Fun with Knitting (and Quilting)

Hi my name is Michelle and I have too much yarn!

OK seriously! Why do I keep buying this stuff? OK because it's yummy and pretty and soft...

I was trying to straighten my yarn room I mean spare bedroom today while in the midst of deciding what project to start next. (Lotus blossom is DONE and blocking) Not that I couldn't pick up the about 1 of 10 or so UFO's lying around the room. And well there is no where to put it! the dresser and night stand are full, under the bed is full, on top of the bed and the floor are covered, and well the closet that's full too (though it's not all yarn-there are some clothes and a filing cabinet and some other stuff in there) Ahh I think I may have some room in a couple drawers in my sewing room, but then I just ordered some more fabric!..anyway I really should go on a serious yarn diet for awhile. That never seems to work out for me! I think I have a problem! LOL It is really getting out of hand!!

Toby says, "My mommy has tooooo much yarn!"

FO picts to come soon of Tina and Lotus Blossom..Just have to get hubby to take some good pictures!

FO Kimberly Bag

So Yay she's finished! this was much easier than the Sophia bag I tell you! I cut the fabric out one day last week and did all the interfacing, then worked on it a bit one day and finished it up the next. Maybe 2-3 hours total sewing time, plus the cutting. I'm VERY happy with how it came out! (Which is good because I have the fabric to make another!) I can't decide if I want to use it as a purse or a knitting bag, though I suppose I could switch back and forth too!

Anyway the specs, there really aren't many!  It's the Kimberly Bag from Amy Butler and I also used her fabrics (I just love them!) I got the pattern and fabric from QuiltHome. (I love their service-very fast and they have lots in stock!  Not just Amy Butler either-there's this Joel Dewberry fabric and much more!) And yes I used the same fabric as is on the pattern again! My 2nd one will be different though! <grin>

So the weather here today is cold and rainy-like 68 degrees or something! So I think I'm going to go sew a skirt! I'm using a new look pattern recommended by Robin, but Amy Butler Fabric!

Progress

So I've been moving along on my Lotus Blossom tank. The lace is done, the front is done and now I'm knitting on the back. Hope to finish this up by sometime this or next week.

I'm so glad that I finished the lace. I'm very proud of myself, as this is the most complicated lace of done to this point!

I've also made some progress on flow:

I'm doing this in the round instead of flat!

And when I don't want to think I work on my Log Cabin:

this is meant to be sort of a long term project.

Tina is still hanging out, I really need to work on fixing that darn neckline. I did pull out what I did on the neck line originally. So no new picts of it..it looks the same as before! I think that maybe I will take it with me to work on on the deck today.

Speaking of the deck..here's my newest hangout!  The set is from Sears, it was on sale and we used some of our cash from the garage sale we had last week! I love it! Now to order covers for it today too!  Know anyone who needs a 40s or 50s Seaburg Jukebox that doesn't work? That was the only big thing that didn't sell at our sale!

I so want to cast on for another summer tank, (and another cardi I ripped out and need to reknit in a smaller size) but I've told myself I have to finish one project before I start another!

I'll have another bag FO very soon!

FO Sophia bag!

Well OK it's not quite finished! I still need to finish sewing in the lining! If you look close enough you will see the pins in there!

The pattern is the Sophia Bag by Amy Butler. The fabric in and out are also Amy Butler fabric as well.

Anyway I started this during spring break, and I got really frustrated with sewing in the bottom so I set it aside, for a long time, then when I was cleaning out my sewing room last week, it was bothering me so yesterday I was determined to finish it!

The bottom was tough to get in, with all the piping and stuff!  But the lining was much easier and went very quickly.

Other than getting that ^%*#@ bottom in, the pattern was pretty easy! I think her patterns are really well written and easy to follow and over all I enjoyed sewing it. So much so that I cut out fabric and am ready to go on the Kimberly Bag. I actually have fabric to make 2 of these!

I  really like this bag! I did use the same fabric as the pattern picture on the outside but I LOVED it and well I'd of bought the bag if I could have bought it finished!

Almost

OK so the Tina Tank is seamed up and I'm working on the edging. The pattern calls for you to knit 1 1/4" then bind off. What doyou think? Well I kind of wanted to crochet the edging around the neck and the arm holes. Here's what it looks like pre edging...

