Drift Scarf: how to make it

As promised, today I show you how to make the Drift Scarf point. I have to say it's really easy, and if you can get thick yarn, like in Betz White original project, it's really quick to make.

I found the pictures I took right at the beginning, which will make my life easier! ;-)

The pattern is quite simple: cast on the number of stitches enough to make a rib stitch 6x6, in a way you start with purl and end with knit. In my case, it's 8 times 6, adding up to 48 stitches. After that, knit 10 rows in rib stitch 6x6 - 6 purl stitches, 6 knit stitches. On the back, follow the stitches (knit over knit, purl over purl).

On the 11th row starts the scarf motif: in the beginning of your left needle you'll have six purl stitches. Count 6 rows on the back:

Look at another angle:

Now, on this 6th row, grab a few stitches (to keep the pattern uniform, I always grab the first, third and fourth stitches on the back):

I find it more practical to use a double pointed needle, which I already had because of the set of 5 I used for the socks. It's small and fits the pocket in my Tricoteiras tote, but you can use any other needle - just try to use one with a lower number than the one you're using to knit the scarf, so it doesn't make the stitches stand out. After grabbing the stitches, knit as usual, but also grab the stitches on the smaller needle when you knit the first 3 stitches:

The remaining 3 stitches are purled as usual, as well as the 6 following stitches are knit. Do the same and grab stitches 6 rows below every time you have to knit stitches on this row.

After you finish this row, make another 10 rows like in the beginning and keep going, making the pattern I described until the scarf is long enough for you.

A great advantage of this pattern is that the scarf doesn't have a wrong side - which makes it very charming!

Right side

Wrong side

Like I said, the original pattern uses yarn and needles much thicker, but hard to find in a tropical country like Brazil - so I'm using Sedificada, which is a very smooth and relatively thick yarn.

If you decide to make a Drift Scarf too, don't forget to tell me! ;-)

WIP: Drift Scarf

Today I'll show you what my Drift Scarf is looking like. Check out how it was in October 6 (almost two months ago)

And now, after some work, it looks like this:

I'm on the second skein now, and I'll probably need to finish it so the size will be right. Maybe I even start a third skein! The scarf now has 70 cm (~105 inches). It will be really warm! :)

I'm late! I'm late!

... but just like Lewis Carroll's white rabbit, I'm getting there!

Behold the first part of Paisley des Quatre Saisons:

I loved embroidering these stitches! When I saw Anne-Gaëlle's picture, I got my Embroidery Stitch Bible and started looking - I was sure I'd already seen this stitch like a triangle there. And I found it, it was Closed Blanket Stitch. But when I read the explanation in the blog, I saw that she actually used stem stitch first, and then she embroidered Fly Stitch (which are also in the book, of course). Méri's dictionary surely has all the names, Portuguese, English and French, I'll check them later!

I've made the first part yesterday, during the holiday, and today I've made the second one:

I think it's looking nice, but I had to make a few changes. It's been a long time since I got this mad when embroidering! Do you know why? The ribbons! Ah, it was really frustrating to embroider with them. First, they're not silk, but satin (Méri had already told me that the silk ones, despite being much more expensive, make a lot of difference - of course she was right!). Second, I think they're wider than the ones used by Anne-Gaëlle. Putting all this together, it was really difficult to embroider with these ribbons. Oh, sure, there was also the problem with the threads - anyone out there, besides me, thinks there should be a kit for this stitch-along? Actually, if the embroidery supplies could be bought here in Brazil, it would already be of great help...

For the contour, I've used a perlé (coton a broder) thread that I'd bought many years ago to embroider vagonite (that I can't figure out how to call in English... and it's not in the book!), but I never did. The color is DMC 798, a very nice blue! um azul muito bonito! For the flowers stems, I used regular thread (stranded cotton mouliné), Anchor color 228. And for the little flowers details, color 290. Not that these things make any difference for anyone reading this, but if I end up forgetting which colors I used, it's noted here! :-D

The next part is embroider little roses around the motif. Guess what, with ribbons! Ah... wish me luck!

Things that make the day better

Tomorrow is a national holiday, and because of that great part of the people isn't working. My husband is, so this is just a regular day here at home.

Of course, since I'm not working for now, the day can be rearranged the way I want. Which should be an invitation to productivity in all areas - chores, general to do's, crafts.

