crafts

my favourite things of the week

For September 18 to 24, 2023

*This week, I was lucky enough to do my absolutely favourite thing: spend time by the shore

*When I could tear myself away from the beach, I was admiring the hardy plant life

*Back at home, the mums are blooming like crazy, the only sunflower to get knocked down by Hurricane Lee won’t give up, and I continue to thrum and admire the clouds

*Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson

This was perfect vacation reading. One of the many passages that made me LOL:

“It’s the men who make the mistake. They see she’s got the looks and think she can’t have the grey matter as well, and they try to take her for a ride. Their mistake, of course.”

“They deserve all they get,” said Miss Pettigrew belligerently, but without the faintest idea of what they were talking about.

my first hooked rug

The March midday sun is a bit harsh here; it’s prettier in person.

This was another partially finished project that had been sitting around for years, making me feel guilty about my lack of perseverance. In this case, finishing it meant ripping out everything I’d done and starting over, so it was in fact more ‘beginning a new project’ than ‘completing an old one’, but whatever. At least I didn’t shove the whole thing back into the closet.

I’ve always had this weird hang-up that others are allowed to make purely decorative pieces, but my crafting has to be practical, and it’s a waste of time and materials if the finished object isn’t wearable or functional. But working on this unabashedly useless object helped me get over that. It’s nice to look at and that’s enough. I think I’ll soon start another.

ripple scarf

Recently, I came across a bag stuffed full of half-finished projects I’d abandoned for one reason or another and instead of shoving it back where I’d found it and forgetting about it for another five years, I resolved to either rip out or finish each and every single item. This is progress.

First out of the bag was this ripple scarf, which needed another, oh, six feet or so. The labels were long gone, but I’m pretty sure it’s a Fleece Artist hand-painted wool, mellowed out with alternating stripes of some anonymous black wool.

Taking decent photos of knitwear is hard.

Christmas knitting revealed, part one

It’s a rarity for the child of a knitter to request even more knitwear, so when Charlotte mentioned before Christmas that she could use a new pair of mitts, I was all over it.

Hat, cowl and mittens of my own design (only using 2 x 2 rib so not as impressive as it sounds) in a long-stashed blend called Glen by Debbie Bliss. I think they’re okay.

a baby blanket for Emily

When Charlotte said she would like to make a handmade baby blanket for her friend Emily, but just didn’t have time to do it, I (Ms Tendonitis) said, no problem, pick the yarn you want and I’ll knit it.

The good news is that knitting doesn’t hurt nearly as much as working at the computer. The bad news is that my arms were so screwed up from working at the computer that I could barely bring myself to knit.

Still, I am tough/stupid (30% tough/70% stupid) enough to persist and I got it done in the nick of time with only this lousy photo to commemorate the finished product. It was pouring rain outside and my photo stylist, Foster, was busy eating lunch so I snapped this about five minutes before Charlotte came to pick it up on her way to the baby shower.

Now to start the Christmas knitting…

a bright red baby blanket

I’ve knit dozens of baby blankets over the years and photographed very few of them, mostly because I forget, but also because it’s hard. How to make a big square of fabric look more enticing than just a big square of fabric? Luckily, Foster photographed this one, which was a gift for our lovely friend Amanda who is due in August.

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