Workshop Part 2

There's been a lot of work going on here, but not a huge amount of progress on specific projects. That's okay, because groundwork is being laid to finish things quickly -  say, after my girls are in bed some night. I found that if I work on a few seams at a time, they really have no interest in what I'm doing. If I put it all together, they'd notice.

For example, these are the ties and future ruffles for the Christmas aprons. The ruffle for the Pixie's apron frustrated me quite a lot and had to be picked out three times, pressed, and finally starched to make it behave in the rolled hem foot. A little pile of pieces like this never gets noticed....

This little elephant got cut out and I started to piece him together, except the fabric gives him away easily. The Pixie wanted him to match the owl I made for her a few months ago and she knew when I started working that it was for her. I have to work under cover of bedtime and so his progress is slow.

I admit: I creep on Pinterest. I will never have an account of my own, but I do creep.

My brain saw a couple of ideas on Pinterest and put two and two together.....I came up with a project that should have an end date of Valentine's Day for a certain newlywed couple. I am crossing my fingers that reality looks as good as imagination.

Here are the colours:

Here is the first block:

And here is an alternate Christmas project using the same awesome rainbow! This one shouldn't take long and also involves a touch of embroidery. (Inspiration also courtesy of my creeping on Pinterest.) Can you guess what it will be?

The last two projects are selfishly for me. I am perpetually cold between the months of September to May-ish - a hazard of the poor combination of being hot-blooded and living in Canada. I spend my days wrapped up in my shawl and wearing these cozy creations. These are the fingerless gloves that I alluded to in a previous post. I take them off to cook and do the dishes only. I should make a second pair because of high use!

Lastly is a beret that took only a few hours to whip up. I crochet much faster than I knit. Although I love the toque that my girls gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago, it has always been too small and gives me headaches when I wear it. This will keep my head warm and hide my unruly hair - shown here modeled by my Punk, who is also showing off her new specs.

For now, I am attending to the apple butter in the crock pot. I am going to remove my gloves to do the morning dishes. And I've started another book-related project that has to remain hidden lest I give too many secrets away.....

If it wasn't for the cold weather, this might be my favorite time of year!