Q

Q is for Quilting Stash ....
It's the smallest of all my stashes (and my dh is probably extremely thankful for that LOL!). Maybe someday it will get larger, but for now, it will do =)

interesting to me ....

So today, I would like to compile all the wonderful things that I have found on-line that I would like to someday make! =)
This, I have to say, is one of the reasons I love the internet and reading blogs ... all these ideas that I can get from other people! So many creative people out there, full of great ideas, and it inspires me to want to be creative as well!!!
Anyway, here is my list, along with where I saw the idea ... if nothing else, go visit some of these other blogs - they are all fun to read!

1. From Rhubarb Patch:
Pillow Cases

2. From All This By Hand:
Birthday goodies
Monkey Quilt

3. From Craft Magazine:
Artic Lace
Pattern Row Counter

4. From Chef Messy:
Magnets

5. From Step Into My Thimble:
Dear Jane
Ballet Wrap Sweater

6. From Treefall :
Playmat

7. From KnitFlix:
A Step Above

8. From Stephanie's Crafting Obsession:
Feather and Fan

9. From Grumperina Goes to Local Yarnshops and Home Depot:
Top-Down Seamless Raglan Sweater
Cable Twist Socks
Silk Alpaca Ruffle Scarf
Votive Holders

10. From Knittymommy :
The Baby Heirloom Shawl
Manly Dishcloths

11. From The Whole Ball(s) of Yarn:
Argyle Sweater
All in One sleeping Bag

12. From Wool Windings:
Preemie Project Items
More Preemie Project Items
Blankets
In Memory Preemie Project
Preemie Project Hat
Baby Kimono
Pumpkin Patch

13.From From Knitting Sunshine:
I Wanna Fly
Blanket
Royal baby
Too Cute
Backyard Leaves

14. From Pink Lemon Twist:
Picovoli
Melanie's Twist

15. From Sil's KnitBlog:
Simply Red Cardi

16. From Wool is Wonderful:
Little Hooded Sweater
Little Lambs Blanket

17. From The Blue Blog:
The Color Purple

18. From A Digital Yarn:
Sweater

19. From Knot In My Thread:
Ribbon Edge Cardigan

20. From Lolly Girl:
Scarf

21. From Tales of a Keyboard Biologists:
Unchained Melody

It seems the more I read, the more I want to do ... someday if I can accomplish just one or two of these things Ill be pretty satisfied =)

Christmas ...

According to Organized Christmas there are 60 more days until Christmas.
How in the world did that happen? Holy cow ... I have all these great gifts I want to make, but with only 60 more days to go? I think I will have to pick a special few to make and go from there honestly. There are 2 aprons I want to make, 2 sweaters I want to knit, some embroidered towels and I was hoping for a table runner or two to quilt. That's a lot to accomplish in 60 days, unless of course I hire a full-time live in sitter and simply work on crafts all day!
I suppose I will simply have to have back-up plans for some of these ideas and hope to accomplish as much as possible without losing my mind.
And the lesson to be learned ... start working on Christmas presents much earlier next year ... like maybe around the time there are, oh, 360 days until Christmas? (which actually I have a pretty big quilting gift I would like to make for someone and I think I will have to start right after this Christmas to get it done!)

So, the plans for the weekend are shopping, swatching and searching for the right patterns! And I need to finish up sweater for my oldest dd and a baby shower gift! So for the next 60 days you can find me knitting, sewing, and embroidering pretty much every single day!

Halloween costumes

Here they are - all done! I think they turned out very well ...
I would like to point out a few things though -
Each costume consists of the dress underneath and the overcoat. The dresses underneath were way to fancy IMO and in hindsite, they could have been made far simplier, but oh well.
In an effort to save money I hand made all the flowers and the snowflakes. Again, I almost would have rather spent the money and just bought them. Although, I have never made flowers before and now I can add that to my list of things I know how to do.
Thirdly, my oldest was insistant that her ribbon trim be both blue and silver. We couldn't find anything that fit the bill. So I bought blue ribbon and silver ribbon and hand-sewed them together (because I was afraid I wouldn't line it up well on the machine). I wish I had either said NO! to having silver and blue OR just used the machine and hoped for the best ... it's a costume afterall! But alas I didn't.
So there are the costumes. I will say, I am glad they are done now! I finished them up today ... which is good as we have TWO halloween parties tomorrow, one Friday, a possible one Saturday, an event to wear them to Monday and of course Trick or Treating!
Hey, at least they will get a lot of wear! =)

Light at the end of the tunnel ...

I am almost finished with 2 very lovely Halloween costumes.
I still have some finishing touches to add - some details that shouldn't take much time at all.
Aside from that, they are done. They are actually wearable right now - but the missing details will make an okay costume a great costume!
But, you are thinking, there are no pictures ... nope. Someone borrowed my memory card reader and hence I have no ability to get the pictures off of my camera.
Darn it. I'm bummed! I really want to share pictures!

