2013:The Year of the Finished Project --September edition

Warning: there are no photos in this post, sorry. My computer, with all my images, is in the shop undergoing treatment for spyware! I am posting this from my iPad.

Well, here we are; two thirds of the year over and less than seventeen weeks to go of 2013. A sobering thought, at least for me -- this year has not turned out at all I like I planned!

I wasn't expecting to spend three months renovating DD's house; at the beginning of the year, the idea of moving away had not even entered DD's head!

I certainly didn't expect to get shingles either!

De-cluttering wasn't unexpected but it did hit rather suddenly!

However, as host of this here Linky party, I'm tired of excuses and tired of my UFOS. I'm planning for the final third of this year to be more productive, craft-wise, than the previous eight months.

So, first, a reality check on my August focus list:

1. Country Houses quilt -- untouched due to forgetting to buy batting whenever I was at LQS
2. Ambassador of Love mittens -- untouched; can't find the yarn to finish
3. Westall cardigan -- untouched
4. Scrappy Log Cabin quilt -- flimsy and backing finished, to be basted in class 2 Sept
5. Purple Cocoon socks-- untouched
6. Gift of Hope quilt #2; substituted by Gift of Hope quilt #3 -- finished 29 August

There's no more to be said; it's a sad indictment on the host!

Lets turn our attention instead to my focus list for September:

1. Scrappy Log Cabin quilt -- quilting and binding
2. Westall cardigan, aka as “Cardigan for Me” – get it done and on my back!
3. Scrappy Heart blocks – enlarge all thirty and turn them into a flimsy
4. Country Houses quilt – time to get it off the shelf and on to our bed
5. Gift of Hope quilt #2 – get it finished
6. Purple Cocoon Socks – just get them done, they've been on the needles too long!
7. turn another set of blocks from the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2012 into a flimsy

Edited to add that I'm linking goals #1, #3 and #4 with Nothing but UFOs over on Carrie's blog, A Passion for Applique. 

We're only five days into this month but I've already made a start!

The Scrappy Log Cabin quilt was basted on Monday. The quilting was finished on Tuesday and the binding will be attached this afternoon.

I've decided that waiting for my "desire" to knit to return is fruitless, best I just take control and move on. To this end, I dug out the Purple Cocoon Socks on Tuesday evening. You may recall that I stopped knitting these socks because they were for me and I thought they were a bit too small in the  foot. Having decided to just get on with it, I determined that if they didn't fit me, they will fit either DD or mum, so it was time to get them finished. I found using two 40cm (16") circulars very awkward so I only managed twelve rows on Tuesday night. Last night I did another twenty-four rows of the pattern and the final twelve rows of ribbing. Now I just have to bind off and the first sock is done!

Things are looking up for me now -- no turning back, onwards and upwards! I want to finish the year with a flourish!

How about you? Did you meet your goals for August? What have you planned for September?

Please link here with the URL of your specific blog post so we can all pop in and cheer you on!

2013: The Year of the Finished Project – May edition

Here I am; a little bit late given that it’s already evening here in eastern Australia but it’s still the first Thursday in May – so really, I’m right on time!

How did you go in April? What are your plans for May?

The work at the “renovator’s delight” (DD’s former home) is slowly being done, and soon I hope to have more time to get more done on my crafting projects.

WM and I are going away for our annual vacation on 25 May , plus we are taking a weekend off to travel 538km (335 miles) to my mum’s for Mother’s Day (the second Sunday in May) so this will be a short month for me in many ways! However, the travel may give me a little more hand-stitching time!

But first, let’s have a look at how I went in April.

This was the month where DD and family moved away and I lost my desire to craft, instead I lost myself in reading fiction for a few weeks! Then I got sick with an upper respiratory tract infection!

