Review And Do

Yesterday was windy, cloudy, sunny, with one small snow flurry. It got to a high of 3.4C. This morning it is -3C and we are suppose to have mainly sunshine. 

Lifestyle

Though I was very tired yesterday, I did get the first part of the kitchen cleaned. All surfaces were scrubbed including doors and drawer fronts. The stove top got a good cleaning, all the appliances (large and small) were shined and the floor scrubbed hard. When that was done, 4 loads of laundry were folded and I had a rest. I think it was well deserved. 

January-February Review

During the morning, I did some thinking about what I had accomplished in January and February, reviewed my goals, and decided where I needed to go. 
I was excited when I added up the Christmas fabric. I have sewn 7.3 meters which is 25% of the 29.2 meters I have. The goal was to sew 50% of the fabric but I'm pushing towards getting it all sewn. That does not include the the 2 UFOs or 2 kits. They are slated for 2021. It feels great to have items made to use rather than it sitting on a shelf as yardage. 
I did sew 4.15 meters of doll fabric but added 1.75 meters to their stash. All for coats which I will get made. I'm going to be working on Keeper Dolly Duds patterns of which there are two more coat patterns to be sewn. 
I cut out the Regency gown outer fabric but not the lining. I was focusing so hard that I didn't push taking pattern pieces off to do the lining and loosing one or two pieces. 
I am enjoying doing a variety of sewing which has included embroidery. I have ideas in my head for down the road. 

Sewing

I cut out the fabric for the Regency dress but didn't get to the lining. I was afraid that I would loose pieces when I'm so tired. I have to get out a tray for this project to keep it all together. 

While resting in the morning, I thought about how to organize the doll's patterns. I have so many of them and most are pdf files. I print out the pattern pieces and read the instructions on the computer. I decided to tackle the pattern pieces as they have been lying around with no where to be stored. 

• The loose pieces were gathered and put into a bag for recycling. I can print what I need again. I'm learning I only need the patterns I use a lot of the time. 
• I went through the little filing system I had. Patterns I won't be sewing again were put into the bag for recycling. Those I use were separated into type and put into file folders and stored. I kept leggings, jeans, tee-shirt patterns plus a couple of patterns that I want to make. They are in a file and are to be made this year. 
• The pdf patterns will have to be quickly downloaded and sorted. When fully sorted, they will be put onto a tetra drive and My Cloud. 

After that was done, I got out the small tube of UFO's that need to be done. I took one item and tossed it, saving the pins. The other three have to be made before the end of June. Two are doll clothes and one is a cloth bag. By that point I was done for the day. 

Knitting

Nothing was done as I knew I would be unknitting it today. 

Today

It is another morning in the kitchen cleaning the fridge. I want to cut out the lining for the Regency dress and start basting the pieces together that need it. I am hoping to knit tonight. 

Until the next time..............................

A Doll's Dress Is Done

Yesterday saw some rain and warm temperatures; a high of 8C. Then the wind came in and it had a real bite to it. This morning it is 1C, some wind, and the sun is trying to shine. We are being reminded that winter is not done with us yet. 

Lifestyle

We were out for haircuts yesterday, home, and out later in the afternoon. We were over to the neighbors for birthday cake last night. It was a fun evening with 15 people in total. 

Sewing

I spent some quality time in the sewing room and finished A Garden Tea Dress. I turned the bodice right side out, pinned. and pressed it well. It looked great. 

The little side seams went together without any issues and I was ready to put on the skirt. After serging and sewing the hems, I gathered it and it went on easily. I hand sewed down the lining to hide the gathers, added a snap and made the bow. Done by 3 p.m.

I put it on Grace. She is the slimmest of all my AG dolls. It fits her to perfection. 

I've shrunk the pattern down to do a muslin for the Gotz dolls. If it works, I will make one for them in different fabrics. 
There is enough stripe fabric left to make a blouse I'm lusting after. Another lady made one and I love it. I'm getting it for the end of the month treat. I'll make a skirt to go with it. It is for the Gotz dolls. 
The fabric is ready for the Regency dress. It has polyester in it as it came out of the dryer with no wrinkles. I'm prepared for that. 

Knitting

None was done last night as we didn't get home until 8:30 p.m. 

Today

The kitchen gets a good cleaning today and then it's downstairs to start the Regency dress. I'm looking forward to working on it. I may knit tonight depending on how tired I am. Poor night's sleep last night due to the wind beating against the house. 
Until the next time....................................

