SPAM

I received my first bit of spam today in my comments to a post from last year. It was written in an Asian language that I frankly don't wish to know the translation of. The one word that needed no translation appeared in the middle of the comment. "SEX". Because of this, I must now start moderating all of the comments made to the blog. Please don't see this as censorship. If you leave a negative comment against something I post, that will be displayed after I ensure it is not harful.

If you have a blog, I encourage you to do the same. I wouldn't want the crap that gets put in as a comment to show up in a google search attached to your name and blog.

Merry Christmas To YOU!

Merry Christmas To YOU!
Originally uploaded by aldorris105

It has become a tradition for me and my grandmother to put up and decorate the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving when the rest of the family is out shopping. I love having little traditions to keep with my family members. My mother, grandmother and I also spent some time sewing together the night before thanksgiving. They made aprons from the Lotta Jansdotter Simple Sewing book. I had to buy them a copy to share before they headed back home to Mississippi. I'm so thrilled that they have been sewing together quite regularly and my mother had her sewing machine repaired after many, many years of collecting dust. I encourage you all to find a connection with your family to share. These are the times I will never forget.

Creativity Blooming

Creativity Blooming
Originally uploaded by aldorris105

I've not been feeling well today so I have been camped out on my sofa with a few crafts and books. I've been embroidering and appliquéing and sketching up new projects for the coming year. I also have a little bit of knitting and my Nintendo DS on the table.

For a look at some of my recent projects, follow the picture over to my Flickr page. I'm going to take the week after Christmas to do more crafting. I am developing new projects to teach at the quilt shop and I am so excited about the ideas that I'm coming up with.

I don't like being sick but I don't mind not going out in the cold at all. Hope you all are staying warm. I'm trying hard.

Reverse Applique

Reverse Applique
Originally uploaded by aldorris105

I'm trying a little reverse applique inspired by the book Alabama Stitch Book. Let's see how this turn out. The fabric underneath is a pink stripe. The purple paint will go away for the most part.

I've been doing a little bit of Christmas knitting for someone else but I am not motivated to get it finished right now. I'll really concentrate on it this weekend. For now, I am trying to make this little onesie into something cute for a special little newborn girl.

What Are You Reading

IMG00035-20091208-0919.jpg
Originally uploaded by aldorris105

I am trying to get back into reading. I had slowed down as I went through the job change. Now that Nanowrimo is over, I am more inspired to get back to it. Today, I spent a little time loading my kindle with some book samples to look into. I am probably most excited about Omar Tyree's new title, "Dirty Old Men". Just hearing the title makes me think of the men around when I was growing up. Ha! You just ignore them and laugh them off as the dirty old men you know them to be.

I am also very happy with the progress I made during Nanowrimo. I have started developing what I think will be a really great novel. I wrote a total of 26,253 words. My 2008 total was a little over 14,00 so I saw a vast improvement. My dialogue has improved greatly and I am much better at story development. I am looking into increasing my writing over the next year. My first step was starting the blog and I have done quite well with it I think. Look for more general writing from me in the next year as well as a lot more crafting. I am in the process of developing more classes to teach at my local quilt shop and I'm looking at picking up a lot of those kitchen skills that I have been avoiding, like bread making and canning.

TwentyTen is going to be a fabulous year and I hope you all will continue to follow me on this journey.

New Office Supplies

New Office Supplies
Originally uploaded by aldorris105

Not that I need any new supplies, but when I found the DayRunner Life Tracker system online, I had to go out and get it to try. I picked it up from Staples along with some Post-it goodies and the 2010 calendar inserts.

I'm posting this update from my Flickr page. For certain things I tend to post more to Flickr than to anywhere else. It will be nice to share with the blog from here. Let's see how it works out.

You Could Be Happy

I keep listening to this song by Snow Patrol over and over again. I love it and it cheers and depresses me at the same time.

...most of what I remember makes me sure. I should have stopped you from walking out door.

Oh, the memories that come to mind. Let’s see if this makes it into my nano novel.

