7 Sep 10

Lively Simply and Another Giveaway

I’m ploughing through my September To Do list! Over the weekend I managed to get all my fibres and beads into my cross stitch supplies database. (Fibres kitted up with projects aren’t recorded, but that is how I prefer it, since they aren’t free to use in another project.)  I’ve also started setting up my personal sock club: I’ve picked twelve patterns I really like and paired them with yarn. I’m letting the list sit for a little while to make sure I do really like the patterns. I’m also thinking of expanding it to fifteen patterns, which would take me from October 2010 to December 2011.

I’ve also finished my Live Simply punchneedle project. It still needs to be ironed, but here it is:

Live Simply punchneedle by Dimensions

So, that means I still have the two pairs of slippers, the ornament kitting up, the pair of socks (which are not going well), and two cross stitch projects. Wow, that is still a lot.

On to the giveaway! This time it is knitting: Anne Kuo Lukito of Crafty Diversions is giving away ten copies of her new designs, Cocoon, and two copies of one of her best sellers, Lillian. I’m a huge fan of both, and would be super excited to win either. If you’d like a chance to win, you need to hurry! Check out her blog post here for details.

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5 Sep 10

Biscornu Exchange

Thanks to some sort of magic, or maybe a twisting of time, my exchange has already reached Missy Ann (of Deep Inside Missy). And (thank goodness!), she really does like it!

Sweet Pea Biscornu by Faby Reilly (top)

Sweet Pea Biscornu by Faby Reilly (modified bottom)

I stitched the Sweet Pea Biscornu by Faby Reilly for Missy Ann. However, I changed the bottom since she said she didn’t really like yellow.  And, honestly, the entire time I was stitching this, a little voice in my head keep screaming at me “There is toooooo much yellow!” But, Missy Ann assures me that there isn’t. :)

The bottom is just the central swirl from the design, and then a Mill Hill treasure stitched at each corner. The same Mill Hill treasures are used instead of a button in the centre.

For extras, I included some Canada stickers,a FQ of Halloween fabric (since Missy Ann loves Halloween), a package of pretty sticky note, a skein of the Thread Gatherer’s Shepherd’s Silk fibre, and three small cuts of hand-dyed fabric from a local-ish dyed named Ayrloom Fabrics. (You can find their fabrics and threads on eBay if you are interested. I found out about them thanks to Kathy from Kathy’s Sit and Stitch.)

Biscornu Exchange Extras

(I do apologize for the poor pictures. I bought myself a new, inexpensive camera to use on outings with Baby Man, and I haven’t figured out how to take a decent indoor picture with it yet.)

I was dreading the end of this exchange, but now I kinda want to do another one. :)

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3 Sep 10

Socks and Alpacas

Thanks so much for all the comments on my August progress and September goals. I have to admit, though, I’m a bit nervous about my goals now since everyone seems to think I’m taking on too much. Eep!  Happily, I have already accomplished one of them:

Rosebud Socks by Wendy D. Johnson

These are my Rosebud Socks from Wendy D. Johnson’s Toe-Up Socks for Every Body, knit using Panda Cotton in colourway Rosewater.

I’m really pleased with how these turned out, expect for the little holes I got where I went from doing the heel/heel flap to the leg. I’ve figured out how to avoid those when knitting socks top down, but not when doing toe up socks. My next pair of socks will also be toe up, so I will have another chance to try to avoid those holes.

I have one more finish to share. Last month I crocheted a couple more of PlanetJune’s alpacas for another lady I know through Ravelry. The large one was done in Lion Brand’s Nautre’s Choice Organic Cotton (which is very luscious) and the smaller one is in Rowan’s California Cotton.

Alpaca's by PlanetJune

I know I still need to share pictures of my Inga bag.  I’ll try to remember to take some pictures in the next day or two.

And, lastly, Loretta is having a giveaway on her blog, Loretta’s Stitching Blog, to celebrate its third anniversary. Head over here to enter. You could win two copies of Just Cross Stitch magazine, a Prairie Schooler Santa and the required DMC floss, and a surprise or two. Good luck!

Loretta's Giveaway

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2 Sep 10

September Goals

As always, I’m a day late and a dollar short. Yesterday was another stinking hot day, which we braved to head over to our tiny farmers’ market.  It is held at Montgomery’s Inn, a heritage site here in Toronto/Etobicoke. We didn’t buy any veggies this week (there are very few vendors, and they mainly sell fruit and expensive organic veggies), but we did get some fabulous lemonade, meat pies (the flaky pastry kind), and some baked goods. Yum!

With the heat, it is really hard to believe we are already two days into September. It feels just like the first week of August out there, but the cooler breeze and the odd splash of colour in the trees proves that Autumn in on the way. I usually try to make Fall the season were I try to get organized, but it generally doesn’t happen. The last quarter of the year gets very busy for me, with weekend after weekend full of activities, family birthdays and anniversaries. I look forward to it, and to the cooler weather that invites us to cuddle inside.

