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I’ve started a new baby sweater in this gorgeous green/teal. (Malabrigo Ultimate Sock in “Wabi Sabi”, pattern is “Playdate” by Tin Can Knits)

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More Yarn Sales this weekend - this one from The Knitting Loft!

They're a wonderful Toronto-area LYS with an international online shop. Get 20% off all online orders from them until 11:59 April 27th (EST). No code needed, the discount's already done for you!

And if you're local, you can pick up your order at the store!

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Calling this compost knitting, as I'm utilizing swatches instead of unworked yarn. The yellow/purple kitty swatch was actually my first attempt at intarsia! Eons ago! I just never throw things away!

Major coloring-outside-the-lines energy + so fun to not care. Using a spool of reinforcement thread from the inside of a Lang skein to seam. Everything is compostable.

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I am very proud of myself, I finished knitting Gilbert Baker flag colorway scarf in time for OnlyOneOf concert!

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He got a forehead this week!

It begins!

I am a little emotional tonight, and it's not just because of the wine I had with dinner.

What you see here is the first bit of a cross stitch that is... not exactly dear to my heart, but has been on my to-do list for about 20 years. Today, I am going to start finishing it.

This story starts when I was ten and it starts on a sad note.

My mom had recently died and my dear dad, in an attempt to keep me occupied and feed my established enthusiasm for crafting, got me a bunch of things to try. One of these was a cross stitch kit, the kind you find in most craft stores, with everything included and an enticing picture on the front.

Specifically, Winter Wolf by Linda Gillum, for Kooler Design Studio.

The enigmatic wolf, with his golden eyes peering from behind a snow-laden pine branch, called to me. I had never done cross stitch before but the directness of the pattern, the neat squares and color coded floss appealed to my sensibilities and my desire to have a set of rules to follow which would end in the expected result. Order, design, composition, etc. etc. I was eager to begin.

And I did. Several times. It took me a few tries to get the grid right and figure out how to make the stitches even, and to be sure I was counting right. But I made headway! Which is very impressive in retrosepct because not only was this project a bit overambitious for a ten year old, I was dealing with grief and adhd. At the last point I put the project down, I had completed most of the muzzle!

Then I didn't pick it up again until after college. After having waited stuffed in a bag of all my other crafting ufo's (unfinished objects) I returned to the one that had become something of an albatross. The one I couldn't really finish but could never bear to part with. I unpicked my childish stitches and started over with a more mature eye. This time, I got most of the way through the nose before putting it away again.

And then I lost it.

Somewhere in the middle of moving, I must have put it into a donation box by mistake and that wolf ended up in some Goodwill store. It still had all the floss and the pattern, and my little metal hoop which frankly was not something I miss because it left rust on the aida. And so, my albatross became a white whale.

For years after that, my father would mention that wolf whenever he asked me how my hobbies were going. How he regretted getting it because it was too much for ten year old me. But I never regretted it. I loved that wolf and what my dad's thoughtfulness meant to me. I vowed that someday I *would* finish it, if only to prove I could. I thought of that wolf often.

Then, I decided to see if it would even be possible to finish. It was decades old; would it even still be avialable? Trust in the net and the tenacity of crafters. Thanks to 123stitch.com I did find it, and suddenly it was a definite instead of a dream. (It took me another five or six years to actually place the order, though).

Today, April 4, 2024, I started again the project I have wanted to finish since I was ten and desperately seeking comfort in a world that had been turned upside down. I'm much older, perhaps wiser (at least in terms of crafting!), and sore determined to finish this thing. To bring to life the kind eyed wolf that has kept me company lo these many years.

I'm very excited to meet him, and to tell him thank you.

#cross stitch #The winter wolf saga

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An entry into the Mini Movie Poster Project that's probably just for me. Lol, cause I unironically love this goofy film.

Bats, 1999

Use code JUSTBECAUSE for 20% off!

Check out the shop: https://teashopcrafts.bigcartel.com

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lace, linen yarn, 2023

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I finally have a place to protect and show off my tiniest completed hand knit object. And I get to wear him around!

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So I think I forgot to post about it here but I'm knitting my own wedding dress.

Edit to add materials: I'm using suri silk alpaca (apparently I'm slightly allergic to mohair?), and glass beads for the silvery and pearl beads.

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I knit a drawstring bag for the first time after a decade of crocheting and embroidering them! It's size 20 cotton worked on 1.3mm restored antique needles

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finished doily

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It is done! 🥳

After about a year and three month of knitting in, I finished the Queen Susan Shawl.

I've dabbled in knitting before but never a project of this intricacy or scare (which was exactly what appealed to me, I'm very susceptible to complicated crafting projects 😅) , so while it is not perfect, I'm very happy with the outcome.

Here it is spread out (side lenghts are about 140 cm):

And some close-ups:

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The Mini Movie Poster Project closeups continue!

The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 1975,

Use code JUSTBECAUSE FOR 20% OFF!

Check out the shop: https://teashopcrafts.bigcartel.com/

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The ace hat kit is finished and blocked!

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Tiny Mushroom Dude! Lol, somehow managed to make them even smaller now.

Use code JUSTBECAUSE for 20% off!

Check out the shop: https://teashopcrafts.bigcartel.com/

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It's my Birthday today so I'm doing a fundraiser for a new wheelchair!

My Electric wheelchair is sadly now 12 years old and is being held together with gaffer tape and love! I really need a new one and as it is my 50th Birthday I thought I could try to fund-raise and ask folks to please help with buying a replacement chair.

'Just Giving' Wheelchair fund-raiser link Here

About Nixxie - My Wheelchair is my lifeline. I use it inside my flat to get about as my body sadly doesn't work anymore (please read the Just giving page for details on my disabilities). I also use the chair to get out into my garden... and also anytime I need to leave the house - it gets a lot of mileage - hence why it is sadly starting to show its age! About 3 years ago the welding that holds on the arm failed and cannot be repaired - so the arm bracket is held on with gaffer tape and hot-glue. The batteries hardly hold any charge anymore, one of the wheel-arches got plastic fatigue a few years ago and just plain twisted off! Also all the under panels are held on with velcro, tape and hope! (pictures of all this on the donation page).

I originally bought my powerchair in 2012 to go to London as I'd won tickets to visit the Paralympics with a carer... however I don't trust it now to even go a few miles as I'm petrified another bit will fall off!! A while after I bought my chair I went to a Sci-Fi convention and dressed my wheelchair up as the Tardis to match my costume... I liked it so much that my chair has been Tardis cosplaying ever since!

I try my hardest to still live a life worth living - and even though my body needs to recover for ages afterwards I still try to get out every now and then to do something good.

So that's about it - my diagnosis is that I will never get any better (In fact it's likely I'll carry on getting worse as I get older), so I thought to put this page up to get help in the fundraising as wheelchairs cost a huge amount more than people think and sadly there is no way I can afford it alone. So please if you could, donate - Even if it's only a bit - anything towards being able to go out safely would be SO Amazing and I am utterly thankful to you for your aid.

And please please share this page to spread the joy! *hugs*