Weekly Goals

I missed updating my weekly goals last week. My Dad had surgery to fix his dialysis catheter, and Mom and I spent all day Thursday at the hospital. I'd hoped to finish the cross stitch afghan square, but didn't get that far. Part of my delay in finishing it is being caused by a mistake, and I'm trying to get all the colors in places where they look natural.


Let's see, I didn't get near the Appomattox cross stitch, the only FO that needs a picture is the candlewicking, and I just took one. I used the auto-fix feature to make the stitching show up a little better.



As for the knitting, the only knitting I've done since finishing my sister's scarf was this evening. I knit the gauge swatch for my cousins' socks. For some reason my gauge has changed dramatically. I used to have almost perfect gauge, but lately it seems to be way off. I'm debating whether or not I should drop down a needle size. Since they're socks (and they don't have heels) the gauge isn't as important. Also, being a little larger, they would last my cousin a little longer. Any advice would be happily considered!
~Sarah

Weekly Goals

The past couple of weeks have been rather dull craft-wise. This week I'm going to try and make some progress.

My Goals are:

1. Finish Honey Teapot on Cross Stitch Afghan
2. Work on Appomattox cross stitch
   
3. Post pictures of any completed projects still on the WIP list
4. Knitting - that may need a subcategory!

I have not started any new knitting projects, although I have a very long queue. The 3 most important projects are:

1. Figure out the gauge and start knitting for Warm Up America
2. Knit socks for cousin Ally
3. Shawl for Mom

I have yarn for all 3 projects. I just bought the yarn for the socks this past week. They're made to look like Mary Jane style shoes, so I'm using glitterspun for the black to jazz them up a little.

~Sarah

Tatted Medallion...Finally Finished!

*Due to lack of a picture, this post has been a draft for nearly a month a really long time.*

Don't faint or anything, but the medallion is finally done! I sat down in front of the TV on Wednesday, popped Pirates of Penzance into the DVD player, and started tatting. I had to stop to make dinner, but managed to finish it while watching Phantom of the Opera. On Thursday I took it to Crafter's Circle, and pinned it to the ball.




One of the ladies gave me a crocheted ball cover - she couldn't find a styrofoam ball to attach it to. Isn't it pretty?

Contest Winner

And the winner is...Sarah Meister! Congratulations Sarah! I'm not sure I have your current address, so send me an e-mail, and I'll get the cross stitch sent out to you ASAP!

I've decided to keep the URL since it's a lot of trouble to change the account information. However, I am changing my store name to The Gardening Crafter. I've been working on adding bookmarks, but look for more items as soon as the camera starts taking good pictures!

~Sarah

Etsy Shop & Contest

*I've changed the date of this post so that it will stay at the top of my blog until the contest is over. Scroll down to see new posts.*
I've decided to open an Etsy shop, and need some ideas for a name for my shop. My current Etsy account is simplesticher - in case you didn't catch it, I left out the second 't' in stitcher.
I'm planning to sell beaded items; bookmarks, earrings, knitting markers, and anything else that strikes my fancy.

So, if you have an idea for a name for my shop, leave it in the comments. If I choose your title, I'll send you the cross stitch pictured on the left. If I don't like any of the titles, I'll pick a random commenter to send it to.
The I will close the contest in 2 weeks, on Saturday, April 12.


Some random info about myself that may help you think up a title: :)
Besides crafting, I love gardening, reading, and playing the piano.
I love cats and butterflies, and tolerate dogs.

I generally have 10-20 or so projects going at once. (Please note that they are not all the same type of project- for example, there may be 4 cross stitch, 2 or 3 knitting, embroidery, quilling, tatting, and a couple sewing projects)

My favorite colors are purple in shades of lavender and lilac, and pale yellow.

My favorite stuffed animals are seals. I have 14, plus 4 miniature seals made of various materials.

I have a large collection of candles, and a few oil lamps. I like to use them during the winter - it helps cheer up gloomy days.

I hope all this helps a little in thinking up names for my new Etsy shop.
Have fun!
~Sarah

April Awareness Ribbon

I chose cancer awareness for April because my Father has cancer. It is a blood cancer called Multiple Myleloma, and there is no cure for it. He is currently undergoing his second round of chemo treatments that will hopefully put it back into remission.

A short blurb from the page linked at the beginning of my post:

"All Americans can reduce their risk of developing cancer by following healthy eating habits, exercising regularly, avoiding tobacco and excessive use of alcohol, and controlling their weight. By scheduling regular physicals, getting preventive health screenings, and being aware of their family history, individuals who do develop cancer can increase the likelihood that it will be discovered at an earlier and more treatable stage. I encourage all our citizens to talk to their doctors and learn more about preventive measures that can save lives."

Living a healthy lifestyle is not always easy in America, with all the fast food, frozen dinners, sweets, and salty snacks we consume. When I first started working on controlling my weight, I took little steps, instead of making huge changes all at once. First, I cut out desserts. Then I stopped snacking between meals, and kept a food journal of everything I ate. As a result, I have lost 8 pounds and most of my craving for sweets - I still enjoy them, but they are a treat, not a snack. Lately my eating habits have deteriorated, but with the arrival of Spring and a wonderful veggie garden, things should be improving again. So, if you don't have the healthiest lifestyle in the world, don't try to change it all at once, set one goal at a time, and be realistic about it. Don't set a goal that will take months to accomplish, or goals that you can't accomplish in a reasonable amount of time.

Stay Healthy!
~Sarah

Scarf

It's been a while since I set any goals, mostly because I've been working on this scarf for my sister. She saw it in a magazine, and asked if I could make it. It knit up really fast. I used Bernat Silk in Sunshine and Ebony. I finished it last week, and it's just waiting to be blocked.

I haven't had much motivation to work on any of my projects lately. I just dabble, going from one to another whenever the inclination strikes. I was going to try and set some goals for this week, but I came down with yet another cold on Tuesday, and need to recover a bit before pushing myself to accomplish any goals.

~Sarah