Yes, it’s been a while since the last post, but the hands have not been still. There has been lots of knitting, lots of quilting and lots of exploration of the new machine. I was gifted with a fabulous Pfaff Quilt Expression! Very, very nice, but a little intimidating. It is hard to wrap my mind around 222 stitches. I also joined a workout group and, wonder of wonders, they had a competition the very first week that just fits!

In honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, the local Curves gym is sponsoring a Decorate-Your-Bra contest. I have admired the Artfull Bras Project at the AQS quilt show exhibition every year and have yearned to express myself in this medium. Thus, we have Eve’s Bra!

This was tremendous fun! I had a theme and a visualization and I just needed to get to my glue gun and make it happen. Here it is displayed. It has produced many a chuckle! And my daughter was even heard to comment “Eve sure was a big gal!”

I had no sooner completed the “portfolio building” blog post when a recipient of some of my handwork appeared in my office to tell me how much he was enjoying his particular item. With the new resolution in mind (and the fact that he is a great photographer), I quickly thought to ask him for a photo. He was very generous to oblige. He is the Program Director for our university’s Study Abroad program in Regensburg, Germany. He had published a promotional poster with photos of interesting doors around the town of Regensburg. With that poster and photos fresh in my mind, I had created a personalized retirement gift for him in the form of a wallhanging of one of the doors. The elements of the door and the architecture are captured in stitching and fabrics. He uses it as a shade to block the sun from his computer screen so sunlight from behind it naturally lights up the fine details.
I’m so glad that it has a happy home and I have a photo of it to add to my collection.

It’s a new year! 2009! It’s time to make the most of my time and energies!

Okay, enough of that. I’m trying to record (for posterity or just my pitiful memory and need to self-promote) all of my projects. Every artist has a portfolio and I have wasted years and years not cataloging my creations. There are some beautiful things I created and now don’t really remember. And how do you show your work when a client/customer asks what you have done? All of my things now have a happy home somewhere and are no longer in my possession. So here is to portfolio building. I hope to blog pics and keep a journal of items made and sold or given away.

A random call the week before Christmas was inquiring if I could make some scarves “just like the one you made me last Christmas”. Unfortunately, I never met this woman so I cannot remember what I made her. It was all handled through the DH. And it was so close to Christmas I couldn’t complete them. Then I received a call last week asking me to make them anyway, if I could get them finished before the cold weather was over. Thus, here we are, a week later and I have completed twin scarves in the local high school’s colors. They are gifts for teachers. They are the basic team scarf that I found in an older knitting magazine. This is one of my favorite patterns. The pattern is a K1, P1, rib that lays very flat and looks good and doesn’t curl. Done on my favorite “barbie” 9 needles, they went real quick. I plan to have a stock of the local high schools’ colors next year.

I hope they like them.

It’s a very good knitting/crafting friend‘s birthday and I knitted her a little something special. I found this little jewel on a new, cool knitting block called Pickin’ and Throwin’. This is called a soap sweater and is made of 100% virgin wool. The wool is supposed to turn into felt. I have never been particularly interested in felting but this is cute anyway!

Happy Birthday, T!

VBS is over and now I need to get back to the work “at hand” so to speak. I have Ukey’s baby blanket finally finished. He has been trying to be born. But he should have known that he couldn’t be born until I had his blankie finished.

It’s even more fun on the back!

I love the versatility of this pattern–one of those free ones in a crafts store leaflet. It makes perfect baby blankets in a self-striping yarn from Bernat. Then change the needles and the yarn–a 100% cotton worsted weight from Peaches and Cream and I have great dishcloths. Plus, it’s a pattern that is simple enough I can remember it wherever I need to drag my project along. Good thing to have when the brain goes on the fritz and just needs something repetitive to unwind.

I can finally sleep at night. Dear daughter has found the perfect dress for THE final prom appearance. I spoke too soon last year when I stated that she graduated and all I had to get was ONE dress. A perfect dress does not need alterations and this one is it. All I need to do is cut some off the bottom and hem. I may, with her permission, do some stuff with the accompanying straps. I think they must make these dresses for Amazon women……they are always so long. Now, if she doesn’t lose or gain a lot of weight before then, we are good to go. I have ideas for jewelry and flowers but I’m sure she does not want to hear them.

From the knitting department, I needed a quick baby gift for a church member. He is a football coach and I thought a baby toboggan to match his team uniforms would be cool. Or warm rather…..during the chilly fall game nights. It turned out cute although I am not sure I like the style. It is definitely modern. It was in one of the most recent of my knitting magazines.

I hope they like the colors. You never know about gifts; if the like them or not. Oh well, I tried.