No, that’s corny.
There be squares here.
Still corny.
Oh look, I’ve made more:
No, that’s not corny at all. Nope.
I don’t quite have enough squares for a blanket. I’m blanket-adjacent you might say. I’ve started the next round of squares. I have enough of the yellow yarn to make a nice throw. I’m debating on whether to order more of the yellow or just work with what I’ll have left and I’m going to have a lot of the other colors left. There are so many possibilities.
There were hedgehogs and that lattice pattern I’ve fallen in love with. There was no way I was going home without it.
I have to stay away from Pine Needles.
I’m making a shawl for my mother. Yes, I know I’ve said that before and I’ve started and stopped many, many times. But this time, it seems to really be working. It’s a simple lace pattern. After a few shaky starts, I got the hang of the pattern. I ditched the stitch markers between the repeats (something I was assured would make my life easier) because the edge stitches had increases and decreases in them which make the stitch markers useless for keeping track of the pattern repeats. This is not helpful for a charted lace beginner. And believe me. I. Am. A. Beginner. Not included on the chart is the garter stitch edge, that I kept forgetting to do on the purl side.
So, I took this:
And applied this technique:
Which, in real life looks like this:
I really need to remember to stop using the flash.
I’m making progress.
The lovely Kit kept Keaton distracted.
Eventually I got it to look like this:
Then I did the same thing on the other side.
I might actually be able to finish this.
Fear me.
I have always crocheted afghans using acrylic yarn. There are several good reasons for this, namely economics and washability. Most of the time that I’ve been crocheting afghans, I didn’t have the money for really good yarn. And even at reasonable prices, that many skeins of yarn can pack a big punch and poke a nice hole in the budget. The nicer acrylics no longer seem out of reach, but for a very long time, I have wanted to make a blanket out of something other than acrylic. One day, I ran across a yarn named Bamboo Ewe. The name made me giggle so I picked up a couple of colors and made a pair of fingerless mitts for a friend. As far as I know, the mitts were immediately lost and never worn, so I have no way of knowing how they felt while being worn or how well the yarn held up over time.
The yarn did feel nice enough while I was working with it and came in some nice colors so I started stashing it, hoping the designer would release more colors. I had originally planned on making this one, but there aren’t enough different colors to get the right effect. This yarn is now, sadly, discontinued. I found a stash of it online, purchased the two colors I didn’t have and more of the yellow and set out to make a granny square afghan.
Obligatory Keaton photobomb.
The squares just keep on coming! All of this color makes me feel very cheerful.
I’m going to have a lot of yarn leftover, so whatever is left will get made into one of the interesting log cabin knit afghan patterns out there on Ravelry.
These candy cane socks started life, way back in Dec of 2012, looking like a sock monkey mouth, but eventually grew into a comfy pair of socks.
Yarn: String Theory Colorworks, in Kopernick.
Happy Birthday, Sunshine. I love you.
My knitting goals for the New Year: Well, I have goals, and they’re good goals, too. Just not solidified. My mom’s shawl, of course, and then some things for me. Me. Me. Me. Me. I have some really nice sock yarn that I’ve been hesitant to use because I was such a novice sock knitter. But I’ve completed a few pairs and I feel like I won’t totally ruin the good yarn. I want to finish the couple of pairs still on the needles and then kit up a few pairs using the nicer stuff I have stashed away. I must not forget my Lanesplitter skirt. There are also a few WIP that having making some noise, I should pay attention to them. Since those are really big projects and don’t fit easily into Nerd Wars or HPKCHC, I thought a granny square blanket would be fun. I’ve been itching to make one for a while and the blanket squares fit perfectly into month long challenges. I have a nice rainbow of yarn that just needs a few skeins of white or black to tie them all together. A black or white in that same brand of (discontinued) yarn doesn’t exist so I’m going to have to gulp down my unease of mixing yarn brands and find something that will work. *eek*
I’m a hair away from finishing the candy cane socks. I just don’t feel like posting pictures of them a hair away from being finished.
Here is a picture of Keaton helping me take pictures of yarn.
Doesn’t everyone take pictures of their yarn?
Dec. 25th kinda sucked. We didn’t have our children with us, a family member stabbed us in the heart and we were a little at odds with each other in our disappointment. I spent time I really shouldn’t have on this and sent it over with David to his family gathering, but I just didn’t have it in me to go with him. I should have. He could have used the support.
But the day we got to celebrate Christmas with all of our children present, was joyous. I’m posting this now, so much later, because I needed the reminder that I really did have a good Christmas. The actual day of, along with a lot of the last week of the year was so hard and hurtful that the joy in between got lost. I was updating some stash pictures on Ravelry today and started looking at the pictures from our Christmas Day (it fell on the 27th, a day I normally call something else entirely) and felt a little wave of happy memories wash over me.
All of the kids were with us. I had a good visit with Chynna and Joshua. They seemed to like their presents.
I experienced Christmas Crackers for the first time. I didn’t take pictures of them beforehand, but the paper hats were amusing along with the little plastic toys inside. The actual crack (pop) was underwhelming for everyone but Stanley who managed to get a nice little bang out of his.
David got to add to his nerd cred. This is a polo shirt with a TARDIS embroidered on it.
I ended up with some fabulous things. Not pictured here is the book that Chynna gave me. It was already on my nightstand being enjoyed a little each night. Nor the big KitchenAid mixer that David and I bought for each other. He’s used it much more than I have, but it’s WONDERFUL and I wonder how we ever did without it. See’s candy, mugs, a box of yarn and a jumbo flyer for my spinning wheel (Thanks Wendy and Meli!), comfy fuzzy socks, a GORGEOUS orange scarf, my favorite perfume, a wallet, and a purse.
Behold: The Handbag of Holding. I didn’t take a pic of my own, I probably should. It’s even more awesome in person. It’s a bit heavy but I still LOVE it so much!
Here is a close up of the mug. When you pour in something hot, the dinosaur turns into a skeleton.
It may seem weird just talking about my presents, but I figure since it’s my blog, it’s okay. If the others want to show off their loot, they are free to publish their own blogs.