peace and love and Liberty (of London)

I bought a bunch of Liberty cuts while at Purl Soho in NYC, and got right down to using them.  As opposed to hoarding them.  Which, on occasion, I have been known to do ;)

First I made a couple really cool wraps, based on the Lululemon Vinyasa scarf.  Basically it is like a big rectangle with snaps than can be used to make it a wrap, scarf, cowl, shawl...there is a video of the 10 ways to use it!  I decided to make a couple with Liberty and chambray. It has been a great fall accessory!  Don't mind the post full of crappy iPhone pictures...it seems I am too lazy to pull out my fancy camera anymore!

I also decided to make a liberty pouch.  I actually planned to make enough for all my friends I was meeting at Craft South,  but only got one done, so Kelly (kelbysews) was the recipient.  The outer is patchwork of Liberty and chambray, the inner is a robin's egg blue shot cotton.  I made it large and square to accommodate and embroidery hoop and also put a piece of felt inside, suitable for storing needles.  I plan to make another for me (eventually).

I STILL have a Liberty quilt planned, which one day I will get to actually piecing- it is cut up and ready to go.  It is such a lovely fabric to work with, so soft...but pretty pricey.  Used sparingly!

because I was in a bad mood.

I had a bad day today.  Not exceptionally bad or anything, in the grand scheme of life, but enough to make me cranky.  And you wouldn't like me when I'm cranky...(as she turns green...Hulk reference).

I blame it on work.  It was a bloody, messy day.  Okay, I am a dentist so "bloody" isn't anything to get alarmed about.  But it was bloodier than necessary, in my opinion, and I just didn't like it.  On the plus side, it was a half day, so I got to go home at lunch time to sulk and eat sugary things to console myself.

I had a good shower to wash off said blood (ha ha, kidding...sort of) and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.  But I felt like I wanted to be prettier.

If some Little Folks voile can't cheer a girl up, what can?

I grabbed a couple strips that I had in my stash and got to work.  Within a half hour, I had made this infinity scarf.  Seriously, instant gratification.  If you look you can see that my hair is still wet from the shower!  It was that fast.

Feeling much better.  Thanks, Anna Maria, for never failing to bring a smile to my face!  I owe you one.

Oh yah! I made some ruffled scarves!

Almost forgot about these, in the midst of quilting lately. I wanted to make some thing cute and ruffle-y for a friend...we've felt ruffled together many-o-times, after all! She and I have 3 kids all roughly the same age. In fact, we got the timing down to a science and by the third set, they are only 4 days apart! We are now both basking in the glory of our youngest girls in preschool and have a couple hours of FREE TIME in the mornings a couple times per week. So, we decided to have brunch...I swear it was the longest uninterrupted conversation we have ever had!

Anyways, I had picked up some cute lime plaid at a local fabric shop awhile back. My now-preschool daughter, Last But Not Least, wanted in on the fun and was helping me sew!

I love her little orange nail polished fingers!
My original idea was to make a cowl (love those!), but with the ruffles, it looked more like the neck on a clown costume....

(photo courtesy of 3 year old LBNL, head cut off and all!)

So. I joined 2 together, and made a scarf instead! In fact, I made two...one to give and one to keep.

I love the little fringed selvage :-) Left it on as the ends.

A great way to jazz up jeans and a t-shirt :-)
I thought of doing a tutorial on this, but there are a million out there. If you want one, let me know!

Roadtrip byproduct

Did I mention that our otherwise wonderful holiday involved a SEVEN HOUR drive each way? When I wasn't busy dislocating my shoulder from passing back a constant stream of treats and juice boxes to entertain the little monkeys in the backseat, I used my time to do some of the hand crafts I seldom have the chance to do (when am I ever sitting for an extended period of time?). One of the projects I completed, just in time for summer, is a warm, fluffy, knitted scarf.

Doesn't Edward look manly? I told my husband that a life sized vampire was a very practical purchase, and here he is, being put to good use!

This is my first adventure in knitting since 1993, when I knit my hubby the longest, widest scarf in history, for our 6 month dating anniversary. This one is earmarked for The Middle Child, who of course selected the lovely pink yarn. I got hooked by Denese, who "enabled" my OCD by lending me her "Complete Idiot's Guide to Knitting and Crocheting" book ("Keep it as long as you want"- I already am eyeing up a cable knit pattern). I do feel a certain responsibility to knitting, as my grandmother was the one to teach me the basics when I was a preteen, and while I don't recall a single product of her knitting skills, I want to carry on the tradition. I think of her each time I pick up the needles :-)