The Lighthouse

So, I've finally finished The Lighthouse!!

It has taken me exactly 8 months. Not that I was working on it all that time!

The embroidery details on it I did without marking them, so I'm really happy with it.

Now I just need to turn it into a doona cover, like I've been planning for 13 years!

And then I need to figure out what project to start next. I think I need something small ... a Tatty Teddy maybe?!

Craft Drought

Ok, so I haven't posted since October, but then I haven't really done much craft since then.

I've done 1 more ball of blue wool on my crochet rug. The thing with this is that it's too warm to work on it in summer, so it's just sitting there waiting for a cool day and time for me to pick it up.

I haven't done any more on The Lighthouse for ages. I really should finish it so that I can get on and finish the doona cover.

I have done a little stitching on African Sunset, but I have to be careful now that my sister has returned home. It is supposed to be a gift for her 21st birthday which is in August.

Hmm ... what else have I been doing?

Well I made some Christmas crackers. A few years ago I bought some kits, complete with the firecracker parts. Last year my sister made them up, but this year it's my turn.
I haven't done out tree ornaments either, in fact our tree is still boxed up in the shed. I have done a little decorating in my room though, and as I type there is Christmas music playing and I have a Christmas candle burning. As for the tree ornaments, I thought it was someone else's turn this year since I have done them for the last 4 or so years.

I think I just need to get off the computer and get crafting!

A Sewing Day ... Finally!!

Yesterday for me was a sewing day - or at least a sewing afternoon.
I've needed to do this for a while and it finally worked for me to get some things off my list. I haven't quite finished the list, but it's now down to just 4 things.

The first photo is actually the progress on my crochet rug. I've finished the 1st ball of purple, the second section of maroon and started on the next ball of blue. I love the way it looks and the contrast between the sections of blue.




The next photo is of the t-shirt that I altered for a clown costume. I ironed on some flower motifs and around the bottom hem I sewed a sequined, decorative trim. I love how it jingles!
The costume is for Good News Gang this week. We are having a special event - Everybody's Birthday. The kids all get to dress up in what they would like to wear if it was actually their birthday. This way we can celebrate all the birthdays for the year without having a separate party for each child.

And finally are the other things I sewed. 2 headbands and a small bag. The bag I got the fabric and ribbon for at a craft show that I went to last year. It's just 2 pieces of fabric sewn together with the ribbon sewn into the seam, then turned right side out. Half the fabric is inside as the lining.
The headbands are just a single length of fabric which I folded in half and sewed up the side. Then I turned the fabric to have right sides out and sewed the ends. The ends are then folded twice over lengthwise and sewn up to make narrower parts for tying.


And that's my carft weekend. I'm now in the process of making some cards. One is using some stamps I recently bought off Ebay.

Too Much!!

I'm convinced I have too many projects on the go, and too many potential projects competing for mental space and to be done.
Let me tell you what I've got and then you can decide.

• Crochet Rug - 2 balls of blue, 1 ball of purple and 4 rounds of maroon complete
• The Lighthouse Quilt/Embroidery - 75% done (or maybe a little more), once complete to be incorporated into a quilted doona cover
• African Sunset Cross Stitch - 5% (or maybe a little more done - needs to be completed buy August 2011)
• Felt Brooches (photo not yet loaded on my computer; people who see them think I should be making more and selling them; I have some of my own designs that I would like to try)
• Doona Cover - I have the fabric (it matches my curtains), I just need to cut and sew
• Hair Towel - one of those turban things (I've made 1 but I need a 2nd one)
• Alter new Jeans - I have to put elastic in the waist and that requires hand sewing because of the belt loops (I really need a good thimble)
• Finish off the latchhook rug that my sister did for me (the edges need binding - and yes, I have the stuff to do it with)
• Headbands - I have the fabric to make and they would literally take 10 minutes or maybe 15 - and that's for 2, if I just had the sewing machine out
• Drawstring Bag - to go in the Operation Christmas Child shoe box (needed before next month)
• Clown Outfit - needs to be completed before Term 4 starts
• Cardmaking - I have new stamps that I'm dying to use, plus some ideas I want to try

So that's my list - so far! I'm sure I've forgotten something.

Then there is the interior design course that I'm doing, plus planning for next year - like applying for study at TAFE.

I just need block time to concentrate on this and not get destracted by, well, my computer, which I'm on now when I really, really should be in bed.

So what do you think?

Bright and Cheery Craft for a Gloomy Day

Today is a very gloomy, grey day! It's cloudy, raining and freezing cold.

I needed to do some craft, but didn't feel like doing any of the projects that I have on the go. So this is what I ended up doing.

It's a felty! A dahlia. I just needed something bright and cheerful, and something that I knew I could finish. I guess I needed a sense of accomplishment.

