Year of Projects end of year...

This is the second Year of Projects I've completed and once again I'm just amazed at how fast a YOP year goes by.   Here at the end of June, it's fun to take stock and see what all was completed.

While the following isn't everything I've worked on and completed, it's a good representation.

 Some Goody Bags and a Tunisian stitch pillow 

Small doilies

A beginning to my Potholders for Posterity collection

Practical and just-for-fun projects

Gifts

Scarves

and more scarves

And of course, blankets

  colorful blankets...

Small projects

And projects with many parts (yet to be completed):

Knitting was something I tried my hand at this year and and while I didn't venture too far from making dishcloths, I did find that knitting dishcloths really did improve my stitch consistency and tension.  Maybe during the next YOP year I'll challenge myself to move beyond the humble dishcloth with my knitting needles.

My YOP list for 2016-2017 can be found here.  

The Year of Projects project runs from the first Sunday in July through the last Sunday of June of the following year.  Next Sunday most of us will be posting our new lists.   Everyone's lists are different - some people create lists with specific projects and some of us prefer a more casual, open-ended sort of list.  We always love to see new bloggers join us so consider yourself invited to join in on the fun and camaraderie  of this weekly challenge!  There's no pressure to post each week, but each Sunday a new thread is opened in our group on Ravelry where members can post their Year of Projects post.   Come drop in and see what it's all about!

Wibbly Wobbly Fair Isleish...

I started crocheting the Fair Isleish Cardigan this week.  On one hand I love how simple the pattern is.  On the other hand, I'm baffled at how each row starts with a loose single crochet and then a double crochet stitch.  For me this resulted in edges that are all wibbly wobbly:

Wishing now I had followed my instincts and started each row with a standing double crochet, but there wasn't a single complaint or caution in all the projects listed on Ravelry by people who had made this pattern, so I decided to just trust the pattern and do as the designer said.  I'm seriously wondering if the problem is me or the pattern.

Hopefully I can get all the crookedness blocked out before crocheting the bands on both sides of the center opening and all will be okay in the end.

We'll see.  I hope to finish this little sweater by next week for my final round-up of this YOP year's projects.    Next week is the wrap-up week and then on July 2nd we will all post our goals for the next YOP year.

On that note, let me issue another invitation to all you creative folks who also enjoying blogging.  We'd love for you to consider joining us in the Year of Projects group on Ravelry.  Come check us out and see what it's all about.

And let me leave you with a picture of me as a passenger today in a new Jaguar driven by my brother-in-law -- car salesman extraordinaire of very expensive cars.    He brought a Jag off the lot to our Father's Day celebration to give his dad a ride and some of the rest of us got in on the fun, too.

 

Happy Father's Day!

How hard can I make this?

Not much crocheting happened this week, but I did (and re-did) enough of a border on my Corner to Corner blanket to decide I didn't care for how the border was going, and decided I needed to put the whole thing aside until I find the inspiration to finish it in a way that I'm going to be happy with.

With that large project put in time-out just before the weekend I didn't think I had anything to show yarn-wise, but then I remembered that I never did show a square I crocheted - back in April, I think.  It's only square #5 for my BAM (Block-A-Month) Blanket:

I remember after I made this block I felt a bit unsettled about it going with the other blocks I had made. This block made me think that I should probably be more intentional (maybe careful?) about just how varied in color I make all the blocks that will go in this blanket.

After finishing the above square it hit me that it would probably be a good idea for every block to have at least one color in common, and it probably should be a bold (or obvious) color.

Looking at what I've completed so far, I'm thinking maybe the gold color would be a good color to put in each square to create cohesiveness.  Unfortunately, that would make this newest square
not fit in.  I don't know...  What do you think?:

I think I'm at a crossroads where I need to make a decision about what will make these squares cohesive, and stick with it.  I hesitate to make another square that doesn't have gold because, well... I may end up with another one I'm not sure of.  On the other hand, making some more without gold, and maybe with completely different combinations of colors, will be the only way I can tell if I can successfully use squares that don't have any one color in common.

I'm open to suggestions.  The only thing I'm pretty decided about is that I plan to use the dark blue yarn to border and/or join all the squares, and then to border the blanket itself.   My original thought was as long as I use the blue or another equally dark color in a square, that dark color could be the anchor, bringing a cohesiveness to all the squares.  Looking at the squares above, though, the thing that stands out to me as being most cohesive is the gold color.

I think I know the answer - at least the answer I'm most comfortable with, but I'm always curious how others see things.  Feel free to comment below with your ideas, thoughts, suggestions.

Does a different layout produce a different sense about how they go together?

I had no idea when I started on this project how complicated I could make it.   I shouldn't be surprised.  I am the queen of overthinking things and making the simple complicated.

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