A Little of a Lot

I've been doing little bits of a lot of different things lately -- which doesn't add up to much progress in any one area!

Now and then I sit down at the loom to work on my weaving project for the Three Random Colour guild challenge. I finally managed to get this infinity scarf off the loom, fringes twisted, wet finished, and now hanging to dry. It will get a pressing and a final trim of the fringe tomorrow. The warp left on the loom still has enough length left for a second coordinating project though.

I've done a little knitting on my granddaughter's sweater. The pockets are knitted now but some sewing on one of them still needs attention. The button bands are also complete. I have stalled on the sleeves though. I'm just really not in the mood for knitting and only occasionally force myself to pick it up.

I've been getting a surprising amount of enjoyment out of simpler things lately. Like mending the worn knees of my son's work jeans.

During the patching a little Boro stitching may have spontaneously happened. He doesn't seem to mind. In real life his black work jeans are much darker than they appear here so the stitching isn't so noticable. 

Inspired by the success of patching his jeans I picked up a really inexpensive pair of artificially distressed and ripped jeans from Winners. My intent is to play around with doing some decorative Boro on them. I might add additional embroidery or other embellishment as well, as the mood strikes. 

What I didn't take into consideration is that the "skinny" jeans have a lot of stretch to them and I'll have to adapt my method so that even once stitched they will still retain their ability to expand and contract. I'm using a doubled piece of stretch jersey for the patch and I'm stretching both it and the jeans in an embroidery hoop, which is not traditional for Boro, which is usually just hand held. 

And finally I DO have one finish! The fabric for this simple v-neck t-shirt with 3/4 sleeves has been cut out and laying in a heap in my sewing room for months. I finally got around to sewing it up today. I've made this pattern, #2805 Women's T-Shirts, by Jalie before and it always turns out great. 

Oh! I nearly forgot to include the cross-stitching! I've been doing about an hour's worth on the train picture every morning as I have my coffee. No progress photo of that though, it's very slow going and updates will be few and far between. 

Do You See What I See?

This little book follows a big, but puzzling trend.

If you happen to shop at book stores, department stores, or craft stores, you can't help but notice the huge on trend "thing" that adult colouring books have become. I must admit, I don't really get it!

I have always had plenty of interesting, creative hobbies, and not enough time to enjoy them all, therefor colouring just has no pull for me. Looking through it I do find that some of the pages might work well as inspiration for detailed embroidery. I'm not likely to actually DO that though so off it goes!

My eldest daughter has more time for such things, and finds colouring relaxing, so I'll be passing this book, "Bliss Christmas Coloring Book: Your Passport to Calm", on to her.

This book was provided by Dover Publications Inc. that I might give an honest review. I receive no further compensation. The Amazon.com link is only for your convenience.

Saturday Evening Post-ers

This book delivers 30 ready-to-frame reprints of classic Saturday Evening Post holiday covers spanning the years from 1913 - 1960. Although many of the prints have an endearing Rockwell feel to them only three are actually Norman Rockwell reprints. Six of the reprints are of works by J.C. Leyendecker, while four are by George Hughes, three each by Richard Sargent and Stevan Dohanos as well as eleven others by various artists.

All are easy to pull from the book, ready to be framed. I'm considering having my favourites coil-bound flip chart style so that I can display them during the holiday season, choosing a new print for each day, much like an advent calendar.

The remainder of the book is dedicated to adult colouring book enthusiasts. Each of the 30 Saturday Evening Post reprints is presented as a line drawing, ready to colour. With so many other hobbies consuming my time, and grandchildren too young for so much detailed colouring, I'll likely give these pages away.

Dover Publications provided this book, "The Saturday Evening Post Christmas Treasury" at no charge, that I might give an honest review. I receive no further compensation and the link I have provided here is just for your convenience. 

Not Child's Play!

Well this one certainly hasn't turned out to be "easy-to-make", and I certainly wouldn't classify it as a "holiday activity for the whole family" as stated in the blurb on the back cover of, "Cut & Assemble Santa's Workshop". Nor would I suggest that it "would make a charming keepsake decoration", since a paper model would be difficult to store safely from one year to the next.

But despite the very misleading information in the blurb, I do think this publication, and the resulting 3D paper model of Santa's Workshop, would make a fun holiday activity for a very patient adult or teen that has a lot of time on their hands, good eyesight, and a steady hand, and also happens to love paper craft models. 

I just don't happen to be that person.

This is the first of three Christmas themed books I have received at no charge from Dover Publications Inc. in exchange for my honest review. The link I provided here is solely for my readers convenience as, beyond the free book, I get no further compensation.

Tree's Up

Ben got his tree up yesterday.

I wish mine was as simple to arrange. Maybe I'll get to that one later today.