Knitting & Crochet Blog Week IV - 2013!

I am very excited that eskimimi is leading the charge on this again. I am planning on participating this week and I hope you do the same! I enjoy discovering new blogs & crafty friends!

Are you ready?

Yarn Along / WIP Wednesday - For the kids edition

Truth: It's been a decent week for starting projects. I am super pleased at how a few of them are progressing, so that's good. I am not so pleased with how a finger on my hook holding hand tends to cramp up / lock straight when I crochet an awful lot. Has this happened to you? I hold my hook in my left hand, not always like a knife and not always like a pencil, but frequently my ring finger will be bothered.  Obviously it is not keeping me from the craft!

Two books arrived last week: Topsy Turvy: Inside-Out Knit Toys by Susan B. Anderson and Amigurumi Two by Ana Paula Rimoli.  They are adorable and I have already queued up several patterns; I even have perfect yarns to use right away! We've been reading Little House in the Big Woods with Lorelai at night, which I am really excited about. We were using my copy from when I was a kid, the one that came in the yellow box set - did you have that? Well, it is a well-loved, well-read copy, with many yellowed pages and a broken spine.  Last night the book split in several parts and I need to tape it back together. We have ordered her her own copy! It is so different to read that book now as a grown up and just think about all the work that went into just staying alive out in the Big Woods. Pa caught a bear, YAY - food! But then, woah - all the prep! Spend all day making butter? Amazing.

I have slowed down on my Morning Coffee, due only to my own distractions.  I am on the cable detail at the cuff of the first sleeve.  I've crocheted half a pair of baby sandals for a gift, started a cactus for a swap, gotten the body of the second slug ready for the eyeballs to be attached, and I've been tackling the Springtime Sampler. I'm only showing the sampler here with the books because it's just a bit too much to gather everything up right now!


It's April vacation this week, so in addition to my usual struggles with distractions, both kiddos are running wild.  Yesterday, L came over to me and said "Mom, I think there's a beaver in our yard."  Ummmm, I don't think so kiddo.  "But Moooom, it's still there!".  What do you know? She was right - almost! Apparently a groundhog has moved in under a gazebo in our backyard!  He's probably the size of Jackson, and Jackson wanted to go after him!

 

Make More Light.

My heart goes out to Boston. New England may be 6 states big, but it all feels like a small town. What do we do while our hearts are heavy? Make an appointment to give blood.  Look to the helpers. And this:

So yesterday, we started our seeds. There's hope there.

FO Friday - a peek

Oh the cuteness, I can barely stand it! Last night at SnB I practiced my crochet skills on this wee little baby toy.  It's adorable, and was quick and easy to make, but I'm not 100% happy with it - maybe only 98%! I will be adjusting a few things when I make it again - hook size & stuffing most notably. Working on this and the arrival of two books, that I'll share next Yarn Along, has given me such a boost that I want to start All. The. Things. And you already know about my issues with startitis.  For now, I am letting ideas simmer as I carefully consider the yarn choices and get those other projects done! I am ready to work the cuff on first sleeve of my sweater, so yay! Here's to a crafty weekend!

WIP Wednesday - a bit of everything

Instagram has captured what I have worked on this week.  I finally cleared out my garden beds. After a not-so-successful garden last year (the weeds won), I left everything there over the winter. I figure it gives a little bit back to the soil. This year, with the sole exception of green beans, we're going to try and have a flower garden. This will give the soil a break from our usual attempts of general vegetables. Our house came landscaped, which is great and all, but I miss seeing the blooms.  Hopefully this will also attract butterflies!


The body of my Morning Coffee sweater is done and I love it! I have started a sleeve and it is slowly but surely moving along.  Speaking of coffee, I tried a coffee "recipe" I saw online - this particular blogger raved about coffee + coconut milk + cocoa powder, so I gave it a try. And I will not be doing that again - ugh! I will stick with my cream and sugar.



The weather has taken such a nice turn over the last week or so, we've been getting outside just about every day! Yesterday I was so tired at the end I didn't even want to pick up my knitting, or crochet! Shocking! Thankfully I have another craft in the works. I think I mentioned being bit by the cross stitch bug - I have the Woodland Sampler and the Springtime Sampler, both from the Frosted Pumpkin. I am behind on both, and I am not fast at it, but I really enjoy it. One little stitch at a time.

I haven't been reading much, a few fluff magazines is about it, but I am expecting a few books to arrive soon to help with my toy box project! I also really need to get moving on a few custom-request items, so hopefully I will have some fun to show on Friday!

Quarter 1 - Review

At work we do a quarterly review of statistics for our clients and I thought maybe it seemed like a good idea to check in on my self-imposed Resolutions & Intentions.

1. Knit / Crochet at least 13 skeins that have been stashed before 1/1/12 (inspired by the Use It or Lose It thread in the Stash & Burn podcast group) : I've used many partials thanks to fingerless mitts and amigurumis; at this point I've used up 2 skeins: Princess Slug used 1, Sweet Fern Mitts used 1.

2. Knit / Crochet at least 13 items queued before 1/1/12: I have learned that when I start a project, I need to make a note about when I queued it! I am positive that the Sweet Fern Mitts and the Nathair Mitts were queued before 2012, so that's 2.

3. Knit / Crochet at least 13 items as samples / knit-for-hire: 1 for Plymouth, 1 Miss Adler crochet cowl, 2 slugs have been requested by a friend, 3 tiny owls have been requested by another, so that's 7 things.

4. Knit / Crochet at least 13 hats for PatPatsHats: I have 1 done. 

5. Pie in the sky - can I knit / crochet at least 13 new-to-me techniques? (Socks) Sweet Tomato Heel, unusual construction, stripes, 2-at-a-time / Colorwork / Adding shaping / my own design of something? I've started the second Carousel sock, so that's 1 for unique construction.  I'm not modifying the pattern of my Morning Coffee, but I have taken the "Knit to Flatter" class on Craftsy and am considering how to do shaping on my "next favorite sweater", as Amy Herzog would say!

I think I'm doing ok. There's still work to be done and much of the year to go!

WIP Wednesday - Ombre Coffee

I've been really pushing myself on my Morning Coffee sweater. I would like to be able to wear it a few times before fall! The body needs one more inch or so and then several inches of ribbing. I should be able to start the sleeves next week! Except for the first skein which was used to knit most of the yoke, I have been alternating skeins. You can see there is a slight ombre effect going on here, but I'm ok with it. I have added what feels like 2398754 more things to my mental queue - the beginning of the month is always like that, but this month we have the added excitement of my baby (19 months now!) being awake a lot more when I need to get work done! Also, I am going to be an aunt this summer! My niece is due to arrive in August sometime! I am very excited and I've coordinated with my SIL (who is not just a knitter but the daughter of a knitter too) with special-request items.  Lucky for my blog readers, I am sure to have multiple projects going so I won't have to just show teaser pictures between now and then!