WM and I have also spent much of our free time at DD’s former home working to turn it from a “renovator’s delight” to rentable accommodation, however we took a day off to celebrate my birthday in style. Therefore April, like February and March, is not looking too good. Perhaps I’d better only have one project a month in future! LOL

This is my April list:

1. Earth and Sky quilt – finish
   It's nearly finished; it just needs the binding done. Of course that means pressing the fabric, cutting and joining the binding before I can attach it to the quilt!
2. Scrappy Log Cabin quilt – at this stage, an unfinished flimsy
   This project remains untouched as yet, I really can’t decide what to do about the border. I think I’ll leave this for another post and maybe seek some advice!
3. Scrappy Strings II quilt – finished 11 April 2013; you can read the post about this quilt here
4. at least one quilt for Gift of Hope
   This one didn’t get very far: I joined four blocks (made by someone else) into a flimsy and that’s as far as I got. But there is a reason – the Big Box Store had no white or cream flannelette (for wadding) when I went there so I was stalled until I could get some. That happened on Monday this week but I haven’t had a chance to work on it since then.
5. Westall cardigan – WIP – finish ribbing, knit sleeves
   I finally finished the ribbing on 5 April but just haven’t been in the mood for the concentration needed to pick up stitches around each armhole to commence the sleeves!  Instead I broke my own rules and started a new knitting project – but that’s a whole other post!
6. hexagon project bag – WIP – my “slow stitching” project
   I have done a little work on this project. WM and I worked both days of last weekend at DD’s house and we were extremely tired; too tired in fact for me to lift my sewing machine in and out of the car so I took this project to class on Monday – and now I find it hard to put it down!

Sorry about the shadow over the photo - I had to take it at night under fluorescent light, using my iPad -- but at least you can see there has been some change since this post. And yes, it does curve up like that -- it will be a bag so it needs shaping! See those yellow star pieces: pentagons, not hexagons -- that's where the bag gets it's shape. What you're looking at now is the base of a drawstring bag turned inside out!

So, what do I plan for May? Well firstly, ease up and take some pressure off myself! The list is the same length (six items) but the goals are not so ambitious!

1. Blanket for Emily
   I had hoped to get this finished in time to deliver it in person when we see her for the first time on 10 May but there’s no way I could do it! I estimated that if I knitted for six hours every day until 9 May it would get done – but I don’t have that kind of knitting time, nor do my hands like knitting with cotton for long periods of time! So Emily will have to patient! (That’s a big ask for someone who’s just nine days old! LOL)
2. Westall cardigan – WIP – sleeves?
   This should be my #1 priority this month, it’s been hanging around for too long. It’s a cotton/acrylic blend so if I don’t get it done soon I’ll have to wait until spring to wear it. But Emily’s blanket somehow seems more important!
3. Earth and Sky quilt – finish including label!
4. Scrappy Log Cabin quilt – finish the flimsy!
5. hexagon project bag – again, my “slow stitching” project for the month.
   This project will go with me on my travels so hopefully the end of June will see it done!
6. Gift of Hope quilt #2: Now that I have the flannelette there can be no more excuses! 

Projects 3, 4 and 6 are my goals to be included in Nothing But UFOs in 2013 (although we all know that I will work on things that are not UFOs, right?) which is hosted by Carrie over at A Passion for Appliqué.

So, how about you?

Write a blog post detailing your progress (or not) in April and your plans for May. You can be working in any craft – please don’t feel it has to be quilting, knitting or hand-piecing; they are just the crafts on my list at the moment (later there could be cross-stitching, embroidery or even crochet!) .

You can make your own rules or follow mine, it doesn’t matter: what is important is getting those UFOs out of the pile/closet/basket and getting them finished!

You don’t even have to have a blog to join in – post your photos to Facebook or Flickr or Picassa or Pinterest – wherever. Just come back here and link up so we can visit and see what you’ve been up to and what your plans are!

Good luck with deceasing the number of UFOs/WIPs at your place during May.
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2013: the Year of the Finished Project -- March

The second half of February was a non-crafting fortnight for me. Apart from attending my weekly quilting class and knitting some hats for the local hospital's neo-natal unit, I did almost no knitting, and no sewing of any kind!

