Too Many Projects

I have come to the conclusion that I have way too many projects. My first clue is that I have projects in three places in my room, two places in the craft room, and a few in the basement that fall into the 'I never want to see that project again' category. To combat this problem (and keep me from starting any more projects,) I'm going to add a WIP list to my sidebar. I'm also considering a list of queued projects. Hopefully I will be guilted into finishing a few, and not starting any more.

My goals didn't go so well this week. I haven't done any tatting, and my knitting project has been...uncooperative. I had to take Mom and Dad to an appointment, and took my Queen of Hearts Afghan. I'd started the first square, and when I took it out I realized that I started the heart in the wrong spot. I took out three or four rows and started knitting. Then I realized that the 6 stitches on the ends weren't in pattern. So I took out 8 rows and stared at what was left. Took out 3 more rows. Stared some more. I finally decided it would be simpler to frog the entire thing and start over. Thirteen rows later, I realized I started the heart on the wrong row. Took out two rows, finally figured out where the heart was supposed to start, and made it to row 20! I had thought that it would be a good weekend project -- however, I'm not so sure now. I'm also not sure heart is in pattern. Right now I don't really care. I am not taking it out again.

My sister saw this pattern, and I bought the magazine on ebay. She loves to wear scarves, and thinks this one would be a great fashion statement. I'm currently debating what yarn to use.

I'm not going to make a goal list this week since I haven't been doing to well with my goals. Thursday is crafting night, so maybe my creative juices will start flowing again.

~Sarah

Belated Goal List

Last week my goals were:

• Finish the last two tatted balls: well you already know how that went.
• Look for a pattern at the LYS: they didn't have any patterns like I was looking for, but will be getting one in a few weeks.
  
• 8 rows on shawl: nothing to report. I did mention that my creative drive was somewhat crushed by my failed tatting attempt, didn't I? However, here's a picture with my lovely new stitch markers modeling.

This Week:

1. Tatting. I really want to finish those ornaments. Besides, they're taking up too much space in my craft pile.
   
2. Do some knitting, or cross stitch, or sewing. Whatever. I just need to get enough done to have a photo for next weeks list.
   

Happy Crafting~
Sarah

Tatting Gone Awry

Last week was interesting. My Dad had an encounter with a deer on Sunday night, and I was stressed out and the chauffeur for my parents.
On Tuesday evening Mom and I had our craft night with a friend and I finished a tatted design for one of my balls. I thought. For some reason it wouldn't lay flat. My Mom looked at it, and although she doesn't know much about tatting, she found the mistake. Turns out the problem was an error in the pattern. That stymied my creative drive for a while. I will (eventually) try the pattern again - and fix the error.
Does anyone know what to do with lumpy tatting??

On Friday Mom and I did errands and stopped at AC Moore. They had all their yarn 25% off. I bought two more skeins of Patons Classic Merino Wool in Rosewood and Natural Mix to make more coasters. I also bought some wool felt to try felting with a different texture; I used wool roving previously.




I forgot to mention in my last post that I made my very first Etsy purchase! As I continued working on my shawl, my stitch markers were giving me some trouble; they were almost too small for my needles. I remembered seeing some neat ones on Etsy, so I went eshopping. I found these and decided as long as I was purchasing from the seller I might as well buy some yarn, too. When I saw this skein I immediately thought of a pattern I'd seen in Creative Knitting. As is typical of myself, I didn't think to check the yarn weight before ordering. However, the March issue arrived today and has the perfect felted purse pattern. I even have enough yarn and it's the right weight!


Tomorrow: my belated Weekly Goal List.
~Sarah
PS - The marker in the middle came with the yarn. The rest were part of a set.

Fulling, Felting and Sewing

That's what I was doing two weeks ago. I made a trivet and coasters set with the leftover sock yarn from my Dad's socks. I then felted (fulled is actually the proper term) them, and needle felted some designs onto them. I used the pattern I found here. The coaster pattern was on the same blog. I was disappointed that they didn't felt squarely the corners were really out of proportion and I had a hard time blocking it. Ironically, my gauge swatch for the socks turned out the best (I threw it in to see what would happen). I think the crazy corners were probably knitter error, but I'm not sure what the error is.


