Time to Put Down the Hook?

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Heather

My hands are hurting. Quite a lot, actually.  I’m not sure the exact cause, but I’m pretty sure I’ve narrowed it down to my latest crochet project, the Inga Bag.  She is nearly done. I just have to make the second handle, attach them both, and do a single crochet row around the edge. Unfortunately, I really don’t want to. I don’t like my hands hurting. It worries me.

Inga Bag minus handles - WIP

My goodness, isn’t she bright!

My hands actually started to hurt about a week or so before I started the Inga Bag, when I was spending a lot of time crocheting one of PlanetJune’s dinosaurs.  So, I’m pretty sure there is some sort of correlation here, unfortunately.  I’m going to take a break from crochet for the weekend, and then finish up Inga on Monday (I don’t want her to become a UFO so close to the finish). Then, sadly, I’m going to take a bit of a break from crochet. I still have a pile of things I’d like to make: more PlanetJune patterns like her dinosaurs and Halloween PocketAmi, and a fabulous little monk and lotus pattern I bought from etsy, and a Hello Kitty.  But, if my hands need a rest, I’d better give it to them.

Thankfully, knitting and cross stitch don’t seem to be causing any pain.  That means I’m diligently working away on my exchange piece.  It is a little more involved then I expected.  And it is one of those pieces where the backstitching looks a little crap close up, but makes the piece look fabulous when you step back a little. I can’t wait until it is all done. I’m afraid I may need to stitch it again for myself, or at least tackle another piece by the same designer.

Of course, working on an exchange piece means no pictures. Maybe I should work on something else a little bit so I have pictures to share. 🙂

I’m planning on joining in on Wendy D. Johnson’s (aka Wendy Knits) Shetland Pi Shawl KAL. I’m currently swatching using some very pretty purple laceweight yarn. I don’t like the needles I’m using, so I’m going to try a different set. The first chart is going to be posted on Sunday, so if you’d like to join there is still piles of time. Wendy is using fingering weight yarn, and says the pattern is suitable for different weights and both solids and lightly variegated yarns.

BTW, if you like PlanetJune’s crochet patterns, she is having a one day sale today. Enter the code FRIDAY13TH to get 10% of your order. Christmas Tree is calling my name…

1 Comment | Posted in Crochet, Cross Stitch | Tagged , , , ,

Endless Squares

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Heather

I honestly don’t know how people crochet those giant granny square afghans.  I’m currently on square 14 of 16 for my Inga bag, and I’m about to call it quits.  Yes, granny squares are quick and fairly mindless, but they are so boring.  But, I know they bag will look fabulous when it is done, so I am soldiering on.  And to help me maintain my sanity, I’ve been hiding the ends and sewing together my strips as I go.

Gah, why is it that crochet hardly ever looks attractive in pictures? In truth, those are actually quite pretty granny squares.

That Just Cross Stitch issue in the picture is my latest addition to my Teresa Wentzler collection.  It has the design Faithful Friends. I think there is still about ten more magazines I’d like to get my hands on. One day, hopefully, they will all end up in my hot little hands. 🙂

My stitching is going well. The floss was straightened and the labels returned to the proper skeins (thank goodness for my colour card). I’d love to share a picture of the design because it is absolutely stunning, but since it is an exchange piece, that will have to wait.

In the meantime, take a look at what Lynn over at Happiness is Cross Stitching is offering for her latest giveaway in celebration of the 2nd anniversary of her blog. Head on over to this post and follow the directions to enter, but you have to do it before August 31st.

I’m going to be very inelegant and say that I am so in love with this. I know it wants to come to live with me. 🙂

4 Comments | Posted in Crochet | Tagged

Short on the Live Simply

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Heather

I’m not even going to bother to explain why I haven’t posted for over a week.  I’m sure by now you are all aware that I am scatter-brained and don’t always get around to doing what I intend to do.  Thankfully, I rarely let other people down, it is generally only me whom I disappoint.

I’m working away happily and successfully on my piece for the Biscornus and Other Smalls exchange over on the Rotation Stitchers board.  However, I ran into a snag yesterday. You see, I went out for a little yarn and stitching shopping by myself yesterday morning, leaving my project safely on the end table, and Baby Man in the capable hands of my wonderful husband. Baby Man has been well trained, and he never touches my scissors or projects.  If he knocks my pattern on the floor, he picks it up and hands it back to me (after colouring on the back or stomping on it, usually).  Well, yesterday something happened while I was out and I came home to this:

A big mess of floss

Thankfully nothing is badly tangled. I just need to pull out my colour card and get the labels back on the proper skeins. If Baby Man was older, it would be his punishment to sort these out.  But at 2 1/2, I figure it probably isn’t worth the effort to make him try. 🙂 (I’ve played with the colours in the picture a little bit so they aren’t completely true. I don’t want to spoil the surprise for my recipient too much!)

