a little experiment

I'm putting together these blocks because there's a new free motion quilting design I want to try. So far, I'm not happy with them, but maybe when I get more blocks together and add more different prints, it'll look better.

This post is linked to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times.

Look what turned up in my attic...

Sadly, I can't blame this one on the house.  The previous owners left a lot of interesting stuff behind, but this came with me. I just didn't know it had come with me until I stumbled across it last week while I was digging through boxes in the attic.

Quilters talk abut ugly and dated fabric. Well, if this stuff doesn't win the prize, I don't know what would --

It gets worse. There's a four yard length of fabric there. left over from my high school sewing days. One edge is uneven and I can see where I cut a neckline and sleeves. How much of this did I buy and what on God's green Earth did I make out of it?!  Because I seriously have no memory of it.

The scarier fabrics of the 80s seem to be making a comeback.  Teenage Daughter requested a detour to the mall down in Eugene last month and I thought one of the stores was going to make my eyes bleed. (I've always thought that was a really mean thing to say, but now I've actually experienced the feeling myself.) Every awful article of clothing from my teenage years, and they somehow made them worse.  Seriously, who would take the tasseled print polyester scarves my grandmother wore in her real estate days and make them into blouses to market to teenage girls?!

This was going to be a post about how I threw away my fabric mistake from twenty-some years ago, but it's actually a decent quality cotton and there's a lot of it. I think I'll run it through the wash to get out that stored-in-the-attic smell and use it as foundations for string blocks.

Because if you've ever read this blog before, you know I can't get rid of fabric that has any possible life left in it.

Weekly Stash Report

Fabric Used this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Used year to Date: 62 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 233 1/4 yards
Net Added for 2013: 174 3/4 yards


Yarn Used this Week: 0 yards
Yarn Used year to Date: 2950 yards
Yarn Added this Week: 0 yards
Yarn Added Year to Date: 9500 yards
Net Added for 2013: 6550 yards

I'm linking up to Patchwork Times and Finding Fifth.

{Whatcha Reading?} Cut it Out by Theresa Morris

I've had two C-sections and I have very strong opinions about the subject.

My first one was a nasty surprise -- I'd come home from the hospital the day before and been told (for the second time) that they were done stopping my preterm labor. I was at ten centimeters when I got to the hospital and my biggest concern, aside from the fact that my baby was still five weeks early, was whether hubby was going to make it back across town from dropping off the kids.

Then the labor and delivery nurse realized that the baby had flipped during the night and I was having a C-section.

While I was pregnant for the fourth time, I hoped for a VBAC.  The obstetrician told me that they were a "fad" and that everything I'd been reading about them must have been in old magazines because they were hardly being done anymore. When preterm labor hit, the nurses at the hospital told me horror stories about women driving to every hospital in the area looking for one that would allow a VBAC and finally having cesarean sections because there was no other option available.

I wound up in preterm labor (again) and was transferred to a teaching hospital with a specialized NICU. The staff there, based on my medical records and first to easiest deliveries, was horrified that I'd be forced into a repeat C-section.

Long story short, we opted to deliver at the teaching hospital, the baby was born six weeks later, the cord prolapsed, and I had my second cesarean section. That scenario they warn you about in the birthing classes, that you could have emergency surgery? That's the one I found myself in. The last thing I remember hearing was "Do we have time to put her all the way under?"  Panic does not describe it.

My babies were born safely. I believe that both of my surgeries were necessary... probably the first and definitely the second.

I was lied to. I was threatened by nurses at the hospital. I was overdosed on acetaminophen and then left with no pain medication for twenty-four hours while they waited for it to clear my system. (I didn't find out the details of that one until later -- all I knew at the time was that I was in a lot of pain and getting no help for it.)  And I was treated like recovering from major abdominal surgery was no big deal. Someone somewhere along the way actually told me that it was easier than natural childbirth...

I'd pretty much put it behind me until I saw the amazing cesarean quilt that Renee at Sparrow Lane Quilts made. Seriously -- I've never seen anything like it and her story about her quilt made me realize how much my two surgeries got swept under the rug. There were a lot of other, more important, things going on at the time.

And then I got a chance to read an advance copy of Cut It Out: The C-Section Epidemic in America. Wow! I knew I'd been lied to, but until I read this book I didn't realize how much misinformation I'd been given. The C-section rate is going up and this book does a great job of explaining how and why it's happened.

