quilty gift cushions and making new knitty friends

This past fall I took a quilting workshop at the workroom. "presto nine patch" with Johannam which was so much fun. At the time I asked my dear MIL to come give an opinion on my colour selection, which she did. It was so much fun I asked her if I could make her some quilted cushions, and she proceeded to choose nine fat quarters she loved.
These are the cushions, finally, given for Christmas. I'm happy with them. They're not my colour combo cup of tea -- they're a funny kind of custom gift. I would like to have placed the horses a little more artfully but the thrifty sewer in me uses as little as possible of the fabric -- so that gets in the way sometimes, when I'm choosing tidbits for quilting. This is one such time. However, I love the way they washed up and shrunk. I stitched in the ditch, nothing fancy, and backed them with leftover fat quarter fabric.



Today it's sunny, cold, and I'm working at home. Next to me is my knitting, I pick it up and knit a few stitches as I think. It's amazing how much I can knit and still work! At the moment I'm working on a crazy improvised project which I will call a "Buttercup Vest". It's for my daughter (3) and yellow is her favourite colour, as I have mentioned before if you visit me here. My mum gave me some Tanis yarn in yellow for my birthday (39 again! woo hoo) so I'm knitting that up into a sort of vest with a crazy ruffle at the bottom. I'm up to the underarms...wish me luck. I've only ever made hats and scarves before....I just signed up for Ravelry (a brilliant knitting site) and you can find me -- and hours of procrastination -- there. Not many pics yet -- too busy these days.

Last night I took my first knitting class at "lettuce knits" here in Toronto. Kensington Market, to be exact. The teacher, Kate, was fantastic, really sharp. It was two hours of learning the secret of knitting cables. I highly recommend this class. Tons of peaceful fun. I connected with a couple of fellow students and wonder if I should stalk them to the February Lady Sweater class they're signed up for. Am I crazy? Do you have the same difficulty finding craft soul mates as I do? I feel a bit alone here...thus the blog. I was never good at "dating". I just, well, fell into things. Which all worked out. But friends -- it's funny. There was a Seinfeld episode about finding friends, double-dating with couples, I think. Like -- who are our "couple friends". Weird. I mean, we meet friends at school, mothers of children. Share years of growth. We haven't chosen those friends but we have so much in common a kinship is easy. Do people in middle ages make new friends?



My mother is a brilliant example to me, actually. She is constantly making and keeping new friends. She doesn't judge. She's in her sixties, and just graduated from art school with her degree. She hung out with twenty-year-olds and made friends there. Isn't that amazing? Student friends of hers still write to her from around the world.

I learned long ago I didn't inherit that trait. I'm too shy and/or curmudgeonly. It takes a while for me to warm up.

All that said...(whew, confession time of what, sheesh) I wonder if I should ask these knitting ladies out for coffee. Of course I am not forgetting my talented blog friends at 13 mimosa and ricrac, for example

I might sign up for sweater class yet. Here's the link to lettuce.