Happy Halloween, Blessed Samhain, or just have a great day if you don’t celebrate either of those!
I got him to hold still for just long enough to take a picture!
As you may remember, Anne of Tempus Fugit shared a new SAL this month: SALsuffit. The goal is to finish (as in make into a pinkeep, frame, etc.) items we all have hanging around using only items already in our stash. I signed up because, like many of you I’m sure, I have a pile of things to be finished. This month I manged to tackle three, and ran into problems with the fourth…
Project one was Sweetheart Tree’s Dizzy Busy Bees which I made into a cube-it.
Dizzy Busy Bees by Sweetheart Tree
Project two was Halloween from La-D-Da, which I turned into a small pillow using some faux velvet I’ve had for years.
Halloween by La-D-Da
And the third project was framing my Letters from Nora – H.
H by Nora Corbett
My fourth and failed project was framing my Trick or Treat Nora Corbett fairy. I cut the foam core too small and didn’t notice until after I had the piece perfectly pinned. Next time I will know to double check my cutting. And I’ve also learned that a self-healing board bought at a dollar store isn’t self-healing. (Not that I’m particularly surprised by that, mind you.)
I have one other project to share today. On Wednesday I whipped up a little pumpkin hat for Baby Man using this pattern. He wore it, dancing around the house, for about an hour. And, of course, now I can’t even get him to leave it on long enough to take a picture. Thankfully it is big enough that it will fit for a another couple of years. (Actually, since it is a stretchy rib, I can just about wear it. But I have a small head.) It was knit using Bernat Satin in colour 04610 Sunrise for the body and Vanna’s Choice 174 Olive for the stem, in other words what I had hanging around in my stash.
Pumpkin Hat by Susan Esser
I’d also like to remind everyone that I’m offering to send 3 people stitching goodies, if they agree to send stitching goodies to three other people. Head over to this post to leave a comment if you are interested. So far only two people have signed up, and that makes me a little sad. 🙁
In happier news, today is the final day of Missy Ann’s 13 Days of Halloween giveaway. Pop over to her blog to see the final prize and to enter. It is an amazing prize, and I have my fingers crossed.
Anna over at Stitch Bitch is trying to get a new meme started. She’s asked us all to dump out our stitching bags and share pictures. I don’t have a stitching bag. I use a lovely little basket that I bought from Pottery Barn several years ago after Halloween. It has a lining decorated with a spider and a web, and of course I forgot to take a picture of it once I emptied everything out.
Here’s my basket as it came out of the closet:
As you can see, I don’t sort by craft. There’s Baby Man’s aborted entrelac scarf, a sewing pattern for a dragon toy, and a whole pile of cross stitch stuff. (I also have a knitting bag which holds my current project(s), knitting needles, and yet more cross stitch projects.)
Here’s everything that was stuffed into my basket:
Let’s see, there are empty bags from completed projects, the kits from the 2008 Creativ Festival (2009 projects are elsewhere), rings and eyelets for floss tags, the magnifier from my lamp, an empty tub of FrayBlock, a tape measure, card stock and perforated paper, a knitting pattern, ball bands from yarn, lots and lots of cross stitch projects, the Dinky Dyes for Stitcher’s Trove and DMC for the Wheel of the Year pillow from Bewitching Cross Stitch, DMC colour card, and oh so much more. I’m a little embarassed by it all. All the more so since my husband sat in the living room and watched me pull all this out. Yikes.
That lone bag in the background is what I am using to store Baby Man’s stocking. I’m very close to finishing all the stitching, so hopefully I will meet my goal for this month.
Please share what is in your stitching bag, and don’t forget to go to Stitch Bitch and leave a link in the comments.
Also, in my last post I offered to send stitching goodies to three people as part of the Pay It Forward chain. So far I’ve only had two people say they are interested. I can’t do a draw with only two people! And surely there are more of you who read my blog and are interested in receiving and sending out stitching goodies. Please head over to this post if you’d like to take part.
