Swimming in WiPs!

Hello everyone! I've been waiting for a microwave installer guy to show up all afternoon. Since I couldn't leave the house, I had a lot of time to get some sewing and crafting done!

I have several WiPs in the wings that I've been working on. First up is my beach quilt - Bits and Pieces. I had enough to put a 5 inch scrappy border all around it. So, the top is now done. I plan to bind it in black so it will have a skinny border around all of the color to finish it off.

The border looks a little more pastel than it is in real life. Too bad I didn't have any more red or pink from the middle fabrics to use, but I just barely had enough of the other ones to pretty much make it all the way around.

For quilting I think I'm going to do a loopy all over patter in the middle, then do hearts in the black border. I'm not sure what I'm going to do in the scrappy border, maybe just some free-form wavy lines since it will primarily be used at the beach. Maybe I should be really brave and add some feathers to those wavy lines! *Gulp!* I've never done feathers before...

My second project of the day was finishing up some Christmas stockings for my husband and I.

I know it's way far out from Christmas, but these have been on my to-do list since last November. Obviously I fell short from making them last year, so I decided I'd finish them up super early this year. :)

I really love the texture that the diamond quilting gives the stockings. I still need to run them through the wash to get rid of my quilting lines, but I have a few months to do that. ;) Otherwise, they are good to go!

Third, I started a new scarf! The pattern is called Falling Water and it is a free Ravelry download. I had forgotten all about Ravelry until a couple days ago. Then I rediscovered how much time you can really lose while scanning through everything on that site. I decided I should put some of my browsing time to good use and start one of the patterns I had saved months ago.

I really like how it is turning out so far, despite a couple ssk difficulties. :)

Otherwise, I still have a few other quilts on the to-do list that have been hanging out there for.... almost forever (or for a very long time at least)!

The Double Irish Chain:

These squares have been cut for 2(!!) years now and I still haven't done anything with them. I think this one really needs to be the next one on my get-it-done list.

The Fall Leaf Quilt:

I still have over half of the leaves to put together for this one. Again, I have everything cut and ready to go, just need to do the sewing! I think this is number 2 on the list. :) Or maybe number 1... we'll see if I get motivated enough to work on the Double Irish Chain quilt...

The embroidery project/quilt:

I have 5 out of 12 patterns done and I'm working on the 6th. So, Germany, Egypt, France, Italy and Russia are done. Mexico is in the works, and I still have to do China, Japan, India, USA, United Kingdom and Australia. I plan to border these squares out with the colors of each country's flag and then sew them up into a little travel themed quilt.This one isn't a huge rush, just a guilty pleasure project. :)

The Quilty Barn-a-long:

I have 8 out of 12 barns done. I know I'm a few behind. I also want to make a couple more of my tractors before I sash these and sew them up into a top. Again, this is another guilty pleasure project, but I'd like to finish it up sometime soon...

Lastly, it is my month for our quilting bee - Color Bee Shocked. So, I've been getting a lot of Irish Twist blocks back in the mail. Once I get them all back I want to put this one together quickly. I don't want it to sit in my closet for a couple years until I get to it. 

I'm really looking forward to seeing all of the blocks together! :)

So, that's what I'm working on/not working on these days... How about you?

Busy February

Hi everyone! I've been MIA for a while here on my blog! So sorry about that, but February has turned out to be busy for me! As an update, I did manage to clear out the apartment for my January goals. It felt soooo good to get things organized, but it's been a challenge to keep things that way. I feel like there are always things to pick up or put away, so it just never ends!

This month my husband and I started planning our summer vacation. We're going on a very long road trip all the way out to Seattle to go to the Sasquatch Music Festival and then driving all the way back. We'll be stopping multiple places on each way, so it's going to be a great trip! Plus I'll get to see Mumford & Sons and Cake live! (And a million other bands...)

With the goal of getting healthier and more fit, we also joined a gym this month. So, we've been spending an hour or two there each day after I'm done with work. It eats up a lot of time, but it makes us feel much better. So far I've lost about 10 pounds, which is great. Here I'll be honest with you - I started off weighing 175! That's not at all where I want to be. I've gained about 20 pounds since we got married in 2009 and I want to get that all back off and more. If I get into the 140s, I'll weigh what I did in high school, and I hope that I can get down that far. Our gym is really fantastic and so far we've really enjoyed going there. :) So - here's a LARGE goal, to get down to at least 155 by May when we leave for our vacation. I really hope I'll be able to revise that number as we go along. So far, so good!

