A Whole lotta WIPs

In the last couple of weeks I have been suffering from an acute case of 'no finishing'.  I think since the holidays are over and everything has been put away and restored to 'normal' I just can't seem to really get the energy to finish any of my projects.  I started off all right but I have spiralled downwards into -let's start this and not finish that-.  So in an effort to spur myself to the finish line with all the various projects I have lurking around my house I am going to list them here and hopefully seeing it all laid out together will help me :)

First up is a cardigan for my son.  I have knit the thing three times and every time it doesn't come out right.  It is just a bit too snug for my liking and so I get to the point where all I need to do is weave in ends, add pockets, and a zipper and I frog it.....three times people....So now it sits and I just don't have the heart to frog it again but it is still just a bit too snug despite my meticulous measuring and measuring and measuring....

Next I am working on two little bears for my babes for Valentine's Day.  The knitting is easy, the pattern is free, the yarn was in my stash, but the seaming!  Oh not my favorite thing so still they sit in pieces...maybe this weekend.

A slouchy cardigan for myself.  Love the yarn, love the repetitive nature of all that stockinette, so conducive to movie watching, but like everyone else on Ravelry has described I just can't get my sleeve cap right so until I have some undivided time to sit and calculate it is languishing in my basket.

A quilt top.  I ordered some charm packs awhile back to attempt a quilt and they sent me an extra pack on mistake and when I phoned to tell them of the extra pack they told me to keep it.  So I am attempting my first lap-size quilt.  The top is 3/4 the way done I just need to finish that part up so I can measure and get backing material....

And if I didn't have enough going on I also started a sweater for my daughter.  I had the pink, the pattern is adorable and it is winter so what they hey?  I have nothing better to do right?

The one thing I have managed to finish recently is a small case for my little camera.  I have a beautiful Canon that I love shooting with but it is a bit bulky to tote around so last mother's day my husband and children purchased me this little camera.  It is the perfect size to always have with me at all times and has come in very handy.  All I needed was some bulky yarn leftover from a sweater, knowledge of moss stitch, and the measurements of my camera.  Nice and thick it is perfect to keep the camera protected in my bag. 

So now I think you all have a small idea of what my to-do list looks like and this isn't even complete....there are still a few things hanging out there.  Hopefully my weekend will include some much needed downtime to finish some of these items....what is on your to-do list?

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Nothing new to report

After frogging a zip up cardigan I am knitting for my son 3 times I think I might be coming close to the home stretch.  I just need to get to the store for the zipper and I am out of white sewing thread so not much in the sewing department has been going on.  I wanted to post something though so when I saw this I decided to play along...

The ABC of Me!



A - Age: I'm 33

B - Bed Size: Queen

C - Chore you hate: Ironing

D - Dogs Name:  Copper & Sadie

E - Essential Start of the Day item: Coffee with creamer

F - Favourite Colour: purple

G - Gold or Silver: Both

H - Height: 5ft 7inches

I - Instruments you play: Dabble in piano (very beginner stuff), want to learn to play guitar

J - Job:  Custom report writer

K - Kids: Daughter-6, Son-3 1/2

L - Living Arrangements: Live in a house with my husband, kids, two dogs and two tortoises

M - Music You Love: Too varied to pick just one genre

N - Nicknames: alas none

O - Overnight Hospital Stay:  Both of my children had pyloric stenosis and had to have surgery at 5 weeks of age, first time I ever stayed at a hospital.

P - Pet Peeve:  People that are habitually late
Q - Quote from a Movie: My family is full of movie fanatics so we would be here all day if I started spouting quotes :)

R - Right handed or Left: Rightie

S - Siblings: 2 brothers and one sister, all younger
 
T - Time you wake up: 4:30 am to work before the kiddos are up


U - Underwear: Silky and Lacy. Depends :)

V - Vegetables you dislike:  Brussel sprouts

W - Workout Style: I used to run and I am trying to get back to it

X - X-Rays You've had:  My elbow that I broke in college

Y - Yummy Food you make:  Enchiladas

Z - The best place to Visit - I haven't been enough places to say
 
Play along if you want I would love to read about all of you!

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A little more sewing

I made some bags.  The first one I did with no patchwork, just one fabric for the outside and one for the inside. 

I wanted to do a trial run with sewing per the directions without adding anything extra to worry about i.e. patchwork.

