1. Starting Point Wrap – Finish
2. Wrap the stuff in the organza bags
3. fill the purple bags
4. Mama’s Bukid – Finish Row 5 and 6 of Page 5
5. Kayla’s Weasley Sweater – knit 2 rows per day
6. On Ringo Lake! – keep up with the clues each week.  Not necessarily do EVERYTHING but do a bit of each clue.
7. Staycation – finish the top (excluding borders).

~Happy crafting!

~Melanie

I kept working diligently on my projects and that’s all that matters.  I enjoy doing my various crafty projects.  It gives me a sense of peace when I’m sitting at my craft table working, listening to my podcasts or an audiobook or just being quiet in my surroundings.  And now November is over and here’s what I was able to accomplish from my November task list.

1. Starting Point Wrap – Finish Clue 4 and get started on Clue 5.  This is a Christmas gift so I would like to get clue 4 and clue 5 finished by the end of November.  I don’t think that’s going to happen and I’ll just keep it at Clue 4 for now.  I think I heard that Clue 5 is not very much but putting the two halves together. But I don’t know if that’s true. STATUS – I finished Clue 4 and started on Clue 5.  It’s not true that clue 5 is not very much.  There’s a lot in clue 5 and I need to do at minimum 500 stitches per day to get it done in time.  I will need to do more if I want time to block and wrap.  I am enjoying knitting up this shawl and because of this, I purchased the collection, Shawl Society II by Helen Stewart.  My plan is to start the Fairyhill Shawl as soon as Starting Point is off the needles.  I hope I have enough energy to pick my yarn and pack them with the needles I will need so I can take it with me when we head up north. But this is way down the list of things to keep track of so if it doesn’t happen – no biggie.
2. Secret Project #2 – Quilt and bind.  The label is already done so I’d like to get the label on too. – DONE!
3. A Rainbow Garden – continue to work on block 8. – NOT DONE
4. Mama’s Bukid – Finish Row 1 and 2 of Page 5 – DONE!  I’m working on finishing Row 4 so I did a great job here.
5. Kayla’s Weasley Sweater – Continue to knit 2 rows per day on whatever part I’m on.  I don’t think I’m going to be close to getting this done for Christmas so I’m taking it off my Christmas list. – NOT DONE!  I decided early in the month that this is down my list of things so I did work on it a bit here and there but not 2 rows per day.  I got the back done which I can’t remember if I finished that last month or this.  And I’m working on the front.  I’m at about 8 inches.  When I get to 13 I have to start working on the “K”.

My Christmas Project List –

1. Starting Point Wrap – see above on my status
2. Secret Quilty Project #2 – Done!
3. Secret Knitty Project #3 – I finished 2 of the 3 pieces and that’s okay. My goal was to get as much as I could before 12/1 and I got 2 finished. I’m working on 3 but today will be the last day I work on it until 1/1.  I will gift the finished 2 and keep the 3rd and hopefully make a couple more to give at a later date.
4. wrap the stuff in organza bags – not done. I’ll be working on these in December.
5. fill purple bags – not done. I’ll be working on these in December.

~Happy crafting!

~Melanie

October was a busy month but I was able to get everything done on my list.  November will be another busy month with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner.  I’d like to get all the Christmas shopping done this month so I can enjoy the season fully.  Isn’t that everyone’s wish? So here are my goals for this month:

1. Starting Point Wrap – Finish Clue 4 and get started on Clue 5.  This is a Christmas gift so I would like to get clue 4 and clue 5 finished by the end of November.  I don’t think that’s going to happen and I’ll just keep it at Clue 4 for now.  I think I heard that Clue 5 is not very much but putting the two halves together. But I don’t know if that’s true.
2. Secret Project #2 – Quilt and bind.  The label is already done so I’d like to get the label on too.
3. A Rainbow Garden – continue to work on block 8.
4. Mama’s Bukid – Finish Row 1 and 2 of Page 5
5. Kayla’s Weasley Sweater – Continue to knit 2 rows per day on whatever part I’m on.  I don’t think I’m going to be close to getting this done for Christmas so I’m taking it off my Christmas list.

My Christmas Project List –

1. Starting Point Wrap
2. Secret Quilty Project #2
3. Secret Knitty Project #3
4. wrap the stuff in organza bags
5. fill purple bags

I’m sorry I need to keep these vague just in case any of the recipients read my blog.  I don’t think any of them do but they all know of the blog so they just may happen on to it.  🙂

~Happy crafting!

