2014 Smalls Challenge — a belated entry for December

January 6, 2015 Kate2 Comments

Though she be but little, she is fierce... — Bent Creek “Holly & White”

So, my entry for the December 2014 Smalls SAL Challenge is finally done, and, as usual, it’s late (in case you hadn’t noticed). This month I chose a true small — only 32 stitches square — with only two colors — I chose DMC 500 and ecru — and a simple, graphic design that let me spend a lot of time stitching without having to consult the pattern every two minutes. Since I only had the chart, the red button is one I had just lying around in my button tin. It’s probably a little bigger than the design actually calls for, but I’m trying not to let perfect be the enemy of good, as “they” say, and this button is just darling.

This pattern, Bent Creek’s “Holly & White” (from their “One Color” collection), fell into my lap at a very convenient time. I had just completed, at the very last minute, the four Shepherd’s Bush stockings that I stitched for my brother, sister-in-law and my two nieces for Christmas (more about those tomorrow), and I only had a few days left until the end-of-the-month deadline. This design is perfect for a quick and easy Christmas gift. And yet somehow I was still late getting it finished. Sigh.

Looking back at all of 2014, I’m somewhat pleased with my efforts in the Smalls SAL Challenge. I say “somewhat” because, let’s face it, if I were grading on percentages, I’ve only earned 7.5 out of 12, or a lousy 62.5% (it’s 8.5 if you count the “extra credit” small from May — still, that’s only 71%), and I still haven’t finished July’s project, Eileen Bennett’s “Very Victorian… Acorns” (last seen here).

Rule Brittania, Brittania rule the waves...

April Smalls Challenge

May Smalls Challenge

Bonus May Smalls Challenge

June Smalls Challenge

"Very Victorian... Acorns" by Eileen Bennett

July Smalls Challenge, in progress

"Happy Black Black Cat Day" by The Trilogy

August Smalls Challenge

"A Merry Little Christmas" by Bent Creek

September Smalls Challenge

"Rotted but not Forgotted" by Plum Street Samplers

November Smalls Challenge

On the other hand, 71% is better than zero, which is where I was headed without the added incentive of participating in the Smalls SAL Challenge. I have not been doing as much cross stitch in the past couple years as I used to do and this group has been a great motivator. I’ve already signed up for the 2015 Challenge. I’ll go over the rest of my stitching goals for 2015 in a later post.

Here’s to a happy 2015 full of stitching goals met (and even surpassed perhaps?)! I can dream, can’t I? Happy New Year!

Smalls SAL Challenge, Belated November Project

December 12, 2014 KateLeave a comment

Shepherd's Bush Christmas Treat Bag kit — Shepherd’s Bush Christmas Treat Bag kit, my version, for the November 2014 Smalls Challenge

Above is my belated submission for Stitching Lotus’s 2014 Smalls Challenge (see the icon on the right), the Christmas Treat Bag Kit by Shepherd’s Bush. I think I’ve been late for about 80% of these monthly challenges, and I have yet to finish the July Challenge, Eileen Bennet’s “Very Victorian… Acorns” Sampler (last heard of here). On the plus side, focusing on results instead of failures, I have completed many of the month’s challenges, and I have done more cross stitching in this past year than I have in quite awhile. There’s nothing like a little external motivation, even if it is voluntary.

I grabbed this kit on my way out of town to go spend Thanksgiving with my family in northern California (due to my teaching schedule, I had to leave at the crack of dawn on Thanksgiving day). I bought this kit over a decade ago and it was stored in a plastic bin with all kinds of other kits I bought years ago. When I was looking for a quick kit at the last minute, I couldn’t believe how many old kits full of unrealized potential were in this box. I have, literally (and I don’t use that word lightly) dozens of old cross stitch and needlepoint kits–many I had forgotten about completely.