That 1% risk of uterine rupture that I was willing to accept by trying for a VBAC? I thought it was a 1% risk of me dying. Turns out that the actual risk to our lives was much lower. But the insurance companies who influence hospital policy won't let one woman take a small, calculated, risk. They're dealing with hundreds of patients and lumping the risk for everyone into one decision. 

What chills me most is the idea that parents will sue if something goes wrong with the baby and that they're willing to accept injury to the mother if the hospital did "everything that can be done" for their baby. Even if "everything that can be done" is more dangerous to them both.

I know that not everyone is going to want to read this book, but I hugely recommend it. It's fascinating and scary and I really think that the system needs to change.

And if you know someone who's had a C-section, give her some extra hugs. They really are harder.

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {week 39}

I've got a new tutorial for you this week, Sam --

Let's Make Baby Quilts Linky Party Rules:
Link directly to your post or specific Flickr photo. Your post can be about a baby quilt that's finished, or in progress, or you can be writing about what you have planned, but it's got to be about baby quilts. While we're still gathering steam, you're welcome to link to baby quilt posts that aren't brand new, but please don't submit the same post or picture more than once. I'd love it if you linked back to my site, either with a text link or the Let's Make Baby Quilts! button.

I'd forgotten...

Since I started reading the Non-Consumer Advocate a few months ago, my attitude towards thrift store shopping has changed.  I'm no longer hoping for things that I want to take home with us. I'm happy when I do find things I love, even if I don't get to bring them home. 

But I'm just as happy to find reminders of things from my childhood.  This table and chairs has got to be related to the set that we had for most of my childhood. The vinyl on our chairs was a darker brown and different pattern, and our table was more of a stretched out octagon.

The style is similar. And our chairs had those same loose little feet. The whole set wobbled, not quite as badly as my own kitchen table and the evil twin that it replaced. 

I hadn't thought about that old table and chairs in years. Suddenly, I wanted to go through baby books and find out how close my memory is to the reality.  I knew there were pictures of the table from birthday parties, but I wasn't sure how much of the chairs and legs would show.

Jackpot! We found pictures with the table. Although I've got to admit that right now I'm more interested in that wallpaper. My memory had muted the colors. 

And here's a better shot of the table in my parents' first apartment. Isn't that the sweetest little kitchen ever? That bookcase in the front left corner is the one that's up in my sewing room, holding my collection of vintage children's mysteries. 

This post is linked to Time Travel Thursday, Treasure Hunt Thursday, Vintage Thingie Thursday, Share Your Cup, and Ivy and Elephants.

{Yarn Along} Dead Girls Don't Lie

This is my second try at this pair of socks. The first attempt wasn't wide enough (I was guessing at how much stretch the lace rib would have) so I frogged and started over. This time, I think I've got it right. The stitch pattern is pleasant to knit, but I'm trying to make myself finish those Croc Socks before I let myself get too caught up in it.   

I've just finished reading Dead Girls Don't Lie by Jennifer Shaw Wolf. 

From Amazon:

Rachel died at two a.m . . . Three hours after Skyler kissed me for the first time. Forty-five minutes after she sent me her last text.
Jaycee and Rachel were best friends. But that was before. . .before that terrible night at the old house. Before Rachel shut Jaycee out. Before Jaycee chose Skyler over Rachel. Then Rachel is found dead. The police blame a growing gang problem in their small town, but Jaycee is sure it has to do with that night at the old house. Rachel’s text is the first clue—starting Jaycee on a search that leads to a shocking secret. Rachel’s death was no random crime, and Jaycee must figure out who to trust before she can expose the truth

I didn't really care for this one, maybe because I'm reading it as an adult. After her friend is murdered. Jaycee finds herself in a tangle of high school hazing and gangs and murder. Rachel, apparently knowing that she was in serious trouble, left a cryptic note and a series of even more cryptic clues.  Even if I can get past the idea that a teenage girl whose father is so determined to be overprotective can still slip out in the middle of the night (after being caught at it multiple times), the book just didn't work for me as a thriller. There were some twists at the end that I didn't see coming, but by that point I didn't care much what happened to the characters.

For more pretty knitting projects to drool over, check out On the Needles at Patchwork Times and Work in Progress Wednesdays at Tami's Amis. 



