A happy hooky week...

Having slain the slump, I continued in my productivity this past week.  And having reacquainted myself with thread and steel hook, I found myself wanting to make some more doilies.

First I made a small Doily #8 from the book 99 Little Doilies:

I call this 6 1/2 inch wide doily Circle of Leaves

And then I made a third Winter's Breath Doily (having given away the first two I made last year):

Winter's Breath measures right at 8 inches across

The thread used is Artiste Mercerized Egyptian Cotton thread available at Hobby Lobby.  It is so tempting to go check out what new colors they might have stocked since last summer, but I must not.  Stepping foot in Hobby Lobby is dangerous business while I'm on a yarn buying moratorium. 

~~~~~

And lastly, I finished the ribbed scarf I started two weeks ago:

I just love this easy-to-knit stitch pattern.  It's so squishy and stretchy.  And combining two different yarns makes for a seemingly infinite number of unique scarves one can knit up.  This is made with Red Heart With Love in the color Boysenberry, combined with Red Heart Unforgettable in the colorway Stained Glass.   I love how I can get a fun striped scarf with very few ends to weave in when I'm done!

And that wraps up another week of yarny makes.  

To see what other YOPers are up to, 

visit our group on Ravelry.  

2019 Yarn Stash-Down progress:  31.9/100 skeins

Slaying the slump...

I don't know how strongly it came through my post last week, but I was feeling a serious slump coming on when it comes to yarn.  So much so, I contemplated taking the week off and just not worrying about a post for today.

Well, somewhere between that thought and the end of the week, I visited Stef's Crafts with Wool Paper Fabric blog (specifically this post) and I was suddenly prodded to not give in to the slump.  And actually to think more intentionally about my crafting.  I don't know if it was her mention of Kondoing, or her sweet nephews being interested in her yarn and how she was going to encourage them in that, but somewhere in that post I felt something nudge me.  Something that said, "Don't give in to the slump.  Not just yet."

Click the image to read an article on  ideas for overcoming "the slump".

Now, I'm not saying it's wrong to give in to the slump.   There are times when putting our crafts away for a time is exactly the thing we need to do.  Maybe we just want to embrace the slump for a while.  Go right ahead.  No guilt required.

But I knew what was going on with me was something I didn't want to give in to.  Not just yet, anyway.  :)   So I started thinking of how I could be intentional about things.  

Well, first of all, I decided to dust off an old project.  It was so close to being finished, but for some reason I hadn't wanted to face it for the last six months.   When I finally got it out and found my place again, it was oh so quick to finish.

I've nicknamed it Pineapple Square Doily.  If you'd prefer to know it by its given name, it's the one and only #11 in the book, 99 Little Doilies.

While I had to find my thread fingers again (you know... like you have to find your land legs after being on the water for a while, my fingers had to get use to working with thread after crocheting with worsted and bulky yarn for six months).  But once I did, this little cheerful doily finished up pretty quickly.

Then, I decided to stop being picky about what to do with that pink yarn I was struggling with last week and just make another C2C baby blanket and call it good.   C2C makes a pretty pattern in a solid color yarn:

So what if I just made one in blue?  😉

And I stopped waffling over what two yarns to combine in a knitted scarf I want to make.  I settled on a thick yarn (Red Heart With Love) and an odd single skein of RH Unforgettable self-striping yarn.  I put them together and I'm now a quarter of the way finished with that project.

All of a sudden I'm out of my slump and on a roll.  I'm already looking at doily patterns and wondering what I'll do next.   I don't know how long this will last, but for now, the slump has slithered away!

To see what other YOPers are up, visit our group on Ravelry.

Goodbye February!

Even though spring is more 3 weeks away, it's March and that means spring's a comin'!  And I am soooo glad about it.

February was not an normal month for me.  There were busy weeks sprinkled with long quiet, unproductive days all which left me feeling a bit - I don't know... kind of unsettled.  Or maybe just feeling kind of dull.  It wasn't bad - not by any means.  But I'm glad it's passed.  Goodbye February!

Last week was a mostly busy week that found my crojo waning, but I did manage to get this little baby blanket finished:

It's a simple Corner to Corner stitch pattern with a border made up of linen stitch, finished off with a sweet little scallop. 

There's just not much to say about it except, "another project finished, another one of those huge 1-lb skeins out of my stash!"  Yippee!

Late in the week I tried crocheting a pink baby blanket (with another of those huge 1-lb skeins), but the pattern calls for a hook that is larger than would normally be suitable for the yarn and the result is lots of splitting.  Ugh.  I've tried off and on in my free moments this weekend to keep going, but I'm calling it quits.  

The stitch pattern isn't inspiring me, and I really dislike working with a hook that is too large for the yarn.  Bah.  I'm putting it in time out for a bit while I decide what to do here.  

