Thing Fifteen: Bumper Pads, Part I

Today I worked on bumper pads for the upcoming baby.  These are custom sized for a cradle that's been passed down in my husband's family.  I finished the two longer sides — they're identical, the picture just shows opposite sides.  The shorter pads require more math and will have to wait until morning.

Thing Thirteen: Crocheted Fingerless Glove

I adore handwarmers.  This is my first crocheted one.  I finished the right hand today, except for weaving in the ends, which will have to wait until I can find a yarn needle.  I still declare today's Thing a success.

Thing Twelve: Puzzle Ball

Hooray for another finished project!  I saw one of these in a quilt shop and thought it looked fun.  Charlotte picked the colors out of a bin of fat quarters.  I took my time with the cutting (and had to cut very carefully, since I didn't technically buy enough fabric) but got the sewing done yesterday and today.  Took me longer than I expected — I always forget that the easy parts can be the most time consuming.  I'm definitely happy with the finished project, and now that I've done it once, I know I could whip one up in a day or two as a baby shower gift. 

Here's hoping my kiddo likes the finished project as much as she liked stealing the pieces while I was working on it!  It's nice to think that she gets to have fun with a new toy because I got to have fun making it.  I've actually got a few more toys on my list this month, and I can't wait to get started!

Thing Eight: Fabric Book

Today, I stitched up this fabric book for Charlotte, shown here reading it to Alan.  It has the alphabet illustrated with Beatrix Potter characters.  She mostly just likes to hug it.

Thing Six: Sushi

This was my first attempt. The proportions were off, but it was still
yummy! Charlotte helped me eat it, so we ended up making lots more.
See, there I go again, feeding my kid people food!

Update: Sour Cream Success!

Okay, so I should have stirred it up.  It was super thick on top, and runny on the bottom.  But it was yummy on my baked potato!

Thing Three: Crocheted Market Bag

I haven't done much crocheting in a long time, either.  But crochet is like English to me.  I learned it young enough that it just comes naturally.  With knitting, I still have to learn something new with every project, or re-remind myself how to ssk or M1R or kitchener.  The language isn't imprinted in my brain.  Today, it was nice to pick up a project and know how to do it.  Overall, anyway.  I haven't actually made one of these before. 

I made this bag out of enough sock yarn to make a pair of socks.  About halfway through, I realized mine wasn't turning out like the one in the picture, so I stopped following the directions.  I tried to get a close up to show the detail.  It has strong vertical ribbing on the outside, and horizontal ribbing on the inside.  It's lot thicker and cuddlier than the string bag I was expecting (based on the picture and poor instructions).  As you can see, it's easily sturdy enough to carry my produce home from the farmers' market, or whatever else I need to carry.  Maybe not a bowling ball, but anything else.

Thing Two: Fail Gloriously.

My calligraphy supplies have been gathering dust for a few years, so it was time to shake them out and wonder why my favorites were missing and what I was ever doing with a hot pink calligraphy marker.  It was fun, and challenging to remind my brain and my fingers how to make pretty letters after so many years of typing more than writing.

Today's Thing was inspired by a quote from Jon Acuff: “If you’re going to risk and maybe fail, fail at something that matters. Fail gloriously so that even in failure, lives change.”

Thing One: Sour Cream

I made sour cream today.  That is, I did my part of the sour-cream-making.  Now the microbes take over, and in 24-36 hours, I have sour cream. 

I hope.  I have never done this before. 

Thing-a-Day 2011: what in the world I’m doing

I've been getting pumped up for Thing-a-Day for a few weeks now, and I'm ready for it to start already! 

What is Thing-a-Day?  It's a creative sprint.  The idea is to create something, every day, for the month of February.  Just the thing we all need to shake us out of the February slump, when lack of sunshine and fresh air is really starting to take its toll.  Winter activities have become boring, snow is no longer pretty, bad weather feels more like a jail sentence than a good excuse to play hooky.  Blah.  I'm tired and I'm bored.  So I'm doing something different.

I have two particular goals for Thing-a-Day this year.  The first is finishing things.  I'm terrible about this.  I have two pairs of pants that I've sewn from scratch, and just need to be hemmed.  I have quilts in every possible stage of completion that haven't been touched in over a year.  I meant to knit some socks for Grandpa for Christmas, and only got as far as the cuffs.  Yeah, I also have socks in every possible stage of completion.  So for a month, I'm finishing things.  Daily.  I might allow myself to finish my old projects, but the main idea is to start from scratch, which I'm pretty good at.  For February, I'm doing something I'm bad at, in the hopes that I'll improve with practice.

My second goal is to think small.  I'm forever thinking about big projects that I don't have the time, money, or energy for.  Remodel the bathroom.  Landscape the backyard.  Knit my husband a sweater.  Re-organize the junk room — all 400 square feet of it.  Sew all my own clothes for a year.  When was the last time I set out to make a potholder?  Or a suncatcher?  How long has it been since I painted a picture for the refrigerator?  I love making bed-size quilts and knitting complicated cables and learning difficult new skills, but it's good to remind myself that there is still value in simple, easy things.  Like a cup to hold my pencils, or a frame for a special photograph.  Kid stuff, sure.  But where else am I supposed to put my pencils?

For the month of February, I resolve to tackle small Things.  And to finish Things.  There are lots of other goals I'd like to talk about, but let's not tackle all my bad habits at once.

What do you do to get your creative juices flowing?