It wasn’t intentional, really. But worked picked up, school started for both my boys, soccer season went on all fall, and in my free time I’ve been reading, knitting, stitching, and involved with community band. And now ’tis the season for merriment, family, and friends. All is well – very well. But…

This really doesn’t leave any time to blog.

I’m not shutting her down, but let’s face it – there are only so many hours in the day, and blogging is pretty low on the totem pole.

So I might be back. I might not.

I wanted to show off some projects. I might not have been bloggin’, but I have been stitchin’ when I can.

I finished my cross stitch piece:

Pattern can be found here. Patterns such as this are a great way to play around with floss – I chose a variegated blue.

I stitched some leaves for a shirt for the Bear’s fall party:

It’s my own pattern, which I might share later. Interested?

And just in time for Halloween:

And yes, I know that Day of the Dead is most definitely not Halloween. Pattern found in the Halloween/Thanksgiving issue of Just Cross Stitch.

I really like this pattern and think it would be lovely in another type of yarn as a scarf.

And I have a little peek at a x-stitch WIP:

Hmmm…what could it be?

I completed a fun little piece this week, for the Vintage Pattern Stitch-Along over at the New Embroidery with Vintage Patterns group.

My one regret is that I went with such a busy print for this one – the stitching blends a bit too much. But overall, I’m happy with it. I think it’s going to be a special stitchin’ and knittin’ pillow for me when it’s all said and done.

Pattern can be found here.

I knitted this Vol-inspired “Half-Hour Skinny Suede Scarf” (in about an hour) for my mother-in-law. I think she really liked it. I used Peaches N’ Cream cotton in orange and white instead of the suede. I’d like to try the suede at a later date, but they only had a rust color, and I wanted something Vol for my mother-in-law, who is a Vol superfan.

I also knitted this dishcloth:

You can find the pattern here. It was a really easy knit, and a great way to use up my not-quite half skein of Lily Sugar N’ Cream twists. I knit only 10 pattern rows, 3 shy of the 13 that the pattern requires, but I still like my results.

This is for the Bear (it will be a pillow), and I thought I was done BUT when I showed it to him he told me that, while it looked great and all, he wants it filled in. So I’ve been procrastinating because I just don’t want to do the fill stitches! I finally started them yesterday – they’re a variant on long and short stitch, a la Follow the White Bunny‘s work.

I did finish this simple garter stitch scarf:

Super simple to do; just cast on 18 and work in knit stitch until you’re almost out of yarn, then bind off. I was a bit disappointed – I thought this would be longer. This yarn is Berroco Love It! Colors, which appears to be a discontinued yarn. I wish I had planned its use better than just doing this scarf – I might have been able to stretch my yarn with some yarnovers in there. Oh well, live and learn.

My big WIP:

I’ve read a lot of griping on the ‘nets about Lion Brand Homespun yarn. But you know what? I got this for under $3 per skein (clearance at Joann), and it knits up really soft. There is a learning curve with the yarn – easy to get your needle stuck – but after I got used to it, I really don’t mind working with it. I’m using this pattern and hope to have a nice shawl for myself when the weather turns cold.

So, what are you working on?

While I wasn’t feverishly trying to finish the super-secret birthday project, I have been knitting. Finished this:

The pattern can be found here on ravelry. This was my second knitting project and I’m really pleased with the results. It’s very forgiving – I made a couple of errors in counting my yarnovers, but cannot find them in the finished result. I have yet to wash and block it, and that’s supposed to open up the pattern even more. I will post if this causes a dramatic change.

With some of the leftover yarn, I knitted a quick headband in a basketweave pattern:

Then moved on to this dragonfly dishcloth:

Another easy (and quick!) pattern to follow; if you know how to knit and purl, then you can do it too. This would be great as a gift set. I’m very happy with the results, though the next time I do this type of pattern (with an inset picture/motif) I will try using solid yarn. I used Sugar n’ Cream twists, and think a solid would have shown the pattern even more.

I better go embroider something soon.

What a great way to use a vintage Japanese creamer – thanks for sharing, Mom Walds Place!

Yesterday, BHE and I celebrated 8 wonderful years of marriage.

Cupcakes were made in celebration, in addition to a wonderful meal of steak and roasted asparagus and red potatoes.

It’s OK to drool. I won’t tell anyone.

The vanilla cupcake is an OLD family recipe that, I’m sorry, I won’t share. The frosting is my mom’s chocolate frosting recipe.

My icing skills aren’t the best (see my buddy at Family Bites for that), but I think I do simplicity well. My tip for simple icing? Take a spoon, put a dollop in the middle of your cupcake, and carefully spread with the dull side of a butter knife. It’s not fancy, nor involved exceptional skill, but your cupcakes will look nice and neat.

In other news, my mom has a renewed vigor for sewing, and has taken up bag-making. Bow down to her sewing prowess:

The bag fits a ton – two cross stitch projects – one a decoy, the other I’m doing on the sly as a gift – and my knitting project:

I got this Drop Stitch Scarf pattern off ravelry, and I’m really enjoying it.

This would make a great embroidery pattern, or slogan for cross stitch, don’t you think?

Thanks for sharing, giddy99!