A Doll's Dress Begun

It was just a grey day yesterday. Very little sunshine until late afternoon and one tiny shower. The high got to 11C. This morning it is 5C (warmer by 3C than 9 pm) and it has rained. A wet day today but it is to be warm at 8C. 

Lifestyle

Yesterday the bathroom was scrubbed. It was good to get that job done. I also did a bit of cleaning in the kitchen and got the recycling ready to go out. A lot seems to accumulate some days. 
We did a bit of research yesterday about Covid-19 and there are no cases in Nova Scotia. But, we have been very careful with hand washing and keeping surfaces cleaned with disinfectant wipes. We also try to go out when there are less people shopping. The end result - we haven't had a cold or the flu this winter. Both are going around right now. 

Sewing

The smaller table runner is ready for hand sewing. It was a delight to sew. 

I will be handing sewing it, the bigger one, and February's wall hanging this month. I may just sit and watch TV and hand sew a couple of mornings. 
I also cut out a simple doll's dress that was a test pattern. 

I used fabrics left over from another project. I do have about .3 meter of the stripe left. Unfortunately the only pictures are of the inside after I sewed the fronts together. 

The lining is the stripe and the floral is the outer part. 

I shortened the stitch length to 2.0 on my machine when I stitched the arms and neckline. It was a success. I have to clip all the curves and turn it right side out. The side seams will be a struggle as the back had to be sewn up due to its shape. 
The skirt is two pieces with the stripe underneath and the floral on the top. The bow is to be stripe with a floral wrap. That may change to a stripe. 

Knitting

I worked on the hat last night. I'm doing the sheep at the moment. 
The first sleeve is done on the sweater and I'm almost done the 2nd sleeve. It knits up fast when you get going. This sweater will need buttons and ribbon bought for it. I'll do that once it is done. 

Today

This morning we are out for haircuts and I need to get a prescription filled. Home for the rest of day to sew. We are out across the street tonight for birthday cake. 
Until the next time..........................

A Delightfully Sunny Day

Though the high was only 4C, it was delightfully sunny all day yesterday. There was little wind which added to the delightfulness. Today is grey, 4C and will get to 10 or 11C. It is going to rain. 

Lifestyle

Though we've had snow falling off and on since Friday, I decided to make the run to Bedford to do a bit of shopping. If the roads were bad, I was going to turn around and come home. They were excellent. Wet on the way in, dry on the way home. 

I did the shopping in record time and was home before lunch. I won't be going in for another week to 10 days as we can get what we need here.

Elliott chose to show us his stretching last night. That cat is long in the body. He was ignoring me as I didn't appreciate his help when knitting. He gets in my way and wants to chew on the yarn. 

Sewing

I spent some time in the sewing room quilting the small runner. Using the walking foot made it an easy task. No ripping out due to puckers. 

I'll get the binding on today and prep it for hand sewing. Then the walking foot comes off the machine in preparation of sewing doll items for a few days. 

I didn't do the digitizing on the PC yesterday as I was too tired by the time I went to do it. It will wait for me. 

Knitting

I knit on the sleeve but am waiting for a reply about a row that another tester questioned. If it is wrong I will have to take it back to that row and fix it. 

I'm the slow one. Others are working on the body now.  

The hat is coming along. As I don't do fair isle knitting that often, I work slowly to keep my tension correct. I've also had to unknit to fix mistakes. Knit 3 of main color has been knit 2 and back I go to fix it. I'm ready to knit the white sheep now. 

It really looks like colors here and there but the pink are flowers and the green does look like stems and leaves. I'm sure it will be nice when I get past the color changes. The pattern is well written and easy to follow. 

Today

I'm home to day and will be doing housework, fabric will be laundered, sewing, and knitting. I do have to go out for a bit this afternoon. It will be nice to be home all day. 

Working On A Small Table Runner

The snow fell for most of yesterday and during the night there was more. The ground is white but the roads are salted. Today is suppose to have very little snow and it's going to warm up. But, it will also cool off again. 

Lifestyle

Paperwork is being printed and then all can be put away. It takes a long time to print but I'm happy it's almost done. Some housework and laundry was done. 
After lunch, the Spousal Unit and got a few groceries we needed and then home. 

Sewing

I worked on the smaller table runner for the antique buffet. It is ready to spray baste, pin, quilt and add the binding to it. 

I'll look at the scraps and decide if there is enough fabric left over for some tiny project. There is no more red or print so the grey may go back on the shelf for now. 
I also did the next lesson on digitizing. I have 4 lessons left to go before I'm finished. 

After that, there is a challenge. I'll have to think about that. 

