works in progress

I used to only tackle the projects I could start and finish in one day. I guess I had a kind of fear, that once tossed into the sewing basket, the said project would be forgotten and abandoned. Destined to sit in the unfinished pile forever. That was, until I started knitting. It is a very rare project that will only take a day or two, as most require a more dedicated commitment. You are in it for the long haul. Sometimes a week, sometimes months and occasionally years (!). But each and every time you pick that project up you are taking it one step closer to being finished. Slowly, slowly, as my mother in law likes to say.

And so I don't feel the need to rush those sewing projects anymore either. I know that I will most likely come back to a project, even if the time isn't right for many days or weeks. All in good time.

So I thought you might like a peek at what I'm working on right now, or, rather, what is cluttering up the spare room so I can't even think about starting a new project.

I started this quilt for Julia way back here, and progress has been very, very slow. Being a beginner quilter, I have following the steps closely from Practical Guide to Patchwork, which has many beautiful quilts to make. I chose the Valentine quilt. Unfortunately I made the mistake of forgetting that the middle piece had to be a neutral fabric to highlight the different colour groups of the squares. So this square has to go. The method used is to sew onto a square of paper cut to size, both for stability and easy cutting. You simply tear it off after cutting. I will keep you posted on the (slow) progress.

Secondly, is a collection of shopping bags that I have only drawn up a pattern for at this stage. I swear there is a void in this house that sucks up green bags, because I always seem to lose them. The pattern is based upon, you guessed it, the dimensions of the beautiful (not) green bag. I am hoping to use a sturdy outer fabric and line it with sheeting.

Third and final project on the list is the knitted Analu for Violet. Being up to the sleeves (I am making the short sleeved version), it is a little hard to just pick up where you left off. Lot's of casting off at this stage and leaving stitches on whatever I happen to have handy at the time (nappy pins!). I really must sit down today and get past this stage.

I also wanted to say thank you everyone for your lovely, encouraging words on this post, which has happily forced me to pull these projects out of temporary hiding.



So what are you working on right now?
Any long term projects or stuck in the works projects?
Or are you a short term project person?