2014 in Review

Did I really get any crafts finished this year? I don't feel like I finished very many crafts. 

First, I made a hat for hubby. 

 Then I finished my Barn Jacket.

I finished stitching Love by Little House Needleworks. This is still a WIP that needs to be made into a tiny pillow or something.

 I made this infinity scarf for myself.

 and this one too.

 Another scarf because I loved this yarn.

 I made this bowl to use up some really stiff and scratchy craft yarn. It now resides in my craft room.

I finished stitching this Little House Needleworks pattern also. It still needs to be framed.

I finally finished quilting and binding this Peanuts Christmas quilt. My daughter had it for the holidays this year.

 I needed a quick craft, so plastic canvas coasters fit the bill.

 This little Thanksgiving hand towel took longer to stitch than it should, but I was pleased with the outcome. I will have it to use next year as I finished it after Thanksgiving.

Finally, just in time for Christmas, I finished this apron.

Now for my WIPs that will extend into 2015.

Mom's vest now has its buttonband sewn on, but I haven't taken a picture. I need to cast on the buttonhole band, knit around the armholes and add a collar. It should be finished soon.

I would really like to finish my table runner asap also. This is just for me. I would like to start on a jelly roll quilt, but I want this project finished first.

Large Cross-stitch #1 is a long term project. I would love to be able to complete a page a month, but that will be too much pressure. Maybe I will aim to complete a page every other month. 

 This is another long-term project. My mom started it, I frogged it and now it is stalled in favor of other projects. I am sure I will pick it up when the whim strikes me.

 My Rose Granny Squares are also a long term project. I have no particular plan for these so I just pick them up when I need a portable project.

Okay, I feel much better now. I finished plenty and have much more crafting in my future.

Happy New Year!

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Family Time

I haven't shared with you one of my favorite Christmas gifts. My son bought this beautiful yarn bowl for me from a craftsman in California. Now I can't wait to fill it with yarn for a new project. Hmmm...I wonder what that will be.

 My daughter was crafty this Christmas also. Hubby has made a hobby of feeding the birds in our back yard and adding warm water to the birdbath now that it is cold. Our daughter decided to make this for him.

Hubby thought this was a great gift.

We spent part of the final day of my son's visit walking the path in the local nature preserve. We need to work off all of those holiday goodies. 

The sun was shining and the air was brisk and calm. A perfect day for a winter walk. Hubby and I by the lake.

My son and his girlfriend attempting to skip some stones. Unfortunately, there weren't any good, flat skipping stones.

The swans and ducks came to visit. 

I think they were hoping for some bread, but we didn't bring any.

On our way back to our car.

Just a little winter tour of our area. 

Our daughter headed home yesterday and our son and his girlfriend return to California this afternoon. The holidays are truly over.

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Christmas Gift Revealed!

So here it is, I cross-stitched an apron for my son's girlfriend.

I really like this pattern. The colors are beautiful. 

The hardest part was the stem stitch on the words. I really didn't enjoy working on that portion. I like the way it came out though.

Now I am looking forward to spending a whole bunch of time stitching all my other WIPs. First up will be finishing my mom's vest. I sewed on the button band yesterday. Now I have to knit the buttonhole band.

After that I really want to sandwich and quilt my table runner.

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Merry Christmas!

I wish all my readers and followers 

a very Merry Christmas!

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A Gift Unfinished

Try as I might, I was unable to finish my mom's vest in time for Christmas. I will wrap it up and give it as is.

I have sewn the side seams and finished the pockets. Unfortunately I couldn't get them sewn on to look exactly the same though they are close. I actually frogged one of them just to try to get them to match.

This is the better of the two. I have the button band knitted, but not sewn on. I still need to knit the buttonhole band, the collar and around the armhole. I actually have to purchase a circular needle to finish the armholes.

I am really not happy with the almost final result, but mom will like it because it will keep her warm. Next time I think I will stick to crochet for a gift.

Speaking of which, I thought I would share with you an Christmas afgan that I made several years ago.

It is thick and warm and cozy. As you can see it blends right in with my living room decor.

The holly leaves and berries were crocheted separately and then sewn on to the border. The pattern also had a matching stocking which I made, but i couldn't locate it for a photo. I have it, but I don't remember where I stored it for future use.