I filled in at another office over the weekend, so I didn't have a Saturday to do any crafting. I'm also hosting a couple friends this weekend and throwing a bridal shower for my great friend Heidi. She's getting married in May (another reason to work out!!!) and I've been busy getting ready for that too. The shower is on Sunday this weekend and Saturday will be dedicated to running lots and lots of needed wedding errands since the bride now lives in Florida and this is the last time she'll be up in Wisconsin before the big day. It's going to be a lot of fun.

Despite all of that, I have managed to do a couple little things with the few minutes I have at night before I collapse in bed.

I started knitting a scarf for my other friend coming up for the weekend. I hope, hope, hope I can get it done! And, now I'm not sure it's going to be very cold any more for her to need it. But, she was joking about how she wasn't going to be able to handle the cold Wisconsin weather and I joked that I'd make her a scarf, and then actually did it. Now I just need to finish it!! It kind of reminds me of the flying geese quilt block pattern since it has a pyramid shape in the knitting pattern. It goes pretty quick, so I'm going to knit, knit, knit tonight and hope I can get close to finishing!

I also played around with some embroidery. I've never really done it before, and I made an awful first attempt. I made this flower embroidery. I used pencil to draw on the pattern. That was my first mistake since I couldn't get rid of the marks and then had to adjust the pattern as I went to cover them up. I hate the shape of the petals and I hate that I filled in the petals, but I had to cover up those stupid pencil marks! Ick! I kept this only because it was so bad I needed to see where I started and hopefully I'll improve from here!

I don't mind the stem and the leaves, but oh my gosh the whole flower should just be ripped out or thrown away. I think I'll hang it over my sewing machine space so I can have the motivation to get better. :)

The next attempt went much better. I made an owl sitting on a tree. I really like the wood grain that I did and I like that I gave it a circular border around the whole design. I also like these cute little leaves on it. So, hopefully my next attempt will be even better. I need to learn some more stitches so I can be a little more creative!

So - that's what I've been up to so far. As far as other February goals, I'd really like to finish my Over the Rainbow quilt this month. It's still sitting on my sewing desk, all pinned and ready to be quilted, so I'm so close to finishing! I think that will be the only other thing I plan to do in February. Hopefully March will be more crafty! Happy crafting everyone!

2012 in Review - on to 2013!

Hello everyone. I hope you all had a great new year celebration! I had a lovely time with my family with good food and fun activities - just the way I wanted to ring in the new year. :) I'm a little behind with getting this up, but here's a look back at the projects I put together in 2012:

Quilts

I made 9 quilts - 8 of them are completely finished and the last one just needs to be basted, quilted and bound. He's on the list to complete in 2013. My prized finish was my huge Super Mario Quilt. It was in progress for 9 months and I finished it on my birthday in July. That was the best birthday gift ever!

Knits

I learned how to knit in 2012. I started off with the black and white scarf (modeled by myself, but knit for my husband) and ended with the red kindle case. I see a lot more knitting in my future!

Hops and Bee Blocks

I participated in my first blog hops this year and signed up for my first bee. From top to bottom - and left to right, they are: Wicked Hop, Wicked Hop, Dots on Dots Hop, Leafs Me Happy Hop, Red White & Blue Hop, Red White & Blue Hop, Red White and Blue Hop, Think Christmas Hop, Think Christmas Hop, Think Christmas Hop, Color Bee Shocked Bee, Color Bee Shocked Bee. I'm looking forward to participating in more hopes in 2013 and seeing how my first Bee shapes up.

Food

Just a few scrumptious things I whipped up: Super Bowl Chili, Strawberry Mango Soup/Smoothie, Grand Marnier Souffle, Sausage and Roasted Garlic Pasta, Caramel Apple Pie, Skittles Vodka

Small Sewing Projects

I made some of my blog hop blocks into smaller projects rather than into big quilts. I also made a couple other table runners pot holders and pillows. My favorite project was the cathedral window pin cushion.

