Hey, I Finished More Stuff!

Wow, I'm really on a tear here! Two more projects were finished, and I mean completely finished last week.

This first one is a cross-stitch piece I had started several years ago. I didn't have a lot to finish on it, but it's 40-count linen, so not the easiest thing to work on. I had to have the Ott-Lite close by and concentrate to see those teeny threads. I decided that, since I already have about a bazillion cross-stitch projects waiting to be framed, I would make this into a pincushion. I didn't have a pattern, so I just winged it and stitched it together by hand. You can't see the side seams, where there are a couple of tucks (getting around the corners was tricky), but it's cute and it was easier to put together by hand than wrestling with it under my sewing machine foot. It's about 4 inches by 4 inches by 2 inches. It will sit next to my stitching chair. I've needed a big pincushion for a while, so this was a satisfying finish.



I'm a little embarrassed to discuss this next piece. This is a scarf I started who-knows-when for an older lady who I consider one of the cooler friends I have. I don't get to see her that often, but she's such a joy to be around. This soft rose is the perfect color for her, and I'm so happy it's done. The really embarrassing thing is that I haven't touched it in ages, and when I got it out last week, determined to finish it, I found that I only needed to knit 7 rows and bind off. That's right, SEVEN ROWS! What possessed me to stop working on it when I was so close to the end? I'll never figure it out. Well, it's done and ready to be presented to her at last. The yarn is Kidsilk Haze and the pattern comes from the Vogue On-The-Go book, Scarves Two.



Another reason I'm feeling so virtuous is that I not only finished stitching and knitting these two projects, I actually finished them. I made the pincushion the same afternoon I put the last cross-stitch in the piece, and as soon as I bound off the scarf, I blocked it the same day. Can it be? Am I learning self-discipline? My normal finishing method is to finish the stitching or knitting and leap joyfully into a shiny new project. Not this time. Whaddya know. Things may be changing a bit at Chez Spingirl!

Wanna see something really cute? The picture on the left is my daughter holding my son the day after he was born. The picture on the right is her daughter holding his son. It's so cute I can't stand it, I really can't.

Still Knitting!

So, with all the cruddy weather we've had the past couple of weeks, I've been happy to stay in and keep working on my billions millions hundreds dozens of projects. I have been working on a couple of quilts lately, along with the knitting, but I won't have a finished project to show off for a few more weeks. I have finished two knitting projects, though!

The first is a lace cowl that I got from this blog. Thanks, Wen! It's a nice pattern, and the cowl turned out great.


This is the Coloring Book Shawl that I made from five shades of Plain & Fancy yarn I bought at SAFF. That was one of the most gorgeous booths there, and it took a while to narrow down the choices. Unfortunately, P&F doesn't have a website yet but if you go here and scroll down to "Henderson" you'll find their information. You could probably email them to find out what shows they'll be going to this year. Their yarn is kettle-dyed on the most gorgeous smooshy singles yarn. I want one skein of every color!








The shawl pattern shows seven different lace panels, instead of the five I used, and I put my own lace pattern in the top (pink) panel instead of doing plain stockinette that the pattern specified. It turned out pretty large (which is why I could only fit half of it in the picture) but I think the yarn was a little heavier than what the pattern called for. At any rate, it turned out beautifully.

So I've added those two projects to the "52 Projects" list at the bottom of the page. Yeah, I'm still waaaay behind on that schedule. I'll have to tell you about the new group I joined for 2010 in the next post. I'm a little embarrassed, but what the heck.

Oops, how'd this picture get in here?


Isn't he just too cute? I haven't seen him in two weeks! He'll have changed so much by now. BTW, his official name is no longer Baby X, it's Little Dude (his daddy's name for him.) It's perfect.

Today

Outside:

Inside:

I love snow days!

Welcome to the World, Baby X!!

