Friday Night Sew-In?

I know last night was Friday Night Sew-In but not much happened here. While we have waited to hear about my husband's next job, I haven't felt like quilting. Yesterday, he was offered a job (and once contracts are signed we'll say where - sorry mom) and we are all feeling better. So I didn't touch my sewing machine yesterday as I was busy planning and trying to find us a new place to live but I hope to this weekend. My husband is out of town until Tuesday and plans are to get some quilting done after the kids go to sleep. Although one night is devoted to "Pride and Prejudice" (the mini-series with Colin Firth not the movie version). I like to watch all 6 episodes in 1 night when my husband goes out of town. 

The only crafting I did yesterday was casting on a cardigan for myself. On my Thursday post I showed 3 bags holding 3 projects that I wanted to start for myself. I decided on the slightly warmer cardigan with short sleeves. It will have cables and I figure I probably won't finish it until late summer/early fall which will be the perfect weather for it. I got 7 rows of the ribbing done yesterday. And that's it.

I also showed the beginning of this cardigan for my daughter. I worked on it Thursday and was able to add a few pattern repeats. The pattern is real easy to memorize and can be found here.

Hopefully others got more done last night than I did. Visit Bobbi's blog this month to see what others did last night.

I'm Still Here

Haven't been in blogging frame of mind lately. We are currently waiting to hear where we will be moving this summer and my mind has been distracted with what-if's. I tried to focus on writing last week and added over 8,000 words to the novel I started during NaNoWriMo in November but have struggled to write much this week. My son made his first visit to a hospital (he was born at home) for his first stitches on Sunday. He got 3 on his forehead so he's been getting extra cuddles this week. 

I can't seem to focus on quilting so I've been doing a lot of knitting and have a few finishes and a couple starts to share. Might try to get my quilting mojo back tomorrow with Friday Night Sew-In. Sign up here if you are interested in joining.

Monday I finished the mate for the stripe socks. These were made using leftovers from other socks I have knitted. I still have a little bit of each colour left over. Might use them to make some barbie clothes.

Started this as a gift for a teacher and then changed my mind and we got her something else. I love the yarn and the colours and since it is sock weight yarn it is nice and light. However, I don't know what to do with it now. If my sister doesn't claim it (I don't think there's anyone else in my family who would wear this), then I am going to unravel it and use the yarn for something else - I may have the pattern picked already:)

Close-up. This used short rows and wrapped stitches which was actually fun (sorry if you don't know what this sentence is talking about). It's the Pinkerton Shawl and was in an issue of Interweave Knits.

Last night I finished a second Boneyard Shawl (free pattern on ravelry). This is a gift for a teacher. The 3rd grade teacher volunteers her time to teach English Country dances (think dances you see in Jane Austen movies). My daughter is in the group and they have done 2 performances this spring. I thought she deserved something for all the time she has put in.

Those were all my finishes. Now onto my starts. My daughter turns 10 in about 2 weeks! She's a bit of a girly girl but said she wanted something with a skull on it. So a pink hat with a skull in silver beads it is. This is also a free pattern.

She had also requested a cardigan. I decided on a simple short-sleeve cardigan with an easy lace pattern. If I actually focused on it, I think it would knit up fast. I am using a baby-sport weight yarn so if should be nice and light for cool days.

And these 3 bags? They hold the projects I really want to work on. And they're all for me - I know, selfish. 2 of them are cardigans made out of sock yarn, perfect for when you need just a little something. The other is a slightly heavier yarn but has short sleeves. I haven't started any of them yet but I really, really want to. If I make some progress on the things for my daughter I'll let myself start one. But which one? These are the things that keep me up at night.

What to do next

On Friday I finished the cardigan for my dad whose birthday is today - Happy Birthday Dad! I bought buttons on Saturday and put them on Sunday. My daughter then helped model it. A little big for her...

... but it seems to fit the two of us. 

Here it is, getting ready to be packed up. I know he'll receive this just in time for summer but when the weather cools this fall, I know he'll enjoy it.

I didn't have to buy another skein of the yarn so my yarn diet is still going strong. This is all I had left at the end - I should have put something beside it for scale but I can fit the leftover yarn in the palm of my hand and make a fist around it, so it isn't very much.

My crafting slowed on Sunday due to a wasp sting that caused my right arm to go completely numb. It was an interesting feeling and I woke up Monday morning with all the feeling back but the muscles really sore. Keeping it moving helped so I finished the last 16 of the blocks for Luke's quilt and got them all ironed.

I got the first 4 columns put together Monday and the last 4 yesterday. Just need to finish piecing the back, then I can start basting and quilting it. I had thought of doing something fancy but now I am leaning towards straight lines as the fabrics make the quilt feel really busy already.

I am also battling a strong case of Startitis with both quilts and knitting. There are about 4 quilts I would like to start NOW. I ironed the fabrics for one of them but not sure if I am going to let myself start it or not.

I did start this shawl as a thank you for one of the teachers. She has been teaching my daughter and a few other students old English dances 2 days a week after school, for free, for most of the school year. They had a performance on Saturday and have another one this Saturday. I think she deserves a little something. This is the Boneyard shawl that I have made once already. 

I used yarn overs for the increases this time which give the middle and sides these lines of holes. It's knitting up quickly. I just cast it on, on Monday.