Small Craft Projects

And lastly, here are the small craft projects I put together. A few wreaths, a Super Mario cross stitch, some Christmas items and some book crafts. I think my husband's favorite was the hollowed-out book safe. :)

I guess when I look at all of these things together I really did make a lot during 2012! I feel like there were so many days I could have been doing something more, but I'd say I'm satisfied with this. 2013 will see more craft, food and sewing projects, but hopefully my skills will continue to improve. I received a new book on free-motion quilting, so you'll be seeing some new designs! Thanks for following along, and happy new year!

November Finishes and December Goals

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a nice November and are gearing up (or maybe you're completely ready) for the December crunch! I had a pretty busy November, but still managed to neglect some things on my goal list. As a recap, here's what I had planned to finish up in November:

1) Sew together half of my leaf quilt blocks. Not Done... Sadly this project is still right where it was. I haven't done any more sewing on it at all (and it's not going to make the list for December projects either). This one might end up as a long term WiP or on my New Year's Resolution list. :)

2) Finish the birthday gift for my sister. Done! And it was a huge success. Want to know what it was? I knit her a case for her brand new kindle - which was inside when I gave it to her. She was stoked. (My husband thinks it looks like a cute little monster face.)

This was the second knitting-in-the-round that I've done, and it was a lot easier than I expected it to be. I finished the project in one afternoon which really surprised me! I made a practice one for my dad (it didn't have cables) just to see how it would go before I spent the time on something more complicated. He also liked his case. :)

It was my sister's 30th birthday and her golden birthday on the 30th, so I also made her a special dessert. It was a caramel cream pumpkin pie with meringue topping. This was one of the most complicated desserts I've ever made, but it was worth it. It tasted so good! My mom even brought her creme brule torch so I could toast the meringue at the end. The meringue was really creamy which I did not expect. It was so good that we used the left over meringue for stuffed french toast the next morning at brunch. (Don't worry, the recipe called for cooked meringue, so no humans were poisoned in the making of the pie or brunch.)

3) Finish the Irish Hiking Scarf. Done! It turned out lovely, and seems to be a favorite thing for my cat Sasha to steal out of the closet. I've had to hide it multiple times from her, but she's the sneakiest little thing at getting in there! Luckily she hasn't destroyed it or really done any damage to it each time she's stolen it. One of my previous scarfs she completely shredded, so this one must be more durable. It's made out of Caron Simply Soft Yarn in Sage Green. The picture looks a little funky with the colors, but it's a nice hunter green or Christmasy-green color and I think its future owner will like it.

4) Plan and cut out the pieces for the Christmas quilt for my dad. Done and done! And I've even gone a couple steps farther by piecing the entire top and basting all 3 layers together. It's sitting on my sewing desk waiting for me to have time to quilt it up. :)

My dad really loves the Peanuts gang. He owns pretty much every cartoon movie they ever made with Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He also really loves Christmas. He gets so excited to put up the tree and have hot chocolate and make cookies - it's cute. So I know he's going to love this. The top roughly measures 60"by 60". I used 12 inch blocks in either a 9 patch or 4 patch pattern. I had gone back and forth with how to quilt it when my husband had a great idea. He said, "Why don't you quilt it so it looks like the wind is blowing over it." Great idea! The back is one fabric print of the Peanuts characters on ice skates and some of Snoopy's cousin Spike with his Christmas cactus, so the swirly wind motif will fit in with the back and the front. Not to mention that should quilt pretty quickly as a big swirly pattern.

5) Put together and send out the 2 Color Bee Shocked bee blocks for November and December. Done and done! I got the fabric for the December block early, so I sent them both out earlier this month. November was an inset circle block (the theme was we could put together any 12 inch block we wanted as long as it had circles incorporated). December was a couple Flying Geese blocks that I really liked. That one went together really quickly, the circle one I was nervous about, but it turned out.

So, besides all of that, I've done a few other things as well. I put together another Christmas table runner. This time it was for my mother-in-law. Someone told me my tutorial for it was a little confusing, so I'm planning on posting more pictures and hopefully clearer instructions for that in the coming days.

