Six months of silence and creative work

My original intention with this blog was to keep myself and others updated on my project progress - or lack hereof - but time has flewn by and I seem to have forgotten all about updating. NOT about crafting, mind you - I knit, sew, or crochet every single day, some days more than others.

Right now, these two are keeping me busy :-) :

I've realized that I use my hands to work frustrations out of my system. It seems that the more more angry and upset I am, the more energy and enthusiasm I put into my projects - and the more beautiful they turn out!
Hrmm, is this perhaps something that I could work more consciously on...?
Settling into a daily by-weekly routine with my daughters and trying very hard to maintain a crumbling relationship with my ex-husband has taken an immense toll on my strength, energy, and patience. Some days in my weeks without children have consisted of little more than sleeping, eating, reading, and crafting. Some. However, since realizing the positive side effects of being productive and creative, I've managed to convince myself of the pure goodness of crafting, making my poor conscience about it disappear altogether. I mean, I may seclude myself from the world for a while, but I do feel much better and more accomplished after having knitted for an hour or two; after binding the last corner of that quilt; after seeing my baby niece wear that hat I crocheted for her, and so on.

So...
I've added a few of my "anti-frustration-projects" on the 2012 list, and I'll be looking forward to actually UPDATE every once in a while...! ;-)

BTW...when is the next IHSW..??

IHSW round-up

Yay - I did manage to make some a little progress on Caroline's puppy dog picture, and I feel proud, relieved, and... yes, x-stitchy yet again!

Here's the evidence:

Before IHSW

After IHSW

Truth be told, I sense that my knitting-sewing-quilting-crocheting will have to wait a while, as I got a uniquely brilliant idea while working on the dog. Well... someone else might have had a similar idea before me, but this was close to an earth-shattering in my world - LOL - and I do want to share it with you:
For a long time, Caroline has been begging me to make her a blue(ish) bedspread AND that darn dog picture, and then I thought "Well, could I possibly combine them???"
Which is why I've decided to integrate the dog picture into a quilt - isn't that a truely AMAZING idea?? Hopefully (naturally!) I'll be able to finish the whole thing by October 16, when my darling princess turns 7...

A craftless day with other events

So...yesterday I didn't work on ANY of my projects, which is really unusual!
Instead, I went to see my oldest friend, Line, whom I've known since kindergarten - for various reasons, we haven't seen each other for a couple of years and I decided that it was about time. So, rather than stitching or knitting away (she's not into crafts at all...), we spent the entire day chatting, drinking tea, and reminiscing. Which was absolutely wonderful, too.
We're both out of work and almost out of our minds about it, so it did us a lot of good, really, getting a chance to vent with someone who's known the other one for most of her life...

This afternoon, my home will be invaded by my lovely daughters - Emilie (9), Caroline (6), and Anne-Sofie (4). Their father and I have recently separated, and everything is still on an experimental level, but so far, it seems to work out well. Reactions may come at a later point, but I'll deal with that if or when it happens. They spend 7 days at a time with each of us, but always together the three of them. I believe that even if the parents can't manage their lives, siblings should stay together if at all possible.

THIS means, however, that I may have reacted hastily when signing up for the IHSW that starts today, as I don't know how much time I'll have. On the other hand, ten x-stitches is better than nothing, I guess ;-)...

Happy crafting to all of you, and to those of you who're IHSWing: happy hermiting! :-D

Current projects...

Well, this is it - the projects keeping me busy at the moment! Some of them I haven't worked on in a while, like the x-stitch puppy dog picture, but now I've signed up for an International Hermit & Stitch Weekend, comitting myself to working on this particular project as much as possible this coming weekend. The event - or whatever you'd like to call it - takes place the third weekend of every month, and everyone is welcome to sign up.
Please use the IHSW link on the top left to read more and/or to sign up.


And NOW...down to business:

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A knitting project! I haven't been knitting all that long, only about 2-3 years, and I still find it somewhat challenging, sticking to "easy" patterns.

This one is probably as easy as they come, yet still marvellous-looking...

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Yes, one more!
This is a bit more challenging, not the least because the yarn is quite thin and it takes me FOREVER...

This is one of the projects that I love a lot and I can't wait to eventually wear it, but I very often put it aside to work on something else...

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A crocheted granny squares throw.
I decided to make squares of four different sizes to make the throw seem a bit more...vibrant, maybe, than typically.

I love the colours, especially with the consistent white edges, and I'm excited about the progress. So far, I need about 40 small squares and then I still have to assemble it - a first-time thing for me...!

I'll keep you updated...

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This is a x-stitch project that I've dreamed about for years!
My grandmother on my mother's side designed 14 small napkins with local sayings, and they've become something of an heirloom in the family.

My grandmother was a very keen and productive stitcher, but she wasn't all that orderly - leaving designs crooked and words misspelled - LOL. I, on the other hand, have a touch of ocd when it comes to such things, so I slightly redesigned most of the napkins...

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This is a x-stitch stocking for my younger sister, and I'm ashamed to say that it's been YEARS on the way...!

Posting it here sort of commits me to eventually finish it... I hope!

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And finally...!

This is my IHSW project for the upcoming weekend - a puppy dog picture for my second daughter (of three).
She's 6 years old an basically in love with ALL dogs...

A new day, a new beginning!

It's just past midnight, and I've managed to create my first post in this blog at the threshold of a new day! If that's not a great start for a new project, I really don't know what might be one...

Tomorrow... well, TODAY, when daylight returns, I will post pictures of the projects that I'm currently working on. Embarrassingly enough, this will certainly turn out to be a number of things. Just off the top of my head I can mention at least 3 cross-stitch projects, 2 quilts, 1 crocheted afghan, 2 knitted sweaters, and... well, you and I will both have to wait and see.