And, lastly, today is Day 10 of Missy Ann’s 13 Days of Halloween. Stop by her blog to enter!
Mel, over at Epic Stitching, has chosen me as one of the people in her Pay It Forward (PIF) chain. I’m very excited, because honestly, who doesn’t like getting stitching surprises in the mail.
Since I am now part of the PIF chain, I’ve agreed to choose at least 2 people to PIF myself. These are the rules:
So, are you interested in being part of the PIF chain? Would you like me to send you some stitching goodies in the mail? If so, please leave me a note in the comments. You have to agree to follow the rules above, and to love whatever I send you. 🙂
I’ll be choosing 3 people, and plan to mail out the surprises no later than the beginning of January (hopefully much sooner). I’ll have Baby Man pick the names from a hat (if enough people show interest) on November 2nd.
Also, don’t forget that today is Day 9 of Missy Ann’s 13 Days of Halloween. Stop by her blog to enter!
It has been ages since I’ve posted about my knitting. I’m working away on small projects, like I normally do. Hopefully once all the Christmas gifts are done I will tackle something big again.
The entrelac scarf I was knitting for Baby Man has been put on hold. My parents bought him a new snowsuit that is grey and blue, and I found hat and mitts I forget we had that are red and grey. These are not good matches for a blue and brown scarf. It was coming along nicely though, and there is enough yarn yet to be knit to make it into an adult scarf. I’m glad now that I made it too wide.
Baby Man still needed a scarf, so I cast on a reversible cable scarf using this pattern: Palindrome. Unfortunately, I’m not the sharpest tack in the box anymore, and I grabbed one US10 and one US10.5 needle tip for my interchangeable needles. Even so, the scarf turned out fine, and Baby Man isn’t quite 2 yet so I figure he doesn’t care. The yarn in Bernat Berella 4 in colour 08893 Dark Oxford.
On the sock needles is still Pink Ribbon Socks by Lloyd Designs. I’m done the first sock, and it is looking really nice. Their website is down, or I would repost the link to the pattern. The yarn for these is Sirdar’s Calico in 0719 Bikini, which is a lovely pink just right for Breast Cancer Awareness month. This is a cotton/acrylic blend yarn, and it is so soft and squishy. I’m looking forward to knitting a sweater with it next winter, perhaps.
And that’s all I can share! The rest is secret, Christmas knitting. Shhhhh!
And don’t forget, today is Day 8 of Missy Ann’s 13 Days of Halloween. Her prizes are so cute! Stop by her blog to enter.
As promised, here are the mini reviews for the books I read for the 10 Book Reading Challenge.
An interesting look at hand knitting in the British Isles. France and a few other European countries are briefly touched on, and North American gets a few pages at the end of the book. This is worth reading if you are interested in how knitting in Britian grew from imported stockings during Queen Elizabeth I’s time to factory knitting and beyond. It was originally published in 1987 and has withstood the test of time, but doesn’t cover the newer knitting movements obviously. Expect to have some cherished beliefs about Aran and Shetland knitting challenged.
by Debbie MacomberA chick lit story based loosely around a knitting shop. If you want to read it you will, but I suggest skipping it unless you are a big fan of chick lit.
by Dodie SmithA very good book that is difficult to describe. Essentially it is about a young girl who lives in a ruined castle with her odd family and how they relate to the new owners of the property. It is much better than I am making it sound, and I think it is worth reading if you like period novels (1930s in this case). (I understand that the 2003 movie isn’t as good as the book, and isn’t that always the way?)
by Debbie MacomberSee The Shop on Blossom Street above.
by Orson Scott CardI’m a fan of Orson Scott Card’s earlier novels. I really enjoyed Ender’s Game, among others. This book, though, seems like it was written by someone else entirely. It is based in the very near future where a group within the United States decides to kill the president and take over the country using advanced weaponry. The novel is written like a movie, with fast moving scenes and snappy dialogue. I know that sounds good, but it came across as very contrived. My husband and I read the book because he so enjoyed playing Shadow Complex on the Xbox 360, a game based on a military instillation featured in Empire, and which was meant to be a link between this book and the next one in the series due out this year. Skip this unless you feel you need to read everything written by him.