I think if I knit around the neck it will be too tight. I started the crochet around the neck last night and I'm a bit undecided about it! There are a few mods, more on that with the FO post! I love the top though, and the colors are great they do remind me of Key West where I bought the yarn! Which is incidentally where I may be going on Vacay this summer!

I also whipped up 2 "wheel chair bags" this morning for a friend of the family who is in a wheel chair.  She can attach this to her chair and put her cordless phone in it. She had totally worn out her first one, so I made 2 today so she'd have a spare!

So the weather last week was in the upper 80s low 90s and now today it's in the 60s! Crazy! I wish it would pick a temp! Last week it was too hot to knit outside much, now this week it's almost too cool! Oh well I shouldn't complain I guess!!

The Lotus Blossom tank is comein along slowly but surely! I have to work on the lace alone, in the queit or I mess up. I plan to work on it this afternoon! I'm on the 3rd lace repeat!

I was out and about for WWKIP day! What fun! I went to River Colors and hung out there. Though my friends and I got hot, and ended up knitting inside. It was still agreat time with lots of knitters, and of course I forgot my camera! DUH!

2 new projects

So since I finished knitting the front of my Tina Tank and it was blocking (I'm planning on seaming it up tonight or tomorrow.) and my mom was supposed to have knee surgery today (long story-we were all there and they had to cancel it for today because of a UTI that the doctors office or someone there apparently forgot to call her and call in a RX for her)..I decided to start a new project, then another one.

The first is some nice easy brainless knitting...it is the Pretty in Pink tank from Delicious Stitches. ( I also want to make the Lillian tank of hers too) Super cute and super easy. I'm using some stash yarn..tangerine TLC cotton plus, it was cheap and it's cotton, and I've been watching it my stash for a couple of years and it hasn't knit itself into anything so I thought, hey why not!

The second project requires MUCH more thought! It's the Lotus Blossom tank from Interweave. I believe it's still a free download on Knitting Daily.  I have the SWTC Bamboo (first generation-not as soft as the current version I hear) I intend to make it longer by 1 or 2 lace repeats. I'll decide when I get there-as I'm only on round 12 Right now!

It's still in the 90s here in my part of Ohio which is crazy because last week it was like 60! OK so I'm trying not to complain too much, the 90s are just to hot for outside knitting which is one of my favorite things to do in the summer.  So  I started the cleaning  out of my sewing room. I am trying to do a major overhaul and get rid of a bunch of stuff that has been laying around for quite some time. So far I have one garbage bag of small scraps, and 1 30 gallon bag of fabrics to try to sell at our garage sale in a few weeks or give away. I also have 2 quilts in progress that I have decided to part with. They will never be finished!  I have some embroidery blanks and stuff still to go through. I don't use the embroidery unit for my sewing machine very much anymore...I'd rather be knitting. I still have a ton to do, and will work on it some more tomorrow. Then onto the yarn! Scary...

FREEDOM....

Ahh the George Michael(I so still love this man!)Freedom 90 - George Michaelsong is running through my head..

Today was my last day with students. I'm thrilled to be done, but really overall I liked the kids in my class this year! (Sure some drove me crazy on a daily basis-but they all have good qualities). I started out thinking that this year was going to be so awful, after getting laid off last year on the last day of school. Then being called back to teach 5th grade instead of 1st which is what I'd taught for for 9 years. Then it turned out that hey I like this age. I don't think I'd go back to first grade again (unless I had too). So this year turned out so much better than I thought, and now I can actually kind of look forward to fall. But I'm also really looking forward to this summer. Last year was soo bad not knowing if I was going to be called back to my job or where I would be. I'm very thankful that it all worked out so well. It went so much better than I ever expected. (so if any of my students find this blog-thanks to you guys too!)

Anyway, I have big plans in mind for this summer! I have lots of knitting and sewing plans! First on my list though is to "air out the stash"! Yarn and Fabric. I seriously need to look at some of my older projects and decide what to do with them. I want to go through everything in those 2 (yes 2) rooms. I plan on getting both of those things done next week!  I also need to get my sewing machine tuned up, should have done that before school got out.

