Finished Object Dance

I spent a fair bit of time on Sunday working the last piece of the flamingo and sewing it up late into the evening. This is the flamingo that will go with the expected triplet sweaters to my cousin in Florida. I guess I need to get going -- I got the invitation for that one and the other cousin (who Mom had said was due in the fall and the invite says is due August 6) in the same mail. Time to get going on the finishing.

On the right is the bird pre-felting with Consuelo and Stanley for scale and support. I put it in the high-temp dryer, soaking wet with 2 soaking wet towels at 8, and it was done at 9:40 with a resoak at 9.

On the left is the opening you leave to put stuffing in later, sewn up with cotton. I'm surprized at how firm the rest of the fabric gets sticking to its fellow fibers, yet then openings like this don't close up much. I've had times I've had to work to get the cotton out, and a few fibers start clinging over the gap, but nothing too bad to deal with.

On the right, in the morning light and with the plants I'm taking care of for Himself. Flamingo is currently stuffed with a combination of plastic bags in the head and cotton bar towels, just to fill him out to dry in a rounded shape. The head area was too small to get the towels in there. The towels and bags will get changed out later today, since they absorb the water on the inside and would keep it there if they weren't changed.

So while the felting was going on, Channel 44 was showing Miss Marple's current episodes. I had seen the second episode Sunday night, so got to catch the first one and then rewatched the second.
I gathered the random pile of things that needed finishing and got to work.
Some photos were retaken in daylight since the lighting in the TV room is not good for photography.

First up, socks for a way-back friend of the family who's been in the news lately. He's been looking like he could use a pair of socks, so I can only hope that they are his size. The colors remind me of the Pentecost colors that are out all summer and most of the fall.

Then I got to work on the baby sweaters. I got two Nalgars completed, and one more done except for the labels sewn in. The stripey one on the right will be going to the cousin who's expecting just the one in August.

Sewing in the labels took more time than I thought. I found (just) enough of the Machine Washable labels, but I'm going to need to order more. I tried my new labels from Cash's. The ribbon is hard to get a needle through, even switching needles to one out of my quilting supplies (not that I quilt, but I took a class once to try). I like their labels though. Delivery was quick and the price was reasonable -- I think around $25 for 72 labels. And yes, my handsewing in skills on handknits, ahem, are patchy.

Probably more finishing tonight. I got an immunization in each arm yesterday morning -- I was due for tetanus, and we've had a measles outbreak in Boston, centered in a building close to where I work and spreading. Turns out those of us from the 1960's may have gotten a combination of 1. vaccine too early so our little immune systems didn't work with it and 2. vaccine made in effective by a substance they put with it to lessen the side effects. Check with your doctor's office to see if you need to get redone. They took a lab test after the first shot and (I forget which) if it's positive or negative, I may or may not need to go back in 4-6 weeks for a second shot.

In the meantime, I'm feeling sub-optimal. That tetanus one hurts.