Finishing the Tunics

I finally got back in the studio, leaving my house cleaning binge in the dust. ha!
While I really like the first red tunic, I wanted to make a few changes on the second gray one. Leaving off the collar and making the bottom A-line, with no slits were the modifications.

 

The buttons are next, for both of these, which are mother of pearl . I sew those all on by machine.

 

I loved the big pockets that I saw on this pattern (Simplicity 1543) so I copied them.

And for the gray tunic I made big swooping A-line pockets . They are so roomy.
It's a great feeling to finally get the tunics I wanted for so long. In the right size and shape.

Keeping a Clean House

The old adage is that the best way to have a clean house is to have a party. Everyone pitches in to make the place look good and the results only have to last out the evening. WE had two weekends of guests so the house had to stay clean for the week in between. Yipes! This is a lot more work than it sounds. Of course I have antagonists preventing me from keeping everything staying nice. Add to that, I was in a get rid of furniture mode, and took away our dining room chairs (8) and table, and the two polka dot mistakes I made in 2012. 

Goodwill is so handy. They unloaded the van while I just sat there with the engine running. 

So now everyone has left the building and we are back to normal, or as normal as we can get. In the meantime, I had to keep my hands busy and yet couldn't make a new messy project. So here's the results.

Now that I am embracing my gray hair, I have started thinking of gray as the new black. Of course I still have lots of color in the ol' closet, but I like the thought of white, black and gray as so flattering to my new mindset. Knitting has found its way back into my life and I also have found some wonderful batik at Joann's (with a coupon) and cut out another tunic. 

 

 

 I had to have a gray on gray Baktus for my new gray tops.
This was an 8 hour project that turned into 16, since I started increasing every two rows instead of four, by mistake and had to frog half the thing and fix it. But it was worth it. All merino, with yarns left from my sweater above.
I knit a knotted cinch for the ends, since I don't like the big clump tying the ends would make.

And then scanning Pinterest I saw this scarf...

 

The description reads:

It’s an intriguing construction; a real mystery.

How about a cowl with no casting on & no binding off?

It’s made in rows but ends up all in one piece.

There’s no knitting in the round, no sewing, no grafting, no provisional cast-on, no picking up stitches. Promise.

You can make it to your own custom size, in your own choice of yarn without having to make a tension square. No kidding.

No purling, no knitting. Oh, wait, just joking - there is knitting - it’s garter stitch - with funky stripes and some easy intermediate increasing & decreasing.

I was intrigued, nay, CHALLENGED. What I love about knitting is untangling the puzzle. I looked at the thing and and then found a photo on Ravelry that explained it all. I had to start one immediately to see if I was right.

It's knit diagonally and then joined with a mitered triangle. Right up my alley.

Here's my start:

I'm only using leftovers of the nicest yarns in my stash. This prevents me from having to decide what to break open. I have lots of leftovers. From this start, one puts half the stitches on hold and knits off in one direction to the desired length, comes back and picks up the held stitches and matches the length of the previous half. Then putting all the stitches on a circular, make a similar 90 degree triangle and voila, you're done. 

I know all you people to whom I promised jackets to are sitting up and taking notice that I am knitting again. Yes, I will follow through and get your jackets made this season. I mean it.

But...

We have suddenly been gifted with some very cool weather. The garden needs attention and now is the hour. I have also decided to take our fish out of our pond and bring them to the pond at the end of the development where everyone can enjoy them. Heh, heh. Their container will be another garden for us. The fish were mostly fine in the tub, but it was too hot most of the summer to sit by and watch them. It's another thing we tried that turned out to be not worth it. But better to have tried than not. 

This tub will make a gorgeous flower garden. I may move our fig trees to surround it. They are the highlight of my yard, to me. I have picked ripe little figs daily and just popped them in my mouth. So exotic. 

OK , Let's get started!

Tunic Sewing

 
 I wanted this elegant looking tunic shirt, but didn't want to pay $109 for it, and went back to my shirt patterns and dinked around with length, and size until I thought I was on track. Putting it together and trying it on proved it. Yes! I finally have the shape and fit correct and I am on my way to more of these.

 

I've Gone Dotty

 Our trip to IKEA yielded my longed-for dotty duvet. The minute I saw it in the catalog, I knew it had to be mine someday. The curtain and chair fabric was something I already had, made into a twin coverlet, so I undid it and reused it for the window and the faked chair cover. I don't have enough to really cover it so I will keep my eyes open for another fabric in the same vein.

 Tony feels he must be included in this post, as he presides over his spot in the bed. Ah! Spot! Eek.

I enjoy reading at night and find this the perfect spot to peruse my fave Pinterest images in the mornings too. Of course I have red glasses and a glass of red at the ready. Can't have too many puns, can we?

 We are practicing our cute doggie poses.

 This one hits the spot.

Salon de Artistes

 In my ongoing crusade to get the right furniture arrangement, I have cleared up some space in my studio upstairs for a Salon de Artistes. That means I can have my quilting friends over for an evening of arty-talk, arty-noshing, and even artier show and tell. I have plenty more chairs around the house that I could add, but we'll do that only when necessary.

Here's my sewing corner, tucked in next to staircase. Since I mostly make small works, I don't need to have a lot of space around my machine. 

My fused fabric is in the red chest, and the scraps reside in that lovely drawer unit. I even have my serger and stereo at my right hand.

I'm waiting for Dave to bring up the heavy tv so I can knit and watch a bit of Netflix, of an evening.

 

 I'll be dealing with this clutter today. Argghhh.

Fig Season

 I am so excited to have ripening figs on our five little trees already this year. I have been plucking and popping them into my mouth, do not pass go, and enjoying their sweet juiciness.
Then I went to my local Publix Super Market and saw they had fresh figs in the produce department. I bought a container ($6!) and brought them home.

 Guess which fig I grew.  ha! Of course it is the runty one. Nevermind. It's only the first year.

Decorating Uphill

 I put off doing anything in the house until the pups outgrew their puppy behaviors. I am still hoping the end is near. But it seems to be an uphill struggle to keep anything nice from being undone.

We went to IKEA to get these Ektorp chairs to match our couch, and came home with Poangs instead. We're glad we did. Vanilla leather and no skirts to attract the leg-lifting dogs (bad doggies!) We did get some furry pelts to add a bit of cushy luxury to the seating. Yum.
But I have to cover the Ektorp couch with sheets to keep it clean. While the slipcover is washable, I don't want to do that load daily. That 'carpet' is a plastic outdoor version. Guess why?

 This throw pillow has been dragged into every room. It is Chumley's one true sweetheart and he makes passionate love to it until he drops from exhaustion.

 I have made major mistakes in my furniture purchases over the years and this monster of a red sectional couch is one. When we got it (in like, what, March?) I said if it lasted two years, it will have served its purpose, but it didn't. Tony the little bad doggie chewed the corners of the top cushions until he got the stuffing out. Polyester leather is not the same as real leather, nor did it cost as much. We are keeping the chewed up half and giving away the intact half.
While this may sound wasteful (and it is) I can't let that keep me from trying something else. Facing the fact that I can't buy anything that stays nice forever, is my boulder to push uphill.