I made great progress with my punch needle project earlier this week, until I ran out of ivory floss.  I did contact Dimensions, and they say they are sending me more. Hopefully it arrives quickly.  I barely had enough of the darker tan colour as well. And by that I mean I had less than one 3-strand 6″ piece left.  While I do appreciate Dimensions getting back to me so quickly, I will probably think twice about buying another one of their punch needle kits because they seem to be stingy with the floss.  I will, however do more punch needle! I’m planning on starting the Halloween design in the latest Cross Stitch and Needlework as soon as I get some weaver’s cloth.

Live Simply by Dimensions (WIP)

Over the past week I also made one of PlanetJune’s new dinosaur patterns, the T-Rex, but I forgot to take a picture of it. It’s very cute, trust me, and will make a great Christmas or birthday gift for Baby Man. Yeah, I’m one of those. I honestly nearly have my Christmas shopping done. I still have several projects I need to make, but the shopping portion of gift giving is almost done. I’m more or less just waiting to see if the prices drop on a few things before I buy them. Please don’t be too upset with me. 🙂 I just hate going to the malls any time after the beginning of November. I worked far too many years in retail to enjoy the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping.

And speaking of shopping, I’m working on another market bag. This one is for me, and done in crochet using Anchor’s Magicline yarn. It is a bright and cheery mix of red, pink, orange and white. Yeah, they aren’t my regular colours by any means, but I love how happy it looks. Maybe it is the summer weather that is influencing me, but that may mean that using the bag in depth of winter will make me think of summer. Whatever. 🙂 Here are the first four squares sewn together.  I have twelve more squares to do, plus some handles and then everything gets sewn together in a weird way to make a super cool Inga’s Haekelbeutel (link is to a pdf). If you are going to attempt this yourself (and why not?), note that there is an error in round 2. Check out this page on Ravelry for the errata, or just make 16 closed granny squares and then follow the directions for assembly.

Inga Bag (WIP)

My next craft to try is needle tatting. I’m planning on taking a short class at the CreativFestival, and in anticipation, I picked up a book and needle set very inexpensively on eBay. I tried shuttle tatting back when I was in university, maybe twelve or fourteen years ago. I never really got the hang of it, but I understand needle tatting is a little easier.

Lastly, I’ve decided to give up on Victoria Sampler’s Heirloom Baby Sampler that I was stitching for Baby Man. It seriously isn’t to my tastes. What I will probably do is stitch a few more rows and then call it done. The ribbon heart at the top of the sampler is beautiful and I’d hate for it to go to waste. Instead I will be stitching Joan Elliot’s Fairy Mother & Child, which you can see in her blog post here. I’ll do it on some hand-dyed fabric, and I will probably change the hair colour a little bit.  I plan on moving the name and date to below the picture. Unfortunately, that means that it won’t fit in a standard frame, but it does mean I can fit in Baby Man’s full name.

Oh, and very lastly, if anyone is interested in the floss and bead kit for Brooke’s Books Emma Rose, as sold by The Gift of Stitching, please let me know. I’ve decided not to stitch it, after some input from the husband. He is usually very supportive of whatever I choose to stitch, but he seems to really dislike this particular design.

1 Comment | Posted in Crochet, Cross Stitch, Punchneedle | Tagged , ,

Finishing Up

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Heather

I’m sure it comes as no surprise that I have a few projects kicking around that need to be finished up.  Cross stitch projects generally can’t be finished up in a a few hours, but some of my other projects can.

This morning, when Baby Man woke me up much, much too early, I pulled out the March dishcloth from the Kris Knits KAL and finished up the last twenty rows before breakfast.  (As an aside, does anyone know what happen to Kris?)  It was knit using Lily Sugar’n Cream in yellow (I think).

March KAL by Kris Knits

Today I also did the fancy bind off on my anklets, but of course I didn’t take a picture…

I also finished up Planet June’s Lucky Bamboo, which I have actually had in process since June.  I put it aside to finish other projects, and it took me a while to get back to it. It is done in various shades of Bernat Satin, my favourite yarn for amigurumi.

Lucky Bamboo by Planet June

And I have this little guy who isn’t quite done.  I still need to give him eyes.  He’s knit from some leftover Mary Maxim Bamboo Soft Stripes sock yarn.

Minor Minion by Heather Sabastian

How’s that for productivity!

1 Comment | Posted in Knitting | Tagged , ,

Is it October Yet?

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Heather

Yesterday class registration opened up for the Creativ Festival.  And since I’m never one to leave anything to the last minute, I signed up for my classes right way.  I ultimately decided on the classes from Jennifer Aikman-Smith and Laura Dickson as I mentioned before, as well as a tatting class, a beaded snowflake class, and one on provisional cast ons. So, this year will be a  little more well rounded than previous years.  But, unfortunately, my schedule is very full.  I have an hour to shop on Friday and maybe two hours on Saturday. I have a bit more time on Sunday, but who knows what will be sold out by then! The horror!

Since I was in need of a quick finish after all the work I put in on Happily Ever After and the endless gold I’ve been using on Kitchen Blessings, I stitched up Witch Shoes? by CherryWood Designs Studio. It is stitched on Enchanting Lair’s pistachio using DMC threads.  I’ll probably finish it off as a mini pillow, depending on what fabrics I can find when we get closer to Halloween.

