Rule Britannia!

I've been planning to make a Union Jack pillow for a couple of years. In fact, at the beginning of the summer - last year - I bought the red and blue fabric, and the pillow I was going to use, at the Good Will Bins. Remember the crap-by-the-pound shopping I did?

But, then I just shelved the fabric and used the pillow - as is. Until recently, I've been fine with that. But then the pillow began to shred and I realized it was time. Night before last I pulled out the hoarded fabric and in 30 minutes flat I had my Union Jack.

Why do these simple little things take me so long to accomplish?

Not Dead Yet . . .

Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I only smell dead.

Here, in no particular order, are some of the items that have been occupying my time.

Above: A spring skirt made from Sew Serendipity by Kay Whitt. I did an invisible zipper for the first time and am so pleased with the result that I may never do any other type from now on.

Above and below, a jacket from a pattern Migi gave me for Christmas.

Below - same jacket, different fabric.

While I was knitting the drop-mesh tee (see below) I couldn't keep the small, annoying dog away from it. She wanted to be on my lap, completely wrapped up in as much of the knitting as was possible. She has never reacted quite like this to any of my other yarn, and I had a spare skein, so I knitted her a little drop-mesh blankie of her own.

The drop-mesh tee, below. Finally, after two other incarnations, I found a pattern that worked with this tired, overknit yarn. I'm very pleased with the final result.

Pretty New Pin Cusion

I have been needing a pin cushion for so many years.

I've seen numerous styles I have really liked.

But when the tutorial for this was posted on http://jonag.typepad.com I knew I had to make one.

Canned Ham Trailer Ornament - Take Two!

Pink. With Mistletoe. & Bubble Lights,

L.O.V.E.

Canned Ham Trailer Ornament!

Look what I made today!!!!

I'd been thinking hard about it for a couple of weeks and this morning the whole thing came together - so I rushed to the fabric store to get supplies, sat myself down and started working.

What could be better than a Canned Ham Trailer Ornament? Seriously!

I've had a busy few days

Yah. I know. The picture is blurry - but so is my vision after all the blueberry picking I've done over the past several days - and this isn't even a bumper crop year!

The sock is an amazingly quick knit. I just haven't had as much time to knit as I would like (is there ever as much time to knit as I would like?). It has progressed further than in this photo, nearly to the cuff.

The quilt for The Sweet Spot is coming along nicely. I am quilting around the perimeter, then I just need to bind it.

This, however, has been the real push this weekend. I got the cushions sewn for The Sweet Spot! And, behold! They turned out just as envisioned - not something that always happens. Many of my projects morph in process and usually turn out well - just not as planned. These cushions, however, look just like I wanted them to and thought they would.

Staying on Task

The July socks are finished! The pattern is Twinkleberry just like the previous pair. This is the best sock pattern ever!

I also sneaked in an extra project. I made napkins with some of the fabric I bought at the Good Will Bins. When I saw the blue fabric, I just knew it would be for napkins - it is woven, so looks the same on both sides. I dislike cloth napkins that only have the pattern on one side - bleah! These look rather 4th of July-ish, but there you are.

If you are counting, you will notice there are only 7 napkins in the photo. I have No. 8 ready to go, but need to make a little extra bias tape.

Some Hard Truths About Me

I hate being told what to do.

I've known this for a looooong time.

What I have only recently discovered, is that I hate being told what to do - even if it is me telling me what to do.

Apparently, I will rebel and start new projects that aren't on the list, just because I said I had to finish the list first.

Pictured above is the dress I bought at GoodWill and wore to Migi's (the offspring formerly known as Cheerleader) high school graduation. I paid $7.99 for the dress and told the girls I was planning to shorten it as I felt frumpy wearing it. Both of them said I should leave it as it was - and admittedly it is a very nice dress, so I left it.

Until last night, when El Guapo told me he had seen our 68 year old neighbor lady wearing a dress that looked very similar! I immediately cut off 8 inches and used those inches to make a sweet little ruffle along the bottom. Turns out I was right all along and should have gone with my instincts. The dress was very nice, but now it is darling!

Oh, and I did finish the Urban Outfitters knock-off shrug - just in time for the summer's first 97 degree weather! So I did do one thing on my list.

I bet I'm very difficult to live with.

I've Been Canned . . .

Cheerleader (need to get a different name!) and I dropped Sunshine off at her friend's house in Monmouth this afternoon so Sunshine could spend the 4th of July with her other family. On the way there we saw a yard sale in progress and stopped at it on our way home.

Looky at what I found! 14 Wire Bail canning jars for $10.00! There are 11 quart sized jars, 2 pint sized jars and one that must be 1 1/2 quarts. All but one are very old and the newer one has French writing on it. There is even an unopened vintage box of rubber gaskets! I frequently shop for this type of jar at the second-hand stores and haven't found any for less than $4.50 each, so I considered this to be a major score!

Now I can't wait to get canning!

Here is the lavender wrap-around skirt. I made it from a rayon scarf/shawl thingy that my friend gave me. I think it is a souvenir from Mexico. It had some nice bead work on the two ends so I used those ends to make the bottom of the skirt beaded. Much more useful in skirt form!

I am so disappointed

After posting my list of works in process and projects I want to start and sternly saying I could not do anything new until I had whittled away at the list, I did finish the wrap-around skirt and I did work on the July socks.

Then, this morning, I cut 120 3 1/2 inch squares of scrap fabric - apparently with the intention of making a patchwork blanket! Is that on the list? IT IS NOT!

Do I care?

The List

NO new projects will be begun until the majority of these WIPs are completed!

