Lately… and onto 2025
This isn’t a project focused post, but more of a general overview of what’s been going on and what I hope to accomplish in the new year.
On the yarn side of things…
I finished my crochet tank top (finally!) and hope to post pictures soon. My knit shirt is coming along slowly. Last night I realized that I was supposed to knit the body to 7 3/4”, not 16” like I had thought. Unfortunately, I had already made it to 13”. (internal scream!!!) So I unraveled 6”, and then realized I measured wrong and had to REKNIT almost 2”. I was not having a good night. But I hope to finish the shirt in the next month or so, if all goes well (and it’s almost guaranteed to not).
I also just purchased some bulky beautiful blue yarn for a beanie. I’m hoping that will be a fast and satisfying project. I don’t have a pattern yet, but will find one soon.
Quilts!
I made a good amount of progress on my black and white pineapple quilt this week and hope that this progress gives me energy and enthusiasm to keep working at it. I feel like I need to make more progress on this one before I allow myself to begin another. But… I would really like to make a new, more modern piano bench cover in early 2025. I also want to finish up my colorful bear paws quilt.
Handstitching
Gosh… I sure have a lot of fiber related hobbies. I began this wave cross stich in November and am about 30% through. For some reason I really like working on this project when I’m hanging out with people. Most of the progress I’ve made has been in social setting. Guess that shows how social I am! (hint: not very)
The best looking fabric I had for this project was the Essex linen from Robert Kaufman. It is gorgeous. It is not evenweave. I am straining my eyes to see where to put my stitches. I better be a darn good crosstitcher after this project!!
What is not going well…
I have a number of clothing related projects that I took on in the last few months. And I have finished none(!) of them. Garment projects sound like so much fun at the beginning but once I cut out the pattern and see what I’m dealing with I usually lose my enthusiasm. There’s just something about quilting and house projects that keep me much more engaged. So on my necessary-but-not-gonna-be-fun list for 2025:
Mend my favorite pair of jeans (they’ve been out of commission since last spring, yikes!)
Finish my friend’s dress that was made in Ghana (they ran out of time to make the sleeves before she had to return home)
Convert an ugly dress into a beautiful skirt (I think it’s gonna work!)
Sew my PJ shorts (I already bought the pattern but have yet to get cutting)
Finish PJ tank top (It’s in a very rough place right now, salvaging is gonna be a tough process)
Hem pants for my Mom
And other random things I want to talk about…
I started a paint by number kit and am having a ton of fun working on it. It’s so relaxing and great to do while watching TV. I’m really not sure why I thought I needed another hobby but I’m happy I decided to try it!
And cooking has also been really interesting to me lately. I’ve spent WAY too much time looking at recipes over on Half Baked Harvest. In the last two weeks I’ve made
Possibly the best pancakes ever- they are amazing. (this recipe)
Homemade protein bars from Eating Bird Food (they were super good!) and some homemade granola
Coffee baked oatmeal (probably won’t make again but it wasn’t bad except for my overzealous salting)
Whipped feta and eggs and greens for dinner - AMAZING (halfbakedharvest.com/turkish-eggs/)
