Quality Over All Else

        I'm back and have an announcement. After much reflection I have come to a difficult decision. My Blog is going to change. I know I have thrown around the idea of a change of format before, and never really stuck to it but this is a bit different. I have decided to post less. Significantly less. Like 7 times less. Instead of a daily blog I have decided to go weekly. Every Sunday afternoon.  I have decided to make this change mostly because of personal reasons. I am buying a house, moving, trying to get healthy and taking driving lessons. I have a lot on my plate. I love writing but often I feel as if I am simply rambling for the sake of posting. I am not sure anyone really reads this or would actually enjoy the post for post's sake I am producing. Also since I am moving out of the city I am going to be losing part of my evening to my new commute. Less time in the evening means less time to create and unfortunately compromises need to be made. So I will cut back, take time to think about what I want to write about and make it interesting (fingers crossed). Have more pictures and hopefully more projects to share. My ultimate goal would be to post the entire process of a project from conception to completion in one post, focus more on what and how I am doing something. Complete with tips and tricks and the resources, if any, I used.

 

        I have to admit it has been nice not having to post something for the last few days. Now I am not going to just drop off the end of the Earth,  I promise. If I ever decide to quit writing you will all know.

Communication Blackout

I am going to a funeral this weekend out of town and will not be posting again until Sunday. I hope you all have a great weekend. And here is a cute penguin picture to tide you over.

Rears Its Ugly Head.

        I fell asleep last night sans post. I have been so sick. There is this killer cold going around, it hangs on for weeks. I am at the end of my second week. I feel like this little guy.  Hopefully I will recover soon.

My Favourite Fabrics to work with.

        Although I enjoy wearing stretchy synthetic material it can be a nightmare to work with, unless you have the proper equipment. A good walking foot and stretchy thread is a must, plus a machine with a good stretch stitch, or serger. Now that being said I actually love working with materials with no stretch at all, cotton, linen and canvas even. They are so nice to tailor, they line right up neat as you please.  I only mention this because the cherry red material is a linen. It frays a little quicker than I'd like because it is a looser weave but the cutting is glorious.

Still ill and now it is a family affair

Now I am not the only one who is suffering. Keith has come down with the sickness too. I stayed home to care for him today. It went a little like this. Seriously. But with fewer glaciers.

I am sick.

        No post tonight guy. I am so sick I have had a fever and runny nose for days. I am so tired. Here is a picture of a sick penguin.

Downloadable Everything

        I just wanted to take a few minutes to talk about downloadable patterns, well patterns in general. Many sewing websites now offer the ability to instantly download patterns instead of having to go the fabric store, which can be a dangerous place for a sewing junkie like me. The only thing I don't like is having to tape all the papers together. But the convenience of not having to go out on cold Canadian winter days outweighs any disadvantage. Now I may have mentioned this before but a pattern is pretty much unless unless you have some great  tracing paper. Lying out the pattern and tracing the size you need allows the pattern to be reused over and over again without destroying the original pattern. I buy my trace paper by the roll at the local art store.

I made my decision.

 

This is the jacket I decided on.  Cherry Red with a harlequin lining.

Another project rears its head

        Previously I mentioned that I wanted to make a jacket out of this beautiful cherry red linen I bought at Fabricland. I was going to wait until I slim downed a bit but I have a very important function coming up in just over a week and nothing to wear. I have skirts and shirts, tights and shoes, no jackets. I don't really have time to design something but I am not sure what pattern to use. I am looking at the Burda Style site and it has some pretty nice downloadable patterns. I guess now all I have to do is just decide which one.

To bamboo or not bamboo

        I started knitting a squirrel with 0 gauge dpns made of bamboo. I love using bamboo dpns for all of different kinds of knitting in the round projects. I can't stand metal dpns, the noise they make when they touch grates on my nerves. I like their smooth finish and flexibility, the only problem is that the thinner they are the weaker they are. I have actually broken two of the five I have, I am going to have to go buy some new ones. But should I buy more bamboo ones? Or choose from wood, like symfonie, or or plastic, like pony pearl, or ceramic (I have only heard about these ones).  I have to make a decision soon because I want to finish the squirrel as soon as possible. What do you guys think?

Completed penguin!

I finished the Penny the Penguin doll. He is super cute, I am calling him Mr.Pengi. Here he is!

Now Incognito!

sick ie bear

        I am still really run down, so here is another painting to get you inspired. Van Gogh's

Branches with Almond Blossom

Sleep required

        Sorry no post yesterday for those use to a daily dose of Chubbiness but I was verrry run down yesterday. I literally fell asleep at 9 and only got up at 8 this morning. I am still really tired, I guess I need a long rest. But just to keep your creative juices flowing here is my favourite Van Gogh, not as famous as Starry Night, but Starry Night Over the Rhone has a charm all its own.

Have I mentioned that snow in April is Bullshit?

        I am kinda on strike tonight because my fingers are frozen, okay not really but anyways I thought it would be a good lead into introduce the mittens I an going to make for myself. The are from the Good Egg and can be found on Ravelry. Have fun.