What I'm working on:
A knitted scarf for my boyfreind. Per request. Wool ease. Oxford Grey. Garter stitch.

What I'm excited about (i.e. what I'm not working on but plotting plotting)

Joanne's had one of their excellent .99 cent patterns sales. I stocked up on all of the Regency/empire costumes. I was trembling in the checkout line. I felt as if I was stealing! Tommorow they have a sale on 45" bleached muslin. I'm going to buy fifteen yards! (The store is going to be so hectic. Better eat my wheaties. Or get there early. Day after Thanksgiving and all.

I'm going to make a Jane Austen inspired summer wardrobe with lot's of lovely embroidered muslin dresses. Greek key motif.
It gets hot here in Vegas and I think that'll be a great solution. I'm especially excited about the Regency hairstyles I'm going to wear. (My hair will be long enough by May)

So how about all of you? What's the project you have going right now, and what's your next inspiration?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mittens!

just finished a scarf. making mittens to match so they'll all go w/ my new coat.

yay!

glitter grrl,
do you think you could give me some tips on how to knit mittens?

or any sites with tips?

thanks!

*PnP*

I'm decoupaging an old wooden box a long dead uncle made for me years ago. He left it unpainted, because I was really into painting at the time. I painted it eggshell, then took a Tenniel illo from Alice in Wonderland and drafted that onto the top, painted it, wore it out, then covered the top in cotton batting and made a cushioned seat of it with applique of birds and flowers and couched embroidery vines. Then that wore out and I was too busy and just took off the seat and painted the whole thing white.

So it's been sitting empty for two years now waiting for time and inspiration.

I have these great botanical illos of flora that are pretty old looking. I intend to tea dye them, char the edges and decoupage them onto a taupe and ivory sponged background.

And I am rewiring two different looking glass end table/lamps, basically a brass pole lamp with a glass table at the right height. I have to look through my lampshade frame selection to find two that will complement each other as the lamps do. Those I will covery in ivory brocade and ivory fringe, most likely.

I'm really getting partial to any light fixture having two or more lamps in it because it's easier to adapt for a few hours to one missing bulb than to have a completely useless fixture. Since I am going to rewire anyway, I might as well convert to two lower wattage bulbs instead of one.

One of the lamps has an ivory enamelled pole for part of it. I may either replace it with some interesting brass, or paint some kind of motif on it. Not sure yet. Have to be done with the hardware part of it before I move though.

Beth

this year i want to make holiday presents for every single one of my friends, so getting ideas is kind of tricky. if any one wants to share their wealth of ideas with me, feel free! currently i'm making pillows that are in the shape of arms and legs (an idea stolen from a coworker of my mother), a clock made of a circular mirror with toy frogs as the numbers, and a string of christmas lights with something fun on them, like doll heads or such. my friend gave me the idea of rigging up pretty boxes with the motors of music boxes inside to make fancy gina-ized music boxes, but i've yet to figure out exactly how i'm going to do that.
love,
gina

i have to get working on Christmas gifts... yikes. but right now, i'm working on Christmas craft sale stuff... I'm making Nutcracker ornaments. It started out just as felt dresses, but when I saw the tulle at the fabric store, my roommate and I couldn't resist... so now i'm making tonnes of little ball gowns/ballet dresses and little wire hangers to hang them from - bright felt bodices and even brighter skirts... I'm also making little felt purses, and she's doing pears and plums and little eggs. oh, and we're doing birds... they're all from non-traditional colours and they have little beads and blanket stitch. they're so cute.

I'm crocheting a giant grey fluffy shawl for my stepmom. I found some yarn in my attic from the 70's or so, and found a really cool vintage pattern to make a shawl online. I'm praying I don't screw it up, or give up on it cuz I get bored & just make her something else (Sometimes I hate being a Gemini.... I rarely get things done...)

*Em.

I'm worse than a Gemini. A Cancer with Aries moon. I get halfway through something and then tear it apart and try to make it into something else. My crafty sides are at war with each other.

