Possibilities

Believe it or not, these little beauties came from one sheet of scrapbook paper! I'm amazed at some of the "scrapbook" papers that are available at the craft stores now. This particular 12 x 12 sheet has a total of 48 small embossed mini-collages! Here is a small sample. The scanner doesn't do them justice (as usual).

I'm including a random sample of 4 in each of my zines. These are going to be in a small envelope that I attach to my "collage" page. These would be great collage starters. You could even cut out the parts you don't like and glue what you DO like and take it from there. I think something similar to this would make a great mini-quilt.

I mentioned in another post long ago about the quilt journal project. They were 8 1/2 x 11 inches of little mini-quilts, complete with batting and quilting. The participants sent theirs in to be included in an exhibition. They were very inspiring and so creative. These little snippets are great as inspiration for your own quilt journal. I said I wanted to make a few just to try my hand at it. I got as far as cutting the muslin base. See how I get distracted? I'm committed to finishing this zine first and then revisiting the projects that I have in a little notebook jotted down under "Things to Do Before I Die!".

Anyway, when I saw that sheet of little collages, I had to get it and now it's all cut up into individual squares ready to be included in my zine. The collage page will have all sorts of little goodies to start a collage. I was going over the different pages in my head and I think I may be close to the ten pages that are required. I hope to have this completed in the next week so I can move on to other pressing matters. :)

On another note, I'm progressing on my knitting! I have so far completed three scarves (counting my own!) that I'm knitting for Christmas presents. None of the recipients read my blog, so I can talk about it. Each one is made with a different yarn and the one I'm really proud of is one I'm working on now. I'm using the two-strand method. I don't know what the official name is, but you hold two strands throughout the entire knitting project. I was flipping through pattern books yesterday in Michael's and came across one that had you holding up to 5 strands of 5 different yarns! Well, let me see how working with two strands goes first. The thing I really like about it is you get to use the huge needles. This project uses a size 19. I LOVE the big fat needles. They are so much easier to work with. Just like when you learned to write and you used those big fat pencils. I remember loving those, too!

I am wanting to make a baby afghan for my nephew's first baby. That will be a crochet project. My mother-in-law, Lydia, gave me tremendous help on my last visit there. I had never even held a crochet hook before this month, but I wanted to try it. I bought a little pamphlet called, "I can't believe I'm crocheting". Corny, yes, but what I liked about it: it gave step-by-step instructions (with photos!) for LEFTIES! Try and find a coherent instruction manual for lefties for knitting or crocheting. They are LACKING. We are usually considered only as an afterthought, at best.

So, I bought a skein of cutesy baby yarn to practice my stitches and one of the HUGE crochet hooks. When I was at Lydia's I used the hook size they recommended for learning and she helped me learn the double crochet. My hardest lesson: counting those little buggers! I didn't know what I was looking at. So, thank you Lydia for your lesson. The baby is due in February. Surely I can crank out a square blanket in that time? Stay tuned...