Slug-Along

Hello,

Fresh Stitches is having a Slug-Along right now on her blog and Ravelry Group, and I couldn't help myself so I sorta joined in.  I already had the pattern and honestly, what could be cuter than a slug-along?  I didn't crochet along with the group like I had originally planned, but I crocheted my slug on my own.  I still had fun, and I think she turned out pretty cute!

Meet Millicent the Slug:

I used some Knit Picks Simply Cotton I had in my stash, which I think works really nicely in crochet and it made for a nice soft toy.  I haven't washed this yarn in the washing machine or dried it though, so I'm not sure how good it is for toys, but since she's just for me I don't think it matters that much.  It says it is machine washable and dry-able on the label, so I think it should be fine, but I might do a test before I do any more just to make sure.  The pattern is, as usually, extremely well written, straightforward and fun.  I cannot recommend Stacey's patterns enough, they're fabulous!  I own a ton of them and hopefully will get around to crocheting some more up soon.  There's nothing like making a little toy to cheer you up!

Have a wonderful day, and if you'd like to make your very own little slug friend, you can still join in on all the fun until February 13th.  You can find out all the details here.

xoxo

Socks, Mittens and a Dress

Hello,

Wow, I have really been slacking in the blogging department lately.  I'm so sorry about that.  I hope to be back to myself here soon and back to posting regularly as well.

After my last post and with no WIPs left to finish up, I cast on for a new pair of socks using some gorgeous yarn my swap partner Richelle sent me in the Itty-Bitty Group's Mini Valentine Swap.  It's Alcidina Skyward Special Edition and the colourway is Destiny.  This yarn company is really neat because they base their colours on images from the Space Station.  I wanted to be an astronaut when I was little, so I found this particularly thrilling.  The results were this:

Destiny Socks

The yarn came with a larger skein for the leg and foot portion and had a little mini skein as well to do the toes and heels.  I thought that was such a neat idea!  I'm so happy with these, they're just gorgeous!

I also made a couple other projects over the weekend:

Hippi Hot Baby Dress

These little baby dresses seem to be my go-to crochet projects lately.  They're so cute and fast!

Lollipop Mittens

My friend Julie gifted me the Waiting for Winter Mittens and Fingerless Gloves pattern a couple weeks ago, which I have been wanting to try since it first came out, and I finally got the chance to knit myself a pair.  I used Knit Picks Chroma in Lollipop (my favourite!) so they would match my favourite hat that my sister knit for me out of the same colour.  Now I have a matching set!!

Well, I hope that you are all having a great week and that you're staying warm and dry where you are.  We're in the middle of a snowfall warning right now, and I can honestly say I'm totally enjoying it!

xoxo

Breaking News!!

Hello,

I just had to write a quick post to share this: I am officially a girl with no WIPs!!  I have been concentrating on working through my WIPs this past month and today I finally cast off on my last project.  This is not counting the blankets I have on the go though, since I don't count them as WIPs because in my eyes they are long-term projects that I work on here and there.
I don't think in all of my knitting life that I have ever not had any projects (or stacks of projects) on the go before.  I have to be honest though, I thought it would feel different, more thrilling I guess, to have nothing on my needles or hooks. But I'm actually relieved that it doesn't.  I've come to find out that I like to be working on things, and not having any projects can feel a bit lonely.  It does feel great to have projects that have been on the go for quite a while all finished up so they can be used.  And I have to confess that it is nice not to have such a long list hanging over my head.
I'm hoping that I can keep my WIPs down to a few at a time from here on out so that I don't end up stressed by my own projects again.  But I definitely know that I will not be one of those people who only has one project on the go at a time.  I need to have some variety in my knitting/crocheting life.
Now that I have made the official announcement and have taken some time to just bask in the "no-project-zone", I'm ready to cast on for something new.  I got an awesome skein of yarn in the mail today from my Itty-Bitty Valentine swap partner Richelle, so I am going to start a new pair of socks!

Have a great weekend everyone, and take time to enjoy your WIPs,
xoxo

Wednesday's Happenings

Hello,

I'm so sorry for not posting regularly lately, I've been a bit under the weather.  I'm hoping that I'm coming around the bend though and will be back to my usual self soon.