The whole process was like an archeological dig as I painstakingly worked my way through layer upon sedimentary layer of ancient fabric and floss artifacts. Each kit seemed to inspire one of two polar opposite reactions: “Wow! I had forgotten how pretty this pattern was! Why aren’t I stitching this right now?” and “What was I thinking when I bought this?” It’s funny how our tastes evolve over time — I remember being head over heels with some patterns that I can barely stand to look at now. It’s a good time for destashing.

Overall, this little Shepherd’s Bush kit was a quick stitch except for the beading (again, I had forgotten how long that takes), and the results are quite nice. The kit calls for the design to be made into a little treat bag (see below), but, honestly, I can’t imagine using it as a bag so I’ve decided to make it into an ornament instead.

Shepherd's Bush Christmas Treat Bag — Shepherd’s Bush Christmas Treat Bag

As you can see, the kit comes with a star and moon charm too, so that should make a nice addition to the ornament’s decor. It also comes with two satin ribbons, but within twenty minutes of being open in a house filled with five kids under eight years of age, the ribbons mysteriously disappeared. You don’t exactly have to be Sherlock Holmes to solve that “crime.”

Giveaway: if you would like my used “Christmas Treat Bag” pattern and instructions, leave me a message below letting me know, and I’ll send it along. I will also include the leftover floss and beads (the floss is just DMC, so it’s easily supplemented, and there are plenty of beads left to do the entire design again). This is a cute and easy pattern and there’s still time to finish it before Christmas this year, or the next, or the next…

October 2014 Smalls SAL: A belated Halloween treat

November 13, 2014November 21, 2014 Kate1 Comment

I had originally intended my October Smalls SAL submission to be completed before Halloween in order to celebrate the spirit of the season, but the best-laid schemes o’ stitchers and knitters gang aft agley, as the Scottish bard once said. I actually finished stitching quite a few days ago, but I’ve been so busy with … life? … that I just haven’t gotten around to posting until today.*

I fell in love with this design the second I spotted it on the cover of the 2012 Just Cross Stitch Halloween Issue (bottom row, center, in front of the little pumpkin):

In fact, I bought the issue specifically for that pattern, only to discover, to my surprise, that the pattern isn’t included in the issue. On page 62, the finished design is pictured in a group with some others from designers like La-D-Da, The Stitcherhood and JBW Designs. However, the actual pattern, which should have been on pages 63-69 (or thereabouts) is missing; I looked several times and kept turning the pages over and over again before I ultimately consulted the web page and saw an errata announcement. Fortunately, I printed out the pattern a couple years ago because it has subsequently disappeared from the Just Cross Stitch site without any explanation.

I stitched my version with Gentle Arts Sampler Threads in “Carriage Black” (the pattern calls for DMC 310, pure black), “Adobe” (light variegated salmon color), “Cornhusk” (light green) and “Banker’s Gray” (the pattern calls for “Tradewind” but I didn’t own it and didn’t feel like making a special trip to my unreliable LNS). The fabric is 32-count Vintage Country Mocha linen. I love the mottled look of this fabric and the muted color combinations which just scream of decay and aging.

Speaking of decay and aging… this stitched piece is riddled with minor errors where the stitches are off by one linen thread. This is perhaps most obvious at the very top of the design between the decorative trapezoid (yeah, let’s go with that…) with the skull and wings and the dark gray outline; where there should be a full stitch between them, there’s only half-a-stitch. I really need to do something about my glasses prescription. I find it impossible to navigate between my stitching and watching TV, which I do almost always while I stitch, and I need much better light when I work on linen especially. The only cross stitch projects that are proceeding well are the Shepherd’s Bush stockings with their user-friendly 9 stitches to an inch.

Alexander McQueen Skull Aran Jumper — This season, it’s all about skulls!

In keeping with the belated Halloween theme, from Alexander McQueen comes this Aran Skull Knit Jumper. If the $1085 tag gives you second thoughts, this stylish blogger, CreativeHandmadeCONCEPTs, has already recreated the sweater design for free. Here‘s the link on Ravelry so you can knit your own for less. While I can actually imagine a hand-knit sweater being worth that much (after you take into account the price of yarn and pay yourself a decent hourly rate to knit and finish it, it’s not that outrageous a price — and that doesn’t include the added love), I have a harder time imagining paying that much for one. But this kind of designer label pricing really drives me nuts.

