2012 - The year of the purposeful loss

2011 was the year of sad losses. I lost my beloved Grandmother very suddenly in May. I lost my good mental health as a result, but an amazing counsellor and being kind to myself brought me back.

But I gained a fabric stash and a sewing machine from my talented Grandmother. My sewing skills went from non-existent to being able to make my own project bags and purses :) Thus I gained a new skill and a new stash to buy things for :)

2012 will be the year of intentional, purposeful losses.

I have the old cliche of losing weight. Bad mental health equalled mass comfort eating!

My knitting stash has grown and needs reducing a little.

I have no focussed knitting goals, I just want to make what I want to make. But I would like to make myself a pair of socks at some point :)

On an unrelated note, I also want to buy less cheap clothes (Primark has been my best friend) and start investing in more expensive, classic pieces which are hopefully more ethical, while saving me wardrobe space!

Coming out of the reusable sanpro closet!

Ok, so it had to happen sooner or later. I confess; I use cloth pads and I love them! They have a bit of a crunchy granola, fundamental christian, home-schooling reputation but I buck that trend. I have no kids and I work at a a school and I'm an atheist :) I care about my body and about the environment so I decided to invest in some beautiful cloth pads. They are quite pricey compared to their plasticky throw-away counterparts so I thought I'd try to make my own before buying more.

I have tried to make some of my own before but didn't have great results due to me being a completely noob seamstress who didn't really understand seam allowances! Today I had another try with some fabric that was RAK'ed to me and has a holiday theme which made me smile. I'm chuffed with the result and have since made a couple more!

That's fleece on the back and cotton flannel on top, with a cotton terry and pul core.

Making Mondays - Another string to my bow

I went to my friend Luci's house today for a crafting afternoon. While there, I finally mastered wire! The key is good tools. My pound shop pliers were just not cutting it (literally!). But Luci has a whole set of pliers which actually worked brilliantly.

Luci wants to start an Etsy shop but I'm worried that it's too competitive and that we need really original stuff to carve a niche for ourselves.

My first FO (zippered wristlet) and my latest FO (drawstring bag with pocket)

FO Photos :) and the cats enjoying the stash!

My First Sewing FO!

So I inherited a Bernina sewing machine from my Granny. I have been meaning to use it for the last couple of months but the summer holidays were over too quickly. Plus DH was hogging the conservatory where the sewing machine lives because it has the best natural light.

I was given Sew What! Bags by Lexie Barnes for my birthday and decided to make the zippered wristlet from this book. After a disastrous first attempt, I realised that this project was a 'pro' project rather than a 'newbie' project. Trust me to rush in!

I threw my little disaster across the room in disgust and started again from scratch, this time I had a lot more success except that I got my lining and exterior fabric mixed up so my finished wristlet is not I envisioned but hey I did it! :)

THE BIG KNIT

My clear out has gone really well. The local charity shops and the people on freecycle are loving me right now!

Giving to charity makes me happy, so I have decided to set myself a new knitting challenge! Knit 100 hats for Innocent Drinks THE BIG KNIT 2011 in aid of Age UK
http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/bigknit/.

That's 100 hats by October, easy peasy..........erm yeah. It's a challenge.

I am going to Knit Nation in a couple of weeks and have been very good and not bought any yarn for 2 months so I can save up and buy some wollmeise there (and hopefully discover some other gorgeous indie dyers).