and Scraptastic.
Lots of knitting was done as well. Many sweaters, socks, toys, and accessories.
Last fall, I got back into spinning. Here's a favorite from Unwind Yarn Company (Falkland)
I knit with my handspun, which was wonderful. These are some socks from FatCat SW Merino:
And this summer, I got bitten by the sewing and quilting bugs. Crazy. When I was in high school, I sewed a lot. Lots of clothes, even a swim suit! Then I sort of stopped sewing during college (mostly) and didn't pick it up until I was pregnant 10+ years ago. Unfortunately, I bought a terrible machine that ruined sewing for me. It was a pain to use and made ever sewing project frustrating. So, this summer, I sold it and went back to an old favorite of mine. My mom bought a Singer Featherweight 221 in the late 1950's and it is now the machine I've been using. It is not big, but I love it so and enjoy working on it.
Here's what I have made so far:
a baby quilt out of a "Ten Little Things" charm pack.
I've been making a twin size quilt for our living room. Colors chosen by my 5 year old. That may sound scary, but he actually has a pretty good eye for color. I'm hand quilting it, but here's a QIP picture.
I made a pair of gift project bags from this tutorial. They are on their way to two knitters.
I also have started making cute hexagons from my tiny scraps collection. I made a needle book out of felt and 1.5" hexagons from a tutorial.
There is also a bunch of fabric on the way from Connecting Threads. They have a techie line of fabric and one with books. Pretty much sums up our family in a nutshell. Pictures of that when they arrive.
I took a dye class as well. Fun!
Hopefully I'll be able to use the blog again more frequently. I think I started it when my oldest started kindergarten. Next week my youngest will be going to kindergarten. Time really flies!
I think I've realize this past summer that I want to be more "well rounded" in my crafting. I forgot how much I enjoyed sewing and that I'm actually pretty good at it. A bit rusty, but I know what I'm doing at that machine. Same for spinning. I spun some fiber 8 years ago, then finished it up last year. It was nearly an exact match for what I made before. Consistency. I sort of went crazy with my yarn purchases when I first was introduced to hand-dyed yarns and collected quite a stash. Now, I'm trying to avoid that pitfall with fabric purchases. I understand a need for fabric on hand, but also know that it is not good just to buy things because I'm having a bad day or without a project in mind. I also realized that I have a lot of sweaters, socks, and hats and really need to make other things that my family can use. Hopefully my hobbies will not feel like they are a chore to use up materials, but be creative outlets that make me happy. My goal is a usable supply of materials, just enough to inspire and not too much to make me feel guilty.
