yarn. Guess I could tell WHAT I'm using, huh? It's Lion Brand Yarn's Wool Ease in various colors. As I said, they match my living room, especially the wall quilt I made that hangs in my living room.





I'm quite excited about the whole thing, since it practically makes itself while I sit and watch TV at night with the hubby or ride in the car. I hardly have to even think about what I'm doing now, and since I'm the kind of person who can't STAND to sit and not DO something (watch TV while not sewing or something? Gasp! Are you KIDDING???), this is a WONDERFUL project to pull out or take along with me somewhere. Esp. since it's not big and bulky (yet. As they're still in individual squares). It's hard to take, say, a quilt in the car to work on. Anyway, I'll have to keep you updated on my progress. I also want to make Little Bit and me some new ponchos for this fall. We'll see how that goes, as well.

:) Happy Wednesday to all!

Soup and Blueberry Jam

Well, I've begun my preserving for this year, that is, if you don't count freezing, as I've already frozen quite a LOT of hand-picked blueberries from the farm nearby. But I managed 13 pints, if I remember correctly, of homemade vegetable soup and 7 and a half jelly jars (1/2 pints) of blueberry jam. I also put up five quarts of frozen fresh corn. I'm quite pleased with myself, though I am hardly finished. I plan to make some blackberry and strawberry jams, as well. Hopefully, in the next week or so, though this week I've a birthday party to plan. :)

Book Guilt

I love books. Books of all kind. Romance, Sci-fi, fantasy (my fav.), classics, history... And not just fiction. Not only do I love fiction, but those informative books that tell how people lived way back when. Life in a Mideval Castle/Village/City are some of my particular favorites. But I also love cook books, sewing books, crafting books. And it's not just the information, either. Sure, I can get loads of patterns, recipes, stories, etc. online. I could even go out and buy one of those Kindle reader things (which I'm sure is way cool if you do a lot of traveling), BUT I love BOOKS. I guess I'm a purist, because I love how they FEEL in my hand, the way the pages FEEL against your fingers and SOUND as you turn them in the middle of the night, when you're the only one awake in a quiet, dark house, everyone else having long gone to sleep. I just love books.

But here's the guilt. It's this little place on the internet. sigh. I've heard tales that most of the little privately owned bookstores, and even some of the larger chains, are in danger from a certain online discount store. And I feel for those other companies, I really do. I get so sad to see any store close, BUT...here's the thing. I'm not helping, because I, too, shop online. sigh. But what am I supposed to do when I can get my coveted cookbook for $10 cheaper online!!! (plus free shipping) And when I usually order two or three at a time, it adds up quick! And as a stay at home mother of three, I try to take stock of every dollar, to save where I can, to be thrifty. And so, what am I to do??? I can't afford to go buy my books at the local bookstores. Maybe once in a blue moon. (I always buy journals where I can see them and put my hands on them, not online). I feel guilty about it. I do. But I really don't see that I have much choice, that my hand is forced in the matter. Unless the bookstores find SOME way to make it more comparable, I can't do much to help them out...

sigh.

Anyone else feel my pain?

New Fabric

So, here's my new mini stash to add to my not so mini one in the sewing room. Not sure what the Dick and Jane fabric's gonna' be for...it was just too cute not to pick up a bit. Maybe a zippered pouch for me? The orange is going to be a lunch bag and a pencil case for my daughter, with the dots for the lining. She's MADLY in love with penguins, and when I saw this, I knew she'd have a fit over it. I was right. She's beside herself excited over it. :) Feels good to know you picked the right one, hmm? I'll have to show you stuff as I get it ready for back to school in the next few weeks.

Snobby Shop

Have you ever been in one of those stores, where you felt you were just, well, not welcome? Somewhere where the service was so non-existant and snooty you felt as if they'd really rather you not have bothered stopping in at all? You kinda' start to wonder if, in fact, the shop is just a front for something else, and they want you gone as soon as possible. LOL Because if they treat everyone this way, HOW could they ever sell a thing??? Or maybe you have to be in the club to shop there???

Well, I went to one recently, a yarn/knitting/crochet store not too far from where I live. I've passed it so many times. It was one of those, "I'd love to stop in and see what they have one day when I have time." Only I never had time. Well, the other day, I finally did...

It's a cute store, that much I could tell from the window, though it's very small. And right at the front of the store are chairs set up for knitting/crocheting, but as my daughter and I stepped inside, the three or so women sitting there, (at least one of which I know worked there), didn't so much as smile our way, say hello, how are you, or even acknowledge our presence, to tell you the truth. In fact, they seemed to get quieter, like I was disturbing their current conversation.

Anyway, we (my daughter and I) looked around for a good while before ANYONE bothered to come and ask if we needed any help or anything. And when she did, it felt more like, "Can I help you with anything so I can get you out of here?" The woman gave off no kind of genuine helpfulness. Of course, I was just looking, I didn't need help, but I really think that fact annoyed her. Really, I think my being there in the first place annoyed her.

And though they had a LOT of NICE NICE yarns, they were sooooo EXPENSIVE. In my sheltered crochet existance, I have never seen a skein of yarn that cost over $35!!! (and up...very much up...) Granted, I'm sure they existed somewhere, some nice luxurious blend of cashmere or something, but it was almost EVERYTHING IN THE STORE!!! Even what I thought would be considered fairly "normal" yarn. (and we're talking small skeins, barely big enough to make a small scarf.) And as I'm still kind of a novice going on intermediate, I can't really justify spending that much on a project I'm not 100% sure I can pull off anyway. Not that I was expecting to pay a buck for it, either, but the cheapest I found (a reasonable $3)--it was the ONLY one in the store that price that I saw. Most were at least $10 and up. And as I said, I'm still learning, so I didn't want to invest that much, and quite frankly, they weren't really making me want to give them my money anyway. I could literally FEEL the "get out of here" vibes coming off of them. So, I grabbed up my daughter, and we went back to the car.

Later, I went by Michael's and got some lovely green Wool-Ease from Lion Brand Yarn that was more suited to my experiments...I'm now working on a throw. I will show you a pic when I get more done, but it's coming along quite nicely.

And I won't be going back to the snobby shop. I'll order online if I need some specialty yarn later down the road.