Needlework Tuesday - Prep Time Required

 I've had my fill of turkey this weekend though I could eat another slice of dairy free pumpkin pie.  Yes, we celebrated Thanksgiving in Canada yesterday.  My brother in law invited us to family dinner on Sunday and sent us home with ample left overs.  You might consider this overkill, but we had five pies (3 pumpkin, 1 apple and 1 blueberry) for dessert, but we found it was barely enough.  When I wasn't having dreams of turkey and pumpkin anything, I did do some stitching.

Instead of starting a new project, I added three more rounds to the afghan I have been crocheting.  I'm not very good with my tension, so the sides are getting a bit wonky.  It takes much stretching and prodding to get it to almost lie flat.  At this point, I am going to add some more black for an edging and call it big enough.

I ran into a slight problem with the scarf I have been knitting.  There was a knot tie during manufacturing. Unfortunately it interrupted a long colour repeat.  What to do. I couldn't continue as it was tied, it would have been an abrupt colour change.  Instead, I took the outside end of the ball and tied it to the cut end where i was working.  That's where the slightest bit of yellow shows near the middle of the photo.  In the end, it looks fine and no one will really care that the colour repeats on itself.

 Not sure where this one is destined, so it will sit in the scarf basket till a recipient is found.

I also spent some time prepping the materials for two projects.  First I washed and pressed all the cottons for the new quilt that I talked about last week.  It always takes longer than expected.  I like to wash all the sizing out and check for colour fastness. I have had some surprises with  magically shrinking fabrics as well as with serious bleeders. I'd rather get the surprises out of the way before I cut and start stitching.  I don't want to finish a quilt and then wash it and find the fabrics shrink unevenly or that the whites are now pinks.

Second, I washed the fabric for a new blouse.  I found a commercial pattern that accommodates larger bust sizes. Hopefully it sews up nicely and fits.  I'm tired of buying huge sizes so they are big enough around, and then end up with oversized neck and arm openings.  I haven't done much garment sewing in the past decade, so am  little out of practise.  It seems to take me ages to get the prep work done.  I'm sure it will be worth the effort so I don't mind.

It may seem like the prep work keeps you from starting a project, but in reality, it's what keeps a project flowing along nicely.  I do the same thing when cooking.  I read the recipe, get out and measure all the ingredients.  I line them up on the counter in the order the recipe calls for them and then I am ready to cook. It's so much easier when everything is prepared ahead of time; no last minute missing ingredients.  It works the same way with needlework.  Once I get everything ready, then I can enjoy the stitching.  There are some projects that I dive into and sort out the bits and pieces as I go, but they are the exception.

Do you plan and prep or do you dive right in???

 Needlework Tuesday is a regular weekly post where I share the progress of my various needlework projects over the past week. I enjoy the encouragement that I receive from my readers and in return visit their blogs and cheer them on with theirs. You are welcome to grab the cute little mouse and create your own Needlework Tuesday post. Leave a comment with a link and I'll be sure to visit with you.

I hope that you are having fun and  making progress on whatever project is dear to your heart at this moment.  Mister Linky is waiting below for a link to your needlework post.