an american tourister

I'm very excited about my new sewing "basket." I noticed a practically mint-condition American Tourister traveling case in a pile of "junk" my dad had made for an upcoming yard sale. I ogle these things in every vintage store I go in - I LOVE vintage suitcases. I learned that this is the case my grandmother used for trips to Sicily - confirmed by the Italian hotel soaps I found inside. I love it even more! And now it's even more tied to her as I use it for my sewing basket:

I finished the Debbie Bliss Baby Shrug today for a friend's baby due in September - it was a pretty quick knit, I guess being unemployed has its perks. I knit this sweater to match the dress I am going to make for her - a sneak peak of the fabric can be seen in my sewing "basket" above. And a sneak peak of the shrug can be seen below (it's currently blocking) - I was disciplined about knitting a swatch (this is the third, final, and accurate swatch) and it paid off because I knit a complete sweater without ripping it out and starting over AND the dimensions are correct as according to the pattern. Who knew.

Up next:

1. Baby dress (akin to the one pictured in my first post)

2. Sunny Tied Quilt (SO excited, just ordered a boatload of sale fabrics from Sew, Mama, Sew!)

3. Kim Hargreaves' Demi (I realize this is moronic since I can't seem to finish Meredith, but it is really important to me to start yet another complicated sweater so I can see what it will look like and then get frustrated and put it in Time Out. I learned this phrase from SnB DC's Felt 'n Belch group.)

4. Oh, and I want to try embroidery too.