Portable

Since I actually don't feel much like being on the computer today I'm giving you lots of pictures of my newest bag and very few words. I think its a pretty easy bag to understand anyway. This is sort of a new design since I haven't made one before and sort of an old design becasue I mixed my normal totes with my small bag pattern on a large scale. It is not one of the designs that I was taking this month off to work on and sadly I've not had time to make either of those designs yet.

Plain ordinary tote? For the most part yes. Its 13" by 17" with a 4 inch base. It hangs to a nice place on the body but I might make the strap just a tad shorter next time.

What's not so ordinary? Its reversible because I love being able to exchange sides.

I love the two fabrics I picked out. Both fabrics have been in my house for a while waiting for a project. Both are medium weight canvas.

Stripes.

Flowers. I think it gives the bag a really different when you switch the sides.

The straps are made from durable woven cording. I really like the texture.

Finally I topped it with a line of stitching at each of a quarter inch, half inch, three-quarter inch, and inch.

So that's it for my new tote. I really think my next one is going to be some sort of bag to wear across the body. I want a more travel friendly tote too.

not much going on around here

haha. Not much knitting on the sock still. I think its the cables. Slow no matter what you do because there are are sets and sets of cables on the foot. At least for the version I did. Regardless I will be taking a bit of a break from them because I am going to work on some crazy commissioned scarves. Sadly they are not a paid commission because its coming from Chris for his photography stuff. But none the less they'll need to get done sometime soon. Maybe someday soon you'll be seeing my work in a magazine! Of course it will end up being a men's magazine, but still...

The thing that a lot of my afternoon was devoted to is this huge pile of what looks like scraps.

Doll clothes. Hopefully enough of them turn into actual clothes that I can make a few outfits out of these. We'll see. I'll start sewing them tomorrow.

Right now I'm off to start that first scarf so I can try and get it finished tonight. Yes I know its 920PM in Texas but really, its only 87 yards...

By the way, here is Abby baking in the sun. Both of them love to bake in the sun. Notice the large crack in the conehead? She tore open the skin in the same spot that she injured last time and had to get back in this thing. Took her 20 minutes to have it torn apart after she cracked it. I went and got two more just in case. Seems like she will be wearing them for a while because she'll have to wear it for a couple weeks after it looks like it healed so it won't be so tender and easy to tear open. NO infections thankfully.

pinafore dresses for two

Pattern: Itty Bitty Dress from MadebyRae
Materials: 1 yard total of dot fabric for outside and .25 yard of white fabric for bodice lining. 1 yard pink piping. 2.5 yards pink bias tape.
Start Date: 22 June 2008
Completion Date: 22 June 2008
Size: 1 to 3 months
Project Spectrum 3: Air (white, gray, yellow) (um there is purple so does it count for next round too?

Notes: Cecil graciously agreed to model this outfit. He's a bit short for a very young baby but probably just about the right size around.

Such a stoic pig.

These were made for my co-worker Ray. He and his wife are expecting twins sometime in the very near future. The baby shower is on Tuesday afternoon. I haven't any idea if the babies will be identical or not but if they are the dresses won't help my co-worker tell the kids apart. The dresses are identical. I thought about using white piping and bias tape for one of them but I liked the effect of the pink too much.

I finally got to use my gathering foot. This is a crazy archaic looking contraption. It worked like a charm though I had to redo this several times to make it the right length. I love how it turned out.

I love the little bows for ties. Somewhat adjustable I hope. In case they have fattish arms. I need to get some fatter bias tape. I only have quarter inch and I need half inch to cover up the inside seam where the bodice meets the skirt. I'll have to stop at the store tomorrow night to get that.

I love how these turned out. I went ahead and made a doll dress that is similar to these because really so so cute. Plus I was afraid I would screw this up on the first couple of tries, so I got two yards of fabric. My record of making things from patterns that turn out to look how they should is not the best. Might as well play around!! I made the doll dress out of scraps from the first yard. So I still have a yard left.

I have new fabric

I have this lovely new fabric to play with.

The both birds and the red are from Amy Schimler. The larger birds are from her Creatures and Critters line which I think is absolutely adorable. The smaller birds and the red are from her On a Whim collection. They all make me really really happy, but then most the fabric that I buy does! Its nice fabric and is very soft and smooth. The blue fabric is Amy Butler from her Midwest Modern collection. I hadn't tried any Amy Butler so I got this yard of fabric to see how I like it. It doesn't feel as nice as the Moda fabric, but its still nice fabric, also quite soft and smooth.

