Weekend Project: A Mouthful!

Bite off more than you can chew, then chew it. Plan more than you can do, then do it.

--Annonymous

I've got the first part of each sentence mastered - it's the second part that I'm struggling with! ;)

It's official - when I decided to weave kitchen towels as Christmas gifts for friends and family, I bit off more than I can chew. I took off the week between Christmas and New Year's Day and, once we returned home from the frozen hinterlands up North where our relatives live, I attacked a lengthy to-do list, including tons of weaving...

And the list fought back, and won. :(

I determined that it takes me approximately 16 hours, start to finish, to complete one kitchen towel kit (4 towels - gifts for 2 friends). The kicker is that only 4 of those hours are actually weaving! The first 11 hours are preparing to weave - measuring out the warp (length-wise threads) and warping the loom. The last hour is pulling the towels off the loom, stitching up the cross-wise edges, cutting them and washing them. (Of course, note that a more experienced weaver could probably do this more quickly.)

I finished one kit and I'm approximately half-way done with a second (although I'm hoping to get further before bedtime tonight.) That leaves 3 more kits to go - or approximately 48 hours worth of work! For Christmas presents! As in - Christmas, 2009! The one that is OVER! :(

WHAT was I thinking? (Well, not realizing that whole 16 hours per kit thing put me at a disadvantage during the planning process...)

Here's a picture of the set that I completed (although they haven't been washed yet).

The one advantage is that this extended project is really giving me practice with all the steps and skills... And I really do enjoy the process - it just stresses me out when I am so far behind a deadline.

I also squeezed in some time to work up a pattern for a little fabric pouch for the how-much-fabric cards. I was stumped for the longest time because I was putting the band along the shorter side of the rectangle, and then I couldn't get the mouth open wide enough to add any type of closure (like the buttonhole).

It's lined, so the whole pouch is closed up (with no seams showing) before I add the closure method. FINALLY it occured to me that I could put the band along the long side, making the mouth wider. It's still a challenge to get that buttonhole in, but it's possible.

What I need is a method (or sequence) of assembly that allows me to put in the buttonhole BEFORE I close up the pouch, but still allows me to close up the pouch with no seams showing. A bit of a spatial puzzle to ponder... I'm certainly open to suggestions - hint, hint! ;)

I can't believe I have to go back to work tomorrow... Sigh... Oh well, at least I have a job! :)

Not to mention very understanding friends who will not lynch me just because I still don't have their Christmas presents ready... ;)

(Just in case any of them are reading this.)

Parting Shot: Meredith recently asked how Oliver is doing. It's a miracle, but even Milly's frozen icy heart is beginning to thaw... ;)