...don’t think just do.

Nanowrimo

Nanowrimo has officially started and I am officially behind--yes already! Good luck to all of you participating this year.

Please Ignore The Man Behind The Curtain

Please ignore some of the weird things you see popping up around my blog. I am learning a few things and testing them out in an attempt to make my blog and Etsy shop coordinate. The creativity bug is biting.

Rainy Days in Chattanooga

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This has been a quiet weekend for me (on purpose). I needed some time to reset and readjust since I’ve been on the road for three weeks. It is so nice to be back home. Right now I am cleaning and doing laundry and getting ready for the week ahead which should be quite fun and exciting. I’m teaching my second class at Lavender Lime on Tuesday and I’ve got some prep work to do to be ready for it. If you are in town and like to sew, consider taking a class at the shop. There are a lot of good ones and I’m looking forward to some interesting ones leading up to the holidays.

Enjoy the rain and be careful if you have to drive in it.

Sightseeing In The City

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Thanks for all the well wishes. I’m still iffy about this area, but I did get to get into New York for a little sightseeing. We spent two days visiting Ellis Island, Liberty Island (Statue of Liberty), the Empire State Building and Times Square. That was a lot for two days. I’ll save the rest of New York for another trip.

That Bad Mood

I’ve never been to New Jersey before and I was looking forward to starting my new job in a new place. Now that I have arrived, the bottom has dropped out of my optimism. I flew in a day early to give myself some time to get around and figure out my way around this place. About four hours after stepping off the plane at Newark Liberty Airport, my attitude became quite foul. The traffic is atrocious and I’m not one for getting road rage. I can usually turn up the music and sing my way through the traffic jams. Not here. It could take awhile to get used to the way the exits and U-turns are arranged. And just so you know, a U-turn here is not really a U-turn. It’s a loop. Where I’m from, a U-turn is actually shaped like a U.

I got here on yesterday (Saturday) and had dinner at the hotel. After finally finding this hotel, I was not about to venture back out into the unknown, but as the hotel is right next to a mall I figured all would be good for the rest of the weekend. To my surprise this morning, I found the mall and just about everything else around here CLOSED. I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen a mall closed on a Sunday. It’s been years, probably over a decade. What century have I gotten pulled into? I drove around for over an hour today before I found a Boston Market open where I could get food. I’m waiting for the hotel to bring me a fridge before I venture into the one grocery store that I saw. I found it shortly before I found that Boston Market. I was happy to find a CVS were I could pick up a couple of things that I forgot but I have to say the staff there was a little on the rude side. So far, there have been no random smiles. I don’t like to get into comparing the North and South, but when someone makes eye contact with you on the street, we typically smile in the South. Not here.

I wasn’t able to fit any knitting in my suitcase so I was hoping to find somewhere (like a Michael’s or Hobby Lobby) to buy some needles and sock yarn. No luck. If I had, it would probably have been a Hobby Lobby since they are closed on Sunday. Fits the apparent theme of this place.

I’m assuming this place will come to life tomorrow when the mall is opened and everyone heads to work. I hope the people I’ll be working with are nice and pleasant and can point me to some eating places around here, because right now I’m not seeing many choices. The hotel has a nice restaurant which I absolutely love, but if you’ve ever been to a Bone Fish Grill then you know it’s not the most economical place to eat every day for a 14 day hotel stay.

Pray for me people! I’m in need of an attitude turn-around. And to all of you living in a place that is turning your mood foul, please move. Just pack up right now and move. The world could be a much better place for us all if we weren’t living in places that made us miserable.

Wouldn't You Know It

My month of unemployment is coming to an end and wouldn’t you know, at the end of it I start to get sick. My throat is sore, my sinuses are draining on overdrive and I am constantly freezing. I’m getting on a plane in 4 days. I would like to do so without being sick. I’m hoping it won’t last long.

It’s time to go back to work as last week I made a serious impulse purchase. It wasn’t much of an impulse because I’ve been looking at getting a new one for about two years. I just wouldn’t have expected it to be this one.



