On the left of the photo we have the unpressed swatch, on the right, the swatch that has been ironed so much it should be like crispy bacon right about now.

The Osnaburg from Hell

I know there’s definitely an improvement, but it’s still so crinkly I may go mad looking at it. Maybe I’ll just toss it back in the wash and iron it while it’s damp. Any pointers?

Now, on to other things. It’s been crazy busy here. It’s always crazy busy here, but lately, I’ve been crazy and busy. Why have I been crazy…err…crazier than usual? Because there is so much clutter in my house that I feel like I’m having a mental avalanche every time I walk through the damn house. Seriously. I’ve been ready to snap for weeks because every time I get one area of the house looking nice, one or all of my freaks walks through leaving death and destruction in their wake. Okay. Not death. But destruction, for sure.

I cannot keep up. And adding insult to injury are the hordes of neighborhood kids who keep crawling out of the woodwork. I do like kids…I even love my own, but I am drowning here. There are, on any given day, up to a dozen kids other than my own banging on my door, pulling my screens out of the windows, stealing bikes, raiding my garage refrigerator (not to EAT the food…No…they destroy it all over the floor of the garage), trampling my herbs, pulling the leaves and blooms off my blueberry plants, climbing on the roof of the garage, falling out of our trees, breaking the fence, or building “forts” in our yard out of anything and everything they find in the piles of household items left on the curb for the garbage collector. And of course, said building materials are things like dresser mirrors which end up shattered and scattered through my yard.  And then there is the oh, so sweet little girl who whipped her pants down and flaunted her vagina at the my prudish boy child. Not a week later, she punched Kearsey in the nose and gave her a gusher of a nosebleed that took over half an hour to stop. Neither last nor least, we had Ari get bit by a neighbor’s dog. It has been a pleasant month so far. Wouldn’t you agree?

The thing that burns me up the most about all this ridiculous nonsense is that there is never a single parent in sight. We deal with all these kids (at least four of them are under five), give them snacks, sometimes help them with homework, fix up their boo-boos, deal with the behavioral issues, pull them apart when they’re beating the shit out of each other, etc. Only once has a guardian/parent even been out to check on them and that was after the vagina incident when the girl was outraged because I sent her home and told her not to come back over unless she faithfully took her meds every day. (You can surely imagine how much of heel it makes you feel like to have to say that to a seven year old–but it couldn’t be helped since she wails on everyone or behaves appallingly every day because she refuses to take her medication for her issues and her grandmother won’t make her. Me…I’d pry her mouth open and throw the fucking pill down her throat.)

Do you deal with this madness in your neighborhoods?

So, aside from all the kid drama, purging the house, and dealing with a week of uncertainty with the command wanting to send Eddie on a ten month deployment (set to leave less than a month from when they started talking about it, no less), it’s been mostly normal around here. With all that stuff, though, it’s not been even a teensy bit normal. I haven’t knit a single stitch since the second day of the month. I have only touched the sewing machine once this month and that was a five minute job putting a patch on Eddie’s uniform. Fun stuff.

I’m really in need of some calm, boring days where the house isn’t a cluster of kid stuff thrown everywhere with no one willing to pick up, days where school goes smoothly and quickly, days where I have fifteen minutes to mix up a batch of cookies, a day where I can manage to get my teeth brushed and hair brushed before noon, a day where I can sit on the porch with my loverly hubby, sip some coffee, and knit while we enjoy a quite evening.

In short: I need a miracle.

I did work on a sewing project most of the evening on Friday, but as it’s a gift, I suppose I should wait until it’s finished and sent off before showing it here. I guess all my running around paid off on Saturday, afterall.

Anyway, I had an enjoyable evening holed up in my sewing room while the kids and hubby did their own things. It’s quite nice to be able to get a little bit of peace.

The weekend was chock full of activity: shopping, eating out, exploring a fort complete with a moat (how freaking awesome is it that I live near a place that has a MOAT). Unfortunately, I did not have my camera with me, but I’ll certainly take it along next time.

I was able to pick up some items for my swap partner, get some more machine needles, but mostly, I was able to have a nice, enjoyable day with my family. It was a much needed day…not so much because we were out having fun, but because it’s so much easier to appreciate being home once you’ve been gone for a while.

Sunday we puttered around the house enjoying the gorgeous weather and working on our individual projects. It’s nice to have a place that needs us to take care of it. Plus, we got to do a fair bit of garden prep since planting time is creeping up on us. It’s always nice to have everything ready to go so that we can get stuff in the ground as soon as we’re out of the frost danger zone.

