Instant Pikafication

After I finished the tea towels my younger son announced that he wanted to embroider Pikachu on one of his shirts. We went out and got all the supplies. I showed him how to make a running stitch and had him draw Pikachu on his shirt.

He lasted about an minute and a half. Then the whining and demanding that I do it kicked in.


Newly remodeled shirt


Close up

I have to go play Monopoly. Younger son is sick which is putting older son in a terrible mood. He doesn't like being stuck at home.

I'll have a finished quilt later today to share and hopefully I'll be able to slip out to buy yarn to knit the hem facings on my Seamless Hybrid because that's all ready too.

Thursdays are for What the Hell is This?

I'm trying to stay calm to keep from hyperventilating. Gina has sent me a treasure trove of fug so deep and vast I can't get my head around it. This will have to be a two-parter. Maybe three.

The following designs come to you from Bulgaria with love (apologies to Russia). For the first part I'd like to emphasize the risk of overheating due to mohair.

Ventilation is key.


You can begin with a little underarm ventilation.


Or a little overarm ventilation.


Then the full arm, back, side ventilation.


Then the full arm, side, leg to the ground ventilation.


And lastly the all-over ventilation.


You can also forgo a shirt.


Or pants.

Without these vent-holes the model will overheat and start to find other ways to cool herself.


Coming next week: Something for the men!

And Now For Something Completely Different

I suddenly got the urge to embroider. Jenny Hart's Stitch-it Kit has been sitting on my office shelf for nearly a year. This is such a fun, instant gratification project.

The Ramones as You Have Never Heard Them

Sung a cappella by a seven year old with a very loose grasp of the lyrics.

Things are Coming Together

The Seamless Hybrid is coming together. The sleeves are now joined to the yoke and my favorite part begins--the raglan decreasing.



I got a surge of energy last night and put the doll quilt together. I pieced the backing, basted the whole thing and started quilting. I ran out of steam with only a tiny bit left to do. Word to the wise, don't start free motion quilting after midnight. No good can come from it.

I've been catching up on Netflix lately.
Weeds, Season 2: What a well done show. The cast is great. Incredibly entertaining.
The Shop on Main Street: Czech drama set during WWII, a very gently told dark story with lovely flashes of humor and tenderness.
Last King of Scotland: Maybe everyone has already seen this. Forest Whitaker is riveting as Amin. The narrative feels a little rushed.
Extras, Season 2: Ricky Gervais's style of squirm-in-your-seat comedy isn't for everyone. I happen to love it. This series is hilarious. I woke the kids up from laughing so loud. The guest spots this season are killer.
House, MD, Season 1: Nope. Didn't like it. Couldn't get into it. I love Hugh Laurie but the writing is so weak in the first few episodes. Wes and I were completing everyone's sentences because the dialog was so obvious.

En route, Rome, Season 2 and Dexter, Season 1!

Lazy Friday Night Post

Just a little update on what I've been doing lately.
My Seamless Hybrid has a body and nearly two sleeves. I didn't take a picture because a) it's boring and b) all three parts are in different rooms of the house and I don't feel like gathering them all together.

I started to quilt County Lines. So far I've just done a little stitch in the ditch. I need to do lots more and then I think I might do a bit of free motion in the rectangles.

I've made more half-blocks for my foundation-pieced quilt. It's called Shadow Star. I have 24 half-blocks done.


Sorry for the crummy photos, it's dark!

I've been wondering what to do with the billions of scraps this quilt is creating. Then the Doll Quilt Challenge posted it's September challenge. Perfect! I dragged out my scraps and started cutting. I've got all my half-square triangle squares stitched.



This sucker comes together quickly. It's a tiny quilt. Mine will be slightly larger because I misremembered the square size. Doesn't matter.

I'll be working all weekend. Have a good weekend everybody!

Irony is Lost on Children

The kids are in the kitchen right now singing Beat on the Brat.

Thursdays are for What the Hell is This?

I wonder if the designer would have stopped if one of these had been red.



This one definitely should have stopped.



And my back hurts just looking at this model's pose. Were they aiming for the least natural stance possible?



I hope someone alerts this model that her sleeves are making a run for it.
Perhaps off to join the bottom half of this sweater?

As Seen at Fort Worden

A guy with a homemade dog trailer on his bike.



A free chair. Very tempting, isn't it?



Okay, this one is only funny if you're a twelve year old like me. I walked by and saw the text "Meeting Soldiers' Everyday Needs" and "Plus a Bit of Fun" with the picture of a woman. And I thought, "Boy, she must have been tired."

More Only in Seattle News

Oh yeah, this used to happen all the time when I lived in New York...*

*Please note use of sarcasm.

Vacation Knitting

We made our annual trip to Fort Worden this weekend. It was a lot cooler than usual and a bit gray. I prefer this kind of weather.

I finished my Unst socks.



I had a hell of a time taking this picture. I spent a long time trying to straighten the columns of lace. Tug a little this way. Tug a little that way. Tug tug tug. Tugtugtugtugtugtugtugtug! Screw it. My legs, ankles and feet are not made of straight lines.

I also finished the body of the Seamless Hybrid to the armholes. I used my current favorite sweater as a measuring device.



Wes and I have been married 13 years today. We're having a nice dinner tomorrow because today we are too pooped.

Friday Night Video (Early)

We're heading out for the weekend so I'll leave you with this great music video from Weezer starring the Muppets.



Have a great weekend!