Progress and Change

A lot has been going on around here. On a whim I started this cowl last Thursday. I have about 5 skeins of this sock yarn and have used this brand (different colours) to make socks and noticed it pills badly. I've been trying to decide what to do with it. I would hate to donate it and have someone buy it and discover how badly it pills after they make something. But I can't bring myself to throw it out - 1 skein maybe but not 5.  I wanted to use it but not for socks. I'd been searching scarfs and shawls with lace patterns since I am more likely to hand wash and lay flat to dry lace pieces than put them in the washer and dryer, like I do with my knitted socks. I found this free pattern on ravelry and is actually written by someone I knew in Michigan. It is a really fast knit if you are interested and since I used sock yarn (she used lace) I only needed to do 5 pattern repeats instead of 6. I finished it last night around midnight and have it blocking right now. I'll get better pictures once it is dry - the above picture was taken after completing 3 repeats.

I also took the plunge and started quilting my Oh My Stars quilt. I even registered it in the guild's quilt show on the 14th and 15th so I need to hurry up and finish it. I wanted the white fabric to disappear and so I began by doing a simple meandering stitch on all the white. And after seeing this quilt on flickr I knew I wanted to include spirals and decided to do them on the yellow stars. There is a spiral in the middle square, then I made points going off into the corners. They look like mini suns and I love it.

I was kind of stuck on what to do with the blue stars and tried a couple things that I ended up ripping out. I have finally decided just to outline each with blue thread. I didn't want to do anything to distract from the space fabric in the middle or the yellow stars. The yellow stars make this quilt and I am so happy I ran out of white background. I still need to finish the blue stars than I need to decide what I am going to do with the black spaces. It isn't in any of the pictures above, but if you look at the  quilt top here you will see that I replaced some star blocks with space themed fabric. I don't know what to do with them. And I'm not sure what to do with the border. I thought of straight lines to make the border look like a window frame but I figure the border will tell me what it needs when I get to it. I really want to bind and wash this and then decide how much more quilting it needs but I know I can't.

Been working away on the sleeves for my dad's cardigan. Finished the cuffs and have 13 more inches and 30 more stitches to add to each sleeve before they are ready to attach to the body. It's kind of fun to make two at a time but the yarn tangles are a bit of a headache.

It's been awhile since I posted any progress on this cardigan. I started making this for myself last July as my kids and I travelled across Canada on a train. My goal was to finish it by my birthday last September and I was pretty close. All I had left were the sleeves. I think I am going to only knit vests for the rest of my life. There's something about sleeves that just slow me down. I added a bit to the sleeves in December trying to get it done by the end of 2011 but that didn't happen either. Took it out this morning and got 2 lace repeats done. My biggest problem... I'm not sure how long I want the sleeves to be. There will be 1 1/2 inch garter stitch border at the end of the sleeve and I can't decide between short sleeve, 3/4 sleeve or long sleeve. Thoughts? 

I really do love the pattern and it is easy to memorize. It is a free pattern on ravelry and is quite popular (over 11,000 have been started). I think I need to finish it this month so I can enjoy it this spring (although with the snow we are getting today it doesn't feel much like spring). And what else has got me motivated to finish it? I finally have buttons for it. I told myself once I am done the first sleeve I am going to put the buttons on. I thought I was going to put round, wooden buttons on but I am going a totally different direction and am quite excited. About buttons!?! I amaze myself sometimes.

Now for the change I mentioned in my post title. Maybe some have noticed or maybe you haven't, but things have been disappearing from this blog. The link to my etsy store is gone because I am shutting it down; at least temporarily. I have completely lost all desire to make and sell my work and was more frustrated by the experience than anything. I have also been deleting some of the blogs I follow, not because I don't like them but they were becoming a time sucker. There are some I follow that I don't have listed. That will probably change as I am changing the title of this blog to something that more represents all of me and not just my quilting. The blog started as a place for me to share my quilts instead of doing it on our family blog which is mainly about our kids (and all though it isn't private, it really isn't interesting to anyone other than our family back in Canada). I know that my family are the main readers of this blog but having it separate gives them the option of looking at my quilts and stuff if they want to. 

So I am slowly changing things when I have the time and motivation. I won't say what the blog name will change to since the name which is available today may not be tomorrow or next week. And since I am a little nervous about moving everything I am trying to save it all before I make the move. The new blog will have a slightly different focus. Not only will it include my quilting, knitting and other crafty stuff, but it will include more of me. And I will probably either post less or write shorter posts. It's a lot of work and time to take pictures specifically for blog posts and write about them and sometimes it feels pointless. Personally, I am refocusing on my family and our impending move this summer. I am also focusing on writing. I'm glad that I rediscovered my love of writing last November but sometimes after spending all morning at the computer writing blog posts, reading blogs, updating ravelry and flickr, I don't have the energy to write. I am a great procrastinator so I am also taking myself off of pinterest as well. As much as I love it, I'm sick of the controversy that surrounds it and the people that are abusing it. I have already deleted a lot of my pins and am working on saving or deleting the rest.

To sum up - the blog name and its appearance are changing. Progress may be slow or there will be a lot of change at once. Hopefully you will all come along for the journey but I've realized that blogging, if it's going to take time away from my family and my writing, it needs to be something I enjoy, and feeling like I have to post sucks the enjoyment out of it. Thanks to everyone who reads and comments and to those who read but never comment. It's been an interesting experience and I am looking forward to the changes that the rest of 2012 will bring for me, my family and this blog.