An old UFO finally done!

It's hard to believe that this little project has been a UFO since December of 2008...

It only took me about 3 hours to finish it while watching TV. The yarn I used is called Tweedle Dee by Moda-Dea and has a slightly shaded effect. While I like the hat, it is a bit on the small side. The Cabled Hat pattern (Patons) says it is one-size women's. I'd say it is more like a child's medium.

Glad I can move one more thing to the 'finished' list!

OPAM Finishes

I finally have something to show you that I have finished!! Woot woot!!

I saw this cute little wristlet pattern on the Pink Penguin blog way back in August and decided then that I wanted to make one. I went through my scraps looking for squares that were already cut and found enough to make the project. The only thing is, they were only 2" squares rather than the 2 1/4" squares called for in the pattern. I played with the colors and found an arrangement I like the look of.

Then, it all sat there on the cutting table for a few weeks until the pieces were put carefully into the front and back of a quilting book to keep them in order for sewing. The book was put next to the sewing machine and somehow, the sewing never happened.



Inside of Wristlet



I moved the book the other day and a square fell out. When I opened the book, I remembered the project but not where I'd found it. A few google searches later and I had the directions. Just 3 hours later, I had myself a cute little wristlet to use! Mine is just a bit smaller since I used smaller squares but the size is fine with me. I made only two pockets inside and my cards fit well in one and my cell phone in the other. Isn't that all anyone needs?

I have FOF

It's a horrible desease that seems to afflict quilters and some knitters as well as all other types of crafts-people. Yup, I have FEAR OF FINISHING.

My fear comes at the part AFTER the pretty top is all put together.  I don't want to mess up those tops I've spent a lot of time creating by doing "bad" quilting when I finish them. The fears run on the lines of... Will it look ok? Will I get done and wish I'd have done something else? Will I hate it after? Will people that I show it to say "I thought you have been quilting for a long time"?? If I machine quilt it, will I wish I had hand quilted it? Will I ever be able to finish hand quilting a big quilt or would I get bored with it and put it aside somewhere for another generation to do?

There are so many quilters out there who just GO FOR IT and do squiggles or parallel lines and those quilts look wonderful to me. Why can't I do that? Small projects don't scare me for some reason. Perhaps its because there is not so much time and effort invested. But, to start on a big quilt... YIKES! I look at the quilt and can't even start to decide where I would stitch.

Paying someone to machine quilt for me would be wonderful BUT, there are no funds for me to do that, so that is out until I win the lottery. Not too many years ago, I would have just jumped in and done it. That was before I knew all about matching seams and precision cutting and quilt shows and yada yada yada. I suppose that maybe I've come to expect a certain standard for my work that, back then, I didn't even know existed.

So, in an effort to garner support, encouragement and accountability, I decided to find an online group to join,. I found one and mananged to squeek in just under the wire which, unfortunately, is not something unusual for me. However, I am now a member of the OPAM 2011 group!! I'm looking forward to seeing what all the members are doing and also, to fulfilling my committment!

Hellooo...... I even spent an hour in the sewing room today!! Woo hoo!! It may not seem like much but its the first time I've been in there since October. I'm hoping now that I will be able stay home and start spending more time in there every day. Now, if I can just get one of those tops sandwiched....

Where does it go?

TIME. It is one of those things that, once it's gone, you can't ever get it back. It seems that the past year has slipped away from me. The project list on here has not changed very much at all in a whole year. All those hours are gone forever and I have little to show for it.

I have good intentions... I set goals for doing things and write them down or record them here on this blog. I've joined in with groups online to hopefully inspire me to do things. Somehow, I'm not finding the drive that I need in order to follow through with anything. I start out well and then fizzle out. It is like that in all areas of my life right now, not just my quilting.

My kitchen doors have been off of the cupboards now for over two years waiting to be painted. The trim in the living room and hallway still needs painting from the same time.  The baseboards need to be painted and then cut and installed. Every winter for the past 10 years I have been saying I need to clean out the garage of all the yarn left over from the store I closed out in 1997 as soon as the weather warms up... and its still not done.

And, time just keeps on ticking, one second, one minute, one hour, one day, one month, one year, one decade...