There is a reason for all of that but this post is not the place for sharing what I can of my family situation.
This is the place to review last month’s goals and publish new plans for the month of March which, I’m sure, you are already working towards given that the first week of the month is already behind us!
Please link below with the URL of your review/goals post (not just your blog URL).

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Here is the list I wrote for February:

1. Ben's birthday surprise – every time I tried to work on this I just couldn’t; I didn’t think he would like it so I didn’t devote any time to it!
2. Westall cardigan  – managed to knit a few rows and am about half way through the bottom ribbing.
3. Black Stump Creek quilt  – finished 9 February; there will be a separate post about this tomorrow (I hope)
4. hexagon project bag  – didn’t touch it
5. Scrappy Log Cabin quilt – didn’t touch it
6. Earth and Sky quilt – didn’t touch it
7. Deb's Diamond Blanket  –  didn’t touch it during February, this is a long term project  
8. placemats for the Grandsons – this was to have been my new project for February and I could have started it because I had finished two quilting projects since 1 January but, like everything else, I didn’t touch it!
9. piano cross stitch – didn’t touch it

Here is what I hope will be a reasonable list for March (although the first seven days are over and I still haven’t done anything!):

1. Earth and Sky quilt – WIP – at this stage it’s still separate blocks, by the end of March I plan for a finished quilt
2. Scrappy Log Cabin quilt – UFO – at this stage it’s a flimsy requiring a border, by the end of March I plan for a finished quilt
3. Scrappy Strings II quilt – UFO – at this stage it’s a too big flimsy with a too big backing, by the end of March I plan for a finished quilt
   
4. at least one quilt for Blankets With Love – this will be my new project for March
5. Westall cardigan – WIP – finish ribbing, knit sleeves
6. hexagon project bag – WIP – my “slow stitching” project

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need supersedes planning

As you would know, I have a focus list of projects to work on this month. I have planned which project I will work on and in what order.

But last Monday, my quilting teacher asked all of us who knit (I’m the most obvious one) for a favour. The neo-natal unit of the local hospital is desperate for hats for the babies, mostly premature, in the humidicribs.

As a mother and a grandmother, how could I say no to such a request? My DD was born at 2.630kg (yes I still remember) – a tiny 130g over “compulsory” humidicrib weight. Younger Grandson, even though well over that weight, spent some time in critical care and was given a hat.

The pattern called for 8ply (DK) yarn and 4.00mm (US 6) needles so I thought they’d be a quick knit: 15 rounds of k2p2 rib, 16 rounds of stocking stitch then 13 rounds of decreasing.

I had told myself that I would knit one a day during February (the month of Valentine’s Day and the month of my Older Grandson’s birthday). But they take longer than I thought. One hat takes me two hours from cast-on to completely finished!

Still, a need is a need so the target date for finishing my cardigan has been pushed back.

After I took this photo, I realised the hats are supposed to have turned-back brims! Never mind, they've been knitted in the round so it won’t make any difference!

The one on the bottom right is DD', she obviously has a looser gauge than me!

Seven down, twenty-one to go!

2013: the Year of the Finished Project – February

How did you go in January?
What plans do you have for your UFOs/WiPs in February?

Write your post which answers these two questions (you can be as expansive – or not – as you like). Then join up with the linky party below. Please remember to use the URL of your specific post, not just your blog URL. Thanks.

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January was a hectic month for me. Not only did I have house guests until 9 January, then overnight guests on 22 January, I put enormous pressure on myself to “get things done”!

You see, our quilting group has the “Airing of the Quilts” on the second weekend in April. I was asked towards the end of last year how many quilts I would be contributing and I said six. It seemed reasonable at the time! However, I started 2013 with only one finished quilt so I planned to finish two in each of January and February, and the fifth in March. Easy-peasy, right?

Well, putting pressure on myself means I tend to rush a little and don’t notice things – or I ignore the things I do notice! The second quilt I intended to finish in January was quilted. The binding was cut and ironed and ready to go. But there I stopped!

