Craft Therapy

Ever had a hard day where nothing seemed to go right and you just feel off? I had one today. I feel wrung out and like I want to call in "exhausted" to work tomorrow. So this evening I'm knitting and watching hockey. My wool doesn't argue with me, nor does it vocalize dissent or question my decisions (although sometimes I question my decisions regarding the wool) so it's good therapy for a day like today.

Also good therapy is revisiting my weekend's accomplishments.

Friday evening/Saturday morning:




4oz Sheep Shed brown mix mill ends. I don't know the exact wool blend. I'm really loving this wool. It spun so smoothly and has a really pleasing wooly feel without being overly scratchy. The first strip I pulled from the bag was exactly 4 oz. I had read here and there that sometimes the strips were quite short, so that was a nice surprise. I bought 2 lbs of the brown mix and 2 lbs of the black/grey mix... I'm planning good things for both. I think the brown mix will make a really nice jacket for me. As will the grey....

On-going:




My quilt. I've decided to hand quilt the cross-ways sashings and will work out some handquilting for the blocks. I'm using embroidery floss (which just happens to be exactly the color of the sashings! score!) and taking fairly big stitches, as far as quilting goes. I'm really loving the look of it and it's going fairly quickly, but I'm just enjoying the task and not rushing it.

Saturday:




Margaret Bag (tutorial found on the linked page) from Oh, Fransson!
Fabric: linen panel from Ikea and lined with some cotton from stash
I love this bag. I didn't read the dimensions on the bag before I started so I was a bit surprised at the finished size, but after using it today for work I realize how much I love it. My coworker tried to steal it. (no she didn't, but she really liked it so I watched her really closely all day)(haha)(Hi Wen Shu!)

I would love to make another in a more spring/summery fabric. The pattern/tutorial is very well written and easy to follow and the bag looks so much more tailored than other bags I've made without patterns/tutorials... I assume that is less my skill level and more the pattern, so thanks to Elizabeth for that!

And now, I plan to put down the back of my Hex Jacket (Oh yeah, i need to blog that) and lie down and watch Jack Bauer get out of and then into more trouble. I feel better now, having worked through some therapy, sigh.