This week, I wore the first pair of socks I knit myself. It wasn't the first time I'd worn them, but it was the first time I'd worn them that wasn't the dead of winter. I was really surprised at how comfortable they were, and how good they made me feel. I don't know why. They're not perfect by any means. I know there's a super-stretchy cast-off for socks, but I didn't do it, so the cuffs are kind of tight at the top. They're made of a wool-nylon blend I bought at the old yarn shop in Hillcrest. I had intended them to be for Neale, but they didn't fit him because of the tight cast-off. The socks are blue and gray striped, the yarn is self-striping. I'm working on my second pair of socks now. I finished the heel, and now I'm working my way up to the cuff. I was very proud, I I did a short-row heel with just a couple of peeks at an online tutorial. There are some gaps where the I picked up stitches along the heel that I'll go back and sew up later. I'm working on garb for Diamond Wars. I'm about half finished with a pair of pants for Neale, it just needs finishing on the seams and hems and a drawstring. I FINALLY found the other pair of linen drawers I made last year, so now I have two! Yea! I want to fix the hem on my red cotehardie and I have a lavender linen-cotton one that needs the sleeves re-attached to. I really want to make a wool over-coat. Nothing too fancy, just a simple open-front over-thingie. I kind of think if I use the tabard pattern from my Period Patterns Italian Ren pattern and attach sleeves, that might work. If I get my act together, I might be able to do it Sunday. Like all weekends, though, there will be too much stuff, and not enough time. :( I'm teaching two classes at Diamond Wars, so I need to work on handouts. One is on quilting, the other is basic embroidery. I'm not going to do stitch diagrams for the embroidery class, I think I'm going to go with a simple list of tips and resources. I'm going for "look at this cool, easy thing you can do to make your garb and accessories look nice," rather than "here's how to do perfectly accurate embroidery for Kingdom A&S." I also want to bring hoops and fabric for people and let them choose thread to practice stitches. So, yeah, I've got a lot to do before we leave on Thursday!

It is a crime against God to deny yourself love

I'm watching Jane Eyre on Ovation for the hundredth-ish time. It's the miniseries version with Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens. That's probably my second-favorite version. Can't beat Michael Fassbender as Rochester. I could so do with knitting and sewing as classes at school. But, I digress. I haven't read a lot of classical literature for a while. I think I've gotten out of practice. I first read Jane Eyre when I was about 8 or 9, and I was too young. I didn't like it, I just slogged through to the end to find out what the secret was. When I re-read it as a teenager, I fell in love with Jane. She was "poor, plain, obscure, and little," but she didn't let herself be trampled on by anyone. I identified with her rage at being treated unjustly as a child and being powerless to stop it. Honestly, Jane Eyre is still a role model for me. I cut the last post short because my sister called, and there were things...and stuff. It's amazing how family can instantly turn reasonable, responsible, 30-something women into bratty, arguing teenagers. It was one of those arguments that wasn't really about the issue that started it, and went off into all the wrong that had ever been done, ever. It was ugly. My husband had to calmly take the phone from me and end the conversation. After that, I just couldn't concentrate much on writing about crafty stuff. So, it's Friday. (Woot!) Sadly, I have a workshop to go to in the morning for work. It won't be too bad. After, I'm going to see Wicked with my mom and sister (the plans, and a mistake on my part were responsible for the argument. The initial screw-up was mine, I admit.). Later, we're probably going to have our goddaughter over, unless she stays with her Grandma. Still not quite sure. Busy weekend, when all I want to do is be a slug on the couch until the sinus stuff we've had goes away. The weather is supposed to change soon, and I hope that clears it up. I've been browsing laundrybasketquilts.com. I really like the wedding ring pattern. There are several traditional patterns I really like, like double wedding ring and Dresden plate. My Great-Aunt Caroline was a quilter, and my grandfather has a double wedding ring quilt of hers hanging on the wall in his den. The work is beautiful. The color palette is not my favorite. It's all brown and mustard gold with a little red. That '70's "Harvest Gold" sort of dark yellow is probably my least favorite color ever. The sink and stove at my parents' house used to be that color when they bought the house. It was hideous, especially since the sink was really scuffed on the bottom and the color had worn in places. Both of them are long gone, thank goodness. Anyway, when I see pictures of Edyta Sitar's quilts, I really like them, but when I look at pictures of her fabric collections, they're kind of...meh. I love the pop of the bright batiks against the neutral backgrounds, but her prints are very antique-looking. I just don't care for the sort of muddy-colored Civil War-repro/primitive fabric, except in very small doses. The plan for the weekend, sewing-wise, if I can get some time, is to cut sashing strips for the Ocean Snail quilt, and maybe lay the blocks out. If our goddaughter comes, I doubt I'll get that far. I have a recipe for bread that I want to make with my class this week, and I need to test it first to make sure it will work before I try it at school.

Wip...Thursday?

It's been a pretty busy week. Last night, I went to a meeting with a group of parents to make plans for my school's fall carnival. The meeting went well, and I think it's going to come together pretty well. As president of the PTO, I'm an ex-officio member of all committees. Fortunately, because the co-vp's and I are dividing the responsibility for being "Officer in charge" for events, I didn't have to run the meeting. Yea! Not a lot of progress. I realized I was short a block on the quilt, and I finished that. The next step will be cutting sashing strips and laying the top out to sew the blocks together. I'm still knitting on the sock.