Almost done

Tomorrow is the last day of my 5 strands challenge.  The only problem with this is that the last 2 weeks have been pretty much a wash.  I had a very important work of heart to start, as well as some really busy kids.  Even as I type this, I am really paying more attention to the clock. High School choir is killing me!  Between the expenses and the events, it is becoming the center of our lives.  As well as dance, scouts, and basketball.  There were a few days in the last week that we were gone for 13 hours at a time!!  I don't know how people do this on a regular basis! 

Onto the progress.  Some days I did get 5 strands done, and others none, but most were actually 2 or 3 strands stitched up.  Here is where I left off 2 weeks ago.  The peice in the upper right is what all my stitching has been done on for last 2 weeks. 

I was frustrated that I hadn't had a lot of progress, and failing myself imposed challenge. But to be completely honest, I feel so much better about things now. 





As of right now after uploading this picture. 








Because even with not getting as much done as I had wanted to each day, here is the picture I took 10 minutes ago....

What a pretty big difference!  The one thing I ran into was that I somehow got a huge knot in the skein of black thread, so I wound up just working on the one color for a while, since it was easier than working out the knot.



There is no open space in this pattern, so there is still quite a bit of work to do, but after tomorrow, I can take it at a more leisurely pace.

There are 8.5 by 8.5 inches of solid stitching here!  But the results have so far been worth it.  I kind of feel like I should by an extra frame to work on it in, but using frames really bothers my wrist for some reason. 

 I think for my next personal challenge, I am going to work on some crochet projects I have stashed away.  And I am only going to do it for 2 weeks, and see how that goes for  a while. 

Now, on to that work of heart.  A friend lost her husband suddenly last spring, and I had offered to make a quilt out of his shirts for her.  She was very grateful for the offer, but wasn't really interested.  After a few months, I ran into her and she had changed her mind.  She asked if I was still willing, but completely understood if I wasn't.  Well, what kind of friend would I be if I wasn't still willing?  So after a time she had gathered a couple together, and and I picked them up and went to work.  I now have all the individual blocks done!!! YAY!!

 I found a pattern here at the Thrifty Quilter. It was perfect for what I had to work with, and with a couple little tweaks here and there, it is coming along nicely.  I had 3 light shirts, so I purchased and prewashed 2 complimentary colors instead of also having red.  I really want the new fabric to kind fade away and let the shirts be the focus.  We'll see if that's what happens or not.  Ok. The clock is ticking !!!!

Week 2 of my little goal

Since I am now halfway through my month long goal of stitching 5 strands a day, I have come to the conclusion that Saturdays don't work.  There just isn't enough time. In light of that, my 5 strands a day has turned into 5 strands 6 days of the week.  And the reality is a day of rest from something is not a bad idea.  This week I finished 3 little projects and started a larger project.

This is where I was at the end of last week. One finish and a couple really good starts.

YAY! The ball is rolling!   This is the little heart I had started last week. It is so stinking cute! I don't a have a frame for it yet, but I have put a couple on my wishlist.  It is the only project which is truly finished.  It just needs a home.

Also finished is this little sewing machine motif. It will be the cover of a needlebook later. It was a quick little stitch, and I may make more next year to gift to crafty friends.

And the bottomless pile is changing! The little Mrs. stitch project is done, but it needs to pressed and cut to its finished size.  And the new project to work on is a mistletoe piece that I want to frame in a serving tray. It's a beautiful design from an older CrossStitcher magazine.  It will fit in with my preferred decor perfectly!

So for the upcoming week, the mistletoe will be the go to project.  I have stuck some little Christmas tags in the car to work on when I am waiting for kids and DH. I am not sure I am going to make as big of a dent in the project pile as I wanted.  But progress is progress, and I think I may make stitching part of my daily to-do's. Not 5 strands worth, there are days when I am up til midnight working on them. What's a challenge without a little pain and misery?  But maybe 2.  Now, off to work on today's stitching!