~~~~~

A yarny side note:

Last night we had friends over for pizza and a movie (it's a tradition we started with this family a couple of years ago).  We don't have enough seating for everyone, so three of the kids sprawled on cushions on the floor and covered themselves up with blankets.   I wish I had thought to take a picture.  The ones on the floor each chose a different crocheted blanket I had made -- the little girl asking for a specific one - she even asked me privately if she could use the one she had picked out the last time.  It was her favorite, she said.  That just melted my heart.

I'd love to give this blanket to her, but I'm also tickled that it's a special blanket she enjoys using when we host Dinner & a Movie Night at our house.  I'm well aware that we are making some good memories with this family and the power of a memory of a special blanket used when visiting could be greater than the everyday pleasure of owning it.   Then again, she might just swoon over it every time she enters her bedroom (it's big enough to cover a twin size bed).  And then again, she might just get tired of it if she saw it everyday and eventually she'd realize just how gawdy it is - and that it goes with nothing, really. 

Not to make more of this than it is, but while I'm mulling over the above thoughts, I'm curious if anyone has a thought to share.  Don't feel like you have to have a thought.  I'm just letting  you into my brain today.  Welcome.  😊

Meanwhile... to see what other YOPers are up to, 

visit our group on Ravelry.

yes, it is snowing again today...

2019 Yarn Stash-Down progress:  25.44/100 skeins

Random yarny makes...

It seems I accomplished very little (yarn-wise) early in the week, and then suddenly had a burst of yarny enthusiasm the last few days.

This past week in Our Happy CAL Place on Ravelry, some of us made these cute Heart Pocket Note Holders.  When I first saw the project I knew I wanted to make one to hang above my kitchen calendar to hold pens that I use to write stuff down with:

   

I feel kind of silly loving something so kitschy.  But I do!

And see how well it coordinates with my calendar, 

and it fills the purpose I envisioned for it perfectly:

By the way, the flower pattern was found here.  It is not part of the note holder pattern - in case anyone is interested.

~~~~~

And then yesterday a new CAL was offered up for these Bowl Cozies:   

Now, let me be clear...  my bowl cozy did not turn out at all like it was supposed to.  Mine did not take on a bowl shape, though to be honest I only made mine single layered, so that is possibly why.  While single-layered is satisfactory for "insulation", mine was pretty floppy and ultimately useless.

Not wanting to give up, I looked at others' projects and noticed that someone else had pinched in the corners so I gave that a try.  That did make it cozier and I look forward to giving it a try in the microwave soon.   The pattern worked out correctly for more people than not, so don't let my flub dissuade you from giving the pattern a go if you like the idea of one of these things.

And being the last Sunday of February, I counted up my knitted (and one crocheted) dishcloth made this month.  Ten new cloths added to the gift/use some day box:

  

To see what other YOPers are up to, 

visit our group on Ravelry.

2019 Yarn Stash-Down progress:  22.53/100 skeins

A sweetheart of a blanket...

A short and sweet post this week 

to show my finished Sweet Heart Blanket:

I love how when the blanket is stretched a bit 

the shell stitches look like columns of hearts.  

Sort of.

What do you think?

At any rate, I'm please enough with how it turned out, and I'm super glad to be finished  - and to be finished second guessing my color selections!   

In case anyone is remotely curious about the pattern, it was found in an old book I own called Weekend Afghans.  The pattern name is Corn on the Cob (because it was originally done in a bright yellow).  

But I like Sweet Heart Blanket much better.   😊

This picture shows all six colors.
(The lightest pink doesn't show in the first picture above.)

And now... on to other projects!  

To see what other YOPers are up to, 

visit our group on Ravelry.

2019 Yarn Stash-Down progress:  19.56/100 skeins