*Unrelated note on Google searches: When you start to put “Burns To a Mouse” into Google search, it wants to autofill the response as “Burns to pee.” Make of that what you will.

All the News That’s Fit to Stitch: a not-at-all-Dirty Dozen

October 15, 2014October 16, 2014 Kate2 Comments

The best of Game of Thrones knitting. Winter is coming. So you’d better start knitting.
Dude, where’s my yarn? Ashton Kutcher knits mutant onesie in latest Lenovo television ad.
The unlikely resurgence of pixel art. Can a cross stitch renaissance be far behind?
And speaking of a cross stitch resurgence, I love the Red Gate Stitchery Etsy shop because it’s doing something different with cross stitch. These little necklace, cuff, and earring kits would make wonderful introductions to cross stitch for beginners — big stitches, quick results, and a tangible, wearable reward at the end. The designer’s home page even has a “Resources” link with a cross stitch tutorial for beginners and downloadable templates so you can chart your own designs.

Cross Stitch Leather Cuff by Red Gate Stitchery

This Etsy shop, stedi, is also doing some colorful and unusual things with cross stitch and wood, and even copper (see below). On a personal note, I have this some copper pot. My mother brought it back with us from Germany where my father was stationed in the 1970s. I have to admit it never would have occurred to me to decorate it with delft blue cross stitch but I admire the kind of “thinking outside the box” that this crafter promotes. It’s hard to think of new ways to display cross stitch.

And I just stumbled upon another Etsy shop, eWood Story, that’s selling some very unusual and beautiful Art Nouveau-style necklace kits featuring a combination of woodwork and crochet. More photos are available on Websta.

Art Nouveau Crochet and Wood Necklace Kit by eWood Story

And in my own stitching universe… I have started my October project for the 2014 Smalls SAL (icon in the right-hand column). I chose “Not Forgotted” by Plum Street Samplers, from the 2012 Just Cross Stitch Special Halloween Issue. Actually, interesting side note — the chart is actually not available in the Just Cross Stitch issue because it was somehow accidentally left out. Just Cross Stitch used to have a special page on their site where you could download the missing pattern, but that page seems to have disappeared. I happened to have downloaded the pattern just in time. If anyone out there knows where to find it, let me know and I will pass the information along. Thanks!

That’s it for now — I hope you enjoy the new spooky look. Happy stitching to everyone!

September 2014 Smalls Challenge SAL

October 2, 2014June 10, 2015 KateLeave a comment

Have yourself a merry little Christmas, make the yuletide gay... — “A Merry Little Christmas” by Bent Creek, my contribution to the September 2014 Smalls Challenge (pardon the hoop-marks)

Well, it’s that time of the month again! No, not that time of the month — it’s time for the 2014 Smalls Challenge update (you can see the logo in the sidebar to the right). This month I took it easy on myself and chose a pattern — Bent Creek’s “A Merry Little Christmas” — that is a true “small.” Realistic goals are one of the keys to happiness, and I don’t want a repeat of the July “Very Victorian… Acorns” debacle. Shudder.

I’ve had this pattern for almost twenty years now, so I figured it was about time to actually make it!

I’ve made some substitutions from classic DMC (this pattern is from before overdyed flosses were so widely available) to some variegated flosses. For the lettering and the centers of the border boxes, I used Weeks Dye Works “Juniper”; for the pine bough I used Weeks Dye Works “Chestnut” and for the pine needles I used Weeks Dye Works “Seaweed.” For the ornament itself, I used (the sadly discontinued) Needle Necessities overdyed floss in color 153, “Razzle Dazzle Red,” and for the yellow ribbon tied around the tree branch, color 161, “Fool’s Gold.” These small projects like this give me a good excuse to use up these discontinued colors. For the outlines around the boxes in the border, I substituted good ol’ fashioned DMC 611.

