Dress

Holy cow, it has been quite a while since I've been here. I have done quite a bit though.
Most recently, I finally found a copy of a vintage pattern I've been coveting for quite some time: Simplicity 5027, from the early 60s. Remarkably it was more or less my size, and after a muslin test-drive and a few adjustments I think I'm ready to cut. I even have the fabric already--a rust batik purchased a year ago for a pattern that I was never happy with. It will be perfect if it ever warms up here (a statement that will certainly sound stupid in a few months when it is 90 degrees and humid).

Star Crossed

While the summer here has been just too blasted hot to knit more than dozens of cotton washcloths, the fall has become rather chilly. I suspect the humidity, which still resides firmly between 80 and 100% regardless of temperature.



















On my way home from Utah I started the Star Crossed Slouch, with the ever-lovable and available Paton's Classic Wool in Moss Heather. Monkey was kind enough to let me work on by sleeping through much of the flight (hurray for the weighted blanket!)


















I finished it just a few days later and despite Lawyerguy's comments re: patchouli, I think it is great. More French, or Beatnik, than Hippy. Monkey just thinks it looks smashing on him, and I can't disagree. Do boys wear slouchy hats?

Socks

Two tiny pairs of socks, each barely the length of my thumb. Knit on a heartbreaking emergency trip back to Utah. How can such a tiny loss hurt so much? I'll see you in the next life little guy; for now all my prayers are for your momma and daddy.

Weighted blanket

Hurray! I just finished a weighted blanket for Monkey, and then woke him up so it could help him fall asleep. Yep, this is the magic that is parenting. I've wanted to make him one for a long time, but couldn't think of what to fill it with. Dried beans or rice couldn't be washed, an important quality for us. Pennies or washers seemed prone to oxidization and banging the heck out of my washer. Then Craft Nectar mentioned using Poly Pellets, tiny polypropylene balls for filling stuffed animals. Genius. It's very easy, once you actually get all your stuff together. I was very picky about fabric and looked all over the place before finding this great Alexander Henry robot print and some nameless fabric with tools. It is so nice to finally get this done.

I sewed channels into a giant fabric pocket, sewn together on three sides. I then measured out 23 grams in nine cups and poured it into each channel. I used three bags of pellets for a six pound blanket.

Sew across the top of the pellets, dividing your pocket into little squares, and repeat as necessary. I propped my machine up at an angle to keep the pellets away from the needle. It is cumbersome at first, but actually gets a little easier as less fabric is mashed under the arm.

So soothing.

Mobius

I'm hanging in there. Knitting helps.

Lunchbox

I've been meaning to do this for Monkey since before school started. Freezer paper stencils can be remarkably detailed.

Chairs

I won't lie, I am a bit lonely here in Alabama. I like it here, it is so beautiful and green and people are so friendly that as an ex-westerner it constantly surprises me. But I haven't made any friends. My neighbors all work, and I miss living on base. Church has somehow become nearly intolerable for Monkey, and by the end of the first meeting he is so agitated I would gladly chew through my own leg to get out of there. Who knows what the problem is, the lights? the upholstery? the sound of that many people breathing? Autism is a mystery that likes to kick you in the gut with it's poor verbal skills. But this loneliness is not all bad, because I am getting so much done. I am working on building an island in my kitchen. I'm sewing a quilt. And I finally recovered my dining room chairs, which were truly disgusting. The original cream upholstery was beautiful but sure did not last long. Last week Monkey bled all over several of the chairs, and that was the last straw.


I'm kind of embarrassed at how easy recovering the chairs was. I should have done it a year ago.