Beginning

Beginning a new project is a thrill. A cheap, easy thrill. I am quick to begin projects, but slow to end. Case in point. Check out this cute apron I just finished:

This "easy" classified McCall's apron was a year and a few months in the making. It sat, and sat, and sat. In a dark, dusty closet it sat. With other discarded, incomplete projects it sat mournfully for a whole year. And three months. And then I pulled it out of the darkness and onto the ironing board where I massaged it, marked it, put it all together, and brought it to life. It only took about an hour to finish. This project has given hope to other neglected projects.

This is a baby "blanket". As you can see, it's only about cat size right now.
This has been in the works since about July and has been shoved into the drawer
under my coffee table. The cat is clearly pleading with me to get it done.

This is the Jane Eyre shawl I blogged about before. In September. Haven't worked
on it this month yet. It's essentially half a shawl.

This mitered hanging towel is only about 10 rows away from being finished.
So why isn't it? This I cannot say.

A shawl I started to crochet for a nursing home charity. We'll see if a sweet
elderly lady ever lays her hands on this baby.

A granny square blanket I just started last Saturday. It's coming along, but when
I take into account my poor history with blankets I have to sense the inevitable
abandonment that is to come.

The half square triangles quilt which has not progressed
beyond this point in the past several months.

I'm starting to view my unfinished projects as monstrosities. I feel like I'm Toy Story's Sid and these are my deformed, half constructed toys which may forever remain undone. The memory of these projects did not, however, keep me from starting a new project this morning. Behold, the Dean Street hat! Oh the thrill!

Here's to new beginnings!

Banjo Feminization

At first I called this project "banjo prettification", but "feminization" may be just as accurate. I suppose this is stage 1.  Stage 2 will have to do with the strap.

Before:

My banjo with a kitchen rag stuffed in the back.  The rag  keeps it from being too loud.  This works, but has downfalls.  First and most obviously, it isn't very attractive.  Second, it tends to occasionally fall out, which is annoying.  Third, sometimes I'm out of clean kitchen rags and I have to rob from my instrument.  Fourth, this paragraph forced me to use way too many commas for my comfort.

After:

My solution was to make a round pillow (my Fiesta plates were the perfect size round template) from some green material I had lying around plus some stuffed animal stuffins.  I then made 2 doilies and sewed their picot points together around the pillow.  I used the Ferris Wheel doily pattern, but had to make it smaller to fit correctly.  A lovely consequence to this whole doily thing is that the doily pattern shows through on the front of the banjo.

I love the look of it, except for the fact that banjos always seem to get dirty where thumbs and fingers strike the drum repeatedly.  I guess that means I practice enough.

What are doilies for?

I don't know, but I made one and it's pretty. At first I had it sitting on the back of the toilet in an effort to give that place some distinction and class. Now I have it draped across the television cozy in my bedroom directly underneath a framed filet crochet wall hanging hooked my my uncle. I figure cotton thread goes with cotton thread. I have another doily on the tiny ass hook already as phase 1 of my banjo prettification initiative.  More on that venture to come sometime soon.