Everyone's responses have been so inspiring. I definitely want to try decoupage. Glass etching cream looks fun too. And fabric etch! the stuff that makes devore velvet!

Still working on the scarf though. And it's still in scarf form!

i have so much to do right now, its not even funny.
first of all, my winter ball dress, that im also handing in for art/design class. its going to be long, blackless, halterneck, out of metallic lavender fabric, and it will drag on the ground behind me and have a mosaic on that part made out of old and smashed cds. right now im creating and designing the pattern.
also im working on this huge lino block on top of an acrylic painting, the theme is the increasing teenage violence in the states.
im also working on a lomography (does anyone else in here take lomo pictures? if u want to find out more about it, just search "lomo" through any search engine and u will find sites with artwork) when i was in paris a while ago, i took pictures of the tunnel under which princess di died under, and im creating a lomo wall with tons of my lomographies to tell the story of that.
im also about to finish some other acrylic paintings for school....
and this year im making my friends xmas presents. this includes pyjama pants, drink coasters, glittery glycerine soaps, purses and fun-furry muffs with sequins.

and all of this stuff has to be finished by xmas!!! plus i have exams in one week. and my major paper is due monday. í guess u could say im kinda stressed right now....!

2 baby blankets, a denim rug (which seems to be taking FOREVER!) and i'm thinking of plans for a rug for the baby's new room... ooh FUN!

Everbody's Christmas Presents!
cookies for my aunts and uncles
decorated pic. frames & homemade candles for mom
garden set in decorated flower pot for grandma
tea basket for granny

all wrapped in a paper grocery bag w/raffia ribbons and stamped w/ a red candy cane design-i have resolved never to buy wrapping paper or ribbons again! (if only i could get the whole family converted)

i want to learn how to knit after christmas is over

still lovin that tea!

i've got a mitten (charcoal grey wool, EZ's Mitered Mitten concept) on the needles for my friend who is moving to Finland. have to finish it's mate before X-mas... also in knitting progress, the second slipper for her mom (who is my second mom) in "blue denim" Wool-Ease. i dont like working with acrylic, so progress is slow on that one.

there are a million things i would love to be knitting, but i really have to not start something new until i finish my holiday gifts. i think i'll try to knit a hat with a mohawk slot for my sister, and an ear-cozy band thing for my mom (wool with cashmere lining).

lying around my spinning wheel, though, are too many bags of wool... two and a half bobbins of magenta, to make a three-ply for a hat, a pound of dyed sock-wool, unspun, five pounds of raw fleece awaiting processing, the last bit of my lamb's fleece that needs to be washed so i can process it, the last few pounds of that brown Shetland... i think the day needs a few more hours.

stella

decoupage postcards! (I got my first pot of mod podge as a birthday gift and am soooo excited about its potential)

beading the edges of a patchwork scarf

making stretch bracelets for christmas gifts

I've just planted some rosemary, sage, parsley and garlic chive seedlings into four little pots I painted, and they go into a mini-window box. It's summer here, so they *should* grow heaps in time for Christmas, when I plan to give them to my culinary-type boyfriend. They're sprouting quite happily!

In the meantime I'm collecting little goodies to put into gift baskets for various hard-to-buy-for folks, and picking colours for when my mum repaints her house.

And I'm a Virgo, so I get extra-cranky when things don't turn out Just So. ;-)

applenut

(oh, btw, hello! *waves* I'm new.)

I'm making tiny puppets of my boyfriend and I to star on our christmas card this year, and appliqueing a rendition of Henry Avery's pirate flag to hang in my pirate-themed kitchen, right next to Blackbeard's. Although I might drop it and do Stede Bonnet's first instead because it's a bit more interesting... I'm so envious of some of your projects! I wish I had a sewing machine (yes, I know, you can do everything by hand, but I'm too impatient!)

gosh im working on so many things. i decided to make most of my gifts this year and i thought id save $ doing it. boy, was i wrong!!
i am going all out though. im so excited!!
for my beau im making a lamp, a clock, a pillow, a decopaged(sp) box with little things in it that he needs but never buys himself (deoderant, razors, etc)
im almost done the box and the pillow, then im gonna start on the clock and lamp.
for the women in my life (mom, sisters, friends)
im making bath kits: homemade lotions and potions
a bath pillow ( i cheated on this one and got it at the dollar store) and im also making soap.
ive started on the soap so far...
everyone is getting a pillow though. not to be confused with the bath pillow. hehe.
i have alot to do still.....

i agree that making everything gets to be too much. i thought i started early this year, but i still am in the process of:

finishing a baby blanket, two scarves, a shawl, and loads of bath products (teas, soaps, salts and scrubs)...

i hope i finish!

