My craft room - still a WIP

Over the past few days (weeks actually) I've been slowly trying to clean out my craft room and get everything in there as organized as I possibly can. It's still no where near how I invision it but it's slowly getting there.

I completely rearranged everything at least 3 times. And yet, ironically placed my sewing table right back where it was. There are only 2 outlets in the room and the other one is directly beside the closet.

And finally got around to getting James to put up my $2 Goodwill find shelf (that is probably one of my favorite items in my room).

Yarn that I have either "plans" for or are WIP's and added another clothes line to put up pictures that I find in magazines.

Next up is organizing the closet (which I'm really dreading).

Then after all this was said and done, I got my Dad and James to bring up my hope chest that's been sitting out in the garage since we've moved in here. Oh yes, and L. and I trashed it again after a bag making scrap cutting up frenzy her and I had the other day. Guess it goes to show that this place will only stay clean if I (and the girls, and occasionally James) never go in there.

A little inspiration!

A cute little picture that L. made for me. (That's me in the picture for those who can't interpret a child's drawing.) My little project is almost coming to an end. Between my Mom visiting with my girls and her and I chatting, we got absolutely nothing (except for a little fabric cutting) done Monday evening. No biggie! I work better alone I guess. While my Mom's help was/is greatly appreciated. I decided that if I ever wanted to get this done, I'd go at it alone. Excitingly for me though, I'll be coming in waaay under schedule and hopefully, if all goes well, (more on that and my lovely -hear the sarcasm in my voice- pattern rating when this project is complete) will be all completed by tomorrow.

Back to the ol' sewing board

Happy March everyone!

Today I want to share just a little snippet of what I'll be doing this week (hopefully it'll be done this week). I'm not really wanting to go into great detail at the moment about what exactly I'll be doing but all knitting projects have been put on hold until I get this completed (ok, so maybe a stitch here or there). I have a deadline (next Thursday to be exact) for this project which is a first for me. I've never had any deadline of any sorts with my crafting so I'm really hoping that all goes well. It should be simple enough (for me at least) but I'm enlisting the help of my Mom and we haven't worked on a project together since I tried (yes tried) to make K. a skirt for St. Patty's day when she was 3.

On the upside of working with my Mom, I get to make her do things that I dislike doing such as cutting out fabric. On the downside, I'm working with my Mother, we have complete different taste of "how" things should be done and I'm more of a "just wing it" type of girl and she's more of a "by the book" type of girl.

I'll go into much greater detail when this project is complete but for now, I just want to get it done.

Maybe one day...........

I'll knit myself up a pair of socks. In the meantime, I need to get to work on my Mom's as a (late) Valentine's Day gift.

You see, the problem all started when I fell in love with The Loopy Ewe. I had ordered some stuff including some nice yarn to knit my Mom up a pair of socks. But I wasn't expecting such fast shipping and my order came today.

The other night though, I had started a pair of socks for me from the book Socks Socks Socks while watching my Gilmore Girls and got the ribbing done. Ok, so the ribbing wasn't complete in said picture but I did get it done.

So, in between me knitting my socks and waiting for my Loopy order, I was picking out a pair and found the Peaks' n' Valley pattern from the book Knit Socks.

But hey, knitting is knitting no matter who it's for right!? So, I'll set aside my little sock project and get to work on my Mom's. Then after that I need to make K. another pair, then L., and then maybe knit me up a pair of socks. Oh, wait, that's right, I ended up finding L. a cutsey little dress for the Spring time and K. a jumper. hhhmmm.........maybe by time Summer hits I can knit up a pair of socks for me and have them all nice and ready for Fall.

Twinkletoes

Now that I'm completely hooked on knitting socks (or sock like things), I am finally going to knit up Twinkletoes from Knitty, and loving the fact that they come in Toddler, Child, and Adult size. First up, Twinkletoes for L. Since I showed her them this week, she keeps asking if they are done yet. Originally I had picked out some pretty purple (because purple is her favorite color) Crystal Palace Panda Cotton but waiting for ordering, shipping, and all that jazz was just completely out of the question for her. So I dug through my stash and found just enough Caron Simply Soft (in purple) to make them up.

On the up side, they are going great. On the down side, it took me an hour to figure out how to do the Provisional Cast-On, but thankfully, I had help from the video on KnittingHelp.com. And I have to say, that while it did take me a little to get the hang of the provisional cast-on, I actually like doing it and thought that it was cool that I had stitches just sitting there waiting for me (yes, I get amused by little things).

ETA: I talked to my Mom this evening and she always ask what new project I'm working on or how a current project is coming along. I told her that I was knitting L. "ballet" shoes (trust me, it's absolutely pointless to try and explain things to my Mother sometimes) and she thought that the project was going to be cute. She then informed me that my Great Grandmother Flemming (who I knew crocheted but never knew that she knitted) use to love to knit socks. In fact, my Mom also told me that she hasn't heard of anyone knitting socks (besides me now) since my Great Grandmother use to knit them and that she also wants to find all of my Great Grandmother's old patterns and stuff that she use to use. I have a feeling that in some way, my Great Grandmother Flemming (who passed away when I was 8 but I always felt like I had some sort of connection to her) is smiling down on me.

Another sock post

My goodness, tired of me posting about my new fetish yet? No!? Good.

So, now that I have both of the girls sporting a new pair of handmade socks, I thought that it was time to get to work on a pair for me. Last night I casted on for the Broadripple socks from Knitty and today began to work on them. The pattern is really easy and is actually becoming a quick knit for me. Yarn I'm using (which for future reference I will never use this yarn ever again for anything I decide to make, ok, I lie, maybe something summer-y for myself in Miami Beach) is Moda Dea Sassy Stripes in Crayon. While at first I wasn't to happy with the colorway, it's starting to grow on me.

