Hello My lovelies! It is a beautiful day today, and I thought I would give you an update on my crafting projects. There will probably be lots of photos.
I finished the blanket that I started down in Melbourne. There was a bit of drama with this, in that I ran out of one of the pinky-purple yarn before the blue or the grey. It was strange, because the balls were all the same size, and the stripes I was doing were all the same size, but it still ran out halfway through what was going to be the second last stripe of the blanket.
So I had to order some more. I found the webiste of the store in Melbourne I bought it from originally, placed the order, then found out they were out of stock and had to get some from their supplier before I could pay and have it shipped to me. Thankfully that didn’t take very long. I got two more balls of each, and even then I was worried about that colour running out again. It was good because it made it that bit longer and snugglier, but it was still frustrating. The cats both seem to be enjoying covering it in cat hair, though, so it must be good. I really like the more muted colours of this one, especially after the super bright granny squares.
After that I moved on to some cross stitch. I have been eyeing off What Delilah Did‘s patterns for a while, and when I got given some money for my birthday I figured I would take advantage of the situation and buy one. Specifically, the Mr Magpie. When it is finished I’m gonna frame it and hang it on my hypothetical wall of art.
I also bought some even weave linen to do this on, rather than Aida cloth like I probably would have normally, at the suggestion of the website. It takes a bit more concentration than Aida to make sure you’re stitching in the right spot, but it looks so much nicer. I will probably use it for all my cross stitches from now on, I like it so much. I am probably about 1/3 of the way through this pattern and I didn’t start it until about July, so I’m doing pretty well!
I have made a mistake or two so far, but thankfully they are not noticeable, and I can alter the pattern a little to compensate for what I did. I feel like that makes it a bit more personal, because it’s not exactly like the pattern. It’s not quite perfect, but no one will know unless they look really hard. Just like me.
My housemate Ally noticed the new blanket and after realising I made it, has commissioned me to make one for her (and she’ll pay for the yarn). So now we have the fun part of working out the details. I spend about half an hour in the little yarn store in Newtown putting together colour combinations and taking photos of them to show Ally to see which ones she likes. There’s also the issue of how big she wants it, because that will affect how long it will take and how much it will cost. That’s a smaller detail though; the colours are the most important part.
I think this is my favourite time when doing a craft project. The planning stage, going through all the options, filling me up with a sense of excitement. Trying to get what I have pictured in my head to match what I have available to me. Getting more eager to start as things fall into place. Then the familiar repetition of following the pattern and watching the project grow into what it’s supposed to be. Perfection.