Witch Shoes by CherryWood Designs Studio

Have I ever mentioned that Halloween is my favourite holiday? As Baby Man gets older, I hope that I can celebrate it a little more. I’m also looking forward to Christmas as he gets older.  Kids make holidays fun, I think.

On the needles now is a sock from Knit Picks; a pretty little anklet in their new cotton fingering weight yarn whose name escapes me right now.  And under the needle is my exchange piece for the Biscornus and Other Smalls exchange.  I’m also slowly working away on Kitchen Blessings and will share a picture when it looks a little more exciting.

BTW, for those of you planning on going to the Stitching Jubilee this fall, I understand Laura Dickson is going to be teaching a fabulous design.  I’m super jealous!

1 Comment | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged , ,

Hardanger Spider Web

Posted on July 25, 2010 by Heather

I think the heat of summer is a funny thing.  In the shade and with a breeze, 32° is tolerable, but stand in the sun and take away the breeze, and I feel like I’m going to melt into a puddle. To make matters worse, we have had very high humidity here this year, and it regularly feels more like 37° or higher. And even though I am inside in air conditioning most of the time, I still feel that lethargy that the summer heat seems to cause.  But, Canada is a country with 4 very distinct seasons, and temperatures will get back to reasonable levels by September, and the fall weather will be starting very soon after that. (Some say we only have two seasons: winter and road construction.)

Yesterday morning I was actually feeling quite productive, even though Baby Man woke me up early by trying to batter his way out of his room. (The door sticks, so he can’t open it himself yet.)  I was able to start and finish lesson four of The Gift of Stitching hardanger course.

I would also like to share with you a wonderful discovery: the best hardanger scissors ever. Knit Picks, an online knitting store, sells these scissors for cutting steeks, but they have a wonderfully sharp tip and such a smooth action.  I have  never had such an easy time snipping threads on hardanger. Best of all, they are only US$2.99.  Here’s the link, if anyone is interested.  (Not affiliated, just love their yarn, blah, blah.)

On Friday, the Creativ Festival released their class list of the fall festival.  And me being me, and this being the crafting highlight of my year, I have already picked all my classes.  Now I  just have to wait patiently for registration to open on Monday.  I’m planning on taking all the classes offered by Laura Dickson of Enchanting Lair, all of Jennifer Aikman-Smith’s classes, a needlework designer round robin that covers Swedish weaving, gold work and stitching on perforated paper.  I’m also going to either take a class on knitting one sock inside the other at the same time or on provisional cast ons, and one on making a beaded snowflake pin. And, I’m planning on taking a short beginners lecture on tatting. This pretty much fills up the entire weekend.  I’ll only have a bit of time here and there for shopping, which is good since it will save me from buying things I don’t need.  However, there are a bunch of make-an-takes on the show floor that I’d love to try, like a sashiko decorated coffee mug, some swarovski earrings, and a beaver fur knitted scrunchie!  Can you tell that  I’m excited?

3 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged ,

Playing with Punchneedle

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Heather

First off, thanks for all the comments about my monster pile of project.  I know, it is ridiculous. In my defence (if there is any!), some of them are quite old and about 10 or so are class projects I just haven’t gotten around to finishing.  And several of them are small. Really. Okay, yeah, I need to start finishing things.

So, that leads me to a new project I’m working on: punchneedle! I did start it about two weeks ago, but I haven’t made much progress because I am actually finding it kind of hard.  I’m not really sure what is so hard about putting a needle in and out of fabric, but if it can be messed up, I can do it. Yay, me.  I think I’ve figured it out finally, and here is my piece so far:

Live Simply by Dimensions (WIP)

I need to do some touching up along the bottom to make it more even, but I think it is looking pretty good.

Here’s a picture of the back.  You can see that I’m a novice for sure since it isn’t very neat at all.

Live Simply by Dimensions - Back (WIP)

If you are interested in punchneedle, I highly recommend a little booklet Planet June put out last year.  (Yeah, I know I recommend her stuff a lot.  I’m not a shill and I don’t get any kickbacks. I just really, honestly think that she is very talented.  I’ve also met her twice [for a total of about 30 minutes], and I think she is a very sweet person.) If I can make my way successfully through this Dimensions design, I’m going to try Planet June’s moon design next. I think it would look great on a bag.

I still don’t know what to do about Castles in the Air, but I appreciate the suggestions. Anyone want to buy it off me? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

I’m also trying to get a little better at commenting on blogs.  I read a lot of cross stitch and knitting blogs but I rarely comment because I just don’t know what to say.  I’m actually very shy and more than a little afraid of sounding dumb when I leave a comment.  I bet my cousin doesn’t even know I read every one of her blog posts because I so rarely comment on them.  Anyway, I’m trying to get better.  And if you read my blog and feel too shy to comment, please do. I want to read your blog too, if I don’t already. 🙂

2 Comments | Posted in Punchneedle | Tagged ,