I finished the Kiku I was working on! Not that it was that hard, I just had to sit down for longer than 10 minutes and finish it off. I'm afraid I can't show you what it looks like yet though, it's a present for someone, so after they receive it, I'll post a pic. It actually turned out a little better than I expected, which is always nice. Still a bit of wabi-sabi going on, but it's worked out nicely (I think anyway).
I also decided on a pattern for the GITS. Now I need to choose some colours and stitch it up. That should be fun.
And the pattern a la procrastination - that's the one out of three I didnt get to yet!
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
The wonders of online shopping, and other recent events.
I love the Internet. It never ceases to amaze me what I can find online. Whether it's a fascinating hobby or craft, interesting, quirky or downright strange facts, or a little bit of retail therapy - I'm always a little bit amazed. Lately I have had the good fortune to come across several of the things I have been searching for.
1. A temari work-basket. I have been searching for "the perfect basket" for ages. I currently have a basket/tote that I am not happy with, and have been exploring other avenues. The basket I have is OK, but if I could find the perfect basket..... It's a really good excuse to use a couple of fat quarters in the most amazing fabric that have been awaiting 'the perfect project' too. Ultimately I wanted a woven basket that was big deep enough to hold my supplies, but not that deep that I would lose things in the bottom, with a dome/bowl shaped removable lid that I could use as a work basket, and preferably a handle to carry it with, but I wasn't sure what sort would suit it. It also had to be roughly the right size. Not too big, not too small. It would be nice if it could be lined with fabric, and sturdy - no flimsy baskets allowed. I was suffering from a near fatal case of Goldilocks syndrome. None of the baskets I found was quite right. So I went from idea to idea and I was just about to start testing a second hand hatbox I had found when I found a set of baskets on Etsy.
I have only just remembered Etsy. It's somewhere I don't tend to go a lot - I'm more of an Ebay girl. But - I remembered Etsy, and I searched for baskets. And now I have these 2 absolutely fabulous baskets. They are the right height and size, the right material, and will look great and hopefully will perform well. I'm a fraction concerned they are not quite strong enough, but will investigate that a bit more. They remind me of hot air balloons. With any luck, the search for the perfect basket can finally be laid to rest, and if not, they look fantastic on the shelf and I'll keep searching - next option is a hatbox - lined with those fat quarters of course!
1. A temari work-basket. I have been searching for "the perfect basket" for ages. I currently have a basket/tote that I am not happy with, and have been exploring other avenues. The basket I have is OK, but if I could find the perfect basket..... It's a really good excuse to use a couple of fat quarters in the most amazing fabric that have been awaiting 'the perfect project' too. Ultimately I wanted a woven basket that was big deep enough to hold my supplies, but not that deep that I would lose things in the bottom, with a dome/bowl shaped removable lid that I could use as a work basket, and preferably a handle to carry it with, but I wasn't sure what sort would suit it. It also had to be roughly the right size. Not too big, not too small. It would be nice if it could be lined with fabric, and sturdy - no flimsy baskets allowed. I was suffering from a near fatal case of Goldilocks syndrome. None of the baskets I found was quite right. So I went from idea to idea and I was just about to start testing a second hand hatbox I had found when I found a set of baskets on Etsy.
I have only just remembered Etsy. It's somewhere I don't tend to go a lot - I'm more of an Ebay girl. But - I remembered Etsy, and I searched for baskets. And now I have these 2 absolutely fabulous baskets. They are the right height and size, the right material, and will look great and hopefully will perform well. I'm a fraction concerned they are not quite strong enough, but will investigate that a bit more. They remind me of hot air balloons. With any luck, the search for the perfect basket can finally be laid to rest, and if not, they look fantastic on the shelf and I'll keep searching - next option is a hatbox - lined with those fat quarters of course!
2. Temari books. Through an online bookshop I have just purchased three more temari books. They are sure hard to find (at the right prices anyway) and even harder to find secondhand (at even better prices). I'm so excited my collection is growing slowly and surely. I have put these back in the box as they are actually a christmas present. These three are English books, two by Diana Vandervoort, and one by M. Ludlow. Nothing puts a smile on my face faster than adding to my bookshelves, and that smile gets bigger if they are temari books.
A big thank you goes to my Grandma in Victoria - who sent up a heap more of her knitting machine wool, and my Grandad - for encouraging her to do so. She has nearly cleaned out her stash, and I was fortunate enough to be the recipient. I have enough wool to see me through ooodles and ooooodles of temari. I cant even begin to figure how many - I'm thinking in the hundreds!!
I have been working on a particular pattern - trying to figure it out, and it has taken me a bit longer than expected. I have to figure it out from photo's and I haven't worked a temari like that before, so I'm doing what I tend to do best - I'm procrastinating. Of course it doesn't help when I work full time, and then I decided to stitch another Kiku pattern at the same time, and then I got the urge to re-arrange the cats bedroom/craft room. On the plus side, "Temari Land" (aka the craft room) now has a mid sized shelving unit to assist with storage, the space is easier to work in, and the cats like having something else to climb on.
So today....hopefully....I will finish the kiku, decide on a pattern for the New Years GITS I am participating in, and begin stitching the pattern I have been procrastinating about. Hopefully.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
One yarn mari, two yarn mari, three yarn mari, four....
Unfortunately there hasn't been much stitching happening here at the moment. I was working on a UFO that still -frustratingly- remains a UFO. That one has gone back in the box, hopefully to be resolved the next time it comes out. I had also wrapped a mari for a pattern I was about to start, only to find that it was quite a bit smaller than the original and I really should make a new one. I really should have been paying more attention to the temari and not thinking about the new reading book sitting beside me! Anyhow.......in order to put my mind into positive temari-mode, I started wrapping mari.Between reading and wrapping (with the occasional cat cuddle thrown in for good measure) it was a great day.
Wrapping mari is something I generally find relaxing, and this morning was no exception. I had worked my way through most of my yarn mari's , so I figuered wrapping another batch would be therapeutic as well as productive. I find if I have a good selection of yarn mari, then I can enjoy the colour choosing and stitching more because I dont have to spend time wrapping a ball up.
Anyhow, before I knew it I had over a dozen - some with bells inside, some with button rattles, some that make no noise at all. Some larger and some smaller, some with rice hulls and some with polyfill, some with blessings inside and some without. I figured I wont get too stuck for choice - not in the near future anyway. And then I made the last one for the day - the one for the pattern I am itching to stitch. Hopefully, I'll be able to show you soon what it looks like, but until then - this is the basketful of mari 'canvases' I have to play with.
Wrapping mari is something I generally find relaxing, and this morning was no exception. I had worked my way through most of my yarn mari's , so I figuered wrapping another batch would be therapeutic as well as productive. I find if I have a good selection of yarn mari, then I can enjoy the colour choosing and stitching more because I dont have to spend time wrapping a ball up.
Anyhow, before I knew it I had over a dozen - some with bells inside, some with button rattles, some that make no noise at all. Some larger and some smaller, some with rice hulls and some with polyfill, some with blessings inside and some without. I figured I wont get too stuck for choice - not in the near future anyway. And then I made the last one for the day - the one for the pattern I am itching to stitch. Hopefully, I'll be able to show you soon what it looks like, but until then - this is the basketful of mari 'canvases' I have to play with.
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