Starting and Stopping

It’s Friday Again! Let’s Move It Forward and Finish It.

Last Friday I had every intention of getting a few things finished. That didn’t happen. Some were moved forward but nothing was finished. I will say in my defense though that this little girl has my priority. 

Fast asleep on Tutu Rose

So a lot depends on her and how much she sleeps. When she’s awake and not being fed we are playing and talking together. Not that you would understand our conversations because they are in baby speak but she and I understand each other. We have a lot of great conversations!

So here’s the plan:

Last week I intended to finish these items:

Fingerless gloves. 

Fingerlss Gloves

I started knitting these in response to a request from my son. They just need to be stitched up along the edges. Not a real time consuming task really. You can read about this request in an earlier post.

Bowls being quilted

Microwavable Fabric Bowls. Okay so I showed a set of these that I had finished in an earlier post. Well at the time I started those I also cut out three more of the smaller ones to be able to give a set of four. Last week I intended to get these smaller pieces quilted. Well I did that and then assembled them and all I have left to do is press and top stitch them. Almost done!

The other item was some knickers for the rag doll who is waiting to get dressed. 

So this is where I am at now:

Still need to do the fingerless gloves, finish the small fabric bowls and the knickers. But I also want to finish some work I started this week.

First Cupcake Hat

Cupcake Hat

I made a hat for Samantha when she was first born but she didn’t get to wear it much because it was a little small for her. So I started another one. It needs a cherry yet and the ends tucked in but I have a mistake on it which I will correct first. Just waiting for her arrival so I can check to see how it fits her. I’m also making some slippers for her using the same yarn.

New Cupcake Hat

Rag Doll

Second Rag Doll Face

I started another doll face. All it needs is some more eyelashes and then she will be ready for damp stretching. After that I need to make a modified pattern for her body and arms. And I have another face ready to be embroidered. This one will be blue eyes and reddish brown brows and lashes. Trying to decide if I want to stay with the red lips or try out some pink ones.

Today I will be watching my granddaughter Samantha so some of my progress will depend on how much she sleeps today. When she’s awake she has my full attention!

Oh yes and I did clean my cutting table and set it on bed risers to make it easier to cut without having to bend over. But alas it once again needs to be cleaned off.

If I don’t make it back today with an update I will try and do one tomorrow.

Until then,

Happy Moving Forward and Finishing!

Rose

Fabric Bowls are Done!

Well I didn't get back in here yesterday but the Microwaveable Fabric Bowls did get finished! But not the doll or the cleaning. No surprise there.

Fabric Bowls

What I like about these bowls especially the smallest one is that they work for cold food too. Think a bowl of ice cream without getting cold fingers!

I'm still experimenting with the making of these and I'll share some tips and tricks later on one of my Monday posts.

Done is a good four letter word!

Rose

It’s Friday Again! Let’s Move It Forward and Finish It.

Today I will be watching my granddaughter Samantha so some of my progress will depend on how much she sleeps today. When she’s awake she has my full attention!

For today I’ve decided to try and finish something I started just before Christmas. Microwaveable Fabric Bowls.

Small Microwavable Fabric Bowl

I made a few to test the process and see if I liked them and then I started another set to give as a gift. The project got waylaid and so now I’m back working on it. I’m trying to streamline the process and make it a little easier but so far I haven’t really done much. I did decide to do a little more quilting on these. The test ones I made just had stitching from corner to opposite corner. The pattern said that was all that was really needed but after I washed them I felt that more quilting would be better. The finished blue one had quilting in both directions and it has been washed. The rest are just having diagonal quilting as I want to see the difference, trying to decide how much quilting is needed. You could also free motion quilt and I might try that on another set. That would be a good way to practice the technique.

Bowls in process

The other thing I would like to try and work on today is my rag doll. Either her hair or some clothes to wear.

Rag Doll waiting for hair and clothes

Hope to be back later with a photo or two.

Oh yes and I have to pick an area to order, clean, and organize. That just might be my cutting table as I need it to work on my Saturday projects.

Until then,

Happy Moving Forward and Finishing!

Rose

It’s Monday and I have a tip for you!

Well that is if you are in to crocheting or knitting hats with earflaps that needs braids. I was making one of these for my granddaughter this December.

