Obsessive Wild Hare Wednesday...

Just look at this photograph! Go ahead. Look carefully.
Enlarge it, if you need to, but check out the titles.
They're all knitting and crochet books.

I learned to knit when I was a kid, but like many others, put it away until later in life. In my case, I began knitting, in earnest, about eight years ago. When I did, I purchased my first book, Stitch 'n Bitch by Debbie Stoller. It's a fabulous book with great pictures to help any knitter learn or improve their techniques. It could have been enough. It should have been enough. Well, perhaps just a few patterns to make cool things for my family and friends were in order.

Instead, the Knitting Pattern Bug...a 'wild hare' of sorts...bit me. If you think these are all the books and patterns I own. Au contrair, Wild Hare. I'm more than embarrassed. I'm ashamed at my obsession. If you are looking for a particular title, let me know. I just might have it...and would give you a fair price.

Really. There's nothing to see here, people. Move along.

Although Shell has completed her "Wild Hare" Wednesdays over at Tales From The Raspberry Rabbits, I'm making up for last week when I missed the final post.

Really, I'll Be Fine...

Welcome to another "Wild Hare Wednesday"...

Don't worry, I didn't empty out another closet or dump the contents of all our dresser drawers out to be reorganized. I promised that this week I'd reach back in time for my story. In keeping with that promise, let's step into my Wayback Machine, shall we, Sherman?

I'm quite fortunate in that I was raised to believe there really isn't anything I can't accomplish if I practice and/or really put my mind to it and, until about 1985, I did pretty well with that. Then, it hit me. Right smack in the kisser. I still get a little queasy just thinking about it. Wait. Let me sit down before I proceed. It's ok. I think I'll be alright now.

What happened was that I had decided I wanted to make dolls. Go figure. It was about the time that the Cabbage Patch Kids were all receiving their printed birth certificates and being placed under cabbage leaves in family gardens. Little kids were begging for them. Moms and grandmas were frantically sewing, knitting or crocheting little outfits for the new arrivals (I still have patterns in case anyone is interested), and I was sitting in my sewing room with this idea that kept chewing at me. (I wouldn't have dreamed of calling it a studio in those days!)

Coming from a long line of educators, I had this boffo idea of going up against those insipid CPKs with an educational doll. Yeah, that's it. I'll call 'em "Tater Tots". (Stop laughing. I can hear you!) And, I would do more than a phony adoption or birth certificate. I would include a little growing kit along with it. Sure. Why not? I can package up a little baggie full of dirt, a peat pot and oh, I don't know...how 'bout a potato eye that would grow into a nice big 'tater when it was planted? (Do you need to run potty about now? Perhaps I can offer you a Kleenex to dry your eyes?)

I got all the way through this process and then headed to the sewing room. I was gonna make a doll. In my head it would be beautiful...and smart. Problem was, after a week of trying...in the end, the best I could do was this stuffed fabric lump that more closely resembled the next craze to come along...The Couch Potato! ARRRGGGHHH! Are you kidding me? I can't make a doll? How pathetic am I? Really? I can't make a little, flippin' doll? (Deep breaths, now.) Nope. All those years of false confidence, blown into the stratosphere in one short week.

So, all the planning and dreaming of wealth and fame ("Meet the woman who single-handedly took on a pop phenom like Cabbage Patch Dolls, or Pet Rocks, or Care Bears. Meet "The Mother of the Tater Tots"!) Yup. Then I woke up...as if from a bad dream. I want my mommy.

The boys still laugh about it. "Word" was passed along to our daughters-in-law. Everyone knows that they can ask me to make anything from Grammies Jammies to wedding gowns. But pity the poor fool that asks me to make a doll.

Head over to Shell's blog to check out the other "Wild Hare" stories. (Say "Hi" to Razzy and Sugie for me.) Oh, and so you don't think that beautiful doll face is anything I had a hand in creating...That baby face belongs to a Dear Ones™ doll created by Kezi Matthews. Here's a link to her sweet babies. I'm gonna go lie down now.

"Wild Hare" Wednesday, Currently In Progress....

Today's "Wild Hare" Wednesday is currently in progress. Please return later today to find out which "wild hare" has affilicted me, and just how I resolved my "issues"...
A few hints:
• a walk-in closet
• a guest room (more on that on another day)
• oh, my goodness!!!
Thank you for your patience...Later, gator!
UPDATE:
Just so you know what I'm up to...The Wild Hare that grabbed me today was to clean out my closet. What was I thinking? It's 3:15 in the afternoon. I have filled TWO yard waste sized garbage bags with clothing to donate to Goodwill, and I'm still not finished. I just wanted you to know that the mountain of clothes under which I'm buried is only half as big as it was when I started.

Thanks, Shell for the motivation to do this the last part of December. My closet will be clean and clutter-free in the new year! More later...(sigh)

By 6 pm today, I had filled THREE bags full, put all my clothes away and cleaned up the bedroom. Handsome came in, saw my progress for the day and said, "Hey, you want to go out for dinner tonight?" Isn't he just the best??? (We went to Sonnys for barbeque.)