Disclosure -- the publisher provided my copy of Dead Girls Don't Lie.

Sam {a baby quilt tutorial}

This is another one of those quilts I made to use up some cute backing fabric. I wanted something simple that would go with the cars and firetrucks, and the red and blue prints were already pulled for another project. This one is very similar to Benny, with different color placement.  As long as you're working with even numbers, the two colors will form an easy checkerboard.

For a 32" square quilt, you'll need to cut the following:

16 -- 4 1/2" white squares
96 -- 2 1/2" red squares
96 -- 2 1/2" blue squares

Alternating red and blue squares, piece the 2 1/2" squares into strips of two and four squares, two for each block. Press. 

Sew a two square strip to each end of a background square. Press.

Sew four square strips to the other two edges of the background square. Press. 

Assemble the finished blocks into four rows of four blocks each. Quilt and bind. 

If you do make this quilt, I'd love it if you linked up to my weekly Let's Make Baby Quilts! Linky Party. There's a list of my free baby quilt tutorials over in the sidebar and you  can find out when new ones are added by either following my blog or liking the Let's Make Baby Quilts Facebook page.
 


This post is linked to I Gotta Try That, Sew Much Ado, Finish it Up Friday, Can I get a Whoop Whoop?, Get Crafting Friday, Pinworthy Projects, and Freedom Fridays, Wonderful at Home, and Inspired Friday.

how things become UFOs

There are all kind of reasons why things become UFOs. This one can claim at least three of them -- I wasn't sure what to do next, then I lost it, then it was too big for the room...

First,  I didn't know what I wanted to do with the borders.  One of my readers came up with the perfect idea, but then I had a bit of trouble with the math. (The math is easy. Really easy. I just didn't see that at the time.) Once I got the math straight, I couldn't remember how many snowball blocks I'd made. So it sat. And then it sat some more.

When I found the time and inspiration to count the snowball blocks, I only needed one more. But I couldn't remember where I'd put the rest of the background fabric (which is a vintage sheet, so there's no matching that light blue).  Found the fabric, but couldn't remember where I'd put the folded top...

Found all of it, including squares that were already cut for that last snowball blocks and put off  assembling the borders because the whole thing is too big for my biggest patch of floor...

And I think the biggest reason I've put off adding the borders to this top is that I know it's going to take time to quilt it. I want to do a different free motion pattern in each of the turtles, and tight stippling on the light blue spaces in between them...and then I've got to figure out a plan for that border... Did I mention that I don't really have enough floor space to pin baste it properly?  I think I'm going to take it up and baste it on Mom's longarm, but that means scheduling and afternoon to do it...

At least the whole thing is together and I can't lost any more pieces. Except for the backing. I accidentally used a yard of that to back Peter. And of course there was no more to be had, even a week after I'd bought it.

This post is linked to Design Wall Monday over at Patchwork Times and I Gotta Try That!

Josephine got her iron...

Our prize from Pets on Quilts came and after some discussion, we've decided that I get to keep it for myself. The hedgehog doesn't need an iron and Teenage Daughter doesn't want one. You can all be my witnesses if she changes her mind later.

It's a Velocity V50 Professional Steam Iron, and I haven't had time to play with it yet. Since this is by far the nicest iron I've ever owned, I'm thinking that I should read the instructions before messing with it too much.

Weekly Stash Report

Fabric Used this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Used year to Date: 62 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 233 1/4 yards
Net Added for 2013: 174 3/4 yards


Yarn Used this Week: 0 yards
Yarn Used year to Date: 2950 yards
Yarn Added this Week: 0 yards
Yarn Added Year to Date: 9500 yards
Net Added for 2013: 6550 yards

I'm linking up to Patchwork Times.

{Whatcha Reading?} The Storycatcher

Last week, Teenage Girl and I took a quick walk through the old Pioneer Cemetery.  I wanted to take some pictures for an October post that I have planned, but it was 97 degrees and bright as could be, so I think we're going to try again on an overcast day.

It's been years since I visited this cemetery. I've been to other ones, older ones. But the feel of this place is different. We drove slowly down a narrow gravel road, past stones that look so fragile and tilted I felt like just passing by was  putting them in jeopardy and was praying that there would be a wide spot to turn around at the end.  Even on such a hot day and near a busy road, that place is shady and quiet and has a feel to it that's all its own. And the inscriptions are just amazing.

