Knitting Funk

For the first time in years, I just don't feel like knitting. I don't know if it's the heat or the fact that I'm in a terrible knitting rut (another turquoise sweater anyone?), but I just don't feel like picking up my knitting needles these days.

Despite the lack of knitting, I have been busy crafting up a storm. A couple of weeks ago I was bitten by the origami bug and suddenly had the crazy urge to make a lot of paper cranes. I ended up stringing dozens and dozens of paper cranes into a giant mobile.

Besides lending some whimsy to our apartment, the cats find it highly entertaining.

I've also been busy making dozens and dozens of tissue paper flowers and luminarias over the past few weeks. My grandmother's 85th birthday party is late next month, and we're planning on decorating my parents' home with copious amounts of these in one of my grandma's favorite colors: pink. They're cheap, cheerful, and perhaps most importantly, easy to make.

I've actually lost count of how many of these I've folded now, and I've still got a good deal of tissue paper to use up. Since the party is back in Texas, I'm planning on shipping them folded up and fluffing them out once I arrive. I've got my fingers crossed that this plan will work out alright.

I've also been doing a lot of sewing this summer, mostly to prepare for the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. After attending various Renaissance festivals for most of my life, this is the year that I'm finally embracing ye olde inner nerd and dressing in costume. While not it's not historically accurate, I'm making Simplicity 3809. I'm actually planning on combining both costumes, making the skirt and bodice on the left and the short-sleeved blouse/chemise on the right.

So far, I've got the skirt and the blouse completed and plan to start piecing the bodice together later this week. Not surprisingly, H. isn't entirely on board with dressing up (yet!), so I'm not sure what I'm sewing for him, if anything.

T-Shirt Quilt

Last month the chemist went to a conference in Florida, leaving me to my own devices for a week. So, for a few glorious days I didn't cook, knit way too much, and enjoyed sole possession of the remote control. Since we're being honest here, I have to admit that I cleaned out our the chemist's closets while he was gone too.

(Apparently, I have no shame. Or, I'm turning into my mother.)

As I was going through our closets, I ran across a bag of t-shirts that the chemist wanted to keep but were generally unfit to wear in decent company. Ya'll, I am not a saver nor do I fancy myself as overly sentimental, but I just couldn't get rid of them. So, I did the only logical thing a crafter that wants clean closets can do: I made a t-shirt quilt.

It was a pretty fast and easy project, even for a complete quilting novice like myself. In fact, I think that I only worked on it on and off for about three weeks. I mostly followed the instructions found here, which contained just enough hand holding to get the job done. Though, I ended up consulting YouTube for the binding, which I'm pretty sure I butchered anyways. (It really only matters that it's attached, right?)

It's far from perfect, but I'm so happy with it. I love how each shirt has a story and how it's a tangible scrap book of our first five years together.