The past couple days have, of course been busy since Eddie’s in work and the kids and I are doing school most of the day, but it hasn’t been a stressful sort of busy, so I’m happy about that. I’ve been able to knit on my knit-along shawl while doing school with them and finished it up yesterday. It’s gorgeous and squishy and girly and makes my heart go boom.  (Yeah I have movie soundtracks in my head today, so what?)

Feather and Fan Shawl/Wrap

As if I hadn’t been getting enough goodies in the mail (I got my Charming Solids package from Pink Chalk Fabrics on Saturday and a pack of the brightest, happiest zippers in the world from Zip It Etsy Shop this morning), I received a totally amazing swap package in the mail today from a couple of awesome women in the Simply Notable Ravelry Group.  Let me just tell you that I almost cried. I know I’m a sap, but seriously, the package was so. damn. perfect.

Cute owl fabric, gorgeous yarn, silicone baking/candy making molds, a shopping bag, candy and a puzzle for the kids, one of those “magic” washcloths that unfolds as it gets wet–my kids LOVE those, the German version of nutella, an adorable crochet pincushion, and BELGIAN CHOCOLATE. From Belgium. My lovely hubby has ordered me Belgian chocolate before because it’s my favorite, but I don’t know if I can get him to do it again since last time I nearly went berserk waiting for the stuff to make its way clear across the dang ocean.

Swap package

Yarn and Fabric

All the other goodies

Isn’t that a fabulous swap package? I seriously have the best computer friends in the world.

And now I’m off to haunt the door waiting for Eddie to get home so I can show him all my goodies!

So far this week, I’ve finished a circular scarf for my best friend, worked on my wrap for my knit-along in the Simply Notable Ravelry group, gotten my February free motion quilting challenge assignment finished, cut out the rest of the blocks for a couple of granny squares quilt top, made a mug rug, made a kindle sleeve for a friend, and started on a couple other mug rugs for friends. I’ve been a busy, busy girl, and I’m about to get a lot busier this evening as I try to wrap up the mug rug making, work on a notebook cover and start on a crochet hook roll for a swap.

This morning’s kindle sleeve turned out fairly well. It’s not perfect, but it’s nice, at least.

Netta's Kindle Sleeve

Here’s my February assignment for Sew Cal Gal’s FMQ challenge. I have to say that I’m VERY proud of myself. After January’s assignment being a monumental flop, I’d honestly wanted to just chuck the whole idea of FMQ right out the window. I didn’t have any time to do any fmq last month, but I decided to give it another shot this week. I’m glad I did, because I did so much better than before. Perhaps I’ve just gotten the hang of working with Bessie 2, or perhaps it was popping in some earbuds and listening to a show in the secluded comfort of my tiny sewing room that loosened me up enough to enjoy the fmq.

February FMQ

And finally, this is the lace wrap I’m working on for the knit-along.  It’s made with Paton’s Angora Bamboo, so it’s warm, but breathable. I should be able to wear it through three seasons…four if there’s a chilly, dreary evening in the summer or someone turns the house into a walk-in freezer with the AC.

Knit Lace Wrap/Shawl

I’ll be back tomorrow sometime to update about my FNSI progress. Hopefully this month I’ll be more productive than I was able to be during last month’s FNSI.

Enjoy your weekend!

With my sewing room finished and the kids playing outdoors, I’ve managed to get some time to do a bit of puttering in my sewing room. I have all my granny squares quilt pieces cut and sorted, some of the blocks planned out, and this morning, I whipped up a little mug rug to match my sewing haven’s color scheme. Since I can never be parted from my coffee or tea for very long, it’s pretty much a necessity for me to have a hoard of coasters around to keep from getting coffee rings on everything. This is way prettier than a ceramic coaster:

Mug Rug in Promenade for Riley Blake

The colors suit my springtime mood quite well. It almost makes me as happy as the flowers I picked yesterday when the first few tulips decided to shout hello to the world. I quickly snipped them and tossed them in a pitcher along with nearly the last of the daffodils.

Hello spring!!

Since my loverly hubby is making dinner tonight (don’t get jealous, it’s kid food: hot dogs and mac and cheese) I’m going to be able to spend a little more time in the sewing room cutting into some of these lovely bits and pieces to make a few more mug rugs, a notebook cover, and a kindle sleeve.

So many scraps, so little time

Lest anyone get the wrong impression and think I’m some superhuman who can whip up things left and right and have a sparkly house and still manage to powder my nose: I don’t. I have to let so much slide just to carve out time to do any of the yummy things. I still have lounge pants on and my hair is in a messy pony, made worse by the headband holding back the stray tendrils. I’m a disaster, and perfectly happy as such.

So. Much. Cutting.