The whole thing put me in the perfect mood to read The Storycatcher by Anne Hite

Set in North Carolina in the 1930s, this is a creepy story of haints  who want their stories told and secrets revealed.  It spans several years and is told by several different women, so even though the chapter headings clearly indicate who is speaking and what year it is, I found it easy to get confused.

I was fascinated by the charm quilt that Faith made, "stealing" the image from a gravestone by making a crayon rubbing on a length of silk she found in the back of her mother's closet. It had buttons and embroidery and a lock of hair hidden in a secret pocket. I could never quite form a clear picture of it, but boy I'd love to see it!

The Storycatcher is more complex than most of the ghost stories I've read. There's a lot going on here and it all weaves together.

Disclosure -- the publisher provided me with an electronic ARC.

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {week 38}

Except for a couple of organizations that have really tugged at my heartstrings, I try to give most of my baby quilts locally. My theory is that whatever money I'd be spending on postage is better spent on batting and thread.

Since the organization that I was making baby quilt for when I started this project disbanded, I've been looking for other alternatives. Some have felt better than others and I have to remind myself that, as long as the quilts are getting to mommies and their babies, it doesn't matter if the receptionist at the pregnancy center doesn't seem like she wants to be bothered. And parking for the NICU is manageable, as much as that place gives me the heebie jeebies.

This week,  I took a stack of quilts to the local birthing center.  I'd met the daughter of the owner down at the river a few weeks ago and she was sure that they'd be happy to pass along quilts to their new mothers.  It took me a while to work up the nerve to call them, but I'm so glad I did. I was able to take in a dozen quilts, which will keep them stocked through the first of the year, and I got a tour of the birthing center.

Finding local places to donate the baby quilts has been a bit of a challenge, but it was definitely worth it.

Where do you donate your baby quilts, if that's what you do with them?

Let's Make Baby Quilts Linky Party Rules:
Link directly to your post or specific Flickr photo. Your post can be about a baby quilt that's finished, or in progress, or you can be writing about what you have planned, but it's got to be about baby quilts. While we're still gathering steam, you're welcome to link to baby quilt posts that aren't brand new, but please don't submit the same post or picture more than once. I'd love it if you linked back to my site, either with a text link or the Let's Make Baby Quilts! button.

Meet Grace

I knew that I wanted to make a baby quilt from my stack of gingham squares, but I couldn't find a pattern I liked. Not until  I saw what Karen from The Recipe Bunny was doing with nine-patch blocks. That looked kind of fun...

It's not my usual type of baby quilt, and not nearly as cute as Karen's blocks. But it'll do!

 This post is linked to I Gotta Try That, Sew Much Ado, Finish it Up Friday, Can I get a Whoop Whoop?, Get Crafting Friday, Pinworthy Projects, and Freedom Fridays, Wonderful at Home, and Inspired Friday.

{Yarn Along} Dexter's Final Cut

I'm still not loving my Mock Croc Socks. They're not as much fun as the new shawl, or the pretty blue lace socks, or even the self-patterning Opal pair.  But I've cast on the second sock and if I do a couple of pattern repeats now and then, eventually they'll be done.

At least that's what I'm telling myself.  

 

I discovered Dexter when they were running the edited version on late night network television a few years back. I actually wound up trading my Weed Whacker quilt for seasons one and two on DVD so I could catch up on what I missed.

 

 

 

Then I found the books, which follow a completely different plot than the television series. They both started out with the same events, but things have taken a different turn. 

I didn't care much for Dexter in the Dark or Double Dexter, two of the most recent, so I didn't have the highest hopes for Dexter's Final Cut.  Then I started reading... I loved this one! I think it might be my favorite book of the series. The author has been quoted as saying that "this novel is very different than the previous, shockingly so..."

And it is. The tone is different...Dexter is different.... I'm making myself nuts researching to see whether or not this is the last book in the series. Somewhere I got the idea that it was, but now I can't find anything to confirm it.  Maybe I was confused with the television series, which is ending.

For more pretty knitting projects to drool over, check out On the Needles at Patchwork Times and Work in Progress Wednesdays at Tami's Amis. 

Pin it!

Do you do this too?

As adorable as pincushions are, as much as I like making my own and drooling over other people's creations, I'm more likely to just stick my needle into whatever spool of thread I've been working with. And I keep my pins in a wide mouth pint jar.

