A quick Update

 

What I finished in April-June:

Ripples Neckware from Darn Good Yarn

Champagne Cowl

 What's in the works:
 February Mood Scarf
Temperature Scarf
Supernatural Square
Grape Fingerless Gloves & Hat
Toothless
Mom's Shawl
Gilda Wristwarmers
Joy of Rescue Shawl
Connie's Ray of Hope Wall Hanging

What's ComingUp Next:

Lollypop Farms Cat Blankets
Owl Track Socks
Pixie Moon Doll
Cloudborn Purple Socks
Crochet Knee-high Socks
Crochet Hedgehog (Susan)
Twisted Kraken Hat - Crochet
Cheerful Step Socks
Fast Floral Legwarmers
Grape Fingerless Gloves & Hat
Step Lively Beret
Blue Fingerless Gloves
Twisted Knitter Socks
Intermezzio Shawl
Water Shawl MKAL
Negan's Revenge Shawl
Slouchy Camas Hat
Druidess Beret
Through the Woods Hood
Red Stripe Socks
Celtic Triad Socks
Windowpane Socks
Unintentionally Shawl/Scarf
Baby -Tree of Life Blanket
Portacula Cardigan - Purple
Portacula Cardigan - Grey
Groot Square
Rose Quartz Shawl

Review of $10 Darn Good Yarn Box

So, I decided to spoil myself since I had a coupon and ordered a Darn Good Yarn $10 box. I was all excited when the box arrived as it contained a $19.99 set of knitting needles and crochet hook, and a ball of worsted weight roving silk that goes for $11.99 as well as a booklet with two patterns. Great deal. 

 

 

I chose the crochet pattern because it was more interesting, as soon as I started using the yarn I was overwhelmed by a strong perfume scent. I contacted them about the smell and they gave suggestions as to how to get rid of it, as well as a sweet apology. I guess the soap they use to remove the excess dye is scented. Once I could see again, and the yarn had time to air, I worked a couple of rows. The written part of the pattern was somewhat confusing, but the diagram was much easier to follow and it's coming along nicely. The colors are perfect for Gay Pride Month.

 

 

 

But back to my thoughts on the box. The other thing that was disappointing was after two rows, the color is rubbing off the hook as you can see in the pictures. I am curious as to if the color will wear off the knitting needles as quickly. I'm used to wear on my needles, I use bamboo ones all the time, but had they thought it through, they would have put the color on the other end.

 

Although there were some disappointments, you definitely get your money's worth with this box, and I will give them one more try. Will let you know my thoughts next month.

Knitting Queue for 2018 - April Update

I did not finish a whole lot over the past month, it was a rough time in our house between extended family stress, losing a beloved pet while she was having surgery, then losing another pet a couple of weeks later. I did start a couple of new projects and got some work done on my Mom's shawl (which is becomming a bigger project than I expected.)So, here's what's what for now...
 

What I finished in March:

Kayla's Kindness Monster w/Hat - Completed 3/16/18

 What's in the works:

Mom's Shawl

Gilda Wristwarmers

Champagne Cowl for Kayla

Charity hats
Toothless
Supernatural Square
February Mood Scarf   
Temperature Scarf

What's Done:

Simple Shawl - frogged

Hat & Scarf for Kye's Sock Monkey - Completed 1/14/18
Kye's socks - Completed    1/19/18
Thick Tweed Socks, dark - Completed 1/24/18
Thick Tweed Socks, light - Completed 1/26/18
Leftovers Hat - Completed 1/28/18
Cotton Candy Hat - Completed 1/30/18
VA Hat - Completed 2/18/18
VA fingerless gloves - Completed 2/19/18

What's ComingUp Next:

Lollypop Farms Cat Blankets
Owl Track Socks
Pixie Moon Doll
Cloudborn Purple Socks
Crochet Knee-high Socks
Crochet Hedgehog (Susan)
Twisted Kraken Hat - Crochet
Cheerful Step Socks
Fast Floral Legwarmers
Grape Fingerless Gloves & Hat
Step Lively Beret
Blue Fingerless Gloves
Twisted Knitter Socks
Intermezzio Shawl
Water Shawl MKAL
Negan's Revenge Shawl
Slouchy Camas Hat
Druidess Beret
Through the Woods Hood
Red Stripe Socks
Celtic Triad Socks
Windowpane Socks
Unintentionally Shawl/Scarf
Baby -Tree of Life Blanket
Portacula Cardigan - Purple
Portacula Cardigan - Grey
Groot Square
Rose Quartz Shawl

And it's March already!