There is a really sad thing with the sock monkey fabric. When I ordered more either the Paypal didn't connect properly or somehow I forgot to pay. I didn't check it either, just assumed that it went through. I thought it would be arriving yesterday or today and instead I have an invoice asking for payment! She says that seems to happen occasionally that paypal doesn't connect properly, but it worked today when I paid so hopefully the fabric will arrive soon!

a cover for Chris

Something to keep the dog hair off. One turned into two.

Chris only rarely asks me to make something for him. I've fallen down on the job a couple of times too and not got it done. But I knew he REALLY wanted this.

He has a monitor that he can write on (stylus) for correcting photos and drawing images and such. It spends most of its time at the kitchen table because the dogs spend a lot of evenings in the kitchen area since they hurt their legs. Because of this there is a lot of dog hair in the kitchen. It stays no matter how much cleaning is done because those darn dogs keep making more.

So he asked me to make a cover for it. I started planning right away. I didn't think I had any "masculine" fabric, so I went and got some cool skull fabric for him and a bit of red flannel to make a super soft interior.

I thought it turned out wonderfully well. There are no buttons on it yet because I only have one set of largish black buttons and I ended up needing two.

See there was just this teeny little problem. The monitor has a cord coming out of the top that doesn't detach. It was never going to fit in this case, but something else did (with a few small tweaks).

So a case for his computer is finished. I had to make one for the monitor still though. So back to the drawing board.

I only had a remnant of the red flannel so I substituted some hot coral flannel. There wasn't anything else that was manly. Since it is the interior I thought that it wouldn't be so bad because no one would ever see it.

A perfect fit. Notice the offending cord in the corner. I made it large enough to tuck the cord inside. If I make another I will make it just a bit taller. Not much..maybe a half inch or so just so it over covers the top.

I just have one more thing to make for him. I think there needs to be a drawstring bag or something to hold all of this, which resides on the floor, just in case he wants to take it somewhere.

ETA :: He just got home from his afternoon shoot and he loves them. YAY!!

a bird for Bianca

Life is for the birds. One turned into two...

These had to fly a very far way to their new home. These two were created for my cocoa swap pal, so they had to travel themselves all the way to the Netherlands!

They proved quite hard to photograph. I love them so so much. They turned out exactly as I was hoping. The green was created first and I broadened the head a bit for the yellow.

Their exteriors are wool suiting material and their bellies are made of quilting cotton. The green belly was chosen because Bianca loves green. The yellow was choosen because she said she loved to watch the birds in the tree out her window. The yellow has trees. I seem to have not photographed that.

I hand sewed on the wings and the beak. They didn't get eyes because every type I tried just creeped me out. I'm working on something different for the eyes, but I may just leave them all this way. Yes all, there are of course several in various stages of completion on my work desk, because I am crazy that way and tend to make multiples. Plus these were so so so hard to give away because they are so so cute. I wanted one!

This part is my favorite. I love the ruched back and the small tail stub it creates.

Here is a close-up of the stump tail.

I was supposed to knit something but didn't realize it. Happily Bianca loves them and so doesn't mind that they weren't knitted. It was so much fun to design these for her!

my first commissioned bag

One of the ladies at work (a knitter!) wanted me to create a bag for her sister. She'd seen my camo skull fabric bags and knew that her sister would love the fabric.

She asked if I could make the bigger style bag with it instead of the smaller style. I wasn't really sure how this would turn out. I hadn't used the flannel on a big bag and I wasn't sure it had enough support. With a good heavy interfacing, I think it turned out all right. What do you think?

I strayed a little from my usual pattern. The handles are made differently because they needed a bit more support. But the big difference is the button strap. I used a pony tail holder this time (unused prior, obviously). I think its a nice touch. It looks very finished and was a tad bit less cumbersome to get right then my usual button straps.

I love the limey green button too! I've been waiting for just the right bag to use it on and it looks so good on this one. The interior is a cotton quilting fabric in a bark type pattern with a dark dark brown pocket.

I'm really pleased with the whole of it. I can't wait to give it to her in the morning and see if it was what she was hoping for!

If you are looking for a good contest (because who isn't??) then go see Knit Me to the End of Time. Its her blog's birthday and she wants to know why you started blogging and maybe why you keep at it. Go over and tell her I sent you too so that I can get extra entries. :)

Last, but certainly not least, thank you so much to Amanda for giving me a you Make My Day Award. I'm so thankful to all of you whose blogs that I read and that give me so much inspiration and just make me smile on a day to day basis. Its wonderful to find out that I make blogland happy and inspired too! Or at the very least don't bore you all to tears!