When I was brainstorming ideas for my pincushion, I had to pry a needle out of a spool and decided that if I was going to stick them in spools anyway, I might as well make a quilt designed to stick pins in.

It took me three tries to get the ends right, and I'm still not sure I nailed it. But looking at my collection of wooden spools, they've got all sorts of angles and proportions.

The strips of red fabric I used are 2 1/2" x 7/8."  I figured out the hard way that when you're turning and stuffing something with this many seams that close together, you'd better back stitch at the beginning and end of every single line of stitching.

Check out all of today's participants -- Life in the Scrapatch, Why-Knot-Kwilt, Amy Made That...by eamylove, Michelle's Romantic Tangle, Quiltscapes, Kwilty Pleasures, Words and Stitches, Val's Quilting Studio, Les Quilts, Sew Peace to Peace, Bumbleberry Stitches, Susie's Sunroom, Quilts From My Crayon Box, Quarter Incher, I Like to QuiltBlog, Just Quilt It, Sew We Quilt

my own little sewing museum

I didn't intentionally set out to collect old sewing machines, but they're so gorgeous and so easy to bring home, even if that means talking Hubby into loading a treadle into the back of the minivan when it's already full of kids and groceries.



The sewing machine I used all through high school was originally my great grandmother's. The story is that she bought it from a door to door salesman. I used it for years until I got married and got a job and it eventually got packed away and almost forgotten until I started to drool over pictures of pretty vintage machines on the internet and realized that I had one myself.

That machine was probably Great Grandma's newest one. She also had a Singer treadle that sat in our living room for most of my childhood. I love treadles and always wanted one for our house.

So I got this one. It's a pretty piece of furniture and I think it's missing some pieces. You can read its story here.


Except for my Featherweight and another old machine head that I picked up for three bucks at an estate sale to save it from the dumpster, I thought my collection of old machines was complete.  Then I found this treadle at a garage sale. It had belonged to the seller's mother in law and has all of the parts and the instruction manual and I'm told that it works. Did I mention that it was twenty bucks?


My very wonderful husband loaded her up and brought her home without even reminding me how many machines have followed me home over the years.

This one, which is circa 1875 and might belong in a real museum, isn't mine. Grandma found it at a yard sale at the end of the day and adopting sewing machines just because they're pretty seems to run in the family.  Someday I should show you my mom's collection.

Beth over at Love Laugh Quilt suggested that we share our own little sewing museums. I can't wait to see what everyone else is saving because it's old and wonderful. I'm also linking up to Time Travel Thursday, Treasure Hunt Thursday, Vintage Thingie Thursday, Share Your Cup, and Ivy and Elephants.

low contrast = less than thrilling photos

The baby quilt I put together last night is fairly low contrast. Low contrast means less than fabulous pictures, but this top will go great with the vintage floral sheet I've got picked out for the background. And some moms who aren't me really like the very pastel extra-girlie look. 

For more design walls, check out Patchwork Times. And be sure to stop by late tonight to see my Pin It! contribution. I'm really excited about that project.

Why I Like Ravelry

I hadn't been on Ravelry much the last couple of years. I joined when the site was brand new and spent hours browsing the free patterns and adding every last bit of my yarn stash to the database. When I stopped knitting,  I stopped spending any time on the site.

Then Judy started that pooling sock yarn challenge and I logged in to look at my stash and see what colors of sock yarn I had...and then I remembered how much fun sock knitting is and started looking up shawl patterns.  Ravelry is way more fun with DSL instead of dial up!

It can also save you from yourself. I pulled up a shawl pattern that I remembered wanting to knit. I took a look at the picture, printed out the pattern, then glanced to the right of the screen and saw that I'd already knitted it. I had to go look at my project pictures before I was convinced.

Yup, I knitted the Swallowtail Shawl back in 2007.

Weekly Stash Report

Fabric Used this Week: 3 1/2 yards
Fabric Used year to Date: 62 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 233 1/4 yards
Net Added for 2013: 174 3/4 yards


Yarn Used this Week: 300 yards
Yarn Used year to Date: 2950 yards
Yarn Added this Week: 0 yards
Yarn Added Year to Date: 9500 yards
Net Added for 2013: 6550 yards

I'm linking up to Patchwork Times and Finding Fifth.

