Busy time of year

It's the busy time of year if you make Christmas gifts. Busy busy busy. But I love it! I love making gifts. I've been knitting and sewing, lots and lots of sewing. I can't show some of it yet.

My son is a big University of Michigan fan. I made him a set of pillowcases. I think he'll love them! Of course a kitty had to get in the picture.

I did make another curtain for the side door, it's not hanging up yet since it's a Christmas fabric. Pics of that will come later.

I also made some little fabric Christmas ornaments. OMG they just turned out so cute! Hard to sew a perfectly round circle, but I'm happy with them. They'll make cute little gift tags which can then be used on the recipient's Christmas tree.

The quilt is finished but I haven't had a chance to get a good picture of it yet. I'm almost done with a pair of socks I'm knitting for myself. After that, some gift knitting. Lots to do. The clock is ticking.

Making Progress

I'm just moving right along on my quilt. I have the quilt top done. Now it's all pinned together and basted.

I'm loving it! The next step is to tie it together. I'm not going to quilt it. After that I can sew on the binding, and then it will be done. I have enjoyed making this quilt so much!

I have gotten some knitting done this week. I made a pair of mittens, a very old pattern. I think it goes very nicely with the yarn I used. It's from Marr Haven Wool Farm in Michigan. It's not processed a lot, I can still feel the lanolin in it. I love how these mittens turned out.

I can tell they will be toasty warm!

Sewing, sewing, sewing

Has an idea ever just hit you out of the blue? I had a brainstorm the other day. Here is the little curtain I had on my side door. Ladybugs. Cute. Summery.

Then it hit me. Why not make a new little curtain with some fabric I recently bought while shopping with my Aunt. I copied and bought some fabric she bought as I fell in love with the fabric too. A quilt looking fall print. So I made a little curtain for the side door. I love it!

I'll keep it up until it's time to bring the Christmas stuff out. Then I'll change it to a Christmas print. Gotta get busy and buy some Christmas fabric then sew another little curtain. What a fun little change for the seasons.

I've been having a great time working on my quilt. All the blocks are sewn together now into rows of blocks. I'm making progress!

Now I just sew the rows of blocks together and then the quilt top will be done. Haven't gotten the backing fabric yet. Can't decide on a color. The quilt colors are reminding me of Mardi Gras colors. Very bright! I'm loving this so far.

On a final note. Shadow was sitting so nicely in the kitchen the other day. I just had to take her picture. Do you know how hard it is to get a good picture of a black cat? Very hard. At least she sat there for a while so I could try.

Busy Weekend

What a busy weekend. From pizza to the cider mill and a hayride to a jigsaw puzzle and a quilt. Non-stop. It was so fun! I finally got my fix of apple cider from the cider mill. So yummy!

My daughter was home for the weekend and we kept ourselves busy working a jigsaw puzzle. It was great fun! I haven't done a puzzle in ages.

1,000 pieces. We got it done in 24 hours. We did sleep and eat and went back at it. Good bonding time!

I finally had a chance to work on my quilt. I made some strips, then I cut the strips into little blocks, and started sewing the little blocks into bigger blocks.

I have really enjoyed working on this quilt so far!

Apple Cider Season

Fall is in the air. The days are shorter. The temps are cooler. The cider mills are open! Time to pull out the wool yarns again and knit. I also decided I'm going to make a quilt. Had a grand time shopping for the supplies this past weekend with my sister, aunt and cousin. It was a wonderful day. I've actually gotten the quilt cut out too.

I'm ready to fire up the sewing machine and have at it! Stay tuned for progress.

I've also been able to touch wool yarn again. Just couldn't stand it in the summer. I made this little scarf. The pattern is Paula's Scarfette. I found it on Ravelry. I love it. Such a cute name. Scarfette!

I started another shawl. This one I'm keeping. It's made with Misti Alpaca in fingering weight, so soft. I love to just touch it. It's called Multomah. The pattern has also been found on Ravelry.

So the needles are flying again, the sewing machine is waiting to be fired up, the cider is waiting to be drunk. Fall is my favorite season.

Cute Things

Cute overload today. Let's start with the little pink felt bag. I embellished it with some adoreable cupcake buttons. They look so real I want to eat them.

I bought the cutest lampshade for my candlestick lamp at the craft store. A bit early for Halloween stuff, but I have it out anyway. I just love it!

I did a little Halloween crafting. Coffins usually aren't something that are cute, but they are when they are painted with glow-in-the-dark paint and have music buttons in them. One for my daughter, one for my grandson.

While I was painting the coffins my daughter made these little dolls. So precious! And I painted the papier mache cupcake and gave it to her. The top comes off for storing precious small items.

I haven't been knitting much lately, but I did get these socks done for my grandson. I can't wait to give them to him.

I don't have anything on the needles at the moment. Can't decide what to knit next, so I'm taking a break.

My grandson started first grade. Here he is with his school haircut. He's just so cute in my eyes!

And here's my daughter fishing from the paddleboat when we went on vacation. No fish were caught that day.

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day Weekend already. The end of summer is near. I do love fall. It's my favorite season. Cool nights, colorful leaves, apple cider. And being able to knit with wool again! I can't stand touching it in the summer when it's hot.

I did get this little shawl done. It's so soft and delicate to the touch. It's made with Farmhouse yarns, a merino, silk, cotton blend. Just lovely!

I just love touching it.

I sewed a pair of slippers for my grandson. He loves Sponge Bob. I was so excited to find Sponge Bob fabric! Couldn't resist and had to use it for some slippers for him. He loves them!

Last winter the ladies in my knitting group started a group project. The Traveling Socks. Each person knits on these socks and passes to the next person, and so on. Mine finally made their way back to me, and I finished them off by doing the toe.

Aren't they crazy looking? I just love them! I will wear them with pride. And every time I wear them I will think of these ladies and smile. We have a lot of fun together. The most wonderful friends in the world!

Hope you have a great Labor Day Weekend!