The Blanket of Many Stitches

Here is the link to The Blanket of Many Stitches, Cascade's MKAL 2021-2022. Every two weeks, participants received three stitch patterns to work on. Most pattern sections were 8-12 rows in height, the total number of stitches on the blanket was 200, the yarn was worsted weight.  Most people who participated and posted on the Facebook page dedicated to this project used 4 colors of yarn throughout. I used one and only skipped the two pattern sections that required two colors within that section. I substituted a stitch pattern of my own and am happy with the result. I haven't measured the blanket, but it is definitely long enough! 

Lunar New Year, Sympathy, and other card components

January didn't produce as much as I had hoped, craft-wise, but if I look at the experimenting that I did with paper arts and the continued knitting, I haven't done badly. 

Sympathy cards are always difficult if you are making them when you need them. Not only do you feel a time crunch, but you are also emotionally involved which can delay or derail your creativity. I made this one using Gina K's Friendly Silhouettes which were from an online class where she was a guest instructor. There are other tree stamps that are similar. 

Playing with products produced this tree, a new purchase because it was on sale and I liked the layers of the Sizzix die set called Layered Christmas Tree, number 664712. I used white glitter paper for the snow and Stickles for the ornaments. 

A Jennifer McGuire video inspired me to apply ink to a stencil and run the stencil and paper through a die cutting machine as if you were embossing the paper. The embossing effort didn't go well due to user error while I become familiar with how my new machine works. This stencil, Bold Layering Stencils by Gina K would normally produce colored flowers on white paper or a colored paper of your choice which might limit the colors of ink you could use for the flowers. Yellow ink, for instance, over blue card stock would probably give you a green flower that was not your intention. Here is the link to Jennifer McGuire's Stencil Ink Press Technique

February 1st was the start of the Lunar New Year. I made this card for my neighbor, welcoming the Year of the Tiger. I used gold ink on red cardstock and a stencil called Lunar Lanterns by Clearly Besotted. The playful tiger images were prints that I cut and adhered inside and out. 

Birthdays, Blogging, and Blahs

The three weeks since my last post have flown. So much for my idea of posting more regularly. Once upon a time, blogging was a social outlet. I followed people and they followed me. Most of them aren't blogging now, some have died, and I suspect others have also. Instagram just isn't my fave and frankly, I seem to be too busy to even keep up with this most weeks. This isn't good or bad, it is just the way things go. 

The blahs aren't about blogging, it is just winter-itis with a heaping layer of pandemic fatigue thrown into the mix. Covid marches on, affecting many people, including some close to my heart. The good news is that they have all been vaccinated and their cases have been mild. I get out of the house but I don't go just anywhere, and I do wear a mask in most public situations whether the store or event mandates it or not. 

Birthdays....ahh...finally something fun to talk about. My younger son had one and loved his card shown here. A friend that I've known since kindergarten has a birthday at the end of this week. I made this card for her, using the Simon Says Stamp embossing folder Magnolia Branches. Coloring was done with Copic Markers, and the birthday sentiment was a Simon Says Stamp die. 

I recently made the same card in shades of pink with additional blossoms made from the Simon Says Stamp die Magnolia Blossom. The second photo shows the dimension of the additional flowers.

I am doing much better at keeping up with my journaling, just a few lines about the day done in what is sold as a planner. Each day is a column. My Sprocket photo printer creates the perfect size photos for those columns in portrait orientation. Last year I used a "serious journal" and my writing stopped being upbeat. While I do write for me, if someone reads the journals after I'm gone, I'd rather reflect on the positive things in my life and show how much I have always loved them. I use stickers and colorful pens, especially on days where there isn't much to say or that the sticker simply says it all. This is an intentionally poor photo as my son doesn't like his photos being shared (even if he is cute!). 

Impossible Box and Art Impressions' Beauty in Progress

The woman who cuts my hair shares my interests in paper crafts and knitting. I often take something with me to show her, and lately, I've been placing her payment inside a card or other paper creation.  This week she will be getting an Impossible Box which holds a container of Ice Cubes gum.

The directions, including a video for this box, can be found at The Paper Pixie.  

I haven't decided yet if this image, Beauty in Progress, from Art Impressions, will become the front of a card or perhaps go in a plastic easel frame. 

Not many sit under a dryer like that anymore, but we do remember them. Coloring was done in Copic markers and some Prisma Color pencils. 

Christmas Scrapbook Pages

It is time to get back into scrapbooking. My grandson is 11, my granddaughter is 6. I have more pages done for him, not simply because he is older but events in my life interrupted the joy and available time to scrapbook. Honestly, scrapbooking has never been my primary hobby, but I do enjoy the pages when they are done. 

The papers and embellishments were sold as a kit at Remember When? Scrapbooking. The print papers and embellishments are from Doodlebug. 

 

Sun and Moon Birthday Card

This is a birthday card for my younger son's upcoming birthday. It is directly taken from Shari Carroll's card (here), the only changes being the paper used for stamping the sun and moon, stars and greeting coming from different sources, and because I didn't have a stencil for the sun rays (for ink blending), I cut my own mask from scrap paper to create them. 

New Year....new enthusiasm?

I hate to think of myself as being unwilling to change. I've certainly adapted to changes to changes I never would have chosen, but when it comes to social media, I can still be in control, so here I am. I'm not an Instagram gal and that is unlikely to change. 

I have two Facebook accounts, but not for nefarious reasons. If I want to share a creation with other makers and not spoil the surprise for someone who might be the recipient of the sweater or card, that is the place where I will post. Also, when the world on FB gets ugly as it sometimes does, I can avoid it all by logging into my second account where only craft groups exist. 

Writing this is mostly talking to myself but I'm going to attempt to share photos of projects here in case someone needs inspiration for a project. 

I'm going to start 2022 with this which I made on New Year's Eve. I regret that I don't know where I saw this, but the woman who shared her photo said the idea was not originally hers, she saw it on Ravelry. Click here for the link to Knitted Lights by Leila Raven  I ordered the 66-foot spool of fairy lights from Amazon and had them the following day. The needles are size 11 needles that I seldom use (plus I have another style of size 11 needles), and the black board is a message board that I wasn't using. The needles are held in place with two small, clear Command (brand) hooks. 

Not the best photo, but you get an idea of size:

This is simply a stockinette stitch but obviously, rather loose. 

Here it is, unlit. The lights plug into a USB port or an electrical outlet. There is a remote to turn them on and off, and they can fade and resume brightness or flash, neither of which will be used often, if at all.

 

The lights cost $16.99 as of December 2021. It was fun to do and while not difficult, it took longer than knitting with yarn. Still, I finished this in an evening and I think it is a fun accent when lit.