Yoga Wrap – the Sweater that Never Ends
This is the progress I have made on the Yoga Wrap Sweater I started quite a while ago.
Those are the arm holes. On the right side I am almost done – it has to be as wide as the left side. Then I will still have to knit the two sleeves.
Remember this is all stockinette stitch. I has become my travel project. I end up only working on it when I am in the car (as a passenger), at the movies or watching a movie at home. After tearing out 15+ rows that were stitched wrong while watching the new Transformers movie – I may not stitch in the movie theater anymore.
All the yarn is purchased – it would be really great if I can finish this before it gets cold.
Wee are Twisted – Strip Twist Quilt
I never really name my quilts, but when I was entering this project into my sewing room on SeamedUP.com I came up with “Wee are Twisted”. Because it is made with the Wee Play collection by American Jane and it is the Strip Twist pattern.
Here is the progress so far:
I really like it – I just thought it needed a border. Something that was not too busy. So I did some searching and found a great pieced border that looks like a curling ribbon. The idea is to surround this border with the red fabric used in the background of the ribbon. I think it will anchor the busy look of the pattern.
Of course – this one has to sit aside until the Gator Quilt is done.
The Morgan Update
The question I am asked most often on this blog and in my emails is “How is Morgan?”
So I figured today, I would give you an update. She is still smart as ever, always happy, enjoying her summer vacation, and drives me crazy everyday. Yes, I could end here – but here are some details.
The school year ended great. Morgan won awards every quarter and her teachers just rave about her. All her scores for the entire year were the best they could possibly be. Her gifted teacher said “Morgan more than met the challenge of being the youngest student in the class” and she scored the highest grade possible.
The fact that she is smart is wonderful, but what I am more proud of, is her behavior. Those of you with little ones understand the daily behavior reports teachers send home. For the entire school year, she never once scored below the top level. She is really a great kid to be around.
That is of course, when she is quiet. The girl never stops talking. NEVER! I know this will be a good thing as she grows up, but right now it makes me feel like a terrible mom; because I am constantly saying “please stop talking!!” (well, sometimes in those words, and sometimes a little nicer). And she has started talking so low – like she doesn’t understand that her talking too much is not the volume it is the quantity. When she is not talking, and sometimes when she is, she is bouncing, jumping, dancing, moving – I get dizzy when she is around me. It wears me out.
She did venture off to Girl Scout camp for a day this year. This is something she earned for selling so many cookies for her troop. She was very nervous about camp, but loved it and next year plans on going to the overnight camp. I have to say that Girl Scouts is one of the best organizations I have dealt with and we are looking forward to many more years of participation.
One thing I did not like about Girl Scout camp was the infestation of head lice Morgan ended up with a month later. Of course, I do not know if it was camp that did it; be she was so infested everything I read said she had to have them for 30 days or more. Count back 5 weeks and she was at camp.
So we went on a week long vacation to Florida (yes, I live in Florida – we only went 80 miles down the road) and took the kids to several theme parks; Universal, Islands of Adventure, Busch Gardens. The following week, I went to Mobile, Alabama for a conference for work. Two days into the conference I get the call from Rick – Morgan has Lice!!!
That poor man always has to deal with bad stuff when I am out of town. So he did the first treatment. I got home a few days later and found more live creepy crawlies and did another treatment. We combed her hair for hours every other day. And a week later we did a follow up treatment. During this time, I was reading everything I could and found a ton of info about non-toxic treatments. Of course I understood why people would want non-toxic (chemicals and all around your kid), but I just wanted them dead.
About a week later I found out why non-toxic would have been a better choice – Morgan’s hair was destroyed. It was breaking off to the touch and her scalp was in terrible shape. In the picture above she has lost about 3 inches and before school we will cut off another 3-4 inches. It is split, knotting and just dried up. I have been doing intense conditioning treatments and her scalp is getting better. I am hoping by the time school starts the flakiness has stopped.
So there is the long and the short of it. It is summer vacation right now; I don’t send her away anywhere, she stays home with her dad and brother playing with her toys. She goes back to school in 2 weeks. I am hoping for a teacher that gives her more homework and makes her write more. She is a great writer and her 1st grade teacher didn’t assign very much.
Snicket Socks
Have you ever seen the movie “Lemeny Snicket’s a Series of Unfortunate Events”? This is one of my sons favorite book series. Probably the only books he ever read because he wanted too.
When my sister asked for a pair of socks, I went looking for a pattern and came across the Snicket Socks on Ravelry. I picked out the perfect yarn – it will match her work uniform perfectly.
I have started these socks and torn them out about 10 times. I am on my third set of DPNs. OH – this is sock #1, I haven’t ever started sock #2.
