I got the cold

I really don't know how I did it. I meet my 10,000 step goal for the day. The cold Eric had this weekend hit me with venengence today.  I landed up taking a 4 hour nap today.  I still managed to knit 1 hat and finish part of a comminisioned project.  

Even with a long nap I am tired and calling it an early evening so I will have energy to finish the major project of the week.  

Being Creative Without Spending Money

My challenge this month for knitting guild was to come up with a very nice gift for our speaker without spending any money. To that end I cut up 2 pairs of worn out jeans, one from each of my kids. I then went on a fabric hunt through my quilting material to find larger scrapes of fabric that were the right color and size.  Then the pinning and sewing commenced. 

I have created 8 unique project bags for knitting, spinning or crochet projects. I also found 6 other larger pieces of fabric that could stand alone and made them into project bags too. 

Then it was off to the ribbon box to find the right ribbon or cording to finish the bags off. So after 2 days of sewing I have 13 bags for the speaker to choose from without spending any money. The rest will be sold off on a first come first serve basis. The project bags are all one of a kind. No 2 are exactly alike.  I like the fact that I could be creative with the bags. They are more artistry than production line ones too. 

The sad news from this is that I did not make a dent in my fabric stash. I only finished 1 spool of cording and only bits of ribbon. No spools of thread got finished either. I will have to work on that stash getting smaller too. 

Yes I know that 6 + 8 = 14, but I decided to keep one of the bags for myself. Here is a picture of mine at the top of the post. 

Laundry Math

The math just does not add up I did 4 loads of laundry Saturday with 1 load left over. I started doing laundry at 6 am this morning. I had 1 load from Saturday and 5 loads from today with all the laundry finished by 4 pm. So how is it that just 6 hours later I have at least 3 new loads of laundry. How does 1 boy make so much laundry? Is there an evil genie who goes around just pulling clothes out of drawers to be dirtied and thrown back in the laundry  before the fresh laundry smell is gone?  I sometimes wonder if Eric has a deal with Proctor and Gamble, he will make as much dirty laundry as possible if they agree to put Tide coupons in the Sunday paper once a month. The thing I don't want to hear is that you do only 2 to 4 loads a week. That is unless you convince my son that he does not have to keep mommy busy by doing laundry.

There are other things in life that I love to do. I have signed up for an on line course that I have yet to crack the "book" open or even completed the 1st home work assignment. I have another 6 classes that I need to listen to before next semester for my religious studies class. I can not forget all the yarn I want to knit up in to charity hats next to couch, I think it is about 4 gallons of yarn. Yes I count my yarn in gallons and quarts for the reason that 4 gallons of yarn sounds better than counting just how many skeins make up a gallon of yarn. Also how much  I have to knit up. Its a little less daunting that way. Did I mention that I have both spinning wheels in mid project with a few spindles busy too. Yes I am making more yarn too.

In the sewing room today I just finished a set of toddler bibs. I bought the supplies more than several years ago to go to a set of twins who are now in elementary school. So as long as they are finished, the bibs will now be going to a friends granddaughter. While I was at it I also made 2 more bibs for Eric. Now to get those project bag samples done. The work in the sewing room is part of my deep cleaning effort. Finish all work in progress that can be made relevant or get rid of it.

Now if someone can just get Eric to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. Sleep through the night and not wake up before the sun I would have it made.

Cleaner Might Be Better

This might be my other self talking, the neat well organized one that I swear is just a facade.  I spent almost the whole day in the craft room today.  Cleaning, organizing, finishing sewing projects and yes finding more yarn hidden away.  Don't tell John or Teri, but the more organized and neater the room became the easier I found it was to create and get things done.  I even have pictures of 2 of the projects I  completed from start to finish today.  The pattern will be posted once I am not writing on my iPod.  

It seems that it might not be the power supply on the computer after all.  It looks like there are a couple of bad transformers on the mother board.  This I know is a very bad thing.  You will know when things get fixed, yes I will be on the computer more. 