PS :: I made rye bread today. It was very ugly so I didn't take its picture but it tasted very yummy!

Socks, Dolls, and Yarn

SOCKS
Chris' socks are coming along really really well. If not quickly.

This is sock number 1. I know it looks like I'm almost to the toe but those blockers are for a women's large size sock (new blockers are here!!) and not a man's large size sock. So I have a bit of a ways to go. I'm going to try it on him tonight and see how far a bit is.

I love the heel. I like the little stripeyness.

This is smooshy sock in Cloud Jungle (Green-Gray) and November Muse (brown). The pattern is from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. Its the Gentleman's sock in Railway stitch. I tried to take a picture of the stitch, but I thought it was too dark to really capture how nice this stitch is so I lightened the colors in this one just a bit. I really like the stitch.

DOLLS
I really really want to show you this first doll but since it is for my swap partner, this is all you get. I got this one together on the first try and I think it is PERFECT. This was supposed to be a knitted or crocheted animal but hopefully my pal won't mind that I made her a sewn softie. Do you guys think it will matter? I love it so much and I KNOW she will too! Oh and here is one of my favorite fabrics being used for her doll, because I had to get it in there didn't I?

I do have a first draft of a pig that I can show you. There are many many problems with this iteration of the piggy. I *think* I've worked out most the kinks as far as my pattern looks but I haven't gotten a second draft totally together to be able to tell what else she needs.

This is as it is being put together. I like the button for a nose (not this particular one - too small) but since I didn't have the right size I ended up with this instead. Its alright but I am not thrilled with it.

He's got some gusset issues because the pattern writer (ME!!) didn't have a clue how the proportions for the pig legs and such should be to the body and so made them a bit smaller then needed. So the legs ended up shorter and skinner then I had intended. Its been remedied on my pattern instructions, but not tested yet.

These are my first time trying out a gusseted construction. I really like how it makes things look and the fact that they can stand on their own. Its a bit wonky to start but it makes more sense as you go along.

I do want to make him a bit more curved. See the bump at the top of the butt area? I think I need to curve that off a bit. And also he is very square in the forehead and I want to make that smoother. The tail will be better if I use a pipe cleaner (which I didn't have) instead of a bread bag tie. I'm not at all sure if I like the ear placement and I think I will do the next in two colors - inside and outside. If I do use two colors then I will probably fiddle a bit with the shape so you can see the "inside" better and give it a bit more curve. Overall though I am super pleased with this design. I'm looking forward to experimenting and getting her all fixed up and pretty.

YARN
Finally, for Anne, this is the darker skien of the Mountain Majesty colorway. I haven't got it in the shop yet, but I thought I would flash it up here for you! :) I haven't had a chance to edit the photos to make them "Etsy-sized" so thats why it isn't in the shop yet.

Other photos can be found here and here. Enjoy!

4 small quilts

Yesterday, Chris made the comment (in a kind way, not meaning anything bad) that he would love it if the placemats could be cleaned an ironed for Christmas. Well, they are regularily cleaned and occasionally ironed, but they basically are how they are simply because they are old. Quite old in fact. Years, as I had a couple of them before Chris and I even met.

We have a copper topped kitchen table. There have to be placemats because Gus would pull a table cloth off and copper doesn't generally favor water that much. There really was only one solution.

That is a new placemat. It for some reason looks incredibly wonky, but it really isn't. They are a bit wonky but not that bad. I had some issues with seams in the piecing.

I wasn't sure Chris would go for this design. He isn't super big on the patchwork, but I wanted something that matched our decor and was interesting. So this is what I came up with. I just grabbed fabric scraps I thought looked nice together and started cutting them into blocks. It was a sort of random thing because the scraps needed to be cut into 4 equal blocks for 4 placemats as we need a full set obviously. I used some of my absolute favorite fabrics. I completely love the tree fabric and the brown with small flowers. I've talked about getting my hands on fabrics that remind me of my childhood and 4 or 5 of these do. I am super pleased that I found a way to use them all together!

I did a lot of detailing on the blocks. We've had a problem with our current placemats no longer laying flat after washing. I wanted to make sure the pieces (and the batting) stayed in place. We shouldn't have a shrinking issue and we shouldn't have to worry about too much wrinkling (which was our other major issue - wrinkles that I could never get out). I love it when my brain kicks in and I can pre-think of these things and fix them first.

The other thing I love about these mats is the back side. (another wonky photo coming) The quilting makes it almost as interesting as the front! This is the same corduroy fabric I've used in some of the larger totes that haven't yet made it in the shop (need to get on that).

