It turns out that I will likely not have any paid work needing to be accomplished today so I have designated this as Fiber Arts Weekend. I had wanted to say it was Sewing Day, but then my knitting lesson wouldn't fit into the theme.


Yes, you read that right - I have a knitting lesson tonight! I'm very excited because I have wanted to learn to knit for a very long time. I tried reading one of those "learn to knit in 12 easy steps" books but couldn't make heads or tails of it (this could be because I am left handed - most such books are written for righties - and don't have much in the way of spacial awareness). Anyway, I've got all these dreams of whipping up sweaters and cool Harry Potter-esque scarves and cute little mittens and I'm just fidgety with anticipation. Baby steps, I know - I'll probably learn just enough to make some kind of boring thing but I promise not to get discouraged! We must crawl before we can walk before we can run. I'm not good at that kind of moderation, but it's worth keeping in mind.


I'm also planning on finishing the sun dress I started two months ago. All I have to do on that is sew the skirt to the bodice - it's already pinned - and complete the hem. This dress is not for anyone in this house - it's a 2T - but I thought it would make a good first project. When it's done I'm going to send it up to Buffalo so my niece can wear it and have my sister and mom do a critique of its wearability and my overall technique. Since I'm not a natural sewer this kind of feedback is important to improvement.


I'm also hoping to cut and pin a pair of shorts for the Boy Wonder. I bought some very cute searsucker plaids for shorts of him and really need to get going before the summer is over. He's in an awkward size right now where 3T is generally too small, but 4T falls off and I'm constantly nagging him to pull up his shorts. So I'm thinking I'll make him some slightly generous 3Ts with elastic waists. That should be enough sartorial compromise to get him through the summer.


If all goes well and I have time, I will also work on a needlepoint change purse for my aunt and a cross stitch bib for the Little Diva.


I might have some time/space/resource competition this weekend from my husband who has made his own designation for the weekend: Swing Set and Play House Design and Build. I was not surprised to learn that he has no intention of using any of the pre-fab kits or accessories available to saner parents but rather intends to do a complete custom design (except for the slide, which he has said he will purchase). When I teased him about his compunction to go to so much trouble when we could just go to and buy a very nice playset he responded that while we were out we should just buy the Boy a couple pairs of shorts while we were at it.


Touché.