~Melanie

1. Kimono (my first knitted sweater) – This is almost done. I need to bind it off, weave in the ends, and block it. – DONE
2. Starting Point Wrap – My goal last month was to finish clue #2.  I did it and got started on clue #3.  My goal for this month is to finish Clue #3 for both parts of the shawl.  For those who do not know this project, you knit 2 halves of a triangle and later put them together.  So I have to do Clue #3 twice.  It’s great having this goal because in order for me to do this, I need to knit 4 rows per day to accomplish this.  That’s a lot of knitting for me since each row is 171 stitches but I want to get this done before Christmas.  My goal is to get Clue #3 done in October, Clue #4 in November and Clue #5 in December (in time for me to wrap it and gift it on Christmas).  So I’m knitting 4 rows per day.  I was able to start on Clue #3 the last week in September so it’s really 3.5 rows per day and if I do 4 rows per day, I can afford to miss a handful of days to give myself a break. — DONE WITH CLUE #3 ON 10/24 AND GOT STARTED ON CLUE #4 ON 10/25.
3. Secret Project #1 – Take a picture of this so that I can post about it after I’ve gifted it. – DONE
4. Secret Project #2 – The top is done and I have the fabric picked out for the backing. I would like to to piece the back, and quilt this this month.   That might be pushing things but I’d like to get this half quilted this month since it’s a busy month and then next month, finish up the quilting and bind it. – I GOT THE BACKING DONE, PIECED SCRAP BATTING TOGETHER, AND PIN BASTED THIS.  NEXT I NEED TO QUILT IT.
5. A Rainbow Garden – continue to work on block 8.  I’m going to try to work on this but I will not be able to work on it weekly. – I WORKED ON THIS PROBABLY ONCE OR TWICE IN OCTOBER.
6. Mama’s Bukid – Finish page 1 and start page 5. I know that sounds weird but page 5 is under page 1 and I want to work from left to right.  So I want to start on page 5. – YES, I GOT PAGE 1 FINISHED AND STARTED ON PAGE 5.
7. Kayla’s Weasley Sweater – knit 2 rows every day. My goal is to have this done for Christmas so she can wear it but I’m not going to bust my butt to do that.  I’ve got my must haves for Christmas and this one is not one of those. – DONE. I AM ALMOST DONE WITH THE BACK AND PLAN TO GET THE BACK DONE THIS WEEK AND GET STARTED ON THE NEXT STEP.  I DON’T THINK I’LL GET THIS DONE BEFORE CHRISTMAS.

~Happy crafting!

~Melanie

I was away for a few days the last weekend of September so these posts came a few days late.  If I had my crap together I would have had these all prepared before I left but I didn’t and I completely forgot about it.  To be honest, I’m entering another busy month (as they always are for the 1st month of the quarter) and I just did what I had to do for work and then turned everything off. We ventured off to Solvang, CA for a few days and had some fun exploring the Danish environment and the surrounding areas.  We enjoyed ourselves and got to relax a bit.  These next few weeks will be a bit crazy so I’m going to try to make sure I get some sleep, eat right, yoga and get some craftiness in to keep me sane.  I am not sure I’ll be able to post much this month.  Just wanted to let ya’ll know if you wonder where I’ve gone. Even though I know I’ve got a lot to do on the work end, I’m still going to put some things on my to do list this month.  In the past, I divided up each group of projects into categories: quilting, knitting, cross stitch, sewing.  Rather than do that this time, I’m just going to list each project I want to work on and what I want to get done with it this month.

1. Kimono (my first knitted sweater) – This is almost done. I need to bind it off, weave in the ends, and block it.
2. Starting Point Wrap – My goal last month was to finish clue #2.  I did it and got started on clue #3.  My goal for this month is to finish Clue #3 for both parts of the shawl.  For those who do not know this project, you knit 2 halves of a triangle and later put them together.  So I have to do Clue #3 twice.  It’s great having this goal because in order for me to do this, I need to knit 4 rows per day to accomplish this.  That’s a lot of knitting for me since each row is 171 stitches but I want to get this done before Christmas.  My goal is to get Clue #3 done in October, Clue #4 in November and Clue #5 in December (in time for me to wrap it and gift it on Christmas).  So I’m knitting 4 rows per day.  I was able to start on Clue #3 the last week in September so it’s really 3.5 rows per day and if I do 4 rows per day, I can afford to miss a handful of days to give myself a break.
3. Secret Project #1 – Take a picture of this so that I can post about it after I’ve gifted it.
4. Secret Project #2 – The top is done and I have the fabric picked out for the backing. I would like to to piece the back, and quilt this this month.   That might be pushing things but I’d like to get this half quilted this month since it’s a busy month and then next month, finish up the quilting and bind it.
5. A Rainbow Garden – continue to work on block 8.  I’m going to try to work on this but I will not be able to work on it weekly.
6. Mama’s Bukid – Finish page 1 and start page 5. I know that sounds weird but page 5 is under page 1 and I want to work from left to right.  So I want to start on page 5.
7. Kayla’s Weasley Sweater – knit 2 rows every day. My goal is to have this done for Christmas so she can wear it but I’m not going to bust my butt to do that.  I’ve got my must haves for Christmas and this one is not one of those.

