Holding Myself Accountable

You won't probably have noticed it, but a few weeks ago I added another section to the right hand column to keep track of my needlework projects. Which I am ridiculously bad about not finishing. I desperately need to either re-commit and finish them or to let myself off the hook and get rid of them. Keeping track of my book reading seems to have made me hang in and finish a few I might not otherwise have done, so I thought I'd try using this blog to push me on my projects a bit. The only positive I can report so far is that at least I've not put these aside and started anything else! Which is definitely progress. So, my three current projects are:

Knitting a Child's Sweater

This cheeky little chappie is from a brilliant knitting book called Stitch 'n Bitch Superstar Knitting by Debbie Stoller. Not only does she include quite a few patterns I would consider trying, she actually explains how to make up your own pattern for a garment. Way out of my league just now, but that made this book irresistible. I'm knitting the jumper without all the button-on animals, and it's the second or third one I've done. It's just challenging enough to be interesting, but still simple enough to be relaxing, if that makes any sense. I knit these jumpers for children in Nigeria along with a few dozen other ladies at Age UK in Whitley Bay. The local Rotary collects donated yarns of all types and these ladies knit it into everything baby related you could think of. I'm nowhere as good at knitting as they are, and not likely to ever be, but I do enjoy being associated with such a wealth of experience and skill. I'm still working through my own stash of yarn that has come to me over the years and only take yarn from them when I can't match something from my collection. My current sweater is purple and all that remains is to stitch it together. I'll be sure to show it to you when it's done - warts and all!

Patchwork Notebook Cover

This is not likely to end up being a notebook cover, owing to the fabrics I used being way too bulky; but I don't mind so long as the work I've done gets used for something - most likely a tote bag, as that seems to be the go-to item that brings the most satisfaction. I wanted to play with an idea I had for using scraps. Scraps are becoming the bane of my existence owing to my sense of stewardship (which sounds so much more noble than pack-rattery). Anyhow, these are the strips that were left after I washed away the paper backing, after being unable to throw away several bags of the stuff from processing a stack of interior designer fabric sample books. There is something really seductive about the colours and textures of these fabrics even though they aren't ones I would choose for myself. Anyhow, I tried weaving the narrow strips and then cross-stitching over the joins and I liked the outcome. When it becomes a finished project, I show you whatever it turns out to be.

These colours are pale green and gold with yellow and light green thread, but the sky is so dull today even full 'daylight' makes everything look grey.

Sew Myself a Piece of Clothing

I've selected View E, in the lower right corner. I really like princess seams but of course they are a complication I could have done without. I've started making this from beige muslin fabric which lined some curtains in its previous life.  That should tell me if my shoulder adjustments are working and will introduce me to all the techniques used in the pattern so I'll hopefully be less likely to mess up some 'real' fabric.  I've hit a snag in that I've apparently put some of the pieces together wrong, but that is what comes from sewing by hand in front of the TV. I shall have to give over some serious attention to figure out where I went wrong. I expect to be swearing when I get to the buttonholes, but there is nothing for it but to get on and learn how...

If you have a blog, do you ever use it to make yourself do something?