My little challenge project

Last week I had made a commitment to stitch 5 strands a day in cross stitch/embroidery.  In the last seven days, I only failed one day.  It was a crazy busy day, and I was in a lot of pain from the previous day's activities.  It hurt to sit, stand, walk.  I was just  miserable, and I probably wasn't much fun for the family, so then I felt even worse about it.  So it was just a wash.  However, the other six days, I did the 5 minimum or more!  I even finished stitching one of the many projects floating around!

Here is the piece I sort of focused on this past week.  Mostly because it was the one on top of the pile. It will hopefully be a little stocking stuffer for DH.  I was actually starting to wonder if I would get any of these projects done before Christmas, which is kind of what prompted this whole experiment.  That, and I feel like I'm in a place where I'm not growing as a person. I'm not getting better at anything, I'm not doing anything new, I'm not learning anything.  I'm just kind of here. And really, stitching 5 strands a day is kind of stupid, but it forces me to work on time management with out having outside commitments.

When I started my 5-strand stitching, this is where I was in the piece.  Now, 7 days later, I am finished!!! With the stitching, anyways.  That is all I care about right now. Done, done, and DONE!  My stocking will may hold the cute little Mrs version I started after finishing the Mr.  Because even after the all the years we've been us, I still feel like we should be excited and happy about being "us". It's not everyday, that would make me sick with the gooey-ness.  But once in a while. 

And in the pile, I found this little key-chain kit.  Still unopened, still with it's magazine it came with.  But I love the pattern, so even though it's not destined for a Christmas present, it's getting worked when I don't work on the Mrs.  But I like it.  I may even have a little frame for it go in.  I think the wood medium with a metal frame would look great on my desk. 

Now, off to decide if I "owe" 5 strands for the day I missed, or I if I need to practice letting it go.  Which I have a had a harder time with ever since that stupid movie.  My stubborn side rears it's ugly head and screams "NO. NO WE DON'T WANT TO LET IT GO AND WE ARE NOT GOING TO LET IT GO!!!"

About that pile of craft supplies...

 After deciding to do something about the over abundance of craft supplies, I started with gathering the stitching supplies.  Oh. My. Lanta.  There are a lot!  There were kits in drawers, and bags in closets, and patterns or magazines on EVERY bookcase or shelf.  There were some upstairs and downstairs. Some in various states of completion, from everything together in a bag to just needed a frame.  The photo on the right here is just the "little"? pile by the recliner.  Yeah.....I think I dream big, or something.

There isn't A pile. There are PILES!  These photos are kind of embarrassing. I mean, really? This is ridiculous!  But I've been around enough craft rooms to know this is kind of almost normal.  The piles may be yarn, or fabric, or paint or whatever, but they're there.  Some people are definitely better at organizing the piles, neatly folding fabric, or dedicated yarn bins, or whatever.  Me? Not so much.  

 This little basket is full (over full) of little kits I've accumulated.  Sadly, there are more that I have found, and I have no bigger baskets to contain them in!  So one will go into each vehicle for waiting times.  Since I always seem to be driving someone somewhere for something, this plan should make a pretty decent dent in the pile by the end of the school year.  Whatever I don't love love love can go into a gift box, and then some of the birthday panic will go away.

 This is the lovely pile of project bags that I found stashed all over.  I start one, and something comes up, so it gets put away and ....well, it stays put away.

Which is why this is a project kit that I have carried around for 20 years.  That's a little too long.  So I started it last spring.  The one before the one we just had.  There are three of them in this set, so it may be time finish them.  Although, at this rate, I can give them to a my great grandchildren as housewarming gifts.  Since I'd like them in my own kitchen, that time frame doesn't work.

So my solution?  5 strands stitched every day.  Period.  For a month.  No going to bed til they are done.  No carrying extras strands stitched over to the next day. They are happy accidents.  I've got a little calendar page in my notebook I can keep track in. I may need to bribe myself to keep it up, but I think once I see progress, it may be the only motivation I need.  I am not worried about any finish work there may be at this point, just getting the stitching done.  Maybe when I am little less overwhelmed in life, I can make the finish work a priority. It can be a whole other monthly challenge.