So. I've been doing some drop-spinning...

 

I even made a little monster with my hand-spun yarn (the green) and I am working on making some yarn (with the purples) to give him a hat.

The only other crafty accomplishment I've done over the last few weeks is make a hat and fingerless gloves while down in VA because we brought the snow and cold with us on our visit...

 And when we got back I made a polymer Swablu for my son.

 

One month down....

Already into February. Not much completed this week, mostly working on the shawl for my mom, then this morning I find this:

Jean-Luc, our grey tiger cat, decided I needed to work on the project more, so he tried to bring it up to the third floor for me. Thankfully he only pulled out a handful of stitches, and it was a quick fix.

When I saw all the loose yarn I panicked, thinking he ripped out lots of work, but no, it was all just the lengths pulled from the skeins as he brought it up to me.

Other than this, I've not been too crafty, but then shawls are like blankets, they go on forever and each row takes an hour. LOL 

Mom, I promise I will get this done for you before your birthday. I hope. As long as Jean doesn't try to bring it to me again. Love you!

2018 Craft Update

So far this year I've finished a few things, have several works in progress (WiP's) and quite the to-do list, so here you go. I've got a lot on my plate, but having done several super bulky projects over the last couple weeks really got me in a groove!

Finished:

Cotton Candy Hat

Dark Tweed Slipper Socks

Leftovers Hat

Kye's Fire & Ice Socks

Light Tweed Slipper Socks

Sewn Sock Monkey with Knit Hat & Scarf

Current WiP's and their start dates:
Mom's Shawl (December 15, 2017)
Simple Shawl (July 26, 2017)
Kayla's Toothless - crochet (March 19, 2017)
Fingerless Gloves, Hat and Cowl Set (March 11, 2017)
Double Sided Supernatural Square (March 8, 2017)
February Mood Scarf (February 2, 2016)
Temperature Scarf (January 12, 2016)

And here's the to-do list:
Champagne Cowl (Kayla)
Pixie Moon Doll
Lollypop Farms Cat Blankets
Purple Cloudborn Socks

Twisted Kraken Hat
Cheerful Step Socks
Fast Floral Legwarmers

Step Lively Beret
Blue Fingerless Gloves
Twisted Knitter Socks
Intermezzio Shawl
Water Shawl MKAL
Negan's Revenge Shawl
Slouchy Camas Hat
Druidess Beret
Through the Woods Hood
Red Stripe Socks
Celtic Triad Socks
Windowpane Socks
Unintentionally Shawl/Scarf
Baby -Tree of Life Blanket
Portacula Cardigan - Purple
Portacula Cardigan - Grey
Monty Python Square

Light and Up by Caroline Wiens - Knit Shawl Kit

 So I finally finished my Light and Up Knit Shawl Kit by Caroline Wien and I absolutely love it. Granted, I did an extra set in the pattern, which left me short when it came to the finish and I had to buy another skein to complete it, but that was all on me. After washing and draping it over the shower rod, since I didn't have anything large enough to properly block it, the pattern opened up nicely and it is so soft. Definitely my favorite shawl yet.

As you might notice, I left off the tassels, this is a personal preference. I just think tassels are for bookmarks and graduation hats, and not much else. LOL

And here are a few close-ups:

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Post 22

I have finally finished the second pair of socks in the Craftsy Sock Knit-Along and it was worth it. The i-cord cuff was a bit of a pain, well pretty much the entire sock was at one point or another, but it was worth it, they fit and they look great. So happy with them.

Working the i-cord, what an interesting method

Attempting to show the cuff stretch with the i-cord

They fit beautifully

Tuesday Totals

Well, I am on the i-cord for the Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-along - Serpentine Toe-Up Sock by Lucy Neatby and hoping to have them done by end of day.