Grandson wearing reindeer hat I made him

The first one came out a little too small and the second one was a little too big but that’s okay because she will be able to use it at the end of this year too! Then I made a third one for a friend’s daughter.

Many strands are needed for the braid

While working on them I struggled with the yarn for the braids, I think I used a crochet hook the first time to pull the yarn lengths through the opening in the crochet. Then I thought there must be an easier, faster way of doing this. I considered using a yarn needle or some form of large eyed blunt needle but I still wouldn’t be able to pull all 12 strands (three of each of four colors) through at the same time. What to do?

Then I remembered I had purchased these:

Floss Threaders to the rescue

I planned to use them for something else (I think it had to do with threading needles) that didn’t work out. But I thought they would be perfect for the task at hand. And they worked!

I love when I can take something intended for another purpose (in this case cleaning teeth) and use it for something entirely different. Has this ever happened to you?

Happy Crafting!

Rose 

WWW Where Do I Start?

Should I just do a recap of what I’ve been up to since October 15, 2014? What? October 2014! Ok so I’ve posted some things in my FIF posts so I won’t bore you with those again but I have done some things during the holiday season that I will share with you.

First I worked at getting the bookmark for our 2015 quilt guild meetings designed and printed. I’m happy with the results. 

Me taking photos

I also took photos of the donation quilt that will be for the guild’s 2015 season. I needed photos for the postcard I create for the quilt guild’s annual festival of quilts show. When I get those I will post a picture of the front and back.

Besides working on those I crocheted 20 drink cozies for the “Meet Samantha” party. I thought I took a photo of them being used but I can’t find it so I will have to do with this shot.

Pink, Grey, White Drink Cozies

This was in addition to the 24 mini crochet dresses I showed in an earlier post. And then I put together some bunting/pennants/banners things for the party. These will be used to decorate Samantha’s room.

Flags getting ready to string together

 Oh that reminds me I made a cloud and hearts mobile for her room too (well that’s not completely finished but close!). And again, no photo.

In addition to all of that I managed to get the final blocks for the 2014 block exchange at our guild finished.

Christmas block

Civil War Reproduction Block

 Then my son asked me to make some finger-less gloves for the homeless they planned to feed on Christmas day. Well he asked for knitted ones like I had made as a gift for him last year but when I started I discovered it would take too long (this was a last minute request). Plus my right hand is not taking too great of a liking to my marathon knitting or crocheting. In the meantime my son and friends felt led to do a much larger scale meal for a low income housing unit. So he really needed more than 10. I got the bright idea to use fleece and so I made 40 sets of fingerless gloves for him to give away.

Some of the fleece finger-less gloves

 And let’s not forget there is the doll I’ve been working on. I have another one of those ready to embroidery the face and I’ve been playing with hair on the original one.

One other thing I started was some fabric microwave bowls. The test ones are okay but when I washed them they didn’t look as great as they did when they were first sewn. I’m still experimenting with the size for these. I did make one that is great to hold my small bowl of ice cream so I don’t freeze my fingers off. So they are good for other things than just the microwave. I’ll share more about those on another day.

Reindeer hats being worked on

Oh yes and I made some of these hats but I will share more about those on one of my Monday tips post.

Okay that’s enough I think to show I really have been working.

Happy Stitching (on Wednesday and every other day)!

Rose

My 2015 Word

Embroidered Card - Every Day Is A New Creation

Last year I chose a word for the year - Celebrate! I didn't really pursue the word or even try to live it daily. This year I have decided to be a member of His Kingdom Come and follow along with the Logos365 group. No promises now but I hope to be more consistent and will post now and again about my progress. So here goes!

Originally my word for 2015 was going to be discipline. Or to be more specific - self-discipline. I felt that would help be get more organized and orderly. But today in service the guest pastor spoke about getting one word for the year. The word she chose at least for the church was contentment. I thought that was a good word and one that I could certainly work on but as she developed the message she mentioned James 3:16:

Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also disorder and every kind of evil.

