Year of Projects Round-Up (2017-2018)

I think this is my favorite post of the whole year.  It's my Year of Projects Round-Up where I put all (or at least most) of the projects I've crocheted or knitted in the last 12 months in one spot.   It's so much fun to see all the yarny things I've managed to make and think about where the projects have gone (or are waiting to go or be used).

Let's start!

I'll admit it, this year my favorite projects were the quick ones.  In that category are dishcloths, potholders, motifs, bookmarks, bags...

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Other small and/or quick projects I made this YOP year were hats and scarves.  These items were donated to Bundle-Up! - a local charity event where these kinds of items are distributed to kids and teens in need.  

And I've gotten an early start making scarves for this upcoming autumn's collection drive:

 

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I also made a couple of scarves and a little sweater that became (or will become) gifts for some special someones:

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And some things I made just because...

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And, of course, no year would be complete without some blankets:

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Lastly...  while these are yet to be finished, I started two Spicier Life blankets this spring that have hours of crochet invested in them, but still surely have a mile or so each of crochet to work before they're finished:

And that's just about it!   There were, of course, projects that either got put into time-out or were frogged, and there are still a couple of projects languishing from years prior, but this compilation of projects are the ones that got attention this year.

To see what other Year Of Project participants have been up to this past YOP year, visit our group on Ravelry.

So many ends...

I can't believe this Year of Projects is almost over!  Next week is our wrap-up week and then we're off again into another new YOP year!  Whoo Hoo!

I guess because I hadn't made enough things, this week I got the urge to make a new Market Bag.

This design took more time to make than other mesh-type market bags I've crocheted, but I'm curious if that solid bottom will stretch less than the other ones I've made.  I look forward to trying it out.  


AND I finished crocheting my Vintage Petals Mandala!   Yay!

Sorry for the tease of a picture, but there are so many ENDs in this thing and I want to sew them in before I show the front finished.  

Believe it or not, what's pictured is only half of all the yarn ends - I'm so glad I stopped midway and sewed in all the ends up to that point before continuing on.  All in all, there are 38 ends in this smallish project.  So many ends!!!  

Next week I'll post a picture after it's truly finished and blocked.  I finally got over my color-angst and it turned out some better than I anticipated.  😊 

And that's it from me this week!  Check out our group on Ravelry to see what other YOPpers are up to!

2018 Yarn Stash-Down: 24.18/100 Skeins

Just small things...

Mid-late this week, I remembered I was signed up to host another weekly CAL on Our Happy CAL Place this upcoming week. Fortunately, about that same time I started feeling better from being knocked low earlier in the week.  So I got busy and was able to crochet two of these cute potholders:

The pattern leaves me a bit confused where it transitions to the ridged part, but once I figured out how to do it (by fudging), these were super easy to make.   I did have to fudge a bit in a couple of other areas, too (namely, I did away with the chain spaces in the white part of the flower square, and the edging required me to hdctog (make some half double crochet stitches together) occasionally in order to not have a ripply edge.  And I did have to steam and stretch it a bit to get the whole thing perfectly square, but once I did all that I thought the finished project was kinda cute.

Sounds like a lot of bother, huh?   It kinda was.  But they're kinda worth it.  Simply because it's an interesting design.  

Since I don't know how these will behave once washed, they are going straight into my potholder drawer and I'll enjoy using them this summer.  If they wash up nicely, I think these would make a fun gift.  Well, not these.  But I might like them enough to make up some gifts from the pattern.   We'll see...

That's truly all I managed to crochet since last weekend.  My mandala didn't get any love, so maybe next week...  

And I don't recall when I finished the Boxes Dishcloths pictured below, but I may have just forgotten about them last week as I know I haven't knitted since last weekend.   Once I started making them, it seems I couldn't stop until I'd made no fewer than four!

The first time I made these I found them challenging, but I really liked the texture and how they look.  This time when I made them I fell in love with the simplicity of the pattern.  I can't believe how when I made the first couple of these last year I had to refer back to the pattern for every single row and keep close track of which row I had just knit (or make note of where I had left off).  This time around, I quickly figured out how to read my knitting and I knew exactly the stitch pattern that each new row needed to be and I could lay it down mid-row and go back to it, even a day later, without any trouble.  Yay!  Progress!

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

2018 Yarn Stash-Down:  21.29/100 Skeins

The Yop year is fast winding down.   Our new YOP year begins on July 1st and in that post we share our goals, lists, or whatever it is we use for planning our next Year's worth of Projects.  As for me, I'm a great list maker, but when it comes right down to it, for me hobbies and lists don't coexist well.  So my list is always very open-ended.  It's not a project list so much as it is an idea list.  And I'm thinking of how I might simplify it even more.  Make it even less of a list.  Hmmm... I wonder if I can YOP without a list?  I might have to try and see if I get kicked out.   That's the great thing about this YOP project, each participant can make it fit their personality and style.

If you have a blog and would like to participate, please do!  All of us are crocheters and/or knitters, but the projects we share go beyond those crafts.   It's very fun to see what other YOPpers are working on  - whether it's knitting, crocheting, sewing, quilting, cross stitching, painting, gardening...  It's all creative and inspiring.  You just need to be a member of Ravelry, join our group, and then join the fun!

Round and round she goes...

A short and sweet post this week since I started a new project last night.  In the Our Happy CAL Place on Ravelry, we're hosting a Mandala CAL for the month of June.  If you're a crocheter and would like to join us in our June CAL, consider yourself invited.  Participants can choose any pattern they like.