But I love it and sad as I was to see my Jeep go, it was time for us to part.

Mountains of Unfinished Knitting

I go back to work in one week and I am longing to finish these two projects before I go back. I doubt that is going to happen as I have so much to do this week, but I’m going to try.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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I started attending yoga last week and so far I love it so you will see some yoga related projects on these pages in the near future. If they turn out well, they’ll be offered in my Etsy shop as well.

Baby Joy

I have two babies to knit for in my time off work (not including the nephew). These are two little girls that I am so happy to have around to knit for. One is here already and was a preemie so I was not able to get any projects done before she showed up. The other is yet to be born. She is due in December. Today, I found the perfect little knit for both of them and I have just enough yarn to do two. The first was completed in a few hours. I’ll start the next one in a few days.





I have to take a moment to reach out to all of you knitters out there and beg you not to model your baby wares on your pets. Every time I see a cute little baby sweater modeled by a dog, I start to itch. Be mindful of the allergens, please and keep the baby knitwear off the pets! It’s not cute people. I’m itching just thinking about it. I urge you to find other models as I have done. That is my public service announcement for the week. I promise not to do it again.

And More...

Still more sewing....




And a little cooking. Game hen, buttered spinach and corn on the cob. Sweet tea washed it all down quite nicely. This was my first time cooking hen and I was quite pleased with the outcome. I’m trying to figure out what to cook tomorrow. Cookies are definitely on the menu.

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I’m finding out how just how much junk can be accumulated over a number of years. I have been in my house for 6 years now and I have more junk that I would like to admit. Not all junk though as much of it will be going to charity. Just a lot of stuff that I don’t need taking up space.

Still More...

This one is plain muslin on the reverse side. I didn’t have enough of this fabric or any coordinating fabric to put on the back. This was much simpler to make and since my brain was working much better than before, I was able to put it together rather quickly with no re-work.

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And...back to the knitting. This socks are done!!! YAY!

More Sewing

Since I’m feeling so adventurous today, I decided to experiment with some flex clutch closures that I bought during Stitches South. I’ve never made a clutch so I decided to go for something that could be a little more useful. I used two fabrics lined with fusible fleece for a cushy bag. I think ultimately it will be used for holding electronics when traveling.



I’ve never done any hand embroidery before but I may try some now to add a little flash to the front of the bag.

What Was I Thinking?

I set about putting all those fabric store goodies to good use and this is the first completed project that has come about. But what was I thinking? This took all day and I had to redo quite a few stitches. But in the end, it turned out fabulously.



It’s an apron of course. Fully reversible and padded with fusible fleece for those times when it’s necessary to hold a hot pan close to you. I’m going to make at least one more but I’m done after that. At least until I can write out some clear instructions. It took a lot of thought to put this together. Well worth it though. I’m hoping to get a few more simple one’s made before the holidays. I love having these hanging around in the kitchen for general use.

More Goodies...

I paid a visit to the fabric store today. I went in to order a small embroidery hoop for my machine and walked out with all of this.

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Don’t worry. I didn’t spend too much. Most of the fabric was free. I used up the last of my store credit from the purchase of my Bernina machine. I will spend the weekend sewing and getting ready for the next class I will be teaching at the shop.

I’ll be teaching how to sew a box bag. Perfect for gifts for the holidays. I will be knocking out quite a few for my own family and a few to list in my Etsy shop. I also picked up larger fabric pieces in fall motifs for aprons. My grandmother made me a couple last year and I’m going to use those as templates for mine. I’m also going to make them reversible and interface them for a little more body. I’m really excited for the fall. I love this time of year and even though it’s still hot outside, I’m going to keep channelling the cooling winds of the coming season.

My embroidery hoop will be in next week and I will be full swing into the holiday mojo.

I’m so conflicted getting ready for the holiday season considering I’m looking into selling my house. I do love this house but I am traveling too much to really be able to keep up with all of the stuff involved with maintaining a home. But I’m still also looking into other options that will allow me to be able to keep the house up like I want to. We’ll see how that goes. I’m going to put due diligence into researching both sides of the coin.