Yesterday was a terrifically exciting day for us. Baby X decided to join us on his due date, and not make his poor parents nervous wrecks for another week or two. There was some concern at first that Mommy X was not in active labor, and talk of sending her home from the hospital. She proved them wrong and after a few hours of labor and about 15 minutes of pushing, out popped our Baby X. (Ok, I don't know if "popped" would be the proper word, but it was pretty quick because he made his appearance well before the doctor arrived.) Everyone is healthy and happy, though Mommy X was understandably a bit tired.

I had the little video camera, so I recorded his first "bath" and got some frame captures. They're not the best pics, but I'm sure I can get some from the other accomplished photographers that were snapping away. Honestly, it was like the paparazzi at the Oscars!



Seven pounds, three ounces. Twenty inches long.

Oooh, he's just too adorable! I can't wait to get my hands on him again!

The Last Post...

...of 2009. Doesn't that just make you kind of teary-eyed? Me neither.

So this would be when I show off all the finished projects in 2009, but you know what that would mean. Yep, pictures. It ain't happening. I will say that I was happy to finish a number of things (some of them are in the list at the very bottom of the page) and that a couple of Finished Objects were BSPs (that's Big Stinkin' Project, Melissa, which you would have known if you had been reading my blog but that's okay I'm just your poor old Mom and what could I possibly have to say that you would be interested in anyway?) Ahem.

This also would be when I list resolutions for the coming year, but I really don't have any. At least not new ones. And I don't really make resolutions, nor do I set goals. I think it's tough to resolve to do something and maintain that resolve through all the ups and downs of life. What happens most of the time is that we break our resolve and eat that entire carton of ice cream (just an example--not anything I know about from experience koff koff) and then chuck the whole diet resolution because we've just blown it. And setting goals has always been a weird thing for me because it's so closed or something. I mean, I could set the goal that I want to learn to play violin, or learn to speak Italian, or learn to paint, but when are you there? How do you know when you've reached that goal, and what do you do then? Sell the violin, toss out the watercolors?

Sooooo, I prefer having intentions. (And don't even mention that old saying about the road to hell!) Intentions work much better for me, because they can be things that will never end. I can have the intention to eat more healthy food, and because it's an intention rather than a goal or a resolution, it can last as long as I need it to. I think intentions suit me better because they have a little wiggle room, too. If I have the intention to eat better and I pig out on ice cream occasionally, I don't feel like I've blown some rigid standard I set for myself. For me, it produces a better mind-set.

So, do I have intentions? Oh, yeah--lots of them, and not just for the new year:

Continue learning the violin
Daily Bible reading
Work on finishing fiber projects (spinning, knitting, needlework, quilting)
Get some painting done in the house
Plan, plant, and maintain flower beds in the spring & summer
Take better care of my physical health, which includes regular exercise
Socialize more

Well, there are a few. I'm sure I have more, but that's what comes right off the top of my head. And now all this talk of ice cream has had an effect. I'm off to answer the call of the wild Mint Chocolate Chip that's residing in my freezer.

BTW, check out the comment on the last post that Mommy X left. Everybody's a comedian!

Finally!!

A post with pictures! Yes, I know, it's amazing. Even if my poor daughter did take pity on me and forward them from a friend. Hey, I don't care how I get them, and you shouldn't either, right? (BTW, hop over to DD's blog and enter her giveaway. It's soooooo worth it!)

Now, without further ado, we have pictures:

This is from the shower for Baby X and family. The quilt is the one I made (ta-daaa!) That's Mommy X on the left, Daddy X on the right, and Rugrat is in the center, "helping" them open gifts (when she's not eating chocolate treats.) Oh, and Baby X is the bump that's blocking part of the quilt, obviously. He's due next Monday, and I'm hoping he's going to be one of those people who are never late. I'm sure Mommy X feels the same way.