A friend gave me the kit, so I didn't choose the colours, but I love it anyway. You don't quite get just how bright it is from this photo.

I've got 2 others that I will do at some stage. One is a sparrow, the other and owl.


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So, I should probably also update you on what else I'm doing. My crochet rug is coming along well. I've now finished the first 2 rounds of maroon and started on the first ball of purple. I love the way the maroon just breaks things up and adds a bit of brightness between the blue and purple. And 1 round just wasn't enough. It needed 2.

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I've also been making some cards.

Here are a couple of them.

Round and Round We Go

I now have 2 balls of blue wool done, plus a little extra to finish the 32nd round.
And, as you can see, I have started on the first maroonn round. I have decided to do 2 rounds of maroon before starting on purple.

I love the contrast between the blue and maroon, although you can't see it here.

As for my other projects, I haven't done anything more on them. There are just too many other things to do in a day, and this is much more portable, especially when I am sitting in the car waiting for people.

I thought about making the maroon rounds a little more decorative, but haven't found a pattern or stitch that really works in. I'm thinking I might do a shell pattern for the outer edge though.

The Stars Are Out

So this is my latest card!
Once again my cardmaking supplies seemed to explode all over my bedroom (which is where I construct these masterpieces).

I'm guessing you're all wondering what I used for the gold star chain. Actually, brads! Instead of pushing the metal pins through the card, I bent them out flat, then curled the ends over to form a ring. I put a split ring (like those used in jewellery making) between the stars and then one at each end. The ends are secured to the card using jewel brads and the middle star had some adhesive foam to keep the chain in shape.

The row of stars at the bottom is an ink stamp, actually using white ink. The words in the middle are also stamped, but I went over the white ink with a white gel pen.

The inside of the card and the envelope are made from white paper with yellow polka dots.

This is for a friend's 21st.

Crochet Rug - The First Ball

Well this is the progress on my crochet rug.

I've finished the 1st ball of wool (plus the start of the 2nd).

The first ball made just over 19 and a half rounds.

I've worked out my pattern, of sorts.

I have 3 colours: Navy, Purple and Maroon.

So the plan is for 2 balls of Navy, followed by one round of Maroon, then 1 ball of Purple, followed by a round of Maroon ...

I have 10 balls of Navy, 5 of Purple and 3 of Maroon, so I'm hoping this will be enough.

Actually, I can't get any more of the same brand wool, so it will have to be. The blocks of colour will decrease as the rug gets bigger because more wool will be needed for each round.

I'll do another update after the second ball of Navy.

And for those wondering, this much has only taken 2 and a half weeks!!

A New Challenge - Crochet!

Ok, so this week I've been teaching myself to crochet using a DVD. I'm actually making a rug, which is very ambitious for a first project, but I want to really learn the stitch.

So I'm starting with a Granny Square and just going around and around, getting bigger each round until I will end up with this massive Granny Square as a rug.

The only thing the DVD didn't teach me was how to change colour or at new wool when my ball ran out.

My friend, Jenny, does crochet, but when I asked her how she did it, she said she just tied a knot and kept going. So I decided to look on YouTube and this is what I found.


It's such a great video, and I think I may try this method since it shows both changing colour and securing the tail of the new colour. The only thing is that she finished off the previous round first. Hmm ... I'll have to think about that.

Progress on Current Projects

Here is what I've done so far on 'The Lighthouse'.

As you would know from my first post about it, it's not a cross stitch but an applique. And that has posed a big challenge.

The instructions have been difficult to understand - probably because I'm a beginner at this. And then I've complicated matters by changing from doing needle-turn applique as is in the pattern. So the first thing you will notice is that this is backwards compared to the picture in my sidebar.
While this is a mistake according to the pattern, it just makes mine completely unique!

So, what I've done so far is trace and cut out all the pieces and today I assembled them onto the backing fabric. I used a great bonding medium and now I just have to start the blanket stitch to keep everything together.

There is also a bit of embroidery for details, such as the fence, lighthouse windows, lighthouse light and so forth.

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I've also been working on 'African Sunset'. That is going well, but I can only stitch it when my sister is away at uni. So for this weekend while she is home, it's safely tucked away.
Sorry, no picture of my progress this time.

Project Overload

Is is possible to have too many projects on the go at once?

I was reading someone else's blog tonight and they said they have 7 cross stitches on the go.

Also, can you have plans for too many projects in your head at once?

My dilemma is that I think I will forget to do something important, a project that will be a gift or just something in general because I'm thinking about too many things at once.

Ok, so I've heard that we only actually use a very small percentage of our brain at once, but still ...

There is this one project that I have been thinking about and planning for 11 year. Yes, you read that right. ELEVEN!

I keep changing the plan, which is not surprising since I first started planning it as a teen and some of my tastes have changed.
I'm now saying that my current plan is the last one. We'll see!

