Where does the time go?

I am having a hard time believing that it is April next week...  Do you feel the same way? 
Time just seems like it is flying by this year. 

I thought I'd take the opportunity to do my monthly recap now since its the weekend (Yay!) and I don't have any FOs to share just yet.  So... the crafty input/output resolution... it seems that I am not making strides in the right direction.  Am I surprised?  Umm, truthfully no, not really.  The upside is that I have some lovely goodies to share with you on the blog :) Ha ha yes, what an excuse!

So here's the walk of shame:

1.  Yarn:
On the output front I have a sock:



It needs a friend.  But one is better than none :) 
I've been travelling for the last 2 weeks for my work, and all this time on planes has given me the opportunity to get some knitting done.  I've made a start on the second sock, so hopefully I'll have a completed pair to share soon.



I've had a hankering for some handspun sock yarn for a while now, and I'm really enjoying working with this Crown Mountain handspun yarn and seeing the color changes in the yarn.  It may come as no surprise that I acquired some more:





And then the monthly installment from Skein came in.  Its a lovely color, and I was sorely tempted to retain the subscription, but ultimately saw sense and cancelled my subscription.  Baby steps in the right direction.



Ooh, I did finish another square for the Bertie's (hospice) Blankets.  Thinking I may lay the blanket squares  out this weekend.  It's pretty close to completion, thanks to all the kind folks that donated squares.



2.  Fabric:
I made a couple of squares for another one of the gals at quilt guild.  Love the colors in this - bring on Spring!



There was the infinity scarf from my last post.  But I also picked up some more fabric for the Local Quilt, which I'm eager to try my hand at.



I almost forgot, I also made a 'huggie' for my cross stitch frame.  It helps keep the edges of the cross stitch linen protected. And it's plain old cute since it goes with the 'Once Upon a Time' theme of the cross stitch.  :)



I have the perfect project bag for this cross stitch project.  This bag has tremendous sentimental value:  After my Grandma passed away last year my Mum was packing her things away and found this hand quilted bag that Grandma had made.  Mum knew that I would love it.  My Grandma was a wonderful lady who I miss dearly.  It makes me so happy that I have something that she made.   







3.  Cross Stitch:
I finished the first in the 'Frosty Forest' Series:  Raccoon Cabin.  So cute!



I've started the 2nd square in this series, but I'm also itching to get started on the Once Upon a Time sampler - I am 3 months' behind.  Yikes!

Wishing you all a lovely weekend.
Sam xxx

Voile Infinity Scarf

A good friend had a birthday recently and I wanted to make her a little something to mark the day.  She loves to wear scarves and I thought she'd like an infinity scarf.


I used the directions from the Anna Maria Horner Figure 8 scarf... but instead of using velveteen, I used voile on both sides.


Voile is such a lovely fabric:  Lightweight, soft and with a silky feel. 
Silly me had no idea how to pronounce 'Voile' when going into one of my local fabric stores... but figured that it must have a fancy pronunciation for such a fancy fabric.  So there I was asking for where they stocked their 'Vwaaahhl'.  Of course the lady looked at me like I had lobsters coming out of my ears.  Lesson learned:  Voile is pronounced like foil, but with a V.  Which sounds nowhere near as sophisticated in my northern English accent :)))

Hope you are having a lovely weekend,
Sam
xxx 

Happy March

February flew by, didn't it.  The 2nd month of New Year resolutions... how did you do?

For me, the health related resolutions took a back seat this month.  Must do better:  My goal weight/size date is 2 months today.  The target is still doable... if I work hard at it.  I need to get my butt in gear!  ;o))

I have been making reasonably good progress on the crafty resolutions, but ultimately they are still out of kilter:  intake is exceeding output :)

Yarn:

• I completed another 3 squares for the Berties (hospice) Blanket (in addition to the square from last month that is also included in the photo below.)  I've found a local hospice who are eager to get their hands on these knit blankets, so trying to get this completed ASAP.

• And there was Naomi's pink sweater dress (which I am totally counting even though my Mum did a bunch of the work... but using yarn from my stash... so that counts, right?  :o)))
• I also started a cute baby sweater using stash yarn

• However, I've also picked up a couple of skeins of sock yarn including Skein sock in La Mer (yup, still need to cancel that subscription)

• Handspun sock hop yarn (so pretty!)

• Hello Yarn sock

moving swiftly on...