And here's the picture that proves what's really going on at the X home. You see Mommy X ooohing and ahhing over all the lovely gifts, so you just know that she spends lots of time in Baby X's room looking at all the pretty clothes and blankies and baby hygeine items, folding, refolding, rearranging. Daddy X (my son) clearly is only interested in playing with Baby X's toys. I may have to find another sock monkey before next week.


I'm starting to get excited. I need to be prepared for "the call." (Well, they'd better call when she goes into labor!) I just hope it goes quickly and easily. Oooooh, I'd better be thinking about a project to take along--time to cast on another pair of socks for hospital knitting!

Regrouping Yet Again

I'm not even gonna go through all the apologies and excuses for not posting on the blog for almost 3 weeks now. Life's just funny sometimes, and I'm in one of my periodic regrouping modes.

First up, I can now tell you about the three Stealth Projects that I finished in the last couple of months. They were all gifts for the soon-to-be-born grandson (in two weeks, more or less!!!) I knitted him a pair of tiny socks and a pair of tinier mitts, and I finished a quilt I had started some time back. It was a sample for a class I taught when I worked at a quilt shop, and all I had to do was quilt and bind it. I want to make Baby X something just for him, so I feel a little conflicted about using the top I'd made all those years ago, but on the other hand it was kind of neat to use something that had a lot of memories in it. He won't care either way--I'm sure he'll be an equal opportunity poop-on-the-quilt baby whether it was created just for him or not. I also found a cute sock monkey that I put in the gift bag. I have a feeling that Daddy X wanted it for himself. He has a thing about monkeys.

Do I have pictures of these items? What do you think? (Big hint to Daddy X: Take pictures and email them to me!!)

I'm still behind on the "52 Projects" plan because, as I suspected would happen, I've burned through all my quickie UFOs and am now stuck with a lot of BSPs. That's ok, though, because I've put them into a rotation so I get to each BSP at least once a week or so. Maybe I should lower the goal and make it "26 Projects in 52 Weeks." Yeah, that's more like it. I'll give that a shot.

So, the regrouping thing. I'm doing a lot less on line these days. I've pretty much stopped posting on Plurk, and my Ravelry presence is way down as well. I want to make better use of my time now that I don't have to go out to work. It's been too easy to get on the computer and putz away a couple of hours. Those are hours I would prefer to spend in Real Life, doing things like playing the violin, reading, or actually doing something with a friend. That last thing is the hardest for me because I just don't get out and about a whole lot, and when I do I'm usually alone. I need to get out of my "hermit" rut, and I know that will be the hardest thing for me to do. I kinda like my hermit rut. But I know it's not necessarily good for me. Soooo...time to get out of the comfort zone a little. Not that I plan to turn into a social butterfly or anything. I'd really rather stay home and knit.

Trying to Catch Up

I really do not understand how the days slip by so quickly. I could have sworn I just did a post a couple of days ago, but it's been more than a week. I've gotta start keeping better track of time.

On that note, here's a catch-up post from our vacation mumblemumble weeks ago. We headed south on Saturday, October 17, and the first stop was in Dry Ridge, Kentucky at The Quilt Box.


It's located at the end of a winding dirt road, and the setting is just gorgeous.

I did what I do best, namely, shopping for fabric:

The shop cat kept me company:

Meanwhile, The Husband relaxed outside, where there's a bench conveniently located for relaxing and enjoying the view.





I took more pictures inside, including one of the three gracious ladies who kindly cut my fabric choices into fat quarters, but you know how my picture-taking skills are. FAIL.

It was a lovely way to start our vacation, and I left with a bag full of lovely quilt fabrics. No, there's no photographic record (I know, I'm sorry!!) but I can assure you it's worth a trip if you love quilting and shopping for fabric. They don't have a website, but here's a link to help you find them. I don't know what the hours are, so you may want to call first to make sure of the time they're open.

In other news, I'm still trying to finish projects, which is slow going, but I'm making a little headway. Next time I'll have some pictures, even if I have to bribe The Husband to take them for me.