UFO Challenge 2012

After following the link from Vicki's blog to Judy's blog I found that she is also hosting a UFO challenge.  She did this last year and is continuing it this year.  The idea is to complete one UFO each month and share with the rest of the participants.

I’m quite good at starting things and then putting them aside when either I have new ideas or a problem crops up.  However, I could only think of a few things that I’d put aside.  I have some WIPs (works in progress) which I thought I could include together with a couple of things I am actively working on at the moment and need finishing in the next couple of months.  That still wouldn’t make 12.  However, I had a look in my craft room and found some more.  Counting them up I have 14 without the WIPs or newer projects.  I thought about including the WIPs as otherwise they are likely to become UFOs but I’ll go for 12 actual UFOs.  Some should be quite quick to finish so the WIPs can be worked on as well during the month.

My UFOs are an eclectic mix as I enjoy a variety of textile related crafts.

1.       1 - Small pink weaving – I started this ages ago but as it wasn’t for anything specific I didn’t get it finished before starting something else and it’s been sitting in my basket ever since.

2.       2 - Hugs and Kisses wall hanging – I made this about 10-11 years ago.  It spends the night-time as a curtain for my hall window and the day-time hangs just round the corner on the wall at the bottom of the stairs.  The original design was made up in plaids but I prefer brighter colours.  For some reason I didn’t hem the bottom binding to the backing – there was a reason but it is long forgotten.  I also started hand-quilting the sky but the whole area hasn’t been completed.  I’m not bothered about the quilting as there is only a small area which has been done but I aim to finish the hemming.

3.       3 - Advent calendar – this is from the Quilting Arts special winter edition back in Winter 08 which was the first gift edition.  The reason I didn’t finish it was that I didn’t start it until the last week in November!  I thought of using photos I’d taken at Christmas over the years to put behind the windows and doors and have even printed miniature versions and worked out which go where.  We already have another advent calendar with pockets to hold sweets and nativity characters to put onto the felt centre so we didn’t really need it but I’d started it as I like the photo of it in the magazine.

4.       4 - Christmas ATCs – I made two or three a couple of years ago and started another two but didn’t get them finished. I only found them the other day so didn’t get chance to finish them off for this Christmas.

5.       5 - T-shirt – my son asked me to dye him a shibori t-shirt after he saw the one I had done for myself.  I’ve got as far as stitching it but it has never seen the dye.  Luckily he’s a teenager who wears adult sized clothes so the t-shirt will still fit!

6.       6 - Books – I took part in a workshop at my local Embroiders Guild with Frances Pickering who creates wonderful books.  I did finish the book in as much as I finished the construction.  We’d just had a lovely holiday on a Greek island and I printed some photos to put in it.  A couple have been added and a few of the pages have been stamped but that’s as far as it got.  I also created some pages for another book which I think I was planning to use for some more Greek photos.

7.       7 - Felt bag – I had a period of making bags from woollen felt which I embellished and then put in the washing machine.  This one was for me, but didn’t get sewn up.  I think I was waiting until I’d found the right handles to go with it.  I’d better make a concerted effort to either find some or design some.

8.       8 - Knitted Jacket – I made this by knitting rows and judging the sizing by laying it on one I already had.  The original one has a large collar and this one still needs a collar.  When I last tried it on, the sleeves were far too long, the back neck was too wide and open and the front didn’t overlap as much as the original.  I’ve lost about 2 stones in weight since, (not sure exactly how much I weighed when I made it) so hopefully it will be a better fit.  I need to sort out the back neck and then make the collar.  I don’t know what I can do about the sleeves.  It’s quite heavy as I’m using three strands of wool so it would be ideal to wear outside when it’s chilly but I don’t want to wear a coat.  

9.       9 - Entrelac knitting – about two or three winters ago I had knitting fest, mostly making bags with wool and then felting them.  I found a pattern on ravelry for a bag made from entrelac knitting.  I started making it but I’m not sure if my choice of yarn wasn’t right.  The needle size was the same as on the ball of yarn but it was very loose and the stitches kept slipping on the needles.  I persevered for a while, but then I cheated and made another version of the bag by knitting whole rows in wool to the shape the entrelac knitted version. When felted and moulded it looked great.  The original is still on the needles.  I’m not sure if I will finish knitting it or use the piece as part of something else.  I made a fabric version but the sewn up shape is a bit weird and felting knitting wool is better.  As this piece isn't wool I'm tempted to turn it into something else.  We'll see what happens when it's number comes up.

10  10 -  Silk fibre stole – I went on a workshop with Christine Benson at Art Van Go and using the embellisher machine we made a stole from silk fibres.  My design included some freemachining on chiffon to be appliquéd.  I only had a wooden embroidery hoop which wasn’t suitable so Christine lent me her hoop for the day.  It’s taken me a couple of years to buy a similar hoop but I’ve not used it yet.  Hopefully this challenge will get me on the road again with it.

11.  11 - Brown felted piece – this may have come immediately after my session of making felted bags.  This time I used my embellisher to needlefelt with merino and silk fibres.  I have stitched some wool in wavy lines across the piece and wet felted it slightly.  It was going to be a bag, but I may make it into something else.  Brown is not a colour I wear so it would not be any good as a bag for me.  Perhaps it will be a gift for a friend.

12.   12 - Straps – I made these after buying Maggie Grey’s book entitled Stitches, Straps and Layers. However, I didn’t get any further with them.  I think they need some more embellishments or stitching on them before being made into a vessel.

         I am looking forward to getting them all finished by the end of the year.