2009 List of Completed Projects

Just a bit of blog housekeeping . . . I like to keep my sidebar uncluttered so instead of listing the year's completed projects there, I update this post monthly. It contains links to photos or blog entries for completed projects only - not the in-progress updates.

The most recently completed projects are at the top of the list.

Updated thru December 2009:

•  Christmas 2009 Gifts: RJ's Nursery Rhyme Crib Quilt & Soft Book, Ryan's Cars Quilt, Lauren's Pillow Sham & Embroidered Pillow Case, Poinsettia In-the-Hoop Gift Bag
•  RJ's Burp Cloth & Blankie, New Look 6659 Cape, and Westie Halloween Treats Quilt
• Emily's Neck Bolster Pillow & Richie D's Cartoon Car Keychain
  
• Lauren's Purple Quilt
  
• Tops & Pants: Simplicity 4589, 4149 & 4366
  
• Cool Ties for the Mahwah Marine Moms
  
• White Denim Jean Jacket - McCall's M5191
  
• Pajamas, again
  
• Mod Sampler Quilt-along: Stars & Stripes Forever
  
• Slipcovers: Throw Pillows
  
• Another Set of Bed Covers for Keli & Penny
  
• Pajama Party
  
• St. Patrick's Day/Best Friend & Four Leaf Clover Banner
  
• Slipcovers: Ottoman & Sofa
  
• Thankful Heart banner
  
• Heart Runner/Mini Quilt
  
• Fleece Blankets: no sew Cars and coverstitched vehicles
  
• Joseph's 2nd Birthday gift: No-Sew fleece pillows, car appliqué shirt
  
• Ryan's 2nd Birthday gift: Thomas shirt, Cars pillow and With Love Tote bag
  

Stitch N' Pitch at Citi Field: Sept 21 Mets vs Braves

From the Stitch N' Pitch home page:

"What is Stitch N' Pitch?
Stitch N' Pitch brings together two wonderful traditions — Baseball and the NeedleArts. Come to a ball game and knit, crochet, embroider, cross-stitch and needlepoint. Sit among friends, family and colleagues and cheer on your favorite Baseball Team. Beginners, intermediate and experts are all welcome."

The Mets' 3rd annual Stitch N' Pitch event is scheduled for Monday, September 21 @ 7:10 pm vs. Atlanta Braves. The Group Ticketing page at mets.com contains info about this year's event at Citi Field. The ticket price for Promenade Reserved seating is $15 and all participants will receive a Citi Field Inaugural Season Scroll Pen (with advance ticket purchase).

I attended last year's Stitch N' Pitch at Shea Stadium. Most of the emphasis is on knitting and crochet, which makes sense since most projects using these techniques are very portable, and TNNA, the force behind this program, is a trade organization for professionals in the knitting, crochet, cross stitch, embroidery, needlepoint and embellishment industries.

I'm not sure if I'll be attending this year -- last year's game was so cold and rainy we actually left early. I'll probably wait to decide to go or not a few days before the game.

More information about Stitch N' Pitch:

• Buy Tickets to Stitch N' Pitch at Citi Field from local shops in CT, NY and NJ and direct from mets.com
• Follow Stitch N' Pitch on Twitter
• Shop for Stitch N' Pitch merchandise

UPDATE -- Post-game links & reports:

• Celebrating Yarn at Citi Field > Lion Brand Yarn blog post

Ugga Bugga in my Garden

I thought this was a dragonfly flitting around my head in the garden the other day -- until it landed on our deck:

Here's a closer view:

Creepy! Spent the rest of the day shrieking, ducking and covering every time a flying insect passed by my head. And feeling itchy.

Meanwhile, the garden was a total disappointment this season (much like the Mets -- but we won't go there). Just about everything drowned and rotted.

Everything that is except for the cherry tomatoes. For some reason these are virtually indestructible. Here's one day's pickings:

The basil is also doing well too, so we've had lots of cherry tomato, basil and fresh mozzarella salads this summer.

The last surviving zucchini plant managed to produce two more smallish squashes, but they are not very pretty to look at. I'll probably shred them and make one last zucchini bread, then call it a season.

And like most of this year's Mets -- hopefully we'll be ready to start again next Spring.

Socializing SewAmazin

I have succumbed to peer pressure and have recently set up an account on Twitter. I'm not sure how useful it will be or how often I'll post an update since I have a limited texting plan for my cell phone . For now, I'm following a few people via the web. I can send updates by text from my phone, but I'm not receiving them. I'll be tweeting and following via the web.

If you'd like to follow me, search for sewamazin. I'm still poking around and trying to understand how it all fits together, but eventually I'll post updates. I've added a Twitter widget to my blog sidebar for my tweets. Deleted the widget.

I'm also on Facebook, but I'm limiting my Friends to people I know in real life, mostly family and friends, with a few exceptions for people I've previously exchanged emails.

Please don't be offended if I ignore a friend request on Facebook. I think I'll probably use Twitter for more general socializing -- if that makes sense; so look for me there instead of Facebook.

Late Summer Update

I'm still here, still sewing a little this summer. I just haven't had enough time for blogging. I hope to be back on a regular basis in September.

Just so I don't forget any projects, I'm making a quick list of some things I've finished lately but haven't blogged.

Simplicity 4589, View E - Tops: I started these back in May and finished two trial versions. Thought I'd have time for more this summer, but these two were all I got around to. They fit okay, good enough for around the house. The best point I remember from working on these is that I used a special gathering foot for making the gathers at the neckline and top of the sleeve, and a narrow hem foot for the sleeve and bottom hems.

Simplicity 4149, View B - Tunic: I moved on to this tunic style top in June. I like this top, but there are some problems with the shoulders on this trial version.

Simplicity 4366 - Pants, View C & E for the Build Better Pants Class on PatternReview in June - still no photos, but I did finish the shorter version as capri pants well enough to wear at home. The longer pants (View E) are done, but still need to be hemmed.


Cool Ties for the Mahwah Marine Moms: I've been working on these on and off all summer and just finished up a batch of about 40 ties, which brings this summer's total to either 95 or 100 . . . I lost count.

Lauren's Quilt: Late July I decided I had to make a simple quilt for my niece's 3rd birthday, so I could get some more quilt-making practice. Lauren recently got a big girl bed and she loves purple, so I used lots of different purple shades and patterns. The quilt design is from BH&G Quilts and More magazine, Winter 2008 issue, and is basically 36 10-inch squares with a solid back and pieced binding. I quilted in the ditch and then used machine embroidery to quilt each square using designs from Anita Goodesign's Quilter's Paradise collection. The batting is bamboo/organic cotton blend. You can see more photos of the quilt in this Flickr slideshow.

Emily's neck pillow: I made this for my niece Emily's 6th birthday in early August. The letter E is a machine embroidered Curlz appliqué alphabet monogram design purchased from Embroidery Boutique.

Richie D's Car Keychain: This was a belated birthday for nephew's 3rd birthday in July. The in-the-hoop machine embroidery design is from Embroidery Library.

I stitched this design earlier this year as an appliqué on a shirt for nephew Joseph

That catches me up to date on finished projects.

I've signed up for two more classes at PatternReview - All About Set-in Sleeves and Armholes begins in September, and Make a Skirt Muslin begins in October. I hope to finally figure out why my sleeves alway seem wonky in the first class, and the skirt muslin class is recommended as a prerequisite for Make a Pants Muslin which I hope to take in the future to figure out my pants fitting issues.