Consequences

After making it through 7 months of pregnancy relatively pain and discomfort free, I've been hit with a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome, which, as DH says, sounds much more serious than it really is:) But, for those of us who do handwork of any kind, sewing, knitting, bookbinding, not to mention cooking, cleaning, and typing, it can be pretty serious indeed. Mine has only manifested itself by putting my arms and hands to sleep at night, which is more disconcerting than painful. In an effort to prevent it from getting any worse, I wear this lovely brace while I sew, knit, read, and do other quiet activities, as well as at night.



My new project is this table runner, as a gift for a wedding we will be attending soon. I had great fun picking out colors and patterns for the fabric, especially as their taste is different from mine. Although this does require a lot of handsewing (appliqueing 28 squares of fabric), it is soothing work, and helps my mind and body slow down and relax. Now I just need a rocking chair for the bliss to be complete!

A new skirt...and a new gifting philosophy

This is my newest summer skirt, finally finished after as DH said, "almost a year." Well, not quite, more like 8 months, only 2/3 of a year; so there! It is the Sasha pattern by Louet knit with Claudia Hand Painted Yarns Linen and I love how it turned out. But now I'm too pregnant to wear it. So I've just been admiring it on the hanger. I thought about making the elastic band in the waist a little larger to fit under my belly, so I might play around with that. Right now I'm just content to gaze at it.

As I was wrapping my friend's wedding presents in homemade fabric gift bags, I was pondering my plans for Christmas presents this year. I'm giving all handmade items (mostly handmade by me; yes I'll be busy:), and I'm going to wrap them using items I already have on hand. The fabric gift bags are a great way to use up leftover fabric, and, since I save all the wrappings people give me, I have quite a stash. Yet another way to recycle, be good to the environment, and get more stuff out of my house!

Crafting Fool

Last week, I had two major projects due for my Masters program, so of course, all I wanted to do was craft. But, I restrained myself, and waited until the weekend when I was surprisingly productive. First, I made the Sketchbook Wraps for the shop shown in the last post.

Then, I tackled my first project for Baby; a Five-Hour Baby Sweater.



I think it turned out really cute, perhaps a bit too large for a newborn though. Now I just need to hunt down some sweet vintage buttons. Since we're going to be surprised and wait to find out whether it's a girl or boy, I'm going to bring a pink and blue sweater to the hospital.

And lastly, I made the pile of cloth napkins above as a wedding present for a friend of mine. She registered for red, yellow, green, and blue Fiesta Ware for her everyday china, and I though some re-usable napkins in complementary colors would be nice. They're really bright and cheery, I hope she likes them!
All in all, I'm pretty proud of my productivity (how's that for alliteration!)!