what i did on my summer vacation

I was hoping I'd be able to post a finished cross stitch project after spending 40 hours driving to and from Maine, but I didn't even touch the one I'd packed. It seems when there's something that requires so much time to finish, I'm far more interested in anything else.

Here's a little of what I did finish(with a few more things to post tomorrow and Wednesday).

A favorite pencil case of mine - At least a year ago I spilled something on it. Spot cleaning got a bit out, but then there were some lovely water rings to contend with. Now they're hidden underneath a spray of yo-yo's.

This came as a kit from Joann's in the clearance bin. (Carol, I think I sent this one to you, or one like it.) It's sat around my sewing room for ages. Now I know why. I wasn't so much interested in the fabrics in the kit, but I figured once I saw how it went together I could use the template to make the flowers out of fabric that was of more interest to me. Not sure I'll bother though. I look at it and think, "meh". Not horrible. Not great. I might try pinning it to my black winter coat and see if that gives it any life. Perhaps a few more tucks here and there to give it more dimension. I still prefer the flower pin pattern that's included in the Amy Butler Madison Bag pattern.

(Now that I've thought more about it, I think the fact that this pattern doesn't cut the petals individually makes the difference. It's all too flat. When I can sew them together one at a time, I can shape them more realistically.)

More to come - a mini foray into knitting(emphasis on "mini") and a new tool I'm trying to figure out.