I also put together a "Kare-Package" for one of our really good friends, Sven. He's in med school with a very demanding clinical schedule and hasn't had time to cook much (or sleep for that matter). So, my husband and I put together some freezable servings of chili and I also made mini-lasagnas for him to heat up as he chooses. All in all he got 4 big bowls of chili and 6 bread loaf-sized lasagna pans to take home. He has since tried both and gave me a thumbs up on each one. The lasagna took about 35 minutes to bake, so the smaller size cut off about 1/2 of the baking time of a full-sized lasagna pan.

  I have also decorated my apartment for Christmas! We went out and cut down a tree. I celebrated a lot when it was finally cut because we had a really, really dull saw and the tree was pretty sappy. It was a small, but important victory. We have the tree all decorated now with ornaments we've collected from some of our travels and ones from our childhood. I have a couple on there that I've made as well, including the tree topper which is a star I made out of an old copy of "The Hobbit" which was falling apart. Plus, check out the beautiful tree skirt my mother gave us! It's gorgeous and was the first thing we put on the tree. :) Thanks mom!!

Lastly, I made us a little Noel sign for our living room wall. Most of the living room is adorned with pictures from our travels, but there was a weird bare spot above one of the bookshelves that I have now filled. I bout the wood cutouts at JoAnn Fabrics, painted them red with a sponge brush and added "snow" with a 1 inch bristle brush. Super easy. Then I hot glued it all together and glued on a nail hanger on the top left of the N and the bottom of the E to keep it straight and sturdy. I really like it - now if only I had something to cover up the ceiling fan switch... :) By the way, that carved thing is a nativity set we got from Portugal - we think the baby Jesus looks like a weird squid, but it was unique - and the tall candle is the unity candle from our wedding.

OK, so that's what November held for me. I'd say that gives me an A. The "extra credit" I did on my Dad's Christmas quilt can counteract the standstill on my Leaf Quilt. And with that being over, here's what's on my to-do list for December:

1) Quilt up the Christmas quilt for my dad.

2) Put together a triangle quilt for my brother-in-law and his wife. Their wedding colors were gray and yellow and they have lots of matching decor in those colors in their apartment. I have planned to put together a quilt for them and have 1/2 of the fabric cut out. I just need to buy more, cut it out, sew it together, baste it and quilt it by Christmas... Doable? We'll see!

3) Finish up my Over the Rainbow quilt. It needs a black border yet (which I have the fabric for!!), sandwiching and basting and quilting. I've decided to do an all over stippling with rainbow thread on the front and white thread on the back. The back fabric is a black and white geometric pattern that I love. I think I'll bind it up in black as well.

4) Get the rest of my Christmas presents put together. I think I have a couple knit scarves on my list and then some items that need to be purchased. I went to Target yesterday and it was crazy! I think I'm going to do all of my shopping online and have it delivered to avoid the hustle and bustle of the stores.

5) Make and send out all of our Christmas cards. I have 1/2 of them 1/2 put together already. I'm making them with old Christmas music and card stock. I'm going to keep them pretty basic, but I think they'll look nice in the end. Now I just need to get all of the addresses I need...

So, 3 quilts in December? I think I might be a little (or a lot) nuts... What are you working on this month? Happy crafting!

Little Projects

Tonight I wanted something to work on while watching the votes come in, so I decided to practice some in-set circles. One of the bee blocks I'm supposed to make wants a block with circles (something I've never done before) so I wanted to give this technique a try.

Fittingly, I was working with some left over Americana prints. I decided to make my creation into a fugly pot holder for my sister. She said she's running out of pot holders because she's worn through most of the ones she has. She likes to cook, and apparently likes to cook a lot! I don't think I've ever worn through a pot holder. I usually only get rid of them when they have so much cake batter on them they can't be cleaned.

Anyway, I thought I didn't do too bad on the in-set circle, even if the whole thing does look pretty ugly. Now I just need to do this on the real block with the real fabric!