~Happy crafting!

~Melanie

I know this update is a few days late but I wanted to keep myself accountable and let you all know what I’ve accomplished on my goal list for September.

1. Quilting
   1. Secret project #1 – I need to bind this.  I was planning on hand binding this project but decided to just machine bind the back too.  It will make for an interesting front but I’m hoping to do something different.  I’m hoping it looks cool rather than janky. – DONE!
   2. Secret project #2 – Once the first one is bound, I want to get started on the second one.  I need to pull the project out and figure out what needs to be done.  I think the top is done and all I need to do is quilt it but I can’t remember. – THE TOP IS DONE AND I HAVE PULLED THE FABRIC FOR THE BACK. I NEED TO PIECE THEM TOGETHER AND THEN QUILT THE PROJECT.
   3. Raining Cats and Dogs – hand quilt weekly.  My specific goal for September is to finish quilting the third row of the cream quilting thread.  To be honest, it’s been really hot here lately and our air condition is on the fritz.  So – don’t be surprised if this fall by the wayside. – NOT DONE
   4. A Rainbow Garden – block 8 weekly.  This goal is working for me so I don’t need to make anything specific for this one. – I DID WORK ON THIS BUT I DIDN’T GET TO IT EACH WEEK.
   5. Civil War Diary Quilt – Right before I went on our family vacation in June I was pretty good about working on this regularly.  I didn’t do a block a week but I was working on it.  I haven’t touched it since we’ve been back and it’s been months.  I want to have one block done for this month. – NOT DONE.
2. Knitting
   1. Continue knitting on my sweater “Kimono” – I want the left sleeve to be done.  And if I am fast it would be great to get the collar done as well.  However, just the left sleeve is fine and dandy. – DONE. I’M ACTUALLY READY TO BIND THIS OFF AND BLOCK IT.  JUST IN TIME FOR WINTER!
   2. Starting Point shawl – I want Clue #2 for the second half done this month. – DONE
   3. Knitting Expat’s September socks – DONE
3. Cross Stitch
   1. Mama’s Bukid – Row 12 – DONE.
4. Bag Making
   1. Maxwell Bag – get the handles covered.  Find out the next steps from the instructor and finish it up.  I believe this bag is practically done so the next few steps are probably pretty quick. – HALF DONE. I HAVE ONE HANDLE DONE AND I’M HALFWAY THROUGH THE SECOND HANDLE.
   2. Finish the Nesting Basket I started in the August bag class. – NOT DONE.
   3. Do the September bag class – this class has not yet been scheduled so I need to check the website regularly until it is.  Hopefully it falls on a day that I can make it. – DONE.
5. Clothes Making
   1. LAFS  – finish my pajama pants – NOT DONE

~Happy crafting!

~Melanie

When I was young, I would be upset with myself when I didn’t meet my goals.  But then I realized that I always put a lot on my goal list and it was an unrealistic expectation to meet all of those goals.  Now I recognize that the things on my goal list are just goals and not requirements.  If I accomplish just one of them, that’s one thing I can mark as done.  So yesterday, I met some of my goals and didn’t meet other goals.  I’m okay with it.  Sometimes I still get sad or depressed but it’s not because I didn’t do it.  It’s usually because I did not have the time to do something I want to do.  As this year progresses, I’m able to spend more time crafting and playing than earlier in the year.  I’m very happy with this.

1. Quilting
   1. Secret project #1 – I need to bind this.  I was planning on hand binding this project but decided to just machine bind the back too.  It will make for an interesting front but I’m hoping to do something different.  I’m hoping it looks cool rather than janky.
   2. Secret project #2 – Once the first one is bound, I want to get started on the second one.  I need to pull the project out and figure out what needs to be done.  I think the top is done and all I need to do is quilt it but I can’t remember.
   3. Raining Cats and Dogs – hand quilt weekly.  My specific goal for September is to finish quilting the third row of the cream quilting thread.  To be honest, it’s been really hot here lately and our air condition is on the fritz.  So – don’t be surprised if this fall by the wayside.
   4. A Rainbow Garden – block 8 weekly.  This goal is working for me so I don’t need to make anything specific for this one.
   5. Civil War Diary Quilt – Right before I went on our family vacation in June I was pretty good about working on this regularly.  I didn’t do a block a week but I was working on it.  I haven’t touched it since we’ve been back and it’s been months.  I want to have one block done for this month.
2. Knitting
   1. Continue knitting on my sweater “Kimono” – I want the left sleeve to be done.  And if I am fast it would be great to get the collar done as well.  However, just the left sleeve is fine and dandy.
   2. Starting Point shawl – I want Clue #2 for the second half done this month.
   3. Knitting Expat’s September socks
3. Cross Stitch
   1. Mama’s Bukid – Row 12
4. Bag Making
   1. Maxwell Bag – get the handles covered.  Find out the next steps from the instructor and finish it up.  I believe this bag is practically done so the next few steps are probably pretty quick.
   2. Finish the Nesting Basket I started in the August bag class.
   3. Do the September bag class – this class has not yet been scheduled so I need to check the website regularly until it is.  Hopefully it falls on a day that I can make it.
5. Clothes Making
   1. LAFS  – finish my pajama pants

~Happy crafting!

