Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Christmas and crafting

I cannot believe I haven't posted for three months. Part of it is I haven't had a lot of time to sit down and write and another reason is I didn't have much to report on.

Finally I can post that I have finished Christmas gifts for both my mom and sister. I made biscornu's, scissor fobs and chair necessaries for both of then and finally finished them last night. I still need take pictures of them so that I can post what they look like.

These projects ended up being a lot bigger and time consuming than I first thought but once they were finished I was extremely happy. I know that they will both like them as they are something that neither of them would make for themselves.

Now to just find some time to work on a set for myself so that I have something to have around to look at that I have made. Normally I don't do a lot of cross-stitching but through these projects I have realized how much I have missed cross-stitching and how I need to get back to doing it a lot more.

My goal in the new year is to set one evening each week aside to cross-stitch and maybe work on one of the many started projects that I have.

Well it's now time to finish wrapping gifts and get ready for Christmas.

Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year.

I will post pictures of the items after Christmas.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

I do miss crafting

I have to admit that I have been busy with a lot of other things in the last little while so that my crafting has suffered. I haven't had as much time to do the things that I love as I am working and also taking a course.

I have been able to complete one biscornu in the last couple of days so that did give me some quick gratification. It only took a couple of days to do this so I am very happy. I will have to take a picture of it and post it so that you can see what I made.

The next little while I hope to be able to go more crafting time in but I also have other deadlines to meet. First I need to get myself organized for work and then get the course finished as I write my exam in November.

Well I think it's time for me to curl up for a little while tonight and do something for myself instead something for someone else.

Always remember to take time for yourself as it is important.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Charity Drop Off

It's hard to believe but I think summer has finally arrived for us and here it is almost the middle of August.

I have been working on a few projects lately so of course I have lots of stuff started but not a lot of items completed so now I need to sit down and start finishing them. Maybe that should be my goal until the end of the month to actually finish some of the many projects.

On Monday I am going to be heading out to drop off all the items that I have collected for the Soldiers. I now have two boxes full of stuff which means a lot of Canadian soldiers are going to know that people are thinking about them. This collection of items is from 15 different people.

I also have to organize a bunch of other charity items that I have to go to a different group so that they aren't taking up as much room as they currently are. This is a project where we are helping by making packages for new babies.

Off to try and get things organized or finished.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Yarn, yarn and more yarn

Yes I love buying yarn and this weekend was another one of those trips. I headed out to purchase one ball of yarn for a baby afghan and like usual ended up with more than that ball.

I have been looking for a ball of yarn for a while and of course I know think it has been discontinued as I cannot find it. So instead of leaving the store without anything I ended up picking up four balls of baby sports weight yarn for a couple of baby afghans. The nicest thing about this yarn is that it works up quickly so it shouldn't take me long to finish the afghans that I want to make. I have started one of the afghans so will see if I can have it finished by the end of next week.

Tonight I heard that one of the guys that we know just found out that his wife is expecting a little girl. I am now sitting here figuring out what colour afghan I should make for the two of them as I would like to give it to him before the end of August as the baby is due in November. I guess I should just look through all my yarn and see what I have a start an afghan otherwise I won't get it done.

Things are going along pretty good with my main project as well as I have been getting some items finished for the soldiers. I want to drop off another delivery to them in August so need to sit down and finish up a few of the items that I just need to sew together.

Now to just sit down and work on finishing all of these projects that I have started. I guess my project lt is going to grow a little bit if I start another baby afghan but that's OK.

Yes another project on the go and some projects are going to be left for a while as I work quickly on this new afghan. Off to workk on the afghan and hide from yet another thunder storm.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Craftkitten Spore

Well my wonderful husband keeps teasing me that I leave little bits of yarn all over the place. I know that sometimes I do lose the occasion piece that has been stuck to me.

When I crochet in the car as a passenger I know that I get the fluff off the yarn all over the car sometimes. The best one was when I was using red yarn and it was flying all over the black interior of the car. It did leave a rather interesting layer on the dash board. Sorry dear.

The latest incident had both of us laughing rather hard. We were away for the weekend and of course I had my crocheting and knitting with me. I carried my bag back up to the apartment and that was the end of it for the day. Little did I know I had lost something.

