Wips

Like any knitter or crafter, I have several WiPs (Works in Progress) going at any given time. Right now these are my two main knitting projects.

This is a pair of socks for Robbie. That boy has fallen in love with hand knit socks which is wonderful for him. For me not so wonderful lol. He has a wide foot and wears a US size 13 shoe. While I love the process of knitting it does get a bit boring when working on the same pair of socks for what feels like forever. In reality it takes me about a month to knit a pair of socks whether they're for Robbie or my US size 9 foot. I tend to knit while cooking dinner and before bed. I'm sure if I spent a good chunk of time on them I could knit a pair in a week.  I'm actually enjoying working on these socks because the yarn is so fun. I'm always trying to knit a bit faster so I can see what color or pattern is coming next.

My other project is a simple slouchy beanie for Robbie's girlfriend. She's been lucky enough to receive a few handmade gifts from Robbie and me.

I have a handful of other knitting projects that are just sitting. I'll pull them out soon so ya'll can see what's languishing in the WiP pile.

Steering Wheel Covers

I've been playing with a new design for my Etsy shop. Steering Wheel Covers.  

It took me a few tries to figure out how to make them reversible and still easy to sew. They are quilted with a nice wide band to keep them in place. Of course these are not for use while driving. They just help keep your steering wheel a bit easier to hold on a hot Summer day and there's been a lot of those lately.

It's not only hot down here in Florida this Summer but it seems all across the Northern Hemisphere the heat is extreme this year. Most days are in the high 90's with a heat index in the triple digits. Our house was getting too hot inside even with the a/c on so we had our attic re-insulated and thankfully that dropped the inside temps by almost 10 degrees. I'm hoping it drops our electric bill quite a bit too.






This Pokeball steering wheel cover is one of my latest designs. I'm trying to decide what I want to place on the reverse side. I also want to make some with quilt blocks on the front. Lots of ideas but never enough sewing time, right?

So, what are you creating today?

Always

I started another cross stitch project this month. This one will be for my oldest Justin. All three of my kids love Harry Potter. They were at the right ages to grow up with the books and then movies. Justin and Mandy either have HP tattoos or are planning on getting some. Unless he has changed his mind, Justin plans on getting an "Always" tattoo.

I found this cross stitch pattern on Etsy.

Justin's favorite colors are orange and lime green so I dyed some fabric with kool-aid. My first time dying with kool-aid and I think it came out pretty good. I wanted it to be a subtle background color and not over powering. 

This is a piece of even-weave fabric that came in a cross stitch kit that I worked up earlier this year. I had never worked on even-weave before and didn't want to try at the time so I used some Aida instead. I've spent several hours cross stitching recently and thought I would be brave and try the even-weave. That and I didn't want to spend any more money on cross stitch fabric. It's not too bad to work on but I think I will stick with my usual Aida. Even-weave seems like it would be good for something that has a lot of detail not something as simple as this. I definitely have to use a magnifier and pay close attention to which hole(s) I'm putting each stitch. Aida uses every hole where even-weave uses the corner holes from a set of 9 holes. 

When this one is done Mandy has requested this design by Clouds Factory.

This Epic Pokemon one will be for Robbie.

I think those should keep me busy for quite awhile.

Sock monkey knitting

My son Robbie and his girlfriend Hailey have been dating for almost 7 months. That's a long time for a couple 16 + 17 year olds. Hailey asked for a pink stuffed alien or a sock monkey. I decided to knit a sock monkey first because I haven't seen an acceptable sewing pattern for an alien yet. This lady will be a 7 month anniversary gift. Remember being that age and counting the weeks and months of a relationship? Nowadays I have to stop and calculate how long hubby and I have been together (26 years together and married for 20 in October).

 I just know we are on our second lifetime. First it was those young years when we were starting our little family. Now that our youngest is 17 I feel like we are on our second lifetime together. I remember when I was in my 20's (and knew everything) and thought that 50 was kinda old and a long time away. Now that I'm 47 fifty isn't so far away anymore. Now we are beginning a new part of our lives which includes adult children (25 and 28). Both lifetimes have pros and cons but I know I will be enjoying this time of my life.

Small project

Sometime last year or earlier this year I won this little kit from a Flosstuber. It came free with a magazine and she wasn't going to stitch it up so she had a give away.

I've been fighting a migraine and didn't want to deal with the very small pattern for my Oriental Butterfly so I decided to work on this little project.

It would have been a quick stitch but I was trolling facebook, making cookies, and watching videos on YouTube so it took me most of today to complete.  It's a cute little notebook. Once I buy some double sided tape to hold in the pages I will be adding this to the gift basket. It's cute but I tend to use larger notepads or notebooks. I do like the blue design on the front cover of the magazine it came with though. I might need to go on a search for that issue. Plus, those little bunny girl cards are adorable.

U.S.A. Map

Back in  2011 I saw this post over on See Kate Sew and fell in love. I knew I would eventually make at least one scrappy map. 

Since July 4th is right around the corner I decided to make a red, white, and blue scrappy version. I decided to start in the center of the US and work my way to the outer borders. Let me tell you, this felt harder than putting together a regular jigsaw puzzle. Thankfully I thought ahead and wrote the name of each state on the back of each piece. I don't even want to think about trying to figure out which state is which. Of course states like Florida, Texas, California, and Louisiana are easy to identify but Wyoming and Colorado, etc. is nearly impossible to figure out.

I kept looking at the map on my phone and back to my pieces making sure I had each state in the right spot. Once I found my rhythm it went pretty well until I got to the Northern states. Whomever was making the states borders way back then sure didn't think about us in the future. So many tiny states on the East coast compared to out West. I remember as a child trying to color in Rhode Island and Delaware and getting mad because they are so tiny. 

Even with the small frustrations I really enjoyed working on this project. Hopefully I will have this turned into a wall hanging before the 4th of July. Wish me luck!

Assembly line sewing

 Whenever I decide to make something I tend to make several at once assembly line style. One day I iron and cut fabrics, then I start sewing them together the next day. The third day is usually for the end touches like turning out bags and ironing things.

I've been addicted to making monogrammed zipper pouches lately. I started with this basic pattern and then tweaked it for what I needed. It's a great tutorial for making a pouch with a zipper just change up the measurements to suit your needs.

This week my needs were zipper pouches with various initials. If you see one you like you can find them in my Etsy shop - RsIslandCrafts.