A new day, a new beginning

As I contemplate the yawning territory of my new chapter in life, I will journal the updates that run through my messy mind. The upcoming two weeks in Fairbanks, Alaska, will be a great start to disconnecting from my career and beginning the new me! Fairbanks beckons with plenty of adventures - birds to see, trails to walk, coffee shops where I'll sit-n-knit. I'll be the tourist... getting the lay of the land. Here's an ongoing knitting project I'll take along - the Takoma cardigan, from knitty.com. I've been working on this...um...for a year. Must make progress this year!

And I'll start a new pair of Felted Clogs, from Fibertrends:

Fall to Winter Krafting Transition The hope of some chill beginning is all I need to start warm krafts with vigor. I'm back to knitting felted clogs, since my ankles got cold while sitting at the computer and posting updates on facebook! Here are this season's colors, purple & green ... and a pair I dredged from the 'stash' - either Oakland A's or Green Bay Packer's colors. I made them kinda large, not sure what I was thinking. Turns out I have a friend whose shoe size is perfect, so they'll find a good home. I can sleep at night knowing that!

Summertime Krafting

Upcycling, recycling, repurposing...that's the summertime krafting activity!

The new, improved v-neckline...it's a beauty! I viewed a tutorial on youtube and it did the trick!

I used another t-shirt that fits me really well as a pattern for the sleeve cutout. Then...measure twice, and bravely, cut away!

This is the first step - lay out the t-shirt, consider the options...

Super Bowl Sunday Krafting

Day 2 of chair recovering project

Last night I mulled again - what to do now? My hands hurt from yesterday's staple prying exercise. I turned off the perfectionist voice that said, just take out 50 or 100 staples a day 'til it's done. I listened to the logic voice that said - cut off the fabric and cover it up with denim! and it worked. I have 3 chair seats covered...3 more to go! I just need to find the next donor pair of jeans to use!

Krafting on Super Bowl Weekend

I noticed several pairs of jeans in the pile to go to the thrift store. And I mulled over the possibilities. I googled "recycled denim" to see what inspiration I could find from the universse. Purses, ipad covers, phone cases, cosmetic bags, yoga bag totes, etc.

1. Yoga bag tote - since I was too cheap to buy one at the Rack, I thought this would be a great project - cheap, using recycled jeans. I was still not 100% convinced this was the project of the day.

2. Overnite I mulled some more ... I looked at patterns for totes. Might be useful. We can always use another sturdy tote.

3. Epiphany arrives. Chair reupholstering! The dining room chairs are starting to show signs of wear. What better durable cover than denim? I couldn't wait to get started the next morning.

Saturday 5am: I'm in the dining room, putting a chair up on the table so I can turn over, unscrew the seat and get started. I bring out tools - screwdriver and pliers. I begin prying up the many heavy duty staples that hold on the fabric cover. After removing about 20, I count how many are on one side of the square. 25-30? x 4 sides - 120? As I take off the first fabric cover, I spy underneath ... OK, the merry furniture workers had automatic staple guns...there are another 400 or so staples holding on the next layer of fabric!!! at 5:40am, I had removed the approx. 120 staples. Am now resting. Contemplating the next 400 staples - for ONE chair. The set has 6 chairs total. The denim sits on the table next to the chair.

4. Meditation

A Year To Remember

Proud to say I'm working on my PHD! The current Project Half Done is the 6-year "Flying Geese" afghan for my favorite daughter! Only 3 seams left to sew...then perhaps a border...but, really, she can throw it on for warmth right now! And so she did the other night for a little TV watching. Whew! Next project - the already-in-progress afghan for my favorite son! Onward and Forward!

The pictures:

First picture: the glorious PHD itself - "Flying Geese" Afghan.

Second picture is the book where this pattern is printed.

Wooly Update

Autumn cold encourages handling wooly items. Current Work In Progress:

Rust Orange Mittens for coooooold mornings on the BART platform.

My version of commuter mittens - I can already see a need to modify the pattern! the poofy area next to the ribbed cuff has got to go! But the instructions told me to increase stitches! Another good reason never to believe what you read!

Here's the original pattern from a lovely knitting magazine. I declined to use stripes in an attempt to look less clownish as I travel about town. This may be negated by the use of bright rust orange yarn!

Sewing: Recycled wool patchwork blanket. Picture to come...