A plethora of purses!

So, I've been knitting a bit lately, which is all I've really been able to do. I haven't been able to cross stitch much, as I had to get new contact lenses. My last pair had a big smudge on the left lens which wouldn't come off, and I was afraid to try too hard as it might have ripped. Now I have new contacts & I can see, so I can get back to stitching!

In the meantime, I have a little knitted purse for my friend's daughter:














She's a cute little cupcake, so she gets the cute little cupcake button. :)















I made a much larger green purse (no buttons, just a fold-over flap on this one) that was originally for me, but I ran out of yarn, so the strap is too short for my liking. Still, I'm very happy with the results! It knitted up pretty quick -- bulky weight yarn on 9.0 mm needles.



To demonstrate how the strap is perfectly sized for a child and not me (*cries*), here's my youngest girl:




And last but not least... what every well-dressed babydoll is wearing this season!

Tablecloth!

I have a very tiny kitchen. If you've ever been to my house, you know that it's barely big enough for two people to work in without constantly smacking into each other. The nicest thing I can say about my kitchen is that it's functional... barely. There are things I do love about my kitchen, though: the stove runs on natural gas, which is what I grew up using, and far prefer to electic stoves; the fridge is incredibly cold; and there are wee knicknack shelves framing the one window. But one of the coolest things is my table, which folds out to twice its size, easily seating all 5 of my family members (and 1 guest, should I have one).

I was on a cleaning blitz last week, and while cleaning up some shelves, I unearthed a cute little blue & white checked tablecloth, just big enough for my table when it's closed, and, if I put it on a diagonal, mostly big enough for the table when it's fully extended. Eventually, though, that tablecloth had to go in the laundry. When it was bare again, the table looked sad & forlorn, but I didn't have any other tablecloths -- so off to my fabric stash I went! I found an ecru-coloured lace one (little big, but ok when the table's opened up), a heavy linen one (where'd I even get this?) and a length of bold stripey cloth. I hauled out my pinking shears and cut a square off the stripey cloth, and voila! New tablecloth!



You can tell we're a quality establishment 'cause of the paper napkins. :P In this pic, the table is only half-up. It's twice as big when it's fully open.


Now I feel all crafty without having done any actual work!

Another day, another project...

So yesterday, my youngest girl comes up to me and says, "Mom, did you finish my quilt yet?" The answer, of course, is no. And I should totally get on that too, because she's been extremely patient, considering I meant to make it for her 9th birthday -- which was back in November!!

I have, however, made another of those little bags. I'm kind of in love with them. They're maybe big enough for a cell phone, or a change purse & keys, whatever. Small stuff!



Oh, I do like the little things. :)

So, anyway, I'm thinking of learning embroidery. As far as fancy needlework goes, I can only cross-stitch, which I do love, but I want to branch out a little. Also, I should hook up my printer to print out some free patterns I've bookmarked. I want to do a whole bunch of those vintage fruits & veggies for my kitchen -- you know, like smiling apples & grumpy tomatoes & such? I'd really like that. :)

Is it really almost February? Yikes! I've done very little in the way of crafting, especially cross stitch, as my last pair of contacts is acting up on me, and I won't have new ones for maybe a week. I did go to the optometrist last week, and the good news is that my eyes are extremely healthy -- I just can't see outta them!

I am behind on so many projects right now that I'm embarrassed to even admit how much. Still, I am no longer working nights, so the first thing I did was clean most of the apartment, except for my room & my desk. And it isn't that I'm not going to -- it's that I haven't done them yet. It's amazing how much clutter seems to breed when you haven't got the time to stay on top of it! But I figure that if I'm going to catch up on my craft projects, it'll be nice to have a tidy place in which to do it.

Yesterday my oldest girl turned 12. She didn't want a party (though her best friend came over) but there was cake! And what she wanted, it turned out, was a Minecraft cake -- specifically a creeper. I mixed up the icing, and she frosted the cake...



Sssay... That'sss a nice cake you have there... It'd be a ssshame if sssomething happened to it...

Yarn addiction, anyone?

I have a terrible habit of going to places like Goodwill or Value Village & buying up cheap bags of assorted yarn -- but I can't help it! It's an addiction, really. You know what I could totally benefit from? A 12-step yarn addiction group. I've come to the realisation that I binge-knit. I won't touch the stuff for months, and then, in the blink of an eye, I can't leave the needles alone. The, er, knitting needles, that is. This wouldn't be so bad if I could at least do more than a knit stitch! But no, silly me, I haven't even learned to purl.

Anyway, I've got 3 little girls. And if I make a little bag for one, you just know the other 2 are gonna want one too. My oldest got the camouflage-coloured one that I posted the other day (she's quite tomboy-ish & picked the yarn out) but my middle girl is much more girly. She likes everything pink & sparkly, unicorns & rainbows & all that crap. I think her bag turned out better though.



Here's the 2 bags together. These are not large bags, y'know; they might be big enough for a cell phone, but that's about it. Not that my girls have cell phones, but there you go. In a few days, I'll probably have a blue one done for my youngest girl.




I'm really enjoying making these. They're quick to knit up, and it's a good way to use up all those little balls of yarn that I've got around that aren't big enough to make much else.

I know, I know... Powerless over yarn & other craft materials, I know... All together now: Grant me the serenity to accept the yarn I already have, the courage to occasionally put down the knitting needles, and the wisdom not to add to my already plentiful stash!

Boy, I don't update much, do I?

So I haven't been doing much of anything lately -- except working late nights, which sucks, because then I spend half the next day napping! Only one more week of that... just one more week... And then I actually managed to give myself food poisoning over the weekend. Luckily it was something I ate somewhere else, and NOT at home, so I know my family isn't going to suffer! The funny thing is, I'm usually ridiculously paranoid about food safety, and I had ONE lapse in common sense -- and this is what happened! Oh well, my own fault.

I'm surprised I'm getting anything done today, actually, as my 2 older girls are home sick from school (just coughs -- the youngest had it first & she's over it already) and usually they're in my hair constantly. However, I managed to finish a little bag I'd been making for a while. It's not very big, about 3x4 inches, if that.



It was my first attempt at anything using decreasing stitches (I'm not that capable of a knitter, I must confess!) and I think it turned out pretty well. :)

Now, of course, Maddy wants one in pink, and when Liv sees it, she'll want one in blue... I feel like I should be taking requests!

Just a quick update...

Some of you may know already that I'm very involved with a 12-step program -- and if you didn't already know, well... now you do. :P As a matter of fact, I'm about 2 1/2 years sober -- yay me! Anyway, tonight I went to my home group's weekly meeting, which I really cannot miss as I make the coffee! I brought along the scarf I finished for Maddy, partly because I'd promised two of my friends there that I would show them, and partly because I wanted to show it off a bit. Well, didn't I get requests from THREE people for scarves! :D

In other news, no real progress with any kind of cross stitch, knitting or quilting today -- I did a little knitting, but not too much. Like I said a few posts ago, I am working nights for the next week or so, so right now my days are more about catching up on my sleep!

Okay, my pretties -- this is the one weeknight I *don't* work, and can actually get a proper night's sleep. Good night! :)