Knitting

On the sweater, row 9 was found below the picture and I've moved forward. I've done about 25 rows on the first sleeve. No picture yet. 
I restarted the hat and untied the slip knot before I started knitting in the round. The 5 rows of corrugated ribbing is cute. 

The back has a lot of yarn carries which restricts the stretch of the ribbing but it isn't too bad. 

TechKnitting has this wonderful article on corrugated ribbing. 

Today

I'm off to Bedford to shop at several stores. Some groceries, yarn, and fabric for the Regency dress. The pattern is ready to test. I hope to sew a bit when I get home and knit in the evening. 
Until the next time.....................................

Table Runner Done To Hand Sewing

Yesterday's sunshine ended at 1:30 p.m. when we watched the snow come down the hills. Big flakes floated to the ground. It continued to snow until 8 p.m. This morning, the sun shone and it snowed at the same time. We are to get more snow today. I know one area on the way to Halifax had the cloud over it most of the afternoon and night. We were lucky.

Lifestyle

Paper work is done except for a quick review today. Then I have 2 weeks off before I do more. We decided to have frugal February and it went well. Nothing has to be cut but we don't have to do nothing either. We just need to be careful. 
We headed out to vote in the municipal election for our county. We had a 10 minute drive and it was there that we watched the snow come down the hills. We drove home the longer way and stopped at the library on our way home. The Spousal Unit got more books to read. 
Snow at 5 pm. 

Sewing

I won the war with the table runner. The stitching is perfect and the binding is on. I will set it aside to hand stitch when the embroidery machine is running. 

As I had problems with this topper and the machine is set up with the walking foot, I'm going to sew the small one for the antique server before starting March's sewing. Then I can take off the walking foot until March 23 when I may need it again. 
I also worked on designing the next wall hanging. I'm having problems with it as I don't like the side design. I'm trying to do a shamrock on my own through create. 

Knitting

I started one sweater yesterday using an expensive yarn. I got 8 rows done and couldn't see row 9. It was in the pattern but not where people wanted to see it. I can proceed on it today. I'm loving it so far (one sleeve started).
I also am starting "Little Flock" in a thicker yarn. I have 5 weeks to knit this in. 

I started with the hat and have 3 of the 5 rows of corrugated ribbing done. You cast on with two colors of yarn so the white (in my case) is the cast on edge. Then you use both colors to knit the ribbing. It isn't flexible like regular ribbing as there is no stretch at all in the ribbing. I need to buy the bright green and black yarn for the design. I have the rest. 
These two sweaters are my March knitting. I'm slow at faire isle knitting and want to do a good job on it. 

Today

A bit of paper review, a bit of house work, a bit of shopping, and then sewing and knitting. With the snow falling, it is a stay at home kind of day. 
Until the next time..............................

Table Runner/Topper Ready to Finish

Yesterday was a crazy weather day. Snow, sunshine, snow and sunshine together, and wind. The last flurries fell at about 6 p.m. This morning it is -5C and the sun is shining. But, we will see snow flurries this afternoon. 

Lifestyle

The Spousal Unit and I spent some time working on the puzzle and got about 12 pieces put in. We did have to remove some pieces to get those 12 pieces in. Though there is between 15 and 20% left to finish, they are the hardest pieces to put in. 
I spent some time prepping for paperwork today and tomorrow. When done, it will be a month before I have to do more. Now, I can get back to doing other things like housework. 
Last evening we attended the play "Frozen" put on my the school grandson attends. He has a part in the ensemble and spoke 3 lines. It was well done and the students did a fabulous job of acting and singing. The school is very fortunate to have great drama teachers and the community has a theater group who helps them out. 

Sewing

Lesson 5 of digitizing the chicken was completed and I learned a lot. On the Mac, pattern changes have to be made prior to doing the fill in. On the PC, it can be done afterwards. On the Mac, the bigger the space, the more points you get to move or delete as the fill in is smaller than the space. On the PC, you only have to move a few of the points as it fills the space much better. 

I also beat the table runner/topper into submission. All the stitches in the border were removed and I hand basted near the stitching line and the edge. 

I finished up a spool of lime green thread basting. I also put the walking foot onto the sewing machine and am ready to get this completed to hand sewing the binding down. Not a lot but enough to keep me busy today.
I'm in the process of getting March's list up. Check to see what I'm doing in March. 

Knitting

I've been asked to test knit another sweater and hat in March. That is two projects I need to work on. 
I didn't knit last night as we got home late. Today I will have to try and get the mitts almost done. 

Today

Paper work takes the forefront, then sewing and knitting. We do have to go out and vote right after lunch so it will be a busy day. 
Until the next time.................................