The next day we went down to the parking garage and when walking to the car I noticed something on the ground. It just happened that when I was carrying my knitting bag back upstairs I dropped something. There on the ground in front of me was a one round granny square which I had made the day before. It had probably been run over a few times but it didn't look like it had so I picked it up and it's now a six round granny square.

So please remember that you may lose some of your craft spore anywhere.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Charity Picnic

Yesterday was a day for me to get together with my online friends from a group that I belong too. I have to say that it was wonderful even though it rained late in the day. There was about 26 of us that got together and it was a lot of fun. The laughs that we all shared was wonderful as a lot of us had not met until yesterday but we were like a family.

The group does knitting, crocheting, quilting and sewing for charity and most of the items goes to various charities around Canada. The get together also gives all of us a chance to give the other people the items that we have made for their charity. I am now one of the coordinators as I collect the items for the troops and it was such a good feeling receiving all the items that I did yesterday.

This year an american charity also chose our charity as their June project so a lot of items were received from them.

These are the pictures of the items that I received for the troops yesterday.

This picture is of the items that I received from the American group.

Here is what I received from the group of women that were at the picnic from our Canadian charity.

Well now to finish up all the items that I have on the go for the troops so that I can sit and get them all ready to deliver.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Crafting Time Way Down but Good Reason

I have to admit that I haven't been doing a lot of crafting in the last couple of months but I have a very good reason. I have been involved in a charity run/walk that is taking place on May 24th in Whitby Ontario. I am having a great time getting it organized and ready to go so this is the fifth year for the event in Whitby. The charity group is AAIA and the run/walk is called the Triple "A" Run/Walk. The money raised that this event goes to research on allergies which is wondering as I do deal with allergies, asthma and also severe food allergies.

Here is the link to information about the event. http://www.aaia.ca/en/activities.htm

So please if you are interested and have some time please come out and participate and if you can't particpate we still need volunteers to help with the event.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Life has been crazy

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted and part of that is because life has kind of gotten crazy for me. I am trying to craft a little bit but have to admit that I haven't really accomplished too much this month so far.

Yesterday I did actually sit and finish a toddler hat that I had on the go for almost two weeks so it felt good getting it done. Now to see if I can continue getting things finished instead of just starting th8ings and then all the UFO's start to pile up.

My goal now is to try and finish a few things before the end of the month so will have to see if I actually accomplish this.

Now off to work on one of the UFO's and see how much I can get done today.

Oh, my cross-stitch is coming along and that is what I have been spending some of my time on it and hopefully will post a picture of it shortly.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

February Results

I have to admit that I am not too surprised at how little I actually accomplished in February. I think I did a lot more thinking and a lot less crafting.

I didn't meet most of my craft goals for February so hope that can do better in March. I think what I need to set a couple of days aside just to finish projects and that should help as well. I should be able to get a few things done this month but that will depend on a lot of other things going on in my life.

1. Starting a business with husband
2. Just got a part-time job
3. Head of a run/walk in Whitby in May and need to organize that.
4. Other things that just need to be done.

This is why I hope to be able to lose myself for a couple of days soon to just craft and maybe make some progress on things. I haven't cross-stitched since the end of last week and would like to send a few hours on that as well.

Well I better get off my computer and read some stuff for a meeting this evening.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Where has February Gone

I have to admit that I sure haven't had a lot of time to craft this month so therefore nothing much to write about. I have finally picked up a cross-stitch and have started working on it. It's approximately 14 inches by 14 inches so it is going to take me a while to complete but have been enjoying working on it for the last week.

I hope to start posting progress pictures of the pattern in the next few days now that I can see I am getting some where on it.

My knitting and crocheting results haven't been very good this month but finally finished sewing together three soap savers this week so feeling a little better about that. I am not going to be too happy tomorrow when I sit down and see if I have met any of my monthly goals this month. I shouldn't be too upset as I have been able to spend some quality time with my husband this month.

Now it's time to turn off the computer for the evening as finally go to bed.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Not much to say

This past week I really don't have a lot to say about. I haven't been getting things accomplished and part of that was because I was busy doing other things and not stitching. Oh, I did finish one scarf so that is something.

