Resolution Roundup

It's the last day of 2014 already!  Time to take a look at how I did with my 2014 crafting resolutions.

I had three crafting resolutions for 2014.

1)  Knit fourteen pairs of socks.  I was successful with this one, and am actually very close to finishing my fifteenth pair.

2)  Finish the strip quilt.  Not successful with this one.  I did get a few more of the strips sewn together, but still have a long way to go.

3) Put my cricket loom together and weave something on it.  This one didn't even get started!  The loom is still in it's box. I don't even have a picture to put up for it.

Tomorrow, the resolutions for 2015!

Have a good New Year's Eve.  I'm going to an early movie with some friends.  I'll likely be sound asleep by the time midnight comes.  If you're driving, please be careful out there!

Maureen

Merry Christmas!

Hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas!

Maureen

Sunday Funny

Happy Sunday!

Hard to believe that Christmas is already this week!  I went downtown this afternoon; the stores were open earlier than normally and there was already a huge crowd.  I'm glad that I'm done except for a couple of little things.  I keep eating the chocolate that's meant for my sister's Christmas stocking!

I hope that you're feeling ready for Christmas!  It's so much more enjoyable when you're not feeling rushed.

Maureen

Sunday Funny

It's getting close to Christmas!  I still have some crafting to get done for presents, but for the most part I'm ready.  That's actually scaring me; I think I'm missing something!

I finished my fourteenth pair of socks yesterday!  No pictures yet, but I'll get them up this week.  I cast on my fifteenth pair yesterday.  My ipad decided to quit charging a couple of weeks ago and I'm finding that time I would have spent on the ipad is now being spent knitting.

Hoping you're enjoying the Christmas season, and not feeling rushed!

Maureen

Sunday Funny

Happy Sunday!

Maureen

Sunday Funny

How is it the end of November already?

Today is the Grey Cup, the end of the Canadian football season.  Good thing I didn't have this agreement!

I mentioned in the last post that we had received a dumping of snow this last week.  I thought I'd share a picture.

My deck, complete with the furniture I never got under cover before the snow came.

Have a happy Sunday!

Maureen

Friday Finish

I almost didn't have any finishes this week.  I've been sick, and didn't even have the energy to pick up my knitting needles.

Today was my day off.  I had hoped that I would feel well enough to go out and get some errands done.  That didn't happen.  We received several centimetres of snow, and I just didn't feel up to fighting the snow and fighting the crowds out to do some Black Friday shopping.

I decided in the afternoon that I wanted to do some sewing.  So, I pulled out the Mickey Mouse fabric I bought a few weeks ago, and made a new project bag.

Quilting the fabric prior to making the bag takes more time than making the bag itself does.  From start to finish, this bag took about two hours to do.

And the inside

I didn't make a zipper pull for it yet.  I've ordered some charms off Etsy, and I'm waiting for them to arrive.  I did make one pull though.

I have other pouches that still need pulls, so it will get used.

Linking to TGIFF

Maureen

Sunday Funny

Anyone with a cat can relate to this one!

I swear, Katie could be at the other end of the house, but the minute the fabric hit the floor there she was on top of it!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Maureen

Friday Finishes

Thank you to everyone who came here from the Blogathon, and to those who commented.  I haven't had a chance to reply yet, but I will!

I had a couple of finishes this week.  The first one you've seen part of.  It's the bag I finished on Wednesday, and made my first zipper pull for.

I also finished the second sock from my fourth/fourteen sock goal.

I came close to having the stripes match exactly, but that was totally by accident.  The colours are darker than they appear in this picture.

We had a chinook blow through yesterday, and the temperature went above 0 degrees Celsius.  Most of our snow disappeared, and it rained last evening.  I haven't been out yet today, but I'm hoping that it isn't too icy on the roads.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend

Maureen

WIP Wednesday

If you're here from the Blogathon, welcome!  I hope you enjoy your visit!

Like my profile says, I'm a quilter, a knitter, and a spinner.  Lately, knitting socks and making bags have become a bit of an obsession for me.  I'm still quilting a bit, but very slowly.  I am getting the urge to make some applique Christmas wall hangings after seeing the awesome one my friend Val made (hi Val!)

I set some crafting goals for myself for 2014.  The first one was to knit 14 pairs of socks in 2014.  I'm working on my 13th pair; this is actually the fourth pair I started but I didn't start the second sock until this month.

It's almost finished!  I started the decreases for the toe today, so I'll probably finish it tomorrow.

My second goal this year was to finish the strippy quilt I started a couple of years ago.

It's stalled out for now.  I still need to sew strips together, but just can't seem to find the motivation to do it.  I'd like to start something else, but this keeps staring at me to finish!  Somehow I don't think I'll meet this goal.

My third goal this year was to put together my Cricket Loom and actually weave something.  Hasn't happened yet, but the year isn't over!

I've been making little bags lately.  I was working on this one earlier.

