Crafty beginnings

I like to craft ... a LOT! I have a lot of supplies, and ideas too, but what I lack is the time and motivation to start and finish them all! This year I want to get stuck into some of the UFOs in my craft room and also start AND finish some of the projects I have ready to go (eg kits and fabrics/yarns I have bought with patterns in mind). Plus, I would like to create more things for family and friends, especially my 3 kids. It would be nice for them to be able to say 'my mum made this' (or at least I think it would be nice lol!).
So far this January I have

• started a crocheted popcorn blanket for A2 - it's bright and multicoloured and I plan to add a white border after I finish the main section. I started on the 2nd Jan and so far I have used 1 1/2 balls and am onto the last full ball I have of that wool (well unless I check my stash and find more in there!) so hopefully I will finish it within the next month. I have been taking it in the car when we go on longer drives and that has knocked a bit of it over .... need to think of further places to visit to get more crochet time lol!

• finished a pillowcase dress for A2 - very pretty Riley Blake fabric with butterflies in light blue, turquoise, mustard and chocolate. I have enough left over for something else so I'm toying with either a matching dress for one of her dolls or a skirt. The dress is a bit big for her right now (although she has already worn it) but I made it hoping it will last until next year, and she can add leggings under it too.

• pieced a quilt top (lap size) and matching cushion front. I bought the material and pattern for the fronts at a craft fair last June and decided to get going on it. Amazingly enough I had enough of similar colours in my stash to add a border around the pieced squares and for the backing, (yay! more stash-busting!) so I have them basted and waiting to be hand-quilted at the moment ..... I will need to purchase some fabric for the binding though. Looking forward to finishing it and having it on my couch ready for winter, fingers crossed!

• arm knitted a scarf! yes, that's right, I knitted it with my arms! I just grabbed some random chunky multicoloured wool I had in my stash and made it into an infinity scarf, but it looks quite good and once I perfect my casting on and off so it looks neater, I will be making more of these for gifts, maybe even for the Mother's Day stall at A1s school. 

• pieced a flannel raggy cot quilt for A3. I had some cute flannel material I had picked up a while ago in plain and print and then I picked up some extra the other week as it was only $3.99/m so I used that instead of batting which meant I didn't have to cut different sized squares. All the squares were cut to 6" x 6" and then I joined the pieces with 1/2" seams. I am going to bind it instead of having raggy edges as I know A3 will chew on the edges (he's teething, poor boy) and I don't really want him to have a mouthful of fluff. So all that's left on that project is the binding, snipping and then the washing and drying to make it fluffy!

Okay, so that is what I have finished and started this month! Not a bad start to the year! I hope to share some pictures of the finished products in the weeks/months to come.
I have also made several cards for friends birthdays and hope to spend another afternoon doing some more of that soon. In fact I need to make some cards for a swap I'm in, so that will force me to sit and stamp .... such a shame ;)
The other thing I need to do is cook up some food for the freezer. We have an abundance of zucchinis at the moment so I have been 'pinning' zucchini based recipes to try and especially ones that will be good for the school lunch box. Maybe Monday will be my cooking day .....