The only other thing that got done today was a very short field trip that Eric and I took.  We made our yearly pilgrimage to Tucson's version of the Mayflower.  It is an event sponsored by our local radio station MIX-FM 94.9 along with Tucson Electric Power who double all the cash donations, the Mayflower Moving and Storage Company who donate the use of a moving van to stack and transport the food to the Tucson Community Food Bank.  It was so nice that they remembered Eric from years past and knew just what to do.  

Well it is time to finish making dinner.  TTFN.  

On a Roll

Today was one of those truly exceptional days. I was not an object in motion but still managed to get a lot of things finished,  starting with scrubbing the stove top. I decided to opt out of scrubbing the inserts by hand and instead used the dishwasher. I did manage to get all 4 loads of laundry washed and all but 1 is complete. Don't worry I think Eric has made at least one load for tomorrow.

On the craft front I finished knitting 2 hats, sewing 3 pillows for Eric, found the vest and buttons that made it into the sewing room so long ago that I can not remember when it hit the repair basket. My hands were a little to stiff to sew the buttons on tonight.

John and I went out for some couple time and I think we were mistaken for snow birds. We also made it to the grocery store. John made a lovely salad for dinner and even cleaned up afterward.

I think that I am falling asleep and Eric sounds quiet so I think I will call it a very early night.

Getting Crafty

I made a lot of progress in the craft room today. I got 2 dog pillows out the door and delivered today so that they are out of the house. Made 3 new pillows for Eric's bed, although 1 will require some sort of modification to keep the pillow inside. Repaired the skirt that got torn at Disneyland, I can't quite remember when that was, but I think Teri was in her 1L year. Its not perfect, but it is wearable. 100% silk is sure hard to repair. Repaired 1 bib for Eric and put it in the wash. That means that 1 of the 2 repair baskets is almost empty.

Outside of the craft room I got 6 loads of laundry washed and 3 folded. The rest of the folding can wait until tomorrow. I also finished 2 more knitted hats today. Took Eric with me to Jo-Ann's after his day program to pick up some clean fiber fill for more positioning pillows for the kids. After making more than 80 over the past 6 years I am beginning to wonder how they walk so fast. Discreet labeling saying Taglit Program or Property of Taglit does not seem to work. So I got some permanent art markers. I am going to have Eric and his aide decorate them so the kids will like them and hopefully this batch will not sprout legs and walk away. It is not that I mind making the pillows for the kids. What I mind is that people know I make them for the kids, they like them and take them home with out payment to me or the program and expect me to make more for the kids. I really think that is very selfish on their part. I also don't get stealing pillows from disabled young adults.

Well if I am going to get more pillows out the door tomorrow morning it is time to call it a night.

Looking Up

Things have turned around and I have more energy. I just finished the Marina Hunger Walk. I did miss walking with Lisa and Matthew this year. I am at 7,961 steps out of the minimum 10,000 I need for the World  UCP Challenge. Did I mention that it is only 9:40am. I am also almost 2 inches in to the wash cloth that I started this morning. 

When I get home my to do list includes washing 2 batches of yarn.  More laundry. Sewing at least 1 dog pillow and what ever else I can get done in the sewing room. Maybe even getting the guys out today, but I would not count on Eric. As a typical young adult he likes to spend his weekends relaxing and watching tv.  So I might just add more cleaning, sewing, knitting and spinning. 

It's time to get a cuppa of tea for the road and get this day moving again. 

Too Many Projects Advice Needed

It has been brought to my attention just today that I have a few too many projects going at once. At least 20 is my estimate. Followed by more pending projects ready to be started. Well over 50ish to be polite about it. This does not even include the un-designated yarn, which is yarn/fiber/material that I love with no particular project in mind.  My mind just races faster ahead of me than my hands can go. Throw in a few bad days and this is where the dilemma lies.

I find my self enjoying but rushing through projects on the knitting needles so I can cast on and start the next project, the yarn is calling my name saying use me next.  Often times ignoring the getting smaller pile of UFOs. I try to fill a bag with finishing work so that I can weave in my ends and do the labeling all at once at least a once a month. I just can't wrap my mind around doing one project from buying the yarn, casting on and finishing the project before the next one is started.

