The Stash

I have decided that I should have a special entry about the stash. I am going to be labeling everything that I make using the stash. That is, projects that are primarily created with existing materials, with the addition of small things like notions, etc. Part of my belief in the stash system is that if I love it I will eventually find just the right thing to make with it. Case in point would be the Little Something Quilt. Made using a fat quarter, some yardage of the natural cotton that I always keep in supply, a scrap of batting from another quilt project and embroidery floss that I had on hand. This is most of the stash, the favored choices of the stash anyway. To the far right are the costuming fabrics, the rest are cottons mostly intended for quilts. I am a huge fan of Amy Butler, more than half of the prints are hers. Point of interest: I love flowers, stripes, polka dots and birds. Take a closer look and you will see what I mean! And just a side note, I showed this to my husband and he clearly thinks I'm out of control (which he isn't totally wrong about!), but when I look at this, it seems a little sad. I better get sewing so I can use stuff up and restock!

The Golfer's Scarf

This is the lovely scarf that gave me golfer's elbow, or rather my obsession than the scarf itself. This is knit with three strands of laceweight yarn on my favorite size 4 needle. Two strands of lambs wool and one of baby merino. Nothing could be softer but to have a lamb itself wraped around your neck. I nabed this lace patter from a shrug and absolutely fell in love with it. Knitting to the point of numbness. That was indeed obsession. After a very lengthy knitting fast I was able to finish this and actaully wear it quite a bit. It will never bee so pristine again, but it is well worn and well loved.

My first foray into lace knitting

This was my first serious lace piece. When it began I was in way over my head. It is knitted in Kid Silk Haze which is a true lace weight yarn, and also has the lovely fuzziness to it, which if you are undoing a lot of wrong stitches can be a nightmare. I set is aside for a year or more, became a better knitter in the mean time and finally finished it and was able to gift it to a lovely friend. This was a real confidence builder for me when I was finally able to bind it off, block it and photograph it. I have since undertaken other lace projects and have come to love lace knitting. I would rather work on a sz 4 needle than an 8, but that is also why I have the golfers elbow! Drat.

Blue Velvet

It is a good thing I have so many old projects to record. It is encouraging to pull all of these out and realize that I do actually finish things... eventually. My DLF and I made medieval dresses together one year to wear to the local Renaissance Festival. We had such a good time being princesses for a day. This is made of stretch velvet, which can be a bear to sew, but because of the stretch I didn't have to do a zipper or lacing. That made me very very happy.

A weency wittle quilt

I am just crazy about this fabric, so I decided that Ella needed a little quilt for her babies. It turns out that I have used this quilt more than any other that I made for her. It turned out to be a perfect size for a lap quilt in the car on those really cold days, or a changing pad for those emergency diaper changes. It folds up and fits in my purse, it goes everywhere with us. Best of all of course is that it is totally machine washable. The all purpose tiny quilt. Every baby should have one.

Taffeta revisited

Sorting through photos, I stumbled on these again. This is the dress of all dresses for me. If and when, I mean when it comes to be, it will be quite something. I have labored for years over the style and pattern. I have amassed patters from late Italian Renaissance to Elizabethan. And still I wonder which it will end up being. Will I even use the lovely ivory taffeta with all the hand embroidering and beading? I hope so. Pictures just can't do it justice. You can't believe how lovely this stuff is. The idea of slicing into it is terrifying. So there is sits, safe and sound in my cabinet for extra special fabric and occasionally I have to pull it out and ponder and dream. It is so pretty I can't help but just revisit it from time to time.

A little something for a little someone

I have this thing called Golfer's elbow, which I get from... Knitting. Knitting is one of those super lazy-girl-friendly arts. You sit there curled up in front of your favorite costume drama and drink tea and oh yeah, knit. It all fits in your purse, you don't have to do a lot of prep to get to it, you just hunker down and pick up you needles. Suddenly an evening watching BBC dramas turns into time well spent because you have (depending on the project) several inches of knitting to show for your time of relaxation. Win/win, except when you do too much and get recurring Golfer's elbow. So I have learned to see the warning signs and lay aside the needles for prolonged knitting fasts. During these dry spells my idol hands yearn for creative occupation, so I do what I can. Embroidery seems to hold a similar appeal for me right now because it is easy and instant. Easy as in I just sit down with the hoop and needle, instant, that I can see rapid progress. Here is my latest little something. When finished it will be a tiny quilt with embroidered mushrooms.