Mystery revealed...

I look forward to getting back to my Sacred Space blanket soon, but this week I found myself making (and finishing) some smaller projects.  It felt good to have some finishes.

Firstly, after rescuing some colorful Yarn Bee Sugarwheel cotton yarn from the clearance shelf at the new local Hobby Lobby, I couldn't resist making something with it right away.  This Granny Square Bottom Bag fit the bill perfectly:

While I love the bright colors, I'm not all that crazy about this yarn.  

The color changes are abrupt, and there were many knots.  😕

Then I whipped up this quick and easy eyeball washcloth:

pattern is searchable online as Mad Eye Washcloth

What Harry Potter fan wouldn't think this a fun little cloth to wash dishes with? But you don't have to be a HP fan to think an eyeball washcloth is kind of cool.  😉   A few more of these will be fun stocking stuffers for my adult sons (who enjoy HP, but also anything this odd/cool/fun).

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And lastly...  While I haven't figured out just what frame will suit this best, my little mystery silhouette cross stitch picture got finished yesterday:

My original thought was this would be nice to save for gifting to a young girl someday, but I like it so much I think I will frame it and display it on a shelf here.  It's very small - right at about 4 x 6 inches.  Which makes it even sweeter.  😊

I will say... this sweet little picture wasn't as simple as I thought it would be, but it was worth sticking with it, which included some ripping out and restitching in a few places.  I wish I could tell you who the designer is, and what my source was, but that would be a challenge since I made a working photo copy and then filed (i.e. stacked) the magazine with dozens of others without noting which one it was published in.  I'm pretty sure it's from a vintage Just Cross Stitching magazine (possibly from the 1980's), but that's the best I can do at the moment.  

Thank you all who played along with my mystery cross stitch guessing game.  I enjoyed the guesses.  While some could see the flowers a few weeks ago, the only ones who guessed right on my last update were Liz of Highland Heffalump Sharon (of Zanna's Homemade).  Good eyes, ladies!  

With these finishes, I think it may feel really satisfying now to work on my larger projects again.  😄

I hope everyone has a good week!

Check out other Year of Project participants 

by following the links in my sidebar  👉

I am such a square...

Two years ago I joined the 2017 BAMCAL group on Ravelry.  For the uninitiated, BAMCAL stands for Block-A-Month Crochet-A-Long.  The idea is you  make two blocks each month and by year's end you'll have enough for a blanket.  

Theoretically.

That first year, I was excited and early on I made a number of blocks - mostly playing with colors, but I eventually made four blocks that helped me settle on my colors and were acceptable for putting toward a blanket I hoped to finish that year.

Here they are (again), for the record:

Then, in 2018, with the renewed enthusiasm that a new year brings, I joined the 2018 BAMCAL group and declared my intentions of making more blocks and hopefully finishing a BAMCAL blanket by year's end.

I made a total of zero squares in 2018.

So this year, I again jumped into the 2019 BAMCAL group, with lots of enthusiasm, but having a more realistic view of my likely progress, I hereby make no more declarations of when this project will finish. 

Finding myself in a bit of a lull between larger projects, this past week I decided to make a couple of new squares.  This was, in fact, the only crocheting I managed to get in finally - when things slowed down late in the week.

The first square I crocheted was Eye of the Beholder:

This was a fun square to see made by different people - That's always true, of course, but this square changed dramatically with different color placements.  If you don't believe me, you can scroll through the Ravelry thread here.

Then, rather than do the second square (which was too open of a pattern for what I want in this blanket), I searched the archives and found Hope Still:

This square was a bear, to be honest, but the finished effect was worth all the effort.  My advice if you chose to make this square...  Don't work it when you're tired, breathe deep, take it slowly, and take breaks.  And most importantly... trust the instructions.    'Nuff said.  

With two squares successfully made in January of 2019 I'm in love with the idea of a BAMCAL blanket again, and my colors.  All is well.

Regardless of how many squares I make this year, this is one of those projects that will eventually get finished.  Oops... there I go making declarations again.  Let's just say that's my plan, anyway.  If I live long enough.  

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I mentioned earlier in the month that I would be working on whittling down my kitchen cotton stash this year by always having a dishcloth or washcloth on the needles or hook.  Well, I forgot to mention hotpads.  I still have something of a fascination with hotpads.  😊

Seeing someone else's Pinwheel Hotpad recently, I was inspired to try my hand at making one:

Here's the thing, though...  Since I referred to two patterns and two videos to complete this pinwheel shaped hotpad, I really don't have a pattern to recommend.  If you want to make one, search for pinwheel hotpad.  It was fun, and not even difficult, but without a single pattern to refer to, I'm honestly not likely to make any more.  That said, I'm happy I made it as I've been curious about how these are made for some time.  My curiosity is now satisfied.  😉 

And the following pretties will be added to my dish/washcloth box for using or giving away at some point:

Patterns (or stitch patterns) used in the above cloths:

Simple garter stitch 
Simple stockinette stitch (with garter stitch borders)
Boxes Dishcloth - remains my personal favorite
My Heart Dishcloth  - this would make a sweet child's washcloth 

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To see what other YOPers are up to, 

visit our group on Ravelry!

2019 Yarn Stash-Down progress:  12/100 skeins

Small things...

This was a quiet, yet profound, week with the burial service for my father-in-law on Thursday.    While his funeral service over a week ago was lovely, Bernie's burial brings a level of finality that we hadn't been able to experience until now.  While no one would have planned these two services to be separate (weather was in control of that), it actually made for a very personal and deeply meaningful graveside service having it on a separate day.  I hope you'll read the short post I wrote about it yesterday.

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While I'm continuing to crochet away on two Spicier Life blankets, they really don't look different enough to post a progress picture.   Maybe next week.

But I did squeeze in two smaller projects.  I'm hosting a CAL this week in the Our Happy CAL Place, and to fit into the theme "Kitchen & Bath" I found a pattern for this cute Turtle Washcloth:

What a fun washcloth for a child, or a kitchen in the woods, or even a potholder - if made doubled.  If doubled, I suggest only doubling the center shell part.  And then joining and finishing the turtle's legs, head and tail with a single layer of crochet.

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And then I decided to join in last week's CAL and made a bookmark (using this pattern for the stem):

 Using this pattern, sport weight cotton and a size G hook, the rose turned out crazy big.

But I sort of LOVE it!

To see what other YOPpers are working on, visit our group by clicking on the graphic below.