So now there are four. There is a happy husband. There is plenty of room on these mats because we made them generously big. The only thing to do different if I make placemats again is that I won't use the walking foot for the piecing. It makes corduroy easier to sew but it's hard to get small seams (1/4 inch or less) perfectly straight and There were a lot of adjustments to be made to the outer cord stripes to make them the correct size. So regular foot until I am quilting. Overall though I am so so pleased with these!

In knitting news, She is blocking, She is fabulous, and She has pooling. I seem to be ok with that.

I can't wait to show you her in her entirety, but you will have to wait a couple of days because I have a very special post for you tomorrow! I have to finish it now!

Cheers!

Skull Quilt

First I have to say that I still have 5 spaces left for my pay it forward. Only 1 taker so far. So go to the linked post and sign up!!!

Skull Quilt.

This was a quick and easy quilt. When I say quick I mean quick. This only took an hour yesterday between 445P and 545P. When I say easy, I mean easy. Its only got 14 seams.

I seamed the two pieces of the front. I seamed the two pieces of the back. I seamed the four edges with right side facing. I seamed the four edges with wrong sides facing. I "quilted" along the piecing seams once on each fabric, once on each side, a total of 4 seams.

Its not a pretty quilt. Its not a neat quilt by any means. The quilting is wonky, even with my walking foot. I made it out of four remnants of fleece found at Jo-Ann's yesterday afternoon for $10 for the whole lot. I couldn't decide which skull I liked best so I got both. The flaming skulls were gotten because I thought Chris would like them, but they only had an 22" remnant. Not enough for anything good. I'm so glad I got both because this quilt is 48" by 48" purely by accident. Its the perfect size for the dogs to share. (Who love bandanas with skulls - because they are so so tough you know. Grrrr...hic-cup...grrrr...) I didn't measure or cut. I just sewed it together and it worked out wonderfully.

The dogs love it.

I laid it out on the kitchen floor after the dogs were done fighting over it and discovered the cats love it too.

(Go see me on flickr!! Just click me!!! I have a TON of notes on me....)

I did this quilt with the intention that it was another thing the dogs could lay on besides the mats to keep there bellies from freezing while laying on the tile. I got it done in the nick of time too, because today the temperature outside soared to 80F today. I'm sure it will go down again sometime.

Shop Update

I was planning to open the shop this weekend, but the weather is not cooperating. Its been overcast and either raining or snowing (melting on contact) since Thanksgiving. We had a tiny bit of sunshine on Friday morning that I didn't take advantage of. BUT tomorrow is supposed to be a pretty, sunny autumn day. I am going to get some images for the shop in the morning and probably I will start posting things into it Monday evening around 6PM Central time. I will probably take some photos anyway even if the weather isn't cooperating. We'll see what we get and I'll post what I can.

I have a question. I have some friends (not necessarily local) and some blog readers (also not local) who are interested in getting an owl, but don't do the sewing thing. Would it be improper/unethical/illegal (??!!!) to post a few owls to the shop if I linked to the tutorial (here you can make one for yourself, instead of buying mine!) and made the "price" basically materials, etsy fees, and shipping? I don't want to claim it as my own pattern in anyway or piss anyone off (it was originally in a Japanese craft magazine so the tutorial girl isn't claiming it as hers either), but I was trying to think of any easy way to get some owls to some friends who can't/won't make them for themselves? Anyone have any thoughts on this issue? Obviously, I won't do it if it will get me in trouble or piss someone off. Thanks for any thoughts, they are all welcome!

being overtaken

The house is being overtaken. Late, late, late Wednesday night these two showed up. Just out of the blue. Just like that. No warning. They look quite shifty so it made me a bit nervous. I hope they aren't angry they still don't have names.

(unnamed owls)

When I turned around there were more! This one wasn't there when I took the first shot. Such a sweet lady....

(Nancy - my mother in law. Those bits of string around her eyes were meant to be eye lashes but they didn't stay in place very well.)

Over yonder??? Three more. I was warned they came in swarms, but who would have guessed so quickly??

(Mom, Brother Adam, and Sarah)

Don't look to the right. There are more there. They seem friendly enough if a little distracted. No need to worry.

(Chris and I...I imagine we are keeping an eye on the rif-raf named Adam and Sarah in the pumpkin patch. Mom will keep them in line though!)

It calmed down for a minute or two and then I spotted these two love birds. Don't they make a cute couple?

