Knitting Dopp Kits

Last week I took some more knitting Dopp Kits over to A Grand Skein, so you better get over there before they are gone!  I added the new knitting mouse to my list of fun embroideries to use.  Plus I found some more fun ones to invest in, so I'll be sharing those when I get them.

Visiting Dad

We took a trip to Battle Creek yesterday to visit my Dad's grave at the cemetery.  April 19th was the 11th anniversary of his passing.  Every year around this time I get together with my siblings and we go to the cemetery and then someplace for lunch. 

 I think we have a great tradition that I do enjoy even thought its a somber event we are remembering.  It is a wonderful time visiting with my siblings and their families.  I don't see my nieces and nephews often so its fun catching up on what they are doing and how much they have grown! 

This is my nieces, Sophia and Gabriella.  Sophia is very shy around men she doesn't know, so when she was put in my lap for a group picture we could not get her to smile!  So we decided to do an old time picture pose.  You know the one where they don't smile! It was very hard to do but we caught this picture between my fits of laughter!

Hillary's bag

My knitting friend Hillary asked me to make her a new bag for her knitting.  She had bought a pattern for the type of bag she wanted but said she wasn't much of a sewer and asked me to make it for her.   I was happy to help her out.

I made some alliterations to the pattern.  The top red band was supposed to lay on top of the patterned material so I made it an extension making the bag taller.   The pattern did not include a lining for the bag so I created one and added stabilizer for extra sturdiness,  and I couldn't resist adding the little knitting ewe on both sides.  My slap on the forehead moment when I was all done, I didn't add any pockets on the inside or outside. 

I'm happy to say Hillary loved her bag!

My Buddy Finn

Last week when I was at A Grand Skein my buddy Finn and I took a brake from out knitting and had a nice conversation. Okay I was knitting and he was nursing, but you get the idea! 
Gloria, his mother, propped him in the corner of the couch and he had his little elbow up on the arm and just stared at me!  It looked like we were having a nice talk.  He is such a cutie!
I'm involved in many crafting hobbies and I am always immensely outnumbered by women. It's nice to have a fellow guy there, even if he is only 6 months old. 

Wall of Thread

I was asked about my wall of thread, so I thought I would share it with you.  I love Robison-Anton Rayon embroidery thread. When I started on my adventure into embroidery I thought it would be good to have a very nice selection of thread.  I didn't want to find an embroidery design and then have to wait a couple days or weeks to get the correct colors to make the design.  So I started with a thread club that sent me 12 new colors every month. Then I added on to that, choosing colors to fill in some of the gaps. 

I found these great Robison-Anton racks on line and got eight of them.  I numbered them so I have enough space if I do ever get every single color!  But I think I'm close enough!   Now there are several different brands of embroidery thread and everyone has there favorite that they are loyal to.  Which one is your favorite?

I just made this great cover for my ironing board too! 

 

Easter

I had a wonderful Easter with my Aunt Ann and Uncle Daryl, and of course we ate way to much food!!  I made these bunny silverware holders for our place settings. All the fabric for the center eggs was from my hand dyed stash, except for the pink one. 

I had a very special gift to give my Aunt.  This is a picture of my Aunt Ann and Uncle Denny. It is one of my Aunt's favorite pictures.  I took and made the image into an embroidery and made a pillow out of it.

 

Yes that is all thread in the middle there! Over 112,400 stitches with 20 different colors that took over 10 hours to complete!

Five bags

I have been sewing all week and I finally got those five bags done.  They are all ready to be delivered to the St Joseph/Benton Harbor area where I'm sure they will find loving homes!

 Sorry the background is so busy. I don't really have a nice neutral area for staging! At least one that is cleared of clutter!  It's back to the sewing machine for me, I've got a couple more things to get done before Sunday.  I'll be sure to share them too.

 Here are a couple close up shots.

 

Ironing Day

Last week I had a wonderful visit with my friend Terri.  She has this awesome large iron she generously lets me use.  It is amazing how quickly I can get the pieces for my bags fused together!  It is a great time saver for me.  Plus I get to socialize at the same time!  

 It only took me two and a half hours to iron these pieces for ten bags.  If I was doing this with my regular iron at home I would still be at it today!  I have to get four bags completed by Sunday, so I can take them down to my Aunt's when we go there for Easter.  She has a friend that wants to take them to her work and is sure she will have no problem getting them sold!  I will share them with you as I get them done.