{Whatcha Reading?} Kitty Kitty Bang Bang

Kitty Kitty Bang Bang is the third in the Pampered Pets series, which alternates between upscale pet boutique owner Melinda Langston and pet therapist Caro Lamont. This time it's Caro's turn to solve the mystery and she's taking care of a pair of famous painting cats (they paint pictures and have a gallery representing them) and trying to find out who killed their owner.  The rivalry between the cousins continues as Caro tries to steal their grandmother's antique brooch back from Melanie.

I've been reading this series out of order, starting with the fourth book, Yip/Tuck, and I'm still not sure which cousin I like best. At first I thought it was Melanie, but now Caro is growing on me.


I've always loved books with animals as the main characters -- The Rescuers series of books by Margery Sharp, The Hundred and One Dalmations, A Cricket in Times Square and its sequels.... so of course  Petectives - A Cat Mystery by Robert J. Smith caught my interest. Yoshi and Gatsby are cat detectives trying to locate a missing show cat and investigate rumors of a dog fighting ring in their neighborhood. It's a short, fun read that reminds me of the old time radio shows our family is always listening to. Hard-boiled cat detectives -- what's not to like? 

Let's Make Baby Quilts! {week 37}

My finish for this week is Christopher.  I'm really liking these two color baby quilts lately and have been digging through my stash, looking for more solids and coordinating backing fabrics. 

Let's Make Baby Quilts Linky Party Rules:
Link directly to your post or specific Flickr photo. Your post can be about a baby quilt that's finished, or in progress, or you can be writing about what you have planned, but it's got to be about baby quilts. While we're still gathering steam, you're welcome to link to baby quilt posts that aren't brand new, but please don't submit the same post or picture more than once. I'd love it if you linked back to my site, either with a text link or the Let's Make Baby Quilts! button.

I've got one of those!

Do you ever stumble across something on Pinterest that reminds that you have one of those yourself and you're suddenly glad you've got it? That's what happened with this --

It's been up in my sewing room for a few years now. I almost got rid of it during my last attempt at organization, but now I'm glad I didn't. Can you visualize it with new cushions quilted in some of the teeniest blocks I can manage?  Something like that itty-bitty basket I had on my design wall a few weeks back.

I should probably wipe the dust off of it, too.

This post is linked to Time Travel Thursday, Treasure Hunt Thursday, Vintage Thingie Thursday, Share Your Cup, and Ivy and Elephants.

{Yarn Along} Atchafalaya Houseboat

A couple of weeks ago, Ginny at Small Things wrote about the book Atchafalaya Houseboat: My Years in the Louisiana Swamp. I reserved it from the library that same day.

Here's part of the book's Amazon description:

In the early 1970s, two idealistic young people—Gwen Carpenter Roland and Calvin Voisin—decided to leave civilization and re-create the vanished simple life of their great-grandparents in the heart of Louisiana’s million-acre Atchafalaya River Basin Swamp. Armed with a box of crayons and a book called How to Build Your Home in the Woods, they drew up plans to recycle a slave-built structure into a houseboat. Without power tools or building experience they constructed a floating dwelling complete with a brick fireplace. Towed deep into the sleepy waters of Bloody Bayou, it was their home for eight years. This is the tale of the not-so-simple life they made together—days spent fishing, trading, making wine, growing food, and growing up—told by Gwen with grace, economy, and eloquence.

I think it was the box of crayons that convinced me I needed to read the book. I wasn't disappointed. There are so many neat little details from their lives in the swamp. In addition to the brick fireplace, the library in their houseboat had a brick floor. The pictures are black and white, but it looks like it was gorgeous.

They washed their quilts by dipping them into the water and squeezing them out on the deck. Can you imagine?

My new knitting project is The Lonely Tree Shawl, a free download from Ravelry.  I'm using Knitpicks Telemark in Flame Heather. I'd originally bought this yarn intending to make the Cardigan for Merry sweater for my youngest. Time passed and he grew and I realized that I was intimidated by the cables. (Today, they don't look that bad. Maybe there's still some hope of making Arwen for myself someday.)

When I found the pattern, I didn't think I had any yarn in my stash that would work for it.  The Telemark isn't the weight that the pattern calls for, but it's what I've got on hand. And shawls are very forgiving.

For more pretty knitting projects to drool over, check out On the Needles at Patchwork Times and Work in Progress Wednesdays at Tami's Amis.