Off I go now.  There are some stitches waiting to happen!  I'll worry about the piles later.  After this one decreases a bit!

oooh, I may have hoarding issues

Recently I was looking for threads for a cross-stitch project.  One that may make D2 veeeerrry happy on Christmas morning. Or maybe St. Nicholas Day, depending on when I finish.  None of my "real" embroidery threads fit the color scheme I wanted, so in to the leftovers I went.  That may have been a mistake.  There are BAGS and BAGS of 'leftovers' I have saved over the years. Because, you know, I may need them. None of them are labeled. I have no idea what the color number is or which company it is from.  The same goes for fabric, fancy papers, and yarn.

So...My plan, or goal, or thing which needs to be done, is to use them or give them away.  I know there are widgets and whatever to help keep track. I have no idea if I have time to track one down.  So in the meantime, I will keep an actual tally sheet with my project basket to keep track.  Hopefully in the next week or so I will add a list of tallies to the side bar.  If anyone has need of a general item to finish a project, I will happily send it off in the mail. And by general, I mean:

2.5 x 2.5 cotton squares in blue

or

any lengths of green embroidery floss in 3's (or 2's, or single, or whatever!!)

or

acrylic yarn ends of any color

or

green cotton yarns


Just remember, we are going really generic.  If you want greens with no snowmen, I can handle that. If you want the green that matches your sofa cushions, I'm not sure I can help.
Please. Please send me an email at dburnette10@hotmail.com with your request. lease put "crafty leftovers" in the subject line, so if it goes to my junk box, I'll be able to spot it!!! I can't throw it away, the pile represents too much money for me.  But if it goes where it is needed and wanted, the anxiety goes away.  Funny how that happens!  Now, on the upside, I DID find all the colors I needed for this particular project.  So I may not have any grey embroidery thread to give away. Right now anyways!

So think about your bazaar or holiday projects, and the things that can be a little iffy and drop me a line.  If I can help, I will. And if I can't, well, we won't know until we try! Here I would normally say "one man's trash is another man's treasure". But it's not trash.  That would be the problem to begin with!!

I would love to make this an annual or seasonal project, so let me know if you think it's worth doing!

One cold week!

Last week was a little slow with the craftiness.  We had a smattering of snow, enough to be white outside, and chilly. But not enough to cancel school.  I got a few nooks and crannies in the house cleaned out. They aren't looking like I want them to yet, but some of the miscellaneous clutter is gone.  My closet in the master bedroom was the highlight of my housework.  We had so many bookcases that there were some in front of the closet, which involved climbing over or around! I never say no to bookcases since everyone in the house is a bookworm.  So after moving them out of the room, and clearing all the stuff out of the closet, I realized they would fit IN the closet beautifully.  So now they are being put to use holding my sweater and hat boxes!  I've been looking at it every night and every morning, and it motivates me to keep working on the rest of the stash-n-dash spots in the house!

My down time was spent working on a couple little cross stitch projects for the tree.  Both of these little kits I dug out of a box of "someday" projects. First was a lovely little dove ornament.

It originally had a little red hoop to go in, but I don't like those for finishing.  I rarely use them for stitching!  So I stitched down some lace I had, and made a stuffed ornament with a little bit of cedar shavings in it.  It smells and looks lovely!

I also stitched up this little robin.  It thankfully came with the little red felt frame, which is rather cute, and much better than a hoop!

Now, we just need to get our tree.  I usually wait until the weekend before Christmas to decorate.  There's enough stuff going on in I'd rather not try to cram it in.  But after the kids are out of school for the holidays, everything slows down quite a bit and we can enjoy the decorating!

I also worked on this lovely quilt, although I'm a bit away from finishing.  I took this before I started stitching the rows together.