I'm pretty much in summer mode with my knitting at this point I'm almost done with my Tina Tank from Berocco I'm using stash yarn that I bought on a cruise in Key West back in 2006! It's cotton twist from Berocco in a color that looks like the inside of a conch shell(Morandi mix I think). It reminds me of Key West. I hope to finish up the front this week.The back is done and blocking. The Lotus Blossom tank is up next in my que!

A new project was also calling me...it's called the Bailey Felted Purse (I can't find any references to it on Ravelry or the web!) Anyway it's a cute bag made out of 3 skeins of Cascade 128. I'm using a fuchsia tweed. Thought it'd be fun.

Also my poor baby Abby had to have surgery a little over a week ago. She had a fatty tumor removed from her side, so she had a pretty big incision. she's had to wear t-shirts since her surgery to keep her from messing with the stitches. Well turns out she loves her shirts. Since she's so big- 87 pounds, she's been wearing ladies shirts. She has some fun colors now...I can't find doggie ones in her size. She just looks so darn cute in them! She is finally getting back to her normal ornery self. She gets  her stitches out on Thursday. We'll probably keep her in her shirts for another week or so, so the wound heals up good.

OK Enough rambling for today!

FO Lemonade Eyelets

My new favorite Finished Object!!!!!

This fits great! I wore it to my cousin's wedding today and it was perfect for the weather! My cami goes pretty well with it too! (I wish I had more picts but hubby wasn't very cooperative with the camera today!)

Anyway here are the details:

Pattern: Blue Sky Alpaca Eyelet Cardigan

Size: 36-38" Med.

Yarn: Blue Sky cotton in Lemonade

Needles: size 7 Knit Picks Options

Mods I added 2 extra eyelet repeats to the body & only used 1 button hole, other than that I knit the pattern as written. It was a pain in the butt to seam, but I'm glad I took my time because I really love this sweater!

As always more details found over on Ravelry

Happy Birthday to me!

So today is my birthday, and I was off work, yay! I did have Dr's appointment, but after that they day was mine! So since one of my fave LYS was near my doctors office, I stopped in and bought myself a present.. (OK a few presents)

3 skeins of Cascade 128 for this cute felted bag.

A skein of the new comfort sock, cause well I couldn't resist the color way and I'd been wanting to try out this yarn, plus the shop I was at is going to be doing this cool Socks on the Patio this summer, so ya know..

Then what I went in for 8 skeins of Seduce as well as the Norah Gaughan Pattern book I wanted. I plan on making Flow out of it.

Since it was my birthday, Liz the owner of Birds of a Feather,(the same Birds that Wendy of Knit and Tonic visited when she was in Cleveland a few weeks back) packed everything all up in this cute little tote.

Oh yeah I cannot forget what hubby got me for my birthday. Though I've been carrying it around for a week or two now. Cute huh?

And of course to wrap things up a gratuitous photo of my niece from the weekend, shhh she's incognito!

almost 2 FOs?!

So amongst my dyeing, and the craziness of having this that or the other thing EVERY weekend since Easter and still having things going on through the middle of June. Seriously EVERY weekend! I have been knitting.

I have 2 almost done cardis!

The Eyelet Cropped Cardi:

The color is more yellow than it appears here. This is a super cute knit! I've had the knitting done for a week now and it has been sitting on the kitchen table waiting to be seamed up! Last night I spent nearly 2 hours setting in the sleeves. I still need to seam up the sides, and decide what to do about the buttons/button holes. I think I'm only going to put one button at the top. I want to get it all sewn up and try it on before I decide for sure. I'm hoping I love it because my friend Dawn gave me some white Blue sky cotton that I'm planning on making a 2nd cardi out of!

My other knit is based on the Anthropologie Inspired Caplet.

It was was more inspired by Stacey and her Ponchita though! I loved hers and had to have my own! I got the yarn a couple weeks ago. I hope to finish it up this weekend too!

Wish me luck!

Sunday we are going to Columbus to celebrate my brother's b-day(the 8th), Mother's day, and my b-day (the 22nd). So at least I'll have 4 or so hours of good car knitting I hope! Plus I get to see my little niece who is now walking! She was just getting ready to toddle around last time I saw her!

I am so ready for school to be over! My kids are super goofy, squirrely, orenery now. 11 Days to go!