Anyway, my September goals:

  • Update my cross stitch supply database
  • Set up a personal monthly sock club
  • Set up a personal ornament of the month club (thank you to Erica for this idea)
  • Finish my punch needle kit (the replacement thread arrived about 2 weeks ago)
  • Knit or crochet two pairs of slippers for charity
  • Finish my long languishing Rosebud Socks
  • Start and finish Terrapin Lace Socks for a Ravelry KAL
  • Finish the inner border on Kitchen Blessings
  • Start and make good progress on TW’s Playful Kittens

I guess I’d better get moving if I’m going to accomplish all of that!

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31 Aug 10

Meet Jack

Finally, a finish I can share: Jack O Lantern by Casey Buonaugurio!

Jack O Lantern by Casey Buonaugurio

This time I got the colour a little more true. The fabric is an unknown pumkpin-y coloured linen that is somewhere around 34 count. I do plan on finishing him into an ornament, but that will have wait a little while. Sometime around mid-September I’m taking an ornament finishing class at my LNS, and I’m hoping to learn enough to allow me to make nice looking ornaments. Goodness knows I have a backlog of pieces to finish, and a whole pile more I’d like to stitch.

Normally I would review my monthly goals on the last day of the month, but I forgot to set goals for August. Oops. It was a fairly productive month. I finished my cross stitched exchange piece, a knitted pair of anklet socks, two crocheted alpacas, the sweater for Baby Man, the Inga bag, and a crochet dinosaur. Hopefully next month will go just as well, although September and October are very busy for me this year. (My busy is most other people’s slow time, but we all live at our own pace.) Tomorrow I’ll share my September goals with you.

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28 Aug 10

A Touch of Halloween

My exchange piece is done and in the mail.  Hopefully it will arrive safely and quickly at its destination.  I think it turned out very nicely, but I’m still concerned that it won’t be to the taste of the recipient.  Honestly, every time I do an exchange I get so worried. And yet, in the end, there is never any need for concern.

This morning I started a little Halloween ornament, sort of as a way to cleanse the palette before getting back to work on something big (or maybe starting a new something big…). I’m stitching Jack O Lantern by Casey Buonaugurio Designs, which is in the Sept/Oct 2010 Just Cross Stitch. I’m using DMC threads and some unknown fabric from my stash, which I think is probably a 34 count linen of some sort.

Jack O Lantern by Casey Buonaugurio (WIP)

I wasn’t able to capture the colour very well, but think the inside of a pumpkin rather than the outside.

There are at least three more designs I’d like to do from this issue, include the Brooke’s Books witch.  I’m going to cross my fingers and hope my LNS has some silver perforated paper for her. I may actually do a TW after this though, since Playful Kittens is calling to me.

It looks like my knitting plans for the fall will be changing. Baby Man’s blue sweater turned out great, and it looks really good on him.  But it is made from acrylic, and three others were going to be made from acrylic too. The problem? He has eczema, which we are able to keep fairly well under control with cream, staying out of the heat and humidity (it has been a very indoors sort of a summer), and dressing him in cotton. Even with a cotton long-sleeve shirt underneath, an acrylic sweater will likely cause him to get an eczema rash. At least I figured this out before I started the other sweaters. Thankfully, one bunch of yarn can be returned. Another  bunch will either go to a charity knitter or I will make something for charity myself, and the last bunch may become part of an afghan.

And lastly I just want to say “Yay!” I won Daffycat’s draw for this super cute Halloween pin cushion.  I’m so happy.  Truthfully, I was starting to get all whiny about entering all kinds of draws and never winning anything, so this was so unexpected. :D (Okay, she actually drew another name first, and that lady didn’t want to be entered, so I really came in second. But for once being second was just right! Yay!)

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23 Aug 10

A Little Blue Sweater

I’m still working away on my exchange piece, so I have no cross stitch pictures to show.  Usually I have my exchange pieces done long before the mailing date, but this summer I’ve spent a lot of time knitting and crocheting. And, well, this piece was also a little larger and a little more involved than I first thought.  So, I’ve decided to modify it a bit so that it is done on time, and so that it will suit the tastes of the recipient a little better. And, if I don’t like it when it is done, I do have a very pretty Plan B: a design I stitched a while back, but is something the recipient will definitely like. Thank goodness I went through a period of stitching smalls a while back. :)

Even with my sore hands (which are getting better), I’ve been able to get a couple of projects done. My favourite is this cute little sweater for Baby Man. It is the Classic Raglan Pullover by Jane Richmond, knit using Caron Simply Soft Baby in colourway Powder Blue.  The yarn was bought on clearance, so the whole sweater, pattern included, cost me about $11 (plus lots of labour too). Yeah, I don’t knit to save money. I knit to save my sanity.

Classic Raglan Pullover

Unfortunately, Baby Man is not willing to model it for a picture. It has gotten cooler here, but I still can’t convince him to put on a sweater in 20°C+ weather. (Thats about 69°F for your old school people.) The slubs in the yarn make it look a bit lumpy, and it could also do with a good wash. However, I am very pleased with how it turned out, and it looks really cute on Baby Man (for the whole 5 seconds he agreed to wear it.)

In the next couple of days I will share my Inga bag with you. She is all done, and is soaking as I type this.

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