I think the top of the quilt was not pulled tight enough when I basted and it looks “wrong” now that the quilting is done. Deep down, I wanted to pull out all those quilting stitches and start all over again. But no-one wants to do that in reality! So there I was, torn because the quilt was so close to being finished and wanting it to look better than it does! Will more quilting fix the problem? Perhaps!

Look at the bunching of the fabric around the brown square on the left and the green square in the centre right. Look at the wrinkles in the light brown fabric of the four patch between them!

It didn’t help that the border fabric I chose, which looked so right to begin with, has changed the quilt from looking quite sophisticated (which I loved)  to looking more frivolous!
Fortunately, my quilting class resumed on Monday (after our seven-week summer break). I asked for my teacher's opinion. Whatever she recommended I would have done. The good news is that she told me it was fine and to get it bound and done! So the binding was added during class.

I'm a bit concerned about the backing fabric now though -- look at my sewing machine:

Remember this backing fabric I showed you last week:

The founder of our community quilting group doesn't like us to wash quilts when we're finished them, she likes the pristine look for exhibition but I think I'm going to have to wash this with a packet of colour catchers! I know the quilts are taken down at the end of the exhibition and stored, then a few weeks later they are sorted and distributed to the local hospitals and other charities. I can't let this one go while it's leaking this much dye! Imagine the mess if it got wet!

So, my January list looks like this:

1. Westall Cardigan – I am currently knitting the bottom ribbing. I then have sleeves and the front band to go. I should have it finished by the end of February but would like it sooner!
2. sideways baby jumper – started November 2011 -- to be finished by end of the month -- frogged 6 January 2013
3. Deb’s Diamond Blanket – I didn’t work on this at all during January; all my knitting time was spent on the Westall cardigan, except when I had company and then I was working on plain self-striping socks!
4. Squares quilt – blocks made, the layout planned (done 10 Jan), and the blocks sewn into rows by the end of January (done 15 Jan); this is the quilt mentioned above. As you can see, I reached my progress goals by the fifteenth of the month; it was in pushing myself to get it done by the end of the month that things fell apart!
5. Dotty Bright quilt -  finished 25 January (yahoo! a real finish!)
6. hexagon project bag – I didn’t touch this during January
7. piano cross stitch – I didn’t touch this in January
8. placemats for the Grandsons – this was to have been a new project but, because I am drowning in unfinished projects, I’ve given myself a two-for-one deal: finish two quilting projects and you can start another! Because that squares quilt is not finished, the placemats have to wait! As Shakespeare said, “to thine own self be true!”

So, do you think I will go easier on myself in February?
Here’s my list – what do you think?

1. Older Grandson’s birthday surprise  – UFO
2. Westall cardigan  – WIP – ribbing, sleeves and band
3. Black Stump Creek quilt  – WIP 
4. hexagon project bag – WIP
5. Scrappy Log Cabin quilt – UFO – border, backing, bating, quilting, binding
6. Rainbow improv quilt – WIP – layout, joining blocks into rows and rows into top; I think I’ll be content if I get to completed flimsy!
7. Deb's Diamond Blanket –  WIP –  will not be finished this month, this is a long term project 
8. placemats for the Grandsons – this will be my new project for February but first I have to get one more quilting project finished!
9. piano cross stitch – UFO -- if I do a little on this every month, I may get it finished sometime this decade!

So, what about you? Did you meet your goals for January?
Are you, like me, pushing yourself too hard?
And what are your goals for February (are they realistic?)

2013: The Year of the Finished Project - January

<a href="http://2hot2knit.blogspot.com.au" target="_blank"><img alt="Never Too Hot to Stitch!" src="http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a607/ellebee57/YearofFPbutton_zps3eaeb2c3.jpg" /></a>

Welcome to the first post of our linky party which is is open to any form of stitching: knitting, crochet, quilting, sewing, dress-making, embroidery, applique, cross-stitch, etc.

