I don't have a very long Christmas card list any more. No one really sends them in my very small family, so those that do now receive a special one from me. I spent yesterday afternoon doing this one and it's now ready to mail.
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| Front and back of Card |
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| Close up of "diamonds" |
Yesterday was a true winter day. Blustery winds, snow and then a snow/rain mix and not the best roads made for some interesting travel yesterday. Although I would have rather stayed home and stitched, I had to go with hubby for his yearly appointment at the retina specialist because I'm the appointed driver for the trip home. It's quite funny to see him for the next few hours after the appointment, as they dilate his eyes and his pupils stay HUGE for those few hours. He has that "vampire" or "goul" look and he can't be around bright lights.
While trying to decide on what to work on while waiting at the office, I came across NMI Waiting for Santa Coaster kit. (Item 3096). The coaster is cute but I laid it aside for a test project and never got back to it. I have that excuse a lot it seems. I'm really not going to test except maybe for Claire Slade of Verily Knits. Her designs are awesome and it's really not a test as much as a preview knit.
I never took any type of project along with me, but did decide to start working on the coaster again. Here's where I was when I put it away:
We'll see how far I get. Hopefully a FFO by the end of the month. And to think those printed turtles started it all!
I came across an old Mill Hill kit in my stash called Mill Hill Quilt Magnets Pine Tree Quilt Square MHQM6. This called to me and said it was quick and should be fun. According to what I found, this kit was back from 1993. I guess it was time to whip it up. It truly was a quick finish. Now I need to put a backing on and make it into a magnet. The beads are a little wonky since they were all different sizes, but I think that is some of the charm.
Unfortunately, I will not be resubbing to The Silver Needle's Secret Needle Night kits any longer. It expires this month, and I was balking at the rising price last time, but I so LOVED the different threads, fabrics and embellishments. Sadly, this year they were not blowing me away like they used to. Many had average threads, no embellishments, etc. Not that there's anything wrong with the kits, because they are still adorable, but not what I liked about the old kits. Maybe that's just what is going on this past year, but I'll just hold out and wait to see what next year offers. I'm one that loves buttons, beads and bling and I didn't see much this year.
Slowly, the color started to fade, and after some time, the colors disappeared. I changed the water a few times. First it was grey and then a purple. The color scheme on the bottom had a couple of squares that left a "shadow" of the color, but I couldn't see anything else left behind. It is currently drying and then I'll press it and frame it. The kit even came with a hoop to use as a frame. That's probably what I'll use.
Overall, I had a good experience so far. What I did like was that I could pick it up any time, any where and work on it and in hand, too. That was nice if I had to wait in an office, etc. I did miss the pattern/chart to a point. Juggling a pattern in public is not the easiest to do and for some reason this felt simplistic at times, but I did get it done and now will be finishing it later on today if all goes well.
During my time working on last minute Christmas lists, I have been also considering what I want to accomplish next year. I have a huge library of books and magazines - more than 40 years worth. Being multi-crafty, there's all kinds of different categories of crafts, some I want to try that have been put aside for that "someday" and some old standbys I want to immerse into more. I bagged up 12 skeins of yarn - one for each month, instead of joining a mystery yarn club. Each skein is fingering weight sock yarn and I have no clue what I had chosen. I closed my eyes, stuffed my hand in the tub of yarn, put it in a bag and sealed it, never seeing what I picked. I am looking really forward to find what This year holds for me in the sock department. I have a few patterns from Crazy Sock Lady, that will work with hand-dyed yarn. That will be nice to have some alternatives instead of making all vanilla socks.
I have a bunch of classes I purchased for "someday" as well. Next year I am going to take some time working on those classes. Currently, all I do is look and say, "I want to make that - someday." LOL Well, someday is coming next year. There are techniques I want to learn and just relax and enjoy the process. I love video classes as they can be rewound again and again if need be - quite unlike the in-person classes I have taken in the past. Yes, someone is there to help, but I miss so much because I cannot see or because the teacher has an allotted time frame to be able to help all her students in. For me, video classes work better.
I have a bunch of cross-stitch and a few plastic canvas kits I want to complete. There's also a couple of felt and embroidery kits to do as well. That doesn't count all the knitting and crochet ones I have. Then there are the cards and sewing kits... As you can see, I have SABLE a few times over. There's and up and a downside to that. The up side is I don't have to worry about how expensive everything has become since I don't need to buy anything except to replenish things like glue, tape, etc. The downside is that I'm not getting anything new, so I need to stay away from craft stores both brick and mortar and online. I need to get things finished and get rid of those that I never will, be it because I no longer like it or because I no longer celebrate that holiday. At my age, I really need to think about this stuff. Swedish Death Cleaning is becoming more necessary each day. I don't want to leave a ton of things for the kids to go through after I'm gone. They don't have the interest in crafts that I do and they have been quite good about expressing that.
I started a new pair of socks, because they were something I had never tried before. It's a KAL, but I am behind with working on it, and because I'm new to the group, she only sends out parts after I'm done with one. So to get part 2, I have to be finished and posting part one. Well that was OK until I got behind with the holiday preps. Now, I need to get back into it, but I may be too late to get the next part. If so, I'll just knit a plain foot.
There's not else much to report for finishes last month. I've done some work on my Grand Opening Shawl. This is a paid for pattern. It was a KAL from last year's Advent, but I ran a mistake and put it aside, since I couldn't find it. That aside lasted almost a year. How does that happen? Anyhow, this was the last photo taken. I had done more with the change in directions, but never photographed it. Here are parts 1-5. I had completed all the way to part 13 and needed to fix things.
I'm now on part 15 and found some more issues with count. I have to figure out another mistake. Ah well. I need a good brain day. I haven't touched the shawl since the sock pattern came out. The holidays are sucking up all my time. That's OK - I love baking and trying new recipes, so I'm still having a great time.
I had posted the Honey Be Mine Blanket last month, so nothing more to show there. The same with the turtle XS.
Off to get more things done. It's going to be a busy month - but I love the cold and the warm kitchen. The smells, tastes, etc.
Today is a day of preparing anything I can do ahead of tomorrow's Thanksgiving meal. My son seems to be very excited about dinner and has a big interest in what we will be having tomorrow. We've discussed pies and the menu - something that he really hasn't cared about in years. He's had a lot of changes this past year with the new house, being rear-ended and having his car totalled as well as a new-to-him car.
His dream home isn't so dreamy at the moment. Every time he turns around, there's something else for him to do. Major things that were missed during the inspection. Yes, I know that it is part of home ownership, but it has opened his eyes of the woes of owning his own place. Currently, he has a pipe somewhere in the home that is leaking sewer gas. That's his next challenge. His dad was supposed to help, but he's been down sick for more than a week. Sick enough to go to the Dr. Hubby's currently on meds and ear drops - yup, this illness came complete with a serious ear infection. So, as soon as Dad feels better, they will be tackling the pipe together.