I also worked on my own version of this. I have no idea what to call it, but it is supposed to help stop a door from slamming shut when the windows are open or the air conditioning is on. This is my first try, and a failure - the door still slams. I took notes on what to do to improve it and will have another go at it sometime soon.

Happy Crafting!
~Sarah

Cross Stitch Projects

This is my last completed project post for 2007. Now I can start on the 2008 list. I put off writing this post because I was hoping to have a nice homemade frame to compliment the stitching. (That's a subtle obvious hint, Mom & Dad.)
This is a kit from House-Mouse. The backstitching drove me nuts, and I have 3 or 4 more kits from the same company in my craft box. It came with a mat so all it needs is a frame.
This was a kit I got many, many years ago and finally finished this summer. More about this in another post.
Last but not least, my sister posted a totally awesome picture on her blog. I was close to guessing what it was of, but totally wrong about what she did to get the picture like that.
~Sarah

Weekly Goal List

I'm way overdue for a Weekly Goal List. Better late than never, right?
My goals for this week are:

• Finish the last tatted balls
• Trip to the LYS to find a pattern for my Sister's birthday present
• Knit at least 8 rows on my Easy Triangle Shawl

My current progress on the tatted balls: 50% done with the first one. I'll probably finish it tomorrow. Then the question is 'will one motif be enough or should I do two?'
I just started the triangle shawl - I'm 12 rows into it - right where the pattern starts repeating. I'm using homespun yarn, and the color is called 'gothic' - it's a gorgeous variegated purple.
As for the knitting pattern, I have not found anything I like on the internet, so I hope the yarn store can help me out.
~Sarah

Quilling

I'd thought I was done posting my 2007 projects when I found a folder on my computer of quilling projects. I did the quilled Herb Sampler (#204) from Lake City Craft Co. for my Mom for Mother's Day. I was up 'til midnight the night before finishing it, and the next morning I was still adding leaves here and there. I had trouble with this kit - the directions for the chive leaves weren't as clear as they could have been, and all the paper was 1/8" instead of the normal 1/4".


This was for some friends who got married this year. The design is from Malinda Johnston's The Book of Paper Quilling, page 104. Their favorite colors are red and black, so I changed the fringed flowers from blue to red and picked a greener color for the leaves. I got to use my (then) brand new quilling fringer on the fringed flowers - a wonderful little gadget. I didn't like the way gold quill trim looked around the heart, and some friends suggested using gold braid. I'm very happy with the way it came out, and unlike the herbs, the directions were very easy to follow.

Happy Quilling!
~Sarah

Bamboo Knitting Needles

Bamboo Needles
Originally uploaded by c1earsk1es

If I could only use one type of knitting needle, I'd choose bamboo. I got some for Christmas and my Birthday. My Mom got me a set of size 3 straight needles and size 9 circular needles, and my Grandma got me two sets of size 3 dpns. I like using bamboo needles because they keep nubby yarns from slipping off my needles all the time. Other pros are:

* They don't get cold like aluminum needles
* They're lighter weight
* They're easier to hold
* They aren't as noisy as aluminum needles can be

So although they cost a bit more, the price is worth it.

Tatted Balls

I finished the fourth tatted ball on New Year's Eve, the night before it had to be done. There are still two I haven't done, and I'm trying to decide if I should save them for Christmas 2008 or give them belatedly. Right now I just want to get them finished, so I'll pick and tat a pattern and if it takes me longer than a month I'll save them for Christmas.
Here are the 4 that got finished:
(The red one was done on my Mom's embroidery machine.)

Goals/Resolutions for 2008

I've included a few personal goals as well as my crafting goals.

1. Lose those stubborn Last Five Pounds.
2. Create a list of crafting goals every month.
3. Finish 4 sewing projects - a dress, a chemise, and 2 blouses.
4. Be more punctual about getting chores done.
5. Start Christmas gifts earlier.
6. Post and organize pictures sooner.
   

That's it for now. Check back for my January and Weekly Goal Lists. I'm a little late because I got sick again. I've had 3 colds this season, and now I've got a nasty stomach virus.
Check out my other blog for my gardening goals.
~Sarah