I've Got That Feeling

I've got a funny feeling. Not tummy funny, like when you order fast food from toddlers at the playground...

Not dizzy... I mean, there was a lot of spinning last night, when Pop Pop and I took the boys to a Jim Gill concert at one of our local libraries, but I think I'm over that today.

And there were a lot of spin-around 

and up-and-down fun things at the playground after the concert...

But I didn't ride those, and we've all had a good night's sleep now...so what is this funny feeling? 

My feet hurt a bit from walking around in the wrong shoes yesterday (oh! my achin' feet), so I have a feeling that they would enjoy another pair of stripey socks to slip on...

Especially since I finished the last pair of stripey socks on Wednesday. They have random butterfly stitches on them!

And I have a funny feeling that I'll be knitting more frogs...

...and possibly working a little hand-embroidery to repair a hole in one of my favorite pair of summer capris. (I'm not sure how that will go, so I'll let you know next week.)

Wait! I've got it! I've got that feeling that the annual Woolapalooza trip is coming up! Yes! That's it! Yay for that Woolapalooza feeling!

X marks the spot for Woolapalooza, Baby!

Anyone else in Blogland planning to attend the Great Lakes Fiber Show on Saturday? Message me, or look for me there, if you are. Perhaps we can have some fun together!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Making Fun!

It's been a week of making around the Pretty family. Making space by cleaning out things I don't need, and taking time to make glorious messes with my favorite people! I've had a Sock Puppet boxed kit in the attic for years, just waiting for the right time to come out and play...and it finally happened last Sunday!

The girls and their Mom and Dad were in town to pick up some things we are getting rid of (baseball trophies, yearbooks, other assorted fun things) and sooo...Pig Puppet!

...and whatever this is!

...and Barbie bags!

Our eldest granddaughter, the one who dubbed us Gramma and PopPop nearly 10 years ago, learned to sew...

...and her puppet became a Dalmatian!

...and the dog was not really that impressed. But Gramma was!

Even the littles helped Mommy make a giant cookie. I think she said, "Just sprinkle some on the icing...like this," as she carefully sprinkled both white and red sprinkles over the edge of the cookie. Then, as she started talking about making an icing heart in the middle, this happened...

...and I laughed and laughed! Mommy made this face!

...and we all laughed and laughed, and hugged that little decorator!

Even the littlest of the littles was busy making smiles!

...and making everyone around him smile, too!

It has been a very good week. All this making has made me happy, and I love putting it all down here for us to share! What has made you happy this week? Drop a comment and tell me what brings you joy!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

Unfinished

Yesterday, I was talking with a new friend, as one does when one makes new friends. This friend knows some of my story, of course, but I always struggle with how much of my story to share with new friends, and when. I am sure that we all have the same struggle, because we all come from some kind of crazy...sooo, how much crazy does one share at the first lunch?

In my experience, as of late, the first lunch is a perfect time to talk about struggles with food and other addictions...for me, that means all of the crafts! Hahaha! Yesterday was no exception, and my old quilting habit came to mind as we talked about the things we have started in our crafting rooms and never quite finished...like this piece:

You see, back in the mid-90s, I thought I was a quilter. Well, I was a quilter, I have made at least 5 honest-to-goodness quilts...with pieced top, a layer of batting and backing, all quilted (stitched) together and given as gifts. In recent years, I have made t-shirt quilts with fleece backing...super cozy, and less actual quilting required. The t-shirts were fun, and I will probably do more of those at some point, but my heart was really stolen by my first quilts and sewing projects early in my marriage. In 1997, I decided that I liked quilting so much that I would make a "signature quilt" to record family history and hang on the wall, and this is what I came up with:

I know. It is not hanging on the wall. It is not even finished. As a matter of fact, you can see that, while my intention was to stitch over all of the sharpie signatures, I fizzled out in the middle of my own name!

You can also see that green corduroy holds onto dust pretty securely. 

How can you wash an unfinished quilt that has been sitting, folded, on the banister for at least the last 10 years? That's right, you can't...at least not until someone finishes quilting my name...but I digress. That green corduroy was from a pair of overalls I stitched for a stuffed bear when the kids were small. The pink and blue sashing, where the names are signed, is from an Elvis quilt I made for my mother.

