TUSAL – January 2011

Posted on January 4, 2011 by Heather

Today is the new moon, which means it is time to share my ort jar. There isn’t much in it, since I’ve only been collecting since the beginning of the year. (Last year’s ort collection stopped sometime in the spring, I think.)

As you can see, the Christmas tree is still up. I put it up so late this year, so I’m not really tired of it yet. I’m aiming to take it down tomorrow, though, since I think leaving the tree up into mid-January is just a little sad. Like I’m trying to hold onto Christmas, I guess.

Here’s a close up:

Inside are bits and pieces from Enchanting Lair’s Kitchen Blessings, the socks I made for a lovely lady in Sudbury, and the hat I just finished for myself. I’ll share some pictures of some of those projects very soon.

If you’d like to learn more about the TUSAL, head over to this post on It’s Daffycat. (Sharon has taken over hosting the SAL, which was started by Yoyo of Dragon My Needle.)

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2011 Goals

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Heather

After looking back on my unfulfilled 2010 goals, I’ve decided that I need to be a little gentler with  myself this year. Cross stitch, knitting, and the like are about enjoyment not meeting deadlines and filing quotas. (Except, of course, when they are. Like when I knit socks for other people. Oh, and Christmas knitting.)

I wanted this year’s goals to focus on things I really enjoy doing. Hopefully, when I look back in December, I will have a big pile of finished items that I had a great time working on.

2011 Goals

  • Complete all 12 remaining ornaments in my personal ornament-of-the-month club (one per month)
  • Complete all 12 pairs of socks in my personal sock-of-the-month club (one per month)
  • Stitch Joan Elliot’s 12 Days of Christmas for my mom
  • Knit a cardigan for my mom to wear when she visits the Vatican in June
  • Complete Victoria Sampler’s Christmas Treasures and have it mounted in its box before December
  • Complete the four Victoria Sampler alphabet samplers I have
  • Finish Enchanting Lair’s Kitchen Blessing for my husband
  • Finally decide on a birth sampler for Baby Man and finish it
  • Improve my sewing skills

I do have one more goal, and it is kind of a big one. I’d like to try to stitch from stash this year. Oh, I know it is deadly to say that out loud. I’ve just about guaranteed my failure. But, if I allow myself two small shopping excursions (Gitta’s Getaway Needleworkers’ Marketplace and the CreativFestival), then I think I can manage. And, of course, any potential release by Teresa Wentzler.

Truthfully, this last goal is already killing me. I’d love to have the new Cherry Wood Design Studio limited edition design, but I’m trying to convince myself I can live without it. 🙂

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Happy 2011!

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Heather

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2010 Review

Posted on December 31, 2010 by Heather

I have to admit, I haven’t been looking forward to reviewing my 2010 crafting goals. I know I didn’t even accomplish even half of what I set out to do.

My goals were:

  • Finish Baby Man’s birth sampler
  • Finish Enchanting Lair’s Kitchen Blessing for my husband
  • Finish the Celtic Thunder bourse and put a little stitching kit in the living room
  • Finish up at least half of the Creativ Festival class pieces I have left over (Delightful Dragon, Tiny Torture Sampler, First Dragon Encounter, Dragon Lullaby, Celtic Thunder, Tiny Dragons, Cutwork Compass Rose)
  • Stitch another stocking (for Mom?)
  • Finish one of my felt kits
  • Knit socks for others (and maybe a couple more pairs for me)
  • Get up to date with and stay current with Papillon Creations Castles in the Air
  • Do some punch needle projects
  • finish a wedding gift

I didn’t accomplish very many of these things. Kitchen Blessings still isn’t done, nor is Baby Man’s birth sampler (right now I’m not even sure what I am going to do, since I’m no longer in love with the one I have started), etc., etc. I did knit more socks. Eight and 3/4 pairs in fact, with three and 3/4 of those pairs for other people. I also tried punch needle, and really enjoyed it after I got the hang of it. And, I did finish that wedding gift.

I wouldn’t say this year was a bust, though. I did finish twenty-five cross stitch projects (two large, one medium, eight small-ish, and the rest were ornaments). I managed to remember to take pictures of all of the projects except three. (One is on its way to someone, and the other two are hidden in the closet waiting to be finished into usable items.)

I also finished about thirty-five knitting projects (some of which I didn’t get pictures for).

And, I completed about twenty or so crochet projects, all of which I actually took pictures of. (Amazing!)

I also tried my hand at a few sewing projects. And, sadly, my sewing skills aren’t at the same level as my cross stitch are knitting. One of my 2011 goals is to work on improving them. I shared the picture of the vintage-style dog I made, and I also shared a pouch in the same post (I’ve made two more since).

So, even thought I didn’t accomplish my goals for 2010, I still think I had a very successful year.

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Chirstmas Gift Round-Up

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Heather

It can be difficult to find things to post about in the later half of the year. So much of my time has been spent working on Christmas gifts, and I’m not always able to share pictures of them. However, now that Christmas is past and the gifts have been received, I’d like to share pictures of a couple of things.

