The Circular Solution

My Grandparents gave me The Circular Solution for my birthday! I had prior to this been storing my circular needles in the original packages so they wouldn't tangle. However, they were always kinky, and somewhat frustrating to work with. Here are before and after pictures.

The kinks are working themselves out, and I can quickly and easily find the needles needed for my projects.

I also received circular needle ID tags. Now my circulars are doubly labeled. Once in the Circular Solution, and second with the ID tags.

Belated Christmas Gifts (CA)

I won't tell you how belated these were, just that they were very belated. I have three cousins in California, and I try to make the same thing for all of them. The difficulty is finding something they would all enjoy. This is what I came up with:

Lunch bags! Inside, lunch! (No, not my little helper. Just the napkin, apple and sandwich.)

The crocheted food is from the Tasty Crochet book. I used the lunch bag instructions from Tumbling Blocks Blog with a few changes, listed below.

1. The exterior is cotton (not oilcloth) and the interior is clear vinyl, with a layer of batting in between.
2. In step 3, instead of sewing the velcro vertically, I placed it horizontally, 4" from the top, as pictured below. 
3. In step 4, the "wrong sides facing" instruction confused me. I think what was meant was to sew with the wrong sides together. Because I was working with cotton fabrics, and had raw edges, I sewed right sides together, and turned the bag right side out after step 6.
4. The long pieces (7x31) were more like 7x45 - I simply cut 7 inches of fabric and didn't alter the width at all. Most fabrics are 45" wide. In step 7, I trimmed three sides to the same length, but for the longer section, I think I trimmed it even with the vinyl layer. I may have just left it - I can't remember. I sewed bias tape around the entire upper edge to cover the raw edges. I then folded the end with the excess fabric down so there was just enough space to sew the velcro on and have the bottom of the velcro even with the top of the other three sides. I then applied the velcro to the folded down flap. (Again, see picture below)

I hope this all makes sense! If it doesn't, leave a comment with your question.

The napkins were made using leftover fabric. I simply cut a piece of fabric and a piece of muslin to the same size, pinned, right sides together, and sewed around, leaving a space to turn right side out. After turning right side out I ironed the edges and topstiched around, folding in the edges of the opening and being sure to topstitch over them.

Updated Goals (April)

You may have noticed that I fell off the blogosphere. I'm trying to climb back on, but I'm having difficulty finding time for anything computer related. Back in February, I finally got a job. It's a full time job, caring for my friends' 1 1/2 year old daughter while they are at work. I have had a lot more crafting time, thanks to daily naps, but by the time I get home in the evening, I have almost no interest in anything computer related. Not necessarily a bad thing - most people need to spend less time on the computer, and I'm no exception. I got an unexpected day off today, so I will start by updating you all on my craft goals, and try to write a few more posts to publish later this week.

Searching back through my blog, it appears that I never posted my February goals, although I did write them out on paper. Here is what I have accomplished since my January post:

1. Completed and mailed belated Christmas gifts to CA relatives
2. Finished my punch needle project
3. Finished my never-ending granny square afghan
4. Finished the quillow that's been in a drawer for more than 7 years
5. Knitted a hat and booties for a baby
6. Sewed a fleece shawl
7. Made some beaded jewelry
8. Created cat toys out of gauge swatches
9. Made a list of all the projects that I need to blog about (I love making lists - they make me feel so much more organized.)
10. Participated in a tatting challenge
11. Framed two of my completed cross stitch projects
12. Re-evaluated my knit afghan project(s)

Here are my goals for the month of April:

1. Finish and mail gifts for NC relatives
2. Finish Father's Day Gift
3. Figure out what to give my parents and sister and brother-in-law for their anniversaries
4. Catch up on blogging
5. Update Ravelry Stash
6. Finish at least half of Family Tree cross stitch (my take-it-to-work-project)

Clip Art from The Sewing Box