WAYWO: What are you working one, is a diary for crafty people who like doing things with their hands and heads and hearts!
I am this week's volunteer. Summer is so much fun because there is so much daylight with which to get things done!
Of course, I went Berry picking last week! Picked a couple of gallons of blackberries! The weather was delightful...we haven't had much rain so there were NO mosquitoes! Berry picking is a lot more enjoyable without the mosquitoes. Of course, all those wild berries meant a lot of batches of jam! 32 half pint jars!!!! I'll never be able to use them all! Of course we finished 2 jars already....yes, the jam was THAT good!
and jelly isn't may only summer craft...follow the swirl.
I do a lot of crocheting in the summer....something about the colors inspires colorful doilies:
There is a reason, I don't like to do large flowered doilies...they just take too long because the directions don't make sense to me and I end up making a sample flower or two before I figure it out. I had a terrible time with the daffodils when i made them 6 years ago...before I settled on a pattern that worked:
And it was the same with the tulips...they were needlessly complicated and I don't think the pattern directions justified all the work required..there just has to be a simpler pattern.
I decided to do the Hummingbird pattern that I'd had sitting around,but, like the flowers, I did NOT like the butterflies so I changed them to this:
from this:
However, I was NOT satisfied with the butterflies and decided to change them again.
And the finished doily :
Yes, This pattern is better and the "shaded yellows" is better, to my liking, than a solid yellow with an edge.
I have also been working on my pottery....since my kiln is outside, I only fire when the weather is good...i.e. not rainy.
The trouble is...now that I'm throwing better after 20 years( I wish I had started before I was 40), my glazing still gives me surprises....some of which are not too pleasing. I bisque fired last week and glaze fired yesterday and will have to re-glaze some pieces and see what I can save... Oh well.
I did attend the DuPage County Fair here, in Illinois, and have decided to enter the homemaking skills events. I know my doilies are better than any displayed...and the knitting and quilting samples were nothing special either....I have seen much better samples featured on WAYWO every week! I would encourage everyone to attend a local county fair and perhaps, enter a sample or two of their work! There are loads of artistic categories, painting, photography, canning(jelly/jam), toy making, potting....loads of opportunities!
On Saturday, I will highlight my firing and glazing attempts in Koscraft so give a look for those fiascoes and surprises!
So what are you doing to pass the time?