create.share.love

Currently // February 2017

reading The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North and loving it so far. I found it at my local library and basically just picked it because it has such a great cover. But now I can say, that the story is truly fascinating.

updating my Goodreads acount with every book I read this year. I didn't set the goal to read more books in 2017 but I definitely found my love for reading again.

knitting the Range Shawl by Andrea Mowry with the softest yarn by madelinetosh. This is my first shawl and I can't wait to see the finished project.

sewing my second Driftless Cardigan. The first one didn't turn out well because I used the wrong fabric. I hope this time it'll look better. As soon as I finish it, I will share more about it (and the failed one) on the blog.

signed up for FibreShare. It's my first time doing it and I'm already thinking about what to add to my package of wool.

catching up on past projects and breaking each project down into manageable steps in my Get To Work Book (more about this soon). On my list is was re-doing my 2014 Norden Minibook on the road. The main reason why I wanted to re-do it is because it's written in English. But friends and family speak German. So when I wanted to show them my minibook they didn't understand what I wrote. Now that I have it in German they can read the words.

planning my 2017 garden. Can't wait to start again this year. This project is something I am looking forward to each spring. It's hard work but it makes me so happy.

taking time each day to knit or sew something. This is part of the February one little word® prompt where we had to pick something we wanted to do every day in February. This totally helped me to finish a few projects (Bellows Cardigan, Hemlock Tee, Diode Hat).

Sewing Project | Hemlock Tee

I wanted to make a Hemlock Tee by Grainline Studio for a while and now I finally made it. It's a free pattern you get, when you sign up for the newsletter. It turned out okay, but was a little bit too oversized for my taste. Especially around the sleeves.

Pattern: Hemlock Tee by Grainline Studio (it's free!)

Fabric: blue cotton jersey from my stash

Size made: there is only one size available

Modifications: none. But I will definitely make a few for my next version

I like the lenght of the body and that it's loose fitting. But the next time I'm sewing it I'll take in the sleeves a few inches. There is just too much fabric in that area. Another thing I'm thinking about adjusting is the neckline. It's definitely on the wider side which I don't like that much (you can see in the first photo that my tank top I'm wearing underneath is visible).

Maybe the fabric wasn't the best choice for this pattern. Maybe a lighter fabric would work better. I will definitely sew another Hemlock Tee, but as I mentioned above, I will make the sleeves smaller.

I sewed this one with my regular sewing machine (I have a Bernina 530) and an overlock stitch. It worked really well but I'm thinking about investing in an Overlock machine. It would make it so much easier.

 

P.S. I totally copied that informative part about the pattern and fabric I used from Fancy Tiger Crafts' blog. I just love to have all important information in plain sight.

Project Life® album | January 2017

Today I share my January spreads of my personal Project Life® album. I can't say it enough, I just love this little album of mine. To have a place for all the little stuff I collect through the month and to keep my many photos I take.

The striped card as well as the "my story" stamp and the phrase stamps below the 2017 are from past Story Kits™ and Story Stamps™. The number stamps are from Kelly Purkey (not available anymore) and the 3x4 "this year" card is from JamaicaMakes.

Each month I start with a title on the top left. I don't follow chronologically through the month. I just combine stuff whenever it makes sense, mostly similar stories/projects are together. On the right I included a 5x7" photo directly into my album. I like to change things up throughout the album.

Stamps on my photo on the top are from PAPIERPROJEKT. The filler card on the bottom left is from a past Story Kit™.

Reading card is from In a Creative Bubble, the numbers I stamped on that card are from Papierprojekt.

This spread is something I plan to include every month. Because space is limited and I don't want to fill more than one album per year I decided to create a collage where I can collect several photos but don't have to use that much space. Each small photo has a number and on the left I wrote something about those numbers (photos).

On the left is that 6x8 page I showed you in this blog post two weeks ago. In January (and December 2016) I received some new-to-me wool from different brands. I always like the packaging of those orders and decided to just add them to a 4x6 card.

The focus of my last double spread is on my knitting and sewing projects I was working on in January. The 3x4 card with the smaller photo is a free template from Cathy Zielske which I LOVE to use.

That's it for January. What about you? Do you keep a personal Project Life® album as well? If so, please share a link in the comments.

 

WHAT IS A PERSONAL PROJECT LIFE® ALBUM?
It's an additional album to our family album. In this album I tell my own story. It's all about my projects, books I read, important text messages/e-mails I get, what I eat and drink, basically stuff I share on my Instagram account.

SUPPLIES I USED
Basic Supplies List, 6x8 album from Studio Calico, I print my photos at home with my Epson SureColor P400 on Canon semi gloss photo paper

One Little Word® 2017 | January

Welcome to the first month of my one little word® album. Today I share all my January pages with you. This is my fourth year picking a word and like the past three times January is always the most intense month because you have to cover so many different things. But it's such an important month too because you set the tone for your upcoming year.

As always I document the prompts from the class in a 5x7" album. I started with that in 2014 and it is just the right size for me (and I like when everything has the same size). For my cover I decided to recreate the pattern of one of the albums that was sold through AliEdwards.com. I stamped over and over with the words "one little word" from the 2015 one little word® stamp set (which isn't available anymore). And on top I added one of the printables that came with the class. 

I took that photo of me primarily for my 2017 Project Life® title page. But now I use it for all those projects where I need a photo of me. The photo is 3x8" and I adhered it to a 4x8" piece of paper. This way I didn't have to punch through my face. The "jan" circle is from the class and I adhered it to a gold circle.

On the back of the 4x8" page I added a patterned paper and another class printable. All printables from the class are designed for either a 6x8" album or a 8.5x11" album. Therefor I have to adjust everything to fit my size.

I found that quote on Pinterest and thought it was perfect. This is what balance is.

For my "intentions" page I made a simple mindmap. I really like this method to get everything out of my head.

And that's it for now. How are you documenting your journey with your word? Did you pick a word? Let me know in the comments. I always love to hear about how others are doing with their word.

 

READ MORE ABOUT MY JOURNEY WITH MY ONE LITTLE WORD HERE
why I chose BALANCE //

one little word® 2016: LIGHT // one little word® 2015:  QUALITY // one little word® 2014: OPEN

BASIC SUPPLIES
several items (stickers, stamp sets, notepad) from the 2017 selection at AliEdwards.com, all printables are part of the class, precision pen in #03, black StazOn ink pad, thick white cardstock from StampinUp

*One Little Word® is a concept created by Ali Edwards where you pick a word at the beginning of the year. You work with your word on a year long journey. You can find out more about the class and sign up here.