Use it up

My primary focus in choosing the word deliberate as my word of the year was finishing up craft projects and not buying new craft supplies without a specific purpose. I have meditated on this old proverb for several years, and want to incorporate it more into my habits (and purchases).

Actually, I am really dying to cross stitch it as some sort of sampler, but that doesn't help my myriad of unfinished projects, does it? Maybe it will be a reward for me, when I finish up all of my current works in progress.

Here are reports on my progress from three different craft fronts.

Knitting Over the holiday break, I knitted four hats! One for my son, one for my niece, and two because I had yarn without a purpose and a 14+ hour round trip to my sister-in-law's house for Christmas. I also tried to continue knitting a second sock that was about 58% done, but for the life of me I could not figure out where I left off in the instructions or how to make it the same as the first one. I unravelled it to a point where I thought I knew what was going on, knit about 2 more inches on it, and then unravelled the whole thing because I still wasn't satisfied! I thought about just starting over, but then I wasn't sure I had followed the directions exactly on the first sock, so I unravelled a perfectly completed sock! What can I say? Perfectionism and procrastination are conjoined twins in my world. So now I have two balls of yarn rolled, ready for me to learn to knit two socks at one time... eventually...

Cross Stitch I have so many projects pinned, but before starting ANY of them, I am going to finish what I have already started. (cringe) You can't unravel cross-stitch like socks with the freedom to start over, so I've got my work cut out for me. I know for a fact that I'm still holding on to a project that I started in high school, and one from when I bought my first house almost 20 years ago. Both of those projects were specific to match a room or theme that no longer exists in my life, so I may give myself the grace to part with them.

One work in progress was a sampler that I intended to incorporate into a pillow cover. I am proud to report that all the work from the second zig-zag line down has been completed in the last week! I found that I had used up the light gold thread that I was using, so I still need to go back and fill in a few spots. (purchase- one skein of embroidery floss for a specific project)

Sewing This is the worst of it, y'all. I want/need to make new covers for my living room couch pillows, and a valence for my kitchen. I don't have the right fabrics for these projects, but am allowing myself to purchase them if I find what I need at a reasonable price. The first project on my list to tackle was a requested Superman bib for my nephew's first birthday party. Being the mom of boys, I had a lot of superhero fabric in my stash, but apparently I gave it all away in my pre-moving destash of 2015. 

A craft/fabric store like JoAnn's is to me like a liquor store is to an alcoholic: a huge temptation-fest with the capactity for things to go very wrong, very quickly. But I had to buy Superman fabric for the bib, so off to the store I went. I petted lots of fabrics. I told lots of fabrics they were lovely. But in the end, I walked out with only Superman fabric (just a bit more than what I needed for the bib, but it was justified!) and a remnant fabric that will become couch pillows. Everything else for the two bibs- as well as the matching skirt I made for my niece- came from my stash. Use it up, indeed!