(Kitzy's Adam and Kitzy)

The last two to arrive in the swarm perched themselves on the wood planer and wouldn't leave until the end of the day.

(Dad and Philip)

I started the first two around 10pm Wednesday, by 9am on Thursday twelve had shown up. No I didn't stay up all night. I just had so much fun making them and they went so quickly. They are at the tallest 3 inches (my dad) and at the shortest 2 inches (Brother Adam). They are at the widest 3 inches (my dad) and at the narrowest 2 inches (Sarah - my sister). Most of these went home with their namesakes, so I only have the four that are mine left here. They were all made from this tutowlrial which has been mentioned before.

In order that I don't have to tell you there might be another, bigger owl, which looks like the brother Adam owl (it looked like a robin and I wanted to keep it, but I was nice and gave it away...or that there might be a second bigger owl...) I present my sister in law with her owl.

I think I hit the nail on the head, don't you? She showed up for Thanksgiving dressed that way with no prompting from Chris or I. Don't you just love coincidence. Oh and my dad was wearing a green sweater so there is another direct hit. Mom and Dad look surprisingly like they could be themselves, especially as a pair. That was very surprising.

free-hand sketching with felt

A while back (a few days? Its really sort of all run together...so...sometime in November, how about that?) I showed a picture of a little black bag I had made that was so so tiny and somewhat plain on the outside with a crazy safari print inside. Do you remember it?

Its not so plain anymore. I've gussied it up a bit.

Yesterday night I was looking for something to do. The sewing machine is upstairs and there is lots of knitting to be done if I am even going to come close to finishing blanket squares, but this little lion was calling me. I drew a very quick little image on some scrap paper to get an idea of what pieces needed to be cut. I grabbed some felt and started piecing three little patches together. The process is really just a small snip here, a small snip there, and a whole lot of hope that it will come together the way you want. I think it did.

I was so pleased when I put them together on the table last night in little lion shaped piles. And so very very pleased when this guy showed up in the wee hours of the morning (I'm an early bird).

He's got a brother that is very similar but so so different, because as with any sketch each version is just a bit different. I wish I had a photo of the other. The only thing that really concerns me is the tail. The hair bits can be somewhat fragile if pulled so I may have to trade it out for a bit of yarn instead. Or something. It will probably come to me. I'm doing some testing on it this evening and if I destroy it then its gone and if not it's exactly as you see here.

Now that I have made these lions (I kept one for myself that isn't sewn together yet) I want to do an alligator and a sheep. And a gorilla. And you might as well throw in a snake. And there is that camal that could be interesting... The question would be what would I do with them all?

Foliage + Fat Quarters

My plan had been to make another bear out of this yarn. I think its a great color for a bear, but yesterday when I got ready to start knitting (while I was at the office) I realized that I forgot to bring the bear directions. So since I still needed something to do I cast on for foliage from knitty. This is probably the first pattern I have done while the pattern is still in the current issue.

Its to the point of the ribbing now. I actually had to do four pattern repeats instead of three like it says because apparently I have a tall head? Anyway. I somehow managed to get a shot of it on my head. I still had a repeat and a half to go at this point.

It looks good huh? Feels really comfy. Which surprised me because this is for sure Paton's Classic wool and I've always found it to be a bit scratchy. Go figure. I like what it is so far so I won't question it.

This is what I have to do the ribbing and to make a bear. Do you think its enough? I'm trying to make sure that I knit fast enough I won't run out! Though I'm kind of thinking there might actually be a bit more of this yarn. I used it for the handles on my french market bag and the strips you see there were for a pillow that was my first project. It was never finished because my knit stitches got more consistent and a bit tighter and certainly more neat nearer the end then the beginning and I didn't really want to go knit the strips again. So I am slowly using the yarn for other things.

Finally, these were acquired today and a new pattern is being worked on for selling in the shop. I think I am going to have all of next week off (because I have the vacation/holiday days) and we aren't doing anything anyway. I should get a lot done and all the pictures taken before next weekend and the shop opening. So excited. A lot of these are Christmasy because of the coloring but everyday because they don't have a "Christmas" pattern. I can't wait to use them!

Yippee + Lazy Sunday

I spent most the morning in the craft room finishing two bags, partially creating a third and working on a quilt for the cats. I love this new bag. I made two of them. Its really a normal black wool color I just couldn't get it to photo right because the sun is going down and it looks like a storm is coming.

Its very plain right now. I upped the fun quality with some zigzag on the handles. It also has a super duper cute, had to buy it, love it so, interior fabric. There was only a long thin strip of this fabric left and a slightly wider thin strip of the black wool. I thought the combo was fab-u-lous. I love love love this interior fabric. It makes taking a safari seem safe some how!!!

