9 days and counting

Nine days? Really? Yikes! Well I did get two things accomplished today and I hope to work on some more stuff tonight if I can stay awake. I finished the above dress for the same friend who I made the stuffed penguin and baby hat for. This is all the penguin stuff I'm doing for the fair, except for a cross-stitch, but I'm keeping that after the fair. I'm so pleased with how this dress turned out. I used Simplicity 5695, view D, but I lengthened it, left off the bottom ruffle and added a fake waistband in which I threaded elastic in to give it some more shape. I saw a similar style of dress on youcanmakethis.com. I embroidered the penguin using my sewing machine. I love it!

I also crocheted a flower for my felted bag and then felted the flower in the wash. I'm pleased with how it turned out. Now I need to attach it to the bag and maybe add a button to the center of it or something. Pictures when I'm done.

I have a lot to complete and a few things I haven't even cut out yet, but hey there's still 9 days and counting. Plenty of time. ;)

11 days and counting

I'm off to crochet a rose for my felted bag which turned out very nice. This time I crocheted the handles so maybe the judges will like that better. I'm also crocheting a different flower than the one I made last year. The yarn for the purse and flower are the same as I had it leftover from last year and wanted to use it up.

My friend Elaine's husband commented that the reason why I was able to enter 11 different categories is because I don't watch TV. That's true! I don't really watch TV at all. We don't have cable and ever since they switched from analog signals to digital we rarely can get a regular station anyway. I will admit though, that I do watch a few things on the internet if I need to stay up late to finish something up as it helps keep me awake. I will admit that my friend Elaine is a very fast knitter/crocheter and she could get a lot more of those items done with less mistakes than I ever could! Also, I usually enter a lot more items in the clothing division and less in everything else, but this year I tried to work on adding some new categories and as a result, I may only have 3-4 items to enter in that category and nothing that will really be show stoppers for a big purple ribbon, but I'm okay with that.

Three of my children are off to camp this week and the other two have their mornings filled with activities, so I hope to accomplish a lot this week or at the very least complete a couple of my projects on my list!

13 days and counting

No picture today, but things continue to be worked on or completed. I felted a bag and just need to add something for a decoration. I'm thinking a felted flower. I saw a neat crocheted rose that is different from the one I made last year. Eleanor has started working on a dress, but will have to finish it the week entries are due as she didn't work on it today and tomorrow we'll be working at the fair to help with set up. Then she's off to camp for the week.

This will be Kate's first year to enter something. She's making cookies. We'll make the dough next week and freeze it so we can just pop it in the oven the day entries are due and be done with it. I wish we could do that with Claire's baked good, but she wants to do brownies and I don't think that will work. They might freeze well after baking . . .hmmm. Something to think about. Maybe you are shocked that I would suggest baking something now and freezing it for later? Well don't be. I learned this tip from a Purple ribbon/Pillsbury Bake off winner. I tried it last year and everything I made in advance and then froze won better ribbons than anything I made fresh.

I've started cutting out the rest of the tops for my stockings for "You be the judge". I was playing around with some embroidery for Ben's stocking that he wants to make, but my sample didn't work. Turns out I had the wrong thread in the bobbin. I will get the right kind tomorrow. I'm thinking we may just use iron on's instead to get the look he wants. As long as he sews it together is the biggest part. It's going to be cute.

I was hoping the kids would be more done (terrible grammar I think) at this point so I would not be stressed out, but no-I will not be so lucky.

If I counted correctly, I will have entered something in 11 different categories in the Home Arts Building alone this year. They are as follows: Crochet, Knitting, Clothing, Animals, Toys, & Dolls, Felting, Smocking, Accessories, Baking, Candy, Hand Embroidery and Needlework on Canvas. I bought a drop spindle while on our vacation this year and hope to learn how to use it this year so I can spin some wool and make something from it and enter that in the spinning next year! In most of these categories I will only enter one item, but in a few, I will enter 2 or more. If all goes well I will enter three items in smocking this year-a first for me! I also have several stockings in various stages of completion. I doubt enough to win most made, but enough to make me feel like I'm giving a good contribution. I won't say how many yet as I've only completed a handful. The rest are in various stages of completion.

I will enter a picture or two in photography and a tie dye shirt but those are in another building.

Okay, time for me to go to bed, so I have energy to finish up everything in the next couple of weeks!

16 days and counting

We just returned home from a long family vacation which involved lots of driving. I made this baby hat the last day of our trip. Well actually I would have made it the second to the last day, but I messed up halfway through and the only way to salvage it was to start over. I made it with the left over yarn from the Penguin's hat.

I'll post a few of the other items I worked on during the trip over the next few days.

And the fair countdown begins!

Yes, the fair is only 17 days away, but believe or not I've been pretty busy these past few weeks. Starting tomorrow (or the next day) I hope to start posting every day giving updates on things I'm working on or finishing up. I can't promise pictures every time, but I'm using my friend Elaine as my inspiration to finally get something posted on this blog!

The penguin above I made for my friend Judy. She is getting a new grandbaby (her first!) and wanted a penguin something. I'm actually making three things for her grandbaby, but this is the first thing I finished. I have a hat on some needles right now. About 1/2 way done on that one. Using the same yarn as I made the hat and scarf for the penguin above. Rumor has it that penguins are taking over the Home Arts building this year. I have to do my part to contribute to the madness!