But then what happens?

A gray day. Sad, ugly and depressing. Lately I realized how much gray days affect me, and I must say that's a little scary. When we're working, we don't have much time to pay attention to the weather outside, let alone the effects it has upon us. So something had to be done!

My solution was to start a project that was around here annoying me: a SAL, or stitch-along. Anne-Gaëlle, from the blog Au bonheur de mains (I read French, don't you know? Sometimes with the help of Google, but I do! ;-) ), came up with an embroidery project for us to make together. The links are in the right column of her blog, with all the files for download.

Today, reading the blogs I follow with Google Reader, I saw she was asking people to subscribe again - very few of them were giving feedback about the project. Nothing like a tug of ears to get us moving, huh?

I printed out all the files she had already sent us by e-mail (the same that are available for download), and I started to look for some fabric to embroider.

It seems that in Europe it's easy to find linen to embroider. Here in Brazil, Ao que parece, lá na Europa é fácil encontrar linho para bordar. Aqui no Brasil, who knows why, linen is a product of the highest level, costing around 40 dollars. Too expensive for embroidery!

I headed to my embroidery box to see what I already had, and I found some fabric - I think it's fine hemp. I'm not sure it will be suitable for the project, but I'll try.

The next step was transferring the design to the fabric. Since I don't have a light box (yet), which makes this step of embroidery a lot easier, I had to improvise the simplest way:

See how gray the day is?? And the street is too calm, only in the middle of a long weekend you see this in São Paulo...

Very well, design transferred, the embroidery starts tonight. The first stage is the contour, I've already seen the steps to make the chosen stitches and I'll pick the colors later. I decided to make each of the 4 parts of the project in separate fabrics. Later I want to frame them and hang them in the original distribution. I think it will look really nice!

I love paisleys. Or cashemire, or however you know this design. I simply l-o-v-e them, and I thank Anne-Gaëlle for the beautiful design! :)

Now I have to go... it's getting dark and the wind is so strong outside. I don't feel like doing anything other than this embroidery today, but I have to be stronger than that and head to the gym. That's another thing about gray days: they totally ruin your diet, and this fat is not going to burn itself!

It's alive!!!

Very well, as I said before, I haven't been writing a lot, but the works are in progress - slow and steady, right?

In the last couple of weeks I've been developing a website as a freelancer - oh, I just love building websites, especially working from home! And just like it happens every time something changes in my routine, it's difficult to put the end-of-day-fun in its own place. But I'll get organized some time.

Meanwhile, look what I made while I wasn't writing in the blog!

Remember the Drift Scarf? Well, it's kinda big now... sort of. Around 40 cm, right? (~25 inches) The thing is, every time I make the point that makes the knitting look so nice, the scarf shortens. So it doesn't grow very fast... but I think it's coming along pretty nicely and, hey, if you can't wear it this winter, there's always next year's!

And speaking of next year, we're really close to Christmas again and my nativity scene is practically at the same point. I'm not even commenting this, it's a work worth of Greek mythology, and I don't care when it's going to be finished. It will someday.

It's even further than in this pictures, because it's been days since I started writing this post. The word is: organization. It seems like I can never get organized!


I think I commented in the previous post that during this absence time I made a case for the new laptop at home (here in Brazil we say "notebook" much more frequently - the americans I've worked with always found this very odd). Look how it looks closed:

It looks like floating in a white background because the picture got too much light in it... it looked gray, and in fact it's black! Now look how it is open:

Ah, isn't it cute? I closed it with velcro, and I was careful to leave the softer side on the lap, so it won't scratch the little thing. Because after all, Apple makes gorgeous stuff, mas they get spoiled so easily...


My husband wants me to embroider the case. He's even chosen a motif: a pineapple. Because there's an Apple inside, you see? (eyes rolling...) I still haven't felt like doing it, especially because it's not going to be easy to embroider right on the case, now it's done. There's a layer of stuffing, and where would the laptop be while the embroidery was in progress? Maybe I'll embroider some other fabric and then do some applique. Or maybe I won't do anything. Personally, I'd rather do this case in soft pink, with beautiful patchwork fabric... but I don't think my husband would have liked it so much.

