WHEN PROJECTS COME TOGETHER

Basket o' Gold blooms in town

Here we sit in town. One thing has led to another – work on the old pickup, a meeting, packages coming, appointments. Meanwhile, it’s getting warmer, and I’m anxious to see what’s happening at the farm. That said, I’m the one that ordered yarn to be delivered here in town on Wednesday, but it has worked out all right. We're getting things done.

A couple of months ago, I finished a couple of t-shirts for Hazel. The “Chiefs” shirt was a special request from Hazel herself. Her family likes the Kansas City Chiefs, and could Aunt Kathy make a t-shirt? Yes, I could. I found this logo digitized by an Etsy seller. It was a little large, so I applied it to a wide-necked t-shirt. I made the black t-shirt to complement the plaid flannel skirt previously finished. In these photos, Shirley Anne is simply wrapped in a scrap of the plaid flannel for modesty’s sake. She complains that she has no clothes of her own, but she does it smilingly.

I’d like to work a lot faster than I do, but you know, it just takes time to pull a sewing / crafting project together. Even if I have the pattern picked out and ready, I still have to read the instructions, choose the fabric(s), and gather the supplies. Then I will inevitably over-think the project. Even though it doesn’t really matter, I will cogitate for hours. Once I’ve made a choice, I clean the kitchen counter so that I can cut the fabric. This all happens before I can sew a stitch.

A case in point is a project I have ready for Hazel – a duvet with cover and pillows. (For the most part, Hazel receives whatever I want to make.) With due deliberation (see above), I selected an off-white quilting cotton for the duvet and cut it to the suggested measurements, but before I began to stitch, I came upon two doll quilt panels and coordinating fabrics that have been lolling in my stash for at least five years. Instantly I saw that the quilt panels could become the duvet covers. All I had to do was re-cut the duvet according to the quilt measurements and stitch the quilts according to the directions for the duvet covers. Accessorizing pillows were included on the panels. So, now I have a nice informal bedroom set for Hazel.

Now I’m preparing to make an afghan, a simple design based on Pendleton’s Hudson Bay blanket. So many crochet patterns are built on the single and double crochet stitches, and that’s fine, but these can be blended into more intricate, prettier designs. I'm planning to make my afghan using the Star Stitch, also called the Daisy Stitch. The little doll afghan pictured here is my practice piece, and it’s good that I practiced. Now Hazel has an afghan to keep her warm, perhaps on camping trips. KW