I have been plagued with dropped stitches, broken needles, and major sizing issues. But I think I am finally past it. This was my first attempt at a cable pattern.
Marking the Quilting on the Gator Quilt
I have finally started working on the Gator quilt again. I have been really nervous about messing it up in the quilting stage. But now that football season is starting in a matter of weeks I have renewed energy to finish it.
Here is sits on my sewing table turned into a lightbox. I am marking the quilting using a lightbox because the pattern I am using is from computer printouts. Once it is all marked, I will sandwich it.
I found several Gator logos on the internet. I saved the images, converted them to black and white, enlarged them and printed them out. After doing some sample quilting – see below – I decided it would be better if the words were legible on the back of the quilt. I figure you won’t see them too clearly on the front with all the busy fabric. So, I turned the printout over and traced the outline on the back. This is what I am copying onto the front of the quilt.
I will not use batting when I sandwich the quilt. I did two samples, one with and one without; Rick liked the one without better.
Trying to get back on track
Over the last week, I have been reminded on my blog. In one guess, I was “asked” to keep it updated. Not in a mean or negative way – just a gentle reminder that some on my loyal followers use their Kindle to read my blog. Another person mentioned the traffic that my blog gets. I hadn’t check it in a while and was shocked that 300-400 people visit me every day. OK – now I am feeling guilty.
So, in response, I am going to make a real effort to keep in touch. Starting today. This week, I will have several posts to update you on what I have been doing. I still live by my motto of ”crafting everyday”. Even though SeamedUP has been keeping me busy, I still make an effort to do a little something everyday.
I will also be updating the site this week. You will no longer see the discussion page because that is happening over at SeamedUP.com in the forums (very active by the way). I am also going to remove my quilt and knitting projects – because you can see those on Ravelry and SeamedUP. I am also getting rid of the question of the week – at lease for now. I never keep it updated anyway.
As for podcasting – I can’t give you an answer. The last time I posted was April 8th. I actually recorded another one a week later – but never posted it. So, for now, let’s take this one step at a time. My focus right now will be blogging regularly.
Wish my luck – I really hope I succeed at this. I do love this blog.
Episode 58 ~ Old Magazines, Good Tips
Listen to the podcast of this post Listen to the podcast of this postThis was recorded over a week ago, took me a bit to get it posted.
No show notes this week. Just me chatting and some tips from some old magazines.
Enjoy!!
My Janome is Broke Down AGAIN!!
Well, we are at 9 times in the shop and counting. Remember – it has only been 18 months since the first repair.
This past weekend I was stitching away and the dreaded noise happened again. The bobbin case spun and pressed against the top of holder. I stopped as quick as I could. When I opened it up, the case was in good shape. I could find nothing wrong that would have caused the jam this time. I checked the threading of the machine and everything was in place.
So, I put everything back together, re-threaded and started again.
IT ONLY SEWED IN REVERSE!!! But only for 15 stitches or so and stopped.
I re-threaded it – only because the computer screen told me too. the machine was threaded fine.
But then, the feed dogs stopped working. They now go up and down, but not forward or reverse.
So, I am off to the dealer again…….UGH!!!
Viking 6570
Check out the amazing gift I got from my Mom!
This is the sewing machine I grew up on. It is 33 years old and has only been in the shop one time for repairs. I have always wanted it, but when I got my junker Janome I figured she should find a better home for it. It was going to go to my niece, but this thing is a BEAST; to heavy to ship cheaply and it can’t be airplane carry on. I can barely lift it, it is so heavy. Rick was even shocked by the weight.
So, I was at her house a few weeks ago and she said “Are you sure you don’t want it….”
I couldn’t resist. Of course she thinks I will save it for Morgan. But who knows. Last night, I finally pulled it out and got a good look at it. I was SHOCKED at the features this baby has.
- 32 different decorative stitches
- Needle up/down positions
- Feed dog up/down positions
- Super fast speed
- Stitch through layers of denim like Butter!
The only downsides I have found so far is the tension is not automatic and I am not good with tension. It is a bit noise. And, the harp area is too small for machine quilting.
Disappearing 9-Patch ~ Quilting is done
I finally finished the quilting on my disappearing 9-patch. I was putting it off because I was down to just the decorative swirly’s on the border. For each one I had to start and stop quilting. They were not connected or continuous.
But I sat down and got into a rhythm and finished them all. I didn’t stop there. I made the binding and sewed it on right away. I even made little hanger triangles for the corners. Now I am down to the hand sewing of the binding.
Yeah!!! It may be done this week.
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I am Brye Lynn, host, author, and creator of Sew ~ Stitch ~ Create! I am a lifetime sewer and beginner quilter. This blog is dedicated to my journey into the crafting world as I learn and explore my favorite medium – fiber and fabric.
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