To wrap up, when I decided to take these pictures the day was sunny (it is again today, after days-and-days-and-days of gray sky), so now you'll meet some of my little plants:

Estas são minhas mini-Kalanchoe (I don't know if that's how it's written... and I'm too lazy to ask Google) (I couldn't hold myself, and asked - and I got it right!). They came with red flowers, which looked adorable in the white vase - but they've never shows again! :( I'm still hoping they'll come back some day.

And here's my vase of african violets! After the first bloom, it took a long, really long time, for flowers to show up again. It was worth it, wasn't it?

Did you notice the dishcloth under the vase? I did that too! I'll tell you the story in some other post, ok? ;-)

A WIP almost in the end

In the meantime I didn't write here, I've been working in one of the WIPs I showed you in the previous series: the shrug.

But this post is not about it.

It happens that I was really excited with the shrug, because, as I said before, I've started it with my friend S., and even though she gave it up later (but she has already made dozens of hats for donation, a beautiful vest and she's almost done with another shrug!) I kept going. I thought I would be able to make my first knitted garment.

The problem was that, after knitting all the parts and sewing most of them, I tried the shrug on. And behold that IT DOES NOT FIT ME.

A pause for you to think about how disappointed I was.

Exactly, I was crushed. I took it for my mom to take a look and tell me what I had to fix - I had already knitted one sleeve twice, because I made the armhole wrong (actually, I tried to follow the original pattern, and it just is of no help). Now I'll have to undo part of the shrug, increase the shoulders and remake the sleeves again.

And then I decided to take a break on the shrug and get back to a WIP that I forgot to mention here! So let's see it:

This was the beginning of my first knitted sock. I thought it would be very hard to deal with 5 needles at the same time, and since they have two points, I thought everything would slip from the needles all the time.

I decided to ask the Crazy Knitting Ladies for help and they encouraged me A LOT. As usual, knitters encourage beginners to "throw themselves" into the project right away, instead of wonder and try to understand all the details without even having cast on.

They suggested me the pattern for The Simplest Socks in the World. The problem was that the pattern, just like the name, is very simple. I had problems right at the beginning, to connect the first and last stitches, so I asked the list for help again, then my mother, and in the end I figured it out myself. It didn't end up very nice, that point is pretty obvious in the sock, but from then on it was only fun.

Oh, I can't forget to mention that if it weren't for my friend L., nothing of this would have happened. She encouraged me so much that she lent me her set of needles and gave me yarn to knit the socks. Note that the first sock was knitted with her set, gold, and now I'm using my own set, green. Of course I bought the needles. And with them 4 balls of another yarn for future socks! A girl must save money on delivery fees.

Knitting the sock was a delight, even with hard times in the beginning and the heel. But I loved the result! I just didn't start the second foot right away because of the shrug, but since it made me sad for a while, I got back to the socks. Look how it was in the beginning of the week:

And today it looks like this:

Now I start the heel. I can't wait to wear them!

Finishing this stuff is the real challenge...

Remember the sewing circle? It was a lot of fun, but so far the project stuck at this point:

Like I said, I wanted to applique the tower on a purse. I thought about doing it in a fabric striped in grey and white, which would ihghlight the foundation a lot. I also wanted to embroider "Paris" above it, since I already have tome beads around here...

What's left to finish: make the said purse!

Why I can't finish it: there is no fabric striped in grey and white around here. This can only mean one thing: shopping! Oh, hobbies really cost money...

What I can do to finish it: Try another fabric for the purse. I have enough black fabric, if I make a frame in another color, maybe using the scraps of the grey fabrics I used for the tower... I need to think more about this. Or simply buy the said fabric. We'll see.

Many mistakes together

Here goes another WIP: my purse made in the knitting board.

I've started making this purse exactly because I wanted to start a project I was SURE I could finish fast. Oh the irony... The first mistake was to use black yarn. My eyes burned all the time, because I couldn't see well what I was doing. Then I got the pink yarn to use them together, what made it all better. Ah, freedom is bliss! Since it's for me, it doesn't matter, right?

What's left to finish: the second part of the bag. And probably some lining.

Why I can't finish it: the knitting part isn't the problem. But I'll have to buy straps for the purse - and I've decided I want pink faux-leather straps. Which means, more packages arriving by mail. Not that I don't enjoy them, but... money does not fall from sky, does it?