I haven't felt like working on anything big, so I've been knitting some washcloths.  Since Valentine's Day is coming up, I bought Susan B. Anderson's Sweetheart Washcloth pattern and so far I've made two.  I hope to make a couple more.  They're so cute and it's a really great pattern.  I think my favourite part is the crochet border, it finishes it off perfectly.

I also knit up this week's dishcloth for my Dishcloth Challenge.  I picked a squirrel because I started it on Monday which was Squirrel Appreciation Day.  I thought it was appropriate and cute.

The pattern is Elaine Fitzpatrick's Oh Nuts! Cloth. 

I'm still working away on my WIPs and they're coming along well.  At the moment I only have two, since I finished a pair of socks off the list this afternoon for my Mom.  She really liked how colourful they were so I thought she should have them.

I used Patons Kroy Socks Stripes in Mexicala Stripes and just did a plain top-down vanilla sock with a short-row heel - my standard go-to pattern.  I think they will keep her toes nice and toasty, especially in this cold snap we are experiencing.

Well, that's all for today.  I think I will go and try to work on my crochet shawl for a while, it always cheers me up.  It's made out of Knit Picks Chroma in Lollipop, which I have to say is my favourite colour in that line.  If I was stuck on a deserted island and could only pick three things, I would take a ball of it along with a pair of knitting needles and a crochet hook and just make things and rip them out till my heart was content. I don't think I could ever get enough of this colourway.

Have a great Wednesday,
xoxo

Entrelac

Happy Saturday,

As you may remember, learning new techniques is one of my New Years Resolutions.  So on New Year's Day I thought what could be better to ring in the new year than jumping right in and starting an entrelac scarf.  I chose the pattern by Allison LoCicero, which is a free Ravelry download.  I just used the instructions with the scarf pattern and found that if I did exactly what it said, instead of trying to think it through, it turned out perfectly.  However, if you do run into trouble, or don't quite understand what the pattern is telling you to do, she has linked to a YouTube video that will walk you through the stitch pattern.  After I worked the two tier repeat a few times I had it memorized so the scarf zipped right along.

I used Knit Picks Chroma Worsted in Guppy, and am so glad I did.  I had seen that another person on Ravelry had used it for this scarf and I thought it looked neat, so I wanted to use the same for mine.  It was really cheery to work on and watching to see which colour was coming next kept me motivated to work another row, and another row, another row...

Needless to say, it was very fun and I'm so glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and learned something new.  I could see myself making more of these and maybe even a cowl or two, now that I know it's not as hard as it looks.  It has given me the confidence to try another one of the techniques on my list hopefully in the near future.

Have a wonderful weekend,
xoxo

Wordless Wednesday

Little Tweet Cloth - Dishcloth Challenge #2

Rosey the Critter

Orange Blossoms Dress

Best Baby Cloche #1

Best Baby Cloche #2

Marching Elephants Baby Hat

Pastel Marley Baby Hat

Added a crocheted flower on top instead of the curly-q's

Dream Catcher Baby Boy Hat

Opal Socks

Radiant Shawl

Whoo Loves Ya Baby Dishcloth - Dishcloth Challenge #3

Nel the Tiny Owl

Owl Ornament

xoxo

2013 New Year's Resolutions

Happy Monday!

Today I thought I'd chat about my New Year's Resolutions.  I know some people don't like making them and that's perfectly fine, but for myself I'm the type of person who benefits from having a plan for the things I want to accomplish.  Each year I make lots of great goals for myself but the problem is that I never get around to actually achieving them.  I wasn't sure what was wrong with me until my sister pointed out the fact that I make the goals/resolutions, but I don't plan out actual steps to help me achieve them and I also don't review them very often.  So this year I am going to try something different.  I've made my resolutions list and written it out on a medium-size index card and put it in my planner where I always find it.  Then I've made a plan that at the end of each week on Sunday evening I will go over my list and come up with some sort of step to take towards achieving one of them and schedule it into the coming week.  I'm not thinking that it has to be anything big, just some little thing I can do that will help me get closer to achieving the goal, even if it's something as simple as reading about a new technique or looking up a pattern that will use a certain type of yarn I have in my stash.  Every step is one step closer, right?

