So I took some first steps to making my dream a reality. I wanted a simple quilt of a spring-summer-fall weight that would provide that touch of warmth you might need while vegging on the sofa in the early morning. One of the moms suggested a rag quilt. I liked the idea because the frayed edges would give extra thickness and weight without making it too warm.

So I cut 108 squares of quilters cotton and another 54 squares of diaper flannel in place of batting. That felt like it took forever. The quilting the squares together took a while but not near as long as the cutting.

After laying everything out sewing the blocks together is just flying along. I was able to get half the quilt together in one night. If my luck holds I will be washing it this weekend.

The first tinglings of the knitting urge hit last week I went to a new local yarn shop called Sheepish. I got some beautiful Lorna’s Laces yarn but after knitting about a foot of scarf and scratching off about half my neck I reluctantly admitted that I was having some sort of reaction to the yarn. So I had to put that aside, still not sure what I am going to do with it. Yarn swap maybe? But now I am working up a new slightly different design in my new favorite cotton yarn Blue Sky Alpaca’s Dyed Cotton bought from Atlanta’s hippest yarn shop and my new knitting group hang out Knitch. Almost all my Plush You toys were made out of this stuff so finding some fall inspired striped to go with the tan base was not hard at all.

I think I am in love with fisherman’s rib. Is it wried to say that about a stitch pattern? It just feels so chunky and soft.

I have been working hard the last few weeks trying to get everything ready for this year’s Plush You Show. As soon as I finish touching up the photos I will post three new toys.

So my favorite new mom is not the only one I have been making gifts for. Her little boy, my nephew, has a blanket in the works. Only a few inches left to go! Why are the last few inches of a long knitting project so hard?

First I had to make a toy before I went nuts and destroyed the sweater I have been working on. Still working out the pattern but these little guys are fun to make.

And Blake, the hubbie, wanted a case for his DS. So I tried my hand at case making. Took 3 tries for me to come up with something I like, above is a too tight case that is about a half inch to short. My case is coming soon, after I get new needles for my sewing machine… I kind of broke 3.

Oh and ends… lots of ends. I am almost done weaving them all end and then all that is left is sewing the arms on, 4 more ends to weave in and the sweater is done.

Why the hurry to finish everything? I have a commission for a new Kitsune. This one will be a little different than my last one. Looking forward to revisiting my old work.

I live in Georgia and I often joke with people that I have never seen a “real” snow. Only a few times in my life have I seen snow that does not melt away with a single footprint. Because of this snow has always seemed a magical thing to me. So when I saw snow come up as a topic in the Holiday Softie Awards I was immediately draw to it. If I can’t have real snow here I thought it would be fun to make a little sprite that brings snow.

This little guy was probably my most challenging piece construction wise to date. When I was drafting the pattern for him I forgot some basic math. I had in my head that the circumference of a circle was TTr² instead of dTT. Stubbornly I cut the pieces even though I knew it is not look right and I even went so far as to sew them together. Looking at that huge head and tinny legs and body I had to admit defeat. A quick glance at wikipedia and a slap on the head later and I was fixing the pattern. See kids, math is important. It helps you make softies.

After remembering middle, possibly elementary, school math. I was ready to roll. First I made the body, legs and arms, saving the head to later. I wanted the feet to be crocheted but I had to fumble how to do it. I did not want to have a sewn line running horizontally across the arms and legs because that would destroy the bell sleeve look I was going for. So I ended up having to make the crocheted sections fit under the already sewn arms. It would have been much simpler the other way around. Then a quick running stitch along the top edges before attaching the arms and legs and it was all good.

As a final touch I painted the eyes of my little guy blue. I used Testor paints, the kind you use in models. Worked great. I like how the blue eyes are much softer than the classic black safety eyes.

Been working on and off again for almost a month on this little guy for the Holiday Softie Awards. Not happy with the photography yet so I hope to have “real” pictures soon.

I know I am not the only one to carry a small travel project wherever I go. But sometimes it can feel like it when you are the only one crocheting or knitting in public. Most of the time you get a lot of stares and people asking you “how do you do that?” But that is to be expected. I know this so I do not take out my project unless I am prepared for this.

But crafting during my lunch break is another matter. I always worry about showing people at work that there are things that I would rather be doing than working. Lucky me, my supervisor does not seem to mind if I work on my crafts during my lunch break. In fact she often ask about what I am working on. I still do not feel comfortable whipping my projects out in the break room, but a quiet lunch by myself in a small conference room with a crochet project is just what I need some days.

Anyone else crafting during their lunch breaks?

I have so much finishing work left to do before these guys are ready for Plush You. It is kind of fun to see all the blobs heaped together though.