Tomorrow's Project

 

Tomorrow, at a retirement home craft group, we'll be making bookmarks out of cardboard and tapestry wool.  I browsed Pinterest and found various pins that will help me prepare, many of them just pictures with no instructions. I've bought some chenille needles, no 18, that I think will be easy to use and sharp enough to pierce the cardboard.  The tapestry wool was donated. 

The Basket Looks Better

 

The basket is fuller, so I'm leaving puppets for now and working on jewellery bags again. We're back to the schedule of 30 bags in the last week of the month. The lady who made the bags before me was a quilter. I'm still following her instructions and tips, such as using a cardboard gauge when pressing the hem:

Refilling The Basket

 

Someone who bought a puppet at the last market wants three more. I also need puppets for the next market. So I'm working on refilling the basket. I'm not doing my favourite two-at-a-time method because I need as much variety as possible. 

Detour

 

I'm still tatting, but I took a quick detour from the Spring doily to tat a bookmark as a birthday gift for a friend. This is Jane Eborall's pattern, Flowery SCMR bookmark. 

Round 11

 

Round 11 is done at last. It took longer than it should have because I kept making mistakes. I had to use every trick in the book - untat, snip rings not chains, false CTM  - thanks muskaan for reminding me about false CTM. Anyway, it is now done and blocked. I plan to do one more round and then stop. 

Half Way

 

I'd forgotten how little work I'd done round 11 of  the Spring doily before I put the project on hold.  Anyway,  I've made some progress and reached half way. I put the doily on the grid of the cutting pad to make sure that half the number of flower motifs reached half way round the circle. I think it's fine. 

Ready For Summer

 

I've finished sewing the dress for me, all set to wear it as the weather warms up. I'm not good at taking selfies, so I didn't model it, sorry Stephanie! 

For Me

 I've completed all orders, yay, so I have time to do some of my own projects. I've tatted a bit more of round 11 of the Spring doily and I'm busy sewing myself a dress. Of course, I still have obligations like preparing a craft project every week, but there are enough hours and energy left to do something personal. 

Ten Years Later

 

The sheets that I sewed ten years ago have collapsed in a heap. I bought a set of sheets and pillowcases in 100% cotton. I like the idea of 100% cotton, but when I washed them, they were wrinkled and clearly in need of ironing. Hmm. My life is too short to iron sheets. So I bought polycotton fabric and sewed my own. It took a bit of time and effort, of course, but will save me both in the long run. The fabric cost about half what the bought set cost; I think that even with my labour I'm ahead financially. 

Oops, make that eleven and a half years later. 

Waffling

 I sold six puppets at the market on Saturday. I'll need to refill the puppet basket before the next market, in a month's time. I didn't sell any knitwear, which wasn't surprising because our weather is warming up rapidly. 

I finished crocheting my waffle stitch knee rug:

I really enjoyed making it, it's perfect for working at a knit'n'natter session, or at the market. So I thought I'd make another one. I bought some yarn on Friday, called Carnival, 80% acrylic and 20% wool, made in Turkey. 

It turns out to be a really bad choice for the job! The short, high contrast colour changes give a scrambled look that shows off neither the waffle stitch nor the yarn to advantage. I talked to the owner of the yarn shop at the market on Saturday and she said the yarn looks better knitted. I considered knitting a cardigan instead, but the wool is quite harsh to the touch, so I don't think it'll make a comfortable garment. I've decided to carry on regardless:

For Market

 

I've spun, dyed and wound two skeins of wool and made four puppets for Saturday's market. Monkey and crocodile are the most popular puppets, so I had to make sure I had those! I have another four puppets left in stock, so that should be alright. I'm going to be sharing a table this month, so I can afford to be a bit skimpy.