I’m very excited to have completed at least one new Christmas ornament this year. It’s been quite a while since I’ve added a new cross stitch ornament to my tree. I have just ordered the new 2014 Just Cross Stitch Christmas ornament issue and the special Halloween issue. I can’t wait to see all the new designs and write a review for you all.

GIVEAWAY: as usual, I am giving away my gently used pattern to the first person who sends me a comment or email requesting it. If you are interested, please leave an email or blog address so I can contact you. Good luck, and thanks for reading the blog!

September Update — Finishes, Starts, and WIPs

September 17, 2014September 21, 2014 Kate2 Comments

Where does all the time go? I can’t believe it’s September already, which means I’m two months behind in my half-year update, although I suppose that’s really right on schedule since I didn’t even post my year’s goals until the beginning of April. You’ll just have to take my word for it that I’m great about meeting goals in other parts of my life. I’m really very organized. Seriously. Anyway…

Update on Knitting WIPs and Goals for 2014

So, let’s see what I’ve gotten done since April’s reckoning. The progress bars in the right-hand sidebar will let you know how far along I am with my current projects. Here’s the list of knitting projects, some finished, some still in progress:

~~Baby Bobbi Bear and assorted outfits (a belated gift for my niece’s second birthday)~~ update: Baby Bobbi Bear was completed on 4/5/14 and the sweaters were completed on 6/29/14. Pictures and more details are below this bulleted list.
~~Winter Lace Afghan (a belated wedding gift — are you sensing a theme here?)~~ update: completed 5/16/14!
Breast Cancer Ribbin’ Scarf (seriously, all this needs is some kitchenering. Is that a verb?)
Felted Sashiko Cover (this is a little something I’m working on as a freebie pattern to accompany the sashiko-style cross stitch I’m designing for Wordsmith Designs — see below)
~~Susie Rogers’ Reading Mitts (you know, because it’s so cold here in Los Angeles in springtime)~~ update: completed 5/22/14!
Swedish Thora (a belated gift for my beautiful and patient Aunt Janet — there’s a point where gifts become so belated, there’s no point in rushing anymore. Sigh.)

And here’s Baby Bobbi Bear in all his glory:

Baby Bobbi Bear, Nappin’

Baby Bobbi Bear, Chillin’

Baby Bobbi Bear Close-up

Baby Bobbi Bear, Maxin’ and Relaxin’

And here are his fabulous sweaters:

Mauve Sweater with Green Crocheted Heart

Ivory Sweater with Crocheted Cherries

Blue Sweater with White Crocheted Star

Baby Bobbi Bear with all his Sweaters and his Scarf

Orange Sweater with Crocheted Daisy

There’s more info about all the yarns I used and the various crochet patterns on my Ravelry site (it would take too long to list them all here). The scarf is a simple 10-stitch 2 X 2 rib knitted with self-striping Adriafil Knitcol (color 46) on size 5 needles. Pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself.

Last April, I also stated “plans to make some Easter knits for the girls, including the Fiesta Tea Set by Annie Modesitt (knitted with Tahki Cotton Classic in yummy Fiestaware colors like lemongrass, peacock, plum, scarlet, shamrock, sunflower and tangerine).” Update: Done and done! Finished sometime in late June or early July. Here are some photos:

Tea Cup and Saucer, Shamrock

Tea Cup and Saucer, Scarlet

Tea Cup and Saucer, Tangerine

Tea Cup and Saucer, Sunflower

Creamer, Sugar Bowl and Pitcher

Creamer, Lemongrass

Sugar Bowl and Lid, Peacock

Fiesta Tea Set

Pitcher, Plum

And here’s a picture of my niece Ella playing with her new tea set:

These were not part of my goals, but I also started a pair of the “The Wallpaper Had It Coming (Again)” mittens as part of a Sherlock-related challenge with the West Hollywood (WeHo) Stitch ‘n’ Bitch group, and the Spring Kerchief by Sachiko Uemura. I’m about halfway through the first glove, but I’ve only just cast on for the kerchief.

