Chugging Along

 I've been using the new Juki to doodle on scraps. Today I got brave enough to try to use it like I would use it I was really quilting something so I pounced a stencil. I bought a few new ones in anticipation of getting this thing under control.

 Oh, yeah. I had a few false starts-tension issues again but for the most part it was doing what I hoped on the front and the back. It's still scary though.

 I have three sides of the Welcome quilt done now. I think I am going to be using the walking foot to quilt it though. I am not brave enough to try any free motion on it. I've worked too hard on it to ruin it now.

 And I just finished hand quilting the second block of Daddio's Dresden. Two down, four to go. Then all that sashing. Golly.

Waffling

 The waffle weave experiment is off the loom.

 Hmmmm.....I could have planned that better. It appears that I had enough for two regular sized towels instead of a giant one and a little one. I had only planned to make one but I seemed to have mismeasured the warp. I thought I could eyeball it. Apparently not.

 I always like hemming my weaving. I still think it is so cool that I can make fabric. I impress the heck out of myself whenever I pull something like this off. None of it is easy.

Ta dah...washed and snipped. They are not perfect. There are a few boo boos but they do the job. I've already put them both to good use.

The Nose Knows

 Here I am last night in my downstairs craft room having a gin and tonic after moving all the furniture around once again.

 I went down to start yet another cross stitch sampler but as soon as I hit the door, I knew.

 Mold. I can smell mold a mile away. The closet had gotten wet during the big flood and the baseboard was getting moldy. Not good. I pulled everything out, gave it good mopping with bleach water and turned on the dehumidifier.

 I listened to it hum while I stitched away on several of Daddio's ancient projects.

 I did finish one of the yo yo pillows that we had started years ago.

I thought he would like making the cute little things but he didn't. I got hooked instead. I've got a million of these things. I see lots of funky little pillows in my future.

Sew What

 The June table runner and mini quilt are done and doing their jobs on top of the new buffet.

 I should be starting the July set but I am over the red, white and blue.

I am really having fun with the Welcome quilt but I need a break from the stars and stripes.

 Sooooo....I bought this. For August.

I also bought a slew of fat quarters from the collection to make a matching runner. I'm skipping July and heading right to August-if I get that Welcome quilt done in the near future.

A FO and an OMG

 First the FO. Ta dah....I have socks off the needles. These are the ones that live in the bag I take to visit Daddio. I have been knitting on them forever. They are HUGE. Look at my sock blocker. You can hardly see it. I started knitting and just went on and on and on. They are also wide. I used a size 2 circular for some reason I can't explain. I am surprised I didn't run out of yarn.

Now I have some Opal on size 1 needles in the bag. I always dig way back in the sock yarn bin to get something I am not wild about for Daddio knitting. It's got to be mindless and it has to be something I could stand to lose. You just never know.

 Now for the OMG. This is the sample I've been spinning from the fleece I brought home from the MDSW. The first problem is that I way over plied it. It's chain plied and I was watching Dr. Who and I just peddled away like crazy. It was a kinky mess.

 After soaking and thwacking, it seemed to straighten itself out.

 It didn't look too bad but it was ITCHY.

 Now I have 2 pounds of useless fiber because I am not wasting my time on itchy. I've got more than enough itchy handspun and I don't need anymore.

 The real OMG is that the Tour starts on Saturday and I AM NOT READY. As you can see getting things off the wheels to free them up has been a challenge. If that wasn't bad enough now I need to get something else to spin. Etsy to the rescue. More on that later.

The Way We Were

 Since the whole house has been a giant mess for weeks now, I decided to get even messier and tackle a job that's been on my list for a while.

 I had tons of photographs in boxes and in dusty old albums all over the house.

 Good golly. Do you remember these?

 Now everyone has their own container of photos. I have these small plastic boxes for my favorites.

 Even Pup has her own.

As do the pets that went over Rainbow Bridge. That's Duffy. Best. Dog. Ever.

I still have giant envelopes of wedding photos and 8x10 collages I thought were a good idea at the time. I'll figure those out later.

As many went out in the trash as went in these boxes. Why did we used to think multiple prints were a good idea?

Maiden Voyage

 The weather tweet for today from the local weather service was this: "Ewwwww...." That's all they said and it was an awful muggy buggy day. Stuck inside, I decided to pass the time playing with the new toy for the very first time.

 Hmmmm....I can see there is going to be a rather steep learning curve with this free motion thing.

 Uh, oh. That's the back. I've seen this before. Tension issues. Ugh.

 Okay. I made some adjustments. My first try is on the right. Last try is on the left. That's progress. Time to quit while I'm ahead.

 One issue I know I was having is with this knee operated foot lifter. I kept leaning on it and pulling up the foot while I was sewing which messes up the tension. Things got better when I took it off and lifted the foot the old fashioned way.

The whole thing was pretty stressful. After I packed it all away I took up what I know what I can do. Hand quilting may be slow but it's much easier on the nerves.

Itching to Stitch

 Right before all the stuff hit the fan around here I was on a roll with my stitching. I had started my new sheep sampler but hated how tiny the stitches were.

Just as I was photographing my false start, the Fedex guy came to the door with the fabric I hope will make this a better project. 14 I can do. 18 not so much anymore.

 I also had just organized all my kits into their very own craft boxes that I picked up at Michael's.

 Due to life being interrupted, I am only working a bit on this one because it's the one I can see best in the dark and I am only finding stitching time in the wee hours.

I did find the time to add a stitch or two to Mom's sampler before everything went topsy turvy. I am really anxious to get going on this one. I have to keep reminding myself it will all still be here when life settles down. In the meantime I just need to keep calm and carry on. Things are starting to right themselves.

The Wee Hours

 I am so doggoned tired right now I can't see straight. I've been burning the candle at both ends trying to fix my life and live my life at the same time.  The loom is too noisy for wee hour work but I did get at it a few nights after dinner. I am halfway through this towel.

 Usually at about 1am I would be finishing up the two designated rows I do every night on the never ending huge blanket project. The next to the last border is done-the one on the left but-dare I say it....I don't think I want to end the thing on a light colored border. I think it needs a dark one. We shall see.

 The June table runner would be a very done deal if I would just work up the nerve to machine quilt the darn thing. I still haven't touched the new Juki though. Maybe this weekend.

 The Welcome Quilt got a few rows done here and there this week. It needs to be 40 inches square but I ran out of red, white and blue material and I am waiting for a few more yards to show up in the mail.

 Even Spiral Chicken got some feathers. I had about a half hour to spare yesterday and I put it to good use with the hook I haven't pick up in ages.

 There has been spinning. I think I've spun 4 rolags this week. I do it when I am on the phone with Daughter who calls me (hands free) every night while she is driving home from the rink. Spinning is great for multitasking.

This doesn't look like much but it is huge deal for me. That red border proves to me that I will have an inch to spare on either side when this thing is done. I was afraid I had stitched myself into a corner with material that wasn't wide enough. Not so, thank goodness.

Finally I have to thank Sandflies for this surprise package. It's an art journal and.......

...an adorable little box of pastels. Squee....another art adventure, Youtube here I come!

Thanks so much Sandflies!!!