a late Valentine present

What I am working on now is a late Valentine present for Ned, a throw pillow to commemorate the Packers winning Super Bowl XLV, our first Super Bowl together, which just happened to be played between our two favorite teams!  Ned took this "coincidence" very seriously and let's just say we're both happy with the way things worked out.

 I had this cool green and yellow fabric which I bought as an XL shirt from Goodwill a few years ago.  It's called upcycling...where you take something that was once useful as one thing, and turn it into something (usually more modern) that is useful in another way!  So when I'm at a place like Goodwill or Salvation Army, I am not just looking at an XL shirt, but a lovely fabric!

Made in India...exotic isn't it?

The big "G" on the front, and the background on the reverse, is a pale yellow and white woodgrain fabric I found at the Marden's store in Houlton this past summer.  It's perfect for Ned, who studied Forestry in school and just started working as a lumber grader last month.  I knew the gift wouldn't be complete without some sort of symbol for Valentine's Day.  Since I want Ned to actually put this pillow on display in his living room, I decided a lil red <3 on the back would be just enough and not too much.

I should clarify I had this thing all pinned together and ready to go since before V-Day but the holdup is with my newly acquired Singer sewing machine.  It was $9 at the Salvation Army so I figured it was worth the investment.  The motor runs strong but when I sew, the back comes out all hairy-looking...see?

So I got a universal sewing machine maintenance kit containing a stiff lint brush, screwdrivers, oil, and several other items.  I took everything off that doesn't have a screw, which allowed me to get at some of the lint build-up.  The screws are on way too tight so I will have to use oil on them and see what happens.


In the meantime, Ned came to visit me this past weekend (he lives two hours North of me) and took me to my favorite store, the yarn store.  It's called Rosemary's Yarn & Gift Store.  I picked up some green and white wool yarn, to go with the awesome yellow that his mom gave to me when we were in Vermont (Don't worry, I already have some black to go with it too).

I figured anything Packers-related might be a big seller right now, so we'll see what I think of to do with this yarn.  First off I thought to make an I-cord to go around the edge of the pillow.  I went to one of my favorite YouTube channels, Knitting Tips By Judy, to learn the I-cord - a pretty easy technique, but I am new to all of this.  Judy Graham is a Hollywood "Knitter to the Stars" whose blog I also follow!  I first found her through her helpful instructional videos on YouTube.  Here is what I have so far: