Rayen

I'm not sure if I will finish making the March tote for my calendar project, but here's an update on my progress. I finished embroidering and hand stitching one panel. I was going to embroider all the flowers, but since I was running out of month I went with mostly lace flower appliques with some French knots. I also ditched my original idea to have lots of word appliques and instead did one big patch with spring elements, which turned out well, I think. I'm going to spend the rest of March on the tote and see if I can get it completed. Then next month I will definitely simplify my idea for the April tote.

I've set aside all my crocheting to finish my March tote for the calendar project, but it's been slow going from the start. It took about 18 days just to finish one panel. I'm starting to resent how long it takes me to feather stitch, something I've never before experienced. I think that's why I've avoided the tote making for a couple days this month. Crochet is easier so it makes me feel better about myself. I need to work on that bad attitude. Probably the first step is to curb my ambitions. I set aside this vintage crazy quilted piece for next month's tote, but because of all the embroidery I wanted to do on it that might not be the wisest choice. I need to do something fun like crochet to get my heart back into the project. This video shows how to fuse quilting with crochet, and tempts me to try that next month. I could also do a spin on this crochet and fabric pattern from Yarnspirations to make my April tote half crochet and half qui...

A dear friend gifted me this yarn bowl, which she said she thought looks like me. Since I'm like an albino without the pink eyes I get the resemblance. :) I've named it Happy Cat, and it will remind me to be grateful that I am blessed with a craft I can still do, along with such generous people in my life. Refusing to be depressed about what I can't do means focusing on what I can, which is crochet now. There are so many things I want to make it's like stepping into a new world. I won't give up quilting, but since I'm losing the ability to hand stitch I know it won't be my primary focus anymore. I haven't really planned anything in crochet for 2026, and for many reasons I think I'd like to keep it that way. The joy of being spontaneous and discovering new things is too delightful. I just taught myself last night how to crochet bookmarks, and now I want to learn all the free patterns there are for them online. This also keeps m...

Lately my insomnia is raging again, so I'm making an extra effort to take refuge in things that make me calm and happy. At the moment I'm working through the leftover yarn in my scrap basket and making a wrap with a very interesting repeated stitch that is turning out kind of fabulous. I'm still embroidering the March tote for my calendar project, although that's still slow going. I might embroider just one panel so I don't run out of month before I finish it. My guy planted our spring garden and things are beginning to sprout. This weekend I'll harvest the first of our scallions and use them in a stir fry.

I watch a lot of quilting and crochet content online, and I'm a big supporter of the crafting community at large. My patience is usually better than most, too. That said, even I have limits, and a few of them are zero tolerance. So here are: Ten Things That Turn Me Away from Your Content Anger Issues: I watched one maker on Youtube who had what seemed like interesting pro-craft content, but they presented everything with so much annoyance and even rage over their craft, their supplies, where they sell, the competition, and basically everything involved in their business that after a couple videos the content proved too toxic for me to keep watching. People who are that upset are not entertaining to me; they remind me of things from my past that scarred me. If you're so enraged about what you do for a living that you can't present your content with zero anger, you should really try to do something else with your time and your life. Assumptions: Making stat...

My gears are definitely whirling this week. If I don't make an effort to quilt something (other than my calendar project) I'll probably stop altogether and get completely caught up in crochet, so it's time to plan some quilting projects. At the quilt show last year I bought some fabrics that I haven't yet used, like this bundle of dragon/castle/treasure themed novelty prints that I'd like to turn into a tote (maybe for the calendar project.) I planned to start quilting by machine this year, but I haven't yet worked up the nerve to try a fully machine-quilted project. Same with this arty motivational novelty print bundle. Actually this one I might save for the calendar project, too. Then there is this panel yardage scrap with flamingos. I have to do something fun with this. I'm still struggling with the necessary step of giving up hand-quilting. My arthritis is flaring up so constantly it's always uncomfortable for me to hand stitch, an...