There are Elvis fabrics in there, too...Wal-Mart had a sale, and I bought 5 different fabrics for her quilt. Wal-Mart also sold gambling fabrics, which I used for my mother-in-law's quilt...she likes to go to Vegas.

One Christmas, I brought the quilt with me to the family gathering, and I got a lot of signatures...nephews (my kids' cousins):

Siblings, aunts, uncles:

And even my hubby's Grandmother, who was a crafter herself!

Fun fact, Grammie was the first person to teach me to knit. That lady will always hold a special place in my heart, and her handwritten name will always be on my quilt.

Circling back to the crazy of sharing over the first lunch with a new friend, the reason this quilt came up is that we were talking about all our stuff...you know, the stuff the kids will either want to keep or toss when we are gone, someday far down the road (I am sure). I have no way of knowing what their decisions will be, on this piece or any of my stuff, but I thought it would be nice to take some photos and tell the story of where this started anyway. Once upon a time, Mom thought it would be cool to have a permanent record of the family, in quilt form. Crazy? Maybe. Crafty? Definitely. Will she ever finish what she started? Only time will tell. Hmmm...I wonder if the story of the quilt can be finished if the quilt itself is not...? 

Stories of where we come from are cool. Knowing the players makes the stories better, and we are all writing a story with our lives every day. Some are sweet, some are crazy and some are tragic at times. Whatever your story is, remember that it is yours. The milestones, the memories, the mannerisms your family shares (or tries to overcome)...they are part of your story, and they shape who you are today. 

The greatest thing about your story is that you are in charge. Knowing where and who you come from is just the start of your story, but you have the power to really change it up as you go. So think about it: What is YOUR story? Does it need to change? How? What is one thing you can do today to start to make that change? Change is a challenge, to be sure, but you can do it. In fact, you are the only one who can change your story. Go for it!

That seems like enough photos and unsolicited advice from me today. If you read to the end, thanks for sticking around. Thanks for stopping by at all! I hope that your day is a good one, and I look forward to hearing more of your story.

Now, Knit in Good Health!

The Cat(s) "Helped"

A couple summers ago, I made a t-shirt quilt for a friend. She offered to pay me to make the quilt for her daughter to take to college, and I got it done just in the nick of time...she loved it. :)

When my son-in-law Snake saw it, he asked Dollface if she thought I might make him one. "Of course!," I said, a year-and-a-half ago. I thought I could even get it done by Christmas (2012)! Then I had surgery...still, I had him bring me his shirts, and I told him I'd get it done as soon as I could. I think I lied...either that or I am a really bad estimator of how long I will procrastinate on a project, because I did not actually start this thing until after Christmas 2013!!! It was then that I finally got out his t-shirts to see how many? what size? colors? and the cat "helped..."

Then I cut off the sleeves and put them aside until New Year's Day (day off work) when I started the cutting, interfacing and finally sewing the top together! I finished the top that night (yay!),and the next day, the day that knit night was cancelled for snow (boo!), I laid it all out to cut the fleece to size for the backing, and the cat "helped..."

I pinned it together, and the cats "helped..."

Then I bound the fleece around the edges, sewed on buttons and added quilting ties to the centers of the shirts, and (you guessed it) the cat "helped!"

Overall, I'll call it a success, and he loves it!

And the cats are so very "helpful." When it was all done, I took a moment to decompress, and I knitted up a quick pair of Peanut socks. The cat modeled them, kinda...

I even added a little non-skid to the bottoms, so her little feet don't slip and slide too much!

One thing that none of the cats were very helpful with was this hexipuff...

...which I knit while Sweetie was helping Snake and Dollface install their first ceiling fan!

Of course, I didn't help much with the fan either, but let's not throw stones, ok? Ok, and I think we are all caught up now...phew! What a lot of activity there has been in my Pretty World lately! Now I think it's time to get to work so I can get home and work on a sweater (or two)!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit (and sew, and install ceiling fans) in Good Health!

It's not easy bein' green...

Nope, it's not easy bein' green.  Just ask this sweater from my last post:

I had to do something to rescue the poor thing from the cats...
they thought it's sole purpose was to make the dining
room table a more comfortable spot for a sunshiny nap.

