September TUSAL

Wow!  It’s hard to believe that the new moon has come and gone again.  The summer sure seems to have dashed by quickly! 

Today it’s a bit of a grey and rainy day, but it’s hard to mind overly much when I’ve got a kitty curled by my side.  Here’s my jar for this month:

There’s a few ORTs in there – but not nearly as many as I might have dropped in there.  I seem to have lost a little of my needlework mojo.  Although I tend to think of it more as conserving energy since the CreativFestival is coming up in less than a month.  5 days of classes, shopping and fun with friends I only get to see once a year.  This year will be even better for me since I had to miss last year’s Festival.

I did have a small finishing-finish this past month:

This is a biscornu I started ages and ages ago after I won a drawing over at ‘The Sparklie Things Blog’ (still one of my favourite blog names of all time!).  I won the linen, the Kreinik, the WDW and the buttons – beautifully handmade by Karen herself…..  I stitched up the biscornu quite a while ago but got stalled on the putting-it-together part.  I kept forgetting to buy stuffing.  Finally I got my act together and my butt in gear and got it finished.  I’m really happy with how it turned out. 

So I mentioned last month how much of a menace I am to wool and all things knitterly…..  Well, I decided it was time to buckle down and get serious about things.  I’ve been trying to knit a pair of socks for ages and failing miserably.  I tried different patterns, different needles, different wool…….  Apparently I am the problem.  But I persevered and look what came off the needles a couple of weeks ago:

Look!  A sock!  It’s got a ton of flaws and mistakes in it (and I genuinely suck at picking up the heel stitches), but it’s the first thing that I’ve knitted that looks sock-like.  And I can even get it on my foot.  I still recall another sock that I could barely get on my foot…..

Flushed with the success of sock 1, I elected to see if lightning could strike twice and miracle of miracles, it did:



They are actually the same colour – the picture is a bit off.  I am amazed that I’ve got a pair of socks that actually fit.  Far from perfect, but for my first successful sock knitting attempt, I’m not going to complain too much.  I just won’t wear them where anyone who can knit can actually see them.  I’m not that dumb.

If anyone is interested, the pattern is a freebie I found on Ravelry called Dragonfly Socks.  I think I may not have made the best wool/pattern match up here, but I’m still happy with the result.  And they’re finished.

Naturally, in honour of all this finishing going on, I immediately started something new:



This is a start on Mirabilia’s Halloween Fairy.  It’s a limited edition kit that I picked up quite a while ago when I found it on sale for a great price.  I’m getting in the mood for Halloween right now, so out she came.  I’ve wanted to stitch her for so long! 

Anyway, I think I’ll go stitch for a bit.  I’ve got to get some things done for work as things are gearing up for me in that arena, but I think I need a little me time.  I’ve been spending days and days counting beads, sorting pipecleaners, counting paperwork & bookmarks and just getting a million little jobs done.  All this work now will pay off later when I’m super busy again.