Summer's Over

I'm always a bit sad to see the end of summer. Partly because I know I will miss the warm weather, partly because the reminder of another season going by makes me think of all the things I wanted to accomplish in that time (and didn't get to). All in all, though, it was a great summer. I got to see fireworks on my anniversary, had out-of-state friends and family come to visit, and even managed to get everyone's schedules aligned for a weekend family getaway. I also got to craft a lot. Here's a few projects I completed to round out the summer:

This Good Folks fabric seemed just right for a colorful tiered skirt. (Easy tutorial here.) At first I wanted to make it for myself, but then I decided it would be more suitable for a younger friend of mine. She loves it! Ah, to be ten again, wearing a fun, twirly skirt!

I also worked on some zipper pencil pouches for the shop. Birdies are so sweet! I love both this paint-by-number bird fabric (Moda Uptown) and the Tufted Tweets line by Laurie Wisbrun.

Also discovered that amigurumi is a great craft for a road trip! Ever since I made my Ami Bunny she was waiting for a Mama; this second bun went together in just a couple hours (and fit so nicely into the car's cupholder). I'll have to remember to bring this kind of crochet project along next time we do a road trip; it was so satisfying to have something finished by the time we got home (and it kept me from being too sad about the vacation being over, too).

That's a couple more things off my project list, but I better get cracking to get some more done before the end of the year. The colder weather has got me back into the knitting groove, and I'm hoping to finish a quilt before the snow flies!

Bye, Summer. See ya next year.

From an Octopus's Garden

I've been on a bit of an octopus kick lately. First, during thing-a-day, I made these coasters out of Heather Ross Mendocino fabric.


Then, I returned to Amigurumi World to complete this crocheted octopus (I call him Otto.)


And just the other day, I broke out the Gocco to print these OctoChef recipe cards!


You can find them in the shop.

Projects, Finished and Un-

You know what I'm really good at? Starting projects. You know what I'm really bad at? Finishing them. I keep picking up more stuff to do when I have many things undone. This is not always a bad thing, as I tend to do small projects in between bigger ones, maybe to prove to myself that I can finish the big ones. Here's a few of my current projects, finished and not:

Just learned some amigurumi thanks to the super cute book Amigurumi World.

(Nowhere near as fancy as this guy does, but really fast and fun to do.)

Dishcloths are another fast project. Here's a geeky one I call the Tardishcloth (Time and Relative Dimensions in Suds).

Got the pattern on Ravelry.

Here's two more projects I'm determined to finish. My entrelac scarf with Noro yarn, started in the fall, hopefully done to wear sometime this winter! (I'm on my last skein, anyway.)

And a super-secret mystery project inspired by the hexes I was making. (No, it's not for the flower garden quilt that I am still working on. It's something else.)

Any guesses what it will turn out to be?