Where Has All the Stitching Gone?

Spurred on by Debra, I've been thinking of my stitching life over the past year and realized that since we began remodeling our kitchen last spring, I've not once picked up an embroidery project! And there are quite a few unfinished projects waiting patiently for me to get going, so with that in mind, and a gentle push from Debra, I signed up for TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday), hoping to learn some new stitches and hoping to finish some long neglected ones. Lots of WIPS are waiting for me:
The Christmas Sampler
The Christmas Quilt
CQ Purse Front
CQ Purse Back

And that's just a few WIPs that come to mind. Lately I've been doing lots of knitting, and yes, there are some unfinished projects of that ilk also. But I have finished a number of things including this shawlette for my sister.

So, in 2012 I am going to finish as many of these projects as possible, but first I have to think up a TAST project, something for all those new stitches. Any ideas? And just in case you wondered, the kitchen is finished....except for a new light fixture.

But then there're all those Christmas projects......... waiting patiently!

Phew!

Wow! This has been a busy and fun week. It began on Mother's Day with a ferry ride to Bainbridge Island where we had a nice lunch with Carl, Catherine, and Brent at a Thai restaurant. While they went to the Blackbird Bakery, I slipped into Churchmouse Yarns and Teas and bought several patterns and a skein of Koigu. The nice woman who waited on me offered to wind the skein, a offer I never refuse. It turns out she was the owner! Catherine and Brent gave me these cute socks which I just had to share. She found them in January at Lake Tahoe.

On the home front, the kitchen/family room floor is done and has been thoroughly inspected by Ginger. We are doing lots of laundry today as that floor is next. Then all that remains is the backsplash and floor molding. The latter is drying in our garage, and the tile was supposed to come in Friday, but we've been to busy to check.

Friday afternoon I sewed these booties together. They were an interesting knit but seem pretty small. These are done with dk yarn and the needles suggested in the pattern....newborn size maybe or slippers for an American Girl doll perhaps?

Our cherry tree is blooming despite the chilly, grey weather. The paper noted on Thursday that we've not broken 70 degrees here since last November! However, clloudy skies have made preparing for our Elijah concert a great diversion. We had two rehearsals with the soloists this week and two exciting performances this weekend. Here's a link to some photos that were taken Friday night. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! (And now that Elijah will have quit invoking "rain upon the thirsty land," maybe, just maybe, we'll see the sun?)

Finis!

No, not the kitchen; in fact, not much cooking is happening these days. We manage breakfast and lunch fairly well, but dinners are pretty much a lost cause.

Progress is happening though. And it'll all be worth it in the end. We already love the new stove!

PerBarbara's suggestion, I've replaced cooking with sewing and knitting---and actually finished several things: socks for David and Daniel, the tutu quilt for Sophia, and a hat for Jill! The fun part will be delivering them in person as we are headed to Chicago soon. (Jill and Michael have a working kitchen!)


Something tells me I could use a better model for my hats than stuffing them with a pair of pjs!

The quilt was hard to photograph, so Dick took a closeup of one of the tutus.


Mocha is a pretty tough taskmaster but tires easily.


Sewing the binding on this quilt gave me time to think. Earlier this week the newspaper, in addition to the tragic news from Japan, carried an article about the Iditarod which reminded me of the story of Balto and the Great Race. Have you read it? A statue of this dog is in Central Park in NYC; we searched it out a number on the way to a family wedding. (It snowed, then too?!)

I also thought about watching this elk herd just outside Crescent City,CA, about a week before its harbor was destroyed by the tsunami that originated in Japan. According to the news on NPR, tourism and fishing are the major industries in this town, and fishing was all but wiped out. The effects of that quake will be felt for a long time in this small town and, of course, on a much, much larger scale in Japan. It sure has made me rethink our family's earthquake preparedness!

UPDATE: We saw the moon on our walk last night! For once we didn't have our usual cloud cover.

Chaos in the Kitchen

Not too much knitting or sewing is going on in these parts. We are updating our kitchen which until a few days ago looked like this:

Gone is that hanging cupboard where everyone has bashed their heads! (One daughter called it the "Shaw initiation.")

Now almost everything else is GONE, and we can't find anything, but progress is happening. Stay tuned!

I've been meaning to post a couple of recent photos from Jill. We are looking forward to seeing them all soon. Here's David all dressed up for something at school. Can you tell he chose his own outfit?

Sophia loves Red Bear which was given to her by our neighbors long ago and is holding up quite well.

Daniel has his own bear. Don't you wish you could sleep this well?

Can't believe it's time to "spring ahead" with the clocks and wish everyone a very Happy Saint Patrick's Day.