I'm a sleepy slacker.

This has been a l-o-n-g week. Last Friday I was asked to be a Girl Scout Day Camp leader. I did this last year and it was fun. But last year I had almost 2 months to plan our activities, purchase supplies, etc. This is not the case this summer and there is only a little over a week left before camp. As a result I've been running wide open from 5:00 am to 10:00 pm everyday. My sanity and creativity are stretching pretty thin.

The only knitting I've done is the sock bag for the Knit Sock Kit Swap. Originally this was going to be a simple, but cute machine sewn fabric bag. Given the poor relations between sewing machines and me, compounded with new time restriction experimentation and do-overs were not options.

My pal likes green, red and purple. She also collects hearts. With this in mind I set out to create a quick and easy felted bag. But because I thought a pattern wasn't necessary the "quick and easy" bag turned into something time consuming (although still simple). The bag turned out okay... it's functional. However, that whole 4-H crafty look is quite evident.

Ironically, I still ended up having to sew the lining. The handles are detachable so she'll have the option of a using short handle or a shoulder strap. The shape is a little wonky, but extra chocolate may be just the necessary distraction. Maybe a bottle of wine too. Can we send wine?

Because the chances of my swap recipient seeing this are slim to none



(I don't think she's ever been here before) I'll throw caution to the wind and post photos.

Tomorrow I'm going to bake some cardamom bread (Finnish coffee bread) and knit a hat for my Dad's birthday... I hope. Here's where I plead with the powers that be to let tomorrow be errand free so I can stay home. If all goes well I may have time to soak and reblock the afore-mentioned "crafty" bag!

In the meantime, if anybody knows any giraffe songs or giraffe crafts I'd be delighted to hear from them. (Our camp group will be the tan and brown giraffes and they are third grade level) I can only think of one song remotely relating to giraffes. And now the theme from the Toys-R-Us commercial is stuck in my head.

Hippity Hoppity UFO Shoppity

Caution, long post ahead.

Yesterday afternoon Karen, her friends, Sharon and Michelle and Karen's daughter, Emelia, swooped in and picked me up to accompany them for a portion of their annual Quilt Shop Hop. The delightful company and scrumptious treats made for an enjoyable afternoon. Many of the participating quilt shops held raffles in addition to supplying the themed squares for the hop. There were beautiful quilts for admiring and tempting fabrics for purchasing. My favorite shop by far was Sister's Fabric Shop in Chehalis. Here are the ladies standing in front of said quilt shop. They are from left to right: Sharon, Michelle, Karen and Emma is in front.

We all exhibited tremendous amounts of self-control, all things considered. My purchases were limited to a mere 7 fat quarters.

And considering the extent of quilting these ladies do they bought little as well. Although I would NOT want to stand between any of them and sale fabric. Fiber addicts with yarn sales would elicit much the same response.

At approximately 7:00pm I was pooped and requested to be returned home. Their van left in a cloud of dust as they zoomed off to squeeze in more stops before 9:00. And believe it or not, they planned on going out again today! My hat is off to you all, my butt was kicked. And no, the occasional acappella rendetions of John Denver's classics had nothing to do with me slinking away. Oh life on the farm is kind of laid back... aack!

CONFESSION TIME. My UFOs and WIPs are not merely limited to knitting. Among the unfinished projects in my garage the following can be found:

3 Double Irish Chain quilt tops, one w/ quilting started

1 Double wedding ring quilt top

1 Custom appliqued Christmas quilt top

3 Cross Stitch pictures

2 embroidered works

5 Children's books written without completed artwork

and other long-forgotten projects which occasionally surface to nag and protest their neglect.

Most recently my Grandpa Porgy gave me some of my Grammie Helen's yarn, fabric and other supplies. Amongst them was a cathedral windows quilt. The fat quarters purchased yesterday will be used to help complete this. Because it is entirely hand sewn and a quilting frame isn't required some progress on this is plausible. Grammie Helen needs to haunt my scatterbrained self to keep me on track.

Significant progress was made on the second sleeve of Liv during the drive. I'll finish the shoulder cap and move on to knitting side panels today. The original body is too narrow and I don't want to frog it. Hope this works. Cheers!