Here is my list:

My 2013 Resolutions

• Work from yarn stash as much as possible.
• Work through fabric stash.
• Learn these techniques: Broomstick Lace, Tunisian Crochet, Brioche Stitch, Entrelac, and Hairpin Lace.
• Knit a pair of top-down colourwork mittens.
• Improve my colourwork skills.
• Conquer baby booties.
• Get my Christmas and other gift projects done well in advance.
• Sew once a week. - this is tentative -it's something I want to do but it's not set in stone.  I guess you could say it's more like a guideline - I'd like to do it, but I don't have to do it. 
• Knit/crochet a dishcloth a week for the whole year - this is my "Dishcloth Challenge."
• Read 40 books this year. - I signed up for Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge.
• Celebrate holidays/seasons - I used to do this and found it so much fun, but over the years I got away from it and now I'd like to get back to it.
• Try to get better at starting a project and actually finishing it within a reasonable amount of time, instead of starting it and then jumping on to something new before finishing it.  I think this will help keep the WIP pile under control.
• Learn a new language - I'm thinking Finnish since my Mom can help me with it.
• Travel more.
• Learn cross-stitch, needlepoint, crewel and embroidery.

So far that's what I've got.  I may add/change a few things over the year, but in general I am going to do my best to stick with them.  Wish me luck!

xoxo

P.S. Have you made any New Year's Resolutions?

Thinking Pink, White and Red

Hello,

Well, now that Christmas is over and put away I have begun to focus on the next holiday - Valentine's Day.  This is another favourite holiday of mine because in my books there's not many things better than love, hearts and pink, red and white.  One of the first things I did was sign up for the Itty-Bitty Group's mini Valentine's Day swap, where you make one small something special for your swap partner and include a card, that's it.  I thought this was something I could manage at the moment, and I missed being a part of all the fun that goes into a swap.  I honestly had a ball coming up with ideas and making my project.  Right before Christmas I was gifted the pattern for Susan B. Anderson's Wee Sheep by my sweet friend Deb, and while thinking up ideas for the swap, the thought of a cute little pink sheep popped into my head.  After knitting her up, I knew I wanted to add a red heart but wasn't sure how.  My Mom happened to remember that we had some small heart buttons, so I sewed a red one onto her chest.  I think she is adorable and I can hardly wait for my swap partner to get her.

Now I will talk more about my New Year's Resolutions in another post, but one of them is to use my stash yarn as much as possible, and another one is to knit a dishcloth a week for the whole year.  Both of these together resulted in this:

My first dishcloth of my challenge!  The pattern is by Elaine Fitzpatrick and it's called Hearts for Ruthie.  There's even a matching bib pattern if you're interested.  I think it's pretty cute and it was very fun to knit.  I've already picked out my one for this week - Little Tweet Cloth.  She has some adorable patterns and I think I will be using quite a few of them over the coming months.

I hope that you are all having a great start to your week.  Mine has been very good - I've been cleaning out and reorganizing everything.  Tomorrow is my bathroom and then Thursday will be my yarn.  I had to save the yarn for last or else I might not want to keep this up!

Be back soon,
xoxo

Playing a Little Catch-Up

Hello,

Happy New Year!!  I am so sorry I haven't blogged till now.  I got sick on the 23rd of December and it took me quite a while to recover.  I just wasn't up to much of anything until recently and then today I finally got some photos uploaded so I could put together a post.  I thought I would start by sharing some of the things I made for Christmas.  Above are the tiny stars I was crocheting to be a bunting, however, that idea turned out badly so I stuck them onto this tree and thought it looked cute.  And here are some of the things I made for gifts:

Crocheted earrings from Crochet Embellishments Craftsy course with Linda Permann done in embroidery floss.

Mom's finished Jaywalkers.

Cloisonee Mittens for my sister - the non-stained glass version.

Beautiful bouquet of flowers my Dad got my for Christmas.

The flowers are on the floor because Dad wanted to make sure I could see them from my bed since I was in it for days.  He wanted me to still be able to enjoy them, isn't that sweet?  I really am so very Blessed by the wonderful family I have!

Well, that's all for today.  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season and that this new year is off to a great start for you.  I will be back (hopefully) Monday.  Have a great weekend.

xoxo