Art, Craft and Needlework, February 2018

[Harriet]

Creativity makes the world go 'round!
How has your 2018 start been going? On track to the enjoyment and/or goals you planned?
Have you been getting all the chores, the payroll and the "shoulds and oughts" done before you pursue your interests or have you thrown caution to the wind to keep yourself sane and just had some fun sometimes?
Have you found a happy medium that gives time for everything?

blessed is needlepointing ornaments and has done repairs on Christmas items
BookSaver attended a sewing webinar series (yay) and sewed up shopping bags
ejagno is stitching a row a day onto afghans for her family, and sewing costumes
Nancy's painting has been lettering plus tea time theme, and she's making hot pads
Harriet sewed up 4 patchwork bookmarks (almost finished) and started ornaments
Harmony is choosing between projects and says "so little time". Ain't it the truth!

[Nancy]

This mo. I am knitting up a cone of red cotton yarn in to round dish clothes. Trying to see if my guess of a doz. Per cone is accurate or not I will let you know. Also painted some rocks too.I started a bujo and one side of the pages is illustrated I inked my pencil drawings today.

[Harriet]

Nancy, your estimate will probably be close since you have so much experience.

Update, HRH found the shoebox of beads. Until I mentioned the lid was off, he says he didn't know we owned beads, and couldn't picture what they were. But as soon as I said "lid", he remembered the box he'd put a lid back on and moved. He went right to it. How can a man envision a plain cardboard shoebox and know exactly where it is, but not remember the vivid, colorful, contents? Gotta love men. It's my own fault for not labeling.

Anyway, this will be fun, to match a few different beads to these, next Rudolph. Don't have the ideal ribbons, but i'm thinking that will encourage me in some creativity. dd19 likes these so much she thinks they are a candidate for assembly-line-ing more, to have a really full gift-closet. Am thinking about this, but I'm limited in time and don't want to cheat myself of fun with other creative ideas.

dd19 also used the sewing machine to make stuffed cat mini-pillows for a friend. Didn't need me at all. I'm glad she is so confident with machine and hand sewing.

[Harmony]

This is not exactly creative, but I organized my sewing supplies today. My machine is mounted in a cabinet and I keep it closed up with a full length skirt on it with a lace topper. On top is my button canister, a lamp, and a pincushion Sunny made for me.

Well, I have to pull up the skirt, open the front panel and pull the 2-drawer rolley cabinet out. My supplies are all in those 2 drawers. That's a lot to go through just to get the scissors, a needle, some thread, just to sew on a button. So while I was out I bought one of those pretty boxes with the magnetic flap to close. I sorted through everything and put all the stuff in I need if I'm just hand mending something, darning a sock, etc. Needles, pins, a few spools of thread, light and dark, my fabric scissors, a tape measure, needle threader, my pin cushion.

My new box sits right on top of the machine, easy to grab and get stuff when I need it. Maybe I won't procrastinate on my chores now. Everything else is still in the rolley cart, and that's ok because if I'm sewing with the machine I'd pull it out anyway.

You'd think with the size of this house I'd have a dedicated sewing space. Maybe some day.

[Nancy]

Taking a pause from knitting to draw in a journal one came apart. I punched it for a disc bound system. I am doing it sort of like a lg, bullet journal for now I am enjoying the illustrating part of it.

[Nancy]

I got 17 round dish clothes out of one cone of yarn. I finally got to work on something else yea! Rainbow space dyed yarn for hat and or scarf.

I think I could get 12 round dish cloths and 2 hot pads from a cone. Might do green ones but not for a while.

Cut out fabric for bags to seam up. I keep tninking of a book bag of jean fabric, cannot find one new or used h has old jeans .... saw on U tube how to seam one up. Might be in my future.

Trying out some other paints one did not work but the others are great. Muliti surface apple barrel are my favs.

I have sock loopers to make into rugs.

[Nancy]

I got 2 fabric tote bags w draw strings sewn up yesterday. One more in the works still to finish up. Feels great to get these done!

[Nancy]

Got a blanket seamed up fleece and fabric no batting. I also got 4 table cloths hemmed. Now to decide on the other 4 pieces of fabric.

[BookSaver]

No creative sewing from my machine in February.
I mended a couple things, which is something I guess.

As usual, several projects in design and planning stages but couldn't get to the stage of cutting the fabrics.

Oh well, spring is on its way and hopefully March will bring more chances to play.