Moving right along...

WIP

I am moving along with the quilts for the daughters of a friend of my father's in Canada. I took the extra five blocks that I had and made two pillow covers - Four of the blocks were joined into a 22" square pillow cover and the final square was beefed up with some border fabrics and made into a fat bolster pillow.

I think they look pretty good but I am beginning to think I made an error. By making them such odd sizes I cannot give them away without the bulky-to-mail pillow forms. It seems like Indian giving to give away just the pillow covers which would force their mom to go find the correct pillow forms. I think I will need to take them with me during my next northern trek in a suitcase devoted to them and the quilts.

I have also finished each top and began to pin baste them prior to quilting them this weekend. I have packed them up to go with me or I would have taken a photo or two so you can see how I handled the borders. You'll just have to wait until I get them done.

WAY TOO CUTE

My son's girlfriend's cousin had a little boy last year and I thought I would make him a little sweater and hat set. He is now about four months old and I just finished a new born sized sweater and hat. He is now too big for them so I will either pack them away for another baby, save them for a grandbaby (NOT A HINT) or give them away to a local project that provides clothing for the babies of indigent mothers.

The yarn is called Snuggly Bubbly and the patten came from the book '101 Designer One Skein Wonders'. I used more than one skein as there wasn't enough yardage on one skein to complete the project but as I had purchsed six skeins, I have a ton left over. Now that I have completed a conventional pattern for a baby sweater I think I can attempt one with other yarns in the stash with different textures and have them be successful.

CPS Overall Apron

Cloth, Paper, Scissors (CPS) magazine has a project in the January/February issue by Laura Ryan for making a name tag apron from a pair of overalls. It seemed like a neat idea so while I was out and about today I stopped by a thrift store and picked up a pair of overalls on sale for $3.50. With such a modest investment I was not leary about trying this project. If it didn't work out I could toss the evidence and no-one would be the wiser. Here's what I came up with:

The original project apron is decorated with a ton of bleached and painted decorations and lots of names. I have not gone that far (yet!) but will probably attempt that once is gets a little warmer here for working outdoors with stinky chemicals. At a neighborhood group meeting today one of the attendees mentioned that men like barbecue aprons that tie in the front, have pockets for their beer and cigars, don't have cutsey sayings and have a loop to hold a kitchen towel for wiping up spills and carrying hot dishes. With longer ties, I think this apron meets all those criteria. Check out CPS if this project intrigues you and you would like a quick and interesting apron project.