Stash Busting

It has been a busy month of stash busting at my house. I promised myself I wouldn't buy any more yarn until I managed to use up some of the overflow that already exists. The hardest part has been to select the yarns and patterns. It is not always an advantage to own so much that you can't seem to make a decision.....ugh. Finally I settled on four items of different sizes and uses but all out of fingering yarn. Since I don't make baby clothes I need to actually utilize this yarn for something. Here are the projects: A full size lacy afghan, a baby blanket, a sleeveless shell (to wear) and some fingerless gloves. All of these projects have been started and so far I have finished the gloves and the sleeveless shell (all but washing and blocking). I am not quite halfway thru the baby blanket and have only one skein of the afghan crocheted. But, at least it is a start. There are two or three Doris Chan clothing items that are calling out to me to begin. Her lacy designs seem to transform the ordinary into extravagant. However, I know these will be things I will want to take my time and savor the crochet journey as much as the end product. So for now I am content to rhythmically hook repeat patterns as speedily as I can.

To break the constant hand and wrist movement of crocheting, I am just beginning to work on some designs for a couple of patchwork quilts. I absolutely love to play with fabric.....the colors, feel and possibilities are all exciting. Just laying out the different shades and textures to see what I like with what has been an adventure. So many of the quilt books tell you to keep everything just exactly so, but in reading the history of American Quilt making, our pioneers found a way to mix and match (mostly out of necessity) and still end up with a beautiful and functional work of art. They took what they had and with imagination (and little else) stitched together little pieces of their lives into a handwork object that their descendants would cherish. THAT's what I want to create from scraps of items I have sewn for myself, family, friends and charities. I want each piece of the quilt puzzle to have a special "behind the stitches" story. So I am taking my time and letting memories help me choose how these quilts will evolve.

Sometimes I feel that hand crafting is almost spiritual in it's ability to lighten your heart and give you peace.

Till next time.....happy stitching.

Still Sewing

Hubby found a wonderful older portable Kenmore sewing machine at a local salvation army and I fell in love with it. I found a website, Sewing Educational Warehouse, that had copies of instruction/repair manuals for a very reasonable cost. So I ordered a printed copy and it came within less than a week. I have already sewn a Jacquard loose fitting jacket on this machine and it sings right along. I now have a Viking/Husqvarna, 2 Kenmores and a Babylock serger. My sewing table is getting very crowded.

I'm still trying to decide on my next project and am leaning toward something that uses a quilted/pieced look. A couple of weeks ago I found a treasure trove of lovely colorful quilt fabric pieces at a local thrift store. For six bucks I ended up with three shopping bags of good quality cotton fabric in both patterns and solids. I still have to wash and press all the pieces but I can't wait to play with them. Also, at the bottom of one bag was 7 or 8 pieces of upholstery fabric that will be perfect for a carry-all bag or project tote.

Yep, you gotta love those thrift shop bargains.

Hint of the day: Have trouble saving money? Here is a suggestion published in a recent Woman's Day magazine. Open an interest bearing bank account and every time you receive a $5 bill, stash it in the account. DON'T be tempted to dip into this little windfall until it has AGED for a year. You will be surprised how much has accumulated by just denying yourself one Starbucks coffee, or a McDonald's quick meal or that pricey magazine.

Have a great day and keep on crafting.

Good Grief, where does the time go!!!

Geez, even finding time to write a quick blog entry seems to have escaped me. I did manage to "de-decorate" the house. What a job. Why is it always much more fun to "put up" than to "tear down"? Anyway, I have the furniture back to looking more like a living room. I can actually watch the TV without leaning over in the chair to see around the tree....LOL.

OK, so I wonder if you all have gone back to a less frenetic crafting pace. I know I have. For now I have set aside the crochet hooks and in their place I've begun sewing once again. Way before Christmas I had cut out several items but with all the holiday hullabaloo, these projects were stuffed back into the closet. This month I have emptied the pile of sewing projects onto the table then picked out two of them to work on. I finished the chemise (more like a camisole) and found I truly like the fit. So I will now make a couple in a more expensive fabric like tricot.

Next, I put together a light weight bath robe made of a cotton fabric. It turned out well even though it is from a pattern that can be used for either gender. In fact, hubby liked it so well that I will be making one for him as well. I offered him the one I had just finished but I think the Chinese Red color didn't really jazz his jets....go figure.