It won't be plain for long because I am working on a lion mane patch for the exterior front.

Rooooaarrrrrr!

Its still in the planning stages but I HAD to show the interior fabric. It makes me so happy. I don't know who will be able to use this. Its 8 inches across at the top, 7 inches across at the bottom, 3 inches deep and 6.5 inches high. Very small. Here it is compared to my still buttonless, project bag, which is (roughly, I haven't measured yet) 12 inches across the top, 8 at the bottom, 5 deep and 10 inches tall.

Ummm...so a bag for a child maybe? My lion won't have loose-y parts so that should be ok for a kiddo. I think? Its so cute and tiny...

moving on...

I probably will make an etsy shop. I think I am going to aim to make a couple more bags and maybe some zippered accessory pouches and/or zippered bags in the next week or so and post everything the weekend after thanksgiving. There is bound to be some sunshine between here and there for good sales shots. Also I need to set up an etsy account for selling and get paypal squared for that, as well as my logo, tax stuff, blah blah blah....BORING behind the scenes stuff...

moving on again...

This afternoon I spent a lazy 3 hours chatting (IMing) with my sister, who's been sick, poor girl, also baking a pie and knitting.

Here is the pie.

Its a variation of this recipe for Cranberry Apple Deep-Dish pies. Obviously I only made one. Obviously I forgot to cover the edges when they were done. Obviously I am dying to try it, but it'll have to wait til after dinner. Not supposed to spoil dinner. I keep telling myself that.

The knitting looks like this.

I _might_ have been ambitious in saying I would finish it last night, considering that when the dogs went to bed I went up to the craft room to work on that quilt. Well really just to iron the scraps I'm using because my brain was tired and log cabining wasn't going to go well. I could tell. The knitting is halfway done now and I am just getting to the non-purple colors in the yarn. The second half will probably be orange and green. I'm looking forward to seeing it change!

Ok, I think I am done rambling for today. More tomorrow.

Maybe, probably, a finished square. Possibly two blocking squares. Am I jinxing myself being too ambitious again? After this square I am going to start working on the sweater again. Half the squares will be done. I think...we'll see if it is big enough. So I'll finish half the sweater and then decide squares or sweater for the next thing.

This is it really. I promise. More tomorrow. Cheers!

back to business

Seeing as the itchiness and hives are gone I had to go back to work today. A five day weekend would have been nice though! I had a far less productive day at work then I would have had if I stayed here. phooey! I got this much done of square 10. Here is a blurry photo taken as the sun was going down.

Yesterday's picture only had 3 rows completed. This picture is eight rows to the end of it. Its finished now and I'll probably be blocking it this evening. So it can go along with the other two. At this rate I am doing one a day. The blanket squares should get done this month. However, I haven't touched the sweater since I started the bag frenzy and the square frenzy. Nothing more has been done since the last picture. So I might need to get cracking on that if I am going to finish it and the blanket this month. I have also had the distinct urge to cast on something lacy or a sock, but I am fighting it because then I'll get to feeling bogged down by it all. Need just to concentrate on one thing at a time. Stuff moves better that way. For me anyway.

I made one other thing yesterday. I know the person this is for will really like it. Its a Christmas gift and said person may actually read my blog as she's commented a couple of times. Its inside out at the moment.

I'm afraid that by showing the outside fabric its a dead giveaway, so just the inside today. Its a rather large bed/foot warmer. 8" by 12" I'm not sure what to fill it with though. The recommended thing is to fill it with rice. Then microwave it with a small cup of water to heat it. Well I know from experience that doing so makes it smell a lot like steamed rice. Not the most soothing scent for sleeping. I want to put lavender in the mix but I'm not sure what else I should put in it. Thoughts or suggestions for things that heat easily in the microwave and will retain their heat for a good bit? This is padded very well so that should help with retaining heat and not getting burned feet.

The plaid is the bag that will be filled and the paw print is the interior of the padded cover.

am I going crazy?

Lizard Ridge square 8 and square 9 are still blocking and still wet. That is because the weather is cooler. YEAH! Square 10 is only just started. That is because I may have gone a little crazy with the sewing.

On Saturday I made these. They are really nicely sized for a small to medium project. A large skein of sock yarn doesn't even fill the bottom. It shouldn't be too hard to guess who they are for.

A cream one. With a pink, cream, brown, and blue interior. A cute button. And some detailing on the handles. This one is lined and keeps it shape well. Its very cute.