We managed to get our Christmas Butter cookies baked yesterday. 

Time is always spent carefully decorating these cookies. 

Yum!

We also made Raspberry Walnut Thumbprints and will bake Chocolate Crinkles today.

I just finished reading Love Letters: A Rose Harbor Novel by Debbie Macomber. I always love her books. For the most part this is a 3 couple romance novel, but the characters interesting and the setting takes you out of the winter doldrums. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Next up is The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro. I have been waiting to borrow it for my Kindle and it finally came through. Perfect timing actually as I just finished the other book.

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AWOC

I've been AWOC (Away Without Crafting) for a little while because....well I haven't been crafting. I have been working, tutoring and getting ready for Christmas. Aside from a few games of Candy Crush or Bidwordy a few nights,  I really haven't touched my computer or my crafts.

Since there isn't much new to show you with my WIPs, I thought I would share with you a small quilt that I made a few years ago at a class in a now defunct quilt shop near my home.

This is a small two-sided quilt. The first side matches the colors in my daughter's bedroom. 

The second side is for Christmas.

It really is a cute little quilt. 

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Slow and Steady

This is month is going by way too fast. Last night I was home alone and I decided that I had to use that time to concentrate on sewing the side seams of my mom's vest. I don't know why I feel so daunted by sewing the seams. I watched this video for sewing vertical reverse stockinette seams. It was so easy. I think I mastered this seam quite well.

I am impressed with my progress as a knitter if I do say so myself. That seam is pretty invisible. I am sorry about the poor color of the picture, but yesterday was a miserable, rainy day all day. 

I am joining Ginny for Yarn Along today. What are you knitting/crocheting? What are you reading? Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are up to. 

I am not reading anything at the moment. I can't find any time for it right now. I need to be crafting, baking, writing Christmas cards, finishing decorating and of course shopping. When I sit down to relax a little, I read my favorite blogs. 

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Shoulder Seams

It is time to sew the shoulder seams on Mom's vest. Since I am a fairly novice knitter I went back to the tutorial I had bookmarked on-line and refreshed my memory. One problem.....the tutorial is for sewing shoulder seams in stockinette, my garment is in reverse stockinette. At 7 a.m., I searched and searched the internet for something, anything, that would tell me how to sew these seams without using the back-stitch. Nothing! There is not one online tutorial or article for sewing purl shoulder seams invisibly. 

Eventually, I did come across a small notation concerning using a crocheted seam to get a neat, sturdy shoulder seam. Maybe, but I really wanted to get a definitive answer. 

Finally, I thought to myself "Cathie, you're a smart lady. You are really good at crochet. You are very comfortable with crochet. You can figure this out!" I did. The bound off edges look like the loops on a crocheted piece. I tried two different ideas, one on each shoulder. 

First I started joining the shoulder with the typical single crochet stitch.

This looks okay on the right side......,

but the seam is very bulky.

Next I decided to try a crocheted slip stitch. Bingo!

The slip stitch doesn't show as much on the right side....

and the seam is much less bulky. It actually looks like a back-stitched seam.

 This is the first shoulder that is finished.

 It is not beautiful, but I think it looks fine. It worked up very quickly for me. 

I am joining Ginny for Yarn Along again this week. What are you knitting/crocheting? What are you reading? Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are up to. 

Once again, I am not reading anything at the moment. I am too busy working, crafting and decorating to have the time. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Decorating

It is unusual for me to begin decorating for Christmas prior to December 1st. Since I don't know how many days I will be working each week, I realized I have to take advantage of any free time available to decorate my home and start baking. 

Traditionally, the first Christmas item I put out is my Advent calendar. 

This year Hubby and I set up my New England Village on Saturday. This is the full view of this year's set up. It changes a little bit each year.

A skaters holding their dresses are some that my Mom gave me that I grew up with. The gliding girl and the boy are more recent purchases (by recent I mean sometime in the last 15 years).

I think that I always place the church in the center .

Can you see Santa and his reindeer on the roof of the home on the right?

Even my village has a fabric and quilt vendor....the two figurines on the right below. You can also see the jam and jellies vendor in the picture above.

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