a multicraftual kid

Since Leah so far has escaped the Virus of Doom (not flu, btw, according to Jesse's testing, but he's still a pretty sick kid) that has turned the males of this household into pathetic sofablobs, she continues on her merry way with a perpetual assortment of projects.

When a friend was here for a sleepover recently, pre-quarantine, they decided to sew patchwork bags for themselves.

Lots of previously sewn quilt blocks, paper piecing experiments, and scraps were included. The friend hadn't used a sewing machine before, but Leah showed her how and the two of them had a blast, making it all up as they went along. I wasn't home to get a pic of her friend's bag before she left, so I'll try to do that when she comes back to line it and embellish with tassels and decorative stitching. Leah's using her bag, even without the lining, and is pretty psyched about the results.

I prefer magic loop, but Leah likes to knit socks and fingerless gloves on DPNs. She does not, however, like having to track missing ones down or picking up stitches when a needle slips out, so she got a package of goofy pencil toppers/erasers(?), poked a hole in a pair of them, and secured a length of elastic cord from one topper to the other, knotted through the hole.

Now, when she's putting her knitting away, she can gather the four needles and tuck their ends into the toppers, held in place by the lightly stretched elastic, with no fear of losing her needles. Bonus: No needle-poked holes in tote bags!

The love of Celtic knots and making her own outfits from periods throughout history (examples here and here and here) continues. Most recently, she's converting a hand-me-down gold satin evening gown and Goodwill-found velvet dress into a Renaissance style gown, complete with embroidered stomacher and sleeve inserts.

Lots of library books and Internet research for information. She's putting lots of effort into this dress and has a very clear idea of what she's aiming for. So far, the results are better than either of us could have anticipated. Go, Goob!