Projects -

I am doing very well with my 12 days of Christmas project.  I figured it out, i am covering 21 people, so that comes to 252 small gifts!  I am sticking to the same stuff for the kids - a pencil case, pencils/pen, a snowflake ornament, stickers, a flashlight, a tote bag, finger puppets, etc.  For the adults i decided to do it a little differently.  Three people are already complete (except i'm going to give candy one day and i'll wait until Oct/Nov to buy it).  


Most of the tote bags i purchased inexpensively from eBay or other sources.  I'm making a few.  I still have 5 to make (my July project).  My August project is finger puppets, and i have started, but it is going to be a project!  I'm mostly doing animals - dogs, cats, birds, etc.  I made an alpaca yesterday.  


However, i already have almost all of September complete.    October is just to buy some inexpensive stickers for the different ones.  November is to make a necklace for the girls or a paracord bracelet for the boys.  December is candy (for every one but the baby who will be 14 months old then).  I'm anxious to have this all done and finished.  So i'm working at this faster than the one-gift-a-month.  My goal is to have it complete by Thanksgiving.  Then i won't have to worry about much at all for Christmas (a couple of folks for whom we are not doing 12 days things).  I also need to write up a small history of Christmas to send, so they will know the tradition behind this decision.  And, need i say? i don't anticipate doing this again!  But i'm having fun and i have decided that i probably want to have most of my Christmas gifts done in the summer in future years.

Here are the finger puppets i've finished so far.  I think they're cute.


I also have decided i'd like to learn to tat.  I have to admit that i don't see tatting nearly as useful or versatile as either knit or crochet (and i prefer to knit), but it has its own charm.  Mostly it is used for lace.  I have a tee shirt that i don't care for the way the collar is attached.  I thought i could remove it and replace it with a small triangle of tatted lace.  I can't say why i want to do this, except that i do!


So i purchased a tatting shuttle, extra bobbins, and tatting thread from eBay.  They arrived and i've been playing with it and breaking thread.  Tatting thread is quite fine.  I am going to need to move to a coarser crochet thread to learn, i think.  The whole point is to create knots on the "shuttle thread" that will slide.  Somehow i'm creating knots that just knot, and then break when i try to slide them.  

Okay, i've managed to make "a ring" now.  I think i know the basic tatting knots.  But i haven't been able to figure out how to go to the next one, attached.  When i've tried before to go to the next ring, i can't get the shuttle hand to slide.  I have found someone in Costa Mesa (where we stay in OC each week) who is giving beginning classes at Piecemakers (a quilting and craft shop) on weekends, but of course, i'm not there then.  I left a message at her blog asking if she does private teaching.  


I'm rather proud of my picots, by the way.  They are the little loops and the instructions state that it can take some practice to get them a consistent size.  






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Paying for it

Last night i was finishing up at work and i checked in at Facebook and saw Lynnette (from Dancing Barefoot) had a "chum chat."  She's had these before, but never been able to do it.  So i logged on for a little while.  These were the instructions:  

Chum Chat from 9:30 pm-10:30 pm (Central Time) Go to this link: http://www.------ Use this password: iamadork Pick a color that you like for your name (I’m Aqua!) either use your real name (my preference) or something that will let others know who you are.  

Well, this tired girl didn't read all the instructions.  I saw "Pick a color that you like for your name (I'm Aqua!)" and didn't read further.  I was "Teal" among Lynnette, Linda, Lyn, and all the others.  Yes, folks, i really AM a dork!  (The colors helped distinguish all the different folks from one another.)

Duane says, "At least you have a good sense of humor."
  

I have heard what turns out to be a Spanish proverb:  God said, "Take what you want and pay for it."  (I think i've mostly heard this in Stephen King novels.)


It is not a Christian concept, yet it has an element of truth, none the less.  I'm not talking religion but simply consequences.  When we make certain choices there will be consequences, "paying for it" you see.

I have been "paying for it" this week.


Sunday we had all three kids for most of the day.   We really enjoyed it.  I can see that with J, the youngest (he'll be four in a week or so) that we are going to be doing some work educating him on what we consider "appropriate behavior," but we really enjoyed the day.  I didn't even feel very tired at the end.  But both Duane and i were in bed much sooner than is normal for us. 


Surprising to me, i didn't sleep all that well that night.  I thought i would, being tired out, but it didn't work that way.

Monday i did my regular knitting thing, and then had a new girl Olivia (she is a girl, only 20) in to help me in the house.  She did a wonderful job in the kitchen - it has been a long time since it looked that good.  Kimmy does a good job, too, but it has been a while since she had time.  Anyway, i pushed myself harder than i should have.  I'm finding that even tho i tend to think i don't push myself hard enough, there really is a reason i rest as much as i do.  It is so that when we leave the mountain to work, i will be able to do the work.


I worked, of course, on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Both days were really difficult to get thru.  I did rest (NOT sleep, daytime sleeping is really bad for me) for about half an hour, and that helped.  Of course, the fact that we had been at church at 6 AM for imposition of ashes didn't help.  


I've both Olivia and Kimmy coming tomorrow to help me whip the house into shape.  And my in laws are coming for the weekend (tho this isn't a 100% certainty so far).  So i'm trying to rest some today to be ready for all of this. 

I've not been keeping up with blog reading very well.  I'll catch up eventually.

I'm doing well with my 12 days of Christmas project.  The items have changed a bit, but i have all the stuff for January, February, March, AND April done!  (Largely because i found keychain LED flashlights for $2 each and went ahead and got them.)  

I don't think the soap sculptures are going to work.  I got started doing a bear.  It turned out, "Okay.  Good.  What is it?" in Duane's words.   It kind of looks like a bear, but it could be a dog or a pig or any other 4 legged animal.  Unless he takes over this (he is a very good artist), i'm not going ahead with that project.  I am doing crocheted snowflakes, and they are turning out well.  

If i keep going at this pace, i may have all the projects done by the end of summer instead of the end of November.  That would not be a bad thing.  On the other hand, many of the upcoming projects are more labor-intensive (mostly sewing). 

Can you tell i'm ready for spring?


What has been keeping you busy?  Are you working on any projects lately.



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