Part of the current plan involves my 'The Lighthouse' project. I'm planning on using that as the centrepiece for the doona (quilt) cover. The plan used to be for a cross stitch sampler, but I like my current idea much better. The doona cover is going ahead. I purchased the base fabric today. I have no idea what the rest of it will look like, although I have been adding to my fabric stash for the past 11 years. The colours that I want to use haven't really changed all that much. I'm currently planning for the rest of the area surrounding the centrepiece to be crazy patchwork. I just kind of like the idea of putting my fabric stash together in a random way. I just hope it works. There will be a plain border between the centrepiece and the crazy patchwork.

Ok, so then I have another doona cover that I'm making using the same fabric as my bedroom curtains (once this is done I may try to get it posted on Ikea Hacker ).

Then to continue with my sewing projects list I have a few items of clothing needing alterations, some things to mend, covers to make for my desk chair (the black is boring and doesn't match my room), and the binding to do on a latch hook rug (my sister did it for me, but said I had to do the binding - she has now learned how to do it as she goes).

And then there are my cardmaking and stamping projects, including a set of cards for my Mum for her birthday (shhh, don't tell).

So, I ask again, is it possible to have too much planned or on the go?

Done!

Today I completed Butterfly Profusion!!!

I'm so glad to finally get it done. Even though I started it 11 months ago, I wasn't working on it all that time.

I also completed the Butterflies Linen Table Runner, the Christmas Tree ornaments and a few other mini projects (as you can see from earlier posts). I estimate that it actually took me only 4 months to do.

You can't see from this picture, but there was blending filament used on some of the butterflies to give them a shimmer in certain light.

Somewhere I made a mistake in counting, but buy the time I discovered the problem it was too late to make any changes, and it really hasn't affected the overall look.

One wise person (I don't remember who) said that you don't make mistakes, just personalise the pattern!

I am now starting 2 new projects. One is an applique quilting project - The Lighthouse. This will form the centrepiece of a new doona (quilt) cover that I have been planning for 11 years. I think it's time to get it done and use some of my fabric stash.

The second project is African Sunset. This will be a gift once it is completed. Have a look at the picture in my side bar. All of it is stitched - none printed. It's sure to look good when finished, and it's totally different from the usual style of pictures that I do.

Oh, and in case you're wondering the blue marking on the Butterflies Linen Table Runner has almost all come out. I just need to wash it again, and then put some kind of backing on it so that I can use it. Although the more I look at it, the more I realise that I'm not that keen on the colour choice. It may just end up in my Glory Box, or given to someone.

Where has the time gone?

I can't believe I haven't posted anything here since February.

So, I guess you're wondering what I've been doing.

Well, I finished the stamping project that Mum was getting me to do (see my last post), at least the first pack of tags, anyway. We just can't find anymore of the right size in the shop at the moment.

I've also been working hard on Butterflu Profusion, and you will be pleased to know that I've almost finished. I am currently working on the final butterfly - the orange beauty in the bottom left corner.

And then I've been doing some mending and clothing alterations - like putting some elastic into a pair of jeans so that they don't gape at the back.

Oh, and I've been teaching a friend how to sew with a sewing machine. She knew how to sew by hand but hadn't used a machine and wanted to start making clothes for her family.

So that's what I've been doing.

Along with changing my mind (AGAIN) about the quilted doona cover that I have been planning for 11 years.

A Stamping Good Time

I've been busy with stamping over the past few days. Above are some little gift tags (or whatever) that my Mum has asked me to do. The pictures, like the hedgehogs I stamped with black ink and then used my Stampin' Up! stampin' pastels to colour them in.

I've also been making some cards and covers for folders.

A Little Bit of Sewing

So you've been wondering what I've been doing over the past few - gasp - months, well, except for the Tiny Stockings (see previous post).


For the past few days I've been doing some sewing and mending that has been piling up. My sewing machine saw the light of day today for the first time in months.


And this was the result:


A personalised sheet set.

Several members of my family have sheets of a similar colour, so to tell mine apart from the others I decided to personalise them.


The butterflies on the sheets are hand-stitched on with button hole stitch, after using an iron-on fusion to hold them in place.

The pillowcases just have a strip of the same fabric as the butterfiles, machine stitched in place.




And then there is my latest completed cross stitch. I didn't have it in my list of projects, mostly because it was a little one that I just picked up when I needed something small to take with me.
So here it is 'Especially For You' from the Country Companions collection.






















I'm still going on the table runner, and worked on it some more today. I'd really like to get on with something else, because it is starting to annoy me, having to alter the pattern slightly because the printed cross stitch just doesn't look right. I only hope the blue outline comes out when I wash it, otherwise I will have spent all that time stitching it for nothing.