I'm so ashamed….it's been so long since my last confession (yet another thing I start and don't see through…..) - I think I should post a progress post on all the bits of projects I've written about but still haven't finished (and a few more I've started since my last post and haven't got round to blogging!) and hopefully shame myself into completing something.
Baby Building Blocks
So, this project was intended as a gift to my niece on her birth….she was born 1st June 2012!
I really need to tackle this one as she's at the age to be playing with these now and I can just see her face when I present her with these on her 12th birthday when I finally complete them and she's expecting a One Direction calendar or Topshop vouchers!
I haven't done bad with them as I got 3 completed, but the think that made me lose interest in this project is the filling. I searched high and low for some foam blocks to fill these with and ended up resorting to toy stuffing instead which gives them more of a round shape rather than stackable blocks.
I did try upholsterers shops for sofa cushions but the foams were far too firm for a baby to squeeze!
My sister is currently waiting for her new sofa delivering and we decided that the worn seat cushions from her old sofa would give me the perfect material to cut some made to measure blocks from as they are a lot softer from years of being squashed!
So I'm waiting for SCS to deliver her sofa so I can steal her current cushions and try re-stuffing my completed blocks. I really should be knitting more squares however for the rest of the blocks in the meantime but I can't find my knitting bag with the wools in!! I'm going to have a hunt this week and get working on these and put other things aside until I have this finished.
Glitzy Cat Paw Wrap
Ok, so I started this one mid December 2011…...oh Lord, I didn't realise it was over a year! I just went back in my blog to check and my first post was 16th December!
I haven't really got much further if I'm honest - this has 6 rows (77sts) to the pattern so to avoid confusion I try to not stop mid pattern and just pick it up when I have time to knit the full 6 rows at least, which means it's sat staring at me in my knitting basket next to our sofa for over a year now and only been picked up around 5 times…….surely I've had more time than that in the last year - well, I suppose I have to take into account the other hoard of UFOs I have!
Here's a photo of my progress:
I've got a little sticking point on it which is always to point where I lose interest a bit…..I don't know how but I seem to have lost 5 stitches somewhere as I count them every few rows just to pacify my paranoia and I'm down to 72! I can't see anything obvious looking at my work but I also can't undo my work as I can only do this in straight forward knitting/purling….this pattern is full of yarn overs and passing stitches over so I'm terrified of tacking taking it back. I'm thinking I need to find a local knitting group and go along one week on my lunch hour and see if an expert can help me! Would they find this rude? Or perhaps relish the challenge of fixing a problem for a novice like me?
Ethereal Shawl
Ok so this one didn't really get off the ground - after frogging it for the 5th time after my last post(!) I decided to store the wool and needles ready to start again when I'd got one of my other projects finished so I can concentrate on it properly. I got the urge to knit lace out of my system by having a go at it and I also managed to knit in the round which was a first for me too - if I am to start this again however I need to get a shorter length circular needle, I didn't realise you need to buy the correct length as well as needle size with circular so although my gauge was ok I found it very difficult to stretch the stitches round to join the circle each round.
Fair Isle Knitting Bag
This one was supposed to be a little travel project I could take on my business trips and could use the end product to store a bigger knitting project in.
The real reason for doing it was I was impatient to have a go at Fair Isle on a big project for the first time! (which, incidentally, I still really love to knit!)
I actually really like working on this one and have written the pattern myself as I knit up the first side so I have a pattern to follow for the second - and I finally bought some handles to use on this once it's complete too, I'll post a picture of this one in a future post (hopefully complete!)
I could probably whittle through this one quite quickly and get it finished then use it to carry a project around with me to work on when I'm out and about!
I'd like to line it too I think with a cotton fabric as the bag itself is nice and thick but I think it could do with a contrasting bright lining (or perhaps flowery)
NEW ADDITION! - Cross Stitch (Iris Plant)
I tried very small cross stitch patterns once or twice in my childhood and failed each time as I didn't know any of the rules (I didn't even know there were any rules!) so my stiches crossed in opposite ways, I used a whole piece of thread instead of using only 2 strands too for example so you lost all the detail.
My mum bought me a couple of small wedding related kits when I was getting married which I didn't make but decided to save as gifts for friends weddings in the future to maybe use to make a card. But then mum bought be a large A4 size kit this Christmas of an Iris plant in a blue and white bowl (my favourite!) so I decided to give it a go and read the instructions thoroughly before beginning :)
Unfortunately the kit manufacturer forgot to include a list of the thread colours and quantities for me to check off against and use to work out which symbols applied to which so I had to refer to the DMC site and use very good light to work out the very subtle differences in colour! I managed to make my own chart of colours (and hope I have the right number of lengths for each colour to complete the chart) and have started off on my adventure.
Here's a picture of my makeshift strand organisation:
And I've invested in an embroidery hoop to give me some good tension, here's progress on my cross stitch so far:
Now, what's stopped me working on this one…...two things; firstly the need to work on my baby blocks for my niece and secondly (and probably more importantly) - I've made a mistake. Yes that's right, I made a little error and lost my momentum, there's a surprise :) At least this one is a small one, I've placed around 8 stitches one square too high so need to remove them and do them again.
Ok, so I think that's all I had outstanding - there have been a few new additions to my project list but I'm determined not to start anything else whilst working on these, after all, it was supposed to be one at a time and one long term project!!
I think I need to get over the embarrassment of knitting in public and take my work more places with me - I currently only work on things when I have a free lunch hour at work or the odd half hour at home amongst my many other hobbies.
Where do you folks take your crafts? I would be lovely to hear some of the places you whip out your work to inspire me to bite the bullet and go public!
TTFN peeps
Mrs K
xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment