Day 2: I haven’t started my project yet what with the family gatherings coming Friday and my delayed finishing of the yellow blanket BUT I do know where my supplies are for the countdown calendar and I am settling on a final design-to-try for my first attempt that will happen Saturday or Sunday.
2 Likes
Day 3: I haven’t started mine either …
I have been thinking of where I keep my Christmas UFOs / WIPs, but I’ve not actually searched for them yet. I suddenly remembered I had bought some new patterns for Christmas too. I guess I’ll need to do plenty of stitching!
I have the dumbest reason for not crafting. After a few long days at work, I wanted to veg out on the sofa, not sit up at my desk. We tried to install a fan last week, but had to return it to the shop because it was damaged. A new one is on the way, but we’d taken the light fixture off already so now there’s no light in that corner, until the fan arrives 
Tomorrow is a short day (lots of overtime from earlier this week) and it’s wfh so hopefully I’ll get started properly.
5 Likes
I don’t think that’s a poor reason to take an evening off of Doing Stuff. You worked a ton this week and battled home improvement misadventure with added cranky customer service experiences- if you had tried forcing some craft time you may well have frustrated yourself with silly mistakes and ended up with nothing new to show for your mental energy spent.
These first days are “warm up” days anyway, right? Just remembering where we’ve stashed Christmas supplies is good enough to be considered on-track.
5 Likes
You’re right, I have done a lot of unpicking stitches recently and that would make me even crankier than not stitching at all. First I have to finish up a late Mother’s Day gift for my mom (I haven’t seen her since before Mother’s Day, I figured I had plenty of time to make a fabric basket for the local foods I’m giving her, but now we’re meeting tomorrow 
) After that I’m ready to get started for Christmas this weekend!
3 Likes
The post about a prize was around post 1150 if that helps.
3 Likes
I gathered supplies tonight and one or two hours on the sewing machine would result in a lot of finishes:
Potholder fabric and batting
Way more semi-finished ornaments than I thought, for some I’ve even already picked backing fabric and ribbon.
I do need to finish 1,5 Homer but I remember it’s a quick stitch. That green fabric was from someone else’s stash btw, sat in my drawer for years until someone on LC showed off that Homer pattern.
6 Likes
I’m still working on this hat. But, I’m going to have to put it aside as soon as I get the yarn I ordered for a baby blanket. My nephew and his wife are due with their first child in late fall, but I just found out her shower is in a month! I thought I’d have until at least September.
6 Likes
You’ll have to do some high speed knitting on the baby blanket, but you’re a fast knitter, I think you can do it!
I like the yarn you’re using for the hat, is it a Musselburgh again?
I finished two potholders today, my first Christmas craft is officially done 
3 Likes
Thanks! It is another Musselburgh, and the yarns are a speckled hand-dyed sock yarn and a black lace-weight alpaca-silk. My strategy for destashing my random skeins is knitting hats (and various cold weather accessories) for gifts. Michigan winters are awful, so everyone appreciates a warm hat.
2 Likes
Day 8: it’s hot and muggy in my non-air conditioned main floor. Christmas crafting might help trick my brain into thinking that I am not melting? Maybe? Haha
I just finished the August baby gift blanket this morning. I do have a stuffed animal to make to go with it so I’m waffling between starting the item for this -along or powering through the August gift first. I have been (over)thinking the Christmas craft- what style and materials, where will it be displayed (hence what is an appropriate size) and what I might want to put in the pockets to decide on a good size for them. So it’s on my mind, if not my craft table.
4 Likes
It’s tough to even move when it is this hot outside! I swear it is hotter in PA than it was in NC, but, it seems our former city was pretty damaged by Tropical Storm Chantal, so we are lucky to be away from there.
We are having our garage renovated next week so I am busy clearing and organizing to make room and have the least amount of clean up. I really need to go through all of the Christmas and Halloween decor to see what I want to keep and what I need.
I hardly decorated at all last year (hello, taking care of hubby, moving in, renovations, etc. etc.), but with family here, I feel like I want to make a better effort.
Short list:
revitalize front door wreath (we are also getting a new front door next week!)
Christmas tree skirt for main tree in bay window
tiny wreaths to go around all the tealights and candles
garland for entryway
I would love to make advent calendars for the little ones, but not sure I can make that happen this year.
Thinking cool thoughts for you!
4 Likes
Sounds like a fun list! Maybe you can even repurpose some of the decoration you already have.
1 Like
Yes, I have most of the supplies but just need to update a bit and replace damaged or worn out ornaments and ribbons.
I also found a Christmas tablecloth. It is a square one but I don’t have any square tables any more. I am thinking about turning it into a Christmas tree skirt or maybe some nice simple placemats.
2 Likes
Opening this kit I got a while back is my birthday present for myself. I know I don’t really need kits, I’ve got plenty of stash, but kits always feel like presents.
7 Likes
Kits DO feel like presents. Happy birthday! 
I was thinking about your comment about cards and wondered- do you have any previous year’s saved as mementos? I have a few cards/letters from relatives who have passed and I know what you mean about seeing familiar handwriting. If you have a card from the past you could set it out as birthday decorations to have that touch brought back into the day.
3 Likes
New craft supplies are the best gift - that design is so charming, too!
1 Like
Great idea! I have them in my sentimental box in the attic. There’s even a large envelope in it with handmade cards I sent my favourite grandma. After she died we found out she kept them (not just mine, for all the grandkids) .
3 Likes
Turns out I was pretty badly aenemic, so I had an IV bag of iron today and now I’ll have all the energy for the second half of Christmas in July.
@AntBee have you made any decisions yet about your craft?
7 Likes
I’m glad they have offered you some solution to your fatigue!
For my countdown I have 2 I wanted to make so I will do the shorter one first- it’s a 12 days of Christmas counter. I also want to do a traditional countdown to Christmas day one, but as that’s twice as much I’ll do the smaller one first to muck about with ideas. I want to do it in fabric, to validate my fabric stash’s existence, but if I can’t work it out right I can revert to yarn crafting.
I’m still not 100% sure where it will be displayed, so that needs deciding to determine finished size. I’m away from home until Wednesday night so I’m working on the August baby gift until then.
4 Likes
Looks beautiful there, hope you had a fun trip!
I’ve been working on my birthday kit and I still haven’t touched the ornaments I was going to finish. In the money saving thread, DIY framing was mentioned, and it reminded me that I still have a frame and a finished Christmas stitch from years ago lying around. I’m really running out of excuses, other than that I really don’t like framing stitched pieces. It needs to be done this month. I should also write down the size of frame I need for this new sampler for my next thrift store trip. I almost always get my frames there, handmade solid wood frames (the kind that old people used to have their wedding pictures in) only cost €1 or €2 there, and they’re easy to paint.
8 Likes