15 and a half years...

 Fifteen and a half years, this is how long it took me to finally finish a knitted scarf. I never really took to knitting, but somehow this project was always there and I never even thought of unraveling it to use the yarn for something else. I still like the colours and they kind of fit with my current clothes. Yeah!

Basically I met a french lady a couple of months ago, we hit it off and she told me how much she likes knitting. 

 She gave me enough encouragement and motivation to actually finish it. I didn't have much left to do, neither did I have much yarn. So I completed the last pink part, cast off and crocheted the two ends together. 

 Instead of making a scarf, I made a loop. How about that?

 I am pleased with myself: my project is finished! I have the needles free again. And to be honest, I was so proud and happy that I started a new knitting project right away! It is currently on hold because I need more yarn, but when I am on it, it goes quite fast and the knitting is fairly even. I am using bamboo needles and find them very comfortable.

Let's see if I can finish this second loop before the end of the year, that'd be a tremendous improvement on the first one :)

Wishing you all a lovely day

The SC & more n°299 : Kawaii

 This week Nathalie wants us to "aaaaawwwww" her with sweet things. Her chosen them is "Kawaii" which apparently means "cute". I'll take her word for it :)

I am currently very busy preparing for two Christmas markets (on the 22nd of November and 5th of December) and I decided to try something new which I find super cute: Christmas tree decorations for the knitters.

I present you my mini-knitting kits! Aren't they really sweet? Totally "Kawaii" or not ?

For the Museum

Knitting needles: about 2,5 cm big!

 I like them so much that I hardly want to sell them. I am very much hoping a few will be left over, if not then I'll have to make a few more ;)

Let's see on Friday what Isabelle will ask us to make. I missed last week's Panda challenge, I hope I won't miss another one!

Follow-up post - Oma's knitting

In this post I mentionned the two cardigans that my mother-in-law had knitted for little N. and I also said that one of the dolls also got a similar cardigan. I had not yet managed to take a picture, but now I have and here it is:

 How sweet is it?

Unfinished Projects...

Yencamade posted an article recently which was showing some of her unfinished projects and somehow that made me feel so good to know that somebody else out there also had many plans but not enough time to complete them all! Then I thought, why not show mine and make it work as a motivation to finally complete them? In my case it is partly lack of time (for most projects), partly laziness (for some others). Let me take you through the list:

- The Baby book project which I started in 2011 before my first baby was born, you can see how far I got there. Baby n°2 is to arrive soon and this book hasn't got any further... Let's see if I have time to get working on it before Christmas, but I doubt it. Some others things are first in line!

- An album gathering all the cards, emails and text messages we received for our daughter's birth. I figured out Little N. might like to have a look at it when she is older, especially since all the cards are particularly pretty! That one is almost done, I just need to go and get a refill for my printer cartridges.

- For years and years I have been collecting receipts, tickets, photos, leaflets etc. in order to make "Holiday booklets" ... Well I have a huge box which has been sitting in the entrance for ages and is just screaming for a bit of attention. I guess I really should get on with it sooner than later, but probably again not before 2013. 

- A small embroidered cloth. Actually this is not really MY project as such and it is probably the oldest of the unfinished projects!! My Grand-mother started it as a young woman (if memory serves), she passed it onto me when I was about 11 or 12 years old (now about to turn 28!) and I have been busying myself with it from time to time since then. I wonder if I will ever finish it, or if I will also pass it onto my daughter or, who knows, my grand-daughter!! I feel no pressure about finishing this one though, I love taking it out from time to time and enjoy the feeling that I am using the same technics, fabric and even some of the thread that my Grand-mother used. It brings back lovely memories. 

And now, finally the rest of the list with pictures, that will be more "fun" to actually visualise them:

- Third oldest project, a knitted scarf. Rather not-so-great colours but well I was 15 years old when I started it. Even if those colours are still among my favourites, they are not the ones I would pick for a scarf today. Nevertheless I am absolutely determined to finish it some day. I started it the year one of my brothers was born, my mother laughed and said that maybe I would finish it for MY 18th birthday, now I am wondering if I will finish it for my brother's 18th birthday! Not that I intend to give it to him, I will keep it, but that sets a sort of deadline: 6 years to go ;-) YES I CAN!

- I guess I do not need to explain what I intend to do with that one. I just need to get on with it. Any ideas about the background colour that would fit best to all the masks?

- A pile of clothes to repair, baby clothes. I have started getting on with that pile and have made fair progress. I just need a little more courage to brave the remain of it! It goes rather quickly because the repairs are only minor ones, but seeing that big pile on my sofa just tends to put me off.

- I very much prefer looking at my sewing-basket. I cannot say much about it, but there you can see future Christmas presents!

- A cushion made by my Grand-mother. I had to wash it as shaking it by the window was not enough anymore to get rid of years of accumulated dust. The problem is that the filling material used for the cushion did not stand it (it was hand-wash thouhg), so my mother-in-law carefully separated the embroidered top from the rest and now it is up to me to find a new fabric and a new cushion in order to re-assemble the whole thing. The back fabric used to be brown. I wonder if I should keep the colour or choose a new one.

- Two of my old dolls, the one on the left is my very first one and she is also turning 28 soon. She still looks pretty good, but her body is weakening in some areas, mainly close to the arms, legs and head. My plan is to make up a new body that I would put on top of the old one as there is no way I would dislocate her and risk not making things right! The second doll, well... the problem is with the hair, I need to find a way to make it look acceptable. Then only my daughter will be able to play with both dolls.

 

 - Of those two I cannot say much as they are intended as presents (almost a year late now), so I leave it to you imagination to guess what the final result will be. Hopefully I can show you after Christmas.

 

- More baby projects: a hat which I started in February I think, I can still just add a ribbon and it is done... Will try to do that in the next two weeks. And on the right is material which I wanted to transform into another mobile. Let's see how it turns out!

- Another old thing: the top part of the lady was the figure on top of the cake at my Christening! I've kept it all these years and when I was about 12 or so, my mother and I started trying to put something together to make her a dress and transform her from being a mere bust, into being a standing figure. It is rather sad to have to admit that the only thing left to do is to hand-sew the purple fabric! I am now aiming at finding a little bit of time in the next weeks to finish this and proudly put it on my bedroom shelf (I cannot expose it anywhere else considering once again the fabrics I chose back then!)

- And to finish with (although I am sure I will find some more when I get on tidying my DIY cupboard), the latest thing I've had in mind: Little N. is starting to eat alone (oh joy!). I already bought an oil-cloth for the table which renders the cleaning after each meal much easier and faster than with normal table cloth! And I bought an extra small piece (of a different colour), a cheap towel and velcroband in order to make her a new looooong bib. The ones I have are very good but they do not cover her legs which currently often end up being full of mash, or whatever we had for lunch. I probably should start very quickly as my girl is showing more and more signs of independance which means that the mess is just going to grow.

And that's without counting the patterns which I bought earlier this year to make pretty dresses for my daughter, the many pieces of fabrics which I have both under my bed and in the cellar, and the cushion pattern which I just bought online from OneInchWorld (check it out by the way, Katherine has loads of brilliant ideas!).

How about you now? What are you unfinished projects? Do you have many? Would you show them to us and make all of us feel less bad about them? ;-)