And I want to be done with these Halloween costumes! I'm tired of them - they turned out to be much more complicated to do than I originally thought they would be. But most of all, I'm anxious to get some knitting done! Knitting, you know that thing I used to do? I have several sweaters I want to start, a blanket to do, some booties to do. And not only that, but I have other sewing projects I want to make and put together.

I am excited to move onto other things. And I hope soon I will have some pictures to show you and some new projects to start!

Non-knitting content ....

I bring you my very cute darling boy today since I have no knitting/sewing/etc updates.
Enjoy! (and yes, that is sadly, my high pitched voice in the background LOL!)

Project Runway ...

my comments about the season finale (that I posted right away last night) I have taken them away because Sheepish Annie reminded me (through what she put in her blog) that not everyone may have watched it yet.
Oops.
Sorry.
I guess I don't think about things like that and probably I should.

Now, that said.
I am sad to say, I have nothing finished. Not one costume done. Bummer. Maybe they should be these fairies next year ..... no, hopefully it won't come to that. I hope!

Well ...

(for the second time this week I start with well ... )
So ... Jeffrey it is.
Very interesting. Very interesting.

I have to say, after the final runway, I really didn't have a clear desire for any of the 4 to win.
Michael, did dissapoint. The first pieces all being white kind of threw me too. My dh said it was done for a reason he was sure, but he didn't know the reason. However, he didn't see why I didn't like the white first and the colors later ... maybe the woman finding herself was starting as a blank slate? Then moving to that wild print at the end?
Laura, felt like the same old, same old walking down the runway. Now, I have to say, I do like what she does, but yet, it does seem like it's the same thing over and over. One of her dresses (with minor changes) I even told dh I would like to wear - he said that he thought it wouldn't wear well on me though.
Uli, well, I like what she does honestly. A few of her pieces I wasn't so sure of ... but most of them I think look great. However, they would not look great on me.
[Note: I don't believe most clothes look great on me, but a lot of the front's of Uli's outfits look even worse on me than other things, but mostly because I'm VERY self-conscious about my chest area, and her clothes tend to show it off I think!]
Jeffrey, well I thought Jeffrey was Jeffrey. I likes some of what he showed, some things I think what in the world is this guy thinking?!

I guess what it boils down to, is that tonight I hardly saw anything coming down the runway that I would wear in public or that I saw things I thought would particularly flatter me. Which, I suppose, seeing as I'm not thin, tall, with a small (but proportionate) chest area, means that most things on the runway I can't see myself wearing. Which takes some of the fun out of it for me.

I agree that all four of these contestants have made a name for themselves in the fashion industry ... I hope they all succeed at following this dream and that the publicity from PR serves them well. And to Jeffrey, I say, congratulations! Enjoy winning and, please, oh please, stop trashing the other contestants ;-)



And on that note ... I'm off to create my own Runway Creation aka Halloween Costume for my dd! LOL!

Countdown ...

We have about 6 hours 34 minutes 23 seconds until the Project Runway Finale and about an extra 50 minutes until we see who wins.
Okay, so I made up the seconds, but really, is that important? ;-)
I can NOT wait to see it and see who wins.
And I don't know who I want to win at this point ... I don't know! Most of what they make I don't think I'd ever actually wear, and I like things about all of their designs.
So the runway show will be very good to see tonight. Hopefully I'll have a clear favorite and then that person will win! LOL!

Well ...

I have all the pieces cut out. Not too much put together though.
Hmmm.
And the blanket I'm making, well I hate it. I'm frogging the entire thing tomorrow. Never even took a picture of it.
I will find something else to give expecting momma for the babyboy on the way ...
But better to take more time and find something I'll like than sit and hate what I'm knitting, when that hatred started at row 8.
But priority 1 right now is costumes!

Not enough time ...

to do all the wonderful things I would like to!
I have been slowly, but surely, working on Halloween costumes ...
My oldest's costume is cut out and pieced together. It needs to be hemmed and needs to have the trim, button, and clasp put on it.
After I send this out, I will cut out the pieces for my middle dd's costume ... at least I hope so =) If I can just get those pieces cut out - I'll feel a lot better. The sewing I can slowly do during this week.
If it comes down to it, I can bring both costumes on the road this weekend and hand sew the trim on - and I can hand sew the hem if needed be. The trim I think I'll do by hand no matter what, but I prefer to machine sew the hem.
We'll see what happens ... my 4g I think needs to have some sort of cover for her costume. I'm pretty sure that I have some pink fleece somewhere in a box. So I might cut out a cape/hood type thing for her to also wear. I'll have enough trim that I use on her costume I think to line the edges of that as well - I'm afraid that it will be too cold for even that to be enough for her, but we'll see what happens.
I just hope and pray that I finish these and preferably by the time I leave Friday ... I think we have at least 3 halloween parties on the slate - 2 other weekly activities to wear costumes too AND of course actual trick or treating!
Better sign off and get working now! ;-)
Everyone cross your fingers that I have pictures to show this week!

Project Runway ...

