Solstice Stuff

First of all, happy solstice to you! Today will be the shortest day of the year, and that just figures. Why? Well, because I need for it to be the longest. But it isn't. Yikes.

Here are some of the things that I have been up to this season, instead of doing the things on my List. My List is very very long. And frightening.

Stockings. well, the three in the middle. The gray one is BF's, and the two pink and green ones belong to the dogs. They are made using the instructions from Warm Fuzzies and I think they are too cute. However, they pose a problem in that now I am the only one with a Store Bought stocking. This saddens me in ways I cannot even begin to express. And, that means that next year i WILL have the most magical of stockings. I may even start on it now.

Yeah Right.

We are heading out of town on Wednesday, returning only for a breif two days before ringing in the New Year elsewhere. I have succeeded on giving in some ways, and failed in others. But, I am just sort of letting that go at this point, and trying to enjoy things for what they are. Instead of gift knitting, I went out with friends for pizza and Christmas lights. The best part was that I brought the Fart Putty I got in my stocking along, and made delightfully hideous Putty Farts the whole time. It's hysterical, really. It's probably time for me to get back to the frantic pace of laundry, listing, errands, wrapping, and knitting, but the few little minutes I can stop and enjoy all the smells (I wish I could have a real tree in my house all year long) and sights and even a few of the songs (For some reason, "So This Is Christmas" has made me bawl about 4 times so far this year. Usually I hate Christmas music.) are so, so nice.

BF and I had our own little Christmas yesterday, and we exchanged gifts. It was so much fun, our First Real Christmas (last year we were apart and didn't exchange gifts). We sat by our tree that he admitted really is better than a fake one and I opened up some things I really really wanted (I Love Patchwork and Creative Time and Space) and I keep sneaking off to be alone with them for just a few minutes at a time. They are both great in their own way, and I am very inspired, which is a great way to feel when heading into a new year.

And now it's time to get to work. The List beckons.

Looky At What I Made!

Wow, this took a lot of time and effort (really only in the choosing of sweaters and the cutting of peices)! But it was Monday's installment of the Use Me Up Challenge. And oh, how do I love it.

So, I finished my knitting needle case, made entirely of recycled sweaters. Like I said, this came from the book Warm Fuzzies by Betz White. Okay, so here's the outside, all rolled up:
Here's the backside, all spread out. I love the pattern, and I am so glad I used this sweater, and left the shoulder shaping, collar, and bottom ribbing intact. It kind of shows more obviously what this case was in a former life, and I really like that.
Okay, now here it is opened, with various assorted things stuck in it, but the flap closed. Clever, huh? In the pic you can also see about half of my sewing table. It is clearly a hot mess, which I believe is a sign of my productivity. Back to the case. Anyhow, it was tricky sewing on those larger pockets. well, the only really hairy bit was the part where I was shoving three felted wool sweaters through the machine at once. I am happy to say my machine took it like a champ. The pattern calls for wool blend craft felt for that part but in keeping with the challenge, I just went for it. Not so bad.
Now here's a bit bigger picture with the flap lifted up. You may notice the crooked seams, and you may also notice that the green pocket is on a serious slant. I am very proud of myself, because my reaction to this makes me think that I am turning a corner here- I love it because of that stuff. It's sort of cartoonish, almost Seussian. I think that's pretty fun. I mean it's a stripey felted wool knitting needle case. For it to take itself too seriously, and try to be all perfect with straight lines and such- booooo-ring. I mean if you can sew straight lines, more power to you, but until I can (and if my drawing skills are a sign of things to come, this will never happen) I will just have to embrace and enjoy the delightful and semi-intentional wonkiness that is my finished projects. I'm beginning to thing of it as my personal style.

So, now all I have to do is go on a really long trip where I will need to knit like 6 different projects so I can use it! Can I come stay with you guys?

This Week In The Use Me Up Challenge

Well, i thought I would show you what I've been up to this week when I'm not obessessing over the state of Maya's crate and her anxiety and what not. One thing that has been surprising me this week is what all I have just sitting here waiting to be made into something. It says to me that this challenge is long overdue. It also is sort of scary in the amount of times I have been able to say to myself, "SEE! I KNEW there was a reason I kept this!"

Here's what I did on Monday. These little pillows are actually place mats that I bought for 50 cents each at the Habitat for Humanity thrift store. I bought them a while back, but just never did anything with them till now. And look at how well they go with the chair! I'm glad I started this challenge, because these things have been on my to-do list forever, like since I bought these.


This isn't anything too special, but I sure am enjoying it. Since I bought the dried lavender for this little eye pillow a while ago, I was finally able to get around to spending the 10 minutes that this took. I think it took me longer to choose the fabric. It's just a little pouch full of dried lavender and (uncooked) rice and it stays in the freezer. I take it out when my eyes feel tired and the hint of lavender is awesome. As a matter of fact, I used it last night while laying on the couch after my walk with the dog, and woke up 9 hours later with it laying on my chest. That's a pretty powerful eye pillow. Tuesday's effort:
On Wednesday I knitted. I worked on the scarf I showed you last week. Someone, make it stop. I'm tired of it. I just want to be done with it. but it just goes on and on and on and on and on an- you get it.

