Why it takes me an hour to make one card...

Alternate title: Crafter OCD

I'm in lockdown mode, trying to get things made for a craftshow I'm doing on the 23rd. I haven't done a craft show in almost two years and I'm in a slight panic. The whole "how much do I need to bring?"

"what if its too much?"

"what if its not enough?"

and of course "what if I don't sell one stinking thing..."

I'll be glad for the 24th to come. ...hopefully with a few dollars in my pocket. We'll see.

So my goal is to make an item or two each day ...to avoid the ever famous 'up till 2am trying to crank out anything and everything'. Its not good. Its not fun. There's not enough coffee the next morning to compensate.

So, this morning I sat down to make a card. Over an hour later (shut up...I know) this is what I have:

Ok, NOW....the issue of the yellow flower. Do I need it? Should I leave it off? Or should I put it here?

or here....

or maybe here....

what about here....

or....leave it the heck alone, set it in the done pile, and call it a day. For the record, I will be mulling this over while I'm at work tonite. It will bother me until I come to a decision. (and for the heck of it, tell me if you have a preference, because at this point, I've looked at it too long and can't 'see' it anymore, thus why I'm setting it aside for now)

In more constructive efforts, we have:

Another card (not thrilled with it either...too much white on the front...not sure what to do about that)

Quilt top, while not my style, I am awfully darn happy with how it turned out. It measures about 30"x40"...now to quilt the darn thing.

This one is still drying, so I haven't done a WPI count or official yardage, but its around 190 I'm guessing after its bath. The colors are SOOO pretty if I do say so myself (and nicer IRL of course) Its 100% merino, which pretty much makes me want to eat it for lunch.

Still a WIP -

Eddie's fingerless gloves/foldover mittens. Yeah, not for the craft show. But of utmost importance since its been a tad chilly in the mornings when he's doing his papers. I think he'd rather not wait until the end of november for these suckers.

And my latest 'only a crafter would understand' project:

A hundred and fifty-some yards of laceweight shetland wool. There are 3 more balls to be skeined/washed/dried, so I'm thinking I'll have about 600ish yards of this when I'm done.

Oh, where'd it come from? Here...

For those of you who aren't following....I bought the vest for $2 at the salvation army, cut the top off above the armpits (as I was taking it apart I realized the armholes are cut and sewn, which makes the top useless for unraveling, but still good for felting) and unravelled the bottom half.

Why do that? Well...because I wanted to? I wish I had a more logical answer than that, but that's all I've got. What can I say? :)

Andd Zach's 'new' rainboots. Which he loves. And wears constantly. Works for me.

(the fabric beside him is paired up for new cosmetic bags...I'm almost positive anyway)

FINISHED!

Huh, there's a word I don't seem to use often! ;) But turkey feathers (turkey feathers'?) "finish what you have" challenge has motivated me to finish the pile of "WIP"s. I also finished a few washcloths, and a scarf that I have no use for. (why did I make it? I liked the yarn. *shrug*)

So...at any rate, my "things to finish" pile is smaller. Which is good, because my "things to start" pile is mounting. Oh, and someone pointed out that Christmas is three months from TODAY.


I'll pause here, I know that probably made you feel a bit shaky and dizzy.











Deep breath - Better? Ok!

Yeah, scary thought! Because in my crafty brain, I can make Christmas gifts for everyone on my list!! And I can. If I start January 1st. Hm. Might be cutting it a bit close this year ;)

I've got plans for baby blankets, socks, hats, embroidery items, scrapbook stuff, you name it. And 3 months to get it all done. If nothing else it will be amusing for you all to follow along and watch me lose my mind before admitting defeat on December 20th, and making a late night dash to Old Navy for gift cards! =) Oh, it'll be great!

Having said that, I can comfort myself temporarily in the fact that I FINISHED this 'quilt'! WOOHOO! My first, finished, quilted, binded (bound) quilt! No small victory!

The downside? uh...its too small. Way too small. Not done correctly, FULL of mistakes, AND I noticed a side is already coming apart at the binding - which I feared might happen, if you saw it when I was sewing it on - but I'm a pro at denial, and hoped it would work. ...it did not.

So, what was supposed to be a baby quilt for my nephew - who I claim is due ANY day, she's due the first week of October but I'm putting money on getting a phone call by the end of next week - it came out so awful that I'm keeping it, and making him a new one.

Well, I hope. (refer to baby prediction above)

See, if I hang it on the wall, it doesn't look bad. If you stand far away, it doesn't look bad. If you held it in your hands, and showed anyone who has made a quilt, they would suffocate and die from a vicious fit of laughter that left them unable to catch their breath. And I wouldn't want that on my conscience.

But here are the pictures, because after all, from far away, its still cute! :)

So then, I realized I can't get a good 'full shot'. I asked my trusty assistant to help!

"Wait! Zach, you need to stand still!"

That's the face that leads to trouble.

See how big it looks when a 3 year old holds it? Its downright huge!

Oh. Maybe not.

And he's all for helping, but there was a game on, so don't expect him to look at you.

So there it is. all 20.5" of it. Hopefully "Kayden Quilt V. 2.0" goes better!

Sleepy Progress

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3: Sleep. Goodnight, my contacts are LITERALLY sticking to my eyes.

P.S. Don't check my work, they don't line up, its not even totally straight. You know those people who are self-taught, and its just mind-boggling because their work is amazing and flawless? The kind that leave you wondering how they took to it so naturally?

....I'm not one of those people.

=)