Miscellaneous Design Studio

The Hatchery: a blog about my adventures in bird watching

Shoddy Seamstress Adventures: So Much Sewing

Sometimes I get the itch to SEW. And SEW I did this week. I had initially intended on making PJ pants for the kids. Yeah… Haven’t done that yet. But I’ve made a bunch of other stuff. So far I’ve made 2 zipped pencil pouches, 1 zipped pouch, 1 bag, 1 weird basket thing, and…

May 14, 2021
Experimental Knitting

The other day, I was thinking about interesting construction concepts for hats. And I had a somewhat unconventional idea that I wasn’t certain if it would work or not. The only way to get these ideas out of my head it to dive in and construct. What worked: the slip stitches worked great for connecting…

May 7, 2021
Shoddy Seamstress Adventures: Project Pouch

Even if I’m not blogging about it, I’m always working on SOMETHING creative. A new spin on a recipe, a weird eyeshadow color combination, some kind of knit/crochet/sewing endeavor. My kids were in school yesterday, and I got the desire to SEW. I have my own laundry to wash/dry/put away, kids clothes to put away…

May 5, 2021
Year of Projects: Week 37

I can unveil my baby gifts for my bestie, her shower was yesterday. It was great to see her and share a wonderful day outside. For the Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman, I made the smallest, the 134 c/o, with a large gauge (I think I had 4.75 stitches/in on a size 8/5mm). I…

May 3, 2021
Little Ways to Support Others

I talk A LOT about how much I love AT Haynes House Yarns. I love all Terri’s colorways. I love the bases. I love Brian’s Bags, the one I purchased back in Feb 2020 is the knitting bag I use for walks! I love that their whole family is involved with the business in some…

April 28, 2021
Too Many Tasks

Having my kids back in school 2 days a week is a great mental break for me. I have these great machinations that I’m going to do ALL THE THINGS and be SOOOOOO productive. Spoiler: I cannot squeeze 10 hours of tasks into the 8:15-10:50 time slot. I got a quarter of my tasks accomplished…

April 27, 2021
Year of Projects: Week 35/36

Sunday! I missed last week, entirely. So here is what I did, kinda. I fiercely love my friends, and Covid really puts a kibosh on being able to physically be present when things go awry. Since I can’t be there to give hugs and eat cake with her, I made a proxy! Behold, the “Cuddle…

April 25, 2021
Start All the Things

I’m experiencing a major case of start-itus. I want to cast-on ALL THE THINGS. I have the yarn to do a baby sweater (likely the Baby Surprise Jacket), that *should* be finished by the first weekend in May (2021). Yarn to make 2 pairs of socks. The desire to cast-on ANOTHER pair of 2 strand…

April 24, 2021
Languishing

It’s a weird state of mind, just meh. I read an essay about mental health and the ongoing Covid pandemic the other day in the New York Times. A state of mind, languishing, was the topic. Not depressed, not thriving, not burnt out, not really much of anything. Honestly, I didn’t finish the article on…

April 21, 2021
Buzzy. I Mean Busy.

I barely have pictures to chronicle what I’ve been up to, but I know I’ve done SOMETHING. The kids started back with hybrid learning last week. I thought I would accomplish so much in those two days a week, spoiler: no. I have a FO that I sent out today, but until its delivered, I…

April 20, 2021