Doing, Knitting, Sewing, Winning

Well, I'm still working on my 30 Before 30 List.  I'm going to add it as a page in the sidebar by my bucket list (there on the left) when I get it done.  But here's what I have so far:

1. Get my Mandarin fish tattoo
2. Sew myself a wearable skirt
3. Sell at least 1 of my photographs
4. Paint again (canvas, not walls)
5. Embroider a pillowcase
6. Preserve vegetables that I’ve grown in my garden
7. Go to a stitch and bitch or knitting group
8. Volunteer
9. Run a 5K
10. Read at least 5 books on my bookshelves (preferably that I haven’t read before)
11. Invest some money for retirement (auto 401K with work does not count)
12. Yarn Diet-Knit down my stash
13. Bake and frost a layer cake from scratch
14. Sell or give away 50 things that I currently own
15. Paint the hutch in the dining room

So, I'm halfway there!  Any suggestions?  Unfortunately, they can't be travel related, cause I only have 6 months, and we're planning a trip abroad for my birthday, so we won't have the time or money to go anywhere before then!

I also owe the blog my pics and process for that bag I made for my friend Dani's birthday so, here goes:

I used the one hour bag tutorial from RicRac as a jump off point.
I only changed a couple of things.  I didn't use anything for a closure, because I didn't have any snaps or ribbon.  I also sewed the strap on when I sewed the lining and the outer bag fabric together.  And that's it!  It took me longer than an hour, probably closer to 3, but, I'm still slow at cutting and sewing, and I'm really happy with how it turned out!  And so was Dani!  And that's all that matters.

I cast on a new sock project the other night.  Per my list above, I am on a yarn diet!  I need to knit down my stash, and I have accumulated a TON of sock yarn and cotton yarn for washcloths.  So, for the next six months, I need to concentrate on getting that knitted up.  Then, for my birthday, I can buy myself some Malabrigo!  Have I mentioned lately how much I love Malabrigo?  Cause I do, a lot!  Come to think about it, that's what I bought myself for my birthday last year! Oh well, it's totally worth it!

Oh yeah, I won a free yard of fabric from Sew Mama Sew's Free Fabric Friday!  I'm so excited!  I never win anything!  I've got to hurry up and pick something out, but it's so hard, there are so many cute fabrics on the site!

Project Updates

Well, about that Ravelympics sweater, unfortunately, I didn't get it done on time.  This is where I got to by 11:30 EST last Sunday night:

Close, but even if I would have kept at it till 3am (12 midnight PST, the closing time for the Ravelympics), I wouldn't have finished, so I figured since I had to work in the morning, I might as well call it a night at a decent hour.  So, I knitted away Monday evening, and finished it (ends sewn in too) on Tuesday the 2nd.  So, I was 2 days late to the finish line.  I was fairly disappointed Sunday evening, but I'm just thrilled to have it done!  Here it is:

Still need to wash and block, but I finished a sweater in 2 and half weeks!  Not too shabby of an accomplishment I say!

Next up, some patchwork pillow cases for the sofa.  I've really just started on these.  I've worked out the design and the pieces, but have only just begun to cut the pieces.  Once I get everything cut out, the sewing won't be bad.

Look at the fun fabric I bought last night!  It's all washed and pressed here:

I do have specific projects in mind for all of them.  The 2 blue and brown fabrics are for the purse I'm making for my friend Dani's 30th birthday tomorrow.  I've got the pieces cut out, and have started to sew, so, I won't have any problems finishing it by tomorrow.

The plain orange will go with the orange, brown and green fabric for cloth napkins.  And the fun floral striped pattern will be a skirt from Sew What! Skirts.  It will be my first project from the book, and I'm looking forward to it!  Seems like a great book, good diagrams and clear instructions, so we'll see how it goes!

Hmm, anything else?  Well, I don't think this post would be complete without a dog picture, so, here's Izzie, being a mountain goat:

She's often either on the back of the couch or on the arm, which is where she is as I type this.  She's a nut!  Anyway, have a great weekend!

Creativity and Mistakes

Lately I've just been feeling in a rut. Not unhappy, just bored. I don't know if it's the weather, or traveling and coming back, or what, but I just need some new inspiration. I happened across this article: The Wisdom of Mistakes and it kind of gave me a kick in the butt to do something.  I've been feeling creative lately, with a zillion projects running through my head.  From sewing and knitting to painting and drawing, I just want to do something.  My problem is my perfectionism when it comes to projects, I don't want to do it wrong, so I have a hard time starting, and then I have a hard time finishing them, for the same reason.  I'm afraid the project won't turn out the way I see it in my head.  Of course it won't, it almost never does, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not worth doing, and learning something in the process, and still producing something that you’re happy with.  I need to just get on with it, enjoy the creating and worry less about the end result.  So, I've got a couple of projects I plan to do over the next couple of weeks; pillow covers, a bag, a skirt for myself, learn some embroidery.  Wish me luck!

I Heart Fat Quarters!

Went to Joann's today at lunch and they have all their fat quarters on sale for $1 each! Yay! Pretty much all of their other fabric is on sale too! Look what I bought:

I especially love the doggy one and the pink ovals.

The blue and browns are for pillows for the living room. Haven't decided completely what they're going to look like, but the solid brown is the back panel.

And I picked up the liner for the purse I'm going to make. The silky fabric is the liner and the gray and teal is the outside. They were both remnants, a yard of each and less than 6 bucks for both! Yay for cheap stuff!

So, no knitting or diving stuff today, but today and yesterday I've done good with my eating habits, but bad on the working out. I'm being lazy. Maybe tomorrow, cause I'm eating dinner now.