The rows are in the process of being joined, and I may be ready to baste on Wednesday! With the cold weather, it'll be lovely to cuddle up under it and stitch down the binding this weekend! 

This week is all about the quilt, and few other little random projects.  I started a pair of wrist (or arm) warmers for myself, and the kids are teasing me since they cover my hand all the way to my upper arm.  And cozy!!!  I finished and made up the first one last night, and was wearing it until dinner!  It worked great with the sweater I finished last week.

Months and months in the making!

My last two November finishes were both a long time coming!  First up is the sweater.  I started it back in April.  Since I only really knit or crochet when waiting, it didn't get worked on regularly.  I love it!!!  It is so warm! 

My second finish was a little cross stitch project.  This was a kit that I had sitting around, and had sort of started.  A couple months ago I found the perfect frame at the goodwill.  So I finished it and framed it. 

It's a little pink for me, but it works on the shelf I have it on.  I think I like working on cross stitch this time of year.  Curl up with a blankie and supplies, and I can be warm and get something done!

Thanksgiving was full of turkey, pie, and family.  I think I need to change some things up a bit around here, for sanity's sake. DH likes it the way we do it now, but he has a crazy work schedule the days leading up to Thursday, then another crazy week after. I think he's happy as long as he has Thanksgiving off.

This week I have a couple of quilts to work (maybe finish?), and I may try and pick up yarn for the next knitting project.  The kids went through all the patterns with me, and we tagged the ones we wanted, and got rid of the rest.  Thankfully, my step-mom is a spinner and knitter, so they went to a good home.  She kept the ones she wanted and passed them on to her knitting group.  Two magazine holders worth of patterns are gone!  I just have two magazine holders left that the kids want done! LOL, all in good time.  If a sweater takes me 9 months, I've got YEARS planned ahead of me!

And the holidays begin!

Well last week was pretty good.  I finished the second cat quilt, and it looks amazing!

E should be getting it today!  I think it may be her favorite new blankie!  Next up for quilts is an other scrap quilt, that also follows the ROYGBIV. 

I also finished and mounted the cross stitch kit I had for the frame I found in the garage.

 

The kit came with one of the issues of Mollie Makes, and while I really liked it, I had nothing to do with it when it was done, so it just sat in the package.  When I found the frame, the light bulb went on!  I did repaint the frame from green, to a chocolate brown.  I left some green visible, and under the green was a creamy white.  Now I just need to find my chicken wire.  I know we have some left somewhere!!

I also finished these cute keyrings.

I thought about stuffing them with catnip, but decided that the cat can my error projects instead.  These will hang on the wire in the frame when it's done.  They are so darn cute, but a little big for putting on keys.  Again, these came with our Mollie magazine.  And sat around because i had nothing I could do with them when they were done.  So getting this frame done will help get a lot of little things taken care of!

With Thanksgiving this week, I have no idea what will actually get done.  We don't do Thanksgiving day at home, we go to dinner at our church, followed by dessert at the in-laws.  The kids have so much fun at the church dinner, I have to wonder if I have ruined adulthood for them.  Gathering with friends and family, tons (literally, I think) of food, room to play, and nothing they can break. It's an amazing event.  I haven't been able to pick a best part yet.  Every year the whole event is my favorite.  Even when we clean up and pack away the left overs, it's great.  The first year there was so much food, they were packing meals to send home with everyone.  Someone then called one of the homeless shelters the next week to see if they could use the food. So from the second year on, there is usually a caravan to take all the leftovers down.  I get weepy just thinking about all the wonderful, beautiful things I've seen happen at the church dinner. 

Busy bee week!

Last week was pretty good week.  I got batteries for the camera.  We got work done in the corner of the yard, placing the planter box and I think it is half full with some beautiful dirt!  (I never thought I would be able to compare Beautiful dirt, good dirt, and ugly dirt.  Then I got the monster compost pile!)  

