spooky improv tote

I made this bag on a whim on Sunday afternoon and I just love it. It started with sitting down to clean up my scrappy mess which obviously did not happen. Instead I decided I would do more improvisational sewing. I had the half square triangle blocks already made as "offcuts" from the Halloween quilt I made, so I just sewed them up into a pinwheel figuring I'd find a way to use it someday. After that, I sorted out all the little leftover pieces from making pumpkin coasters and figured I could improv piece them into another block for fun. I challenged myself to use up as many of the smaller pieces as I could, and I did end up using every last one. Ha! 

The bag form ended up coming from Pinterest photo inspiration. I was perusing my saved sewing finds and that led me to a pattern for a quilted tote that I loosely used for inspiration (and gut checking approximate size) when I realized I had enough of that crow print to make it happen. Why not? I did not measure anything, I just went with what seemed to look ok and then worked in parallel on each side to make sure they were approximately the same in terms of the pieced block placement. I don't know that I'd be able to repeat the effort with results quite as good!

I quilted the panels using scrap batting and orange thread. I found an orange print for the lining that I didn't quite have enough, so I added a couple pieces of the crows to make it work. The candy stripe straps were a relatively recent amazon purchase - it's a set of like 8 or 12 colors of nice quality webbing and it's way more fun to use than making quilted straps. Those have their place, for sure, but this is one less step or two to get to awesome straps. The bag ended up being just the right size for my work computer in an old laptop case I made forever ago which pleases me to no end. Sometimes I wonder what on Earth am I going to do with more bags. Well, if they have this much personality, why not use it to cheer up the commute. 

I am really proud of myself for being able to improvise my way through the construction. I felt especially accomplished having little things in stash that made it easy to add in some interesting touches like the contrast quilting and the stripey straps. And I used fabric I've had for a while, no purchase necessary. I'm glad to see those crows put to use where you can really appreciate the negative space and the quirk of the geometric details in the print. This one feels really good! I have already used it for work and I can confirm it is a perfect tote for the purpose. 

my first vest attempt

I am doing a solid job of sticking to my intention to both knit garments this year and use the yarn I bought on the yarn crawl. This is another one of those projects. I started this on the 4th and this is the progress I made through the Sunday. It's been quite fun to work on, if slow going because I have to actually read the chart. I have now run up against the arm hole decreases which require more attention than a weeknight with YouTube (or knitting while waiting for my car to be fixed) can provide so I'm a bit stalled. I really want to wear this once the weather gets cooler though so I am motivated to find my way through. It's going to be an oversized vest, and I am hoping it turns out as edgy and hip looking as I imagine. 

The color changes of the Noro are surprising and beautiful. The unexpected color shifts are going to make this quite a statement piece! I like the navy I chose as my background, though I was not anticipating that it would blend in with the Noro quite as much as it is doing. That makes it harder to knit, too, because at night I just can't see the difference very well in the darkest sections. Aging eyes - SIGH. I will soldier on! Maybe just in the daylight. 

pumpkin coaster reprise

I had a great day of making on Monday. I finished up a chicken in the morning and then spent the afternoon in my sewing room playing with scraps. I sent my mom this picture and asked "want some coasters?" since my scraps were still out and ready for play. Happily, she said yes.

I had a nice time playing and ended up with another two pumpkins that look festive and fun. Mom likes bright colors, so I chose the brightest pieces I could find. I also made sure the fun cats and owls made an appearance. 

For the back I fussy cut a Disney haunted mansion print. I would use these with this side up too! I just love this fabric. It's so creative and quirky, and the mansion was one of the rides I remember liking the most at Disney as a kid. Pirates of the Caribbean was another favorite. I ran out of the felt I was using for the stems after cutting only three pieces (I needed four) so I pivoted and used a grayer green for the back of the stems and the original more olive toned green for the front. I actually quite like the way it turned out; in fact the grayer tone works very well with the colors in the print. 