by Cordwainer Smith (aka Paul Linebarger)An excellent old fashioned sci-fi novel about a young man from a planet colonized by people who originally came from Australia. When he discovers his life is in danger, he decides to play the markets and makes enough money to buy Earth. When he arrives, he finds a way to have his heart’s desire and to return home to his old life. An excellent book, which I highly recommend if you enjoy science fiction.
by Amanda GrangeI am a big fan of Jane Austen (and I really regret not buying that Sampler Girl chart on Friday!), so I love to read “sequels” to her novels. I’ve read some that are good and some that are bad; some that focus on sisters of the main characters and some the men; some that feel like Jane wrote them and some that are totally out of character. Mr. Darcy’s Diary is one of the best “sequels” I have read. It was so enjoyable to be able to read Darcy’s side of events, and watch as his love for Lizzie grows. I enjoyed this book so much that I’m planning on reading another of Ms. Grange’s novels soon, Mr. Knightly’s Dairy.
by Gregory MaguireI enjoyed the Wicked series very much, but I wasn’t impressed by this book. Mirror Mirror is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty myth in a very loose form. And for some reason, Mr. Maguire felt the need to bring in Lucretia Borgia as the “wicked step-mother.” I suggest passing this one by, even if you enjoyed Wicked.
by Arin Murphy-HiscockI’ve read a lot of books about Wicca and Paganism. A lot. This is one of my favourites. Ms. Murphy-Hiscock (who occasionally leaves comments here as Autumn) writes clearly and well about being a green witch. She shares excellent recipes and suggestions for developing a personal path, even in the city. I also really like how she makes it clear that green witches are not necessary Wiccans, and vice versa. I highly recommend this book, if it is your kind of thing.
by Andrea Van Steenhouse and Doris A. FullerThis was a good book, but I don’t think I learned much from it. Maybe my life is already very simple, I don’t know. But if you are looking for some inspiration for slowing down and saying no, it is worth a read.
Lastly, don’t forget that today is Day 7 of Missy Ann’s 13 Days of Halloween. Head on over to her blog to enter. The prizes so far have all been super cute. Here’s hoping I win, or you do!
Even though the Worldwide Recession ™ seems to be coming to an end, there has been a lot of talk lately about making do and mending. The last series for the Cast On podcast looked at this topic from a knitting point of view, and for a while someone was tweeting Made Do and Mend tips through the name @MrsSewandSew. There is a also a book avaliable that contains reprints of the British government’s wartime pamphlets: Make Do and Mend (Historic Booklet Series)
Now, I will admit that though money is a bit tight around here right now, I haven’t been as thrifty as I could be. But I find the whole Make Do and Mend movement very inspiring. I think it is a bit different this time around, though. With such inexpensive clothing available in chain stores, it is often cheaper to buy things than to make them. Take the socks I knit, the least expensive pair cost me about CAN$10 to make (possibly less, since I can probably get another pair of anklets out of the ball). That is very expensive for store-bought socks, but I suspect these will last me much longer and they are custom made for my feet. I think it is a matter now of making things that will last longer, or learning to repair and re-purpose what we already have.
The BBC is running a new series on Newsnight that looks that the Make Do and Mend movement in Britain. You can read about their take on the movement here.
Hopefully we will continue to move away from the buy-everything-and-throw-it-away society we have been living in, and continue moving towards a way of living where we think about all of our resources and learn to make do and make things work.
And on a totally different topic, don’t forget that today is Day 6 of Missy Ann’s 13 Days of Halloween. Head on over to enter.
Needleworker, Knitter, Crocheter, Sewist, Paper Crafter, and more!
Also known as Silverlotus & Stitchinglotus
Located just outside of Toronto, Canada.
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