Knitting Musings

A Very Crafty Weekend

Since the house is finally a (mostly) box-free zone again, I set my sights on some of the other "move-in projects" I have in mind. First up? Unpacking and finally getting a chance to play with my Christmas gift from S - my new sewing machine!

I think I'm in love.

After dragging S through the local fabric store, where we totally scored on some sale fabric to make pillows and drapes for the downstairs, I was all set to start cutting the fabric for the pillow covers:

Notice the helpful assistants. Abby supervised, but Cricket, always a team player, was a little more active in her "helping."

She particularly liked to "help" me measure by carefully placing the end of the measuring tape in a precise location.

Somehow, though, despite all of the "help," I managed to sew four new pillow covers - I love how they turned out!

Next weekend I'm going to polish off the drapes for the living room and hopefully make a good start on the drapes for the dining room. It's so nice to have a sewing machine again!

At the fabric store, we also picked up a yard or so of fleece for Abby - she loves to sleep on an old fleece Spongebob blanket, so we got her another one for upstairs (yes, she is the world's most spoiled doggy!)

We think she liked it.

But don't worry - Abby sometimes lets Cricket share her new blanket too...

Labels: Sewing

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Must Post More Often!

Life is finally calming down now that the house is more-or-less set-up. I still have that "I wish I didn't have to" feeling each morning when I leave for work, but I've felt more "in-control" of my life and have consequently felt less overwhelmed by the challenges of each day.

Most importantly, I've found a little time to hang out with some knitters... knitters who understand the joy of finally frogging back a mistake, only to realize that the whole "fix" just took a few minutes!!

Wooot! Erin discovers the joy of finally frogging her mis-shaped sleeve cap!

I also had a lovely Valentine's Day, complete with a surprise flower-delivery at work - the first time S has sent me flowers! I was kinda expecting him to show up at home with some flowers like he usually does - it was such a thrill to get the delivery at work - I had such a silly grin on my face for the entire day!

Speaking of "silly," S wondered if I had perhaps lost my mind the other weekend. We were eating breakfast at the Silver Diner in Arlington after dropping off our old apartment keys, and I spied a beautiful Aran sweater on another patron. I had brought my camera in case we needed to take pics of the old apartment for some reason, and so I naturally proceeded to take pictures of the sweater. Isn't it lovely?

And please, there's nothing strange about stalking sweaters in the wild, right?

Cricket, of course, prefers to stalk sweaters in the more civilized confines of the basement. Her supervisory skills were much appreciated as I finally gave the finished pieces of the Union Square Market Pullover a quick steaming to block out the edges. Who knows - perhaps I may manage to finally seam this thing up eventually!

Don't worry - it's not all work for the animals - they do get the occassional break to explore the sunny spots on our front porch...

... and to investigate the napping possibilities of the new "yarn window seat" I constructed out of my trusty modular bookcase pieces.

Labels: Inspiration, Union Square Market Pullover

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Busy Weekend, Busy Week

Last weekend, S and I took a mini-vacation to Florida. We were supposed to be visiting his parents, but since they are in Minnesota, we were left to our own devices and spent a couple of glorious days RELAXING.

When we left from the airport on Friday morning, it was in the 20s.

When we arrived in Florida, it was in the 80s. The weather was beautiful, and we took full advantage by going to a couple of local parks, and swimming in the outdoor (!!) pool.

And what vacation would be complete without yummy beverages, complete with little umbrellas?

Unfortunately, the trip home involved cancelled flights, expensive train tickets, and a late-night arrival home. SIGH. Plus, the next morning we woke up and had no heat... our poor furnace gave out! A few hundred dollars and a call to our home-warranty plan later, however, and we have a "good as new" furnace happily churning out the heat...

...making for one VERY happy kitty. These pictures were taken within about 5 minutes of the heat coming back on!

Labels: Florida

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Whew!!!

I'm ready for this week to be over, and for a chance to make a fresh start (and attitude adjustment) on Monday. The "highlight" of the week was spending Tuesday night in the E.R. because my mom freaked me out that the pain I'd been feeling on the right side of my stomach was a sign that my appendix was going to blow ANY SECOND. Luckily, after a VERY thorough work-up and a day to recover on Wednesday, I was given a clean bill of health. I should have known I was going to be fine - before heading to the E.R., I made sure I had enough yarn to keep working on my new love - Wild Apple.

(Sorry for the blurry shot - no natural light in the Winter!)

This bohus kit is seriously the best $200-something I've spent in a LONG time. Plus, I'm really looking forward to the miles of stockinette on size 0 needles!

In other news, Cricket has been busy with the new house. We've had some plumbing issues (involving water dripping from the kitchen ceiling when we took a bath), but we think we've fixed it... we keep checking each time to make sure there are no leaks, and Cricket is eager to help.

She's also eager to help me make the bed... she's such a team player! I mean, if it wasn't for her, how would we EVER get that nice, cream-colored bottom sheet all smooth?

Of course, for bigger jobs, like putting away clean laundry, Cricket needs help. That's where Abby really starts to pull her weight!

And, of course, Cricket takes time to set up sordid assignations with her new lover - we call him "heat vent." Hint - that little nightstand-shelf-thing is set up directly in front of the heat vent - and there's no back on the shelf. It turns into a little tunnel of hot air, and she LOVES IT.