1. July Socks

2. Lavender Wrap-around Skirt

3. Celtic Knot Bag/Scarf (can't decide what it is going to be yet) frogged

4. Scrappy Quilt

5. Crocheted Edging on Pillowcases

6. Circular Shrug

Once I have knocked back the above projects to a manageable level, I may begin these projects:

1. Doll with Carrying Case and Clothing

2. Apron

3. Union Jack Cushion

4. Cushions for Outdoor Furniture

5. July-and-a-half Socks

6. August Socks

The 4 oz. Skirt

This is a wrap-around skirt I got at the Good Will Bins on Friday. I really like the fabric and I like wrap-around skirts, but it was too big around and too long.

Too big around was an easy fix - I just moved the button over several inches.

Too long? Cut six inches off! Then I used some red and white polka dot fabric that I also got at the Bins to add a little interest along the bottom.

Totally ready for summer now!

And at .89 per lb. I figure this skirt cost about .22 cents!

Graduation Gifting

Cheerleader is graduating this coming Monday! One year ahead of her planned graduation date - she is only 161/2 and will be entering the community college in the Autumn!

But that isn't what this post is about - because I can't reveal our graduation gift to her yet (she occasionally reads this blog).

Instead, I will show you what I am giving her cousin - who is also graduating a year early - for a gift!

An essential sewing/repair kit and some laundry aids - what college kid (away from mom for the first time) doesn't need something like this?

I got the idea for the sewing kit from the May/June 2010 issue of Victoria Magazine. The laundry bag and ditty bag that it is packed in is from here.

The rest of this week and into the weekend is packed - Memorial Service for a beloved Uncle, two high school graduations and two graduation parties. That's a lot of food, family and friends.

Some Finished Objects

Here is a pretty little ditty bag I made using a tutorial from here.

I thought it would make a nice little gift bag for these . . .

The April socks. Finished May 18th!

A nice gift for someone who has been very helpful and supportive during recent tough times.

A Beautiful Apron & A Beautiful Spring

I sewed this apron yesterday morning using the tute from Stop Staring . . . and Start Sewing! http://jonag.typepad.com/

It was a really quick project and turned out very nicely. Have I ever mentioned how much I love aprons?

Here is the view we have had of the patio all week. El Guapo took the blue bench out of storage, noticed it needed a little repair, so just plunked it down under the flowering Dogwood - out of the way. All week I have looked out the kitchen window and the back door just to see the vignette it makes with the contrast of the blue of the bench and the pink of the blossoms. It makes me happy!

Spring is making its way to the Willamette Valley!

More Pillowcases

More pillowcases finished!

The green pair is for El Guapo and I - even though the quilt in our room is pink and yellow!

The lavender ones are Sunshine's - I wanted a better photo now the sun is out.

I used blue crochet thread for the trim. I really like how it turned out.

Posh

Look at this charming old chair El Guapo brought home to me yesterday! I've wanted a chair similar to this for a long time. Can't you just see it - dressed up in something floral and sitting demurely on the patio?

I sewed these posh pillowcases together yesterday, using the tute from here. I'm really please with how they turned out. I chose the fabric for Sunshine - her room is grey with lavender accents. Now, I am ready to crochet some pretty white trim around the edges.

I spend soooooo much time in the car waiting for girls - classes, appts., sports, etc. I need to have portable projects to keep me from going quietly insane. I hope the crochet trim lasts a while. Though, I do have one more set of pillowcases begun; a quilt to hand quilt; one more sweater sleeve; and I need to cast on another pair of socks. Surely, with that many projects going, I will have enough to do while waiting in the car!

Husband's snoring leads woman to rediscover linen closet treasures . . .

El Guapo has a cold. When El Guapo doesn't have a cold and he snores at night, I elbow him and 'hurrumph' until he turns over and quits snoring. But when he does have a cold, I could pump my elbow into his side like a piston and 'hurrumph' like crazypants and nothing would happen. I know this. And, if he's zoned out on Alka Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine, he will be completely unaware of my rising ire. So. If I have learned one thing in 20+ years of marriage, it's this. When El Guapo has a cold and starts with the snoring, go sleep on the sofa!

Two nights ago, at about 3:00 a.m., I rummaged around in the hall linen closet in the dark and finally identified two quilts that, combined, would keep me warm for the rest of the night on the sofa. One I knew was the Irish Chain quilt I made with fabric I bought on our trip to Ireland in 1999, and I was pretty sure the other was a quilt made by my Great-Grandmother, which I restored several years ago.

The neat thing about this whole nocturnal rummaging, was that in the morning I looked at the quilt made by Great-Grandma and was pleasantly surprised when I saw the work I had done on the back - which I had TOTALLY forgotten about! I chose to piece the back together and embroidered over every seam. I so clearly remember doing it - now. How could I have forgotten, even briefly, all that work?

It got me remembering about my great-grandparents. They were married for over 75 years and lived well into their nineties. One summer when I was pretty young, my Grandma took my sister and I to stay with the Great-grandparents for a few days. I remember being delighted by the way they ate a full meal, like pot roast or a roast chicken with all the trimmings, at lunchtime and then for dinner just had cottage cheese and fruit or a sandwich. I know, now, that this is how farmers used to eat - a big meal at lunchtime to get them through the day - but at the time, I just thought it a charming peculiarity of my great-grandparents.

I also remember my great-grandma allowing my sister and I to denude her rose bushes. She gave us a surprising quantity of Doan's Back Pills bottles, and we filled them with water and rose petals in an attempt to distill perfume. I think we had high hopes of selling perfume from a stand in the front lawn, but nothing came of it.

Two other little memories. Lots of gum - Chiclets I think. And a vague memory of worrying that my older sister might wet the bed. This was a very real worry, and I wasn't sure how it would be received by my grandma and the great grandparents.

So there, not only did I discover a forgotten treasure of the linen variety, but I also remembered a little treasure from my childhood.

All because El Guapo has mad snoring skills.