Okay, I have mostly liked Laura ... yeah, she isn't perfect. I think 98% of what she made on the show was the same dress in different fabric ... but overall, she seems pretty, you know, okay overall.
But seriously last night I just wanted to jump through the TV and ask was she really taht jealous? I have no proof. It's just a gut feeling. A feeling because all of Jeffrey's work was done and finished?
Granted, we can't see up close the detail she feels is uncharacteristic for him ... but at the same time, shouldn't all of them have a bit better craftsmanship right now than when they only had 12-24 hours to complete an outift, when they've had more time to work on it?
And Uli and Michael, despite Michael saying he was thinking the same thing as Laura said it the first time, I don't buy it ... I think they didn't think anything of it, and then Laura talked and Michael agreed quickly, Uli resisted at first, looking at the work, saying it was not perfect, and then she changed her mind like that.

Now, I understand it is a competition and Laura is there to win ... but do you think if anyone else had walked in with that collection completely finished, she would have said anything? Well, I will tell you, I don't think so at all. But I wasn't there and can only see what they show us in those short 45 minutes ....

I also think that if she really thought that he cheated, she should have gone to Tim, talked to him, and see what happened. I will say, I'm glad she told Jeff up front she did say something to Tim, but I think by going to the others first she made it a circus, a spectacle, etc, etc.

So of course after all that and the previews for next week, I wondered would Jeffrey be eliminated? I have come to the conclusion he must not have been. Afterall, Tim has a video www.bravotv.com/projectrunway of the tent before the runway show, and he says in it, there are 48 models and I think there is a shot where they show Jeffrey - so, I'm assuming based on that, Jeffrey remains in it ....
But we will not know for sure until next week. I will be anxiously awaiting what happens ... and probably it's pretty sad that 1) I know all of this 2)I've thoguth so much about it and 3) I'm looking forward to next week so much! LOL!

Oh well, but I have to have fun, and this is my fun right now =)

Now what ...

What to do now? I have a million things I want to do ...
I started a new blanket but after only 2 inches into it, I'm not feeling it. I think I might just frog what I have and start over with a different pattern. It's supposed to be a present for an expecting friend, so I want to make her something, but I'm thinking this blanket is not the one to go with.
I still have a sweater to complete for my other dd, I have a pattern for my son that I would like to make and if I had time to sift through patterns, I could easily find a million and one other things that interested me.
Aside from knitting, I have 2 halloween costumes to make (probably I should be doing that pretty darn soon), the placemats to finish, and I need to decide what, if anything to make for christmas and then maybe start those projects as well - and if I'm lucky, finish them as well! LOL!
Too much to do and not enough time in the day and sleep is too precious to give up right now for craft items LOL!

Finished ....

The entire outfit ... it is very long IMO, but it's what the pattern said. I hope I get to see the baby in it, or a picture because I want to see how it looks on ... if it looks like it's 4 inches or so too long!

a close-up of the top ...

Project Specs ...
Pattern: from Vogue Knitting on the Go: Baby Gifts
Yarn: Carons Simply Soft
Time spent: 6 weeks I think (too lazy to go back and check)
What I learned ...
Okay, the back piece was not fun to knit, but a little after I started the front piece, I was finally able to connect with the pattern. Basically I learned to follow the pattern and didn't need to look at the directions after each row. I kind of followed the cables and that made it much easier to knit. I still don't like bobbles though LOL!! Also, my second object that required piecing. I am beginning to feel comfortable with piecing now too ... I still need to do it a few more times, but it was not as nerve racking as with the ballet sweater.

I'm glad I made it. I like how it looks now that it is done. But I probably won't jump to make another one for a bit ... I need a break from the cables and bobbles LOL!

Project Runway

Okay, I am so addicted to this show. I love it. I sometimes dream I'm on it (which is funny because I can't really do 10% of what they are doing on the show!) but I dream I have to ask people to teach me to run the machines, and how to put things together and somehow I end up not being the worst until the finally 3 when I show up to Fashion Week with NOTHING done! I suppose it's a lot like the dream where you show up for a final and you realize you never attended the class or something.

Anyway, the little reunion show tonight was very interesting to watch. I can't wait to see what the 4 designers show on the runway. It will be so interesting! And the winner, I just don't know who it will be. I like each of the 4 left for different reasons, so the big runway show will be a must see for me. I can't wait! And from the previews tonight, seems that the drama will be very high at that point still


In other news ...
I hit the Jo-Anne's that's closing again. :X Picked up a bunch more patterns and a few fabrics. My dd has requested some hair ties, so she had fun skipping along picking things out for those. I might get to them by the time she has dd's who are her current age LOL!
Baby bunting has a hood and one sleeve. It is missing 2 side seams, the other sleeve and some buttons.
Friday morning we leave for a trip out of town that will net us about 6 hours each way. I have started a baby blanket and will have the other ballet sweater to work on - which will be more than enough to work on, but I like to have more than one project in case I get tired of one. Yes, I can lose interest quickly, especially when I feel trapped in a car for too long LOL!
But hoping to finish baby bunting by tomorrow night (tonight if I can keep my eyes open long enough) and be done with it. I really do love it, I just don't love working on it anymore! LOL!