You can set your own goals and rules for this “stitch-along”; I’m not going to check your blogs to make sure rules are followed. Simply, the aim is for all of us to reduce the number of UFOs hiding around our homes.

I ask only four things:

1. At the beginning of the month, tell us what project/s you intend to work on and give us a brief run-down of where the project is at and why it stalled. In the same post, share your progress from the previous month (obviously not in the first month you join the party).
2. Link your post back to this blog, using the html code in the grab box above. The code is also under the tab 2013YFP at the top of my blog.
3. Add the URL of your blog post  to the linky party below. Please don’t use the URL of your blog. People want to read about progress, not spend time searching for the relevant post.
4. Read and comment on some other blogs that link to this party! We all like to receive comments, and those from new commenters are a bonus!

In case you are wondering, I define Unfinished Object (UFO) as anything I haven’t touched in the last six months. Any project that has been worked on during that time is a Work in Progress (WiP).

You may not agree with my definition and that's okay: write your own. It has to work for you, right?

So, my rules for myself are as follows:

• Finish at least two projects a month. At least one of these must be a UFOs/WiPs that was started prior to 2013. (I have a list on a separate page of the twenty-one projects I have carried into 2013.)
• When two projects are completed (in a calendar month), a new project may be started.
• Stocking stitch socks do not count as new projects and may be cast on at any time. However, there may be only one pair of these on the needles at any one time.
• Single-coloured garter stitch squares also do not count as new projects. There may be only one of these on the needles at any one time.
• Class samples don’t count as new projects.
• Completed stocking-stitch socks, garter-stitch squares or class samples don’t count as finished projects for the purpose of “The Year of the Finished Project”! Nor do small knitted items, such as cowls, hats and fingerless mittens.

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So, what am I working on this month? Most are from my carried-over project list.

1. WiP: Westall Cardigan – I want to wear this as soon as possible so getting it finished in January is a priority. It stalled over Christmas because it requires solitude to concentrate on the lace pattern and unusual construction.
2. UFO: sideways baby jumper – there should be a fair bit of knitting time since I plan to watch both the Hopman Cup and the Australian Open Tennis Championship during January. I intend this to be finished by 31st January.
3. WiP: Deb’s Diamond Blanket – needs space to spread out and time to concentrate; neither of which I had over Christmas. This will not be finished in January, it is a long term project.
4. WiP: Hearts and Squares quilt – the hearts were finished in December, the squares were made progressively from November 2011 to November 2012. I would like to get the layout planned, the blocks trimmed and the blocks sewn into rows by the end of January.
5. WiP: Dotty Bright quilt - needs to be square up, loaded on the quilting frame and quilted. Stalled because I like quilting with DD but we never seem to get the chance!
6. WIP: hexagon project bag – I need this bag so it’s time to put in some effort towards finishing; although it probably won’t happen in January!
7. UFO: piano cross stitch – if I do a little on this every month, I may get it finished sometime this decade!
8. new: placemats for the Grandsons – this will be my new project for January but first I have to get two other projects finished.

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Your turn: what will you be finishing this month?

December and 2012 review

 During the second half of this year, I decided to focus my attention on a small number of projects (maximum 7) and not allow myself to be distracted by my UFOs or enticing new projects.

This is my progress during December which shows that I really do work best when I have a short list of projects to focus on!

1. The Very Hungry Caterpillar quilt (finished)
2. Christmas Tree wall-hanging (finished)
3. Cardigan for Me (some progress)
4. Purple Dropped Stitch Scarf (finished)
5. Merlot Toe Up Sock (finished)
6. appliqué blocks (finished)
7. Scrappy Rainbow “hearts and four-patch” quilt (some progress)

I knew there was no way that I would have that cardigan or quilt finished in December; as long as I am making progress, I'm happy.

Here's the final photo of the Purple Dropped Stitch Scarf  -- taken before it was washed and dried to soften it up.