This is what I worked on Thursday AND Friday. And I am still only to the point of having the fabric cut and pinned. It is a knitting needle case from the book Warm Fuzzies and I think it's awfully clever. It took a while to choose all the peices, figure out where I wanted them, and cut them to as close to Just Right as I could get. I swear, cutting fabric is my favorite part of sewing, but I will be damned if I can cut a straight line, or actually cut the measurement I mean to cut. I use a ruler, a tape measure, a fabric soluble marker, a rotary cutter, and god knows what else, and I still cant seem to get it right. I swear, I thought i was going to have to call in NASA to cut some fucking sweaters. Nonetheless it's all ready to sew. I hope that my sewing machine is prepared to cope with sewing through three layers of felt. I hope that I am ready for it. Sewing on stretchy fabrics is still sort of tricky for me.

And here's today's effort. It's a little pouch made from the sleeve of the sweater that is the outside of the needle case. The back is the big band you see above with all the orange stripes. I thought it would be good to toss in the knitting bag too and hold all the little things that HAVE to come along with you when you take a knitting or stitching project somewhere. The fun thing of all this knitting accessorization is that both of these things match the bag that has just been designated my knitting bag. Amazing, huh? It's a wool camel colored tote with orange lining, and I love it. It was my Designated Carry On for a while, but now i have a bag I like better for that. I think that no matter how hard I try to quit them, bags just find a way into my life. I have loved them since I was a little girl, and I guess I just always will. I try to fight it once in a while and donate a box or two (!!!) of them, but if five leave the house, seven more show up in their place. It's maddening.


You know, I will tell you something else that is sort of amazing about this Use Me Up Challenge: my office and particularly sewing table are cleaner than ever now. Every day after I am done in here with what I am working on, I set a (imaginary) timer for 15 minutes and pick up. Huh. who would have thought- it doesn't even take 15 minutes to pick up after a small sewing project, so I just keep cleaning for the rest of the time. And then, when I come back the next day, I just grab my materials and get to work. Huh. Is this how other people make stuff? Is this how they actually find time to make things, cleaning up and getting ready for the next go round? If so, this Picking Up After Yourself and the people that do it are Visionaries. I'd like to meet such a person, that is, if they are even real.

Hooray for Pincushions

I never thought that one thing that could get me fired up would be pincushions. I am really feeling a lot of pincushion love lately. Does that strike anyone else as strange?

Anyway.

I made this one from the book Warm Fuzzies by Betz White. the book is really cute, and so are the projects. Anyway, I have been collecting and felting sweaters for a few months, and even though I have had mixed results and a lot of things that just would not felt (grrr, superwash wool, you sneaky bastard) but i am starting to have the sweaters pile up around me, but I was having trouble actually cutting into them, but I finally bit the bullet and made a little cupcake pincushion for a friend. I think they are cute, and I think that a teensy one could be really fun.


But then! I got one in the mail on the same day that I set the cupcake free and mailed it to said friend. I got this little beehive from Kitty Kitty Crafts in the big mega super huge Giveaway Day from the Sew Mama Sew! blog. The little bee pins are too cute and it makes me smile from it's spot on the sewing table.

(This is totally her image too, I am stealing it. How awesome are the little bee pins, anyway?
Give some, get some, get fired up about pincushions.

Now that's something I bet you never thought you'd hear.

In Which I Am Not Totally Selfish

I love to give things I make as gifts. I always feel sort of nervous doing it though- will it fall apart or burst into flames in the recipients' hands because I am a hack? Will they hate it? Am I deluding myself to think it's better than, say, one of those pine cones made to look like owls via googly eyes and pipe cleaner beaks from the 80's?

The scarf above was made for a very dear friend of mine, so dear I think of her more like a sister than a friend. She hasn't had the best of years this year, and I wanted to be able to give her something special this year. If you will remember my moaning and wailing from a few months ago, I am limited on my budget this year. Real estate is not that most lucrative of fields right now, but that's not the point. The point is that I still feel that I accomplished a special gift with limited resources, and that carries a sense of accomplishment with it. I mean, I didn't build a replica of the Vatican with toothpicks or anything, but it's still a comfy scarf that I know she will be able to use. All around I would call it a Powder Blue Triumph. Yes, I am that pretentious.

First of all, it was a $4 cashmere sweater scored at the Goodwill. I wanted to keep it for myself because it was so so so so incredibly soft. Disarmingly soft and squishy, and it only got better when I washed it a few times on the hot cycle. So, then I cut it up, which was a victory in and of itself, because I have a tendency to hoard materials I love, waiting for the absolute perfect project, which I can never readily identify. I know she will love it- good color for her, and there is something about cashmere that is a fantastic band-aid for any metaphorical bullet wounds. I don't care for many of the finer things in life, which is good because I cannot afford them either. But, cashmere is one of those things that I believe has magical feel good powers for the wearer, and this gal gets that. Finally, this is a triumph because I sewed it and managed not to break the machine in a million pieces and I am still in awe of when I can say that I finished a sewing project, it went well, and the house is still standing.

I still have the entire front of the sweater without the sleeves. I am thinking another neckwarmer could be in order. Cashmere, buttons- all we are missing is a pincushion and I could really work myself into a lather here. I swear, it really is the silliest things that turn my crank.

Baby steps, people. Baby steps.

Crafting Irony

Today the thermometer in my car read 88 degrees. Eighty Eight Degrees!

After I got out of the car, I came home, threw a few more sweaters in the wash for felting, and then knitted a bit on my second fingerless mitt.

88 degrees, and wool is dominating my life. Do you think that I have the crafts version of that Seasonal Affective Disorder? I might.

Oh and just so you know, Kerry introduced me to my latest obsession. Felt, felting, things made of felt. Felty felt felt. I love it. I am dying to try needle felting, and I made a felted soap the other day (more on that another time- oy) and felt beads, and I have a list here of about 19 different things that I would like to try making with felt sometime in the near future. Yay!