Inishmore Cap by Cheryl Andrews

My dad loves drivers caps. Last year, I tried to make him Morgan using some wool/alpaca blend yarn, and things didn’t turn out very well. (Wool allergy plus difficult pattern makes for an awful time knitting.) But, this year I was determined to make him a great cap. Enter the Inishmore Cap by Cheryl Andrews. The pattern is much easier than Morgan, and this time I picked an acrylic yarn that worked out really, really well. My dad loves it, and has asked me to make it in two more colours. We shall see. (I also gave him a pair of black fingerless mitts, a crocheted chicken teapot cozy, and some dish cloths.)

Cthulhu's Unspeakable Hat by Finlay Logan

My husband received Cthulhu’s Unspeakable Hat by Finlay Logan, my first attempt at colourwork. I used Knit Pick’s Shine Worsted, and I am very pleased with the results. With the yarn being a cotton/rayon blend, I wasn’t sure how warm it would be, but the husband says it is really warm, which is fabulous!  (He also got a scarf [which isn’t quite done since I was waiting for more yarn], and a pair of wool socks I had someone else knit for him.)

Suede Slippers by Lisa S. Rowe

I made Suede Slippers by Lisa S. Rowe for my mom. They are a little big on my feet (pictured), but they seemed to fit her well. It is a pretty straightforward patterns, and I think I may make another pair for myself.

Loopy Crochet Scarf by Rozetti Yarns

I also made her Loopy Crochet Scarf by Rozetti Yarns using Rozetti Yarns Cocoon Multi, which was a kit I bought at the Creativ Festival. This was super, super quick to crochet. I think it took no more than 25 minutes, and the effect is pretty neat. (My mom also got a knit hat in colours similar to the scarf, a pair of cabled mitts, and a pair of socks knit from Cascade Fixation.)

And, believe it or not, I’ve already started planning my projects for next Christmas. There are at least two in my Ravelry queue already. 🙂 And we won’t even bring up the fact that I’ve already started my shopping for next Christmas too. 🙂

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Favourites of 2010

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Heather

2010 was a pretty good year overall. Not everything went as planned. (Does it ever?) Even still, I think I was blessed by always having love, happiness, good health (mostly), and the wonderful Baby Man.

2010 was also a year in which I tried to focus more on the things I really liked, rather than on just accepting whatever. In my search I came across quite a few things that made me really happy, and I thought I would share some of them with you.

  • Favourite etsy Shop – Annabelle’s Art –  Annabelle and her mom Ninon create incredibly beautiful cards in all sorts of themes. You’ll also find necklaces, stitch markers for knitting, and occasionally some other surprises. If you’d like to know more about Annabelle, who is a special needs child adopted by Ninon, check out their etsy profile.
  • Favourite Website – Ravelry – I can’t even begin to calculate the amount of time I have spent on Ravelry this year. It is the ultimate site for knitters and crocheters, offering an enormous (user generated) database of patterns (free and for purchase) and yarns. It also offers the ability to record all of your yarn stash and your projects. The forums are the heart of Ravelry, though, and through them I’ve made some wonderful online friends and learned more about knitting and crochet in the past two years than I ever expected to learn in my entire life. If you are a knitter or crocheter and haven’t joined Ravelry, you really should. And look me up, my Rav ID is Silverlotus. (Big surprise, eh?)
  • Favourite Tutorial – Missy Ann’s Scissor Crypt Tutorial – Not only did she co-host thirty-one days of giveaways, but she also treated us to two tutorials in October. I have made some needle minders (and totally forgot to share pictures!), but I haven’t tackled the scissor crypt yet. I do, however, have two little coffins sitting behind my monitor, just waiting for me to find the time.
  • Favourite Yarn – Crystal Palace Panda Cotton for socks and Bernat Satin for amigurumi – Yes, neither of these yarns are new, but I did discover my love for them this year. Panda Cotton is a great choice for socks if you can’t knit with wool (or are knitting for someone who can’t wear wool). It wears well, but can be a bit difficult to knit with since it likes to untwist. The final product is great, though. As for Bernat Satin: it is soft, comes in fabulous colours, and isn’t squeaky like some acrylic can be. Overall, it is my choice for amigurumi.
  • Favourite Event – It is a toss up between Gitta’s Getaway in April, and the CreativFestival in October. Both events were all about stitching and spending time with other stitchers. I got a chance to stitch, shop, and spend time with some people I don’t get to spend enough time with. Both events will be different in 2011, and I’m looking forward to them a great deal. However, I won’t be attending the retreat part of Gitta’s Getaway this year, just the new Needleworkers’ Marketplace and perhaps a class or two.
  • Favourite Finish – Sewing the Seeds by Teresa Wentzler, Jennifer Aikman-Smith and Karen Weaver – I stitched this as part of the SAL I hosted through the TW BB. It turned out so much better than the cover photo. I haven’t framed it yet, unfortunately.

What were your favourites of 2010? Which movie or book did you love? What design did you have to have? Is there anything you’d like to share so we can all know about it?

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Merry Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2010 by Heather

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