List of Doom and List of Finished Objects

I haven’t blogged much lately. Recent lists have also included “dentist”, “tax return 09/10″ & “pap smear”. I suppose I could have blogged those lists, but frankly, I’m sure you’ve all got your own lists of doom and don’t need to devote any more energy to mine. I hope to emerge from these lists before “tax return 10/11″ goes on the list.

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I have been thriftily knitting my way through my stash since November and today I’ve actually taken photos. My friends are finished their PhDs, now they’re having babies. Some of the ones who didn’t do PhDs are having second (and third) babies. There are a lot of babies to knit for, many of them are due in winter, this is excellent. They’ll all get out and about in a Friends of Innercitygarden uniform.

I made a promise to myself that if I knitted up useful things (presents are useful, I would buy something for these babies if I wasn’t knitting for them) from my stash then I would earn some Habu yarn with which I can knit Kirsten’s paper crane top. I’m nearly there. The paper crane has been in my ravelry queue for quite a while.

Details are on ravelry for the interested. I took that last cardigan to craft camp this weekend – I sewed on the buttons and seamed the sleeves and declared it a Craft Camp Finished Object. So what if I did all the knitting part over several months? I worked through a pile of almost finished objects and made them finished finished – I replaced elastic in my fire engine red skirt ready to wear for winter (it’s an 80s wool number, apparently it originally came with a matching batwing sleeve top), attached velcro to the kid’s cape so he can be a superhero (or wizard, it’s black with a star) and warmed up on the craft camp sewing by making a wheat bag for the kid. I can’t photograph it, it’s in his bed. It’s a hand-me-down light brown cordoroy, a very basic rectangle. He loves it. He has low expectations. Anyone who shows him Tania’s wheat bags will have me to answer to. I pieced a doona cover top, I ran out of fabric to do the back of the doona cover. The Bloke had threatened to leave me Craft Camp until I finished finished the doona cover. I was prepared to wait him out. I haven’t photographed it.

I made myself a wrap dress. I’m pretty happy with it. As usual, there are things I’d do differently if I was doing it again, but that’s to be expected with a make it up as you go along type pattern. This is the only photo that’s not totally out of focus. Do you like the stripey sock on the floor? I must have words with Teddy about putting his laundry away.

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Now, the photo above of my list was taken this morning. This evening the list looks like this:

[Buy] caustic soda

Put washing away

Make bread

Superannuation

Make soap

Museli

Knit

Pay childcare bills

Nobody say anything. So long as no one speaks I might be safe from thinking of anything else that is on the list but not currently written down.

Co-production

At the last craft camp Suse and Janet and I sat up late making and talking, as you do. Suse had cut out a million blue and green squares for her gorgeous quilt for her couch and there were more than she needed, what to do with the leftovers? Well there were enough for a baby quilt. None of us needed a baby quilt, but we thought of someone who might appreciate it and got sewing in a flurry of uninterrupted enthusiasm. Craft camp is all about the uninterrupted flurry.

After Suse finished the top I took it home and got to work on the quilting. Home is not so much about the uninterrupted flurry. Summer is not a great season for sitting under a quilt. Not even a little baby quilt. The quilting has been slow and intermittent. The kid wanted to help, which slowed things down even more but was otherwise pretty cool. Maybe his stitching will get faster for the next co-production.

Miss Scarlet, in the garden, with the apocalypse

I went to craft camp again this weekend. This time I worked on more than project, which was nice, I finished a top for myself, I almost finished another top (I want to fiddle and think about it a bit more), I finished a knitted baby kimono for my youngest cousin to be and almost finished a second item for the same baby. I made progress on mending an old quilt, I cooked, I talked, I laughed and had an all round excellent time.

I would like the record to show that I remembered to bring all the crafty supplies I intended to bring. I packed crafty things very well. What I did not pack was my wallet (to buy my share of food with) or my camera (it’s a miracle I wasn’t sent home for being a total failure as a blogger). Despite my early onset dementia, the crew let me stay, they lent me money and they took photos. I’m sure they’ll all start posting photos soon.

You should look out for the photos of the very well-loved and well-dressed stork. Thanks to the wild weather, and presumably some long term concrete cancer, his arse does not look big in his outfit.

I still can’t find the camera. I have clearly lost touch with my inner blogger. I’m sure there’s some sort of hippy cure for this and I’m determined to stay positive, embrace the journey and meditate etc until I get back on track.