Tomorrow, I’m shopping for a dishwasher.

More of The Same

My hands hurt like crazy but I am making pretty good progress. I’ve gotten to the sleeve section of the bog jacket and I’m working my way down the foot of the sock. That’s good for a few days of work.

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My alarm is set for the first time this week. I’ve loved having these lazy, wake-when-you-want-to days but I do have things that must get done before I head back to work at the end of the month. My schedule is full of errands tomorrow and the more I get done, the more time I’ll have to continue on with my knitting.

Halfway There

I started these socks some time ago, but I had to put them away the last few weeks. I picked it up again last night and finished the toe of sock #1. I will start sock #2 tonight. I was afraid these wouldn’t stay up on my foot but I wore the one sock around the house last night for awhile and it didn’t come off. On the next pair, I will add a couple more stitches to relieve the stress at the join point at the top of the foot. When the pair is done, I’ll reinforce that area with some of the leftover yarn. Because these socks don’t use a lot of yarn, I have to figure out what to do with all the yarn I will have left over in this skein.

Back to The Knitting

I have one month of unemployment in front of me and I am going to enjoy every bit of it. I have started the month off by knitting a baby bog for my nephew. This an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern from her Knitting Around book.



The yarn is Schachenmayr nomotta Extra Merino Big that I bought from Webs during the Atlanta Stitches event. This is some fantastic yarn. The stitch definition is beautiful and it really have a nice feel to it. It has enough structure to ensure the two year old I’m making it for doesn’t destroy it but soft enough that he should enjoy wearing it.

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Best of all, this yarn is machine washable. I’ve got to get back to the knitting. I hope all you employed people have a great working week.

Update

It’s been a rough couple of weeks here at Casa de Sunny, but things are starting to calm down a bit. There are a few of you that I need to get in touch with for various reasons and I hope to make that happen this week. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I’m at the start of some major life changes and you will hear about all of them as soon as I make some key decisions.

I trust you all are doing well and are dealing well with whatever life-happenings you are facing. Keep crafting, blogging and smiling in the meantime. There are bound to be some calm days ahead.

For quick updates and the wackiness of my life, check me out on Twitter (april105) and LinkedIn (April Dorris).

Still Knitting

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Since I won’t be able to join you all for WWKIP day, I am posting my current project to encourage you all to sit out tomorrow and knit. I’m going to try and get some public knitting done, but it’s going to be a crazy weekend for me. I’m continuing on with my little footie sock. I keep sliding it on my foot to really make sure it fits because it looks so tiny, but I won’t be able to tell if it will truly stay on my foot until it’s finished. I’m afraid it will slide off of my foot while wearing it, but I’m hopeful.

I was cleaning some of my windows today and once again, I was wishing I had more knitted or crocheted washcloths as they are my window washing tool of choice so I’ll get back to some of my cotton crafting this weekend.

I’ll be heading to Maryland for a client meeting next week but I doubt I’ll be able to do any knitting while on the trip. I just may stick to reading this go round. And writing of course. I’m still ramping up on my writing time.

Looking for Pattern Testers

Looking for 2-3 sewers to test my vinyl bag pattern for me. I’ve made some changes based on the class I taught this past weekend at Lavender Lime but would like to get it checked out before attempting to sell it. You will need to some clear vinyl, a fat-quarter of fabric and two coordinating zippers. If you are interested, please leave a comment.

Recovering

No I haven’t been sick unless you count two weeks of constant stress as an illness. I’m starting to think it may be a disease. But despite the crafting/creativity downtime, I am recovering.
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I taught my first class at the quilt shop yesterday on my vinyl two pocket bag. I only had one student, but I opted to teach the class anyway so I could get some practice. My greatest fear is having students in the class with sewing machines I am not familiar with and them having problems that I wouldn’t know how to solve. And wouldn’t you know that’s exactly what happened in my first class!
My student had been having problems with her Bernina for a year and instead of bringing it in for service, she just dealt with as best she could. Well, the machine wouldn’t take anymore. She was forced to leave the machine there for the repair man and the shop let her borrow a machine to get through the class. I really love the service at this shop. You just can’t beat it.

