I’ve been hitting the sewing machine in a big way lately, and getting into some new things. I found a pattern for cute little-girl undies, and made a simple slip for my daughter. That was so much fun, I’m starting a camisole and looking for old-fashioned undies patterns for myself! Does anyone know of small companies that make old-time slip/chemise patterns and so on, let me know please.
I put together a little wall quilt for my sewing room, which calls for a lot of embroidery–the quilt part is largely frames for the pictures. It should take a while, there’s a lot of embroidery there.
And next, I’m going to start a lap-robe sized quilt with these great caramel-colored, red, and a little bit of green fabrics–based around a wonderful caramel velveteen I picked up. It’s just the color of my 3-yo’s hair (she has this amazing light-red fluffy wavy hair). I can’t wait to get into that fabric!
I thought I knew of a company that had old fashioned patterns, I just looked through my Favorites but couldn’t find it. You’re quilting with pictures? I have a couple of friends who do quilting, one made a quilt for my son with his picture on it, with a Lord of the Rings theme.
I envy you guys, whenever I try to use a sewing machine it goes from zero to sixty in 1 second flat. I can’t seem to get the hang of a light touch, either with a knee or foot pedal.
I’ve been knitting lately, I made a couple of cotton dishcloths for a friend, I’m working on a blue and black shrug right now. (just in time for the warm weather). I’m also in the middle of a macrame cotton thread, beads and bells thingie to hang from my rearview mirror. My friend is into Wicca and she says I’m supposed to ring the bells whenever I see roadkill to help send their souls to heaven.
I like the sound of the color combination for your lap quilt, and it sounds like you’ll be putting a lot of love into its making too.
My wife and I took on responsibility for the gardens around the next-suburb-over’s historical society. It is a house dated to 1876, so we have to work on what would be historically accurate.
So far, the major part has just been cleaning out crap from gardens that have been untouched for years. We tossed in some bulbs last fall to have some splashes of color this spring.
This spring, the museum director surprised us with the news that she had applied for and received a pretty sizeable grant for us to use, so I guess we really have to come up with something now that we have $ to spend. The key is to come up with something that is attractive, but not a PITA to maintain.
My wife and kid are quite active in an American Rev War re-enactment group that meets there, so we regularly are at the site, and tho it is a different period, it ties in with the historical motif.
I’m (attempting to) crochet a shrug. I’ve never crocheted anything more complicated than afghans and scarves, so I have no idea how this will turn out. Fortunately, it is for me, so if it looks like crap, no big deal.
I have to get to the store to get some yarn for a baby blanket. The baby isn’t due until August, so I have some time, but I would like to get it done so I can start on the next project I’ll never finish.
Writing every darn day. At least 2 pages at a sitting, more if I can manage it. I’ve finally hit -that point-. The point where the day seems incomplete if I haven’t done my writing. I’m excited about that!
I have only one knitting project, which is very unusual for me, but it’s a doozy; I’m designing a sweater for my husband from scratch, with set-in sleeves. I just started the front (or back; it’s symmetrical), and I anticipate much ripping out and re-knitting when I get to the top. It should be done in about July. Perfect sweater weather, eh?
It’s very loosely inspired by a sweater that Simon wore in Serenity. Sadly, this is the best picture I can find online. (Try here if anglefire doesn’t permit hotlinking . . . scroll to the very bottom. It’s the second one labeled “Simon.”)
I’m almost finished with a cross-stitched H.M.S. Victory, inspired by my enjoyment of the Patrick O’Brian books.
Our spring project is to refinish our screened-in back porch. Most of the woodwork is done and has been painted, and we’re hoping to get the screen back up this weekend, before the mosquitos come to life.
My sketch troupe is curently in rehearsal for our next show. I wrote about 5 of the 12 sketches for the next show which is pretty cool. Unfortunately my three sketch opus, “Quantum Stipe” (a Quantum Leap parody where Michael Stipe goes back in time to save famous people who died unexpectedly), did not make it into this latest show.
I’m working on a spec episode of “My Name is Earl” right now as well.
Tiling a backsplash for the kitchen. My mom is redoing her kitchen, so I’ve been working on things like installing new fixtures and taking out the old countertops. Now I am working on putting up tile around the kitchen, whenever I have time.
I’m about halfway through handstitching a velvet doublet , also halfway through making some poulaine turnshoes for a friend, and taking an art course at the local art college, where I’m halfway through doing a cezanne-like portrait in acrylics.
I’m also using those techniques at home in an acrylic of my wife that’s (guess what) halfway through!
Lots of halfways there.
This year, I hope to polish up and sell my fishing boat. Then, I’ll see about covering a piece of ground between my patio room and air conditioner with paver blocks.
I want to chip away at my habit of depression.
I’m going to sell my old bicycle cheaply, and buy a recumbent to ride. I can’t ride the old one because of tendinitis in my hands and pudendal neuropathy (numb penis) after riding.
Don’t they make special bicycle seats to help with that?
I can’t really say I am working on anything right now, but I do have several half-finished papier mache sculptures which I really need to finish.
I’ve made all the blocks for a quilt for a friend, using batiks for the first time. The hold-up is that I don’t have a design wall. I was using one of those “Block Butlers” but it’s lost all its stickiness. I need to get to a building supply place and get a piece of something that I can attach some flannel to.
Gardening. The husband has built me a planter! It is made from old vanity doors (from a bathroom he remodeled). I will take a picture of it tonight for y’all. It’s on our deck and will become our garden. Assuming the dog doesn’t eat it. The plants that is. Not the planter.
I have one pot with herbs, one with a tomato plant (we’ve named it Bernie) and one with a soon to be purchased pepper plant (when Home Depot gets some in).
It’s all about the yard these days, baybee! Priced out rental on a honking 9hp rear tine rototiller to grunch up some new garden real estate and to totally grub up the front yard–I just have to get rid of that appalling monster grass that grows out there and makes ankle breaker hummocks. Then pavers, new basil beds and getting rid of those horrible cypress trees in the back that make the rear yard a sloggy, sunless mess. Then it’s building a new shed out back–it’s gonna be a long hard summer!
I just stripped the wallpaper from my front hall. it was a big job - about 4 different layers of paper, plus a thick felt underlayer. I had to scrape each inch. I still have to strip the top 2’ - the ceiling is 12 high and my ladder only 5’, so I need to borrow a taller ladder for the top. The walls are horizontal beadboard, which I’ll have to paint. I also fenced and mowed a new 2 acre paddock for my horse, so I can rotate paddocks this year.
I need to strip the walls in my bedroom, too. They’re only 10’, so the ladder I have now should do, but I’ll have to move everything away from the walls.
My front hall is 12’ X 25’. I’d like to use it as a living room, but it’s awkardly laid out, with too many doors. But it’s really too big just as a hall. My house was built in 1849, and the front hall sort of acted as an air pass through to circulate air throughout the unair-conditioned house. I still have lots of renovation to go.
