When you can't count right.....

I really like to cross-stitch, it was the first form of needlework I learned how to do. My mom taught me when I was little. However, compared to embroidery it can be a pain in the butt because if you're off, even by one measly stitch it will ruin your whole day. Well maybe not your whole day, but you get the idea.
This time I was off by two stitches. For some reason it looks like more in the picture. I noticed it because my edges were off. Thankfully I caught it early on and I'll only need to rip out about 2 inches of stitches.

I do think it's looking great so far. It actually looks like the picture and the colors are kinda cool. I was worried when I started because there are varying shades of green, but I think it's going to look amazing when it's done.

The Jim Morrison Project

I've decided that before I start a new project, I need to finish an old one. One of the projects that I started awhile ago was a cross-stitch of the famous Jim Morrison Young Lion pose taken by Joel Brodsky in 1967.
I've been fascinated by Morrison since I was about 13, much to my husband's dismay my love of Jim has not waned over the years. I have quite a large collection of Jim Morrison / Doors memorabilia that most of which unfortunately is carefully packed away.

So here is the picture that I will be turning into cross-stitch:

Corset is *almost* finished!

Well it is almost done, I just need to put the eyelets in the straps. It has a few issues, mainly cosmetic. If I make it again using the same pattern, I'll make the straps a little bit wider as they are so narrow. I would probably make them a bit longer than well. And the tabs.....so far I just hate them. I think that once I wear the corset, the weight of the skirts will keep them down, or maybe if I ironed them but so far they just stick out.

Another problem I had was that when I bound the inside seams there were a couple spots where I caught the inside layer and then I couldn't get the zip ties in. I had to rip the binding up and then re-do it after I put the boning in and it just doesn't look very nice. Next time I'll also bind the inside seams with the same color material as the lining so it doesn't contrast.

Other than the stupid tabs that won't lay flat I think it turned out really well. I used a linen blend on the lining that I had left over from a tunic I made years ago and it match up fairly well. I just love the color of the fabric. I also really like how the channels look. The zip tie boning worked great, and was so much cheaper than traditional boning. I initially wanted to use hemp cord, but couldn't find any in the stores and was too impatient to wait to order it online.

I liked how the eyelets turned out. I really don't using grommets, mainly because the first and only time I tried they kept popping off. This is period for this type of corset anyway. I do wish I could figure out a way to make all the eyelets the same size. I think it's probably just practice.

Don't laugh at my PJ bottoms! I apologize for the crazy picture. I put the corset on in a rush to see if it fit okay. I don't have the straps done yet so they're not connected. It was actually fairly comfortable and fit well. There was a little rippling in the front but I think that once the busk is inserted it'll even that out.
I'm glad that it's done. My next step is the bum roll which will be super easy and take me about 30 minutes, and then the farthingale which honestly looks like it's going to be a pain in the butt!

Attack of the "UFO's"

I was talking to a friend of mine earlier about my tendency to start a project that should take weeks or maybe even months and then having that project turn into something that takes years to finish. I have crafts that I started before my daughter even started school, she's now getting ready to enter the 4th grade. I told her that I needed to start a support group because I know I am not the only one with this ahem...problem!

Honestly, it's bad. I actually started making a list of crafts I have started and not finished. The oldest one dates back to 2002-ish. I started it while we were stationed in Las Vegas, we left there in July 2004. In my defense I didn't quite realize how many UFO's I had until we finished our basement and I was finally able to move all my craft stuff from a dusty cramped crawlspace to my craft room. I was finally able to re-organize everything, throw out the trash and clean up my huge stash of fabric.

My husband is now retired from the Air Force and we moved a few times before our final move to Utah. I would buy something, have to pack it away, then forget that I had it and would re-purchase the same item. Luckily, everything is stuff that I will have a need for like my 4 iron on transfer pencils, but it only helped add to my UFO madness.

So now that I can fully admit that I have a problem with UFO's, my dilemma is how to I attack the problem? Do I go after them chronologically from oldest to newest? Do I attack them by genre; quilts, cross-stitch, embroidery? What if I'm not in the mood for that particular craft, which is probably why I put them down in the first place? What about the projects I have that I truly need now?

Sigh...I guess the best way to begin is to just start somewhere. Since I'm almost done with the corset I will start there, then onto the painted stool which is also almost done. Eventually I'll catch up. Right??!!