fulfill all my past swap obligations

It’s hard to fulfill any swap obligations at all, easy or difficult, simple or complex, past or present or future, when my stuff is variously in boxes, in piles, or not in my current residence. Whew! I need a) to get all my creative thingies over here, b) all of them unpacked and organized enough to at least use, and c) space to use them in. Maybe Brian will take apart the Giant Leather Chair of Doom tonight, and then I’ll be able to move things around, and get back to actually making and doing things. Maybe I’ll feel like less of a slacker when I can do things again, without digging through eighteen boxes and braving the Kitty Terrors with any project I attempt to do. ;)

...is packaged and it will go out next week. I also left a Flickr message for the person who’s supposed to get my Fabric Scrap Craft Swap, since she didn’t answer my email to her address listed on Swap-bot. ::twiddles fingers::

So I’m making some progress. If only I get some art done next week, then I may be good … ;) Kind of exciting. :D

It looks like I’m going to miss my deadline—although I usually do. ;) If I’m recovered from angst shellshock on Monday, I’ll probably run and try to finish a lot of the things on this list, but in case I don’t, I ought to pick my UFOs to finish, eh?

I pick…

*Beth’s black alpaca lace shawl OR my Knit Your Own Adventure Mystery Garden Pi shawl
*My Moonlight Mohair cape
*Virginia’s cabled chenille scarf
*Anne’s Eyelet Spiral Socks

I know that’s four items and not three, but, well, there it is. ;)

Finally covering a journal for the Creative Journal Swap. Woohoo. ;)

But here’s a funny thing: my “or else I’ll…” for this personal challenge is no longer very relevant, meaning I’ve actually done it already in the past couple of months, and it’s no longer really much of a prod. Wanting to finish this challenge is still a prod, but it always was, and the fact that I can’t edit the personal challenge (which has a very reasonable basis) means that I can’t change my “or else” to something that makes more sense.

Oh, well. I don’t really mind. I’ll just re-challenge myself if I leave the goal uncompleted, or something, and make the deadline shorter and the “or else” something more currently meaningful.

Yayyy! I did finish the pin cushion, and I’ve emailed the person it’s supposed to go to in order to confirm the address she has listed on her Swap-bot account, so it should be on its way quite soon. Huzzah! One more thing to cross off the list!

That personal challenge clock is ticking … ;)

...for the Fabric Scrap Craft. I’ll probably finish it today, too. Woo.

One of the evil kitties sprayed on the plastic bag containing my in-progress coiled rag basket for the UberLate Fabric Scrap Craft. The basket itself, with all the immediately relevant rags, was hiding under a bunch of the other fabric scraps, and doesn’t seem to have gotten hit, but all the same I started thinking about other things to do, in case. On digging through the scrap box over here, I pulled out some of the brocade I used for Virginia’s first recital dress, and thought, Hmm, this would make a cute pin cushion ... So I immediately cut out two squares, and got out the needles and thread. Then I decided it deserved some lace trim, but I don’t have any handy that looks right, so I knit some. ;D I blocked it yesterday, it’s dry today, and if I were a good girl I would sew it all up today and have that done and ready. Instead I’m working on a shawl for a trade.

But still, I have all the pieces ready for putting together a Fabric Scrap Craft that may be fine to send. :D I’ll probably go and work on the basket some more, or make something else just in case, but it’ll be nice to know I actually have a Finished Object for this UberLate swap.

One Small Shrine was officially received and reported to me by my poor swap partner (but hey, at least she finally got it ;)). She has yet to update my rating to reflect that she received something, but I did email her about that, too, and hopefully she’ll actually change it at some point … Regardless, she did let me know it got there, so that’s one swap obligation fulfilled!

I can’t figure out how to make the strikethrough code take, by the by, on the big list of swap obligations. Mumble.

I’m only including obligations in the top two categories under my challenge, since the others are more RAKs in nature than unfulfilled obligations that draw negatively on others. The last two categories of obligations are the ones that will make me feel more completely positive once I have them fulfilled, but which don’t actively make anyone else feel bad, since they’re “extra kindnesses” and not debts I owe.

• One Small Shrine {sent February 02, 2007}
• Creative Journal {item finished April 19ish, 2007; packaged up as of April 27, 2007; sent May 01, 2007}
• Fabric Scrap Craft {item finished April 17, 2007; sent May 01, 2007}

• Fabric-themed ATCs (2 down, 1 to go)
• Myth and Monsters ATCs (2)
• Fairy tale ATCs (1 down, 1 almost finished)
• 2 misc. return ATCs

• Fairy Tales WTA ATC for Kate of the old Mini Canvas
• A mini ATC for Leslie
• A travel tip-in for Susan (of old Grace Halal group; if I can still find her address)
• A Mink ATC RAK or other ATC RAK for Cecilia (from old Grace Halal group, if I can find her address)

• Return postcard to Sandra Grohmann
• Brenda Butler RAK (EccentricPastiche)
• Prayer shawl for Grace of Grace Halal group
• Starry Night ATC RAK for Anne of EccentricPastiche
• Me-birthday (hobbit-style birthday ;)) gift for bluestocking9
• Jewelry for Hayley
• Knit gift for Liliana’s baby
• Plain white top to Kata

...is packaged up and ready to go, fulfilling one of my UberLate Swap Obligations. Whew! A list of things I owe others will follow. :D