What I can do to finish: buy the straps, for sure. And probably some fabric for the lining - how about pink satin? Ah, yes, sure! Finish the knitting part too, right?

Proof of UFOs existence

That's exactly what you read: UFOs do exist! Of course the crafty type, the infamous UnFinished Objects (I thought it was prOjects... tsc tsc). This is one of the oldest I have - and they haunt me:

Can you see the parts of a little house showing? Very well, I've started this project YEARS ago! I don't even know how many, but I know I still lived with my parents. Hmmm no... oh, I can't remember! Imagine that!

Well, I started following the project in a magazine (that doesn't even exist anymore, oh my God!). It was the first time I saw the "3D cross-stitch". After that I discovered there are books with entire villages of embroidered little houses. Wouldn't that be just adorable?

What's left to finish: many parts. One just like the one that shows lower in the picture, that would be the opposite side of the house, the roof... hmm what would be that other piece over there in the corner? Sigh...

Why I can't finish it: the original in the magazine was embroidered with more strands in the needle (6, instead of the 2 I've used), because the plastic canvas is much more spaced. The problem with this project is the canvas: the holes are so tiny that the needle ends up hurting the fingers because it's so hard to pass it through. It even spoils the strand, that needs to be very short, and the work becomes even slower.

What I can do to finish it: try a thinner needle. I've bought a kit with needles of various types, maybe there's a really thin one there that makes it easier.

This time, it's not my fault

I have a very dear friend that I met at the gym. Since then, our training has never been the same - and we're famous there for talking more than exercising. Despite of that, I found out that my dear friend, S., also secretly likes knitting! She always says we're very much alike, and I think we truly are! :)

The problem is that, despite her grandmother have been famous in the knitting world and have been the owner of a needle shop where she taught knitting, S. didn't know how to make anything but purl. And she had only ventured with scarves. Such a waste!

It was then that she had the idea of making a shrug, and I said I'd do it together - this way I could learn from my mom and my friend L., and then I'd teach her.

I give you the shrug:

Logically this picture is from the pattern. My friend started before me, frogged inumerous times and has already finished the back. She most certainly also has frogged and finished the sleeves a couple more times.  My shrug, however, remained tiny. A few weeks later, S. gave up making the shrug - she herself was tired of frogging and remaking it, until her mother freaked out e frogged it entirely! It seems like my poor friend didn't find much incentive to make the shrug, but I think that after all her mother realized that she really wanted to learn, so she decided to teach her. Now they're both knitting hats and slippers to donate to the elders, isn't it nice?

And after all that, my shrug has grown:

I'm very proud of myself, I've been learning a lot with the shrug! Increases, decreases, and even fitting the pattern to my own body - who'd have thought, huh? In the end, my version is coming along so different from the original that I don't even care about changing the pattern. EZ would be proud of me, wouldn't she? ;-)


S. had given me homework, to make at least 4 rows a day. I was trying! But after the shrug finally started growing, I can only find time for it. I think it will be the first to leave the WIPs list.

What's left to finish: Sleeves and front.

Why I can't finish it: I needed to cast on 80 stitches, which for me is a lot, and therefore it took me a while to finish a row. But this is the project in which I have being worked the most, so I have high hopes.

What I can do to finish it: do my homework. :) And profit the weekends. Maybe take it to work to do it during lunch time? Anyway, since I have S.'s incentive, it's keeping a steady pace.

Someone make me stop, please!

In the beginning of february, if I'm not wrong, the girls from the Crazy Knitting Ladies discussion group decided to enter a regional version of Ravelry's challenge and make 10 scarves in 2010. It seemed so easy! And I just L-O-V-E taking part in projects like that, in which many people do the same project at the same time.

My suggestion for the challenge was the Drift Scarf by Betz White - the story is lovely, read in her blog! The first scarf should be done by the end of march, and I decided to start with it.

I've bought the Sedificada yarn, from Pingouin - oh, it's so soft! I also bought bamboo needles, to try them out. I hated the needles (the yarn does not slide on them), but I loved the yarn!

What's left to finish: practically everything, I must have made about four rows, only. Betz was lucky to use a thick yarn and a huge needle - but who said it's possible to find yarn like that over here? That's why I had to cast on the double of stitches of the original, which takes a lot more time to knit.

