Knit-Nerd-Rant

So things have been crazy lately - lots of work, lots of trying to fit in some social life, I've taken up a belly dance class (after about a decade of no training), and I've been working on a new cross stitch design for my Etsy store . (Spoiler, it's going to be starring Grumpy Cat!) Another reason for the radio silence is that I have finally finished up a quilt that has been sitting in my craft closet for AGES. Years and year ago, I found some really funky faux fur fabric on sale - just about a yard and a half. I could never figure out what to do with it, but eventually settled on using it as one side of a quilt.  I found some similarly colored old t-shirts that I had planned to incorporate into some quilts, and started piecing together the patchwork. Also, a couple years ago, I had found at a yard sale an old quilt frame. I've done 2 quilts before this project, and both ended up being bears to work with once I had the patchwork layer done and was on to q...

A while ago, a woman from my church community gave me a large bag full of knitting odds and ends, since she was no longer able to do it herself.  I had recently started a monthly "Fibre Party", basically a nicer name for a Stitch-n-Bitch group, at the church and this woman decided that I would be able to give these odds ands a happy home. When I opened it up, there were some amazingly kitschy acrylic yarns, a couple random darning needles, a set of very long, straight size 8 needles, and a whole bunch of old patterns.  The patterns are AMAZING. Between the fantastically cheesy (see the photo above) to the fantastically hideous Christmas stockings, it was a real treasure trove.  There were 2 thick books of sweater patterns for men and family full of Scandinavian fair-isle patterns from the mid-1940s, some children's sweater patterns from the 1970s, 1970s christmas patterns and random mimeographed versions, and a couple more odds and ends. Particularly the forced poses...

  So here are my new skirts that took up much of my weekend.  The first one (shiny one to the left) was made from this fabulous vintage fabric found at a rummage sale at the Silver Spring Stage , where is also the same event where I found the couch that the skirt is laying on.  It's hard to capture by photo, it's a gorgeously shiny deep grayish-teal.  The second one I found at the fabric shop of Bits of Thread a few days ago.  it's a buttery smooth wool with royal blue/indigo and black houndstooth that's just fantastic.  It's real houndstooth, not any wimpy print.  (For those in the know, houndstooth is a big deal for Alabama football fans, so this is just a little extra fun.) I've found that with my ... ahem... ample figure (honestly, from the waist down, it's mostly solid muscle from a childhood spent playing sports and dancing), a pencil skirt is generally the way to go.  And luckily, it works out that the way my proportions are, I can s...

So, yesterday after work, I met up with a friend to go to Bits of Thread and boy did we have entirely too much fun!  It's a small sewing studio that does classes and workshops for different levels, and it also has a great stash of reclaimed, vintage, donated, and random fabric. Most of the pieces I found were less than 3 yards, which is perfect for what I need.  There were a few fabrics that came in larger sizes, but not many.  Lots of great scraps, vintage notions, fantastic buttons, it was like going through the attic of the coolest grandma on the planet and finding some of her amazing and soft and hideous old fabrics, pattens, and random bits and things.  It's pretty much available only by appointment, so call ahead to make sure someone will be there.  When we arrived, there was a new instructor leading a class who didn't know how to ring up purchases, so I swung by today after I got out of work early.  Go check it out for yourself if you are in the ...