I also put together the hand-made portion of the birthday gift for my sister. Here's a sneak peek:

Obviously you can tell that it's red and knit. :) I'll post the entire project on November 30th or later since that's the day my sister will be getting her present. :)

Lastly I put together the bee blocks for the December host in the Color Bee Shocked bee. I know, I know, I'm going out of order. I should have done November's block first, but circles are intimidating!!! Here's a pic of the blocks I put together for December:

Nice and easy flying geese. :) These were really simple, but the pattern made a lot of waste. I think if I were to put some of these together for a project for myself I'd use another method where there isn't as much scrap fabric to cut away. Otherwise, I really like the choice of fabrics the host sent along.  Lovely color combinations. :)

So, whether or not the votes went the way you wanted them to this evening, I hope you all were able to work on something fun! Happy crafting!

Irish Hiking Scarf Finished

I've got my first November goal finish in this post and it's only November 4th! Makes me feel like I'm ahead of the game, but that probably won't last for long.

I used a whole skein of Caron Simply Soft in Sage Green for this project (pattern here). I had just a tiny little bit which my cats Sasha and Leia are now enjoying. I didn't have enough to do one more repeat of the pattern otherwise I would have tried for one more.

This gift is for my mother-in-law. I was thinking of giving it to her as soon as I finished it, but I think I might want to keep it for a Christmas gift.

I'm pretty sure she'll like it. My husband told me it's the best "knit thing" I've made yet. So, that's definitely a good sign. He likes this better than the scarf I made for him. He was even interested in how I made the cables and was pretty impressed with how they turned out.

It looks so good I think I'll keep it for a while just to look at it. I see many more cabled projects in my future.

This means I have to get some more sizes of double pointed needles other than just size 9, but that's a pretty standard size for a lot of the projects I have bookmarked on Ravelry.

Besides the scarf, I finished another knit project that I'll be using for a Christmas present. My dad has been wanting a case for his kindle and I hadn't found the right project until a few days ago.

I tried my first knitting in the round project with this using circular needles and Judy's Magic Cast On method. It worked so well that I'll be using that method to cast on again for another special project this month.

The case isn't completely finished yet. I still have to add the buttons to keep the flap secured. There will be 2 buttons about a half inch up from the bottom of the flap and one third of the way in from each side.

Here's what the back looks like. I didn't want something really feminine (like a lot of knit patterns that are in my skill level tend to be). I think it's manly enough for my dad and it's made from the same soft wool yarn that I made my husband's scarf out of.

Really my dad likes anything that I make, so I know he's going to love this even if it does kind of look a little wonky. :)

For the rest of this week, I want to focus on making the Bee blocks that I have fabric for. I've got 3 envelopes/package to send off besides those projects, so I'll be spending some time at the post office too. What are you working on this week? Happy crafting!

October Finishes and November Goals

I know October's not over yet, but I'm not going to get any more of my goals done before the end of the month. I haven't done too bad this time around though. Here's what was on the list to get done in October:

1) Make the tie wreath for our door - DONE!

I just finished this one today. It really doesn't take that long to make - about 40 minutes from start to finish. That includes the time to get all of the supplies out and to put the supplies away at the end. It's super quick if you're looking for a fast project. This is the second one of these I've made. The first one I made out of a bunch of my dad's old ties. It's now living at his house, so of course I had to make one for my door too. Lucky for me my husband also has a collection of old ties he's no longer willing to wear. And, in case he were to ever change his mind, none of these ties were cut, glued or sewn to make this wreath. I just wrapped them around and pinned them in place. So if he really wants the salmon colored striped one, he can reclaim it. :)

2) Finish my projects for the Wicked Blog Hop - DONE! I've got 2 table toppers to show you on Wednesday this week. I really like how they turned out, so I hope you enjoy them too. One project is filled with lots and lots of 1 inch half-square triangles and the other project is my first ever paper pieced block (I even designed the pattern!!). I'll be having a giveaway that day too, so stop back!

3) Plan out what I'm making people for Christmas presents - DONE! This was obviously the easiest goal. I have a lot of knit and quilted projects in my future and a few paper items that I hope to finish as well. I plan to be very busy in November and December and I should be able to share most of those projects with you before they're given away.

4) Sew together half of my Leaf Quilt blocks - not done. :( Sadly, I didn't work on this quilt any more. I've been side-tracked by my knitting projects. I hope to get some work done on the quilt in November. Maybe I'll be able to give it to my husband for Christmas... It's a thought at least, but it's not officially on the Christmas gift list. At least I have all of the pieces cut and ready to go when I do finally have some time to work on it! :)

So, what should be on the list for November then? Here's what I'm thinking:

1) Sew together half of the Leaf Quilt blocks. I guess it should stay on the list since I didn't do any more with it in October.