I finished it, and decided to try adding a charm for the zipper pull.  I had picked up some clasps, jump rings and charms at Michaels last week, and put one together for the bag.

Then I went back to a finished bag and added this one.

I really like the way they look, so I'm going to make another trip to Michaels to get more charms.

This post turned out to be longer than I thought!  If you made it this far YAY!  I hope you enjoyed it!
Please feel free to comment, I love reading them!

Linked to the Needle and Thread Network WIP Wednesday.

Maureen

Blogathon Canada is on!

See that button to the right?  That button will link you to lots of lovely Canadian blogs!

Sew Sisters Quilt Shop in Toronto is sponsoring Blogathon Canada this week.  Each day will feature bloggers from each province.  I believe today is British Columbia.  Saskatchewan and Manitoba will be featured on Wednesday.  There will be prizes to be won!  Go, check it out!

And just so there is a picture, here's my 11th pair of socks.  They're made from Lorna's Laces Solemate yarn.  The colourway is called "Christmas at Downton".

I finished them in early September but finally took a picture of them today!

Maureen

And One More Thing...

After I posted, I came across this article.  I couldn't wait to share it.  Enjoy!

18 Important Life Lessons

Maureen

Sunday Funny

Happy Sunday!  Hope your day is going well.  I think I'm going to spend some time sewing, in between tackling Mount Washmore.

Maureen

Acquisitions! (Language warning)

I haven't bought too much over the last couple of weeks.

On my Friday off a couple of weeks ago, I took in soft drink cans for the deposits.  And then went straight to my local quilt store, Peachtree, and spent the money on fabric related items!

I bought a metre of fusible fleece, five fat quarters from the bargain bin, the Canadian flag fat quarter, a Frixion erasable pen, and two packs of the 2 1/2 inch squares.  I'll use the fleece and fat quarters to make bags.  I bought a pattern from Miss Rosie's Quilt Company a while back that uses the 2 1/2 inch squares to make a mini quilt.  I thought the pen would come in handy for marking lines on fabric.

Last week at work, I had a bad day.  A really bad day.  On my way home from work, I decided that rather than eating my way out of my bad day, I would indulge in some retail therapy.  So I went to my local yarn store, Golden Willow, and announced that I needed some "I had a shitty day" sock yarn.  Sharon helped me to find some very nice Berroco Ultra Alpaca fine sock yarn in a dark heather shade.  The sock yarn will be used for my 14th pair of socks.  I also bought two "it's getting colder" Noro Nadeshiko skeins to make myself a new cowl.  The Nadeshiko is an angora/wool/silk blend.  I'm thinking I might make a Gap-tastic cowl with it.  My last purchase was the newest issue of Handwoven magazine.

I left the store with my "I had a shitty day" purchases feeling like the day was a little less shitty.

Maureen

Friday Finish

Hello and welcome to new followers!  Thanks to everyone for your lovely comments, I do enjoy reading them.

Only one thing got finished this week.

This is pair 13 of my goal of 14 pairs of socks to be made this year.  I think I'm going to make my goal!  It does leave me with a bit of a problem for next year; making a goal of a smaller amount seems like going backwards.  If I make a goal for a larger amount, how likely is it that I will reach my goal?  I enjoy making socks, and don't want to make a chore out of it.  I'll have to think about this some more.

Maureen

WIP Wednesday

Happy Wednesday!  It doesn't really feel like Wednesday, since yesterday was a holiday and it felt like Sunday.

I'm making some progress on my Christmas projects.  This bag is the one I'm currently working on.

I'm at the point where I'll be sewing in the zipper.  The little piece of fabric in the upper right is what I'll be using for the zipper stop.

I finished off the zebra stripe socks on Monday, and decided to pick up an abandoned project.  I had started this pair of socks in February.  After I finished the first sock, I wasn't sure I liked the wool, and didn't start the second sock.  A classic case of second sock syndrome!  But that orphan sock called to me on Monday, and I started its twin.

The actual colours aren't as bright as they appear in this picture.

It snowed yesterday, and the temperature dropped.  I thought I need a new scarf, and picked up another abandoned project.  I have no idea when I started this scarf.

It's made from Noro Kureyon, which is 100% wool.  I might felt it once it's done.  Again, colours aren't as bright as they appear in the picture.


Linked to WIP Wednesday on The Needle and Thread Network.  Go check out the marvelous things Canadian Crafters are working on!

Maureen

In Flanders Fields

For all those who have served, and for all those who continue to serve:  Thank you.  Canada is a better place for your service.

Maureen

Sunday Funny

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Maureen

Sunday Funny

If only.....

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Maureen

Friday Finishes....and Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  Hope the weather holds out for the kids to go out trick and treating.  I stopped at the grocery store and bought some candy.  I didn't want to buy it any earlier than today, because I knew that I would eat it all.  I also didn't buy any chocolate, since that is my weakness.   I don't usually get many (or some years any!) kids at my place, but since Halloween is on a Friday this year there might actually be some.