Something hit me; I had been a very jealous and selfish person. The LORD helped me to see the root of my jealousy (it was aimed at a certain type of people who I saw as better than myself) which stemmed from a traumatic childhood experience. With HIS help I overcame that jealousy but still live in a world of disorder. I began to wonder during that service if that was the direction my thoughts and my word should take me. It was still dealing with the area of my life that I felt I needed to work on but it put it in a different perspective for me. Could my disorder be a remnant of my past where jealousy and selfishness ruled?

Originally I thought it was just a lack of discipline and I think a part of it is still related to that area but sometimes we need to dig a little deeper and find the cause or root of the problem. So I have decided to make order (the opposite of disorder) my word for 2015. My desire is by the end of 2015 to have disorder removed from my life and order restored.

What about the last part of that verse? Every kind of evil. I know evil exists in the world and that it would like to take hold of us. But I believe since giving my life to Christ and being baptized in Jesus name and filled with His Spirit that evil has no hold on me. However while working on the disorder in my life I will be asking Jesus to also reveal to me any evil that may be in me or trying to inch it’s way in me.

For now though I looked up the opposite of disorder and this is what I found on wordhippo.com:

What's the opposite of disorder? Here's a list of antonyms for this word.

As a verb:

Order, arrange, calm, clarify, clear up, comfort, compose, enlighten, explain, neaten, organize, soothe, tidy, conform, regulate, systematize

As a noun:

Order, method, organization, rule, system, tidiness, arrangement, conformity, health, orderliness, calm, harmony, peace, quiet, agreement, calmness, happiness

I like that, both as a verb and a noun. I think by addressing the disorder in my life in 2015 I will find more calm, more harmony, more peace, and more happiness. 

Looking forward to what 2015 and Jesus have in store for me!
Rose

Move It Forward and Finish It Friday Part 2

Well she has a body! Not perfect but then who is? I will do some things different next time including a slight remake of the pattern. Now for some hair and clothes Definitely an experiment coming up with the hair.

Arms and legs and stuffing added

Moving forward!
Rose

Move It Forward and Finish It Friday

Well it’s the second day of a brand new year and it’s a Friday to boot!

I’ve started thinking about this new year and what I might wish to accomplish. I think I’ve picked out my word for the year but I’m still trying to decide what direction I will go in. My word is discipline as in self-discipline, self-control. I am not a well-disciplined person in that I tend to go from one project, one thing, one thought to another without sticking to any and finishing. Plus I am a procrastinator. Can I do better this year? I will try and in the trying I should at least improve, have some forward movement.

My Friday posts will still be about finishings or at least moving something I’m working on forward so now we have MIF and FIF.

I have some new hints and tips that I will be sharing and I will probably keep the posting of those to Mondays just to be a little consistent. I’ll try to do a post on Wednesday of works in progress and another post that will just be thoughts and ideas which may show up from time to time on another day of the week.

Saturdays I am trying to reserve to working on Wounded Warrior Quilts or quilts for Linus and hats for NICU’s.

So to start off this new year of Fridays this is what I am working on today.

Rag Doll in Process

It’s a rag doll based on the work of Jess Brown and her book “The Making of a Rag Doll”. My daughter discovered her and her rag dolls and purchased the book for me. I’ve used her pattern from the book with some modifications and my own style of face. It’s hand embroidered and based on some paintings by my daughter’s best friend Christina. 

From my Sketch Book

Beginning of the face

I’m hoping to finish the body today. Not sure if her hair or any clothes will be done today but I’m working on ideas for those. She doesn’t have a name or a personality yet. And since she is my first rag doll (well I may have made some as a child but I no longer have them) she will remain in my “first” collection. I plan to make at least two more, one to incorporate some changes and corrections to my original attempt (and to see if I can embroider another face – hoping this one wasn’t just beginner’s luck!). 

More detail added to the eyes

The third one will be to time myself in the making of the entire doll. I like many get lost in the process and don’t realize how much time has passed.

Working on this doll has reminded me that my mother made dolls both rag dolls and Waldorf style dolls for her grandchildren. The ones my daughter received are still in my possession but have been somewhat dismantled for cleaning and are packed away. I plan to find them and restore them. When I do I will take photos to post here.

Later next week I will post items that I have worked on (and even finished!) since my last writing in 2014.

Hope to be back later with a photo or two of my progress on the rag doll.

Damp Stretching the Face

Until then,

Happy Moving Forward and Finishing!

Rose