Design Wall Monday

Everything creative has come to almost a screeching halt around here.  It happens.  It never stays long----no more than a week or two tops.  Whatever doldrums I may be in, normally lifts.

It is not like I don't have things to do. I added to my list even taking on more than the ongoing projects.   I will be making a 2nd tree skirt for my nephew and his bride but in a different pattern.  I offered and it can be a delayed wedding present.

I have a snowman row to get done before the January guild meeting too.  I've got the pattern and I drew up the first row in EQ so I can foundation piece it.  Even printed it out but did not feel very well yesterday afternoon and went to bed instead.

On the design wall I had to back the tissue paper section of Allison's tree skirt with freezer paper.  I was chewing up the seam allowance---probably when I cut the batting more than anything.  At that point I still had the interfacing to cut but that's done now too.  Also I stuck the pattern up there to keep me aware of the grain lines, should it matter of the pieced elements I want to do.

Everything is cut out.  I know what I want to do on each "petal" of the plate.  If anything foundation pieced is needed I have it printed up.  I may use an existing twister block or more or less create my own fabric with twister blocks for one of them.

The fabrics are pulled from the snowmen as well.  That is as far as it got yesterday.  It's ready.  I'm not.

 The remaining sale fabric is pressed and added to the fabric bin.  I even found some buttons that will go with this for the closure with loops deal---blending in a bit with the white background fabric on the top.

I have been knitting a little bit though.  I finished the one below last evening and then started another as soon as I had the gathering/finishing done.

Once I get the 2nd hat knit from this skein, I will have made 8 hats to mail off to my friend Cindy for her project.   I think I had 5 or 6 on a previous mailing.  The box I have ready is just about full.  I know she works on this year round. and I'll have to back off a bit.  Once I get out of the not wanting to sew funk, I'm guessing.  I have another skein in variegated greens to play with but I have procedures coming up next month that will mean a far amount of doctor's office visits and followup.  Tell you more about that later.

They call this yarn "woodsy" but it looks like camo to me so I decided to just go with the same style beanie/watch cap rather than the rolled brim.  I did two rolled brim knit hats and really like them.  Just to sort of change things up a bit.  I did convert the pattern to knitting in the round so no purling required and switch over to double point needles when the shaping rows start. 

As part of my Christmas gift from DJ I have ordered a book entitled Circular Knitting Workshop by Margaret Radcliffe and some longer cable cords so I can explore Magic Loop knitting too.  I don't have a problem switching to double point needles or even two circulars but it would be another tool in my arsenal.  I want to explore some alternative methods of casting on too but I think I can use some books I currently have in my library for that.  They just have very little on circular knitting.

So there you have it-------not much to see here but soon.