Needlework WIPs and Goals for 2014

As of April my current cross stitch WIPs were as follows (oldest to newest):

“Ewe and Eye Needlecase” by Maureen Appleton/Heart’s Content
“Celtic Band Samplar” by Homespun Samplar
~~“Union Jack,” an original design of the Union Jack flag which I will be “releasing” as a Wordsmith Designs freebie soon~~ update: completed 04/06/14!

Since I’m being brutally honest, I will admit that I haven’t completed a single stitch on the Needlecase or the “Celtic Band Samplar.” They’ve been on hiatus for a few years now.

I had four other cross stitch goals for 2014:

A set of four Shepherd’s Bush Christmas Stockings for my brother, sister-in-law and The Two Most Adorable Nieces in the World.™ Update: I’m happy to say I’m making terrific progress with these, and will have photos soon.
The Mirabilia “In a Garden” series. Update: I’ve barely started the “Summer” version. Seriously, only a few stitches completed, and it’s “due” September 21st. My stitching time lately has gone to the Christmas stockings; I’d like to have those completed by the beginning of October so they can be finished professionally before Christmas.
The 2014 Smalls Stitch-Along (the handy-dandy icon is in the right-hand sidebar). Update: I completed my smalls for April, May, June, and August, and I’m still working on July. Here’s the gallery so far:

August Smalls Challenge

July Smalls Challenge, in progress

May Smalls Challenge

Bonus May Smalls Challenge

April Smalls Challenge

June Smalls Challenge

Goals for Wordsmith Designs

For Wordsmith Designs, my first three design priorities for release are (in this order):

A sashiko-based design that I don’t want to go into too much detail about right now
A Celtic alphabet design that’s already designed and stitched but still needs some “polishing”
A design called “Memento Mori” and that’s all the detail you’ll get for now
A design called “A Rose is a Rose” and that’s all the detail you’ll get for now

Update: I haven’t met any of my designing goals for Wordsmith Designs. I’ve done some work on the sashiko design, but it still needs a lot more work.

Goals for Moon & Sixpence Knits

For Moon & Sixpence, I am working on three free patterns:

an update of my (very basic) Michael Nesmith hat pattern, one that is more historically accurate and includes the four-button variation Nesmith wore sometimes
a scarf and cowl with a breast cancer ribbon-style cable pattern (I’m debating whether to charge a nominal fee so the proceeds could go to breast cancer research)
a small cabled heart design based on a Christmas ornament that IKEA was selling a couple years ago

Update: Apparently, design-work is not my top priority, which is sad because it’s a way of generating at least some income. As I stated in April: “I would love to have the breast cancer ribbon-style scarf completed by October, which the Breast Cancer Awareness Month.” That seems like a goal that could still be met. Stay tuned.

Check back on December 31st! And wish me good luck and good motivation!

All the News That’s Fit to Stitch, Part V: Mother’s Day Edition (plus a giveaway!)

May 11, 2014May 25, 2014 KateLeave a comment

Mother's Day by Ewe & Eye and Friends — “Mother’s Day” by Ewe & Eye and Friends

Culled from the very best of the interwebs, I bring you:

Adventures in Knitting (thanks to martinimade for pointing out this little gem)
Yet another article on how knitting can benefit your health. This one recaps CNN’s “This is Your Brain” episode about the cognitive benefits of crafting in alleviating depression, stress, and anxiety. Here’s a recap of the recap on the Huffington Post UK. It’s like “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” but with links about knitting.
Apparently, the Washington Post has discovered knitting. Here’s an interesting article about a program to teach prisoners how to knit as part of their “resocialization” process. The photo gallery is worth a look; they sure look like they’re having a lot of fun.

On a personal note, it’s Mother’s Day here in the United States, the day we celebrate all the mothers in our lives and thank them for all that they’ve done for us. My own mother passed away from breast cancer in the spring of 1997. Not a day goes by that I’m not reminded of her and I think about all the time she was robbed of by dying at such a relatively young age. I especially feel her absence now that she has grandchildren and I know they would have brought her so much happiness, happiness she richly deserved.