So to finish off this interminable post...What the heck was I thinking?! Holy Moly! I'm thoroughly bushed! I think tomorrow I'll do something completely fun. Certainly nothing that involves emptying a large space, cleaning and restocking it! I also think that next week's Wild Hare Wednesday will involve a past experience. Also, although my back is a little tender, I was really careful not to re-injure or hurt myself today. We don't need any of that! Thanks again, Shell!

A "Wild Hare" Christmas...

In November, I got a "wild hare"...but didn't act upon it until November 30th. I had only started one of these projects prior to that date (the pink beaded Nantucket Scallop scarf). Nothing else had been cut, planned or decided until that date.

Since November 30th, I've been sharing my works-in-progress, and I can now officially declare that with one very small exception, all of my projects are finished! Ta Da!!! This "wild hare" has had this designer/blogger/seamstress/wife B-I-Z-Z-YYY! Now, I can slide into Christmas Eve without a project on my machine, stitching away like a little elf. Nope, not this year. But, I will admit, these past 23 days were a little hectic and I can attribute my successful completions to:

1. Having a list that I checked every day
2. Keeping track of my mailing deadlines
3. Three awesome sewing/serging machines
4. Having all my supplies on hand for each project
5. The support and belief from all of you, urging me to completion
6. My loving, understanding, Handsome husband, who always offered to take me out for dinner when he knew that I'd been really busy all day...and who praised me for every single project when I showed it to him.
   

Really, these were all the ways it was possible for me to accomplish this list. Next year, I promise to Handsome, with all of you as my witnesses, that my projects will all be finished by the end of November. There, I've written it down! I've said it! I mean it! I hope I remember it! Thank you to all of you for being my huge, loving, supportive cheering section. No more Christmas (sewing/knitting) Wild Hares next year! (Perhaps I'll bake instead!)

Thanks again to my friend, Shell May from Tales of the Raspberry Rabbits for hosting our "Wild Hare Wednesdays". Visit her blog to see more "wild hare" contributors.

Last, but not least...HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our wonderful grandson. Grandpa and I hope you have the best eighth birthday a boy ever had.

Thanks to everyone who left comments on the Orchestra and Handsome's performance. He loved reading everything y'all said! Oh, and don't forget to go to my Dec. 21st post if you haven't already. You may want to join in my Christmas Giveaway Drawing if you're one of my followers.

My First "Wild Hare" Wednesday Post...

Thanks to Michelle from Tales of The Raspberry Rabbits for hosting "Wild Hare" Wednesdays! If I understand correctly, we're supposed to give examples of when we were struck with a "wild hare" and did something completely wild, silly or outlandish. Well, my dears, I think that my posts from the last two days are quite outlandish enough for one week, so instead I'll tell you about how I was struck yesterday with a "wild hare".

Before

In the middle of being "up-to-my-hoo-ha-in-alligators" - trying to complete my Christmas projects - I realized that I had more of a mess than I could tolerate. If you're like me, once you start creating, the mess kind of takes over until you finish the project. As I've had multiple things going at the same time, I just couldn't stand the chaos a minute longer. So, in the middle of all my projects, I tore my studio up a bit more...and cleaned.

I also realized that if I got out Miss Ellie's little sister, Prissy (my Babylock Espire quilting machine), I could actually be doing embroideries on one machine while I sewed on the other. It takes up a little bit more room, but time saved will be worth it.

After

It may still look chaotic to you, but I have clean work spaces and open tables - plus the second machine set up - so it's going to work great for me until after my Christmas Workshop closes for this season!

Here's what I managed to finish yesterday, in spite of the "wild hare" to clean up my studio (hear me roar!)...a set of lavender & wool-filled linen sachets, an acorn ornament, and a linen pincushion with linen lace and hand stitched trim.
The lavender & wool-filled sachets have mother of pearl buttons (a heart, a moon and a flower) and sweet little bows as adornments. I then wrapped them together as you see in the photo above, tying them with a brown ribbon and my signature acorn charm.
Do you think you'd like to see some of these in my Boutique? Perhaps after all the mandatory holiday projects are completed...

One last bit of information. Debra of Common Ground won my Ten Things About Me contest yesterday, but I neglected to share what she won. (sheesh!) I went back and added it to yesterday's post, but I wanted to show it here, too. I've been working on perfecting my needle keeps. All my prototypes were mailed out to the winners of my Followers Only Birthday Giveaway - imperfections and all. I made a number of new ones with my Brynwood label on them, and Debra will receive one of the new designs. I'll be selling these in my Boutique soon.

Be sure to go to Dawn's The Feathered Nest. She's having a wonderful giveaway to celebrate 1200 posts and 400 followers! Congratulations, Dawn on an awe-inspiring accomplishment! You can click on the button here, or in my left sidebar to go to her drawing. Hurry! It ends on Dec. 13th!

A clean studio and a few finished Christmas gifts. Not bad for my first "Wild Hare" Wednesday, I think. Have a great day, and May All Your Hares Be Wild!