A good week...

It's been a good week.  I'm concluding that either I'm getting used to this stay at home business, or the good news is starting to outweigh the bad.  I'm thinking both are true.

Monday, I got started on my second little bird cross stitch.  This is going to be a Marsh Wren:

There's a fair amount of back stitching to do (on the bird) and some more leaves to stitch, so I'm guessing I'm about half done at this point.  I'm really enjoying this little bird.

And then...  after a few days stitching the wren, I decided to switch things up and pull out my Sacred Space blanket again and see if I couldn't complete another section.   Remember this?

Well, I finally set myself to the task of finishing Section 5 (out of 9), but after hours of working on this, I still couldn't manage to finish this section - it takes such a long time to go all the way around this thing now.  But here's a little glimpse of what I worked on this week: 

 So close, and yet so far...

I'm starting to conclude some things about this project.  In a ZOOM meeting with fellow YOPers a week ago, I commented that I like to make blankets with worsted weight yarn (and I do), but I am reminded that highly texturized blankets get awfully heavy when made with worsted weight yarn.  So...  while I reserve the right to change my mind, I'm thinking that once I finish this section (which only has another round to go) I may be calling this blanket finished.  Also, I'm pretty sure I'll be finishing up the last of the black yarn I have for this project and not buying more yarn  sounds like a good idea.  So... hopefully by next weekend, I'll have this finished and there will be a dry day when I can lay it out on the grass and hang myself out of an upstairs window to take a picture of what is starting to feel like a beast of a blanket.

And that's it on the crafty front.  On a personal note, I'm happy to say I've finally gotten my second shingles vaccine - which was becoming very difficult during this lock-down.  After only one day of being laid low by the vaccine's side effects, I'm a happy camper - so relieved to have that task finished!  And that that is worthy of even talking about here is, I guess, a little peek into how one more thing we take for granted is made different by something like a pandemic and a social-distancing lock-down.

I hope things are going okay in your corner of the world.  It's the most beautiful spring here and it seems many are saying similar things elsewhere.   Is it a lack of pollution that has come with less industry and traffic over the last month?  Is it simply that we have more time on our hands to observe how beautiful are the blossoms, and sweet are the birds' songs?  I don't know the reason, but I'm trying to remain aware and grateful for these beautiful days - even rainy days, like today, are lovely this spring.

Has it only been a week?

Somehow, this past week has felt more like a month...

Post has been edited to remove some information that I've since thought better about posting to WWW.  Carry on...

Hubs has been gone for the last 3 days and is driving home through slushy slush as I type. 

I thought I'd get so much done while he was gone, but at the moment I can't account for a lot.

There was lunch one day with a friend and her mother.  Her mother (who is just a few years younger than my MIL) is like an older version of my friend.  Double the fun!

I worked a couple of days this past week with Ruth.  In some ways she appears to be holding steady - and is as sweet as ever.  On the other hand, she's losing interest and stamina for some of the things we've done in the past.  I know this is the progression her condition, and I'm thankful it has been slow and I have enjoyed so many good days with her.  Still do enjoy our time together.  Just differently.

With hubs gone I thought I'd get to some more "minimizing".  But I really didn't have the focus for it.  Wishing I'd plowed ahead through something anyway.  

But I didn't.  

No sense regretting what is behind, I guess.

I did finish Part 4 of Sacred Space.  This section was mostly black with the addition of  yellow.  It doesn't look like much right now, but it's important to photograph each finished part if I want to look back on the evolution of it - which is fun to do.

At 49 inches across already, I'm sure I won't be making this full sized.  After one more part in the round, I'll have a better idea of when I'll be calling it quits.

~~~~~ 

And then I thought this might be of interest... 

Early in the week I got word that someone who was at last weekend's rummage sale/fundraiser wanted to know if I had more dishcloths I'd like to sell.  I heard a groan slip out as I felt an unwelcome and unasked for angst over knowing I can't, with a straight face, ask a price that does justice to the time they take to knit. 

But thinking of them as a contribution to a fundraiser, I was able to quickly put the groaning away.  

I called the woman and told her there were 4 "jelly rolls" of 2 cloths each left over from the fundraiser.  Not having any idea what anyone paid for them at the sale, I told her she could have any (or all) of those for $6.00/roll ($3.00/cloth) figuring that would allow me to donate possibly $24 more dollars to the fundraiser.  

She told me she expected to pay more than that.  Then I got an idea...  since I'd already given her a price, I asked how many she'd like at $3.00/cloth, that is if she didn't mind receiving them loose and in random colors.  She thought for a moment and asked how many I had.  I guessed I had 10-15 left at that point.  She told me between the rolls and loose cloths, she'd buy 20!  "Sixty dollars?" - I wanted to make sure she knew how much she was agreeing to pay.

Yep.  She knew.  And seemed thrilled about it.

I bagged them and took them to the church where the rummage sale had been held so she could pick them up (and pay for them) at her convenience.  I found out yesterday she paid $70.00 for the cloths.   I realize she received something for that money, and the price per cloth was a deal, but I was tickled about it all the same. I never knit dishcloths with the aim to sell them.  It's about the pleasure of making them, and then using or gifting them.  To be able to recognize that I had something already made that could be turned into easy money for a good cause is kind of wonderful. 

And now I can make more without feeling ridiculous that I'm just adding to the pile of cloths I already have.  I know many of us knit and crochet for charity purposes.  I do too, but I also consider myself something of a selfish knitter/crocheter - in that I make what I want, when I want.  And truly groan at the thought of someone asking me if they can pay me to make them something.  I've done it a few times in the past, but I've learned that it takes much of the joy out of handcrafting for me.

But when selfish knitting meets a good cause?!?   I'm thinking that might just be serendipity at its finest.  😀

A bit of crochet...

Today is a very short and sweet Year of Projects update.  While my shoulder isn't 100% yet, it has been feeling much better.  This past week I've dived back into crocheting and I managed to finish Part 3 of Sacred Space:

This is turning into a great stash busting project.  I bought some black yarn and may need more before this is finished, but the other colors are all in my stash.   Yay me!

To see what other Year of Projects participants are up to,
click on their blog links in the sidebar.  👉

A bit of progress...

Short and sweet today with a couple of progress pictures. 

First, Sacred Space.  I was finally (and only) able to complete Part 1 this week, but it feels like an accomplishment with 30 rounds!

Part 2 only has half as many rounds as Part 1, so here's hoping they go a little more quickly.  Although...  just looking at the pictures, Part 2 looks kind of intense.   We'll see.  Looks can be deceiving with this sort of thing.  

~~~~~

And I wonder if anyone can finally guess what this may be:

I had to do a bit of surgery on it, but the pink floss will come up against the black (on the right side) before it's finished. Depending on what life throws my way this week, I might have this finished by next Sunday.

And that's it, really.    Christmas Dazzle (blanket) is continuing to come along, and I'd say it would easily be finished by next week too, but I have a feeling the above two projects will be calling to me more.  😊

Check out other Year of Project participants 

over there in my sidebar!  👉