I have enough from one jelly roll to do two of Blue Elephant Stitches’ Granny Squares Quilts: one the same size as she made, the other larger. Right now I only cut enough white squares for the first quilt top (and not all of them are shown, obviously). Let me just say that cutting is one of the most boring, time consuming sewing tasks EVER. My ruler kept slipping, so I got creative. I stuck some little cabinet door bumpers on the back of the ruler. They’re polyurethane, clear, and self-adhesive.  I would like to say it’s one of the more brilliant ideas I’ve had. No. More. Slippage. Which, of course, means I’m far less crabby and my squares look less wonky. Just pop one in each corner on the back of your ruler and it’s happy cutting from there out! Since they’re clear, you can still see through them easily, although I really don’t know if it would be much of a problem if you found some that aren’t clear.

These are the door bumpers. I had mine on hand already, but I purchased them from Rockler Woodworking when we were doing our kitchen cabinets. Super cheap, and I’m sure they’re probably available in local hardware stores, though I can’t guarantee that because I never actually looked for them locally.

Clear Door Bumpers from Rockler Woodworking

Anywho…after I worked out my issues with slippy rulers, I got the cutting finished and started playing with placement. This is going to be the super difficult part for me because I cannot make up my mind.

Possible Layout for Granny Squares

Once the kiddos and I are done with school for the day, I’ll probably curl up in my teensy sewing room and wrestle with the hard decisions like which print to place in each spot. Such a delightful puzzle!

Around here, we’re getting tormented by spring. She’s giving little promises of showing up, and no sooner does she pop her head around the corner than Old Man Winter smacks her upside the head and knocks her back a bit. I have daffodils blooming and it’s cold and wet and all around crummy outside, so I haven’t even been able to get outside to pull the weeds around them.

So, today, if the planets align just right, I might curl up for a while and work on finishing this bit of squishy goodness. Forgive the picture. I was too lazy to get up and take a decent photo. Seriously. I was that damn lazy.

Cowl

It’s coming along much better (and I’m happier with it) since I frogged the whole thing again and got rid of the wretched curling edge.

Once the kids are in bed for the night, I’m hoping to cut into some of this yummy awesomeness and get a bunch of 2.5 inch squares made for the top of the Granny Squares Quilt ala Blue Elephant Stitches.

California Girl by Fig Tree & Co. for Moda

California Girl is, hands-down, my favorite fabric collection ever. So far. When it comes out in yardage, I might just buy it, wrap myself up in it, and stay that way for a month or two. Right now, though, I’m going to find a snuggly blanket to wrap up in while I sip my hot chocolate and knit. (For the record, I’m very glad I’m not in school. My kids are trying to diligently work on their school assignments, but I think they feel like snuggling in for the day every bit as much as I do.)

Here’s the ugly closet after we removed the shoddy shelving:

Ugly, empty closet

Charming, huh? Yeah, not so much.

So, we picked out paint, and we were going to do board and batten like we’re planning for the rest of the house (faux, of course, because it just doesn’t pay to sink a buttload of money into the place right now), but we decided against the vertical boards for the small space and went utilitarian with just the one horizontal board to use in the future for hanging tools and such.

Pretty colors, but oh so empty!

Then we got BUSY: cutting boards for shelving and making sure those suckers were in the wall really well. Then more painting for the shelves. Then, since the room is teeny tiny, it’s nearly impossible to find a perfect fit for a sewing table, so I had to go to the drawing board and plan one. The room is so narrow that we had to prep the boards outside in the garage and assemble them inside the closet, and, finally, painted it a soft grey. It turned out pretty well.

The pretties with just the overhead light

With just the overhead light, which is quite dim, sewing is going to be an issue. So I installed a plug type slimline fluorescent under the shelf (the cord is an issue for me, so it’s going to be hidden soon) and got that lamp with a daylight bulb. It’s WAY bright when it’s on, therefore, very hard to get a decent picture, but I should have no trouble seeing stitches.

Plenty of light

Don’t even ask for a picture with both the fluorescent light AND the lamp on. My camera cried when I asked it to take a picture with both lights turned on.

I still need to buy pretty trim to face out the front of the shelves and the table, but it’s definitely a vast improvement from the teeny, ugly closet it was a couple of weeks ago when we started tearing out all the stuff that had accumulated in there since we moved here.

Also, I should mention that comic book boards make the. best. mini bolts EVER.

Mini bolts made using comic book boards

Now that you’ve got the scoop on the ugly closet turned sewing room, I’m off to pretty it up, hide cords, and hunt down the owners of a gorgeous wooden swivel desk chair that’s posted on craigslist so I can buy it, sand it, and paint it grey to match my table.

The chair I am planning to buy

In the end, I messed up the cowl I was working on, didn’t find the mistake until six rounds later, so I just frogged the whole damn mess and started over yesterday. My first couple of rows are curling though, so I may end up frogging again.

