Weekly Update

I've been sick with a cold this week so I didn't get as much done as I would have liked to, but I did manage to keep up with my goal, household, and sew-along projects.

Cross Stitch:

I did a small amount of work on the Rose Cross by Irene O. Thomas.

Swedish Weaving:

I did some more work on the final motif of the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly.

Quilting:

I finished Part 4 of Nabby's Dowry, a sew-along by Pam Buda of Heartspun Quilts.

Knitting:

On the Octopus Garden Blanket by Georgia Vincent,  I embroidered the face and wove in all the ends on the 2nd octopus (Olivia).

Crochet:

On the Purple Passion Throw designed by Vicki Marshall, I finished a butterfly, sewed it to the 3rd row, and started a star.

Household:

Finally, I finished the washcloth based on pattern #27 designed by Darla Sims from Leisure Arts' The Big Book of Dishcloths and started a new one based on the same pattern.

Weekly Update

It's time for a change.

I realized this week that my routine of doing at least a half hour of each type of needlework each week and spending at least 2 hours each day on needlework (I actually had a spreadsheet for this) wasn't working out. I felt like I was on a treadmill, and needlework was starting to feel like a chore. Yikes. So I sat down and figured out what works for me and what doesn't and how I'm going to approach my needlework in the future.

For starters, I've scrapped the spreadsheet. Needlework is much more relaxing when I'm not timing myself. I'm going to continue to do multiple projects because focussing on just one project bores me to tears, but I'm going to work on whatever I feel like for however long I feel like working on it. I'll also continue to do at least some needlework each day because it makes me feel more centered, but, again, I'm going to stop timing myself.

I'm going to continue working on my goal to use up all of my acrylic yarn, because seeing that huge pile of yarn that I don't want anymore stresses me out but I don't want to throw it away. However, I don't think that I'm going to set a yearly goal in the future; I've been feeling a bit trapped by this one. I don't like the feeling that I have to work on a project. I'm also going to continue to work on my household projects because I do need some new dishcloths, potholders, and towels. And I will continue with Pam Buda's sew-alongs because they're fun. ;)

So, other than the acrylic yarn and household projects, on which I will do some work each week, I'm going to do whatever I like whenever I feel like it for as long as I feel like working on it. I'm also going to try to work from my stash as much as possible, but I'll still buy new things occasionally.

Cross Stitch:

Of course, the first thing I did after deciding upon this new needlework philosophy was to pull out an unopened kit and start a new cross stitch project. :) It's Planetarius which is adapted from the artwork of Miles Pinkney.  The kit doesn't say who did the adapting.

I also did a tiny amount of work on the Rose Cross by Irene O. Thomas.

Swedish Weaving:

I did some more work on the final motif of the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly.

Quilting:

I finished Part 3 of Nabby's Dowry, a sew-along by Pam Buda of Heartspun Quilts.

Knitting:

On the Octopus Garden Blanket by Georgia Vincent,  I wove in the ends on all of the free legs, the bow, and one of the octopi (Oscar). I also embroidered Oscar's face, which was a bit difficult because there were no directions on where to place the eyes and mouth and this was my first attempt at stem stitch.

Crochet:

My arthritis was acting up this week, so I didn't get as much crocheting done as I wanted to, but I did a bit more work on the tulip that I had started last week for the Purple Passion Throw designed by Vicki Marshall.

Household:

Finally, I started a new washcloth based on pattern #27 designed by Darla Sims from Leisure Arts' The Big Book of Dishcloths.

Weekly Update

Quilting:

Pam Buda of Heartspun Quilts has started a new sew-along, Nabby's Dowry.  Well, actually it started 3 weeks ago, but since the 1st step was to cut out all the pieces for the blocks and sew all the half-square triangles together, I decided to wait until Part 2 and cut and sew the basic units as needed.

So, here's my finished block for Part 2:

I finished another flying geese block for Around the Town by Dawna Baker.

I did some more quilting on Batik Cascade (Batik Go-Round) by Karen Combs.

Blackwork:

I did some more work on Da Capo by Elizabeth Almond.

