Dragonflies and Draggin' Feet

This week the quilting studio received its latest (and probably last) installation, a much needed bookshelf installed by my VVHH (very versatile handy husband).













Quilting, knitting, crochet, sewing and drawing books are all at eye level now--much easier to peruse and reach than they were in the bottom of the cubby (shown above).


VVHH surprised me with the beautiful supporting brackets. He knows that next to lizards and frogs, dragonflies are my favorite small creatures. Oddly enough, we saw one in the garden--the first one we've spotted this year--on the same day he installed the shelf.

Originally black, the brackets got a coat of white paint before installation.

Meanwhile, the quilt-as-you-go project is coming along. More joining strips were cut today, and binding will be made tomorrow. Still pondering my next landscape quilt.

Tuesday I finished a baby afghan destined for a little sweetie named Vivian Rose. The yarn, found at The Yarn Patch in Crossville, TN, is called Flutterby Chunky (by James C. Brett in the UK), and is the softest yarn I've ever worked with in 40 years of knitting and crocheting.

Here's hoping Vivi will like it, too (and that her mommy won't mind that this yarn isn't supposed to be put in the dryer. Oops!).

 Also on Tuesday, I dragged out the storage bin containing my 30-year-old UFO. That's right...thirty.

I don't remember what happened to put this Aran sweater on pause. Probably something to do with raising two sons. I do remember that this project took intense concentration--so much so, that even having the TV on in the background could derail me. It also took an entire spiral notebook of handwritten, columnar breakdowns on the instructions for each panel, as no two rows were the same. (No excel sheets back then...no computer, either!)

So now I'm dragging my feet as to whether to pick up where I left off. I want to, but aside from the concentration issue, the yarn's integrity and durability concern me. It has languished in a plastic bin all these years, along with some long-dried-up cedar chips. Wool should be allowed to breathe, but having paid dearly for good Aran yarn, I wasn't willing to chance a moth invasion. I suspect the yarn is somewhat compromised by longtime exposure to the acids in the notebook paper and the gasses from the plastic. Is it worth spending all the time it will take to finish this sweater? I don't know.




Also this week, the window seat/storage bin finally got a cushion. But I cheated--no sewing; not one stitch. After VVHH cut the foam rubber down to size using a big bread knife (smooth as butter!), I pulled one yard of batik from my stash, wrapped it around the cushion form, and tucked it in on the sides. Who would know? The cool thing is, if I need this fabric for a quilt or just get tired of looking at it, it can be switched out for a different yard of fabric. Voila, a new cushion--again!


Linking up with Sarah at Whoop Whoop Friday, where the raffle winners have been announced! Next week I'm hoping to have something to share on the Freemotion Mavericks hookup, but as my dear friend Kathy's surgery is next Friday, it might be a while afterward.

Have a great weekend!

Linda