Not lost

I swear that I'm still around here somewhere. I've just found a lot of stuff to fill my time with lately.

Thursday night I met up with a group of local knitters for a little stitching time. It was a nice little group of 5, and I really enjoyed it. I'm hoping that this can become a routine sort of thing, now that we all know we're really out there. There are a couple of other groups that meet throughout the county, but they're always mid-morning or early afternoon, and that just doesn't work for us folks that have daytime jobs. Hopefully our little group will evolve into it's own entity in time.

There's also been some sewing going on around here. It's been about 12 years or more since I've been serious about trying to sew anything, so it's like learning from scratch all over again. So far I've made a skirt and I'm nearly done with a pair of pants. They're certainly not works of greatness, but they've been great 'practice' projects. I'm itching to make some bags and wallets, but the skirt and the pants seemed much less intimidating.

One of the things I'm learning about sewing is that, just like knitting, I could spend a million dollars and still find that there's something else I need or want. So far the only major purchase I've made is a cutting mat and rotary cutter, which I'm insanely in love with. Makes me never want to pick up a pair of scissors again! Seriously. Now, I don't think I'll ever be a great quilter, so I didn't spring for a top of the line model, but my cheap-o will serve me well, I'm sure.

Between that, and just building up a stash of notions--threads, extra bobbins, trims, etc... I've seriously overblown my budget. I've only been a sewer for a week or so and I'm already having to put myself on a stash diet. But no worries. I did just clean out my closet in order to accommodate the sewing machine. That means huge bags of fabric in the form of scrub tops, jeans, and outgrown clothes. That's almost more fun than going out and buying new fabric, honestly-- the challenge of trying to repurpose stuff I already have is great.

And so, pictures eventually. If you promise not to laugh at my juvenile efforts. I know that when I look back at my knitting from just a year or so ago and I can see my progress. I'm sure that sewing will be the same, if I manage to stick with it.