needles (not pins)

There's this cosmic rule in my craft space that my needles get lost as soon as they are stored in a safe place... so safe that I can't remember where I put them... the rule does not apply to my pins, that are easily stored in a Nutella glass (along with the classic white cap).

This thing is driving me crazy, so I surfed the net for some solution... I found my inspiration and I made this needle book, which will hopefully help me with my hiding needles.

It only has 4 pages: the first for hand sewing needles, the second for safety pins holding labels on baby clothes, the third is for embroidery needles (no points) and the last is for wool needles (the big ones).

I love this little book!

I've been knitting...

... even if I promised I had to finish all of my sewing UFO. I know, I know... I do not have a single shred of willpower left in me...

I draw some sort of comfort from the fact that the project is coming so well... it's really very simple, a basic one. I saw this cowl on Ravelry and having recently purchased a soft wool stash I decided to give it a try.

I wanted something simple and super speedy and this was a project that perfectly met all the specifications (using the stash included...).

I plan to finish in the next few days, 'cause I usually work during the evening Fox tv shows, and mondays and thursdays are full of nice series...

fun is everywhere

They do have a room of almost 323 sq ft, packed with every toy known to mankind... *but* they spent half an hour here:

Can you believe it? It's not even comfy... Those two...!

summer nap - completed

No, I'm still living in this hemisphere, the winter-y one... Summer Nap is P's quilt (P is my friend's baby boy, the one I made the burp cloths for).
I certainly hope his mom won't read my blog anytime soon, 'cause I'm giving her the quilt on P's birth, in march... (S, if you're reading STOP NOW!)

Here are the shots:

 I didn't want a gender-specific color, so I went with these summer colors instead. I think it turned out well. The coin quilt structure brings out the yellow tones, and the contrast is very refreshing.

 That's the quilt in a heap. You can easily see that the back is a total yellow: sorry, I just love this fabric!

Here's another shot of the back, which also brings out the quilting pattern (which is obviously NOT a pattern...). I opted for an "almost linear" quilting: a combination of straight and wavy lines, randomly spaced.

The binding is in the same turquoise fabric I used for the front and it's (as usual) hand stitched on the back of the quilt. I just can't bring myself to try the machine stitched binding, sorry. The label is my standard one, with an important detail: there's P's name on it, as a special dedication to the little dude.

The quilt is 40"x49", a little off in size, but I don't mind that. It's also lighter than my usual since I used a super thin polyester batting: I wanted it to be used also for real summer naps, after all... I also considered the version with no batting at all, but I wanted it to have some structure so it was a no-no option.

Well... what do you think? The only thing left is the packaging, which I'll think about when it's almost time...

of earthquakes and school

Yesterday and today the ground has been trembling here. Nothing major, the earthquake risk here is not so high, but we do live at the bottom of a mountain which is also a sleeping volcano *and* our country is constantly pushed by Africa toward the rest of Europe... something is bound to happen once in a while...

The Baldo mountains (Verona, Italy) - isn't it wonderful?

We swayed along in the night and today in the morning and, as a result, schools have been closed. There's no reason actually to close down schools, but after L'Aquila incident two years ago nobody is willing to take chances and the philosophy has quickly become "better safe than sorry". So tomorrow will be dedicated to inspect school buildings, and we will have one day off. I'll spend the day with my two smurfettes and... we'll be crafting!

But... even if I love how things have turn out, please Mother Nature, just keep calm and quiet. All this wiggle-waggle, even if subtle, is not what we need just now. Thanks.

tote for baby book project

Smurf#2, who's in kindergarden, is going to join in the reading fun (well, his mom will read, he will behave - ah! - and listen...) and is in urgent need of a tote to take books home.

(sorry, not pressed...)

Kindergarden gave Sis precise directions, and I didn't have much space for maneuver... except for the lining... this is the result.

(guess what? Ikea soft fabric!)

Even if I had restrictions, I must say I like how it came out. Easy peasy!

I embroidered the name with a very simple stem stitch

burp cloths for P.

I have a quilt ready for this baby (which I'll soon show you, by the way), but I can't give it to his mom before the little man is born (that would be in march)... so I opted for something rather simple to give as a pre-present.

I used leftover fabric from the quilt project to create two burp cloths.

The "operative" side is in cotton.

I didn't resist and put them in a pretty package. P's mom will be happy and will have a feel of how the quilt will be looking...

Smurfette#1's new (pink fairy) costume

I know... when I was pregnant with Smurfette#1 I used to think that my daughter should never dress in pink. Ah! What a fool... It's been pink and pinkish all the way.

Now she wants a pink fairy costume. So pink it is (again). This afternoon my kitchen table looked like this:

I almost finished the dress, there are just few details left. When it's done, Smurfette#1 will be persuaded to  pose for some photos.

I'm still at a loss about Smurfette#2's costume...

embroiding? me? naaaah...! or maybe yes...?

I can feel the embroidery bug taking me down.... 'cause in the last few days I've been sorting through my thread stash and surely I must come up with some ideas to *reduce* the whole collection...

I don't really know how many I have, I didn't count them, but I know that I have almost every DMC color code, sometimes in *multiples*... I filled a plastic bag with doubles...

This is insane, I know... I'll think of something...

nativity scene is complete

Everything has a place in this year nativity scene... well, until I can keep it out of Smurfette2's reach, that is.