Another tutorial that I have browsed again and again always thinking to myself, wouldn't it be nice to have some of those reversible drawstring bags to throw my projects into.  Whenever we go somewhere I always have multiple bags to hold snacks, projects, toys, camera, you name it I am probably carrying it.  So unless I want to carry one more bag, which I don't, my knitting gets stuffed into the big bag with everything else.  These little tote bags have already made all the difference.  Just enough fabric to keep everything separate but not so much that it adds much bulk or weight to my already hefty bag.

For the patchwork I used 4" squares instead of 2 1/2" squares and I adjusted the lining accordingly.  Other than that little modification I followed the directions completely.  A great blog with plenty of more tutorials you can find this one here.  Now come on....no matter what kind of crafting you do couldn't you always use one more bag to hold it in?

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No hat lovin

I wish my kids loved wearing hats.  I love to knit them hats.  I love how fast they are and how quickly they are finished.  But no matter how many I knit or how much input they have on color and type they just don't get worn.  "My head is itchy" is all I hear and off comes the hat.  I have seen some tutorials for lining a knit hat with fleece which is on my to do list but until then here is one solution for my daughter. 


A headband.  Which at least will get worn. 

Something that is at least covering her ears.  Warm and soft.  Do you notice how still these shots are?  All I heard was.....when can I run?  I held her off as long as I could so I only got a few shots before she was off around the yard.

Of course it is pink.  This girl was born loving pink....I swear it wasn't me. 

A very quick knit.  Pattern can be found here (free).  I just used some scrap yarn from something and followed the pattern.  The best part is that the center lace pattern makes it easy to size for any head.  Just sew a button on one end and use any part of the lace as the buttonhole.  So maybe instead of my daughter raiding her mommy's closet I can go raid hers :)

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Being friendly with the sewing machine

One of the things I would really like to do this year is become better friends with my sewing machine.  We really only have a passing acquaintance at best.  Each October we come together for a passionate affair of costumes and when it is over we part and don't meet again until the following year.  I am constantly finding great little tutorials all over the Internet and I dutifully save each link with my little mantra of someday I'll make this.  Well this year I am attempting to actually chip away at some of these projects.  I have organized my favorites with a folder for each month of the year and I am putting in little projects to try and accomplish in each month.  I have given myself a maximum of 4 sewing projects a month, I'm hoping that by keeping my expectations of myself fairly low I can be truly dazzled at my industry :)

My first project is a camera strap.

 It is removable so easy to keep clean but the best part by far is the little pocket sewn onto the strap just big enough to hold my lens cap.  I am forever misplacing my lens cap.  It has been rescued numerous times from a back pocket of my jeans before being loaded into the washer.  Under sofas, on benches in the backyard.  When I saw this little tutorial I thought 'wouldn't it be nice to have a little pocket like that?'

 So I finally plucked up enough courage and made one.  Yes I know it looks like I am fabulous at sewing  :) but actually my seam ripper and I have a love affair of our own going on.  Don't worry the tutorial is simple, my comprehension drops a lot when I have to read sewing instructions.

  Voila....

Tutorial found here.  Super easy and fast. 

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Happy New Year

Happy New Year!  I can't believe the holidays are over.  We have had a fun couple of weeks of gluttony and lots of relaxing.  We all took a week off from school, work, and responsibility....so nice.  I had so many plans to share with you of new recipes and projects but we ate and gave away everything and I kind of just went with the flow and relaxed this year.  Nice, but I wish I had bothered to stop and commemorate a bit more.  Here are my knitted projects from last year.  I could have sworn I made more things but alas this is all.  I am hoping that 2011 will see more finished selfish knits because most of them are languishing in tote bags in my office closet waiting for sleeves, or seams.

At the start of a new year I don't do resolutions...to much pressure, but I do believe in taking some stock of your life and making some intentions for the new year.  A gentler more forgiving approach to hard and fast resolute promises to improve your life.  The one thing that I really intend on improving is my approach to handmade holidays.  I hate the rush to finish and by the time I think of things to make in December the only way to finish it would be to rush.  So I am following Kristyn's lead and starting an ADENTure for the year 2011.  Some of the projects I want are small things to fit in a stocking at Christmas and others are a bit more challenging, to make the actual stockings.  I am looking forward to a bright new year and seeing what all of you create!  Thank you so much for stopping by this small space and sharing your kind words. 

Happy New Year!!!    XOXOXO  Andrea

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