A tan linen one. I just love the interior on this one. Its called garden scene, but its just sprays of color. So pretty. A cute button. This one didn't get lined. It was my second try at a bag, next time I would line it. I didn't want to rip it because it came out really well and that is all I have of that interior material and I'd HATE to ruin it accidentally. I'm not the greatest with the ripper.

An embroidered tan linen one. That is, um, maybe still missing its button. I have an excuse though. There were only two in the house and my plan was to get more on Wednesday, but the itchies sort of killed that. With a pretty burnt orange interior. This was the first one made. It is pretty and useful, but I wish I had known then to line it because it will hold stuff well, but not necessarily keep its shape or stand up very well.

So having made those I may have thought "so cute!!! I want one!!!" umm...I did think that, there is not a "may have" involved. So yesterday in my "production" I made me one that looks like this. Its got a cute interior. With a pocket. The pocket design needed tweeking, but I think I have fixed it. Still missing a button. And from here on out they are all lined. Because I think they are really better with that extra reinforcement.

Then, remember that other pile from yesterday??? Yes well I may have gone overboard in my excitement. Because this showed up. In a nice lightly felted embroidered gray wool. With a cute interior with black swirl fabric and red polka dot pocket. Notice that the pocket in this one is not so loose as the other and there is a spot for a set of DPNs or straights! heee...

Then this one. Which has a similar exterior to mine. This bag was designed to be buttonless as I didn't add the button strap. This bag has the opposite interior to the gray bag. It is red polka dot interior with a black swirl pocket.

And out of the blue, an experiment, because I wasn't totally liking the way the other bags came together. This one has an interior side seam instead of being "reversible" (read no seams showing on the inside. It was made to be buttonless and is very much less then perfect. I ripped a bag that i had made before and redid it with the side seam and I won't do that again. I'll start from the ground up for that sort of thing. Its also a tad smaller then the rest. It has the same burnt orange interior as the other embroidered linen bag.

And the reason I wonder if I am crazy is that I might have accidentally made four of these too. They are the perfect size for a small project like gloves, mittens, hats and socks. Not too bulky to throw in another larger bag either. Three of the interiors look like this, the other is a paisley. They are all reversible completely.

So what am I going to do with 7 extra bags? I am seriously considering opening an etsy shop because I didn't tell you about the two upstairs that were about halfway done before the dogs started calling. Or about the 87 bazillion extra sets of stitch markers I may have made because it was fun. I was really digging it. Or about that other design I was considering....

The only thing is that none of these are perfect and would someone want something that maybe had a small flaw? Sometimes my fabrics got just a little off and I'd get a fold as I was sewing the final seam around the top and sometimes I could fix it (rip and re-sew) and other times I couldn't get it to work. That's why I am working on a new style. So do you think anyone would buy this if I put it up for sale? Because I don't really know what to do with 7, almost 9, extra bags.

ETA :: I asked a friend at work about the bags and she told me how to fix them so the flaw disappears. i am going to rip mine tonight (carefully) and see how the fixing goes. Wish me luck! ::

PS :: Don't worry the bouts of productivity are normal for me and not a result of some odd reaction to the meds. Also I am not itching like crazy anymore. Thank goodness! ::

Itchy

For some reason unknown to me I decided to ingest something yesterday evening that I am allergic to. I don't know what it was and probably never will. I do know what the effect was. My ENTIRE body itches. Not a little, but a whole whole lot. I went to the doctor this morning and he prescribed some anti-histamines. These meds are supposed to "knock you out", but that didn't happen to me. They were supposed to make you nauseous, but that didn't happen to me either. They were supposed to make me stop itching at least slightly, but lets just say its worse now. And finally they were supposed to make me thirsty, which they did. At least they accomplished something.

What they really really did was make me very PRODUCTIVE this afternoon.

This is finished. And blocking. (I'll take better photos when I don't itch and the sun is out...maybe tomorrow if I am lucky!!)

This is started and almost finished. And will be blocking soon.

This pile has become something fun and wonderful and exciting.

This pile is becoming several things that are fun and wonderful and exciting.

I would sit here longer and tell you all about it, but the longer I sit the more I itch so I'm outta here. Its probably something like "idle hands are the devils playthings" only it goes more like "idle hands have time and nothing better to do".

