use-it-up challenge

I have been inspired by Holly of Stupid is the New Awesome to get my butt in gear and put more work into my current craft projects. It is so easy to come down with a serious case of startitis, that one completely forgets that one already has several projects in the works. This is as much a project management technique as it is a shopping-control technique.

So here -- based on Holly's rules -- are mine:

1. At least one hour a day goes into the making of something, or a project has to be completed, whichever comes first.
2. Confession is on Sunday, where I tell what I did buy (sometimes you have to have thread and such). If I must buy something, it must be completely justifiable for project completion.
3. Multiple days can be accounted for in a single entry. This isn't a cop-out -- most of you know that blogging is rather time consuming, and the whole point of this challenge is to actually do, rather than shop for or talk about.
4. Pictures to document my progress. I have a tendancy to post pictures of raw materials and completely finished projects. I don't know about you, but I love seeing the in-between stages of other folks' projects.
5. Not sure how long this challenge goes on for. Let's say until the end of 2009 and see where we are (if I make it that long).

All that said, I totally just signed up for Bend the Rules Swap #4. For this, I must make an exception to the above rules. I will try, try, try to use fabric and notions out of my own stash, but if I get matched up with someone who wants their handbag to feature novelty vegetable prints or Victorian peonies, I'll be out of luck and off to the fabric store.

So, I started thinking along these lines as soon as I read Holly's post, trying to get an hour of crafting in every day, and because of that, I was able to quickly start and finish this fabric bucket. I devised the construction all on my own (though I am sure I am not the first person to construct a fabric bucket this way -- nothing groundbreaking going on here): a six-sided bag, each panel tapering down to a 30 degree point, lined and supported by fusible interfacing, topstitched around the top and folded over. It's part of a get-well-soon gift for a colleage of mine and the leader of our office "Yarnistas" group. My fellow Yarnistas have all donated some fun yarns for her to play with while she's getting better. Get well soon, Annie!

fabric: from my stash, the outer fabric is probably a Kona Solid or similar, and the lining is Tula Pink's Full Moon Forest, which I adore.

And before that, I whipped up these little heart name banners for my nieces. This is Zoe's, I also made one for Emma.

fabrics: leftover red & pink fabrics from the red & white quilt and fusible fleece from emily's diaper bag (both here), plus vintage muslin and some new ribbon.