I have also been asked why I continue to spin new yarn when I have so much in my stash already. The truth is that I find it very relaxing on  stressful days. Does this ring a bell with anyone?

My question is does anyone else have this problem? If so how do you handle it? Should I just list everything to do style and cross them off before I go to the next. Keeping in mind that I take 1 small project every where I go. Yes I add a few rows here and there. I also have 2 projects currently by the couch, both should be finished before Friday. I also have 1 project in Eric's room with a spare skein of yarn.

For those of you with small or smaller stashes how do you keep things in check? I would like to start a dialog on this. So please feel free to send in your comments. If you don't want them published just let me know. Thanks.

Progress is Good

I have been very busy with cleaning around here. The master bathroom is 99.9% done. It is just a few very small things that I have to figure out where they go. I have made enough progress in the craft room to set up the sewing machine. I got 1 repair  and a blanket modification done for some one, that makes 2 things out the door of the craft room today.

For some unknown reason I had a very productive day around here. The bills were paid before anyone one else was awake. I brought at least 2 baskets of recycling out to the bin today and got it hauled to the street tonight. By the way I managed to fill it 3/4's of the way full, not bad. I also started working on my Mondays to do list. I know, what was I thinking? I will never get ahead of the curve ball on this one, but at least I have a plan for tomorrow. The laundry is 3/5 done for today, but then again I know there will be more than 2 loads tomorrow...

John and I stole an hour together and went out for dinner. While we were eating a a cricket ( I think, I am not an bug expert ) hopped on the hood of our car. It must have found a sweet spot on the hood because it made it from the restaurant all the way home with out flying off the hood. I did have to shoo it off the hood before we drove in to the garage.

I also had time for a lot of knitting and a little spinning. I would like to write more but I think I will call it a night.

I Need Shorter Work Days

Eric had a rough night last night. So I was up with him for about 2 hours. This left me totaly out of sync for today. I even managed to sew a poncho the wrong way, but was way to tired to rip it out.  Well there is always tomorrow. 

My biggest accomplishment today was taking all Eric's old cloth diapers and turning them into rags with the help of my serger.   I think that I will use them as packing material for Teri's next box.  I am quite sure she won't mind.  Here is the pile before John cut them apart. I did a daisy chain to save on thread, and John had volunteered to cut them apart before he knew that I was going to use the serger.  So the cutting was not as bad as he thought.  

Eric is having another rough night so I think I will get some charity knitting done while I count my blessings.  

Back to Normal

I took a break from blogging, knitting and spinning because I was busy getting ready for my mom's visit. I had a great visit with my mom but she has decided that even though Tucson has changed quite a bit since she left it is not where she wants to live.

I am continuing to organize the house, but I have started taking time to knit and get a few things out of the need to sew/repair basket. I got 4 items repaired today. I still need to find time for spinning. I really think my spinning wheel and drop spindles have forgotten who I am.

Well its getting late and I have a very busy week ahead of me.

Thread

I have been working on my long over looked sewing basket. Today I finished one quilt for Eric. I went to start the quilting on the next but with 15 different shades of green thread I did not have one with enough gray in it. So off to the store I went.. I found a Coats and Clark machine quilting thread in a color called Linen Green. I took the last three spools. I went to look in their other lines for the same color in case I ran out. I was very surprised that the thread with the same name was a different color depending what line it was in.

I also got a lot of laundry washed, folded and put away, call me a wimp but I gave up after 6 loads today. I will have have more to do tomorrow anyway. This brought up the thought that if I ever get to design my own laundry room it would have 2 washers and dryers. I would still have the same amount of laundry but maybe it would take half the time.

The craft room is just a few hours ( maybe 8 or 9) from being a total guest room for my mom's visit. My goal is to have most of that done tomorrow with Eric's help.  

So Much for Planning

Well today was the 5th day in a row that Eric made it to school. I was planning on going to the 4th Avenue Street Fair, but spent the day waiting for a service man who did not show up.