Not a lot got finished this week.  I did get a bag done yesterday.

It's part of my sister's Christmas present (she doesn't read my blog; at least I don't think she does!).  I used part of the leftover zipper to make a zipper pull on this one.  I'm going to put some 'purse things' in it; lip gloss, some hard candies, hand lotion, etc.

I also finished the first sock in my 13th pair.

It looks lonely there!  I've cast on its mate and have about an inch done.

Maureen

Sunday Funny

Happy Sunday!

My furbabies aren't that subtle; they just plop themselves down on top of whatever I'm working on!

Maureen

Friday Finishes

I did get a couple of things finished earlier this week.  The last part of the week has been pretty much a write-off, due to some sort of stomach bug taking up residence.

I finished off my 12th pair of socks for the year.  I'm calling them my Neon Nightmare.

I'm pretty pleased that I managed to line the stripes up so well.  These socks have been entered in Entirely Crafty's Knock your Socks Off October contest.

I also finished a new project bag, using the green fabric I bought last Friday.  I did a lot more quilting on this bag, so it feels solider and has more structure to it.

I'm hoping that this stomach bug will ease up enough this weekend so that I can get some more crafting done.

Maureen

Things Acquired in the last couple of weeks

I feel slightly like a Ferengi, talking about the Rules of Acquisition.  They must have had a rule about getting all the fabric!

Anyway, the day after my class at Peachtree I stopped at Fabricland to pick up some more zippers.  I truly honestly swear to Dog that I was just going in, grabbing some zippers, paying and going out.

But I stopped to look at fabric and found some Mary Engelbreit fabric.  It was in the marked down section; only $5.00/metre!  I couldn't help it, I had to get some!

I probably didn't need two metres of each, though.  Oh well, like the bottom one says "I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it".

Then, last Friday, I stopped in Cindy-rella's on my way to get my flu shot.  These fabrics loudly campaigned to come home with me, so what could I do?

For some reason, Cindy sells fabric by the yard rather than the metre.  I bought half a yard of each of these, so I'll have two American fat quarters.  American fat quarters are smaller than Canadian fat quarters, so I have to be careful when I'm cutting it for project bags.

I've already used the green fabric to make a bag.  Katie helped by holding down the fabric for me.

Maureen

Sunday Funny

Happy Sunday!

It's a beautiful fall day here!  I hope this weather lasts a long time; I am not ready for winter snow.

Hope that wherever you are you had a wonderful Sunday.

Maureen

New Project Bag!

I haven't been overly productive the last couple of months.  My depression reared its ugly head, and I haven't been able to concentrate long enough to really get anything done.  My focus has been to get on top of it. I've started exercising and that's taking up a lot of my time.

When the fall class schedule came out at Peachtree, I didn't think I could take on a class that would run over a few weeks.  However, Peachtree offered some Friday night classes; one night, four hours, and a completed project at the end of it!  Sounded great!

I signed up for a class on October 10.  The class was to make another type of bag.  I've become addicted to making bags since I took the class in the spring.

I enjoyed the class, but there was a problem.  The class ran from 7 PM to 11 PM, after I had worked all day.  Around 9:00 my brain just shut down.  It was a good thing I had my seam ripper with me since I had to use it so many times!

Still, I came out of the class with a finished bag.

This was the large size, and it's great for a project bag for my knitting.

Speaking of knitting, this is my current pair of socks.

I think this is the 12th pair I've knit this year.  Two more to go to make my goal of 14 pair!

Maureen

TdF Day 17

Even though I haven't done any updates for two weeks, I have been working on my spinning for the Tour de Fleece.  I'm getting close to finishing the spinning.

The cop on my spindle is getting really heavy!  There isn't much fibre left to spin, so I'm hoping that I'll be finished by the end of the week.  Then I need to oil my spinning wheel and ply the yarn.

The Tour ends on Sunday.  I might still meet my goal, but if I don't, that's okay.  I started spinning again and enjoyed the process.That's the main thing.

Maureen

Sunday Funny--This one is so true

it hurts!

I have made progress on my TdF project; I'm almost close to finishing spinning the fibre.  I'll have some pictures up later this week.

Check out my friend Susie's blog today.  Another friend, Lindsay, has written a review of Turkish Spindles.  She's also having a give away on her own blog! These ladies are so talented and a source of inspiration.

This is the link to Susie's blog, and here is the link to Lindsay's blog.  Tell them Maureen sent you!

Maureen

Soccer Sunday

I intended today to get some sewing done, since it wouldn't be too hot in my craft room.  But then I started watching the final game of the World Cup, and there went my plans!  I wasn't actively cheering for either team since my team was long ago eliminated.

I did get some sock knitting done, and I might still go into the craft room after supper and sew a bit.  I'm wanting a small pouch for my purse to put my lip gloss in since I'm forever losing it in the depths.

How was your Sunday?

Maureen