To honor her here, I’ve posted the photo of the last Mother’s Day gift I ever gave my mother, a stitched design is called “Mother’s Day” by (the now sadly defunct) Ewe and Eye and Friends. Pardon the shadows, bad lighting and photography issues — my mother passed along many talents to me, but unfortunately photography was not one of them.

GIVEAWAY: Since this beautiful design is no longer in print, it’s very hard to find, but I am offering my used pattern in good condition (not the actual stitched version, obviously) to anyone who wants it. It would make a great gift for your mother too. Leave me a comment below to let me know you’re interested. Thanks for reading my blog, and please take some time out today to thank the mother(s) in your life!

April Smalls SAL Check-in: “Union Jack Freebie”

May 7, 2014 KateLeave a comment

This royal throne of kings, this scepter’d isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England…

In celebration of actually completing this month’s (by which I mean April’s) 2014 Smalls SAL challenge, I’m letting my inner Anglophile out to play. To be truthful, my inner Anglophile isn’t exactly usually inside the house practicing her violin and doing her math homework. She’s usually out cavorting around for everyone to see — watching BBC America, reading nineteenth-century English novels, eating lemon curd, indulging in a mild fascination with Prince Harry, driving on the left side of the road (OK, maybe not that last one).

I charted and stitched “Union Jack Freebie” (last seen as a work-in-progress here) for my fledgling — very fledgling — cross stitch design company, Wordsmith Designs, and the charted design will be up on the web site soon. However, it’s already available on this blog here as a free pattern.

Union Jack Freebie by Wordsmith Designs — Though she be but little, she is fierce!

To give you some idea of the scale of this design, the entire frame is only 6″ X 4 1/2″/15 X 11.5 cm, and the design size itself is 2.52” X 1.4”/6.4 X 3.55 cm. I stitched this Union Jack on 25-count beige Jobelan, which is my current favorite fabric for doing one-over-one designs; the stitch definition is fantastic and it’s not too tiny (and exasperating) to work with considering my middle-aged eyes. The threads I chose were Gentle Arts Sampler Threads in Midnight (blue), Schoolhouse Red (red) and Oatmeal (ecru/white), although the pattern comes with some alternative suggestions (DMC, Anchor, Crescent Colours and Weeks Dye Works).

I’ve tried to be as accurate to the real Union Jack flag as possible. The tricky parts were the diagonal red lines which do not quite line up in the original, although many reproductions “cheat” by having simple diagonal lines.

The frame is a standard 2″ X 3″/5 X 7.5 cm frame I found at (I believe) Target several years ago. The cracks at the joins don’t appear so alarming in real life as they appear in this photo. It’s funny how photographs magnify even minor flaws. I’ve noticed this phenomenon when photographing knits before; the slightest imperfection — a knot in the wrong place, a stitch that sticks out, a stray cat hair — shows up like it’s got a huge neon arrow pointed at it.

Photography issues aside, I hope you enjoy this quick and easy pattern. I’d love to see any pictures of completed projects.

Union Jack and Bobbi Bear

April 17, 2014November 20, 2014 Kate3 Comments

I’m happy to report one completed project, “Baby Bobbi Bear” by Blue Sky Alpacas, and one nearly completed project, my “Union Jack” cross stitch design. Baby Bobbi Bear started out as a gift for my niece Ella’s first birthday — she is now four (or, as she would insist, four-and-a-half). Ahem. Then BBB (as I will refer to him from now on) was intended to be a gift for her sister Lauren’s second birthday, which was in late February. Double ahem! There’s nothing like sticking to your goals!

Anyway, next it was intended to be a gift for Lauren for Easter, but I also wanted to make a couple sweaters for BBB (just in case he gets cold) so I’ll be putting off giving him to Lauren for Easter. But I’ll get it to her soon. I promise. Blue Sky Alpacas has a free pattern that looks quick and easy. I’ll also probably knit up a hat or scarf. I’ll post a picture of the finished BBB soon.

