WIP Wednesday 25 January 2017

Sorry about missing last week, but I hadn't done any needlework at all, not one X, one purl or one knit plus I was feeling miserable.. However, it's a better day today.

Last post, I had just finished knitting the doll's booties

And here she is in her finery.

She still needs her hat which I hope to do this week.

Retirement is beaded! Gone from here

to here.

Neither picture shows the colour properly - its DMC equivalent is 501. I'm hoping to talk my craft partner Cynthia into helping me make a wall hanging out of it and get it to the recipient ASAP.

I belong to a Christmas Ornament SAL hosted by the lovely Kaye at Kitten Stitching (who, by the way, is having a giveaway at the moment) and I finished my January design.

This is from Dragon Dreams' "12 Dragonlets of 2012", 2 over 2 on 28 count fabric from Silkweavers. The colour is good in this picture, but the gold sparkle in the fabric is not showing up well. If you're interested in checking out the whole set, they are on Facebook page Dragon Dreams Inc.

WIP Wednesday 11 January 2017

I'm running late - it's a little after 11 p.m. so I better get on with it.

Not a lot done on the crafting front, but Retirement Means has gone from here

to here.

It's done, except I've decided to do beads instead of French knots so have to wait for them to arrive. I had thought I was done a bit earlier, but as I was looking it over I realised I had missed the second E in Retirement, so had to frog and redo. I was not happy with me at that point.

The doll outfit went from here

to here, front

and back

plus booties that need to be sewn up.

Then a hat with a bow and outfit #1 will be done.

Thank you everyone for your kind words about my friend's husband. He had open heart surgery on Monday where a planned double bypass became a quadruple on the operating table. Surgery went fine, but he reacted badly as he started to wake up and they had to heavily sedate him to control heart and blood pressure. Today he is improving steadily and hopes to be out of cardiac ICU either tomorrow or Friday.

WIP Wednesday 4 January 2017

I am still not used to writing 2017 so I must pay close attention. And welcome to the first WIP Wednesday post of the New Year. So lets get going.

Retirement Means got a little attention going from here

to here.

Looking forward to her head and face being more defined.

The Great Blue Heron got just enough attention that I could say I started, going from a blank piece of fabric to this.

It's the very top of his head.

And Stormy got the same minimal start.

It's the uppermost leaf on the left.

Nothing like starting with Krenik!

And I did get in some knitting time, from here

to here.

I need to sew up the skirt, add 2 tiny buttons and sew in the ends. It does fit the doll (first thing I checked after I cast off) so hopefully next week you will see her wearing it with either the matching hat or panties or, deep breath, maybe both.

My oldest UFO didn't get touched.

I had hoped to do more, but my craft partner/best friend's husband had a heart attack around supper time New Year's Eve and another one around 3 a.m. New Year's Day. He and Cynthia (thank goodness there was room for her) were med-evacced to Vancouver, St. Paul's Hospital, where he is being fast tracked for open heart surgery as he has several blocked arteries. Needless to say I am worried about them both and feeling so frustrated and helpless as they are 500 miles away by air, double that by road. Any crafting for the next little while will be something that doesn't take concentration.

WIP Wednesday 28 December 2016

24 hours late! Here we are, the last Wednesday of 2016 and I'm late!

I did get in a little craft time this week, which makes me feel so much better. I finally got the repeat pattern in the doll costume sorted out, so my knitting now looks like this.

It doesn't look like it, but I have started the shaping to make the dress top.

Retirement Means has gone from here

to here.

Not a lot of back stitch, but at least the shovel and hose look like what they are.

I'm hoping to get some stitching time this weekend, so we shall see how things go.

WIP Wednesday 14 December 2016

Well, we're still dealing with minus temperatures and it's supposed to snow again this weekend, then rain for four days. That won't be so bad as long as it doesn't freeze again after. Oh well, excellent excuse to snuggle indoors, stitch and pet cats. Speaking of stitching, what's happened?

Well, I had a small finish

for a friend whose daughter is Eeyore crazy.

Retirement Means went from here

to here.

Cross stitch is complete, back stitching about to start.

And I started my new non-cross stitch project.

There is only one doll in the kit, but enough yarn to make all 3 outfits and blanket. I haven't knit with such small needles and wool in years, but if it turns out well I will probably give it to the Seniors' Centre to raffle at the Spring Tea.

Is everyone (anyone?) close to being ready for Christmas?

WIP Wednesday 7 December 2016

Well it happened this weekend - Mother Nature decided to remind us west coasters that it was winter and blessed us with this.

And it wasn't any better looking up the hill.

And from then until at least next Friday we are going to be in minus temperatures, so brrrr. However, it does make for good stitching weather. The rug went from here

to TA-DA, a finish!

Now I just need to bind the excess canvas underneath and it can be off to its new home.

And Retirement didn't get totally ignored, going from here

to here.

As you can see, the hoop got moved again. There's a little wagon and another bee to be added in, then finish the border so the back stitching can begin.

WIP Wednesday 30 November 2016 - And Some Bits

It is the last day of November, already! Do you all get the impression that time just goes too fast for me? This post is fairly picture heavy.

I did get in some craft time and Retirement went from here

to here.

I'm very pleased her tools are not hovering in midair any more. Hopefully this week the basket will get a bottom.

The rug went from here

to here sorta. When I put the rug on the freezer (the only thing big enough to spread it out on) for the picture, Snowy immediately hopped off the cat tower and laid down on all the softness.

After several attempts to move him (he can jump back up faster than I can take a picture), I simply waited him out.

The last snowman is done! I have 3 and about 2/3 rows of the blue background and 5 rows of the red and white border to be finished.

I also received an envelope from Rosey who blogs as Ishkabibble with the patterns I had won in a giveaway. This is what I was lucky enough to receive.

My very first Prairie Schooler patterns! Anyone giving odds on the chances they will be stitched by next Christmas??

And you must be careful what you say to friends. My craft partner Cynthia posted on her FB page a notice for a one evening pottery painting workshop. I casually mentioned it looked like an interesting way to spend an evening and the next thing I knew, I was signed up. We had a choice of painting a yarn bowl or a mug and I chose a yarn bowl. Now, please understand, I can't draw on a flat piece of paper, never mind something 3 dimensional, so I just played with colour. It really was a fun evening and this is what I ended up with after the instructor took all the pieces to be glazed and fired.

Definitely not great art but it will be really useful.

WIP Wednesday 23 November 2016

And it's another Wednesday and time to review what's been done.

Again, the rug got most of my attention, going from here

 to here

with a softness check when I took the picture. I think it passed as Yoda took a lengthy nap before I was able to put it away.

Retirement went from here

to here.

WIP Wednesday 16 November 2016

Well, I'm pushing on with the rug, It's gone from here

to here.

And while Retirement has gotten less attention, I haven't completely ignored her - had to move the hoop. She's gone from here

to here.

She now has 2 legs to stand on and a couple more bees buzzing around.

So, all in all a good week!