Here is my UFO for May. I didn't even touch the one for April. (What happened to April by the way? How did it get to be May?) I have the middle section all quilted and I started adding the first side panel when I got frustrated with it last year and put it aside. I got it out yesterday, fixed what ticked me off and am committed to finishing it this month. If I finish this and Luke's quilt this month I will have 5 UFO's finished. I really don't need to start any more projects but there are a couple things I would like to make my daughter who turns 10 in a month (she requested a cardigan) and I have 2 nieces with birthdays in June that will need gifts as well. And somewhere in all these projects I would like to read a couple books and work on my own writing. The list of to-do's for May is making me feel exhausted. Maybe I'll go take a nap and then call my dad to wish him Happy Birthday instead.

Cardigan progress

Finished most of the cardigan this morning. Just need to sew the arm opening close at the armpit and add the button band. I probably have less than half a skein left and am hoping if I have enough yarn to finish it. Will have to make a trip to JoAnn's to buy some buttons so I can pick up another one if I have to.

My son is home today with a cold and decided he wanted to compare his cardigan to Grandpa's. 

So dad, what colour buttons do you want? Black? Brown and wooden? Pink? Flowers? Blue? Let me know or I'll let your grandkids pick them out :)

Blocks and boxes

2 boxes I shipped yesterday. On top is the 3 pillowcases I made for Conkerr Cancer on Friday Night Sew-In. In the big box is the string quilt and a baby quilt leftover from my etsy shop. They are on their way to New York.

Sunday morning I was able to get 28 of the 44 blocks I had cut out Friday night. Hope to get the last 16 done soon so I can start playing with the layout. Already thinking about how I'm going to quilt it and leaning towards Elizabeth's Orange Peel quilting.

A busy Friday Night Sew-In

Here's what I got done yesterday for April's Friday Night Sew-In.

3 pillowcases for Conkerr Cancer. I would have made more as they were very fast to make but I don't have many big pieces left in my stash. Since I'm trying not to buy any fabric until after we move this summer, I used what I had and was happy to make 3. The ladybug fabrics I've had for a while. Glad to finally use them.

I cut the remaining 44 blocks for a quilt I need to finish by June/July - a gift for my husband's current supervisor. I paired a Prayer Flag fabric jelly roll with a cream jelly roll and cut them in 2 1/2 inch pieces. I put a finished block in the corner so you can see what they are going to look like.

Each strip makes enough for 2 blocks (8 pieces each) with 1 piece remaining. I am keeping these pieces and looking forward to playing with them. Or if I am feeling generous I may use them to make matching pillows for the quilt.

Yesterday I also decided to make this quilt for the girl next door who turns 10 the first week of May. She's in my daughter's class and they are always playing together and I thought she deserved something that wasn't store bought. I made this quilt over a year ago for my daughter - thanks to my sister who gifted us the pattern and some fabric. I picked the fabrics yesterday and my daughter approved them. She's going to help trace the shapes on freezer paper.

I finally finished this pillow last night. All I had to do was sew the opening close of the pillow form, put it inside the crocheted pillow and finish that. Probably took 20 minutes. Why has it been sitting on my desk the past 3 months? My son is having fun kicking it around this morning.

After all that, my husband and I settled down to watch "Lost" episodes. We finished season 2. This is his first time watching it but I've seen it already. I kind of forgot how good it was. Anyway... while we watched I worked on my dad's cardigan. I've decreased over 50 stitches since the last time I posted a picture and am almost halfway done the decreases for the shoulders and neck.  His birthday is also in the first week of May and I wanted to give the cardigan to him then but I think it will be a little late. 

Visit Heidi's blog to see what others got done last night, or visit the Flickr pool. 

Don't ask...

... because I'm not sure what I'm doing. I took a rectangle of fabric and doodled all over it. Now I'm embroidering the doodles. Not sure why or what I'm going to do with it. I don't even think I'm doing the stitches right.

It all started on Sunday with these 3. I drew these last summer and finally embroidered them. Not sure what I am going to do with these either. They're just fun to do. (the pen I used will disappear once I iron them).

Fat quarters I won for completing my Fat Quarter Stars quilt top. Thanks Konda for hosting such a great QAL.

Finished the sleeves of my dad's cardigan and got them joined to the body. Now I need to do the shoulder and neck decreases. There are almost 370 stitches on the needles so that's as stretched out as I can get it right now.

It's been an introspective week here. Last Monday, a 22 year old undergraduate student had a stroke while swimming. She worked in the same lab as my husband, different supervisor. I met her once. At first she was awake, smiling and laughing, even though she was paralyzed on one side of her body. Then her brain began to swell and although she had surgery to relieve the pressure she passed away. This Monday her organs were donated. I've been reading online and in the newspaper about what an amazing person she was - she went on service missions during her breaks, was going to join the peace corps after she graduated and volunteered with the fire department. She was a very giving person. Even in death her organs are giving others life and hope. 

 The university community here is small and it seems everyone has been touched by her passing. One lesson I hope we all learn from Karen's life is to Give. Whether it is your time, money or a quilt, we all have the ability to help others and there are so many who need it. Last week my husband donated blood and both of us are organ donors. Please give blood if you can and be an organ donor, and let your family know that you are.

Want to help? Part of Friday Night Sew-In this month is to make pillow cases for children battling cancer. I think we can all spare our time and fabric to bring a smile to a young face. Visit Heidi's blog for more information.