Cross Stitch Destash 4

Just a few last charts looking for a home. Skater chart has been colored in. Thanks for looking.
Note: Humboldt Coast has been claimed.

Rose Garden has been claimed.

Cross Stitch Destash 3

All of these charts have been claimed!
More things, charts this time, that need a new home.

Cute little chart. The cat has been colored in with a highlighter marker on the chart.

Another fun stitching project.

Love this sweet chart, given to me by a wonderful friend, who also included the floss called for. Sadly, I never got around to making this.

Please let me know if any of these catch your interest!

Cross Stitch Destash 2

Here is something else that needs to go. Free to a good home.

This kit was given to me by a friend years ago. She actually started stitching it, but didn't get very far at all. The floss is already sorted into the organizer that came with the kit. If you are interested, I can post more photos. I believe if you tap (or click) on this photo it will enlarge so you can see better.

Cross Stitch Destash

Like most crafters, I have tried many things over the years. First, my grandmother taught me to knit when I was a kid. Then I picked up needlepoint, and from there counted cross stitch.

But as I get older, my eyesight enjoys certain hobbies less and less. Unfortunately, counted cross stitch is becoming too difficult for me to manage. A magnifying lamp purchased years ago is not helpful, because every time I take a stitch, I bump into it, and then it wobbles for several seconds. 

So I am beginning a destash of my collection of kits and patterns. Free to a good home. Above is a little plastic canvas kit complete with floss. Not sure anyone but me still uses a desktop computer, but it could easily be attached to something else, like a bulletin board.

This is a sweet little kit. Open but unused. This has been claimed.

Another cute kit, opened but unused. The fabric has become separated from the kit though.

This has been claimed.

If you're interested in any of these, please email me or, if you're on Ravelry, send me a pm. I will be posting more items soon.

Make it Colorful

About a year ago, Liat bought one of those plain, standard IKEA tv tables. Her roommate at the time absolutely didn't want white, so Liat reluctantly purchased the black version. Like me, Liat loves bright, cheerful colors. But at the time, there was the possibility that the roommate would one day buy the table from her, so being a good sport, she went along.

This fall, Liat moved into her own apartment. One of the first things she asked me to do was to somehow perk up the sliding doors of the cabinet front of the table. It didn't take me long to come up with an idea I was sure she would love.

Using the inserts from videos and dvds and some Mod Podge, I decorated the sliding doors with Disney collages. In the end, I used images from 28 different movies. I also used a paper punch in the shape of a Mickey Mouse silhouette to make 36 hidden Mickeys that are scattered throughout the two collages. A couple of them were coated with glow in the dark paint, because sometimes I just can't help myself.

She loves it!

On Little Cat Feet

Fog

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

     Carl Sandburg

A dear friend (who I met back in the days of my Yahoo 360 blog) asked me recently if I was blogging again. Of course that put the idea back in my head, and here I am. I have wandered away, and then returned, to this blog quite a few times over the years. I always wonder if I should make a big deal out of coming back, apologizing for the hiatus, or just casually pick back up again.

Lately I have been trying to fly under the radar, reducing my presence on social media sites especially. But I miss blogging, the writing and the sharing of it. And perhaps not surprisingly, when I don't blog, I don't read other people's blogs, either.

So here I am, creeping back, for another go at this. Let's see what happens this time around.

Stash Busting

After being on Ravelry (an on-line community for knitters, crocheters, spinners, and weavers) for over five years, I finally took advantage of the Stash feature in December of 2014. I took out my entire stash of yarn and photographed it, uploading the photos and information about the yarn (including where it was stored) to Ravelry. What an enormous help that has turned out to be. Now I know exactly what I have (and where it's hiding!). I also browse through my stash photos whenever I feel tempted by pretty, new yarns. Looking through what I already have reminds me to appreciate - and use - what I already own.

For the past thirteen months, I have made a concerted effort to knit up my stash. Not just the new skeins that I just had to have (way back when) and still haven't gotten to, but also all of the partial skeins, bits and bobs left over from other projects. I didn't get around to updating my entire stash library last December, but now as I go I post updated photos. It's so rewarding to see my stock of yarns dwindling down. I truly think I could knit only with the yarn I already have for at least five more years before I even got close to being "out of yarn". 

I am so glad to have gotten out of the (very common) mindset of "have to have it". I felt that way about the yarn I already have, and I still haven't used most of that. Why would I want to keep adding more and more? I am trying to simplify and declutter the rest of my house, and my yarn stash definitely needs the same attention. I have knitted and crocheted up a fair amount of stash yarn in the last thirteen months. I have given some yarn away, and I have even (gasp!) thrown out some horribly scratchy yarn that was given to me years ago with the best of intentions by a lovely knitter. I am continuing in 2016 to happily put into service the beautiful yarn I already own. If I find I don't have something suitable for a specific project, I will buy more yarn. But mostly, I am thinking of projects to make that will use what I already have, and enjoying every moment.