I’ve made a mistake….

…because tonight I started looking at fabric. I’m easing back into sewing again and OH MY GOODNESS!

The fabrics right now are really my kind of thing – PAISLEY? Can anybody say “paisley”? So, I went and ordered a bunch of fabric. OK a bunch is maybe too big a descriptive word, but really I only ordered enough for a couple of tops and a skirt as well as 2 handbags – for presents mostly.

Now unlike a few knitting blogs I know (and used to love) I will NOT be showing only sewing stuff and neglect my knitting. But I will tell you, it’s gonna be really REALLY hard not to go and buy a whole lot of fabric from now until fashion changes again….. I also got some material to cover a few pillows – it was on sale so that doesn’t really count, does it? Then of course we cannot count the 42 5″x5″ squares of Morris reprints (think Arts & Crafts movement) that came in a pack for under $9…….. I guess I’d better get the effing taxes done so we can pay for all o’ this.

On the knitting front, I am struggling with my shawl. I finally got the cast on correct but then cannot seem to get the pattern right. It’s isn’t a difficult pattern really, except I can’t seem to get it right. I’ve ripped that sucker back at LEAST four times to the eyelet edging and then it takes about 6 rows to see if we are where we are supposed to be. With 333 stitches per row, I’ve knit so much I’m starting to have a little bit of Carpal tunnel pain plus some new irritation in my upper back! So I’ve put it down for a moment and am now doing some “stupid knitting”*: I’ve cast on a few “domino” squares in some inexpensive wool and acrylic to FINALLY make covers for our 2 sturdy yet shabby ottomans in our living room.

After yet another coffee table bit the dust because the helpful people I live with repeatedly sat on it (no, they weren’t supposed to, and YES, they knew that), I thought well, let’s go find something more robust that they CAN sit on. I found a couple of squat, square and sturdy black vinyl covered ottomans – they looked rather good once in place. Unfortunately, within just a few months, Studmuffin had put a hot iron soleplate down on one and melted it. Then over time, the children’s occasional willful misuse and my (now-deceased) elderly cat Bluto digging his claws into them to haul his fat fluffy bottom up onto the things several times a day, the black vinyl has gotten more and more tired looking. They’re still really sturdy, so I decided a YEAR ago to cover them. Hey, I’ve had Bejeweled Blitz on facebook to play, alright? Let’s not rush into things.

I promise I’ll work more on the shawl after my brain relaxes a bit. I’m also supposed to cast on a pair of socks today (Feb. 1) for a KAL or knit-a-long for you newbs, but I just don’t think I can do it tonight.

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*”stupid knitting” is what I call knitting I can do without paying much attention to it or having to constantly refer back to a pattern, like while watching the tv or riding in the car at night.