Stay Put and Putter

Heading into month two of "Stay Put" makes me feel weary.  I have been keeping busy with projects and spring cleaning (like bugs out of the light fixtures cleaning!!!) and have even been enjoying more cooking and baking!  But knowing that so many people are struggling and not knowing when relief might come makes the days long and the nerves a bit raw.

Each day when I head to my sewing room I think I know what I will work on.  I have made any number of 'project piles' anyone of which would be fun to do.  But I never seem to get to the projects, I just keep piling and re-piling and end up making something completely unexpected.  A bit like wandering around in a town that I don't know.  Oh, that shop looks cute!  I wonder if there is a deli somewhere for lunch?  I've heard about this place....Anyway, I could scold myself and make a promise to focus and stick to the plan, but letting the wander happen seems like a kinder gentler way to go.  So here are a few of my random 'wanders' from the past week or so....

Since more TV has been part of our 'now' routine, I have been dragging out half finished knitting projects from who knows when.  A couple were started so long ago I can't remember what they were supposed to be and any pattern that might have existed is long gone, so those have been frogged and put back in the yarn stash for now.  I found a Wingspan scarf that was about 3/4 of the way along.  I just love this pattern and have at least 3 others that I wear often.  I love the way the yarn does all the work to make the design and the finished scarves sit nicely around my shoulders and under the collars of coats.  The yarn for this one came from a really tiny little yarn shop in Portland OR.

  

Here's another sweater that I started when I was in Key West in January 2019.  I actually got the yarn while I was there and made a good start and then it just got set aside.  It's two shades of white-ish linen.  It was a bit tricky as "TV" work because in the dark I really couldn't tell which color I was working with, and yes, I did have a few rows of un-knitting during the process.  It is my basic 2 squares with sleeves sweater pattern.  I do knit other patterns, but the 2 squares with sleeves are the ones that I actually like to wear.  I think this version is going to be great after a few wearings.  Linen always gets softer with time and wear, and this one is already pretty soft.  I really like it over the printed linen shift I made last summer to wear for my niece's wedding.

One of the things that I wanted to make after seeing it at the Merchant and Mills shop was a Costermonger bag/pack. 

The actual bag was simply an 18" square with straps.  I decided I could handle the size and shape of the bag without the pattern but did pick up a hardware kit that includes really cool leather straps, strap rings and rivets.  I also found a remnant of oiled cotton that would be the right size and brought that home, too.  I didn't want to mess up the oiled cotton so I decided to make a "trial balloon" of the bag.  When I got out the stuff for my "muslin" I figured it would take me a couple of hours tops to put together an 18" square bag.  HA!  I spent the entire day fiddling, cutting the wrong size pieces, sewing the wrong things together, whatever could go haywire did!  Boy did I feel like a newbie!  It finally came together, but I'm not sure it gave me any more confidence in cutting into my oiled cotton!  I may not jump right into that project!

I think what I have been doing in my sewing room would be called "puttering." 

doing a number of small tasks or not concentrating on anything particular.  move or go in a casual, unhurried way.

Yep, that's it!  Puttering seems to be OK for now.