S1 needs to sift more dirt for it, but I have been saving that as "if you can't be nice to your siblings" chore.  We lined the bottom and most of the sides with cardboard, since I want to replace it with the cement blocks next year.   Now I just need to wait for planting time to put the rhubarb in.  

I also finished these little finger puppets as Valentines for my Cub Scout den. 

  The boys loved them!  Although I made the first one too small, it fit as a pen/pencil topper.  I knew exactly who that was for!  S2's teacher! 

And here is the photo of the dishcloths and wrist warmers from last week. Those have come in handy with the chilly days we've had!

I have no idea what will get accomplished this week. We have 2 birthdays next week, with the celebration for one on Saturday.  On top of that, for Lent I am doing the 40 boxes in 40 days from Flylady.  Oh yeah.  Great timing.  Prep for a party while at the same time starting the spring cleaning! I may be a glutton for punishment!

Merry, Merry!

With the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I finished a few items in the last couple of weeks, although one gift was given unfinished because I need to size it!  Which D2 was ok with, as long as we finish it this weekend.  

This is D1's little karate doll.  Except.....I forgot to stick it under the tree!Oh, well. Christmas will just last a little longer!

 This is a pillow cover I started last year, and then lost.  I found it!  Now I need to figure out what to do with it!

 These are a couple of Christmas gifts,  the little sailboat is cross stitched and then sewn onto the side of the box.  My Christmas table runner is finally done, I think I started it 2 years ago! And a green table runner.  Which I also have to figure out what to do with!

Now, with New Year's on Tuesday. I am off to see what else I can accomplish!

One is better than none!

Last week I only finished one project.  I am okay with that at this point, only because I made huge leaps towards finishing other projects!  I finished the back of a sweater I started YEARS ago, and am half through the front right.  Thankfully, there are no sleeves to knit!  

So here is my one lonely finish.  As with most of my cross stitch, it was a kit that had come with my magazine.

  I do have to say, I've never seen a photo these guys smiling, but he is rather cute.  He will be a gift for a mom we know who is from England.  

These week I am going to keep trudging through.  And maybe attempting some Christmas shopping while I am at it.   

woo hoo!! I got stuff done!!

This week I finished a bunch a of little projects.  After doing the coffee cozies last week, I think I finally got back into the swing of things.  Which is good because school is starting in just over a week!!  This week, I finished another group of boxes for the school bazaar.  As well as the three in the photo, I also finished a brown and green one. I only have 14 more to go!  Then I have a few other items to send in as well.  I wish I could rent a space there!!!!  I also finished a needlebook that came with my cross stitch magazine.  I think I am going to use it for either my quilting shorts or my tapestry needles.  I haven't decided yet!

 These buntings I did are one of my favorite projects ever!!!! 

This little one is 60 inches and looks amazing over a door.  The original plan was to donate to our school Halloween carnival, but there are changes afoot there, so that is up in the air right now.  I made several, and some are up on etsy.  I really wish I had a wood fence, to string them on, but since we still have industrial chic going on, I have no "good" spot to photograph items than hang. :(

This one is around 6 feet long, and will hang along our banister over the Halloween week.  I am looking forward to hanging something there, as it is right when you walk in the house.  It needs something!!!

In the garden, my second planting of peas is sprouting! YAY!  And the two not quite dead plants that I had left in are getting new growth, including new peas!  So, I think this week, I may stay away from plans again, since it worked so well last week! 

I got to sew!!!!

I finally got to sew this week.  Just a little bit, but that's better than none!  We started out with a rather quiet week as all the kids except S2 took off for various events.  We ended the week with me literally sick from exhaustion.  Since we only had the youngest, we could do whatever.  "Whatever" included a camp out with his scout pack, and attending WashJam 2012.  He had a BLAST!!!  And of course there was all the house cleaning before we left. I hate walking into the house and seeing a pile of dishes.  Yuck. 

Back to my sewing.  I finished 12 coffee cozies for a friend. She had requested them to use as "thank you's" for events that she hosts bi-monthly. 

