Since the pandemic began and we were all encouraged to stay away from public places and large groups of strangers, I've been in a kind of cleaning and purging mode... to compliment my on-line ordering madness, I guess! If UPS, FedEx, and USPS are always bringing me new things, I should clear out some of the old stuff and try to make room.
Also, after watching the million organizing videos on YouTube, I'm trying to keep only things I really need or that bring me the proverbial joy to own.
My yarn stash has grown. This is today's delivery - the Cascade came from an Etsy shop called HollyPKnits, and the Dishie is from Knit Picks. Even though I tried to purge many of those small end-of-project left-overs, sending them to good homes, it's still a net gain.. I've been trying to knit up a few dozen small projects and have gifted or sold some of those items. Still working on a sweater for my middle granddaughter for Christmas -- which is only a few short weeks away!
These fun things came with the HollyPKnits order...along with five plastic knitting markers. She wrote a nice note... and sent a coupon for 15% off my next order of $75 or more. My only negative thought was that that little piece of paper was her receipt, and the print was so tiny. It's about the size of a charm square - 5 inches by maybe 5 1/2 inches, so the font is very small and then she wrote a note between the printing! Oh, my aching eyes!
This is a nifty little baby drooling bib that I made using a free pattern from Yarnspirations. It's called the Dribble Bib. The pattern says you need a 2.5 oz ball of Lily Sugar and Cream, or the equivalent of any other cotton yarn that you might use for dish cloths. I had a skein of Dishie from the last order I got from Knit Picks. It's a 50 gram or 3.5 ounce skein, and I barely made a dent in it for one bib. I need to find my digital scale and find out how many grams it takes, it can't be much!
I did some clothing fixes this week too. My daughter texted and said she bought a black blouse for Miss A to wear to her concerts, where black is the required color, and lo and behold the buttons were white! Who puts white buttons on a black dress blouse? But since I sew, I can fix that!
Before:
After:
All I can say is that this week I am very thankful for the invention of the needle threader!
The first US patent for a needle threader is the one we all know from high school sewing class... you know, the one that was inside the package of assorted hand needles. It is of Victorian design, so post-Civil War. Two different patents were issued, first in 1924 and again in 1945.
The world has moved SOOO beyond that era... the one I have is shaped like a ladybug, retracts and has a tiny lightbulb in the end of it. I paid about $5 but it was worth it and I am grateful every time I sew after dark!
If I push the button all the way up,
the tiny lightbulb goes on!
Yesterday was my oldest granddaughter's 20th birthday. Not sure how she got so old and I stayed the same! LOL!! She's a wonderful young lady, studying hard at college in a challenging program. She has decided to go into medicine... I'm amazed when I think about that.
I'm helping a friend sew a large diaper-bag style tote this week. She's been quilting on a few big pieces of fabric, so tomorrow we'll be able to cut out the pieces that make up the outside and handles of the bag. Many people avoid making bags because there is so much prep work that goes into the process. Actually stitching up the bag is only about 25-30 percent of the work.
Today was going to be spent in my sewing room but SQUIRREL happened and I started knitting that dribble bib, sewing some buttons on some baby sweaters, ate lunch, stopped to examine my packages, and started reading a new novel by Victoria Thompson. Now it's time to start dinner and I haven't really done much of anything, nothing of consequence anyway.
Such are the joys of retirement!
Tomorrow's another day.
Craft on...