I am going to spend the next week working on some baby sweaters for one of the charities that I help out. I figure I have spent quite a bit of the last couple of months working on items for the troops so that will be a change for me. I have pulled out an old part for one of the sweaters so it is fun working on it again. the other sweater is a hexagon baby sweater and considering that is basically one like granny squares it isn't too hard to work on.

Now to actually get working on these two sweaters so that by the end of the week I have something to show for my week.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Finally completing projects

I guess I just needed a day to sit and start sewing things together. Today I finally decided to sit down and work on finishing some of the projects that I knit in January. I am slowing making progress which is making me feel a little better. I think I still need a couple more days like this to get everything sewn together but at least I have started.

I am hoping that by the end of this week I will have a lot of the projects sewn together that I have started. As I said at the end of last month this month should be a good month for getting things onto the completed list.

Today I was also able to get some crocheting done on a baby afghan that I have had on the go for a while. It isn't going as fast as I would like but at least a few rows at a time will help. If I can get this baby afghan completed soon it will make me feel good as I think I have had it on the go for about four months now.

I am hoping that this week I can start working on a baby sweater using granny squares. This pattern is one that I used a few years ago and last week I found it again in a book what I looked at while visiting my parents. Now if I can see how it looks using a little different yarn I may end up making more of them but that will have to wait.

Now to get back to sewing things together so that I can get a few bags emptied so that I can start filling them up again but next time I won't fill them as full before sewing things together.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Back Home and End of January

Well we are back from our quick vacation but have to admit that it felt so good even to be away for only a few days. We left Wednesday and got back Friday but it was time that we needed to spend together.

I didn't get as much completed as I would have liked to do but I think relaxing and spending time walking outside was more important. I did finish two more soap savers so that did help my monthly total.

I looked at my goals for each month and of course I met some of the goals but I didn't meet some of the others so I guess I need to work hard on those items in February. I didn't make any cool ties or complete any pants or slippers but considering everything else I finished in January I shouldn't complain. The slippers just need to be sewn together so I should be able to make up for none in January with lots in February.

Right now I am typing this blog on my new little computer which is wonderful. It's only 2.5 pounds with a 9 inch screen so it means I can take it with me where ever we go so when I have thoughts I will be able to write them on the computer instead of using little pieces of paper like I normally do.

It's almost time to call it quits for the day and say goodbye to January so I best get moving and finish up on the computer.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Snow, snow and more snow

Today was one of those days where all I saw was snow. Yes we did leave for our couple of days away but it also meant that we were driving through lots and lots of snow.

I was able to get a bit of crocheting done on the drive so that did make me feel a little better and since getting to the hotel I have been able to finish 4 soap savers. I brought all of the unfinished soap savers and slippers with me so will see how many I actually get completed before we are back home. Here is a picture of a couple of the soap savers that are now finished.


It's always fun traveling because I always pack way too much yarn to bring with me but at least then I have different projects that I can work on. Right now I have some boa for scarves, some yarn for hats and yarn for slippers. I think I may also have some yarn that I don't know that I will make with it with me so see I have lots considering I will be back home on Friday.

The snow has finally stopped and we got about 15 cm (6 inches). Tomorrow going to spend some time going for a nice long walk and then out for a nice dinner with my husband before I curl up to work on the various projects.

It's almost time to call it quits for the night so I better get off the computer and see if I can get at least one more soap saver sewn together.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Knitting results

For those of you that asked yes I completed the 7 hats. I actually dropped off the hats on Friday last week which was good. To complete the 7th hat I actually sat there and finished it.

I haven't got a lot to show since then as I have been knitting but not finishing projects other than a couple of boa scarves. I am hoping that by the end of the month to have some soap savers/sacks completed and maybe even some slippers. I figure if I can just sit and work on them I should be able to get quite a few done.

I may not post for the next couple of days as we are escaping the cold weather to relax and spend some time together.

I will post what I completed once we are back home.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Knitting continues

I am still working on hats for one charity for the store and now have 5 hats completed and two more on the go. I have also finished one scarf so I think by Saturday I should have the 7 hats knit that I have wanted to do.