Why I can't finish it: I don't think I'll have problems with this project, despite the new stitch I'll have to learn in a few rows. It really is just a matter of making it.

What I can do to finish it: like I said, prioritize. Just do it.

I have to quit this habit of starting new things. They're just piling up around the house... Good thing I held myself up and didn't join a SAL (stitch-a-long), but it was tough: look what Elena, from Coeur de Freesia, is doing. Isn't it cool?

Well, after all I have given up the challenge. With my list of WIPs, there's no chance I can make 10 scarves this year. And let's not forget I'm in A Make a Month project... (was it only me that rolled eyes now? I'm hopeless.)

Christmas all year long

Starting the series of posts about WIPs, here I give you an old acquaintance: the nativity scene in cross stitch!

As you can see, it continues practically the way it was before.

What's left to finish: in this part, it lacks the sky, the stars, and the contour. And then two other parts, one the same size as this, another one the DOUBLE size of it.

Why can't I finish it: it's just too time consuming! Since I started embroidering the sky, I realized that no matter how many hours I spend doing it, only a small piece of it is finished.

What I can do to finish it: I think that with this one there's only one way. I have to pick a day a week only for it, I don't see another way to make it progress. I already doubt it will be done by next Christmas, and that just kills me!

WIPs of the week

Last week I've got some WIPs moving (now I think I have to give status at the blog, besides the dozens of status meetings I have at work - this is a bad sign, isn't it?).

For your delight, I'll show you for the first time how my first knitting project is going. First I'd like to explain that I had already started by the obvious - a scarf - but I just gave up. The yarn and the needles were so thin that it took too long to show. The lack of experience didn't help either. So I bought a magazine and looked for something that were useful and simple to start. Scarfs are useful, but I have many that I've made in the knitting board, and we don't even have that much cold here. This is the project that caught my eye:

Sorry for the bad picture, I just couldn't make the reflex go away from the magazine... But isn't the purse gorgeous? I've already made the low part, front and back:

The color is very pretty in person (it wasn't a happy day for pictures, was it?). I also like the original color, but this was mommy's gift and I love it! ;-) It really is a very nice brown, I'll use the purse a lot when it's done.

And we also had progress in the famous nativity scene!

I finished the design, so then I had to pick a color for the sky:

Now look, in the original the fabric was dyed in dark blue, so it didn't have to be stitched. But I don't like dying fabrics - remember?, I'm not into getting dirty. Something that I'd certainly do if I decided to dye anything in the apartment. So I went to my threads and got every dark blue I got. Some were too bright when compared to the design, and I had one that was too dark. So I picked this one:

Can you imagine what it will look like? Very well, notice this detail: this color, for some reason, doesn't have the strap with the number! (note to the English version: does anyone know the name for that? I'm not sure it's called strap...) I had to wait days till I could go to the nearest needlework store (quite expensive, by the way). I've found the color - or the closest possible, sometimes it's hard to be sure. I've bought three skeins, to be safe, because after all I still have two more scenes to complete the nativity.

And speaking of knitting boards, I had started a purse to entertain myself (imagine that!). I love the knitting board, the work shows up fast! I wanted to make a black purse, but I gave up right in the beginning, I couldn't see the stitches with that yarn. Then I found a yarn ball I got as a gift and decided to use the two of them together.

I still don't know if I'll keep this purse... it ended up with a rather messy look... maybe I'll add some detail like a fabric flower and then the messy yarn mix makes more sense. We'll see.

Well, that's it. This week I'll probably attack that nativity sky, and I also wanted to make a project I've drawn up yesterday for the A Make A Month project.

Ah, yes... that's another one that Méri set me up. She decided to join the A Make A Month and there I went after her... but it will be to our own good, I'm sure! ;-) If you want to join too, follow the link! The idea from the blog Angharad is to get rid of all those things we keep buying because they're absolutely gorgeous and we keep imagining all the wonderful things we'll do with them... and we never do! So I intend to use some fabric I have here to accomplish the February challenge - keep your fingers crossed for me!

Mystery revealed

Finally! After a long week, I give you the answers for your question: "what the heck did she do for the sewing circle anyway?"

Here it is:

A paper piecing of the Eiffel Tower!