I am now down to only about 6 or 7 items in my "crocheted gifts" blanket storage bag. Before the holidays I had two storage bags filled to overflowing. Guess it was a great gifting Christmas.

Tip of the day: Drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost immediately. (Grandma's Cures)

Hope you are having a great start to the New Year and keep on crafting.

Shawl is done and ready to ship

It is always so exciting to finish the last Christmas Gift project especially if it is done before December 24th.....smiling!!!! The shawl is over six feet long and done in one row of hdc's with a chain in between and the next row is all hdc's with a turning chain of two. I made it out of a pale shade of rose Harmony yarn. Put a short 3" fringe on each end. It is very soft and very warm and oooooh, did I mention it works up quickly??. I forgot to take a picture before I wrapped it up and put it into a box for mailing....OOPS. Oh well, next time.....

I love to collect bits of trivia, helpful hints and fun little stuff. So I thought I would try to include something from my collection each time I post here. Today's suggestion is for whitening teeth without buying those pricey kits.

This comes from Marc Lowenberg, a New York cosmetic dentist. Once a week, brush with this at-home treatment: Add just enough hydrogen peroxide to a little baking soda to form a paste to polish away discoloration.

I have to go now and write letters to add to the Christmas Boxes I want to mail off on Friday. Have a good day and keep on crafting.

Back on line-----yay!!!!!

That most integral part of my life, my computer, decided to take a siesta so I was without my daily internet fix for all of December (till today) and part of November. Goodness, what an addiction this technological wizard has become. But I am back on line and trying to reconnect with all that was lost to me.

I have been finishing up the last of Christmas crocheting with only the "Harmony" yarn shawl to complete. I am still fussing over a Christmas Card design. Have stamped three so far and none are really "doing it for me" so it's back to the studio to try again tomorrow.

One of the really cooooooool things I received for my B'day was a new Dress Form. Years ago I had one of those chicken wire looking things that was forever becoming misshapened as I tugged at the clothing pieces I was working on. This new dress form is made by Dritz and has all those lovely dials and measurement guides. I've already tried it out with a quickie summer top and was pleased with the adjustments to the top I could make before ever trying on the completed item. Yep, I am a happy camper. Now all I need for Christmas is a "Cricut" diecut and embossing machine and I'll NEVER leave my studio.....winking.

I'm already thinking about the projects for the coming New Year. I want to learn at least one NEW craft skill but haven't settled on anything as yet. Tatting comes to mind but I'm not sure I am up to working with such fine threads. I think I would like to try something in the "fabric" line as I love the feel of different textures of material as I smooth my hand over it and drape it and squish it together and smooth against my cheek. Yes Sir, I am definitely a tactile personality.

OK, well I have so many sites to try and get back to and once again add to my "favorites" list. It's the BIGGEST PAIN putting the old "humpty dumpty" computer files again. So I had best get back to it.

Done and Undone

Here is the finished "Be A Friend Shawl" and now it is going into the zippered bag of completed projects. I also made the two-skein Hoodie scarf from Red Heart. Added a bit of bling on the front edge.

I think I am taking a short sabbatical from crocheting as Christmas is looming large and coming fast. Although I have most of my crochet gifts completed I am still in a holding pattern for creating hand stamped Christmas Cards. There is always something on the back burner, right? I love co-mingling crafts and might end up with some quilting and crochet bits incorporated into a couple of card designs. At any rate, crocheting will be slowing down as other crafts gain a bit of momentum

Finished one, started another

I finally finished the "Be a friend shawl". Wasn't much left to do....just couldn't seem to get back to it. Now it is done and I've found I truly like the color combo.

Sooooo, on to the next project: a hooded scarf. I've had this pattern for years dragging it in and out of my "current projects" binder. Yesterday I looked through a tub filled with two and three skeins of matching yarn and found a lovely, soft sport yarn from a long ago supply company (which is defunct like so many others) and decided to create that scarf. I think I will again be adding a bit of bling using a fun fur, feather or ribbon yarn. Haven't searched that out yet. The pattern is a wonderful easy dc, ch 2, sc across the row with a turning of ch 2 and stitching in the ch 2 of each row's pattern. Very rhythmic and soothing. Will post a pic when completed.