2) Finish the birthday gift for my sister. Her 30th birthday is on November 30th (so I have to finish it this month) and I have a great gift for her. Hopefully she feels the same way about it when she gets it. :)

3) Finish the Irish Hiking Scarf I've started for my mother-in-law and give it to her. She bought my husband and I a Kitchen Aid Mixer for my birthday and our wedding anniversary, plus she taught me how to knit, so I want to give her a nice thank you gift in return.

4) Plan and cut out the pieces for the Christmas Quilt for my dad. It's going to be out of Peanut's character fabrics. I'm pretty sure he doesn't read my blog, so I'll be able to post pictures and updates with that project as I get it going.

5) Put together and send out the 2 Color Bee Shocked blocks I've received fabric for. One block is supposed to feature circles of any type. I think I found a pattern I like, but I want to do a practice block before I try with the real fabric. The other block is flying geese. I think that block will go together pretty quickly, so I just need one Saturday with a small chunk of time to sew.

I think that will keep me busy for major goals in November. If I'm going to get all of my Christmas gifts done by Christmas, then I'll have to spend some time on some smaller projects as well. So, what will you be working on in November? Happy Crafting!

More Knits

Remember when I said I was on a knitting binge? Well, I wasn't lying! Since then I have completed probably 2 more dish clothes, a full length scarf, and started a second scarf.

The first scarf I completed was for my husband. I thought about keeping it until Christmas to give to him, but it's in the 30's outside now, so he can put it to good use before December.

I used a wool yarn for the first time ever. I always associated wool with scratchy, but not this type. I bought it at JoAnn Fabrics - Lion Brand Superwash Merino Cashmere. It's marketed as the feel of cashmere and the warmth of wool. They weren't lying! My husband really likes it and it can be right up against his neck with no scratching.

I had to do some blocking on this scarf, which I've never done before. Actually, I didn't even know what it was and I kept seeing it mentioned on Ravelry, so I had to look it up. I don't have a picture of the blocking, but this scarf was stretched out over my guest bed for a day and a half while it dried out with a million pins sticking out of it. I was pretty obsessed with getting the sides to not have any scallops. My husband even told me that the scarf looked good while it was still being blocked, so I can tell he really likes this project. I didn't even have to ask him what he thought about it. :)

If you'd like to make this same scarf, the pattern is a free Ravelry download available here. There's even a pattern for a matching hat if you're brave enough to try. I'm not quite ready for knitting in the round. 

So, here's the second scarf I've been working on. It's another free Ravelry download (available here) if you'd like to try. It's the first time I've ever tried cables and I'm finally getting the hang of it. I had to take the whole scarf out after about 4 repeats because I didn't count diligently enough. I've also dropped a stitch twice somehow (still not sure how or when it happened), but I managed to weave them back up the few rows I had gone without it. There's one obvious mistake, but no gaping holes at least. 

I'm using Caron Simply Soft in Sage Green for this one. I was hoping to give this one to my mother-in-law (she's the one who taught me how to knit initially), but we'll see how many mistakes I make before I make any commitments. It might end up being a little wonky scarf for me. So far it's not curling, so I may not have to block this one out. I think it's the difference in weight of the yarn between the Caron and the Lion Brand Wool.

So, of course these projects have side-tracked me from obligations I already had to get done. Maybe today I'll spend some time with my sewing machine to finish up the last Wicked Blog Hop Blocks. My day to post is Wednesday this week (Halloween!) so come on back then. I have one project done and hope to have one more for you. :) Happy crafting!

Knitting Binge

I've been on quite a large knitting kick for the past couple of days. I've seen other bloggers mention the site "Ravelry" in their posts and hadn't spent much time there until last week. Wow was I missing out on some great projects!

I haven't been knitting for very long. This past March was when my mother-in-law showed me how to cast on and do the basic knit stitch. Since then I've been relying on youtube to show me how to do different stitches and to remind me how to tie a slip knot (I always forget, even though it's so simple!).