So it was time to work on the house. I finally had enough energy to do some house work and paperwork. The good news is that the paper work is down by 2/3's. The house is better than it was but not where I want it to be. I even found time to do some repairs from the mending pile on the sewing machine.  A very small dent was made in the repair pile.

I took some yarn off the spinning wheel today. Over 300 yards and 4.8 ounces. It is from a wool mohair art batt by Kathy Withers. She does not have any art batts in her shop at this moment but if you let her know what you are looking for she may be able to get it for you. Unique Designs by Kathy . I still have to boil the yarn and let it dry. I think it is some of the best yarn that has come off the wheel yet. Almost on par with my spindle spinning.

I would like to say that I made progress on Teri's blanket today, but everything I knit tonight was tinked and re knit so I consider it a stand still for today.

Well it is time to go put Eric to bed. So it is time to say good night.

Party Day

We had a small party for Eric today. We had 1 friend for Eric and just did a little hanging out and relaxing. A lot of the Elmo's made it off the shelf. At one point we had a Sesame Street video going plus a few Elmos' sing and one even telling stories. Eric reached for every Elmo that made it to the bed. Matthew even managed to find and get John to open 2 more Elmo's that were still in the boxes. Eric and Matthew had a great time even though I fell asleep this morning instead of making a cake. I don't think it made a difference to either of them.

The party favor was a new dog pillow for Matthews dog. I had enough scraps to stuff a dog pillow for Frank. I made the mistake of putting my hand in the stuffing mix and have a nice blister on my hand. Polyfil is great to stuff dog pillows with along with yarn and spinning scraps, but my skin does not like it. When will I ever learn. sigh.

I did manage to score a Phat Fiber sampler box on the second drop today and it should be here before Thanksgiving. I did not find time to spin but I did get a few rows done on a hat and 1 1/2 squares done on Teri's blanket. I think the month is catching up with me so it is time to call it a night.

Pictures



Camp Pillows

Eric's Quilt

Joe's pillows

Early spinning

Here are a few pictures of some recent work of mine.  The top 13 pillows were made yesterday and are going to camp today. The next 2 pillows were also made yesterday and are for Joe's dogs. They are stuffed with poly fill, yarn, spinning and sewing scraps. In case you don't know Joe is one of Eric's aides. And the next picture is of Eric's new quilt. Its hard to tell from the picture but there are 2 different quilting styles on the quilt. The first is the "correct way" in which I hurt my finger and the other half was my way which went so much smoother. As you can tell my sewing machine and I are on speaking terms again. The last picture is of some of my treadling practice on the spinning wheel. Before you get to excited I was practicing treadling and was using a bobbin.

I do apologize for the placement of the pictures I will really get better some day.

One Thing to Never Do

Today I have learned not to fight with fabric while trying to sew. The sewing machine always wins. I have been sewing since I was 9 and have never sewn my finger before.  This is a first that I could have done with out. One black and blue finger plus a tetanus shot later I have decided to go back to quilting the wrong way. I have been doing it wrong for years and before today I have never run over my finger. 

On the Bright side Eric's fever is gone and he is feeling well enough to grumble that he does not feel well. I will take progress anyway I can get it.

I also need to thank John and Eric's aide Joe for fixing Eric's bed. They managed to wangle the old wheels off and putting the new ones on with a plus side of we now have working breaks.

The blog is going to be very short until my finger feels better because I don't type well when I am not using all my fingers. I do very badly with hunt and peck.

Sewing No - Knitting Yes

Not a stitch of sewing got done today. But things did get done in the craft room. 3 boxes of recyclables made it out of the room. The closet got reorganized. No big deal except that there was a pile of stuff that had to be gone through before I could get to the door. I have found all the small presents for my knitting friends. So all in all the room is cleaner.

I did almost empty the finishing basket and found charity projects that I had forgotten that I had knit. Does this happen to anyone else. So 2 hats and scarfs are ready for Privermira women's shelter. 1 scarf is ready for the guild project for next October. I must admit that I left the poncho in the finishing basket because I did not want to do that much sewing today.

