Where I've Been; Where I'm Going

When you love someone, all your saved-up wishes start coming out.

- Elizabeth Bowen

And I meant to post sometime in July . . . So where have I been?

Working, of course. Loving having my husband home. And doing a little creating here and there.

Knitting

Debbie Bliss' Alphabet Blanket, which was vastly entertaining and far less painful than I had feared.

The Heirloom Baby Aran from an old IK - they weren't kidding about the "heirloom" part - this one took forever.

A little stashbusting in garter stitch.

And I didn't just stop there:
Lots of little sweaters, hats, and even a pair of booties.

Sewing

Blankets, complete with (fairly) straight seams and not-too-bad-for-a-total-beginner machine applique.
Flannel burp clothes (and getting this adorable doctor one from a friend).

Noticing a theme here? Because here's the big project:

Growing a Baby

A baby boy due January 29th! He's already the world's most adorable baby/soccer star, and we couldn't be more excited. And distracted. And terrified. And exhilarated.

So it's probably no surprise that all my crafting energies have turned to wee small things. And the rest of my time is spent researching car seats, cribs, and the like. Blogging is just not in the picture for me anymore, although I'm enjoying keeping up with all your blogs in my feed reader. I've loved sharing our knitting and our lives over the past few years, so thanks for that, and thanks for your good wishes as we move on into this next wonderful phase of our lives.

A baby will make love stronger,

days shorter, nights longer,

bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier,

the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.

- Proverbial

Lounging About

Once a guy starts to wear silk pajamas, it's hard to get up early.
-Eddie Arcaro

I'm doing my part to shore up the economy today by lounging about in my new pajamas and shopping online.

Which leads me to all sorts of happy thoughts on my new pajamas, so let's talk about my very first sewn garment.
T's First Pajamas
Pattern: Simplicity "It's so easy" pattern 2731 for Misses' Pajamas (1st one here)
Fabric: a flannel snowflake print I bought at Joanne's last year on a sale. Anyone know why it says "not intended for children's sleepwear" on the selvage edge?
Notes: I followed the pattern exactly, as best as I could . . . which isn't saying much.
Best Thing About This Project: The lounging, of course!

It's not perfect - somehow I ended up with this accidental pleat sewn into the hem. Since I made them comfortably long, you can't really tell when they're on. I am proud of the buttonholes and the drawstring: JayJay encouraged me to make them by hand, since I'd forgotten the manual to my sewing machine and I couldn't figure out how to use the buttonhole feature without it. I think they came out pretty well.

Now I guess I'd better go stop lounging, and move onto a stressful afternoon of meeting the girls for a matinee!

That Other Needle

One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas.
How he got into my pajamas, I'll never know.
-Groucho Marx

Knitting? What knitting? I've been muddling my way through this:
Sewing patterns are a bit daunting if you're not used to them. It's a really good thing JayJay held my hand through the beginning when I got to see her last weekend. Otherwise I'm pretty sure I never would have gotten off the ground.

On a related note, did you know that you can actually use up a whole spool of thread?I'd actually never really considered such a thing. As I pondered when I saw that the price sticker said "Clover $1.29." That's a store that's been out of business for at least a dozen years, and I suspect that I stole it from my mom when I went to college some ten years ago. (Sorry, Mom!)

Here's a sneak preview of my first-ever sewn garment: The pajama pants are almost done, full details to follow.

Under The Wire

But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restored and sorrows end.
-William Shakespeare

Well, I've had a pretty all-around crafty weekend . . . which explains why I'm blogging just before bed at 9:30 on Sunday evening. (I get up early.)

I knit. I sewed. I'm working on pajama pants - my first-ever sewn garment. It's going well, although even this simple pattern is more involved than I would have guessed. And it's a really good thing JayJay was there to hold my hand and show me which way was up in the pattern and lend me fabric scissors. Wow - they're sharp!

Anyway, then I knit some more and even cooked for friends. Like I said, crafty. But of course I have no photos as of yet.

So instead of a second photo-less post in two days, I'll share some photos I've been meaning to post since August. I believe I mentioned that my dear friend Kate D. (cheer her on for NaNoWriMo here) got married. You know she's a good friend when she invites you to stay at her parents' house for the wedding so that you won't be lonely because your husband couldn't come. As a bonus, I got to sleep in the presence of delightful craftiness.

Let's all admire the wonderful hand-embroidered pillowcases that Kate's grandmother made. They adorn the "extra" bed pillows on the guest bed, on top of a lovely handmade scrap quilt. But then, what to do with the other pillowcases, since there were more than could be displayed at the same time? In a stroke of pure genius, Kate's mom made them into valances. Aren't they perfect up there? What a great idea!

About Time

Time has no divisions to mark its passage,
there is never a thunder-storm or blare of trumpets
to announce the beginning of a new month or year.
-Thomas Mann

It's only taken me a year . . .

I made a bobbin.
And threaded the sewing machine.
And sewed three seams. To make this very irregularly-shaped pillow insert.
Which I stuffed mostly with yarn scraps, plus a little Fiberfill. (You knew I was saving them for a reason, didn't you?) Because I wanted a very firm pillow.
Because of it's awesome (and rather unusual) shape.The Humbug Pillow is now finished (my UFO Resurrection for May). More importantly, my sewing machine is all threaded up, and I actually sewed something. I'm embarassed to say how easy it was. . . Any thoughts for what my next project should be? This was fun.

The Humbug Pillow
Pattern: from Debbie Bliss' Home
Yarn: Cotton Ease (Old Style) - stash busting!
Needles: US 8 circulars, something metal
Notes: I didn't swatch, so I just knit it to the dimensions and made the pillow as long as they said. I suspect that my gauge was a little tight because the photo is the book is more "square" whereas mine has a distinct oblong-ness - it's longer in one direction. But it's perfect for lying back against. Also, I was worried that the lining fabric might show through, so I picked something complimentary and on sale. Isn't it cute?
Best Thing About This Project: Clearly, using my sewing machine. But a runner up is how much I like the finished project. It's a perfect reading pillow - props your head up at just the right angle.

The weekend was full of all sorts of other crafty goodness (of the knitting variety) as well. It's incredible how long an actual weekend - two whole days off - is.