I was going to choose completely different fabrics for that, but my dear teacher gave me those - isn't she adorable? It's basically the same color choice the book I used suggests, and I thought of changing them. But I guess it turned out really good using plain colors for the tower.

So, following the sewing circle ideas, it started somewhat like this: I tried to gather a group of girls at work to join the circle. Yes, I do everything to bring more people to our crafty world. None of them seemed to be very interested, and when the date arrived, I was swamped in things to do for work, and evil people were all around - so I thought I wouldn't bring doom to myself SEWING DURING LUNCH. Imagine the nerve of being happy at the office. Nonsense.

Which made me work till late then going to my sewing supplies around 10 pm on January 13th. And the idea was to use the blog name as an inspiration - "I've been thinking of you". And then it hit me: the Eiffel Tower paper piecing! I've been to Paris last year, and I've always loved that city, don't know why. After my trip I certainly know why - it's gorgeous, to say the least. And since then I have images of the city popping in my head out of nowhere. It always makes me smile. I bought the book "365 Foundation Quilt Blocks" by Linda Causee a little while before visiting Paris, and when I saw that block I decided it would make a beautiful bag. So there I went to start my sewing circle project!

It was late and I was tired, but it felt so good to take that moment and be part of something like this. I knew that someone might be sewing a project at the same time, and it's good to feel connected through something we love, isn't it?

It was a LOT of work, I assure you.

Katherine asked us to fill some info about the project, here it is:

Wait, there's more:

Feel your surroundings: I was home, in my living/dining room. The house was quiet, the husband was in the computer, on the back of the apartment, it was late at night, so the noises were diminished. Just me and the aquarium close by, with a soothing sound of water running.

LOOK

left: the wall with a pretty painting of white flowers in a window

right: the corridor, with light coming from the room where my husband was using the computer (that darn Facebook Farm Ville...)

in front: my dining room table - and actually the whole living room (not very big apartment)

behind: my kitchen, lights off.

at your feet: my nice and light wooden floor.

above your head: just my ceiling, with bright lights.

Close your eyes what do you SMELL? - Home. And fabric. Bliss.

What can you TASTE? - Nothing, I guess.

Shut your eyes, breathe deeply and LISTEN carefully. - I have to admit it, I actually did what the sentence says. I could listen the aquarium water running, cars on the street, computer keys and mouse buttons, the pencil marking the design and then my scissors cutting the foundation fabric.

Although I have the bad habit of trying things beyond my current skills with a DUE DATE - don't do that to yourself! - I have to say: no matter how hard it was this foundation, I am so happy with the result. Now I have to pick a fabric to make the bag and find some nice text font to embroider "Paris" above the foundation. And of course, I'll try to make the embroidery in some kind of technique that I don't know yet. But I won't have a due date this time!

Thank you, Katherine, for the incentive!

P.S.: Did you like the project I chose? Sorry for turning it into a mystery... after all, the last post was full of hints, wasn't it?

Slow and constant movement

This week was another one with strong external elements negatively influencing my craft activities. Translating: working too much for others, and almost no fun. The first part I unfortunately can only comment in the presence of my lawyer, but the second one I can talk about at will.

Please note, it wouldn't be possible for me to be here writing this post if I haven't done absolutely no craft this week. Simply because I would be so weak that I wouldn't be able to use the computer! (believe me, that already happened!) Lack of craft is my kryptonite.

Which means that - oh joy! - we have pretty things to show! BUT... sorry about that, I won't. Simply because I've been working every night in the sewing circle project and I'll only show it when it's done!! Please, don't panic. I can only say two things:

1. I have the bad habit of picking things far beyond my current skills;
2. despite the (many) difficulties, it's turning out beautiful! (putting modesty aside)

(I'm using a lot of exclamation marks today!!!)

To compensate the mystery, I'll show other things - hold on to your chair! (another exclamation mark?? what's happening??)

Thanks to Crafty Frugals, I remembered that cooking is a craft that I try very little - much less that I'd like to. My mom is wonderful in the kitchen (and, thinking about it, in crafts in general - think about unattainable goals). I, on the other hand, don't have much talent - maybe if some day I have time to invest in this art I end up awakening some chef gene and turn myself into the next Jamie Oliver (I would never be like Nigella, licking my fingers and putting them back into the pan. Imagine that.). This picture was taken out of pure pride: I've cooked tomatoes stuffed with ricotta, corn and some other little things. I thought it was great. Being the only one to taste it doesn't influence the results.