I did do some knitting today, so far about 1/2 a skein of yarn. The further I get into the skein the more I think it may be hand spun yarn that was spun and plied but Soak was not used on it. So my plan for the scarf on the needles is to finish it and use some soak on it. If it softens up it will turn into a gift. Other wise it will go out with a batch of charity knitting. I am quite partial to hand spun made from mohair or top roving. This just does not feel like either to me.

Eric will be home with me until Monday. If he is feeling better I just might take him out for a little bit; but after a long week at home I don't want to get him sick again

Well my wonderful husband just drove up with dinner so it is time to end this blog. Have a great evening and enjoy your families.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I have been up to my ears in busy since Wednesday. In no particular order two Holiday parties Friday and Saturday night. I am very glad that I am not a drinker, fruit juice spritzers most of the way.  The end result is no hangover and nothing to worry about they next day.

I did learn a lot about my new sewing machine in between the parties. Taking a class on 4 hours of sleep was certainly interesting and not to be tried again. Eric's new bibs go into production next week. He needs between 2 and 3 dozen at about an hour per bib so if you can't find me next week I will be holed up in the craft room. There will be some design changes so I will make the first bib and see how whats in my mind translates into the fabric.

We had a lot of sick days and long nights I am I hoping for a much better week although it looks like I have a boy who will be home tomorrow but an over night miracle will not be turned down.

Not much left the needles last week,but a lot of yarn decided to hopped on the needles so I am up to an uncountable number of UFOs. Which means I really don't want to know how many projects I have going, that would mean sitting and finishing things.

I am glad that my friend Nancy is recovering well from surgery so well. I am also glad that she was gracious enough to let me bring lunch and knit with her for a while.

Well it is time to start the dryer and head to bed. So enjoy your families and have a great week.

A Very Busy Week

It has been a very busy week since I last blogged. John had the week off so we got a lot done around the house. The craft room was semi cleaned and the 2 old machines, manuals and parts went to our Local Goodwill for their program. They will be cleaned and refurbished for someone else to use. So 2 more boxes out the door.

I also picked up my new sewing machine. I practice on some pillows for some small dogs. They are filled with scrap yarn, old clean rags, sewing scraps and poly fill picked up from the thrift store. The fabric is left over from other projects.  They are a real up-cycle project. I still need to fiddle and play with the machine before I start making some new bibs for Eric. But so far so good.

Eric finished one of his favorite holiday projects. He gets to choose some toys that he thinks that other kids will like. He then gets to deliver them to a Toy for Tots drop off location. I really think that he enjoys this more than the people collecting the gifts for the kids.

We landed up with an extra turkey for Thanksgiving. Don't ask. So John made a mad dash to the Tucson Community Food Bank with a frozen turkey in the back of his car. It was all the way across town in the middle of rush hour and dropped it off 2 minutes before the food bank closed. We really hope that this will make someones X-mas meal a little better.

John and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner together. John sliced and diced.  I mixed everything together. Since it was just the two of us we skipped making a pie and sweet potatoes. The rest of the day was a just hang around the house day. We did get to talk to Teri who spent Thanksgiving with a classmates family. It was just to much for us to ask her to fly home in the middle of finals for a few days.

After a very slow start to today we did manage to do some clothes shopping and sneak out to our last dinner out for this vacation. Well it has been a long busy week and I think my closet is next on the cleaning agenda.

 I almost forgot. I am thankful for all my family and friends. So have a good weekend and enjoy your friends and families.

Sewing for Eric

Today was a day of sewing things for Eric’s room. I made 3 sets of bumper pads and up-cycled a set of curtains that we had decided not to use on the windows to make some pillows that would be used daily instead. I used the surger for all the projects even the pillows. For the pillows I made a pocket pillow that Eric could not get into but would allow me to change in core pillow when necessary without ripping out a seam in the pillow.

With all that I made Eric today he was busy signing more and picking up his bib to show me what he wanted. He must think that he has a personal seamstress at his beck and call. Oh that right he does, it’s me.

I will show you and out of focus pillow and then head off to sleep. With the grace of G’D I will not be up until 4am again tonight.

So have a great evening and enjoy your families.

These are the fabric colors of the bumper pads. Nice bright and cheery.