Life got in the way

So yes I have gone missing again and this time it was due to having too many things on my plate that needed to be done.  The biggest thing that I started was an online course on Technical Writing and Editing which I thought I was going to enjoy.  The course started on October 31st and by November 3rd I was frustrated and no happy at all with the course content or the instructors.

I understand that with me having a Certificate in Instructing Adults I sometimes get a little frustrated with seminar instructors but I didn't think I would get that upset with a university online instructor but I did..  The course material was missing exercises and we only had 6 six weeks to complete everything, the weekly chat didn't work probably and assignments took way too long to get marked and getting replies to emails took 4-5 days.   I have taken other online courses from colleges and never had so many problems within a week and a half.  After feeling extremely rotten on Wednesday I knew I had to do something about this course and on Thursday I did.  I phoned the university, explained my feelings about the course and requested a full refund as I wanted out of the course.  The good news is on Friday morning I logged into the university site and saw that I had NO courses showing.  Yes, I am getting my refund and now I am getting my life back in some order.

So that is the main reason why I haven't been writing or crafting in the last couple of weeks.  I lost my passion for doing anything during the time of trying to figure out this course but this weekend I picked up my needles again and started to smile.  Yes making the decision to walk away from the course was a little difficult but boy am I happy I did it.

Now life can get back to normal, or at least as normal as it is for me.

Time is flying

Creativ Festival picture

Well as you can see I haven't posted for a while and that is because I have been busy with the rest of my life so crafting has been put on hold for the last little while.

I took classes at the Creativ Festival in October and ended up exhausted after that so it has taken me some time to get back to being organized.  I finally started to get organized and wanted to start crafting and then I started an online course so that is going to be taking up some of my time for the next six weeks.

When I have had the chance to craft I have been working on small granny squares so that I can make another Sudoku lapghan when I have some time.  I figure using up part balls of yarn is great as well so that I don't have them laying around and escaping the bag I keep them in. 

Tonight I hope to sit and craft for a bit but then I have an online chat for my course tonight so that is going to take up some of this evening as well.

The picture is of Karen, myself and Jennifer Aikman-Smith (Dragon Dreams).  Yes Jennifer is that tall so it makes both Karen and myself look extremely short.  This was taken on the Sunday of the Festival so that is why we are all looking a little tired.

Now off to work on my course so I can get my first exercise and assignment completed.

Time is flying

It's hard to believe that it's the 11th of October already.  I am still trying to get a few things completed for the charity that I work with and then it's time to start thinking about working on a Christmas gift.  My goal is to have the gift finished by the beginning of December this year instead of what I normally do which is finish it right before I wrap it the day before Christmas.

This month is the Creativ Festival so will be taking some classes there which should be a lot of fun.  I am taking some knitting and some cross-stitch classes.  Now that it starts next week I need to get all of my stuff organized so that I can figure out if I need to pick up anything for the classes.

September was a very productive month for me as I completed 52 items.  I do have to admit that a lot of them were very small so that is why the number is so high.

• Scarves              2
• Cowl                  1
• Shawl                 2
• Child hat            5
• Baby blanket      1
• Preemie hats      36
• Baby hats           5

 Yes the preemie hats don't take a lot of time to make so that is why I accomplished so much in September.  So far in October the number looks like it will be lower but we will see what it is by the end of the month.

One of my goals this year was to complete 180 items and yes I have already accomplished that.  As of the end of September I had completed 207 items so will see how many I actual complete by the end of the year.

Lapghans for veterans

This past Friday we dropped off nine different lapghans to the Veterans Wing at Sunnybrook.  I have to say it gave me a wonderful feeling knowing that these lapghans are going to be used and appreciated. 

The picture is of one of the lapghans that was dropped off and this one is based on a Sudoku puzzle.  These are a lot of fun to make but it does involve a lot of checking as you do them to ensure that each of the nine blocks are different.  What I did was solved a Sudoku puzzle and then used it to plan this lapghan.  I know I am going to be making more of this type as they are a lot of fun to do as well as they use up lots of bits of yarn as you only need nine small squares of each colour.

The  lapghans are now gone and it's time for me to start thinking of my next project as I do have lots of yarn that needs to be used up and a lot of different ideas going through my head right now.

Off to see what inspires me next.

For more info on sizes go to www.dlklife.ca I have given some sizes and a few more examples that I have done.

Where have I been

Gee it's been a couple of weeks since I posted and yes I finally took some time for me.  We actually took a vacation for a week and believe it or not, I didn't get as much crafting done as I had planned.  I took lots of stuff to do but instead I concentrated on getting some relaxing in.

Since getting back I have been working on getting some projects completed and have actually worked on some preemie hats for a hospital so they have kept me a little busy.  I say a little busy because all the hats I have made haven't taken me too long to do and I have been loving how quick they work up.

Beside that I have taken a bit more time for me and tried to figure out what projects I want to focus on and also what projects have stuff ready for delivery.  Yes I have quite a few things finished that just need to be dropped off so that I what I hope to do in the next little while. 

The best part about finishing off some projects is knowing that they are ready for their new home and soon will be received by someone that will appreciate them.  I know that not everything I make is going to be received by someone that will appreciate the time and effort but at least if some of the stuff helps to keep people warm that is all I can ask.

So before it's too late tonight I want to try and put a few more stitches into a baby hat so that it can be added to the completed list.

Outside comfort zone

Small clay bear

This year I have challenged myself to try and step outside my comfort zone and try a couple of things that I haven't done.  Well my sketching was outside my comfort zone and it is progressing and am extremely happy with that.   Now in the last week I decided to try something different again.

Small clay bear - side view

This is a small clay bear that I made a few days ago.  I wanted to try to use modeling clay, so I had picked up some a while ago only to put it away and figured that one day I would try.   I came across it and immediately decided that I had to try it right then and there.  Of course did I think everything through, no as I made the bear and then had to figure out where it was going to sit while it dried.  The clay was air-dry so that did help but it took over 72 hours for it to dry and of course it meant a safe spot that wasn't going to get banged during the drying process.  The best stop I could find was behind my lap-top as I knew it was somewhere that was safe from being banged around.  Also it meant that when I closed my computer I could check out how the drying was going.

I have happy with the results and have to admit that it was a lot of fun working with the clay.  Maybe one day I will try something else with the clay because of all the fun I had making this little bear.

So stepping outside my comfort zone wasn't so bad this time.  Now to see what else I end up trying.  It is such a different feeling trying things that are outside your comfort zone, sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't but at least you can say you tried.

Now to get back to working within my comfort zone on some knitting and crocheting.  I think I will also try a bit more drawing and hope to have a picture to show soon.

August accomplishments

It's hard to believe that another month has gone.  I have been busy working on my charity crafting and in August actually did a couple of things for friends and myself as well.

Here is what I accomplished in August, 40 items:

• Children's hats            7
• Mittens                        9
• Shawls                        2
• Baby hats                   15
• Thumbless mittens     4
• Baby slippers              3

Yes I was able to get quite a few things finished up in August which has made me a little happier.  Now I just need to get my yarn stash to go down some more as I realized I have way too much yarn so my goal now is to try and get it down over the next few months.

September looks like I may be able to get a few more projects completed so will see what actually happens as it is only the 3rd of the month, but I have finished 2 things already.

Now to pick up the needles for a while and see what I accomplish this weekend.