Fun day

 

Today was a fun day for me. I finished the last of the Chapstick holders that I needed for the middle school students, and then at lunch time I passed them out. The kids were so excited!

I didn't do much when I got home. It's been a busy week, and I was tired when I got home. I did manage to tat a doodad ornament. Tomorrow will bring another adventure!

Double day

 

I started off the day with a set of five crocheted Chapstick holders.

Then I moved on to my doodad ornament of the day.

When I returned home from school, I decided to tat another doodad ornament.

Then I crocheted another set of Chapstick holders. I doubled my goal!

Too soon

My daughter went back to work too soon. She really needed another day of rest to get over this nasty bug that's going around. I knew that I would be subbing for her again today, so last night I went upstairs to get some more cotton yarn for dishcloths.

I found this dishcloth that was over halfway done, so I brought it downstairs and finished it while Dave and I watched t.v.

I also had time to work on some more Chapstick holders.

I woke up early this morning and actually had time to finish a doodad ornament before heading off to school.

I had a purple dishcloth half finished, and I was able to complete it this morning. I had just enough yarn left over for half a dishcloth, so I finished it off with yarn left over from last night's project. I feel like I'm starting to make a dent in my stash!

Tuesday progress

Boy, did I have fun today! I framed my quilt blocks. The frames are shades of grey, black, and white. My next step is to cut batting and backing squares. Then, I will be ready to quilt!

I'm making quite a dent in my supply of key rings, and my yarn stash is getting smaller. I have 75 Chapstick holders made. I want to make sure I have enough for all of the middle school students who want one. I've already passed them out to high school students.

Another doodad ornament is finished. I didn't have enough thread on either of these shuttles to tat the ornament, but I was able to complete it using one as the shuttle thread and one as the ball thread. Part of the fun in this project is using shuttles that I haven't seen in a while. Luckily, Dave enjoys seeing me use my shuttles and he gets a kick out of seeing how many I have. I may have too many, but I'm not going to complain!

Productive day

 

Last night I crocheted five Chapstick holders while Dave and I watched t.v.

Today I was sorting through some of my craft supplies and found two bags of findings from when I was tatting with doodads. That was years ago! So, I think my goal for February will be to tat with findings that have been sitting in bags for way too long.

I also crocheted five more Chapstick holders today.

My big project of the day was finishing a stack of Hidden Wells quilt squares. Now I have to decide if I will sew the blocks directly to each other or frame them with solid strips. Right now I'm leaning toward framing them.

My last project of the day was to work some more on my red, white, and blue tree. There's not a whole lot more I can do until my patriotic pins arrive. For now, I'm happy to make a little progress each day!

Sub day

I was called in to sub for part of the day today. Luckily, I still had some free time. 

So, I finished my ornament of the day. Only one day left of my self imposed ornament challenge!

My stash of Chapstick holders is still growing. I will probably start passing them out to the kids at school next week.

I'm trying to decide what my February challenge will be. I have all day tomorrow to think about it!

Another slow day

Maybe it's the cold weather, but I just didn't feel like doing much today.

Still, I managed to tat my ornament of the day.

I also crocheted five more Chapstick holders. Not bad for a day when I didn't feel like doing much!

Still at it

I'm still managing to tat an ornament each day in January... just a few more days to go!

The fabric I need for my pinwheel project isn't due to arrive until next week, and I'm still in the mood to sew. I searched YouTube and found instructions for Hidden Wells quilt-as-you-go blocks. I made several Hidden Wells quilts back in the '80s, and I loved the look. I had some jelly rolls from Temu and decided to do some experimenting. First I chose which four strips would go together. Then, I started stitching. I didn't have much time to sew today, but I am happy with what I was able to complete.

I'm still trying to use up small balls of yarn by crocheting Chapstick holders. I think I may run out of key rings before I run out of yarn!

E-learning

Today was another e-learning day because of the wind chills. Except for going to the grocery store, I stayed inside where it was nice and warm.

I finished my ornament of the day before breakfast. That doesn't happen very often.

