Divinely Crafty

I have spent the better part of this morning lamenting how I have no time to sew, knit, felt and do all the creative things I used to be able to do when I was staying at home. I have had my supplies here for more than a month, unpacked for roughly a month and still not made much of anything. It was really bumming me out. But then it hit me – um hello, it isn’t like I haven’t made anything. I have. Why am I not giving myself credit for what I have done, rather than just looking at everything I haven’t? Silly me.

So it ain’t much, but it is more than nothing…

I made Anja a lunch bag. The ones at the store all had Bratz dolls on them. No thank you. It is insulated and lined with PUL so if she spills something inside it won’t leak out. For such a simple project it was a real pain in the ass. She chose a knit for a pattern meant for woven – first hurdle solved by using fusable fleece for the insulation which stabilized the fabric. Second hurdle was sewing with PUL. The stuff is hell. I had never sewn with it, and unless I am truly inspired, I will never sew with it again. yuck.

But it looks great after all of the grief it gave me. Anja loves it but she wants a handle, which I have promised I will get to. (meaning sometime in the next month, knowing me).

I also finished my first pair of knitted socks. They were supposed to be a christmas present for Axel, but I only had one done on the big day. Finally this week I finished the other one, which all things considered is pretty good. I had expected it would take me to spring to finish at my usual rate.

They are extra thick and wooly. Made from worsted weight wool yard instead of sock yarn so they will be super warm and snuggly in his wellies. His poor feet get so cold working on the farm all day. I tested them out myself yesterday when I was working on the farm (He so generously insisted I use them first since he was not outside yesterday.) and am happy to report that they are wonderful. And they stay up very nicely, which is a bonus since all my other socks fall down and end up bunched at my toes inside my wellies. I may have to make myself a pair of these!

Sorry for the blurry picture, I am too lazy to take a good one today.

I am now working on a pair of knit and felted slippers for Anja. I tried the pattern once before and screwed it up massively. I ended up ripping it out and not trying again until now. Wish me luck. Surviving socks (and actually really loving making them) has me feeling confident!