My mom gave me a bunch of cotton yarn to make into dish cloths, so I've been playing around with some basic patterns on some of those (Mom, if you're reading, act surprised when you get 10 zillion dish cloths for Christmas...).

Here are my two latest dish cloths:

The blue one came out a little dark in the picture, but it looks like a basket weave pattern. The white was was called a waffle pattern. Both went really quick and were just a combination of knit and purl stitches. Simple - just the way I like it. :)

I've flagged a bunch of "easy" patterns on Ravelry to try out in these dish cloths so I can figure out which ones I want to make in to scarves for Christmas presents. So far I do really like these 2 patterns, but I have about 15 more I want to try before I make any decisions.

Going along with that, I do have one of my goals for October done - I've made my Christmas present list of things I want to make for other people. I have probably 10 knitting projects and at least 5 quilty things plus a few other craft projects thrown in here and there. So, I'm going to be very busy between now and the end of the year. (I'm hoping we celebrate with at least one part of the family after Christmas so that I have a couple extra days to finish things up!!!) I'll show the things I can as we get closer to Christmas, but some I'll have to show after they've been given away.

On another note... I made my first ever paper-piecing pattern today. It was a lot harder to do than I expected. I ripped out just about every seam at least once, some of them twice. But, I did succeed at making one out of 3 identical Halloween blocks for a little wall hanging. Hopefully the next 2 blocks go smoother and faster. Come back on October 31st to see what I made!

So, what are you working on? Happy crafting! :)

Cats!!!

Last night I spent a couple hours' time finishing a long, soft, cuddly, white scarf for myself. I had seen one made from similar yarn while we were in Europe a few weeks ago and I really, really, really wanted one.

Unfortunately, I failed to realize how tempting this type of yarn was for my cats...

I don't have a before picture, but this is what the scarf looks like now, and this is the culprit:

I guess I should have seen it coming. At one point during the knitting process I stored the 1/2 completed project in a closet while I was gone at work. I came home to find the knitting needles splayed out on the bedroom floor and the skein of yarn disconnected from the partially knitted scarf. One of my cats had chewed through the yarn, but neither of them would confess to the crime!

At that point in time I figured they were after the knitting needles and the skein of yarn since that is what they usually go for. Boy was I wrong! Last night, I finished the scarf and left it on my kitchen table. I also left the skein of yarn out on my living room couch. (I didn't mean to leave that out, I just forgot to put it away in my sleepy state around midnight.)

Around 3:00am I heard a ripping noise. My cat (see above picture), Sasha, loves to get into things in the middle of the night. Usually she finds some piece of paper on the night stand or she's biting the tag on the comforter, going after the cord for the blinds - anything she can get her paws on. So, I didn't really pay too much attention to it at first. A few minutes later I heard the same ripping noise and I knew I wasn't going to get back to sleep if I didn't stop her.

I turned on the light and to my horror I found that she had dragged my scarf off of the kitchen table, into our bedroom, and had been pulling on it with her razor sharp claws and gnashing on it with her teeth! Needless to say she was escorted from the room with a stern look from me. Upon entering the living room, I found the skein of yarn on the couch untouched!!! I would have rather found that in a tangled mess than found my scarf all torn up. Both the bedraggled scarf and then unscathed skein of yarn were placed in secure, unopenable-by-cat, places until I could properly care for them in the morning.

When I got up for good this morning, I looked at the damage and realized the scarf can't be saved. I tried to weave the pulled out yarn bits into the scarf, but it was just too stretched out. It looked like it had lots of holes and plenty of misshapen parts. So, my cats now have a new soft, white, cuddly cat toy.

My husband told me that the next time I go to the craft store I have to keep in mind to buy things that aren't so tempting to our cats. I told him that the things that are tempting to the cats are also tempting to me! So, I guess I can't fault my pets for having good taste in yarn. I'll just need to keep it out of claws' way.

Here's a picture of my other cat, Leia. She's not quite as curious or destructive as Sasha, so she hasn't destroyed anything that I've made. She does like to lay in some curious places, like the bathroom sink or the laundry basket full of clean clothes...





I love them both despite it all! They're just too darn cute to be mad at for long. C'est la vie! Happy crafting!