I'm going to pack these up in a little envelope and send them off to mom, hopefully before October gets underway. 

Lucille

A chicken from the neighborhood has adopted our barn. The barn owner originally did not want to encourage her, especially not name her, but has since started feeding her. I named her Lucille. We may get a coop :) The owner's birthday is coming up soon, and I decided to be cheeky and gift her another chicken. 

I went scrap diving and came up with this lovely combination of muted rainbow colors that have turned into quite a pretty little hen. I am enjoying how the blue makes it seem rather French and chic. Not sure where I get that impression but it is quite strong. As expected from prior experience, this was a joyful knit and I will continue making them. I cannot help but smile when the stuffing goes in and the personality takes shape with the extra stitched details. So stinking cute. Again.

satsuma progress

This set of four calling birds (teehee) is finished except for some beads to stitch on. I’ve never done that, so it will be a fun new thing to experience. Stitching went quickly and enjoyably. Each time I picked it up the progress was significant. The colors substituted from stash turned out looking wonderful, I love the grey background, and I am SO glad there is no backstitch outlining to do. 

I went drawer diving to see if I had a hoop in an appropriate size and alas, no. It’s a toss up as to whether this will actually end up fitting in a hoop even if I do get a bigger one. When I cut the fabric I basically forgot to take into account the room around the design that would be required. I may end up making this into an ornament by stuffing instead of hooping. My preference is for a hoop though, so I’ll go out and pick one up soon and give it a try. It feels good to have this much progress on it and to have found a designer whose work I enjoy stitching up so much. 

Immediately after setting this down I picked up my Clint. I’m done with the center quilt squares and on to adding background strips around it. After that comes the wings. Very exciting. 

a tiny emotional support chicken

I got a bougie bath board and we had our inaugural experience Monday night after I got my back adjusted. Rather than candles and wine and cheese, this crafter decided to take some granny squares into the bath. I don’t know that I’d work on a big project, but it was pretty fun to combine two relaxing things. Would do again. 

The next day, the first thing I wanted to do when I rolled out of bed was combine those granny squares and finish this chicken. It is incredibly cute and I want to make more. I’m pretty sure I saw this on Pinterest and saved it ‘for someday’ and I’m proud of myself for actually returning to the idea and making it happen. 

I rummaged through my worsted weight yarns and came up with some scraps I thought created a pleasing palette and improvised my way through their pattern placement. Luck was with me along the way helping me use up exactly the amount I had both of the maroon center and the peachy outline yarn - very satisfying. There’s plenty of that psychedelic variegated yarn left, which is excellent because it suits the piece really well. The only downside to making this was that the needle size is quite small compared to the yarn, presumably to make a nice tight piece for keeping the stuffing in, and I kept catching it and splitting my yarn on the double and triple stitches. Annoying, but perseverance was well worth it. 

I am starting a new job at the beginning of next month, and I am gifting this to a coworker who has been both a close friend and a fellow knitter. I’m not going far, I will still be on campus, but we won’t be seeing each other quite as often so this will be a humorous avatar for her to have at her desk to give the side eye when she is frustrated at something. A very enjoyable, quick project that turned out so great even on the first try. Everyone needs a tiny chicken!

nearly there

Clint and I have gotten back together. We put our relationship on hold for a bit while I worked on socks and cross stitch and coasters, but we have settled our differences. In a stroke of adult knitting maturity, I made myself pick up one of my two current wips rather than casting on something new. I did cake up yarn for the next thing, which made it even harder, but I am determined to not let things languish too long. Well. Things I started this year. Let’s not discuss the couple of hibernating projects. Move along. 

I think it’s looking really good. I really like the colors together and can’t wait to see how they play together in the wings of the piece. As of this writing I only have the two uppermost squares of this center panel left to do, so I am very motivated to try to get those done tonight. Then I have a gaggle of ends to weave in before moving on. I solemnly swear I will not let that be a point where I put it away for weeks again.