Art, Craft and Needlework, January 2016

[Nancy]

Ascot scarf is done now too. I practiced on a swatch and learned a new stitch this week. Back & front done on a sweater knitting on first sleeve now on the pink ombre sweater a pull over.

Working on warping my table loom in small snipoets of time bc of my knee standing too long is not good. Now I need to decide on a diff. Color stripe in tthe warp.

[Twins' Mom]

Love, love, love Elizabeth's sweater! What a hoot!

I went to "stamp camp" last night - although cards are predetermined and precut for us to assemble, it still feels a little creative and it's good socializing for me. Signed on for the next round of monthly meetings...

[Harriet]

Good job learning a new stitch, Nancy! I think that's kinda "what it's all about" - putting our brains to work and adding to what we know. That's where the fun is.

Twins' whatever gets our hands "in" and feels creative is good for us. I imagine you'll take something from that camp and use it in your own ideas later. The subconscious absorbs little half-thoughts and gives them back to us when we are casting about for ideas.

I'm trying to get...this....stuff...out...of...my way (meaning church end-of-year work and decor put-away) so that I can have nice space (and thinking space) for some creativity. Glad to have a deadline (she said hopefully) to get one small project done.

[Twins' Mom]

Yesterday I took the ddog to doggie day care and spent the day upstairs on the bonus room. Most of my time was on the stamping/crafty area - I got the desk top cleared and reorganized, and went through most of my stamping supplies and did a big purge. I put aside a batch of things to offer to the JCC preschool and a batch to offer to the lady who makes cards for the JCC employees to send to the community, and a third box to take to Goodwill. Realized for the 100th time that I buy storage containers and such that don't every get used so I have a stack of those to be moved downstairs or elsewhere.

All in all, a good job. I'm going to propose to dh that we get another IKEA bookcase to match the two that are already there - I will continue purge and work on storage of items still on the floor, mostly family "memorabilia" - i.e. old photos, documents, dh's boy scout badges, boxes of dkids stuff saved (even tho I did scrapbooks starting around age 4 up to some time in middle school, and also did a separate "School days" scrapbook with highlights of each year. Any, the room is not there yet but I've made progress.

Also let a lot of genealogy "newsletters" go to the paper recycle bin. Most of them are at the local public library and I can't say I've found a lot of info in them over the years. That opened up some genealogy bookcase space also.

[Nancy]

Got a big box of terry cloth soxs cut up for loopers to make rugs with on my floor loom. So I am thinking what color rug goes where & for whom when I make em. I have green, burgundy, blue, & off white.

[Harriet]

Joining in with the creative-area organizing! Clearer surfaces and spaces are going to let me have some fun.

Today I will be choosing some fabrics.

Was able to lay my hand right on the interfacing that I wanted, so I'm happy with how that was stored.

[Nancy]

I set aside colors of crochet thread for the next 2 warps I want to wind off. One is red that will go wonderfully well with the burgandy loopers for a rug throw ir whatever. The other will be varios colors of left overs strips for odds and ends of weft from projects so fun to work up!

I wound off the above mentioned warps plus 1 other one and I have one more in the works.

[Harriet]

Had a lot of enjoyment making this present for dd35. I got it in the mail today, boxed, with a little note that said "for plot twists".

Dd'sBookmarksmall.jpg

I had done a curved-piecing experiment, with 1/8th inch seams, and cut into bookmark shapes where it looked nice, frankly. This is the second one I've made. Had fun choosing the border fabric and ribbons, beads. The reverse fabric is a jig-saw puzzle design in bright colors. I slipped interfacing in after turning, and top-stitched around the edges and in-the-ditch inside the border.

[Twins' Mom]

Lovely, Harriet! What a nice job stitching those curved seams.

[Sunny]

Good sewing work, Harriet. I like the bright colors!