She let me have all the leftover fabric!  The button fabric is absolutely adorable, as is the pattern fabric. I also finished 2 cross-stitch projects.  S2 is hoping I can finish some more since he is eyeing a bookmark I started.

  

This garland has been waiting for at least a year and a half to be finished.  It may wind up in the laundry room when we get that finished.  Right now it is over our kitchen door.

This heart sachet is another "been around" project, but not for nearly as long.  I think I only started this past spring or early summer.  I stuffed it with stuffing and cedar shavings to hang in our coat closet.    Both of these projects were kits that come with my cross stitch magazine.  I love the patterns and projects in it, but I only ever seem to get the kits finished! I may need to start tossing the kits into a pretty box, and only work on the actual projects in the issues that I want to do.  But then I'd open the box and say"ooooh, I want to do this today!"  Which is a big enough problem as it is. 

I have no idea what this week will bring.  I know I need to get on school shopping, and D1 is coming home today, and S1 came home last night.  But there is so much I want to cram into the next 2 weeks before school starts!  I think I'll need to take it one day at a time, and just start work my way through.

Lazy days of summer??

HA!  Yesterday started the rush of camps for the kids.  S1 is off to camp until Wednesday, D1 is at camp in her hometown, D2 leaves today.  I wish I could say I love driving!  S2 and I will be home by ourselves, so who knows what we'll do!  I am glad that the kids love their summer camps, S1 has gone to this one for 4 years now, and D2 has been going to hers for 3 years.  They have a good time, come home tired, and I have no idea what they learn!

This last week our dryer died, and then the motor blew up, so we are installing a sort-of "new to us" dryer today.  Not much got done with the rows of laundry hanging through out the house, but I did finish this cute little bag that D2 laid claim to.

The cross stitch panel had been sitting in a basket of "stuff" for a couple of years and I finally finished it, but then I needed to do something with it.  I saw this orange fabric at Joann's and thought it was perfect.  I sewed the panel down with some orange/pink/yellow variegated quilting thread I had stashed around.  When I finished it was one of those "whoever wants it can have it" projects! 

Plans for this week include driving all over the Olympic Peninsula, which is beautiful country.  I am hoping to at least prime the girls room while they are both gone, but we'll see. 

Back on track?

Maybe.  With kids out of school for summer, I have 2 less errands to run everyday, so I can actually plan on being home.  We have 2 weeks of camp in July, but they are day camps, so I can still come home every night!  We didn't do our annual Family Camp sponsored by our Church, which has the kids upset.  It was a great thing, but didn't work for our family, since Hubby always works on Saturdays, so if any one needed to come back to town, it was ALL on me!  And I just didn't want to drive that much this year!  I think I'm going to rig a fire pit in the back yard so we can still do a campfire, though.  It's not fair for the kids to miss out on EVERYTHING!

This last week I did get some projects finished. The biggest one is S1's bed quilt.

I have really loved doing these simple quilts for the kids' room, and I am now officially half way done!   I have dubbed the "x" pattern "St. Francis."  It is simple, it looks good, and meets the spacing requirements for the batting.  He chose an Asian theme for his bedroom, so all of the fabrics in this fit that, although he chose one that I think is more Middle Eastern in design, but I don't know.   He likes it, and when he gets too bored, he starts looking up what the various kanji mean.

I also finished this cute little cross stitch card.  It came with one of my Cross stitcher magazines.  WHY OH WHY are the UK cross stitch and knitting mags so much better than the ones I find at home?  The ladies at the store I get them at actually tell me when they are expected in so I can get mine, and they let me get into the box to find them before they put them on the shelf! 

I think it will go in a set for an auction next year.  Unless someone needs a baby card before then!

I don't know what is on the agenda this week.  I do have some closets to go through, and a friend is coming by to work on our bathroom. (I kind of wish I had a blog back when THAT started!) And if the wind ever settles down, I have some yard work to do.  Oh yeah, I got the first strawberries of the season yesterday!  YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!