Following getting that Weekender bag done, and the Honeymoon scrapbook complete, I avoided my craft room for a little while. Partially because I was a little burned out from crafting, but also due to many other distractions. First up was a chorus show, at which my mini-chorus and my quartet performed. That went pretty well.
The weekend following that was a trip down to visit with my family for the birthdays of my dad, F, and the youngest of my brothers, D2. We went to dinner on a Saturday, then attended the Red Bull Air Race on Sunday. When we were invited, I thought it was the kind of race or event that Red Bull puts on where people create their own flying machines and then jump off a ramp. After much ridicule (by my father and brother, and pretty much anyone else they told), I found out it was an actual race by aerobatic flyers. That ended up being pretty cool!
We kidnapped my mother-in-law, P, for a much needed vacation from her every day life starting that weekend, and she was happily ensconced in our house while we worked, reading, taking walks, and generally doing whatever the hell she wanted to do.
I used that week to try a new recipe – Lasagne al Forno, from a new website. That went pretty well, though it was a fair amount of work. I’m not sure I’m 100% pleased with that recipe, but I’m willing to try it again until I get it right. That being said, we all liked the Ragu (meat) sauce used in the dish, so I made plans to make more of it to put with homemade pasta. (Fast forward a week, and I made a double batch of the sauce and froze all of it in single serving portions. Two of them are sitting in my fridge right now, awaiting the reheating process and the pasta to go with them.) Once I’m fully happy with everything, I’ll create a page for it!
The Saturday she was at our house was another show in which my quartet performed. Two shows, actually, complete with two of our songs and a nifty little joke between. MM and P attended the evening show, and it was great having their support, even if it was only for two songs!
On Sunday, P went home. We were sad to see her go, but it was time for all of us to go back to our reality, especially since both MM and I were at work for between 9-12 hours for the next three days straight, trying to make it to a deadline at the end of the week.
And finally, on Saturday, I got the itch again. Not to make a bag, but to make a stuffed animal. A coworker from Canada visited a few weeks ago, and I asked how old her two daughters were, what their favorite colors and favorite animals are. She responded that her youngest loves ladybugs and caterpillars, and her oldest loves butterflies and stars.
I was able to find a ladybug pattern on my favorite site right away. The butterfly is causing me more problems. I found a pattern for a reversible butterfly/caterpillar on a different site, and tried it out on Saturday. I was less than pleased, though the pattern was pretty easy. That being said, I realized that I could probably make my own pattern.
So I’ve gotten started with the butterfly. I’ve made one prototype, and I’m mostly pleased with it. I’m not all the way there yet, so I’ll be working more on that little one. But hopefully, with a little effort this weekend, I’ll be able to get those two animals done, and make some sort of progress on that Riviera Handbag that I’ve had on my project list since February.
How’s that for an update?
More later!