I'm so great at starting things...

I'm not so good at finishing projects. Starting a project is always so exciting: picturing the finished product in your head, gathering the required supplies, the first cut/stitch, seeing it grow before your eyes. Then I get halfway through and "oooh pretty things on Pinterest" or "oooh new nail polish" or "oooh Mad Men is back" (hey, I didn't name the blog "Look! A Distraction" for no reason) then before I know it, I've started something else.

Most of my cross stitch projects remain unframed or unfinished.
My amigurumi Kirby still doesn't have a face.
I've painted a whole bunch more beads that I haven't turned into jewellery yet.

Recently, I started two more projects:

This blanket I started while we were in Melbourne for Easter. I find keeping my hands busy helps my anxiety, so I packed some wool and a hook. I didn't end up getting it out on the flight, but it was so cold in Melbourne that I thought having this on my lap would help keep me warm.

It's currently about scarf width. I love how obnoxious the multi-coloured wool is - it's really overcast here today so olive green didn't really come out in the picture.

This bookshelf-style nail polish display shelf was born out of reluctance to spend too much money on something that wasn't exactly suited to my needs. There isn't a great deal of affordable storage available that will precisely fit nail polish bottles while still displaying them. 

I finished the building stage 3 weeks ago, and loaded it up with polishes to take a photo straight away. I still haven't painted it as I had planned to. From a distance it doesn't look so bad, but I'm no carpenter - there are some minor gaps and imperfections that will be hidden with a coat of paint.

I also need to make another one ... or maybe two.

Then there's my eternally time consuming Community cross stitch, which is still only a little over halfway done. Now that the weather is cooling down I'll be far less reluctant to have it across my lap constantly, so hopefully I can pick up the pace and get it finished before the show gets inevitably cancelled.

Here's to never finishing things!

Jake the Dog

Adventure time! Come on grab your friends!

Mid week public holiday crafternoon+bonus Thursday off meant I got stuck into another amigurumi - Jake the Dog from the awesome TV show Adventure Time. (Click that link. You won't regret it)

This is my first attempt at amigurumi with no set pattern, so he's pretty basic but I'm really happy with how he turned out.

Embellished cushion

A quick update with a cushion I've embellished for my Nanna`s 80th birthday. A sample of ripple with some leftover yarn, some flowers and some quick cover buttons. Hope she likes it!

Granny square 1 Up blanket

Let's be honest - loads of these have been made before. They are all over the internet. Still, I wanted one of my own! This was an on/off project that I started a few months ago and finished last week.
288 squares in total, made from cheap acrylic yarn, approximately 75cms wide - perfect for keeping my feet warm on the couch!

Soko's winter coat

Boooo winter! The cold has been a bit much for my poor little puppy, so I made her a cute little coat.
The pattern was just made it up as I went along, increasing from half double around the neck to treble at the back, with some random detail thrown in. The thick blue stripe was done as a separate piece and wraps around the belly and buttons up at the side.

Isn't she adorable?

Pixel cushion

More completed projects, this one a little different. Inspiration was courtesy of 3Sheets - I swear this cushion was made to appeal to me. After my amigurumi binge I wanted to try something a little easier that I could just do in front of the TV, and having started this new crafty life cross stitching video game pixel images, a pixel cushion made so much sense.

The cushion is backed with some scrap black fabric, all hand sewn with a 35mm cushion insert. I love the result, but am still far more in awe of the gorgeous colours from my source of inspiration - click that link up there if you haven't already!

Amigurumi!

After my massive cross stitch binge, it was time to try my hand at something new and challenging. Amigurumi it was! Warning - if you've never crocheted before, starting with amigurumi is a crazy idea.

Thanks to some Youtube tutorials, Nerdigurumi, Wolfdreamer, and a lot of persistence I was able to miraculously assemble the characters below. I think Kirby turned out the best/neatest, but I have a soft spot for Chain Chomp - it was easily way above my capabilities when i started but I just kept on plugging away and finally made him at least recognisable.

Kirby still doesn't have a face :(