And as a side note, if you pay the money for a really nice machine, GET IT SERVICED! And as soon as something looks like it is going wrong, GET HELP! GET SERVICE! Okay, that’s enough for my public service announcement.

We got on with the class and about 2 1/2 hours later, my student had a little vinyl bag of her own. She really did do a good job. I forgot to take my camera to the shop with me so I don’t have any pictures to share. I can’t wait for the next class. I’m ready to go now. I think I deal with a bigger class next time.

I have a few other ideas now for bags to make and classes to teach. And I will be putting together my class instructions and selling them in my Etsy shop. As soon as I get through the copyright process, I will have this one up.

And now that I am well into my recovery, I am able to get back to my crafting.

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The first picture is a crocheted washcloth that I whipped up yesterday. I’m not sure if I like it yet but I’ve got tons of cotton and I need new dish towels and cleaning towels. I think this size will be perfect for windows and mirrors. And then I started some little footie socks with some new yarn that I got from Dana. The skein is much too big to be making a project that takes so little so I think the left overs will become a baby hat for a friend.

And my newest obsession is KenKen.

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It’s a completely addictive new logic game. It is often compared to Suduko but the comparison doesn’t work for me. Each has similar restrictions but it takes another set of skills to solve the KenKens. Try it and let me know what you think.

Looking for Inspiration

I’m looking for a new project to take on. Work has been so crazy and stressful lately that I have not been able to think straight. So what are you working on these days? Give me some information on your latest projects and links to relevant pages if you know any. Inspiration from anywhere would be great. I hope you all are using your crafts to keep the stress down.

The Skirt From Way Back When

I finally got that skirt to my sister that I made in the sewing class I took at Lavender Lime and it fit her very well. I’m very proud of the fit.

Welcome to the World Class of 2009

Congratulations to all of the new high school graduates that have joined the ranks of us adults. I am so thrilled for all of you, but I am also fearful. You are not exactly coming out at a great time, but I’m hoping that you will make the best of it. Among them is my niece, Brittany, who is looking for her first job this summer before heading to college in the fall. I am a very proud aunt and look forward to seeing the adult that she grows into, for it really is a growing process.

Clapotis

I was hoping to finish this before I came to Charlotte for training but I just couldn’t get it done. I’m decreasing to the finish but it’s just too much to try to get done in such a short time. I tried hard though, knitting till my fingers were swollen. I’m very much excited about it and I’m trying not to slow down in completing it. So I will continue to work on it as I’m hanging out in the hotel this week.

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I’m knitting it with Southwest Trading Company’s Vickie Howell Love.

Catching Up-Southern Writers

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Back in April, I attended the AEC Conference on Southern Literature here in Chattanooga. It’s held every two years, with the Writer’s Conference held in the alternating years. I attended the Writer’s Conference last year for the first time and for the first time, this year, I attended the Conference on Southern Literature. I absolutely loved it. I am a big reader, have been since I was young using mail order programs to cement my habit.

Being able to sit back and listen to the writer’s talk about the background behind their works and to read from their works makes a big difference in the types of books you would read. I bought seven books during the conference, some of which I would have walked by in the bookstore. Each of these took on a life for me when hearing the writers. I can’t wait to read them all.

I started with All Aunt Hagar’s Children by Edward P. Jones. It’s a collection of short stories that draw you in and captivate. I think the very southern Elizabeth Spencer will be next. She spoke and all of a sudden I felt like I was back in Mississippi sitting at the feet of some of the women in my family, hearing them comment of life like only a southern woman could.

Check out some of these writers.