I am a get crafty person, especially a procrastinater, i want to work and make gifts for christmas except i don't have much time. I am a making a memory quilt for my grandmother, cow pillows for me, and a bunch of little things for my friends, for ideas see post "tiny christmas gifts" and so wish you all luck on your projects.

There's a dark teal blue cardigan sweater from fall Knitter's magazine (that's for me)

soft blue green arrow lace angora socks, one of the pair's been done for about 2 months now, and the the other one has an inch of ribbing that's been waiting for me to get a move on for about 2 weeks (possibly for me)

lavender wool v-neck, raglan sleeve sweater in the round for my friend's birthday present (her birthday was in october) still in the planning stages cause I need her measurements

soft beige-y brown cotton sweater for mom, just bought the yarn

light blue/green mix wool sweater for dad, duplicating the sweater my mom made for him over 30 years ago that is his absolute favorite sweater ever, even though he can no longer pick it up it's so holey and old.

sleeveless turtleneck to knit for 14 year old cousin

hat to knit for 20 year old cousin

shawl to knit for 30 year old cousin.

all before Christmas. Am I crazy or what?

Oh, and I have a quilt that I started in 1997 and I need to finish this year if it kills me.

I'd much rather be at home watcihng TV and knitting than at work, but something's got to pay for the yarn.
--Jen

i made four soaps last nite for xmas presents. i made them in celestial molds and they're orange with LOTS of gold glitter. very pretty. i also made beaded bracelets for my sisters and today i'm going to start sewing eye pillows and going to the antique store to look for teacups to make candles in...i think i'm going to try getting all my crafty presents done and then start in with the baking and candy making. i've never really made most of the recipies i'm going to try, so i hope they turn out...=)

~heather~

This weekend my friend Trista & I made dozens of little lip balms, salves (some with cute glitter) and bath salts for our Christmas gifts. It was so much fun!! Still to go are a scarf and a messenger bag for my brother, a scarf for my boyfriend, two dresses for my mom, and a bunch more lip balms. Well, I just learned to knit and I love it, love it, love it! I got a rad 1972 'Golden Hands' mag with funny projects in it, and one of them is the perfect scarf--garter stitch, big & wide--I'm going to do one in blue and orange stripes & the other in blue and brown.
So far I'm still making every one of my gifts... we'll see.
Susan

I'm hand quilting a quilt top that I won on ebay. It's a beautiful top from the 1950's -- you can see the photos at
>http://www.dollheads.com/craftsy.html

I'm also working on painting an old bubble 8 track radio that i got at the salvation army for $5 and covering it with glow in the dark stickers. :) There are photos of that (and all my current projects) on the abovementioned site, too :)

-faith

Your website is awesome, Faith!! I especially liked the story about your "field trip"...

Thanks Kick :)

-f

For holiday gifts:
-a knitted shopping bag for my grandfather who goes to the store every single day
-dishcloths for assorted family and friends
-a knitted cabled pillow for my dad

Unstarted, for holiday gifts:
-several more pairs of socks (the fair isle charts are done!)

For me, semipermanently on hold:
-a charcoal grey cabled pullover
-a lacy top (it'll be april till it's warm enough to wear it again anyway)
-a quilt (hi Jen, are we secretly the same person?)

Recently finished:
-several dishcloths, see above
-a scarf for a friend
-two pairs of socks
-my first pair of mitered mittens
-two tiny purses
-a crocheted sweater

I keep re-editing the holiday gift list, perhaps a craft in and of itself...