Another From The Basket Of Partly Done

These bags of hand piecing have been in progress for many years:

I finished last week.  Meanwhile, I am redirecting the project.

There was a plan for 8 columns of six - a wall hanging.  I haven't been able to recreate the actual plan - never did make a schematic.

I regrouped and came up with a plan.  Wedding gift table runner.  

Ready for backing and quilting. 

And I'm even ahead - the wedding is September!

Found: Five Bucks

Or so....

Spent about 30 minutes on one of those Warhol-like boxes I want to eradicate from my sewing space.  

Had to stop because I ran out of focused pitching mode.

How do you keep from saving addresses you'd like to save but probably won't write to?

And what to do with birth announcements from kids now grown, parents split?

I stopped working on the box when I stopped being ruthless. One hour of progress is it this morning.  And most of a sheet of stamps, 14 cents away from their first-class prime time.

Maybe I'll have better luck in the office.  Much file purging to do there, too.  I'd rather knit.

ETA:  hmmm good thing I posted this nonsense.  Discovered previous blog posting failure.

Sewing Days

Machine quilting went well, though I may have a faulty machine walking foot.  I refuse to think I wore it out doing half a dozen placemats.

Next?  Binding.  Batch two is waiting for me to assemble and baste layers.

Point of clarity:  tops were assembled a year and a half ago.  I may get these out of here yet!

A Swatch Is A Swatch

There are excellent guidelines for swatching.

Sometimes I follow them:

Targeted 4", extra stitches at sides, knots in the cast-on tail to record needle size, wet blocked aggressively.  Still too small?   Project goes up a needle size.

Sometimes I don't:

What size needle?  One strand?  Alternating?  Two strands - marl the marled?  What about a 1x1 rib?  Nope, squares.  How big a square?  

Lots of decisions.  It's almost tougher to replace a list project made from stash with another dive into the stash.  But I will not buy yarn for this one.  And it should be quick knit, since a do-over has boredom knit into it before we start.

Worst swatch ever, but it was all the sampling I needed!  And this one will be ripped out.  I think I need the yardage.

Progress

A reminder to myself:  progress isn't only items crossed off a list.  It's a verb, too! Move from one to the next.  

Move forward.

I am making good progress (on the list) in progressing from spring into a summer.  It is June. I'm getting some summer conference and vacation plans organized.  I'm doing some of the work I want to do to make the autumn better.

Doing some catch-up cleaning and some deep cleaning.  Doing some catch-up sleeping and some extra napping.

I'm getting some good textile play in.

That personal sock club kit prep is going gangbusters.  Have yet to decide how I'm doing two scarves, but patterns are selected, prepped, swatched for the rest. I added one extra skein of sock yarn and bagged it up with a pattern.  Have a library book to fetch, a photo copy to make and I'm set.

The kits would be useless if there were no knitting.  And there is knitting.  Have resurrected activity on a scarf for my aunt AND whomped out clue one of a mystery shawl KAL.  I never do those.  (Not true.  I did one pair of socks, ending up about a year behind.). But look:  real progress.  Stash yarn and stash leftovers, to boot!

Sewing is on the move, too.  There's some patchwork underway.  (Story another day.). Monday I powered through the mending basket, which was stacked with an extra half basket of content.  I think there are only a half dozen items left.  Hemmed up a new vinyl tablecloth for a summer freshen-up.  The long-stashed fabric had patiently awaited its day in the light.  Progress.

I walked for an hour this morning.  Spinach, poached eggs, and tea were a good reward.

Moving forward.