Happy Handcrafts...

Life is getting back to some semblance of normal for a lot of people in our state, but Hubs and I are needing to continue to practice physical distancing from others pretty much at the same level we have over the last 2 1/2 months as we wait  for him to have knee surgery this summer.  We do NOT want him to get sick and have this surgery postponed, or him have to suffer illness on top of a knee that has grown so painful he can't sleep in bed for much of the night. He's walking with a cane, and hobbles, and frankly, doesn't walk very far.  Driving is difficult.  It's getting old and waiting is getting harder and harder.  Trying to hang onto the positive that he has a date, and not focus on the fact that it's still over a month away.   

It's a small complaint, really.  It's where we're at right now.  

Okay... onto happier things.  Handcrafts!  😊

I finished February's portion of the Linen and Threads' 2020 Mystery Stitch-A-Long:

It will probably be lost on anyone not doing this SAL, but I will be adding some motifs throughout the year in areas where they will fit in.  This is called "Friends and Family Sampler"  and each stitcher is encouraged to stitch in the initials of meaningful people in his/her life.  But that idea doesn't float my boat at all.   There are so many spaces for doing this, even if I could come up with that many initials, I don't even know if I'd be able to remember who all they belonged to when I was finished.  So...  inspired by another stitcher of this sampler, I'm looking for some motifs that I can add.  Some will fit in naturally, some will add a bit of wimsy (like animals and insects).  I have to stitch a bit more on this before I have a good feel where those things will fit, but be on the lookout for them.  Or maybe they won't appear until the Sampler itself is finished.   Unless, of course, I change my mind.  We all know I'm fully capable of doing that - and possibly even prone to it.  Anyway...  though the stitching is small and sometimes tedious, I am enjoying this greatly. 

And this week, I started a shawl/scarf project called Inner Light.   Because I'm using two hanks of yarn that are from different dye lots, I'm switching back and forth between the two every other row.  I know the two balls look the same, but one is darker than the other and it becomes apparent when working them together. 

 As usual, all you get is a peek at this stage.  😉 

I think the mottling effect is interesting in this yarn that is hand dyed in shades of bright pink yarn.  Worked up, it's not nearly as bright as I imagined it would be - which is a good thing.  It was really bright in the hank.  

And that's it!  Come back next week and see if I've made any progress!