Finally, photos

I was going to make another post with no photos, but then I decided enough was enough, so took a few minutes to snap some pics. Nothing breathtaking, but it's color!

I've been frenetically jumping from project to project, not because I'm bored with any of them but because they're all so interesting! It's driving me nuts how many projects I want to do NOW and how impossible it is to get them all done. I haven't gotten much done on the Miami Beach shawl yet but its time will come. I did get all the pattern pieces and interfacing (many, many pieces of interfacing) for the Sweet Harmony bag. I mistakenly got sew-in Thermolam instead of fusible, so it's set aside until I can get some bonding material of some kind.

Here's the knitted handbag I mentioned before. I'm about halfway done with the perpendicular join at the bottom. Still thinking about the best way to block this once it's done:

At any rate, I do have a few finishes to show. First, a brachiosaurus (a PlanetJune pattern):

Isn't he cute? I need to go back and beef up the embroidered smile - it sort of disappears, a bit. I'm working on the stegosaurus next, but it's not photo ready yet.

Next, a poseable poison dart frog:

My older son loves frogs and toads. Here he is holding an adorable little toad he found in our backyard a couple of weeks ago:

He was thrilled with the Hawaiian-style shirt I made him, too. I finally got a photo of it, though not modeled:

I must admit I'm pretty pleased with this. Some of the techniques were pretty advanced for my experience level, and I think it turned out pretty well. In fact, I had a brainstorm and I'm really challenging myself for my next sewing project. Previously, I mentioned the need for one-piece outfits for my autistic daughter, and that I have been sewing some simple pajama-type things for her. She loved this Hawaiian shirt so much that I decided she needed an outfit made from that fabric, so back to Hobby Lobby I went to buy a couple more yards. Then I thought, why not make an outfit with a Hawaiian shirt on top and shorts on the bottom? Except for the minor problem that I don't have such a pattern. Guess I'll just have to make it up! So I'm drawing up my own pattern, combining elements from the shirt pattern and the PJs pattern. It's been a challenge. I'm really glad I thought to use some muslin I had to test my pattern, because the first try was not going to work. I redrew the pattern and I think it should work this time, so I'm planning to test it out again tomorrow. It took me all day to get to this point. Here's a candid shot of part of my workspace after today's efforts:

I think this is going to be freaking adorable on her. If it turns out nice, it'll be another great option for my plans... for world domination of the market for specialized clothing for autistic children! Muahahahaaaa!