Thursday, November 19, 2015

Wishing and hoping

Ever want to just start putting together a whole new look for your house?

Cottage charm living room - love the quilt on the sofa and the heart doors on the bookcase:


I've been gathering ideas on Pinterest for some time and I really want to make a cozy home.  The trouble is that I don't have a home anymore to make cozy.  Oh, sure, I have a place to live, but it's not really mine.  I'm not upset by this, but it does make me more mindful of once I get my own space again how I want it to look.

I think most people these days start off with hand-me-downs.  We did, and they have been wonderful.  Some things we got just because they were on sale.  Like my dishes.  Hubby was kind of hard to please, we had a VERY small budget, and we found two sets of dishes on clearance at Target.  They have served us well over the past 11 years, but I am ready to upgrade.  I am ready to save up and make a mindful purchase.  I am also ready to carefully consider the colors painted in my home and the furniture to fit into it.  I think most of the pieces I have I want to keep, and perhaps just paint or refinish.  Then there are the textiles - you know, the pillows, the throws, the comfy things to snuggle.  These things I have more control over now.  I can make them and store them, since that's really what I want to do.  I want them to be handmade, not mass produced.  I know my children have several blankets that were bought for them, and that's fine.  I just want the rest of my house to be handmade with love.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Updates from the grey skies

I just logged in to Ravelry, and found some improvements they have made on friends' projects.  It made me realize how terrible I am about updating my own project pages.  I update things here from time to time, but hardly ever update Ravelry.  I should, as it would be a help to others.  I use it regularly for new projects, or for looking up projects that I'm curious about.  I should update my own project pages to be the help to others that I so frequently look for myself.  I guess I'm just lazy, and rarely take the time to do it.  I am also horribly embarrassed by my pictures.  I can see the shot; I just can't always take it.  I also don't take pictures often enough.  For example, I was working on Common Bean, and finished it - bound off and everything.  Then when I started to stretch it out, I realized it was too small.  So I frogged the whole thing.  I looked and saw I had used the wrong size needle - I used a 6mm, when it called for an 8mm.  My solution, as I couldn't find my 8mm, was to use a 9mm.  I jumped from a size US 10 to a 13.  I probably should have used an 11, but I couldn't find it, I didn't want to go buy one, and I knew I had extra yarn.

It's now almost done, but I am behind.  I had tried to finish it by the 15th, so I would have one Christmas project done and ready, but I still have a few rows left and need to get finished with it.  There are a ton of other things that I need to do as well.  I have some items that I think I'm going to put up on Etsy, so look for that coming soon.  A friend has a light box, and he agreed to let me use his to photograph my stuff.  I just have to get a bunch of things done so I can take pictures.  That will be next week, and hopefully I can open my Etsy shop just in time for the holidays!

What are your plans for the holidays?  Anything exciting going on?

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Getting Distracted

I keep getting distracted.  Although, part of it is not really my fault.  My sewing machine decided to become schizophrenic the other day, and I had to get new thread.  I am not sure if this will solve the problem.  I have also to replace the light bulb because it has taken it upon itself to go out when I sew, rather than stay on.   However, I can't find a light bulb locally to replace the current one, which means ordering it.  So, instead of working on my sewing projects (and for some reason they continue to accumulate), I have switched to knitting.  I have actually scaled back this year on things that I'm making for Christmas, or at least I think I have.  Here's my current list:

1. My brother's socks.  He always wants socks for Christmas, of the handknit variety.  He wears them and loves them, and I happily comply with the request.  This year, he really wants Wraptor.


These are incredibly unusual socks, and will take longer than normal to knit them because of their unusual construction.  I have only made a gauge swatch for these (really, she suggests it because of the unusual nature of the construction.  If it weren't for that, I really wouldn't do a swatch.)

2. Common Bean for my Sister-in-law.  I actually found the yarn, and then the pattern for this one.  I'm about halfway done with it, I think, and I hope to finish it up this week.  Then I can honestly say I have one gift done.

3. The quilt for the 'rents.  This one is tricky, because every time I think I'm about to get started good on it, something happens.  Like my tension going wonky.  But not consistently.


I did finish cutting the squares, and I'm now ready to sew them up.

4.  Socks for hubby.  I haven't chosen a pattern yet, but I did already pick out the yarn - it's a superwash wool in a worsted weight.  I think I may do Rye, but since I haven't cast on yet, it's still up for negotiation.

And then I sit here and color for a good 20 minutes.  I got one of those adult coloring books (adult meaning grown up, not X-rated in subject matter) and I borrowed a set of colored pencils from one of the kiddos and I colored.  And it wasn't even a lot, but the amount of detail is immense, so in order for it to look like an adult colored it and it wasn't scribbled, it takes time.  How about you?  What are you making for the holidays?