I don't remember when I actually acquired this sweater, but I do remember thinking to look at the construction to see if it would be suitable to take apart and unravel, in order to knit something else with the yarn.  I never, not even for a second, considered this a garment to be worn (by me) in the 21st century.  However, I recently ran across this green monster while cleaning out some of my stash space in the basement, and I have been contemplating it for some time.  What did it want to be???  

Enter Mr. Coffee...

Handsome, isn't he?

...who now lives on top of the fridge.  It's really dusty up there, and the black shows off the dust like it's on display in the Dust Bunny Museum, but it's the best out-of-the-way place to store an appliance that won't see much use in the heat of summer!  Tired of climbing on chairs to dust the thing, I took another look at the sweater, and I grabbed some green thread...

I cannot remember why I purchased green thread.  Perhaps I was
rescuing it, because I know it's not easy bein' green?

I started stitching, and then I cut off the sleeves...

I promise that the sweater was not in any
pain during the procedure...

Then I tweaked the seams, stitching, restitching and carefully trimming until I was happy with the shape.  After a little less than 30 minutes, I found that I had the solution to the dusty coffee pot...and now my coffee pot wears a green turtleneck!

"Psst!  It's like 95 degrees! Can you get Pretty to take this thing off of me?"

Sincerely, Mr. Coffee

Have you re-purposed anything lately?

In Knitting Knews, there have been more cloths, and I have also gotten back to the Baseball Sweater.  Oh!, and I cast on for a new letter a couple days ago.  More knitting pix coming soon!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!

24 hours of quilting...

Three cheers for Pretty!

Go, Pretty!  Go, Pretty!  

Getcha quilt on!  Go, Pretty!

(dances and shakes pom poms)

Besides finishing the 18th and 19th letters in my Alphabet Soup (R and H), I have been busy with a BIG project for my farming friend.  Her daughter is graduating high school this spring, and she put a shout out for some help in putting together a special piece of home to accompany her as she transitions to college life.  Over the last few weeks, I have put 24 hours into the creation of this keepsake, and I am so happy with how it turned out!  You've seen some of these photos before, but I can't help myself...here they are again:

Just a few "in progress" photos of the process...

As for the specs, I did a lot of research before starting this project.  Several websites into it, I realized that I was going to go my own way in the world of quilting, just as I have always done with yarny projects.  Many of the sites I visited told me the best ways to do everything, and they also told me that some of my plans would simply not work.  Apparently, I just saw that advice as a challenge, because I was able to accomplish just about everything I had originally planned for this T-shirt quilt...and most of my plans worked out just fine...better than fine, even...Excellent!!!

Can barely believe it's finished...Yay!

I am currently researching even more new techniques for my next t-shirt quilt(s)...because I already have collections of Mork's and Snake's shirts a-waiting!  (I am betting that Mindy and Dollface may also be interested.)  

Here's what I learned/remembered with this quilt project:

1. Everything has to be "just right" when fusing interfacing to jersey knit...the temp of the iron, how the shirts are washed and cut, the timing.  Read the directions carefully.
2. Fleece is way stretchier than I think it is.  I mean, it's a knit, so it stretches...but I always forget just how stretchy it is.  Perhaps if I work two or three of these this year, I will remember that the next time I sew with fleece.
3. You can never have too many pins when securing the quilt top to the batting/backing...you may think you have enough, but you'll probably need more.
4. Fleece will work as a backing, and the quilt will be plenty warm even without batting in the middle!  Omitting the batting also makes the finished blanket less bulky and easier to fit in a standard washer and dryer.
5. Fleece will also work as a binding, but it has to be pretty wide, and the mitered corners don't press down and lay nicely without some encouragement.  The finished width of my purple, fleece binding is approximately 3 inches, but it could easily have been wider, and I "encouraged" the corners by tying them together with some embroidery floss in fun colors!
6. Oh, and I still love to sew!  It's been awhile, but I still love it!

I added some fun buttons to the quilt!

Now that the quilt is done, and all the specs are on mysewingcircle.com (I'm PKJewelry there too), I hope to get a couple more letters finished for the soup, and also to work on the baseball sweater...all of a sudden I miss the baseball sweater.  I think I'll go knit for awhile!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health!