I am so looking forward to Saturday after I finished these hats so that I can get back to finishing off a number of things that I have on the go. I figure if I work hard I should have really good results for completed items for January. Now let's hope that I don't start a few more projects before I finish some of the ones that I just need to sew up.

The yarn that I am using is a very pale yellow so it isn't very exciting so will be very happy to see the end of this yarn. I figure I may have enough to make one or two more hats after this and I will probably try and get them done before the end of the month as well.

My stash doesn't seem to be going down very quickly and I know that I have purchased quite a bit of yarn this month so of course that means I haven't used any really from my stash. I think I need to try and work through what I have for a while otherwise I will never achieve one of my goals for this year of getting my stash down.

Now it's time to get back to knitting so that I can get these hats finished and then get the other items finished as the month is flying by and my completed pile seems to be very small.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Too many projects

I was finally getting my projects under control when I got an e-mail last week from a store saying that you could get some yarn for free if you completed one item for charity by this Saturday. Well you can imagine that I wanted to see how it worked. Last Friday we went to the store and you simply had to pick up a bag of yarn and then use some of this yarn to make one item for charity. The item could be a hat, a scarf or a pair of mittens. I figured that wasn't too bad to accomplish in a week.

As of me writing this post I have completed three hats and am currently working on a fourth hat for this charity. I figure what I am going to try and do is do at least one hat a day between when I picked up the yarn and when I drop off the items next Saturday. This does help me use up the yarn that a picked up because it was three balls of 170 gram worsted weigh yarn. I have finished one ball of yarn and will at least get another ball finished if I work hard.

This project has resulted me in putting all my other projects on hold for a week so that I can see how many items I can complete for this one charity in a week.

I hope that I can at least use up a lot of the yarn that I picked up last Saturday so that it doesn't impact my stash too much. People laugh when I tell them that I currently have more yarn than my husband weighs and I know that it is at least 40 - 50 pounds more than he weighs. My biggest goal is to now start using up some of this yarn as quickly as possible and see how many items I can complete in one year. I currently have a number of projects that just need to be completed so hopefully my completed list for January will be very good.

I better get back to knitting so that I can get lots completed before the end of the month.


Friday, January 9, 2009

1st week of January

This week I have been busy with some knitting and crocheting but so far don't have anything finished. I have lots of knitting but now I just need to sit down and sew things together.

I continue to work on soap savers and slippers. I am looking forward to getting things completed so that I can put them in the box that I will be sending off to the soldiers. This week I also spent part of a day cutting out more cool ties so now to sit down and sew them together. I am going to have to figure out how many I have to make so that I can kind of put a schedule together to get them completed.

It's been fun working on different things this week so hopefully by the end of the weekend I will have some things finished so that I can update my list of things completed.

Hope to write about things accomplished by the end of the weekend. Off to knitting I go.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

New Year and New Goals

It's hard to believe but it is already the 4th of January and I have been trying to figure out some of my goals for 2009. My biggest goal is to find a new job and then continue to enjoy crafting.

Here are some goals for this year:

Monthly goals:
  • make 5 cool ties soldiers
  • make 2 pairs of infant pants
  • make 2 pair of slippers for soldiers
  • make 2 soap savers for soldiers
  • make 2 headbands for soldier
  • complete 2 other items for charity during the month

Yearly goals:
  • Complete needlecase from Creative Festival 2008
  • Complete first dragon encounter from Creative Festival 2008
  • Knit sweater for myself (purchased yarn with Christmas money)
  • Complete Camelot miniature cross-stitch from Creative Festival 2008
  • Finish afghan for us (started in 2006
  • Compete at the Markham Fair in October 2009
  • Get yarn stash down by at least 15 pounds by December 2009

So these are some of the items that I would like to achieve this year and as you can see there are craft related. I have other goals for 2009 but have not posted them above. Now my other goals are:
  • Do my final driving test and pass it
  • Lose at least 25 pounds (30 would be better)
  • Get more organized
  • Take at least 2 courses job related
  • Design a course for crafting
Now that I have written these items down maybe it will help me achieve some of them. I know that some are going to take some time to achieve but others shouldn't take me too long. Well better get to work on achieving some of these goals.