Better late than never!

Well, I won't lie and say my new years resolution was to keep up to date with blogging. Good thing too, I would have failed catastrophically. It was however, to finish all the crafty projects I have on the go (which is errrr... an embarrassing amount) before starting any new ones.

She'll never do it! We've all been there before! I hear you cry. Maybe, but it's worth a go. I made good progress in the earlier part of the year before I started to get bogged down with Uni stuff. So here's a few examples!

I started this cushion as a way to practice my budding crochet skills last year, and finally sewed it all up, put the buttons on and tucked away all the ends! I also wanted to make a cushion that used the same colours as ones I already owned.  

Everyone loves a close up! The yarn is Louisa Harding Kashmir Baby by the way. So nice to work with, really springy, and extremely soft... Recognise this? 

It's the DNA scarf that I finally finished! (Including a key for fellow geeks) Technically It doesn't have a back yet, so the perfectionist in me doesn't really consider this finished, but it does function as a scarf! And it is a work of art!

Most people on Ravelry have knitted this up in a single colour, which would have been a LOT less hassle... But I wanted each base pair to be coded properly so I did it in colour. It meant a lot of crossing over at the back, more brain power than I thought I could muster and just tucking away the loose ends took a whole evening. 

But wasn't it worth it??

Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so...

For the past few weeks I haven't had a minute to myself. Every spare moment has been filled with lesson planning, report writing, sorting out playground tiffs and trying (or rather failing) to keep the flat in an acceptable state. Despite having no time to do any cooking, or even to grab a sandwich for lunch most days, there are a lot of dishes around... 

...Worse still, in the most severe of times when all I can fit in is a cup of tea, I will invariably discover that all the mugs and teaspoons are gone...

The last week in particular I've felt more like a mother than a girlfriend. I wont dare to admit to how many loads of laundry I had to do the other day I could almost hear the polar bears crying out in despair...  

I've been so busy taking care of everyone else and the flat that yesterday, I managed to wash, dry and pack a 4 day rucksack for a certain someone else (who had more or less forgotten about their trip), before realising that I had no clean clothes for myself!

So now, with no formal lessons tomorrow to plan for, only myself to take care of, and a tremendous 5 day weekend on it's way (thank you Victoria Day!) I can finally relax...

What will you do with yourself?? I hear you say... Why, knit of course! I did a few more twists on my Begonia DNA scarf (only 11 more to go, and 6 weeks to do it in) before deciding to treat myself to some lovely yarn that looks like this:

from which I want to make a set of crocheted cushion covers. The picture is from the wonderfully cheap website that I bought it from so it isn't the best... But the yarn is Louisa Harding Kashmir DK in (clockwise from top left) Olive, Burgundy, Plum and Rosebud. I already have some cushions in these colours so it should fit in nicely on my sofa.

=)

Next Thursday I have my observed lesson which is fairly nail biting stuff, luckily I have those immortal words in large, friendly letters to keep me company.

X

Rosario

Remember this?

I decided to name her after my Grandma who gave me the beautiful buttons and who is a pretty crafty lady herself! I don't get to see her very often these days, what with being so far away from home, so it's nice to take some time to rummage through my button pots and remember the stories behind them all.

To make this lovely lady I used the same yarn as i used for my first purl beret. I love this yarn because the merino/silk combination makes every petal shimmer!

The Rosario Brooch is now for sale in my Etsy shop if you'd like to give her a good home.

Disaster breeds innovation!

Today, after the second bread baking disaster within one 24 hour period, I decided I needed to so some crafting to wake myself up. I have so many unfinished projects (they even have their own special draw these days) that i decided they HAD to be finished.

I wombled over to my sewing machine to finish making my bunting. I had to do a lot of ironing and pinning and even more faffing trying to post string through the ribbon loop to get it done, but now that it is finished, it looks really cool! I'll get some photos of it once I've cleaned my bedroom/makers heaven enough to be able to uncover the camera. (Actually, that reminds me I still haven't unpacked my suitcase yet from my People to People tour... So THAT'S where all my clothes are!)

I still haven't decided what to make for my neighbours to celebrate their new delivery into this world (a baby boy!) I keep going from jumper, to hat and mits, to baby blanket, do I knit it or do I sew it?? Basically I'm in a creative code red. I got a book from the library the other day about quilting and patchwork so obviously I'm dying to get to grips with my sewing machine... but on the other hand I can't buy any new materials because I promised myself I wouldn't until I had dramatically depleted what I already have!

Dilemma aside, I figure a good way to use up the yarn is to make cushion covers. They are a nice easy way to use up lots of yarn in a functional yet cool way. So I put in a punch card into the machine to kill two birds by figuring out how this very useful feature of the knitting machine works and use up extra yarn! It is very snazzy indeed! But knitting 130 stitches and 200 rows on this machine is positively exhausting. I'm going to end up looking like Popeye because I tend to use my right arm all the time to move the carriage... Even at the loosest tension it doesn't seem to make it any easier today hmm...

Well, what with it being such a nice day outside I might just have to pause from my epic "project finishing" mission for a little bit and maybe start something new.... crochet sounds fun...