I’m at the quilting stage on my Aloha shirt half triangle quilt. Decided to go hand quilting. I hope I don’t regret this. I chose the red backing color to follow Grandma Kiyo’s style. All the patchwork quilts we have this backing. She made some beauties. I’ll post more later.
I originally started this post as a “whoa is me” post to complain about unemployment, not receiving my check, and sitting in the phone queue for 5+ hours. But I take that all back.
Yes, I am furloughed, I’m yet to receive a check from UI, I will be stuck in the phone queue until I settle this issue and my furlough has been extended to January 4th. But I can’t feel sorry for myself. That’s how you get stuck and curling up in a ball and not want to do nothing for yourself. Sometimes life is harder than you expected.
I told myself at the beginning of the furlough that I would make use to this time instead of festering and becoming bitter. It’s been a tough road, the unemployment situation doesn’t help a bit. But I still want to make the best of this time. When will I get this kind of time to do something for myself, to do something creative, to make something beautiful.
I decided to write this to remind myself I have this time to do for myself. To think about life and where it may take me. Here’s my list so far I hope I can complete some of it before the end of the year. I’ll be posting my progress and going ons at the home front with the my 4 roommates (haha).
I didn’t realize that it was April 25 when I last wrote. Well, I started a draft and kept adding and editing it. Today I decided to dump it and start all over. Like in knitting, I frogged it. haha.
I decided this would be a crocheting, knitting, and quilting update. Here’s what I’ve been up to.
A secret gift.
I found this pattern, Windowpane scarf by Adrienne Lash. I liked how the pattern looked on people in the finished projects section of the pattern on Ravelry. It has a great structure to it and very easy pattern to follow that you can pick and put it down and still know where you left off.
I’m trying to let go my love of wool and thought buying a bunch of cotton/linen blends would do the trick. I bought this variegated Bella Lino from Classic Elite. It’s a linen/viscose/cotton blend of blue/green/stone. It’s discontinued and I got it on sale at WEBS.
I got me 6 skiens Zooey from Juniper Moon Farms in 2 colorways: taro and artic blue–3 each. I wasn’t totally sure what I was going to do it them.
My first thought was market bags but how many market bags can I knit or crochet before I get bored? I did find a few that had an interesting bottom or interesting netting pattern for the main area. Here are two links to market bags that I’d like to try:
https://www.twoofwands.com/blog/french-market-bag
I like this because of the handle on it. More elegant than the pattern I previously used.
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hiroba
Found this on Ravelry. It has an interesting closed pattern on the body of the bag.
Several people from my knitting group were knitting an interesting scarf pattern that they said wasn’t too hard. I resisted for a while. I don’t like making scarves. so repetitive. But I got sucked into it and I gave it a try. Kureopatora’s Snake Scarf and this is how far as I got. Love this colorway.
My knitting group decided to do a toe-up, two at time, Judy’s magic cast-on as knit-a-long. I had just got a great Saver’s run with tons of wool. Yes, wool. The fiber I’m trying not to buy. haha. I’m hopeless
I decided to use the gray and pink super wash from my Saver’s run to make a pair hiking socks for my trip at the end of September. I found a simple sock pattern I wouldn’t give up in the middle of the sock, Trusty toe up sock by Tanis Lavellee.
After three attempt and one adjustment–picked a too big size, cast on the wrong number of stitches twice, and too out increases to get the right ease (tightness) on my socks.
My Hawaiian quilt project with instruction from quilting master Kay from my knitting group. It’s sadly sitting in my quilting back waiting to be picked up again. Weather has turned hot and I haven’t been to the monthly quilting bee (no ac). I have a couple of other projects in my queue that have higher priority so I’ll wait till the weather turns a little cooler or finish the higher queued projects to pick these up again.
I did find a partially finish Hawaiian quilt project I started many moons ago I guess that get put in the queue after the pineapples. I can’t even remember when I started it.
Not too bad but not as good as the ones done under the supervision from Quilt Master Kay.
I have more to post about the going-ons of my life. I need to stop talking so much. haha.