Fabric:

• On the output front, there's the monster bags that I just blogged about.  And although I purchased about 5 yards for some of the monsters, I also used about 10 yards from stash.  So all-in-all pretty good going there.
• There is the 2nd converging corners square that I made for a quilt guild swap

• And 3 stained glass squares that I made for a WIP quilt for Naomi

• I've also signed up to do the Local Quilt from Carolyn Friedlander with our local quilt guild.  I picked the following from my stash, and only needed to pick up an extra yard (ish) for the blue dots that will form the sky.  Good intentions here too :)

Cross Stitch:

• I am far behind on the cross stitch front
• Jan, Feb and March installments for Once Upon a Time are in.  I have the materials needed (and they are so pretty) but haven't yet started

• Jan-March are also in for the frosty forest, and my January block is still in progress. 

• To end on a positive note :)  I did get my 12 days of Christmas back from the framers this weekend, and oh my, I am in love!  I've liked everything about this project - the design, the materials, the theme... and now the framing! 

Well, thats it for me today.
Hope you are having a lovely Sunday,
Sam xxx

Monster Bags

Naomi turned 4 this last week.  4! 
I'm still wondering how that happened so quickly?

Anyway, her birthday provided me the perfect excuse to work on party gifts - monster bags:







These were so much fun to work on.  Perhaps my most enjoyable project to date.

Inspiration came from the following places:

• Giggle and Squeak quilt from Such Designs
• Monster Art Totes from Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky!
• Monster Coloring Tote from Done is Better than Perfect
• Simple Reversible Tote Bag from Skip to My Lou

I essentially followed the directions for the simple reversible tote, making the following small changes:

• I added a monster applique to the exterior fabric before assembling the tote
• I added interfacing to the exterior fabric to add some stability
• I purchased some soft canvas style ribbon instead of making handles

I started by selecting fabrics that looked 'monstery' :)))
My favourites are probably the batiks. But in truth I love them all. 
These patterned fabrics were used for the monster, but also a matching interior for each tote. 
The exterior fabric was a Kona beige that I had in my stash (that's right - this one was a good stashbuster!). 

I wanted each monster to be different and enjoyed coming up with each design.  Naomi and Joe both got involved on the design process too:  What about fuzzy monsters?  What about monsters with eyes on antennas?  How about some with 1 eye and others with 2 or 3? 

I'd also have Naomi help with layout before sewing the applique pieces in place:  Where should the eyes go?  Should we have horns?  Where should they go? 

And of course Naomi would add the crayons once all the other assembing had been done.
I think it made this extra special knowing that they were truly a team effort!
As each one was complete I'd hang them around my craft room.  I sure do miss those cheery faces greeting me each morning.  But am thrilled that they've gone to happy homes!

Naomi's favourite is the monster in the bottom right - purple with 3 eyes on stalks.
Do you have a fave?

Hope your week is going well?
Love,
Sam

Happy February!

So, how did you all do with your first month of resolutions?

I was so so: 
Some areas where I can give myself a pat on the back (health related)
Others where I wag a stern finger at myself (crafty output to exceed intake).

Here's the rundown on the output must exceed intake... or my failure to do this in January :)))

Yarn:

• The Pendulum shawl was finished in January - love this scarf so much and have been wearing it an awful lot.
• I also knit another square for the Bertie's sock yarn Blanket

• But, there have been a couple of purchases: 
• Before the holidays I signed up for a monthly sock yarn club from Skein.  In January I received my second installment (and a groovy tote project bag).  I am eager to knit with this, and try out this new-to-me brand of yarn.  In the back of my mind I am thinking I should probably stop with the monthly installments... I'll have a hard time trying to outpace an influx of 400 yards each month. Especially with the deficit I am in right now!

• Then there is a skein of cakewalk yarns that I was able to get my hands on.  I was really keen to try this out after seeing these lovely purple socks.  The cakewalk yarns are tough to get your hands on since the lady that started the company no longer dyes... so it's Ravelry destashes, or eBay finds, or the like...

• And speaking of eBay (I love a good bargain):  I 'won' some of this lovely mohair yarn.

No, I don't need it.  This is the one where I really wag a stern finger at myself and shake my head disapprovingly.

Must. Do. Better.
Fabric:

• I made the lovely Infinity scarf (which Naomi now tells me is hers any time I try to wear it)
• And a couple of squares for swaps with gals at the Denver Quilt Guild:  Here are the squares for Jen's Garden Fence quilt using Birch Fabrics

• And a square that I've been working on for Elizabeth's Converging Corners

• I must have messed up on Elizabeth's square because I needed extra fabric... and ended picking up much more than was actually needed:

• And then there was this Christmas fabric that I had to have (I fell in love then I saw the store had made a pillow cade out of it, and it was soooo cute)

• The girls at quilt guild have been making stained glass squares for a quilt for Naomi.  That is really close to completion now:

And so I picked up some backing and binding fabric.