I am on the second patterned row of the Light and Up Shawl by Caroline Wiens, this one keeps getting bigger, thus taking longer with each row so I am not really sure when I will get this done. hehe

As soon as the socks are done, I will be starting Kayla's Simple Toe-Up Garter Stitch Heel Socks which are a combination of a couple sock patterns I came across.

Trying to catch up on my Temperature Scarf (was almost a month behind in my knitting) and the February Mood Scarf (still have 5 days to go but the Moss stitch takes forever to knit.)

I joined a MKAL (mystery knit-along) called The Philosopher's Stone by Erica Jackofsky (Fiddle Knits) which begins July 15, 2016. I am really excited about this, I've been interested in these MKAL's for a while and this one I managed to catch while the pattern was free. Looking forward to it!

If I finish the Light and UP Shawl in time, I hope to start (and finish) the Unintentionally Infinity Shawl/Scarf by Siew Clark.

After that...
Druidess Beret
Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-along - Windowpane Socks
Zombie Socks
Red Toe-Up Socks
Blue Toe-Up Socks
Lady Jessica Steampunk Cowl
Celtic Triad Socks
Through the Woods Hood in Blue
Baby Tree of Life Throw
Portulaca Cardigan

Looking to be a very busy year of knitting for me! What do you have going? Please share and link back. Happy knitting!

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Post 21

Front, Back and Side Views

So it feels as if I have been knitting these socks for forever! Okay, so it has only been since February, but still!

On the bright side, the Serpentine Socks are nearly done, just have a couple more rows of straight knit on sock 2, then the fancy cuffs. So excited to get these puppies finished and on my feet.

I love the pattern, although it takes forever to work up because of all the decreases, increases and cross-overs, it looks absolutely lovely!

If you have not been keeping up, these are for a FREE Knit-Along through Craftsy, learn to knit 3 wonderful pair of socks.

If you're doing the knit-along, please feel free to drop a link here to share your work. :)

Crochet Mouse Tube

So we got each of the younger kids 2 mice for pets. They were doing fine for a while, but the boys have gotten restless as the weather warms and now there is usually one little guy stuck sleeping out in the open while the other hogs the nice comfy bed, so I decided to make a mouse tube for each of them.

It has been a while since I pulled out a crochet hook, I've become addicted to knitting, but for this project I wanted to go back to the classic method since it would be easier to add the pipe cleaner stabilizer to it.  Keep in mind, I do not write patterns, I am not the least bit skilled at writing patterns, and this is more for me in case I decide to make another one, but I figured I would share it with everyone else in case someone wants to try for themselves.

So, here it goes...

Crochet Mouse Tube

1. With US I crochet hook and cotton yarn, cast on 22-25 stitches (or whatever size you like, these guys are smaller and I wanted to make it cuddly but you can make a larger one if you like,) join to make a circle.

2. Single crochet one row.

3. Make a pipe cleaner ring the size of the circle and attach by single crocheting around it. (yes I am a lefty.)

     

4-6. Single crochet for next 3 rows.

7-8. {Single crochet 5 stitches, add 1 stitch} around for 2 rows.

9-10. Single crochet for next 2 rows.

11-12. {Single crochet 5 stitches, join 2 stitches into 1} around for 2 rows.

NOTE - At this point you can continue to do a decrease row every other row and make an Igloo, or if you have aggressive mice like mine, continue with the tube pattern and give whoever is inside a back door to escape.

13-16. Single crochet for next 4 rows, bind off and weave in tail.

Some action shots:

Temperature Scarf Progress

Well, finally finished catching up with knitting my temperature scarf, and here it is...