It has not been a productive week for me here at Chez Crazy. Even the stuff I have worked on has turned out all wrong. I think I’m just going to stop trying, work on cleaning the house, and forget about projects until everyone is totally better and I can work for more than two milliseconds without a project-borking interruption.

The Cowl from Hell

See the curling? I am throwing a fit because I wasn’t paying close enough attention and did a project-borking stockinette stitch at the edge.  It’s most likely getting frogged. I need to decide soon…before I put any more time into it. If the cowl was for me, I’d probably just leave it as is, but it’s not, so I’m torn.

Lots of Goodies

There were a few skeins of Caron’s Spa yarn, an infinity scarf knit in Caron’s Spa in a taupe color, a set of four coasters made with Liz Scott’s Domestic Bliss for Moda, some crochet stitch markers I made when I couldn’t find any pretty ones to buy for her. She was hoping for bamboo crochet hooks, so I found some of those, a yarn/needle gauge, a few things for embroidery, the Doodle Stitching book (one of our favorites here), some note cards, a bag full of spiced pecans, and a dozen hand rolled truffles that I had a seriously hard time parting with despite being able to make more any time I feel like it.  She loved her package and I can finally stop being a bundle of nerves about it!

Now that that’s all wrapped up, I can start working on a couple other projects…perfect timing really, since tonight is this month’s Friday Night Sew-In hosted by Handmade by Heidi. There’s still time to sign up for tonight’s sew-in if you want to head over to Heidi’s and sign up. It’s fun, and you could win a prize for participating. And the rules…yeah, they’re super easy. Sign up, participate, and blog about it tomorrow. It’s that simple.

I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to be working on tonight. I want to work on something fun and for me…I had planned to make a blouse for myself tonight, but my material did not arrive in time. Sadness. Instead, I’ll either work on knitting one of about four scarves I owe people, a crocheted scarf, my February feathers FMQ challenge for Sew Cal Gal’s Free Motion Quilting Challenge, or maybe work on the blocks for the Craftsy BOM Course. I’m seriously behind on the Craftsy blocks because I’m not entirely certain I want to spend the time learning to make these blocks because I just don’t love them. I am probably going to attempt it anyway, because, as the ladies in my quilting club pointed out, even if they look horrible on their own, they may look really lovely once they’re all pieced together and you see the quilt top as a whole.

Anyway, feel free to pop over and sign up for the Craftsy BOM Course (free) or join in with the Friday Night Sew-In tonight.

I’ll be back tomorrow to update on what (if anything) I managed to accomplish this evening.

Have a fantastic weekend!

One of these days I’ll have a nice, slow, orderly life. And my laundry will be caught up. And pigs will fly.

Until then, I’ll just keep plugging along at the trillion and two projects I’ve got on my plate right now.

I finished up my swap package for the Simply Notable Crafty Friend Swap on Ravelry. It’s been so much fun getting to know my partner during the past month or so. I can’t wait till she receives her package because I’m dreadful at keeping gifts a secret. Once she receives her package, I’ll share pics of some of the goodies.

We bought a Kindle Fire this past week. Punky has been doing great (and even saying some new words) thanks to a couple of autism/non-verbal apps that are helping her learn to say new words. I’m thrilled about it. All the kids love  the Fire…and for half the price of the iPad, I can afford to get more than one if I really want.

Since we have this gorgeous new Kindle, of course, it needed a place to live during the few seconds someone isn’t using it.

I used a few squares from Hometown by Sweetwater (from the charm pack I won from Cherise at Sewingly Along), a little bit of Spring Buds in Mustard from the Echo line, and some linen look material from my stash. As a side note, NEVER think that quilting linen look material will turn out well or be an easy task. It won’t. It goes all wonky. Anyway, it turned out pretty well for winging it, plus it’s a cushy home to keep the Kindle from getting all scratched up.

Quilted Kindle Sleeve

Today I played chocolatier. I made some hand-rolled dark chocolate truffles. I coated some with white chocolate and rolled the others in cocoa powder (because that’s MY personal favorite). They were delicious. I had to try one  or two…fine, it was two and a half, but seriously, who is counting? 

Dark chocolate truffles in cocoa powder

Dark chocolate truffles with white chocolate shell

This ganache smells so delicious (especially when it’s warm from stirring in the cream) that I wish I could gulp down the entire bowl. It’s chocolate silk pie on crack.

Anyway, I’m about done in for the night. I’ll be back soon with some more fun projects…like the closet which is in the process of being turned into a mini sewing/craft room.  It’ll be a long-ish project that I work on as I feel like it, so don’t expect a totally grand finish until about 2020…or ever.