The “Union Jack” freebie sample stitching is coming along nicely, especially considering I spent what felt like an eternity fiddling with what is, after all, a very simple charted design. I added a row on the sides, took off a row on the top and bottom, added those top and bottom rows back on, added the side rows back on plus another row on either side, removed the top and bottom rows again… and so on. You get the idea. I’ve tried to be as accurate as possible with the proportions, which is not easy considering that the slanting red stripes don’t line up “properly” in the original (that’s just my humble American opinion). What were those Brits thinking?

I love Union Jack designs and I chose here the same kind of weathered, variegated (“tweedy”) colors that I chose for the Debbie Bliss Union Jack pillow cushion I knitted in Fall 2012 as my Ravellenics project. In this case, I am stitching over one on 25-count oatmeal Jobelan with one strand of Gentle Arts Sampler Threads in Midnight (blue), Weathered Barn (red) and Oatmeal (off-white). When I print out the chart for Wordsmith Designs, I will offer some alternative color suggestions for people who want to use DMC/Anchor, Crescent Colors or Weeks Dye Works, or for people who want be more accurate to the colors in the actual flag. I should be finished soon. Rule Brittania!

If anyone would like a copy of the charted design, send me a message. Thanks!

Update: The Union Jack pattern is now available on my “Free Patterns” page. Just follow the menu link at the top of the screen. I’d love to see some photos of finished stitched pieces! Hint, hint.

Well, it’s the beginning of April so it’s time to set some New Year’s goals for 2014!

April 3, 2014September 13, 2014 Kate3 Comments

[WARNING: This is quite a long post, and it’s generally all about my personal knitting/stitching goals. Alas, no Benedict Cumberbatch, nerdy knits, or penguin sweaters today.]

Boy, time sure flies when you become temporarily obsessed with the knitting on a certain TV show and then you catch the plague! I’ve been meaning for the past two-and-a-half months to write a post where I set out my knitting, stitching and crafting goals for the year, but it seems like something always got in the way. Sadly, goal-setting has never been one of my strengths, but I’m setting some goals to try to work on that in the future….

Knitting WIPs and Goals for 2014

Let’s start with what I have on the needles or in the hoop right now. The progress bars in the right-hand sidebar will let you know how far along I am with my current projects. Here’s the list of current knitting projects (in the sidebar, they are listed in order of the oldest to the newest project, but here I’m listing them in order of priority):

~~Baby Bobbi Bear and assorted outfits (a belated gift for my niece’s second birthday)~~ update: Baby Bobbi Bear was completed on 4/5/14 and the sweaters were completed on 6/29/14
~~Winter Lace Afghan (a belated wedding gift — are you sensing a theme here?)~~ update: completed 5/16/14!
Breast Cancer Ribbin’ Scarf (seriously, all this needs is some kitchenering. Is that a verb?)
Felted Sashiko Cover (this is a little something I’m working on as a freebie pattern to accompany the sashiko-style cross stitch I’m designing for Wordsmith Designs — see below)
~~Susie Rogers’ Reading Mitts (you know, because it’s so cold here in Los Angeles in springtime)~~ update: completed 5/22/14!
Swedish Thora (a belated gift for my beautiful and patient Aunt Janet — there’s a point where gifts become so belated, there’s no point in rushing anymore. Sigh.)

For my personal knitting goals, I will probably continue to emphasize making gifts, especially for my nieces. They are the only nieces (or nephews, for that matter) that I will ever have and they are only going to be small once. Soon, they will want to assert their own tastes (I can already see it happening) and they won’t be willing to wear whatever I make for them. As the old saying goes, you’ve got to get in while the gettin’s good. I have plans to make some Easter knits for the girls, including the Fiesta Tea Set by Annie Modesitt (all the Tahki Cotton Classic has been purchased, in yummy Fiestaware colors like lemongrass, peacock, plum, scarlet, shamrock, sunflower and tangerine). update: finished the Fiesta Tea Set in late June/early July 2014!