~Melanie

I cannot believe that it is the end of August.  Time is flying way too fast and I’m not happy about it.  I want time to slow down!  Here’s how much I accomplished this month.

1. Quilting
   1. Celtic solstice – prep for quilting: NOT DONE
   2. Raining Cats and Dogs – hand quilt weekly – NOT DONE
   3. A Rainbow Garden – block 8 weekly – DONE!
   4. Civil War Diary Quilt – do a block each week – NOT DONE
2. Knitting
   1. Continue knitting on my sweater “Kimono” – I do a row or two daily – I WORKED ON THIS PROJECT A LOT BUT NOT EVERY DAY.  I THINK THIS WAS STILL A DONE AND A SUCCESS.  FOR NEXT MONTH I WILL BE SURE TO BE MORE DETAILED IN TERMS OF WHAT I WANT TO GET DONE RATHER THAN JUST SAY KNIT ON IT EVERY DAY. I DID GET THE RIGHT SLEEVE DONE AND I’M CURRENTLY WORKING ON THE LEFT SLEEVE.
   2. Starting Point shawl – I do a row or two daily – SAME THING HERE – I WORKED ON THIS A LOT BUT NOT EVERY DAY.  I GOT THE CLUE #1 DONE ON THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHAWL.
   3. Knitting Expat’s August socks – DONE
3. Cross Stitch
   1. Mama’s Bukid – work on this weekly – NOT DONE. I DIDN’T WORK ON IT WEEKLY BUT I AM DONE WITH ROW 11!  SO I CONSIDER THIS A DONE AND A SUCCESS.
4. Bag Making
   1. Finish binding the Stash and Dash bag that I made in class – DONE
   2. Make another Stash and Dash – NOT DONE
   3. Buy the Teflon foot – DONE
5. Clothes Making
   1. LAFS  – finish my pajama pants – NOT DONE

STAY TUNED FOR TOMORROW TO SEE MY GOALS FOR SEPTEMBER!\

Car Update – I got my car back yesterday!  I’m happy and we’ve been having a heat wave in Southern CA and the temps have been in the 110 degree zone.  I’ve been baking slowly in the house.  Now that I’ve got the car back I hope to do some work at Starbucks or the local library.

~HAPPY CRAFTING!

~MELANIE

In prior years, I had annual goals and I broke them down each month and I got a lot of stuff done.  Things were really busy the end of last year/beginning of this year so I didn’t really get to sit down and think about what I wanted to accomplish for 2017.  I was too overwhelmed with trying to get through the days.  So I started this year without any goals and I tried to put something together but life kept getting in the way of my crafty desires.  I gave myself grace and let things go a bit.  My one goal was to finish Missing Ivy and knit.  I’ve been doing a lot of knitting.  Now that Missing Ivy is done my next project is Celtic Solstice.  I can’t remember where I left off.  The top is ready and I think the back is ready.  I have to press everything again, prep the batting and get everything ready to take to my local Bernina dealer so I can rent the long arm.  I can already tell that this is probably not going to get done.  I think prepping for quilting is my least favorite part of the process.  Thank goodness I do not have to baste but there’s still prep involved.  I have to check to see if it will fit on the frame.  The top is 115″x115″ and with batting and batting, that’s a lot of space I’ll need.  So I hope to get a bit done each month with the plan to finish (bound) by the end of the year.

1. Quilting
   1. Celtic solstice – prep for quilting
   2. Raining Cats and Dogs – hand quilt weekly
   3. A Rainbow Garden – block 8 weekly
   4. Civil War Diary Quilt – do a block each week
2. Knitting
   1. Continue knitting on my sweater “Kimono” – I do a row or two daily
   2. Starting Point shawl – I do a row or two daily
   3. Knitting Expat’s August socks
3. Cross Stitch
   1. Mama’s Bukid – work on this weekly
4. Bag Making
   1. Finish binding the Stash and Dash bag that I made in class
   2. Make another Stash and Dash
   3. Buy the Teflon foot
5. Clothes Making
   1. LAFS  – finish my pajama pants