This project didn’t actually make it to my undone list, because it was so close to being finished that I didn’t think it counted. Plus, I am going to blame the delay on the craft store stencil thieves. Can you believe there are actually people who want to stencils so badly that they are willing to risk jail time? There’s an ugly craft world underbelly out there. These are their stories (insert Law & Order sound effect).

Bonus shot of Pixel scrounging for food in the background.

I was checking out the Martha Stewart paint aisle at Michael’s recently, and saw her line of stencils. They are much nicer than your typical craft store stencils, and I particularly liked this lace set. I’ve had this chippy chair sitting on the porch forever, and it wasn’t the nice kind of charming vintage chippy, it just looked bad. I had also recently pinned some painted and stenciled chairs, and so all this inspiration came together, and I bought my little stencil set and went happily on my way, blissfully unaware of the stencil drama to come (okay, I may be overstating this a bit, it wasn’t actually very dramatic, just inconvenient, really).

I sanded and sanded my chair, and got a reasonable amount of the paint off. Then I just taped it off and painted a little over half of it with a couple coats of semi-gloss white paint. I eagerly applied the big lace stencil in bright pink and got ready to do the smaller lace stencil when I discovered that my package was missing one of the sheets. Armed with my receipt and incomplete (and now used) stencil package, I went back to Michael’s to exchange it for a complete set. When I went back to the aisle for a replacement I found only one other package of the same stencil pattern, only this time, not one but all three sheets were missing! I want to know how one smuggles a stencil out of the craft store. I wouldn’t think you’d want to fold them up, and these things are pretty big. Plus, they are just not that expensive and you can always get a 40% off coupon. Anyway, the manager was quite nice and called a nearby store for me. They had it in stock and had it sent over for me to pick up the next day. Just don’t be surprised if the stencil aisle now has video cameras monitoring you as you shop, and for goodness sake, check the package before you buy it to make sure they are all there!

Back to my chair…I finished with the smaller lace pattern in blue and then sealed the whole thing with a wax finish, so it’s still a little chippy on the unpainted side, but it’s nice an smooth. I totally love it and now I want to stencil everything in sight. I will try to restrain myself.

Cushion is from Pier 1, but I don’t think it’s available any more.

One project down, seven (or more) to go.

…you didn't know, it's peony season!

I hope you are able to enjoy some peonies in your life, but do hurry, they will be all gone way too soon!

I look forward to them all year long.

I was totally not kidding about this. It seems that sock knitting is my go-to stress reliever. I really did knit three pairs (well, two and a half pair). But I feel much better now, and my sock drawer is on it's way to being awesome. My feet are going to be so warm next winter. Note: I didn't shave my legs for this photo shoot, so I would advise against viewing the large versions of these photos.

I started with a Phloem sock (Ravelry link). I can't say anything bad about the pattern and I love the design, but the giant chart was not my favorite thing. So I knit one and then took a break before doing the second. That second sock didn't have to wait long, however, since I really did like the design. It is even prettier in solid colors, but I was using what I had and I've had this Yarn Chef yarn kicking around for a long time. I love the colors and I've been wanting to use it forever. It was a pleasure to knit.

This was my mid-Phloem break: another pair of Waving Lace socks.

I love everything about this pattern: the scalloped cuff, the easy to memorize lace pattern, the slip-stitch heel, and the wedge toe. They knit up so fast and the end result is so pretty.

With all this sock knitting going on, I started to feel a little guilty about some long-abandoned projects, so I dug this plain vanilla sock out of the drawer and got started on it's mate. I don't usually develop severe SSS (second-sock syndrome), but something happened with this one. It was so long ago, I don't remember why I never started the second sock, but I think I might have put it away in a fit of frustration. I know I knit that first sock when I was fairly new to sock knitting, and I wasn't following any particular pattern. Something must have happened, however, because that toe is all weird and funky (the sock on the right). And then I ran out of yarn, so the second toe is also (obviously) weird and funky. I just used a different stripey yarn to finish. It's not like I haven't done that before. It's not like I will be wearing them with sandels, so no one else is likely to see my weird sock toes.

I also didn't write down what I did on the first pair, so the second is full of educated guesses. They match well enough, and I am just counting on the busy yarn to disguise most of the differences. I learned some important sock lessons, though, and added another pair of warm, wool socks to my drawer, so it's all good.

For a few weeks there I really did little more than knit socks, but I snapped out of my funk eventually and worked on some other fun projects. I'll tell you all about them in the coming weeks. I also really do want to continue the Sewing Class posts. I'm so sorry to leave you all hanging. I don't think there were tons of people following along, but I know there were a few, and to those I sincerely apologize! I haven't forgotten and we will get those skirts made, even if it takes the whole summer!

I guess I’ll ease back into this blogging thing. I didn’t plan to disappear for so long, but it’s been a stressful few weeks. I won’t go into it all, it’s just life, you know? Stuff that happens all the time to all of us. It wasn’t all bad, however. This happened:

Our next-door neighbor has a very sweet long-haired chihuahua. And then they got a friendly little white poodle. And then they had some puppies! There were just two, but they needed to find homes and when the neighbor handed this little guy to me over the fence, well, what could I do?

He and Winston have become buddies, although Bear is not so much on board. But there will be more on that later.

Here are some things you should know about Pixel: He is super cute. He has two speeds: on and off. He likes to hide his chew treats for later. This morning I found one in the outside pocket of my purse and it made me laugh. He is a bit of a drama queen. He thinks everything is his. He wishes he was one of the big dogs. He is slowly coming around on this whole potty-training thing. He likes to go places and doesn’t mind being carried everywhere when we are out and about. He’s not so sure about “going for walks,” that whole leash and harness thing are not his favorite. He likes tummy rubs and can be hypnotized by neck scratches. He likes to hang from Winston’s whiskers.

I hope you don’t get sick of hearing about him.

More on the suitcase bed soon!

I'm a little stressed out right now. Writing a resume and job hunting. So all I can really do otherwise is knit. On the plus side, my goal of having a whole drawer full of hand knit socks is closer to becoming reality. I will be back to regular posting soon. After another pair or two of socks is finished, for sure. Maybe three.