Cross Stitch:

I did some more work on the Rose Cross by Irene O. Thomas.

Swedish Weaving:

I did some more work on the final motif of the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly.

Crochet:

I finished 2 tulips for the Purple Passion Throw designed by Vicki Marshall, and started a 3rd.

Knitting:

I started blocking the pieces of the octopi for the Octopus Garden Blanket by Georgia Vincent.

Household:

I suffered a setback on my washcloths. I was using the finished washcloth from this post when I noticed that the dye was bleeding. Thinking that the yarn just had a bit of loose dye still in it, I decided to try rinsing it until the water ran clear. Several sinkfuls of water later, not only was the water still full of dye, but the thing had dyed my sink aqua! Fortunately I was able to scrub it clean. I threw out that washcloth, the one that was still in progress, and the rest of the yarn.

I was surprised because I had used Sugar'n'Cream yarn in the past with no problems. In fact, I've never bought a yarn where the dye ran like that. However, a quick internet search showed that this is a common problem with Sugar'n'Cream. I'm never buying the stuff again. Life is too short to mess with bad yarn.

Finishing:

Finally, I attached the 2nd binding strip to the Tree Frog Trio (designer unknown) based on No Evil Frogs by Royce B. McClure.

Weekly Update

Quilting:

I finished another flying geese block for Around the Town by Dawna Baker and sewed another 1 1/2 flying geese units.

I did some more quilting on Batik Cascade (Batik Go-Round) by Karen Combs.

Blackwork:

I did some more work on Da Capo by Elizabeth Almond.

Cross Stitch:

I decided to put away Joy of Computer Work without doing any more work on it, and took out yet another UFO: the Rose Cross by Irene O. Thomas (I couldn't find a link for her). Here's what I had already done when I pulled it out:

And here's what I got done this week:

Swedish Weaving:

I did some more work on the final motif of the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly.

Crochet:

I crocheted a star for the Purple Passion Throw designed by Vicki Marshall, wove in a bunch of ends, and sewed some pieces together.

I also started crocheting another tulip.

Knitting:

I finished knitting all the pieces for both octopi for the Octopus Garden Blanket by Georgia Vincent.

Now I just need to block all of the pieces, embroider the faces on the octopi, and applique the octopi to the blanket.

Household:

I finished the washcloth based on pattern #80 (designer unknown) from Leisure Arts' The Big Book of Dishcloths and started another based on pattern #22 designed by Darla Sims.

Finishing:

Finally, I finished stitching the 1st binding strip to the back of Tree Frog Trio (designer unknown) based on No Evil Frogs by Royce B. McClure.

Weekly Update

Quilting:

I finished the flying geese unit for Around the Town by Dawna Baker that I was working on last week and sewed half of another.

I did some more quilting on Batik Cascade (Batik Go-Round) by Karen Combs.

Blackwork:

I finally finished stitching the Blackwork Chessboard by Anne MacGregor.  This was my first blackwork project. It's also the last time I'll ever use rayon floss -- horrible slippery stuff that tangles and knots far too easily. There's supposed to be running stitches inside the borders of the blank squares; I'll use those as the quilting when I finish the project.

My next blackwork project is Da Capo by Elizabeth Almond.  I couldn't find an online picture of this one.

Cross Stitch:

I made a bit of progress on Joy of Computer Work which is based on artwork by Randal Spangler and adapted to cross stitch by Michele Sayetta of Heaven and Earth Designs.

Swedish Weaving:

I did some more work on the final motif of the Feathers To and Fro afghan from Learn to Make Monk’s Cloth Afghans by Marilyn T. Magly.

Crochet:

I crocheted another tulip for the Purple Passion Throw designed by Vicki Marshall.

Knitting:

I finished the 4th corner on the Octopus Garden Blanket by Georgia Vincent.

I also finished the body and 1 leg of the 1st octopus.

Household:

I did some more work on the washcloth based on pattern #80 (designer unknown) from Leisure Arts' The Big Book of Dishcloths.

Finishing:

Finally, I stitched half of the 1st binding strip to the back of Tree Frog Trio (designer unknown) based on No Evil Frogs by Royce B. McClure.