New Market Bags and a New Look

I recently added new market bags to my Etsy shop:

One of my goals this summer is to finish some of my UFOs and restock the shop. I have at least 3 more market bags that just need finishing and photographing.

I also plan on finishing this chevron scarf (true confession - I started it in 2011 - yikes!):

And I'm still working on the secret project. And I haven't touched my tunic project in weeks. Sigh.

The shop also had a new look, courtesy of my son's friend who is a talented digital graphic artist. She created a new shop banner and avatar for me. I figured a change was due after 7 years! I have also commissioned a portrait of my sons -- cannot wait to share that with you!

So Many Projects, Not Enough Time

I can't believe how quickly 2009 has slipped by! And now we're about seven weeks from Christmas! The list of gifts I want to make keeps growing. For sure, I have to finish DS3's bookbag -- he asked about it today. Oh, did I feel horrible when I had to tell him it still wasn't complete. Worse than that, I haven't touched it for weeks. :(

So completing the bookbag is Number One on my list.

Number Two is completing DS4's Christmas stocking. Several years ago (before DS4 was born), I crocheted Christmas stockings for DS1, DS2, DS3, DH, and myself. I like to decorate in non-traditional holiday colors, so I made the stockings in shades of blue and purple.

When DS4 was born, I knew there would come a day when I would have to make a stocking for him. No problem -- I found the worn free pattern that I had used originally, picked some more Lion Brand Homespun yarn, and starting crocheting last winter. Unfortunately, Christmas came and went before I could finish the stocking (don't worry, he got goodies from Santa in another, not handmade, stocking). He didn't even notice that his stocking was different. But this year, he's a year smarter and much, much more observant, so I must finish it! Number Two.

Number Three is a blanket my mom asked me to make for my sister. (No peeking, M!) I'm about 3/4 of the way complete. I love the color combination (a pretty pink and chocolate brown) -- she's going to be lucky to get it from me -- it's definitely a keeper!

So those three are my "must finish" items! Time permitting I want to make a scarf for my mom, hats for DS3 and DS4, and something from the exchange student my parents are hosting. I also have an awesome pattern for a man's vest, that hopefully will be under the tree for DH.

WIPs and UFOs

My home is full of WIPs and UFOs. Before you get the wrong idea, WIPs are works in progress and UFOs are unfinished objects. Sounds like they are the same thing, but really UFOs are WIPs that have been tossed in a drawer and left untouched for a period of time. I admit I just looooove to start new projects, sometimes before the current ones are complete.

So to that end, I decided to finally finish some loooooong standing projects. I can't tell you how many years ago I started this cross-stitch sampler, but the magazine with the pattern on the cover is from 1988.

It sat unfinished for many, many, many years. I finally finished it recently, but I made a design change (gone are the teddies!). Now I just have to frame it! Yay!

I also finished Afghan 1 for los primos (the cousins). My mother asked me to make 7 afghans for her 1st cousins (children of her father's brother). Out of the 21(!) children born to my great-grandparents, only my grandfather and my great-uncle Nat lived to adulthood. Both of them died in 2001, and they are greatly missed by their children and grandchildren.

So Afghan 1 is finally ready:

Afghan 2 is almost complete (it looks finished here, but trust me, the side with all of the yarn ends looks horrible! If you know anything about me, you know I hate to work in the ends.):

I did manage to complete this great dinosaur skull shirt for DS3's birthday! It only took a couple of days to crochet, and a couple more days to sew it on the shirt. The pattern is by Regina Rioux Gonzalez and was published in the March/April 2009 issue of Crochet Today!

I have 2 more WIPs that I started yesterday (please don't ask why; I just don't know). Both are scarves -- one is made of cotton yarn, and the other is an acrylic/bamboo blend that I just couldn't resist. They will both be listed at The Lavender Lizard when they are completed (which, hopefully, is soon!).