I spent probably about an hour total so far working on this. I can't just sit down and knit for hours because I have things like 2 kids, laundry, dishes, lunches/snacks/dinners to make, playtime, etc. Trust me, I wish that I could just sit down with my project and knit till my hearts content with no interruptions.

Another sock in progress

I'm beginning to notice that my knitting goes back and forth between my 2 girls. What I mean is that I "take turns" on who I'm making what for. First K. gets something handmade by me, then L., then K., then L., then K., then L., .......................and it goes on. I still have not yet made a hat for me, or a scarf for me, a few sewn tops yes, but nothing knitwear wise for myself. Although I'd love to be able to sit there and knit a sweater or a hat for me.

So, I got L.'s socks all done and took a little break from knitting. Then picked up those darn needles again and started with K.'s sock. Same pattern as L.'s just the larger size. Yarn is some Bernat Baby yarn that my Mom gave to me a while ago. While I know it won't hold up for long wear, I figure she can wear them around the house to keep her tootsies warm this winter. I have only the first sock done right now and am working on the second.

Hope everyone had a very blessed weekend!

Handmade Christmas gift - WIP

K.'s class is having a Christmas party and I was thinking and thinking of a gift to make for her teacher and her music teacher. I figured that with time running out it had to be something quick but nice. I thought about making her teacher a pencil case but I have never done zippers before and also I can't find my zipper foot.

So, after much debating, I finally came up with it. I have to wait to finish it when K. comes home because I need her help with the back part of it. It is really cute and after I get theirs done, I'm thinking of making one for myself.

It's going to be a door knob hanger and is made with this really nice wool felt that I found up at my Mom's house, fabric scraps, and buttons from my stash. Everything I am using on this project is all coming from my stash which I love because it means that I don't have to go out (in this blistering cold weather) and buy things. I'll post pictures once I get them all done.

WIP

After I completed K.'s hat I immediately casted on for L.'s hat. Using the same pattern just adjusted it a little bit to fit L. and instead of knitting for 5" as the pattern states, I'm going to knit for 4.5" because I tried K.'s hat on L. and it came down to far.

This picture (above) was taken yesterday evening. I had completed the first 5 rows of the pattern.

Then last night the girls and I watched The Wizard of Oz so I was able to get alot more done on her hat.

I just have to knit a few more rows then begin the decreasing. After her hat is done then I get to begin my hat.

Just the beginning

This is just the beginning of what is yet to come for me. I've decided that the girls and I needed hand knitted hats this winter. Luckily I already got James' hat done quite some time ago so I can just focus on the girls' and I.

After much (much) searching for the perfect hat for each of us, I had made up my mind and went with the Laced-Edge Woman's Hat by Headhuggers.org. Not just for me but as well as for K. and L. For some reason I just think that it would be cute if we all had the same hat (different colors of course), and I figure that they are young enough that I can get away with it without them thinking it was dumb or embarrassing. So, now that L.'s scarf is complete I needed to start on K.'s hat and got the lace part all complete. Super easy and was a lot of fun to do. Also, (IMO) if you want to start in lace but don't want to invest time and effort into a full on shawl, this would be the perfect starter project for you because you only work the lace pattern for 13 rows and then knit in stockinette stitch for the rest of the hat.

Being that K.'s favorite color is pink, I ordered some Shine Worsted in Blush from Knitpicks.com. It is an absolutely beautiful color and works up so lovely.

I'm thinking about going ahead and casting on for L.'s and I hat and working until the lace is complete especially since I'm using different size circulars for each hat. That way the "worst part" is behind me and I can just knit knit knit.

WIP - The Craft Room

I was finally able to spend some time in my craft room and get everything organized. I swear, it is still far from what I want for it but it is a slow WIP. I want some shelving in there and who knows what else. Plus, I'm not happy with the white walls. I hate white walls. I want a real soft green color on the walls. But that will all come in time. Until then, I will sit in there and sew in a very white room.


While the other half of the room is not organized, I will just show you the half that is (part way) organized. Mostly my sewing area. That, to me, is the most important area that needs to be organized right now. I like things "at hand" sorda speak and hate to get up for things like buttons, ribbon, etc. Fabric and yarn storage will come later.

I have everything at hand right now. I even put a little basket on the table to hold things like buttons, pieces of fabric that haven't been worked with yet, or other what nots that sometimes seem to get lost in the chaos of sewing.

I have my wine bottle crate (that I got at a flea market a while ago) as a "shelving unit" on my sewing table to hold my bobbins, buttons, and a few gifts from some other crafting friends. Including a beautifully hand crocheted jute basket that Sabrina made for me a few months back, it holds my clothes line pins so they are neatly organized and ready to use when I need them.

Also, which strangely, is one of my favorite "organizational" things in my craft room is the clothes line I hung up to hold pattern pieces, inspirational pictures, and (or course) some pictures of my girls. I love having it there and it is a reminder every time I walk in there what needs to be worked on or what is "next in line" to be worked on. Hopefully I can get some clothing made for the girls some time soon.

The flowers were from a picture in the All You magazine that I just loved the color of. The purse (which was also from the same magazine) is from Delia's.com. (I just love the shape of color of the bag. I'm going to try and recreate one.

Then last, but not least, is my favorite part of the "project board". I picture that K. drew me, a picture of K. and I, and a plastic canvas cross that she made herself. I'm going to do something really cute with the picture that she made me.