Nitty-Gritty (for those who like such things)
yarn: Panda Magnum 8ply (DK) 100% acrylic; used all but two metres of the 310 in the skein!
purchased at H. Fay and Sons, Bingara
needles: 4.00mm Aero circulars (60cm long) - purchased at David Jones at least 30 years ago!
time taken: 14 days
length and width of scarf: 6" x 72"

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The short "focus list" came into being after I published a list of twenty-six WiPs  -- some quilting, some knitting. That was June and I was overwhelmed by the number of things I was trying to work on.

I have come to realise that the longer I leave a project the less likely it is to get finished -- which I guess is probably true for everyone!


To keep it "short", this is a list of the UFOs and WiPs I carried into 2012, and the progress I made on them; plus the projects I started during 2012 which are not yet finished. I have not included the 55 projects I started and finished during 2012 (85% of them knitted).

1. piano cross stitch (started 1995) – UFO
2. Stealth Knitting Project (started January 2010) – UFO
3. Ambassador of Love mittens (started March 2011) – UFO
4. Country Houses Quilt (started May 2011) – UFO
5. Lace Infinity Scarf (started June 2011) – frogged August 2012
6. sideways baby jumper (started November 2011) – UFO
7.  Safari Cloth Book (started November 2011) – finished October 2012
8. curtains (started November 2011) – embarassingly -- UFO
9. Scrappy Strings quilt (started November 2011)  – UFO
10. Rainbow Scrap Challenge applique heart blocks (started October 2011) – finished December 2012
11. Rainbow Scrap Challenge four patch blocks (started November 2011) – worked on the last couple of months, so a work in progress
12. Rainbow Scrap Challenge nine patch blocks (started November 2011) – worked on the last couple of months so a work in progress
13. Rainbow Scrap Challenge string blocks (started November 2011) – worked on the last couple of months so a work in progress
14. Rainbow Scrap Challenge improv blocks (started November 2011) – worked on the last couple of months so a work in progress
15. Rainbow Scrap Challenge Wonky Window blocks (started November 2011) – worked on the last couple of months so a work in progress
16. purple Cocoon socks (started September 2011) – I can’t make up my mind whether to knit or frog – UFO
17. soft blue socks (started September 2011) – finished July 2012
18. Merlot toe up socks (started September 2011) – finished December 2012
19. intarsia blanket (started November 2011) – finished November 2012
20. Tina’s baby blanket (started January 2012) – frogged July 2012
21. Super Secret Project for Ben (started February 2012) – UFO
22. Dotty Bright (started April 2012)  – made it to the quilting frame but nothing ever happened – UFO
23. Scrappy Log Cabin (started April 2012) – no action (only thought) since June – UFO
24. sampler quilt (first block cut May 2012) – never really got off the ground so it’s not really a WiP or a UFO, in 2013 it will be like a new project!
25. donated partial scrappy string quilt #1 (started May 2012) – UFO
26. donated partial scrappy string quilt #2 – no longer exists, it has been reclaimed as scraps for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge – frogged November 2012
27. hexagon project bag (started in September) – work in progress
28. Deb’s Diamond blanket (started November 21) – work in progress
29. Westall Cardigan (started 27 November) – work in progress

During 2012, I finished a total of 60 projects; three projects were frogged, one project never got started, eight remain works in progress and ten have slipped into being UFOs (I think six months without any action is long enough to call them unfinished objects)! 


That's twenty two projects being carried into the New Year! And twelve of those were started before 2012!

It's not a long list but, for the sake of my sanity, 2013 needs to be “The Year of the Finished Project”!

a New Year - new goals

I have a major project underway - completing the Myrtle Leaf stole from Victorian Lace Today in time for DD's wedding on 31st January. Can I do it? If I knit at least four repeats of the pattern every day it is possible. That's my first goal for 2009. Beyond that, there are some things that I really want to do:

• knit a scarf with the lace weight silk Sally gave me
• knit socks from the yarn I bought for myself - at least four pairs worth
• finish the summer cardigan I started oh-so-long-ago

Other 'maybe I'll try that one day' things are in the queue on my side bar.