By the way go see StephieKnits and send good health wishes her way. She had an appendectomy on Halloween.

bedding down

If you are looking for the weighing-in contest results, they can be found here. Do stick around and read a bit if you'd like, I don't mind in the least. HOLLY where are you!!! Please get in touch!!! How long is long enough to wait before I pick a new winner?? I was thinking that 2nd and 3rd place might like their prizes? Any thoughts are very welcome. I want to be fair, but what if she never comes back? I thought I found her but she hasn't answered back in the last couple days since I left her a message, so I still don't know.

Moving on because I could dwell on that for a while but it would be boring...but maybe this will bore you too. Perish the thought but your welcome to say so if it does.

If you've been around a while you may have noticed I have a tendency to recover the dogs beds. Thats mostly because they eat them and they also have a bad habit of eating the zippers out of the store bought ones. This weekend instead of just recovering some I made some from scratch. Gus needed a bed that fits the full size of the crate instead of just two-thirds of it. So I made two "summer" covers and two "winter" covers. We need them both this week. The weather is going to be in the low thirties overnight tonight and mid-forties tomorrow and then Thursday should be a chilly 80 degrees out. Brrr...

They start out like this. Just a king sized egg crate bed mat, a pair of sissors and some fabric. I cut the whole thing in half width wise, this made the length of the bed. Then I used an old store cover to measure out the width that each bed needed and managed to get four out of this mat. Plus I have some leftover egg crate that might just make a nice bed for a cat!

I had two left over bed covers that I had salvaged removed the zippers from last winter/spring (those zippers were broken by then so no saving them...darn). I saved the covers because they were barely used and I knew once the weather cooled she'd like the shearling again. These two covers make the winter beds obviously.

All I had to do for them was sew a seam where the zipper used to be and trim the edges. Easy as pie. Luckily I've solved some of my earlier problems with fitting this hard to bend bed into my sewing area by simply moving the Bernina to a different table that is open on that side rather then against something else. Why I didn't think of this 6 or 8 bed covers ago I am really not certain.

The summer beds are a bit more complicated, but not overly so. First step is to measure how much fabric is needed. I don't bother to iron the cotton duck unless I want to use it for something else. Really eight yards of it is hard to iron anyway. It takes a little over two for each bed.

These turned out to be as long as the fabric is wide so that step was easy. Then you simply fold over the fabric until both sides and the edges are covered. I was aiming for about 36" by 48". Cut Cut Cut....I usually make more then one cover at once, but I am sure to measure against the bed that is going in the cover just in case I cut something else wrong. This has helped me in the past.

All the seams get a double run through the machine. I want to know that if they pop a stitch the whole side won't come undone before I can fix it. I sew three sides shut at this point and 10 to 12 inches of the 4th side. I stuff the mattress pad in there and sew the remaining side shut.

Not bad for a couple hours work?

I also made both Abby and Gus a pillow. But that was way back two or three weeks ago when Harriet was made. Abby's had one for a while, but it was ruined during a bout of flu that the dogs had so needed to be replaced. It was about time for Gus to have one anyway.

Orthopedic stuff is very good for bulldogs who are prone to have hip and back problems. Bulldogs tend to be round as I'm sure you've seen in my pictures. there heads feel best (it seems) when they are raised like peoples heads. These are made just like the summer dog beds. I double stitch 3 sides and a bit of the fourth, leaving just enough to get my hand a wad of stuffing inside it. Then I stuff them firmly for better support. Sew that side shut and voila a new pillow.

They love the pillows. Abby uses hers like you and I would. She snuggles with it sometimes too. Gus enjoys his a body pillow because it is currently as long as he is. It makes for good chewing before bed too.

And yes Abby has as many toys as Gus in her crate. Did I mention they are spoiled? Including her puppies. She is a mom to three bulldog dolls and two reside in her crate and one upstairs. If you look at the picture in the link you can see that she takes *very* good care of them. Do notice the mangled one on the right. She got anxious one day. Also in that photo you can see "real mad cow" who must be in the bed with the puppies for sleeping to happen. There is an "indestructable" bone that is replaced every other month or so, because apparently they lie, but at least it lasts longer then regular bones. And a fire-hose toy. And a ....

Crafting of a different type...

A sweet co-worker of mine brought me some of my favorite Halloween candy on Friday. She didn't know it when she picked them up the night before but the dogs got sick on Thursday and we had a rough night and a _VERY_ early morning and I had to leave work early on Friday when we had a deadline so I was straining to get it all done. So Friday was rough. Luckily for me, she stopped by saying she had a surprise for me and handed me a small bag of those candy corn pumpkins. I love those. mmmmm.... Oh and she offered to help!

(She didn't seem to want her picture taken. Probably because she knew I would post it.)

I wanted to do something special for her because I appreciate