Joining Carole and friends again this week for Three on Thursday...

#1 - SEWING

I teased a few times in the past couple of weeks about an epic, years-long, multi-generational sewing project that I was working on.

As memory serves, it started out with a vintage chenille bedspread and my mother's desire to have it made into a bathrobe. I'm sure Mum purchased the pattern, but she tapped Ann to lay and cut out the pieces. Pieces cut, Ann got busy (work & babies) and the whole shebang got stuffed into a bag where it sat for a while (years) until ~flash forward~ Ann moved to Brazil and gave the project (and her serger) to Ali to finish! Ali got busy (work & babies) and also needed to clear stuff out, so it came to roost with me.

That (beat up) bag has been kicking around at my house for at least four years.

The upcoming trip to meet Ann in Nashville, her birthday on 1/23 and Mom's on 1/31, all came into play when my eyes rested on that bag one day last month and, without hesitation, I pulled it out and started to sew.

Lo, the pieces were all there, along with a little bit of extra fabric, the pattern & instructions, and everything was in pretty good shape. (I pressed each of the tissue pieces as I worked, neatly folding them up to fit the envelope, because this turned out to be a really nice robe and I would consider making another!)

I finished in time and surprised Ann in Nashville with her/Mom's birthday present robe.

She loved it! (The photos aren't the greatest, as she's fully clothed underneath and it was late/we were packing.) (Also, sneak peek above into my VERY messy workroom -- so much going on in that photo, it makes me laugh.)

2 - KNITTING

I'd been knitting on Morvarch until I returned from Nashville, when I decided to listen to the voice in my head and stop! It was going 99% OK -- getting used to the yarn and working cables again -- and I really liked it, but there's one little place where it's wonky. Also, there's no way it would be even close to finish by closing ceremonies, so it didn't make sense to continue just for the Olympcis. The problem is easily solved with a slight change in my technique, so I'm just going to start over and do it correctly from the beginning.

So, I've changed events and pulled out another long-languishing project for the WIP Dancing event: Habu For Me!

This was on the top of my To-Do Pile for the 2010 Olympics and didn't make the finish line. For 2018, the pieces were all knit (in the correct size/gauge) and all that remained was seaming & buttons.

It was all seamed up by Tuesday night and I gave it a soak yesterday.

I'm sure it'll be dry this evening! I still have the buttons that I purchased when I bought the kit at my LYS during a Habu trunk show -- in November 2007!

#3 - CATS

Rusty & I were ships passing in the night last Tuesday; he was returning from a week in Mexico as I was departing for a few days in Nashville.

When we spoke on Wednesday, he told me that he was worried about our old boy, Mr. Scamp Washcloth. Scamp wasn't eating and, actually, seemed unable to move his hind legs. We've noted a decline over the past few years -- he seemed stiff at times and we joked a bit about "kitty Alzheimer's" -- but he was still able to jump into an open lap, scuffle around with Duncan a few times a day, and even bat a milk ring or whatever around on the floor. He'd been doing all those things just days before!

Heartbreaking to see that suffering... Rusty took him to the vet and he & Kate were both with him as he made his way over the rainbow bridge. We said good bye to his sister Roxie not long ago, and now Scampy joins her -- and Daisy, Cutie, Cleo, and Porter!

That leaves this guy, Duncan, an "only cat" for the first time in his 10+/- years! It's been a week and he seems to be adjusting... sort of. Poor guy, he's getting lots of extra attention and lovin'.