As you can see, the temperatures here have been, well, bi-polar to say the least. To give you an idea, here are the colors used and the temperature ranges associated:

Purple               -6 to 22F
Dark Blue         23 to 32F
Medium Blue    33 to 43F
Light Blue         44 to 53F
Light Green      54 to 66F
Dark Green      67 to 77F

Not used yet:
Orange            78 to 88F
Red                 89F and above

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Post 20

Garter Short Row Heel in Progress

I have been working on the second pair of socks from the knit-along, the Serpentine Socks by Lucy Neatby (Edgewood Garden Studio Silk / BFL Blend Sport Weight Handspun in the color Seafoam) and I am nearly done with the first heel. I have to say, I absolutely love this heel design! The garter short row heel is by far the easiest one I have made, and it has the nicest look to it.

When I started the heel I was worried about how it was going to look. After completing over half of it, my mind is eased.

Sock Progress

The first sock has the foot complete and awaits a heel, and the second sock nearly has a complete heel,although in the pic to the left I had just started the heel. 

The pattern is definitely not for a beginner if it were not for the video tutorials I most likely would have failed miserably but thankfully they come with the free class and make it so much easier.

Once you get the pattern, it goes fairly smooth and you are given different options for doing the cabled stitches. At first, I used another needle, but then I got the hang of the drop/slip method and ended up sticking with that one as it goes faster.

Shawl Progress

The other project I am currently working on is a Light and Up Shawl by Caroline Wiens (Malbrigo Sock Yarn in Abril). It is a really simple pattern so far and I am loving how the colors are working up. I just got to the point where I start adding the lace, can't wait to finish it off! I plan to leave off the tassels, though, I don't care for tassels.

Finally, here is my project list for the year, let's see how many of them I can get through:

In Progress
February Mood Scarf

Temperature Scarf

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along; Serpentine Toe-Up Sock

Light and Up Shawl 

In Queue
Kayla's Socks

Druidess Beret

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-along - Windowpane Socks

Zombie Socks

Unintentionally Infinity Shawl/Scarf

Red Toe-Up Socks

Blue Toe-Up Socks

Lady Jessica Steampunk Cowl

Celtic Triad Socks

Through the Woods Hood in Blue

Baby Tree of Life Throw

Portulaca Cardigan

Completed
Claudja Head Scarf
The Vermonter Hat (for me) 
Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along; Smocked Guernsey Socks
Splendid Shawl 
Leg Warmers for Princess 
Hunter's Urban Dog Sweater
Tokyo Pocket Poncho

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Post 19

Test Fit

The second pair of socks in the Serpentine Pattern are coming along nicely. I have finished 3 runs of the pattern on one sock and started the third on the other, thinking two more runs before starting the heel.

Ran a test fit and they are fitting beautifully so far, absolutely loving them!

I am really hoping to get them done by the end of the month so I can wear them to the SCA event* I bought the yarn from and show them off to the seller. {fingers crossed}

Sadly you can't see the pattern as well in that picture, but it is really neat, weaving in and out from the center the way it does. I am loving it. Can't wait until they are finished.



*The SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) is "an international organization dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts, skills, and traditions of pre-17th-century Europe." The event I will be attending is the Festival of the Passing of the Ice Dragon in Buffalo, NY.

Craftsy 2016 Sock Knit-Along - Post 18

I am now through two runs of the pattern on the foot part of these wonderful toe-up socks. The pattern is Serpentine Socks by Lucy Neatby and is the second sock in the Craftsy Knit-Along 2016: Socks. I am using Edgewood Garden Studio Silk / BFL Blend Sport Weight Handspun Handpainted Yarn in Seafoam from my stash, I thought "Seafoam" and "Serpentine" just made a great pair.

I had started using this yarn to knit a different sock pattern, but it just wasn't working out so I frogged it and started these. They are going much more smoothly and quicker. (For those that don't know the lingo, Frogging is the act of ripping them out.)

Anyway, I still have one more run through the pattern before I start the heel, a little nervous about that as it is an completely different technique that I have done before. Aiming to have them done by the end of the month and the final pair done by the end of next month. I know I am a month behind, but hey... At least I am getting them done. :)

Are you doing the knit-along? Share a link to your progress here. :)

My Knitting Queue

So I was going through my bag of yarn with plans and added them all to my Ravelry so I actually remember what everything is for. When I was done, I had this:

So it looks like I will be making a lot of socks, but first I need to finish the socks I am working on.