The picture didn't turn out good, but look at my little one! It took me a long time to pick my first sewing machine, months of research and budget adjustments - and then a long season of husband persuasion (you don't want to know what he said about my machine). This story's worth another post, but it's been such a long time since I got to play with it that I thought she deserved to show up in the Garden.

Yes, the secret-project is being sewn by hand. Stop asking, I'm not telling what it is.

Do you know what they are? No, no potholder. I'll decorate the kitchen with them - actually, one at a time. The tulip was my first work in Foundation (or Paper piecing). It's a patchwork technique, but it uses a base - the pattern - where you sew tiny scraps following a pre-determined sequence. Following the sequence warrants a virtually perfect finishing - not following is just chaos. Impossible. Disregard the possibility. You'll never see the end of it.

It seems odd, but despite the need of a good dose of concentration, Foundation is delightful to make. My dear teacher says the tulip defines right away if the person is of the Foundation kind or not - can I say there are Foundation and non-Foundation people? Hmm. Already said it. Anyway, apparently lots of people give up right in the beginning. I LOVED it. So much that I've made the little house right after that - which I said it's a bird house (because the pattern says so), and my father insists it couldn't be more wrong. Bird houses have the entrance (the red part) ON THE BOTTOM. And that from someone who couldn't see what the cross stich designs I make are (the nativity scene was the first one he could actually understand!). Go figure.

These two "screens" still need a place to be hung on. My mom gave me something that might work - but it needs a little finishing before being put to use. I.e., put it on the list: they're WIPs.

UFOs, WIPs and a week without posts

This week has been im-pos-si-ble. By the blog activity, you have probably thought I have given up, haven't you? Of course not!

Despite the madness at work, which forced me to work late all these days, I've managed to keep some things moving. Look how un-be-liev-a-ble!!!

1. I've made TWO - that's right, T-W-O! - knitting rows;
2. I've taken part of the sewing circle.

The two knitting rows - imagine that - were made in DIFFERENT DAYS. I think there's no need for me to explain how hard it was to make anything, right?

As for the sewing circle, I had planned everything with a few girls from work: I've done everything I could to persuade them to join (they were not excited at all), I said I'd bring the easiest projects in the world and even the materials. Ultimately, having lunch in half hour to save time and then working till late, I gave up persuading them. I've started my little sewing project in the right day, at 10 p.m.. I've stopped at 11, due to absolute fatigue. But I was happy while sewing, knowing I've kept my word with all other girls that joined the circle that day. Being part of something like that is good to the heart. :)

All that made me think about two things: UFOs and WIPs.

UFO means UnFinished project - even the anagram needed creativity to be invented, since, as you can see, it doesn't match the words! Anyway, it's something that, for what I read, see and... well, do, it's absolutely normal. If you do any kind of handmade art, you've certainly had at least one project you've started and not finished.

This doesn't mean you will never get back to your UFO. It might be that you didn't like your color choice, or that the project is hard to make, or simply lack of time. But the matter is that they seem to haunt us sometimes, especially if they ended up in the back of a closet and we suddenly face them when looking for something else. It might even make us feel guilty.

On the other hand, WIP stands for Work-In-Progress. Note that this anagram matches perfectly, what shows a very different energy, doesn't it? These are the projects that excite us, that we want to see finished, and that usually have an extra motivation - for instance, a gift we want to give. Remember the book sleeve? I've thought of making it right after buying the book to give as a present, but I've only actually started when my friend S. confirmed she was coming to visit.

Thinking about all that, I've come to the conclusion that I do have a good list of UFOs - but I'll do my best so they are not forgotten, and so they're actually WIPs! Despite the difficulties at work, small steps have been taken, and I guess that, in the end of the day, that's what matters. I always remember what Brye Lynn, from Sew ~ Stitch ~ Create, says in the end of all her podcasts: "Craft everyday and make something beautiful". That's what I try to do!

And to prove that this blog is a WIP and not a UFO, it's now in Technorati and BlogBlogs - the codes below are for their tools to identify the garden!


Technorati claim code: G4G5C49VCCMY

Code for BlogBlogs.Com.Br