Make Sure Your Napkins are Well-pressed After Each Laundering

These are a hostess gift for a friend that will be unnamed (she may read this blog...).   Not original in thought, but they were fun to do.  I bought some plain napkins from World Market and embroidered them with Mom-isms.  The napkins were their everyday napkins, and I am not too in love with the quality, but they will be okay.  I think if I were to do these again, I may want to buy some nice linen-cotton and make my own.  Another thought would be to design these and have them printed on the Spoonflower linen-cotton.  Cute art could be added.   Upload file, print, cut apart and hem edges.  The Spoonflower linen-cotton doesn't wrinkle too badly when washed.  These napkins will definitely have to be pressed after each laundering.  Maybe I better also bring along a bottle of wine to soften this news.  Jerilynn

Knervously Knitting the Day Away

I'm doing some Knervous Knitting.  I decided to make an afghan with the same colors that I made the plaid dishcloth.  To add squares as I go, I am using the same technique I used with the Hue Afghan, casting on 31 stitches and on every other row I do a center decrease of two stitches.  This eventually leaves one stitch on the needle which can be the start of a new square.  You pick up stitches from a previously knit square and cast on more stitches, or you pick up stitches from two squares depending on where you are in the sequence.  It sounds confusing, but is very simple.  I slip the first stitch in each row purl-wise, to make it very easy to pick up stitches. It is soothing and mindless at the same time.  A great knit pattern to do whilst watching tv or in the car.  The colors in this shot are not too true to color...I am using just three colors - red, burgundy and black.  I am knitting the rows in such a manner that the center decreases will create a secondary zig-zag pattern.  On a very cold, but sunny day like today, I would love to just sit and Knervously Knit the day away, but various chores are calling....well, maybe just one more square.  I am on a red one.  My favorite! Jerilynn

Family Members Not Feeling Too Well

We've been gone a few days watching Addy, our youngest granddaughter.  She had her tonsils out last Monday, and her parents had to go back to work on Wednesday.  She clearly didn't feel very good at all, but was a very good patient.  On the way back home we stopped at the nursing home to visit my parents.  My dad was in the hospital a couple of days and the diagnosis isn't too good.  His heart is finally getting ready to call it quits.  He was in good spirits today, though.  I managed, also, to get a picture of him with the afghan I made him for Christmas.  It is made from Dishie yarn from Knitpicks and is their Hue Afghan pattern with smaller squares and made a bit longer.  He seems to love it.  The cotton Dishie yarn makes is a good weight and is very washable.  During Addy's naptime, I designed a table runner around a couple of the Christmas Tree blocks.  The quilt and the runner are being considered for a magazine and maybe a kit.  I will keep you posted! Jerilynn

Progress

 

Finally some progress is being made on the quilting of the tree quilt.  I had about 4 false starts, which means some nasty un-sewing on my part.  I am challenged by the white background, the green trees, and the red corner blocks.  Add in a red back, and you can understand my problem with choosing a quilting thread color.  I finally settled on a grey.  Not great on the white, and not great on the other colors.  But, I think once it is washed and dried, the grey should just sink into the background and be neutral.  I took a class once on machine quilting, and the teacher said to quilt ESS....every stinking seam.  So, I am trying that approach somewhat.  I have straight quilting every horizontal and vertial major seam.  When I do the tree blocks, I free motion straight lines around the tree, and then do some meander filler.  Not sure yet what is going in the other blocks.  I may do red thread in the red blocks because they are now outlined and feel somewhat separate.  The last picture is of one of my newer coaster designs.  It is my log cabin coaster, but with a window light and a simple pine tree.  I like the red Woolfelt on the back trimmed to be an accent color.  Yesterday we took down the Christmas decs and I decided those decorations that remained in the boxes in the storage room this season have to go.  Children will get the chance to speak for them, the remaining will be put in a sale this summer.  There are actually some open spaces on the shelves!  Very motivating.  Do you think I can do the same up here in the studio?  Jerilynn

The Release of a New Pattern

Progress has been made on the Simple Christmas Tree Quilt (...must think of a better name...).  I have most of the pattern written and used it to make all the pieces to make sure my measurements were correct.  I just need to sew it together, and quilt.  I could add another row of three trees to make it a twin sized quilt, but I think I like it better as a couch throw or bed topper.  The plan was to add a narrow cream border.  I may entertain other options.  This has been a fun project for this between Christmas and New Years' time.  It always seems a bit of an odd few days, doesn't it?

On another note, I picked my word for 2016:  Release   The adult word for "Let it go!"  Release stuff, release stress, release anger, release extra poundage, release ideas, release joy to the world around me.  Release doesn't have to be negative.  It can be very positive!  One year when my word was Joy, I bought three random mugs spelling out Joy.  I don't see myself buying seven new mugs.  That may be counter-productive to releasing stuff.  It's been a tough year and I need to make a real effort to release negatives and move on to releasing positives.   A deep breath in, exhale it out.  Jerilynn

Swirly Twirly Dance Dress

This blogpost would be sooo much better if I had a shot of our youngest granddaughter, Addy, in this swirly dress I made her.  If I get one, I will post at a later date.  She take ballet classes at a fabulous studio in Madison, Storybook Ballet.  The first half of the lesson, the little 3-year-olds work on their plies and pirouettes with real live, working, young ballerinas.  The little ones then sit in a circle and have a fairy tale read to them.  After this, big boxes appear and costumes and props for the fairy tale are given to all the little dancers.  The costumes are easy to put on, swirly, and adorable.  Music is started again, and the dancers all dance out the story just read to them.   Magic.  For Christmas, I thought I would make Addy a swirly, easy-to-put-on dress for dress up.  This pattern fit the bill (can't find the pattern right now, but it is a good one!).  The dress front skirt is gathered, and the front bodice wraps to the back with a hook and loop closure.  The back bodice has a full circle skirt attached to it with long ties that tie with a bow in front.  The whole dress is constructed to be reversible.  The shoulders have a little cap to them.  Really cute.  I want to make this again, using two different fabrics, for double the dress-up fun.  Jerilynn

Buffalo Plaid Dishcloth

I still do quite a bit of Knervous Knitting during the evenings.  I have grown quite fond of changing colors while doing knit rows.  Soothing and challenging at the same time.  This buffalo plaid dishcloth turned out well.  Jerilynn