Why five Chapstick holders were finished before Dave and I went grocery shopping.

The rest of my day was spent finishing up my pinwheel squares. It seems strange to me that I had one square left over. I'm pretty sure I'll find something to do with it. 

I have a couple of options for my next step. I guess I'll have to lay out the squares and make a decision, but that's a task for another day!

Snowy day

We had snow showers throughout the day, so I was happy to stay inside and craft. 

My pile of sewn squares is slowly becoming a pile of pinwheels. I still have to pay close attention to each one, but I'm enjoying the process.

I was happy to finish my ornament of the day this afternoon.

It was also nice to finish another set of Chapstick holders.

Tomorrow is another e-learning day because of the weather. Dave and I do need to go to the grocery store, but I'm hoping to have plenty of time for fun!

Keeping busy

 

With frigid temperatures, I knew I needed to keep myself busy today. I started by baking a loaf of bread, which I put together last night. I love the smell of freshly baked bread, and I knew it would be perfect with the butternut squash soup planned for dinner.

Next on my list was my ornament of the day. I'm pretty proud of myself for keeping pace with these ornaments.

I have five more Chapstick holders for my stash. I think I'll keep going with these until I run out of rings. That may take a while!

I spent a couple of hours working on my quilt project. I made quite a few mistakes, so I made good use of my new seam ripper, a Christmas present from daughter Alison. I like the size of the handle. It's nice to hold and has a good balance.

I watched a video from the Missouri Star Quilt Company on how to make easy pinwheel squares. The fabric I'm using was an impulse buy from Temu. It was very inexpensive, and it is not the best quality. Since this project is an experiment, I'm happy to be using fabric that I don't really care about. When I think I have the hang of it, I'll use some pretty fabric that I've been saving.

There was only one piece of mail today, and it was for me! I love these beautiful shuttles from Shuttle by Design. I'll be sure to use them in the coming days!

Cold day

Today was an e-learning day because of the cold, so I had plenty of time to play.

I started the day by crocheting some more Chapstick holders.

After that, I tatted my ornament of the day.

After dinner, I crocheted some more Chapstick holders.

The best part of the day was spending time in my new sewing area. Dave helped me get it set up, and then I spent a couple of hours sewing blocks together for a quilting idea I've been reading about... more on that later!

Keeping up

 

Today I managed to keep up my current pace of five Chapstick holders...

and another ornament. I don't think I'll be able to keep up the pace tomorrow. I have too much going on. However, I plan on making up for lost time this weekend!

Developing a pattern

 

I seem to be developing a pattern of crocheting five Chapstick holders and...

one tatted ornament a day. Not a bad pattern to my way of thinking!

Oops!

 

After I tatted my second ring on my ornament of the day, I realized that I hadn't tatted the chain as I have been. Oops! Rather than un-tatting, I just alternated chain designs. Although it doesn't match my other ornaments, it still counts!

I crocheted some more Chapstick covers during the football game last night. I'm slowing down. It now takes me about 20 minutes to finish one. It's a great way to use up small bits of yarn, and they are a big hit with both kids and adults!

Jam packed

My day has been jam packed with activity! I addition to attending church, we managed to take down quite a few Christmas decorations. We had kept them up so that family who couldn't be here at Christmas could see them when they came last weekend. We still have quite a bit to put away, but we've made a good start.

Today seemed like a good day to finish up one of my projects. I started this cowl a few days ago, and I only had two rounds left. The colors don't show up very well in the picture. It's so pretty in person that I think I may keep it for myself!

My ornament of the day is finished, so I'm still on track for finishing an ornament a day in January.

I had one skein of really soft chunky yarn in my stash, something I purchased by mistake. I'm not a fan of working with chunky yarn. I wasn't sure what to make with it, but since I'm on a roll with cowls, I decided that was the way to go. It's not quite as tall as the worsted weight cowls I've been making, but it's still a nice size.

I gave away all of my chapstick holders last week. I've had requests for some more, and I have quite a few small balls of leftover yarn. This is the perfect project to work on while watching football. Go Bears!