Puttering in the Studio

What's his name is quarantined for a few days after attending live business meetings... So I've PLENTY of time to putter around the studio. Here's what I've been working on.

• I am still knitting away on the Double Your Pleasure cowl. Someday when it's done I'll have a photo to share.

• 

  Wanna be towels
  

  The towels are on the Gilmore loom... I'm debating how much they're going to shrink up off the loom so I can figure out how long to weave them; There really isn't any excuse not to sample. I am thinking of weaving the first one 36" then pulling it off and finishing it just to see what happens. This one has a single color weft but the other two I'll play with multiple weft colors.  I'm also designing a 2nd run of towels to go on to the Baby Mac using some variegated 8/2 cotton I hand dyed a few years ago.

• 

  1/2 of a quilted tote bag

  I recently purchased a premium Craftsy subscription, with access to tons of classes for all kinds of crafts, gardening, cooking etc. I'm so tempted to play with frosting cakes! Instead, I'm working on a few new techniques/projects. I watched The Scrappy Market Tote with Christina Cameli for "intuitive" piecing techniques, and quilting with some new free motion techniques from The Secrets of Free-Motion Quilting  (also with Christina Cameli).  Sadly I forgot to push the purchase button on some strapping for the handles so will not finish the bag until next week.  I used my new piecing foot, the Bernina Quilt Stitch Regulator, and the ruler work foot with my new rulers. The QSR is surprisingly easy to use, the ruler work is surprising hard and needs more practice.

  

  What was I thinking?
  

• Next up, The Machine Embroidered Quilt with Eileen Roche, if I can figure out where Craftsy hid the embroidery files...

I've also been spending some time cleaning and rearranging the studio and found a box of fabric. It looks carefully curated, as if I were going to start a new project with it's contents. I have no idea what I was planning.

There's nothing new on the food front. Honestly it's not very interesting to cook for one. I did make a lovely brocolli salad with a honey mustard dressing, and some green chili stew, leaving some on the porch for the DH as if he was a feral cat or something. Yesterday, election day,  I was tempted to make an almond cake per Alice Waters but remembered that comfort food only comforts me while I'm eating it (so not very long) but exercise seems to put my brain at ease for much longer. I did stress nibble my way through the kitchen but also got out for a late afternoon walk which was quite soothing.