The Queen of Stitching*

Happy Friday! I hope the week treated you well. We’re still struggling with a virus running through the house, so this was another rough week here at The Cozy Burrow. But I managed to eke out a few cute things despite my foggy brain and tired body!

*This week Bryce told me that I was the Queen of Stitching (the story behind today’s title). I thanked him for his compliment! I’m well aware that my stitching is quite amatuer, but I still enjoy the process and the end results. I’m okay with imperfect projects!

I wish I was able to stay up until 2am and get up at 6 – I’d be able to squeeze in a lot more crafty goodness that way! But until I figure out how to survive on just a sliver of sleep each night, I’m going to keep working on everything just a little at a time. It feels good to see some progress, not matter how snail-like it is. And this week was FULL of progress!

First of all, A Plump Wife is nearly finished. It will be time to find a frame once the bowl on the bottom left is filled in! This is the first cross stitch project I’ve finished since junior high (!) and I’m thrilled about how it turned out. After I frame it, then I’ll wrap it up and save it for Christmas. Matthew doesn’t know that I started working on it again because I’ve only been taking it out while he’s at work in the evenings, so this will be a total surprise for him!

I finished the second appliqúe block for my Bloom Quilt. I learned a lot while making my first set of shapes and these are infinitely better than my last effort. Still a long way to go – but so much fun! I like projects with small, fiddly pieces, so appliqúe is a good fit for me!

I cut and basted the shapes for this Mandolin block back in February and finally got around to sewing it this week. It’s been a long time since I’ve talked about this one, so just a quick reminder: it’s english paper pieced and handsewn. I’m trying to make the entire quilt out of Liberty of London fabrics, so I’m only buying a little bit at a time because it’s super expensive. It’s gorgeous and I love each and every block I’ve made so far (this is the fourth). I started laying out fabrics for my next block today. Maybe I’ll start cutting this weekend?

I don’t have a dishwasher so I handwash all of our dishes. I’ve been using washcloths on the dishes for years because I love that I can toss them in the laundry every night and have a fresh cloth the next day – no dirty sponges! I’ve been wanting to make my own for a long time, but it seems so daunting… I’d need so many to phase out my current washcloths (4-5 a day) and I wasn’t sure that I’d want to spend a ton of time knitting washcloths. So I’ve decided to start Washcloth Wednesdays – I’ll make at least one washcloth every Wednesday. Before long, I’ll have a nice collection. I knitted up these three this week using Lindsay’s Favorite Mini Knit Dish Scrubbies in Sugar ‘n Cream yarn from Joann’s. I think my favorite version is the one on the far right – the basketweave. It’s the smallest of the three and the perfect shape for scrubbing dishes and eggs from the hens. I’m already looking forward to knitting up more of these next week!

I got off on the stitch count on my Veranda Shade Shawl (Ravelry link) several weeks ago and put it in timeout for a while. I finally decided to just rip it out and start again. I’d just finished row 77 when I ran into my issue and I’m already on row 36 again. I even rewound my yarns so that I could start with pretty new cakes. As a reminder, I’m knitting this up with Nimble Sock from ontheround, in bayberry (discontinued colorway) and sugar cookie.

I started a new pair of socks today with KnitPicks Muse in Thrill. I’m doing another pair of DRK Everyday Socks (Ravelry link) because I love how they fit. They take a little longer than a vanilla pair of socks because they have 2×2 ribbing all the way around the foot and leg, but it’s totally worth it! I bought this yarn on a whim when I ordered the yarn for my last Spark Cardigan. I can never resist throwing in one or two extra skeins of sock yarn!

Not Pictured:
My Shifty sweater: I haven’t worked on it in several weeks but I’m hoping to bring it back out this weekend. I knew that I’d be confused about where I left off because it’s a complicated knit… but I made good notes as I finished sections so I think I’ll be okay.

Quilting my Patchwork Swoon: I’ve made good progress here, too. I’m well over halfway finished with it! I haven’t taken a picture because you can’t really see the progress when it’s under the needle, but I can’t wait to pull it out, trim it up, and handsew the binding (my very favorite part)!

Dreaming About:
Sewing up project bags! Projects bags for knitting and for cross stitch projects. The challenge, as usual, is time.

Waiting For:
I’ve ordered linen and threads for the cross stitch project I’m planning to start on Thanksgiving! And because that’s a small project, I’m trying to figure out the best strategy for the project after this one. Last year I bought Winter Rose Manor, but I still need the threads and linen. I’m hoping I can pull it all together for a Christmas start!

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I’m happy to say that I’ve been able to keep my hands busy despite having a total brain blockage when it comes to reading and writing lately. It will shake out – it always does – and I feel lucky to have so many interests and hobbies to keep me busy, interested, and engaged. I’ve also been reading all of your blogs but haven’t been able to comment while on my phone. Lately I’ve only been pulling out my computer to cobble together these posts and nothing else… So I AM caught up with all of you, just as a lurker. I will do better – I promise!

Next Tuesday is a One Little Word Update. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to pull anything together by then, but I’ll try! I hope you all have a restful weekend, full of exactly what you need. Take good care!