New Stitches

Hey! I like to cross stitch. I'd almost forgotten...I've been enjoying looking at several needlework blogs this past week or two, and I finally got out my abandoned cross stitch project and started stitching on it again.
This is one of my own designs, right now I call it "Cream of Star Soup."
It's not far from being finished...a couple of leaves and the wording.

I'm also machine quilting this quilt...finally. The stabilizing part of quilting a big bed quilt is probably my least favorite part of the process. (The part where you stitch a grid to secure it for the decorative quilting.) I love piecing the blocks, making the quilt top, and doing the binding, but manhandling a big quilt while machine quilting takes some muscle!

I've also started a new purse for myself. I keep trying different designs and figure one of these days I'll come up with the perfect bag for holding my essential stuff, as well as a couple of magazines, a needlework or knitting project, and idea notebook. Plus look cute and hold up to daily use...I need a strong bag! I tend to jam a lot into it.

Daisies in the backyard:

Strippy Striped Bag

Wow, our morning glories are really putting on a show for us right now. I should've gotten the whole mass of them, but here's a couple in the autumn light.

I finally (whew!) finished my newest bag. It's a strippy bag with striped pockets. I doodled and dawdled around on the thing until I just wanted to call it done. It's a softer look and I love, love, love the lining with the dragonflies buzzing around inside (so softly).

Knitting continues on the shawl and another pair of socks (for Jimmy). I'm really looking around for some sweater yarn to cast on for a sweater.

Fall is fabulous!

Four Patch

I've been quilting on my little quilt, and enjoying every minute of it. Don't look too close....it's a little wonky. I have thoroughly enjoyed hand piecing and quilting this little quilt. As a matter of fact, I'm going to work my way through all five little quilts in this article.

The next up is this Antique Baskets, all by Jo Morton.

The bed quilt is coming along nicely...I'm adding the inner border now and then a pieced outer border and it'll be ready to quilt.

Tisket, Tasket

Wow, three weeks just flew by! I've been in a quilting mood lately....I knew it would kick back in one of these days. I think I'm more of a 'winter knitter' type person, because when warm weather gets here, I lose all interest in knitterly things. But I'm sure as soon as fall peeks out, I'll be picking up the needles again. Or maybe even a pair of socks before then.

But right now is all about the quilting. I've started a new bed quilt using a basket block. It's going pretty quick since they're 12 inch blocks. The handle is appliqued, and I'm just eyeballing it, so they don't all look exactly perfectly alike, but that's just more charming to me. Especially since I know a big ol' furryhead will be laying all over it most of the time!

I'm also working on a new patchwork bag, but don't have any pics of it yet. And while I'm still waiting on the morning glories to start blooming, I'm enjoying the blue hydrangeas.

Green and Orange

Well, I finally finished this purse, that I've been working on for a few months off and on (mostly off). I spent a whole lotta time just letting it lay there on my work table. But, now she is done! And I swore I would never make another purse like this again...it was just too 'much.' Too much piping, too much interfacing, too much thinking... I think that last one is the crux of the problem.

I suppose these feeling shall fade as time goes on, and I may consider another version of this bag...but I kinda doubt it right now!

But I do like how it looks. I love all the pockets I put in it, and I love the colors. But mostly, I love that it's done.

March in the South

At least for a day or so.....

neither snow lasted more than 1 day, but it was lovely to see it. But now, I'm ready for spring! Especially since I got struck by the flu last week. There was no knitting and not even any consideration about knitting for a few days there...woosh, thankfully that's over, and the knitting has recommenced.

I'm moving rather slowly on my tweedy vest, but I'm picking up speed now that it's going to be too warm to wear it! Love, love the color and the "tweedyness" of the yarn. It's a fun knit so far.

I also started on a new spring bag before the illness struck. I'm making my own, smaller version of Amy Butler's Weekender Bag. At least, that's what it's looking like on the outside. I'm hoping to make this a true knitting / purse hybrid, so I can carry at least one project and all my regular stuff in an organized, neat fashion. I'm thinking I'll be making a couple of matching pouches and maybe even a wallet...we shall see!