On finishing

I probably shouldn't be thinking about this with just a few days before the wedding, but I am. I was reading Nicke's post this morning about her 2nd quarter goals for finishing projects, and decided to make my own list.
When the dust settles, there are a few projects I really want to complete. I tried to keep my list reasonable, and am resisting the urge to add additional items.

So, I, Jacey, vow to finish the following before the end of June:

1)

Swoon.
Oh, yes. I want to finish this one. Blocks are done. I started sewing the top together, but it is incomplete, and a back has not been made.

2)

My ballband washcloth.
I'm about 60% done, so this one is a gimme. But hey, we all need an occasional easy win, right?

3)

The Echo postage stamp mini.
The top and back are done, but this has not been basted yet.

4)

The improv patchwork quilt.
The top is about halfway assembled, but I probably need a few more blocks to get it to the size I'd like. The back is not pieced.

5) Wonky Bee, BAGS and do.Good Stitches bee blocks (which by the end of June is a total of 10 blocks).

6) I'd really like to make two garments for myself. A pair of Iris shorts and a Wiksten tank.

7) Three clutches for my neighbor, who is getting married in June. I'll be using Noodlehead's Envelope Clutch Pattern.

8) Finally, I intend to participate in Kelly's My Precious QAL. I haven't decided what fabrics I'll use, but I definitely want to use some of my hoarded lovelies.

So, that's my list! I'm linking up with Rhonda's Finish Along!
There's a few days left. Join in!

Wedding Shower pics

I finally sat down to pick out my favorite pictures from the wedding shower, given by my sister, mom and good friends. The party was fun, with lots of good fun, fun people and only one game. I'm not big on shower games. My friends really did an amazing job putting together a super fun day!

You can see all of these photos in my flickr photostream.

The center picture is the inside cover of the recipe book that they compiled for me. My friend Julie did all of the graphics and editing. It's such a special book, with lots of family/friend recipes to enjoy for years to come.

I also wanted to share the pillowcases my mom made for me.

My mom HAND-embroidered these beauties! She did an amazing job, and I just love them.

After the wedding, I'll be sure to share more pictures of the recipe book!

From Ayumi

We are in the final countdown for the wedding!
Elliott and I had a very productive weekend, but still managed to find some fun.

And I had some very fun mail arrive to get the weekend started!

A couple of weeks ago, I was perusing etsy, and found myself in Ayumi's shop. I saw the cutest little pincushion, and truly couldn't resist, so I bought it.

I didn't realize, but I guess it hadn't been in her shop for long, so I really lucked out!

It arrived, and look! It's just so fun. I love Ayumi's style, and of course, I covet her stash! She packed so many gorgeous scraps into this little cushion.

So, the package seemed a little heavy for just a pincushion, and that's because Ayumi made us a wedding present!

Look! It is so freaking cute! Ayumi used the new pattern from Sew-ichigo, a venture by Penny and Kerry. I'm not sure I'm quite up to the challenge of this pattern, but I'm going to give it a try soon!

I love Ayumi's gift. It's so fun, and I love that she even made the mixer match mine! The stamping is my favorite little detail, though!

Thanks again, Ayumi!

I have a few things to share this week, and I hope I can find the time to make that happen! <3

Catch-all

Hey hey!
Thanks for all your kind words on the shawl that Rachel and Rue knit. Every time I see it hanging with my wedding dress, I get excited!

The wedding is just around the corner, and I've been crossing things off the list pretty steadily. I also opted to eliminate a few tasks I'd set for myself. I knew trying to get everything done would make me crazy, and I'd really like to avoid that.

Forty napkins are completely finished. The rest of them are made, but need to be washed and have labels sewn on.

I managed to finish my April Wonky Bee blocks this weekend, for Jessica. She's working on a quilt-as-you-go log cabin quilt, and sent along scraps to use. I added a few pieces, and really enjoyed making these.
A log cabin is always happy-making.

I also finished my first charity quilt. The Houston MQG has chosen the Star of Hope as our 2012 charity.
Through fabric donations, we've set a goal of 100 quilts for the year.

I supplemented the fabric I was given with solids and the DS print on the back. I really think it turned out great, and I was happy I was able to finish in time for our first donation date.

So, I've also been working on two non-obligatory projects.

Gray Plum, a new knitting project, from Veera Valimaki's Summer Plum. I'm knitting this KnitPicks Palette and I love it so far! I plan to take this for honeymoon knitting. Veera is also the designer of Stripe Study.

My other fun WIP is a project with one of my favorite lines, Echo.

About a month ago, I had this:

After this weekend, I have a mini quilt top:

. I assembled the back, too, and I love it as much as the front!

I'm awful about measuring quilts, but I'm going to try to remember to do that from now on. I used several other scraps to supplement/compliment the Echo. This one probably won't get done until after the wedding, but it's been a nice distraction!

I also obviously won't be sharing a finished Swoon anytime soon (hey, that rhymed!).

I expect to post pretty sporadically over the next couple of weeks, but I look forward to sharing wedding photos with you very soon!

From Rue and Rachel

When you are regularly order things online (for a wedding and maybe some occasional fabric), it's hard to keep up with what packages you should be getting. The other day I got one in a small flat rate priority mail box, that puzzled me upon arrival.

It was something from Chicago. Then I recognized the name and was even more puzzled.

Rue and I had already completed our swap, so what was she sending me?

Apparently, Rue and Rachel conspired to surprise me with a wedding gift.

A handmade shawl, to be exact.

Not only did they share knitting duties on this gorgeous shawl, but the yarn is handspun, by Rue.

Incredible.

I wish I could really show you the depth of this color, but the yarn is a gray with subtle flecks of blue, green, pink.
And soft. So soft.

The sneaky girls perused my ravelry favorites and saw that I enjoyed the Citron shawl, but I haven't knitted the pattern.

I love this shawl, because it was knit with love and hope.

I hope the wedding venue is chilly enough that I can wear this that day, and remember how each stitch was knit by my friends, Rachel and Rue.

Thank you both. You are incredible!
As soon as I can, I'll share a picture of me wearing it.

Hopefully, it will be from the wedding, which is less than three. weeks. away!

(nearly) Wordless Wednesday: new yarns edition

Clockwise, from top left: Skein Top Draw Sock in Static, Plucky Knitter Sport in Barn Door and Feet in Honey Wilkes, Sundara Sock in Flower Studies #129 and Socktopus Sokkusu in Prarie Dusk

Confession: I've been BAD.

FO: Stripe Study

It only took four months. In all fairness, it sat in the closet for at least two of those months. Back in December, I shared about my participation in a little impromptu knit-along with some fun peeps. I may be the last to cross the finish line, but I finished!

Using nearly eight hundred yards of sock yarn, this shawl is hearty.

You can see an Olias silhouette in the window.

I love the asymmetrical shape, and I LOVED knitting it. LOVED.
The stripes and short rows made the majority of this shawl go very quickly.
As you can see, I got ten stripes. I didn't think I had enough of the Hazel Knits Artisan Sock (in Beach Glass) for an eleventh stripe, so I have a small amount of that left over.

The brown yarn (I love the semi-solid shade!) is Sundara Sock yarn in Ancient Place. It was part of a holiday gift bag I purchased at Christmas 2010. I bound off with a size US 8 needle, to make sure the bind-off was nice and loose.

Raveled here

P.S. Did you see Rachel's version?