Hobbies

Definition of hobby 

: a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxationWriting is just a hobby of his.Her hobbies include gardening and bird-watching.********************That is the definition according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary on line, although for purposes of full disclosure MY hobbies are not those being quoted of in the above note!It should more appropriately read "Her hobbies include sewing, knitting, reading and writing.Last week was pretty hectic.  I worked my normal three days plus taught a class on the Wire Frame Tote Bag one evening.  Saturday there was work plus a graduation party.  Friday was errand running and I managed to squeeze in some sewing time in addition to cleaning the glass in both the patio and storm doors.  It's amazing how good they look now!

On Sunday I did not go to church.  I go to church nearly every Sunday, and it felt a little strange, not getting up early to go.  However, I was scheduled as a Lector for our After Weekend Worship on Monday, so I decided to sleep in on Sunday.  DH did go on Sunday morning, so after he left I made some tea and sat down to watch CBS Sunday Morning live for once instead of watching the recording later.It felt pretty decadent, sitting on the couch with tea and toast.  But there on the coffee table before me was some knitting and a new magazine.  I guess that's my version of laying around eating bonbons!  So I could anticipate two hours of uninterrupted free time and I took full advantage.

First I knit a while on this sock, the second of the pair.  The yarn is from Simply Socks and the colorway is Sometime in April.  I love the way the striping is rainbow-ish without being a slave to red-orange-yellow-green-blue-purple.   I picked out a color for the heel that goes well and doesn't disrupt the striping.

After that got boring (plain vanilla pattern, just continuous knitting) I opened a project bag and discovered this little beauty!  It's my first experiment with short socks.  I particularly liked the black seeds in the Watermelon patterned yarn.

Somewhere along the line I put aside this green 'pair' after knitting one sock.  It's also now in the queue, although I have to finish one or the other of the above socks to get the needles required to finish this pair.  The yarn is a bit heavier than the fingering I used for either of the other two, so they will make great winter footwear.  They feel nice and look kind of camouflage-y, the jungle version.

Last time I was down in the sewing room last week I spent some time searching for my wool pressing mat.  Lord knows where I put it the last time I used it!  In digging around and rearranging, I came across a bin of knit fabrics, some of which I bought at the local Stretch and Sew store, which closed up decades ago.  I decided that since I need new white tee shirts every summer, I should pull out the pile and see what I can stitch up.  That required some heavy lifting, since the box with the garment patterns in it was holding up one end of a small shelf unit that is sitting on some bins.  This is how my life goes... one thing leads to another which leads to the rabbit hole and ZIP!!! She's off and running, original errand forgotten.The new task required DH to hold up the shelf unit while I subbed out boxes.  Luckily he was available and not too crabby about the whole process.  The result is several new tops, most of which are decidedly unexciting but have no underarm staining and no spaghetti sauce spots.  But these two are not plain in color, although the same pattern was used for all the tees.  It's a basic S&S tank pattern with a dropped shoulder and no sleeve.  Easy to make and easy to wear.

And now I know that my serger works, that I remember how to sew on knits, and that I still fit into the same sized pattern I did two years ago!  All in all, the week was a success.Sew or knit on...