1 Down, 25 to Go: Lots of Crafty Things to Finish

Yesterday I finally finished sewing a Gingerbread Cookie Garland for my sister. She asked me to make one of these back in 2011 (it was her favourite project from my book) but the run up to Christmas was so hectic that year I didn't manage to make one for her. I finally started it last year... but then I got super busy working on my new book and, again, the garland-making got put off. But now it is finished, hurrah!

This got me thinking about all the "in progress" projects and other crafty bits and bobs sitting in my studio that I've been meaning to make for ages... and how maybe I should, you know, try and actually finish/make some of them!

1) I recently knitted the second pair of these mittens I'm making for my other sister, but it still needs to be sewn together and have the ends woven in, etc:

2) I need to make some more pompoms for these little Big Knit hats:

3) My Sky Blanket still isn't finished! I need to sew together the remaining squares, weave in all the remaining ends and sew on the button I bought to mark the first square. This is the chart I've been using to keep track of how many squares I've sewn together - just three to go!

4) I finished knitting blanket squares using the leftover yarn from making the Sky Blanket, so now I need to plan the layout of these squares and sew them together into an actual blanket (and then weave in all the ends). I also need to work out what I am going to call this other than a "sky blanket".

5) I've also got a whole box full of random coloured squares that I've been knitting from leftover yarn for years... ready and waiting to become a blanket. Again, I need to plan the layout for this and get sewing.

6) Then there's a whole load of small balls of yarn (too small to use for making those large blanket squares) which I want to knit into tiny moss stitch squares (which I'm thinking about using for a super colourful patchwork blanket someday), and maybe some more little hats for the Big Knit, too.

7) This bit of stripey knitting needs turning into the project it was knitted for years ago:

8) And I really need to finish sewing these purses I was making last year from patchwork squares my mother knitted about 30 years ago:

9) I need to make a start on the project I bought this brown yarn for:

10) And I need to test this swatch to see if it turned out okay and, if so, make a note of it so that once I've finished some of the projects on this list, I can think about ordering some yarn to try making my first sweater (which is something I'm really excited about trying).

11) I want to turn these old stripey pieces I sewed as a teen into some bunting:

12) This dress needs its sleeves altering so it can get out of my "mending" pile and back into my wardrobe:

13) I've got a whole flock of felt birds in progress which all need finishing and turning into brooches:

14) I need to buy some more dark brown thread so I can finish these owl masks:

15) This swan mask needs a couple more small black felt pieces added to it (I didn't cut out enough when I was making a batch of these masks and this last mask has now sat in my WIP box for months)

16) I need to finish cutting out these felt forget-me-nots and use them to make some forget-me-not brooches:

17) These cherry blossom trio brooches need sewing:

18) I really want to sew together the two tiny mice I found cut-out-pieces for while clearing out a box of sewing stuff a few months ago:

19) I need to finish all these snowy owls:

20) And these sparkly owls need their pupils added, ready for an owl-themed project I'm planning:

21) I need to finally finish these felt birds I've been sewing together from a vintage kit. I'm thinking about maybe making them into a mobile for my studio?

22) I want to make a start on at least one of the lovely ornaments in these kits I bought last Christmas - some of these ornaments I want to keep for myself, others will end up being gifts. I think I may need to practice some of my embroidery skills (and learn some new ones) before making a start on some of these!

23) I'd love to finally finish this quilt I started when I was a student, especially since my mum has said she'd like to have it when it's finished. There are lots of pieces to iron and sew together to make the quilt top, even before I make a start on thinking about how to actually turn it into a proper quilt:

24) Then there was a section of the original quilt top that didn't match well, colour-wise with the rest of the squares so I've removed it and I'm planning on using it to make a patchwork cushion (it's wider than pictured and actually almost the perfect size to fit a cushion insert I already have in my stash) ... so I need to sew that together.

25) And I've got a few blog tutorials in progress which need finishing and then writing up so I can share them with you guys:
 

And then of course there are all the projects that are in my "ideas in progress" box and all the things in my sketchbooks and notebooks which are waiting to be started, and all the bits of fabric and other crafty supplies I have vague project ideas in mind for... far too many things to make and much too little time! :)