Top to bottom, the books I purchased:

Richard Bausch Someone to Watch Over Me
Edward P. Jones All Aunt Hagar’s Children
Elizabeth Spencer Landscapes of the Heart
Elizabeth Spencer The Voice at the Back Door
Jim Grimsley My Drowning
Rita Dove Selected Poems
Rita Dove Sonata Mulattica

Happy Mother's Day

I’m a day late but I hope all you mothers had a great day yesterday. I put together a fiber care package for my mother. She lives in a small city in Mississippi and is stuck with whatever the local Wal-Mart decides to sell. I don’t know if they sell felt-able yarns so I decided that’s what I should get her. I went to my local Michael’s and picked up at least one of each color of Paton’s Classic Wool. There were two colors (white and green) that were on clearance so I picked up three of each of those. I pretty much cleaned them out on this brand of yarn. They have signs posted that say they have a new yarn section coming this spring, but those signs have been up for a while and spring is almost over. I hope they restock soon--not that I need any more yarn.

My mother’s package also includes felted purse patterns from Pipp’s purses. I can’t wait to see what she does with them. I purposely put together one ball of each color to encourage her to stripe her bags. I threw in a couple of needles and a set of notions.

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I was on the phone with her as she opened the box and she was absolutely thrilled. Maybe she’ll have cast on a bag by the time I go to Mississippi next week.

Enjoy all the gifts that you have received, especially the gift of family.

Stiches Recap

Stitches South in Atlanta was great and I had tons and tons of fun. Mandy and I went down for the entire event, beginning to end and I am thrilled we had that time away. I wasn’t able to blog from the event. Hotel connection was a bit too costly. I decided to spent that money on yarn instead.
Photos aren’t allowed on the market floor but I was able to get some great pictures of the knitted flowers that the Atlanta Knitting Guild provided for the conference dinners. Enjoy. More about my new stash additions later.

Packing For Stitches South

Look for a lot of posts this week. Just think of it as me catching up with all of the time I was away.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​




The first Stitches South starts on Thursday in Atlanta. I will be attending with my friend Mandy and I’m ready to go! One more day of work and I am free. I’m not going to take a lot of ongoing projects with me. I know it looks like a lot in the picture, but really it’s not. I’m taking some cotton with me for some mindless knitting during those times when funny and interesting conversations won’t let you concentrate on a pattern. I’m taking a one skein hat pattern. I hope I can knock that one out pretty quickly. I’m so close to finishing the Manitou scarf so that has to go. The Market Bag at the front has been hibernating for a year. I’m hoping to at least work on it for a few rounds. It’s going to take a little while to get re-aquainted with the pattern. I made a big mistake in stopping in the middle of a round. I know, smart huh? I’m hoping to finally get started on my fuzzy anklet socks. I’ve got two colors of that yarn and since they are both in the same bag, they both get to ride down to Atlanta.

The rest of the yarn is scraps and skeins that I’ve got set aside for my classes. I’ve got three (Armhole Success, A Sampling of Stitches, and Darn It). And I have homework to do for all three. Only one left to go. I hoping to get that one knocked out tomorrow.

For now, I am off to pack. I’ve got the fiber part of my packing done, but I haven’t set out any clothing. Stay tuned to my blog this weekend for posts from ground zero of the south’s first Stitches fiber festival.

The Everyday Utility Bag

I thought it completely out of place to see kitchen towels in the quilt shop. But considering the type of machines that they sell in this shop, I shouldn’t be surprise. With a Bernina machine, you can embroider anything! Believe me, it is tempting. I bought three of the kitchen towels and set about trying to figure out what I was going to do with them. It just wouldn’t be right to use them as kitchen towels, embroidered or not. I sat in front of my Bernina and out came this...



I love it. It’s big enough to use as a market bag, but I will be using it for recycling. There are some weeks when my single recycling container just isn’t enough and this bag will allow me to do some good presorting before I head to the center. I’m going to make at least two more for myself, but first I need to make one for my niece Brittany to use as a laundry bag in college. She graduates in May from high school. Celebration for sure!!!

So, back to the Bernina I go.

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I’ll post the finishing pic when I’m done. I hope this inspires you for Earth day (April 22).