This post has been a long time coming. Apparently I not only have start-itis when it comes to knitting or crocheting projects, but blog posts as well. I’ve started I don’t know how many posts only to stop several sentences in and never come back to it…
Anyway, I finally finished my Bella Cardigan (rav link) and it’s one of my favorite finished items. I’ve worn it at least once a week (twice if I wore it before laundry day) since I finished it. It’s warm and comfy and is just my style. There are pictures on my ravelry link, but I’m not going to post them here. I need to take a couple new ones of me wearing it. I’m not happy with my hair in the 2 that I took and posted on ravelry.
I also started and finished 2 granny square bags. (Rav link) One is for one of Bug’s Kindergarten friends, Tia, for her birthday and one for me to use as a diaper bag for Fidget. I’m very proud of these bags. The reason I made 2 was that I fell in love with the one I made for Tia and I had to make one for myself since I had enough leftover yarn. They are exactly the same except mine has a green tassel on the handle where Tia’s has a blue, pink and white one and is filled with art supplies. I ended up using the Sunburst Granny Square pattern rather than the one the bag pattern called for. The best thing is that I managed to get 2 projects out of the skeins of yarn I had on hand and didn’t have to run to the store to buy more. The first bag was really a rush project because the birthday party was only a week away and I wanted to make something for the girl since she truly appreciated the star baby blanket I’d made her last year. The bad thing was that the morning of the party, Tia got sick so the party was canceled. At least now it’s been rescheduled and I’ll get to be there to see her get the presents.
There were 2 final things that I finished. The first was the
Wedding Shawl. It’s a crocheted shawl following the Doris Chan “All Shawl” pattern. It’s made with light green Pound of Love baby yarn. I made it to wear over the dress I was making for my friend Leana’s wedding this past Saturday. I was very proud of it, though I wished it were longer. Unfortunately, Darling Hubby kept telling me that it didn’t match the dress and that it made me look like an old Grandma. 
I ended up not wearing it. I kinda feel that my hard work was for not, but maybe I’ll find a use for it someday. Dh was right though, it didn’t really go with the dress…I think had it been a different material, say a fingering weight yarn or a lace it would have been more appropriate. The worsted was just to thick and heavy.
The next and final thing that I finished was the dress that I wore to Leana’s wedding. If you’ve read some of my past posts under the sewing tag then you know the back story of “the dress.” If not, here’s a basic rewind. I’m wordy, but I’ve tried to keep it brief.
A couple years ago a friend from college asked me to be in her wedding and I said yes. The plan was for the bride to make the bridesmaid dresses as well as her dress to wear later in the evening for another ceremony of sorts that she was planning. That was 5 dresses. I decided that since I had a bit of sewing know how and a good friend who is an accomplished sewer that I would make my own dress to take some pressure off the bride. Somehow or other I ended up being roped into making not only my dress, but the maid of honors and 2 other bridesmaids as well. I spent hours pinning patterns, cutting fabric, and sewing and got my dress and the maid of honor’s dress to the point where they just needed the zippers and hems and one other dress to the point where the neckline, zipper and hem were the only things left and only had one more dress that I needed to figure out how to make a size bigger than the biggest pattern available. That’s when things went downhill. I got notice in the mail that the wedding had been postponed. I didn’t even get a phone call…The plan was for the wedding to take place the following June, which gave me several months to finish the dresses, so I put them aside and went about my own crafting things figuring I’d hear more about the wedding in a few months and could start working on them again when the time drew closer.
June quickly came and went and I hadn’t heard anything from the bride about the wedding…she pretty much stopped all contact with me. Come to find out, she eloped in December and still didn’t bother to say anything to me. I’ve since found out how much her friendship actually was worth when I confronted her about the fact that I was so far out of the loop and that I was annoyed by the fact that I spent all my time and paid out money for something I wasn’t going to have a use for. Her reply was that I should be grateful that she didn’t choose the $125 dresses from the bridal store like she’d planned and that I was only out $50. There was no “thanks for all your effort” or “sorry that I did that to you.” I got nothing and being the glutton for punishment that I am, I tried to make the friendship work, but came to the realization that I was only a means to an end (she only called when she wanted something) and not a true friend. So, I cut all contact and I feel I’m the better person for it.
Anyway, the dresses have sat in a half finished state for a couple years and I finally had a purpose for mine. It was going to once again be worn for a wedding. Not as a bridesmaid like originally planned, but as a guest (or the mother of the ring bearer) and I was so happy about it. It turned out great! Here are a few pics from Glenn and Leana’s wedding.
Me in the dress with Bug as the Ring Bearer and Fidget just hanging out in the stroller.
Darling Hubby and the Boys.
The Wedding Party!
The Reluctant Ring Bearer (aka Frodo) who was happy that he got to be a bit silly during the photograph session.
Fidget playing with some spoons at the reception. We were trying to get a picture of his eyes changing color in the direct sunlight, but it wasn’t working. His eyes are this gray blue color, but in direct sunlight they can change from a vivid blue to a green color. I’m not sure what color they are going to end up!
Here’s one last picture of the whole dress. I’m dancing the Cha Cha Slide with Bug (who you notice is no longer in his monkey suit! He changed in the car before the reception started. lol) We had planned to make the dress knee length or from knee to ankle on the diagonal, but the cut of the dress didn’t work for it, so it was floor length with me getting to wear my prom shoes again. The sparkly silver 3 inch heeled ones that I’ve had since 1997.
So that’s what I’ve finished in the last month. I’m feeling pretty accomplished. Finishing a knit cardigan, 2 bags, 1 shawl and a pretty satin dress. Maybe that will give me the encouragement to finish the other things I have going on…a stuffed sheep for Fidget, a 750 page book that’s due to the library next Friday and a knit scarf for spring (I’d like to have it for Easter, but I’m not going to push my luck). Hey, I can say I’ve finished one more thing…this blog post!
Thanks!