• Then January is the month of sales, and I can't resist a good deal and so, ahem, here is the last of my fabric confession.   Yikes.

Cross Stitch (yes, there's more)

• The good news is that I finished the 12 days of Christmas (counting this as 12 out)
• But I have 2 stitchalongs that I have subscribed to this year:  Once Upon a Time Sampler (waiting for the cashel crystal to arrive at the local stitching store so that I can start) and Frosty Forest (received the first couple of patterns).  Here's the start of square 1 for the frosty forest - Mr Raccoon by his picket fence!

• And I stumbled across these 12 sheep virtues (counting this as 12 in, even though I will stitch them all together on one piece of linen). Seriously, what knitter wouldn't want these stitched and hung in a craft room :)

Erm, so clearly lots of opportunity to improve in February :)

Happy Superbowl Day!  It's going to be a crafting, TV viewing day for me :)

Big hugs,
Sam

Oversized Pendulum Shawl

So here it is, the finished pendulum shawl:





Details:

• Pattern:  Pendulum from Amy Miller
• Yarn:  Anzula Nebula in Charcoal and Black Cherry (love the sparkle throughout these yarns)
• Modifications:  The pattern recommends 5 stripes of each colour... I ended up knitting an extra stripe of the contrast colour which took the shawl width from 70" (width that the pattern was written for) to 84".  I like the extra width, and think it will be nice and snuggly on chilly winter days.
• Tip:  The pattern is written to use M1R and M1L increases.  If I were to do-over I would use a yarn over increase.  I found that the sides of the shawl are quite tight, and would have benfitted from a bit more 'give'.

I used up the majority of both skeins of yarn... there may be enough left for a Bertie's Blanket square but thats about it.  This feels really good as my new year resolution was to use up more yarn than I acquire... this gives me close to 800 yards used.  Although my purchasing habits have been keeping up with this so far ;o)

Ooh and Jody had asked if this was going to be for me.  Yes, yes it is (I say beaming from ear to ear :).  I am extremely happy with how this turned out and enjoyed working on something for myself after a productive pre-Christmas gift knit marathon!  Now hubby is telling me it's his turn; that he has been neglected.  He's silly.  But yes, I see some socks and slippers in his future. 

Hope you are enjoying the long weekend. 
Hugs,
Sam xxx

12 Days of Christmas

12 days complete, originally uploaded by samjoepics.

Isn't this pattern a beauty!

I'm delighted with how the 12 Days of Christmas Cross Stitch turned out. Gotta love the gals from the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery and their super cute designs. I used their recommend fabric (Cashel Crystal in Ale) and the recommended threads (a combination of Weeks Dye Works variegated threads and Cosmo for the solids).

So pleased that I persevered on this one. The plan is to get this framed so that it can be displayed each year at Christmas.

Do you have a favourite square? My absolute favourite is 1: Partridge in a Pear Tree. So very pretty.

OK, back to knitting now... I have a sparkly scarf that is close to completion and calling my name :)

Enjoy the long weekend friends,
Sam xxx

Infinity scarf

So here we are - the 12th day of Christmas, and my 12 days cross stitch is not complete (as hoped).  It is looking beautiful though.
My goal was far too aggressive (read unrealistic), even with a couple of days cooped up at home with a poorly girl, and snowy weather. (Poorly girl much better after a restful few days and much loving attention from her big brother who is visiting this week).

What was needed this afternoon was an instant gratification project to make me feel like I had completed something over the Christmas break:  an infinity scarf.


This version is inspired by some that I had seen at Treelotta - a favourite local fabric store.
Essentially it is the combination of:

Cottage Mama's Lightweight Spring Infinty Cowl

+ Purl Soho long Pom Pom Cowl

(Aren't they gorgeous!)

Materials needed:

• 24inches of a pretty voile fabric (what would have been better still would be 2 complementary fabrics of 12 inches each). Note that the voile was 53" wide - this becomes the circumference of your scarf (I wouldn't go any shorter than this if you want to wear the cowl doubled up).
• 106 inches (2x width of fabric) pom pom trim

General directions:

• Iron fabric, trim the edges and cut into 2 pieces (you will have 2 pieces that are ~12" x 53")
• Take first piece of fabric and, with right side facing, baste the pom pom trim to the long/53" edges of the scarf (both sides), with pom poms pointing toward center of the fabric




• Take second piece of fabric and pin to first, with right sides together


• Using a zipper foot to get up to the edges of the pom poms, sew both of the long edges of the scarf together
• You now have a big ole tube that you need to turn right side out
• I followed the Cottage Mama's directions for joining the ends together
• And you are done: Instant gratification!

Hope you have had a good weekend and are staying warm, safe and healthy,
Sam xxx