Summer accomplishments

So I finally have some photographic evidence to share that I have done more than walk the dog and watch television all summer. Although I did do a significant amount of both of those things, I admit.

I ended up doing quite a bit of quilting this summer. With two pregger friends, I had to come up with some great, unique baby gifts. And quilts were the answer, complete with minky backing.

And just this morning, while I was supposed to be working on about 4 other things (oh, wait, I’m still supposed to be working on those things…), I finally finished my challenge quilt.

The story behind the challenge quilt is that before I moved to Kyiv, my mom and I picked out a set of fabrics that we both liked and decided we would each work independently to make a quilt by the time our tour here was over. And then it would be a surprise to see what we each came up with. Well, I caved while my mom was here and showed mine to her, ruining the surprise. (In my defense, I don’t have any sort of craft support group here to give me feedback when I make things. It’s not fair.) But there are a few other people who will be in on the surprise when I get back to the States – our “judges,” if you will – and I don’t want to completely ruin things for them. But I will show you a picture of the label on the back. It will give hints, but I’m just as proud of how it turned out as the design on the front.

And then there was some knitting to mix things up a bit. I used the Chullo Pouch pattern from Bag Style, although I only used two colors (recycled from old sweaters!) instead of the 7 or so the pattern called for. And I kicked it up a notch by making a lining out of some cotton twill so that I could install pockets and a zipper for security. I think this is going to be my fall/winter carry-all.

Finally, a project from last week. Again, while I was supposed to be doing other things. I’ve had a vision in my head for a while of the perfect dog toy for Laika. The main problem we have is that she seems to think that we buy toys for her so that she can destroy them as quickly as possible. The last two toys we’ve purchased for her promised to be tough enough for aggressive chewers, yet she managed to destroy them in under 30 minutes. And these were not cheap toys. The toys that have lasted for a while have done so only because I take the time to sew them back together every day or two. Not exactly a fun task for me.

So last week, I used the Wee pattern from here, modified it slightly, inserted a squeaker (left over from a destroyed toy), and now Laika has here own Wee. Although not as pretty as the one in the pattern. But it’s lasted for a week, which is more than I can say for most things around here.