I've been wanting for some time to make a mandala from this book I found earlier this year at my local library:

It's hard to pick just one to start with, but starting with one is necessary, so I choose the pattern Vintage Petals by Sandra Eng. 

I am not the least bit confident in the colors I chose, but for once I'm not going to overthink a project.  We'll see if I like it better after I add some more contrast in later rounds.  That mustard-y yellow is my highest contrast, so I think I decided I'm making flowers in an upcoming round with that color.  That is, if I don't change my mind.  😐

To see what other YOPpers are up to, visit our group on Ravelry.  Which reminds me -  let me give a plug...  If you have a blog and are interested in joining in on this Year Of Projects thing, we begin a new year on July 1st.  It's a lot of fun, you'll make new friends, and you'll likely find inspiration and motivation to create far more than you ever thought possible.  That's how it's worked for me, anyway!  Come check us out at least.

Taking stock...

Still feeling a bit unmotivated in the crochet department, I decided for this YOP post to take stock of some projects I have in progress.

While they don't look much different (than they did last week), I am still plugging away on my Spicier Lifes:

And about mid-week I got my embroidered pillowcases out to work on:

The most simple of embroidery patterns, I don't understand why these aren't done already.

Looking for something pretty mindless to work on I remembered this Boxes Dishcloth pattern I'd been meaning to make again.   I was pleased to find out the pattern is much easier for me this time around.  

I like this pattern so much. I really should make more of these to have in my "gift box" to have ready for gifting.  They are lightweight, but have a great texture for washing dishes, or even one's face.

And I still have this unfinished Uwila Shawl hanging around:

This one just stops me in my tracks every time I look at it.  A month or so back I decided to not do the cabled owls so I frogged what I had done of that section.  Then I thought I'd just finish it with the whole shawl made in this stitch pattern, but trying to figure out how to figure out how to do that just makes me want to go take a nap.  Sigh.  And that's all the further I ever get.

So I'm putting this away, but not too far away.  I'll keep it handy, but out of sight.  And if I haven't made a decision about this thing, by say...  December,  I'm frogging it.  The yarn is a lovely color and it's scrumptiously soft (Deramore's Studio DK).   I may frog (or finish) it before December, but that is the deadline I'm giving myself on this.  

And that's all I've got on the crafty front.   About Wednesday it turned beautiful weather-wise so I enjoyed a number of long walks the rest of the week, planted some more flowers, had lunch with friends mid-week, and power washed my patio for a second time this spring.  I also spent too much time this week shopping for something to wear to a wedding next weekend only to decide that I will wear something already in my closet.  But I didn't come to that conclusion before I'd found all sorts of fun summer things to add to my closet.   

Someone, please tell me I'm not alone in doing this.   And before someone gives me the advice to shop my closet first, I did!  I always do.  I just never seem to come to the logical conclusion that what I have will work fine until I've exhausted my search at the few clothing stores I tend to shop.   I would consider it a problem, but having some new things to wear for the new season kind of makes me happy.  😏

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

When The Crojo Goes...

Something has happened to me over the last couple of weeks.  Except for some weaving in of ends on one of my Spicier Life blankets, and crocheting a quick project here and there I seem to have lost some of my crojo.    I haven't been interested in crocheting much of anything this past week.

I've been thinking it's because I've got these two Spicier Life blankets in progress and that they are going soooo sloooowly.   I've never made a large blanket from DK weight yarn, and my goodness, it takes forever to see progress.   And after evaluating their size last week I realized I'm going to have to add a good number of rows (actually one or two whole sections) to get these anywhere close to being able to cover a person.  I don't understand how these (made according to the pattern) would be large enough for an adult-sized blanket.  

Anyway...  I was feeling just about over them already.  Was beginning to think it had been a big mistake to try to make two of these at the same time.  And I could just barely stand to look at them for the past little while.

Sigh.

But last night I made myself get one of them out and start crocheting again.  And I was pleasantly reminded how easy the pattern is.  And how much I enjoy crocheting them. So I guess I'm back in the saddle again.  

But with a different attitude.  These are projects I may just have to take breaks from, and they may take longer than I originally imagined.  Much longer.  At this point I'm putting aside any expectations of when I may finish these, or if I'll even continue to crochet them side by side all the way to the finish.   But seeing all those colors playing together reminds me that I do love this project.  And someday I'm going to be thrilled to finish them.

To see what other YOPpers are up to, visit our group on Ravelry!

Meanwhile I'm curious what others do when their knitting or crochet mojo takes a hike.  What do you do to inspire yourself to pick up hook or needles again and get going when motivation lags?

Oceanside Shawl

Yesterday I finished my, what I'm calling, Oceanside Shawl (pattern is called Ruthie's Sunshine). 

I soaked it in warm sudsy water mixed with Dreft pur-touch baby detergent and then rinsed it out.  I don't know if baby detergent was necessary, but it sure left the shawl with a nice barely-there soft scent.  And then I didn't block it, but rather (after rolling it in a towel and pressing out most of the water), I just laid it out on another towel to dry - didn't pin it, or try to open up the stitch pattern.  I felt like it was pretty perfect as it was.

That said, I did want my shawl a bit wider than the original, so I added some extra stitches (an extra V stitch in each section where those appear), so my shawl is probably wider by an inch or two from the original.  My shawl measures 16" x 74".

Also, I did not do as the pattern instructed and crochet half the shawl, then go back and start it again going the other direction (which would make a seam in the center back).  The stitch pattern on this really doesn't not need for that to be done. It looks just fine hanging down on either side, don't you think?  Without studying the stitches closely, you really can't tell that the "shells" go a different direction on either side.

Now... this yarn is interesting.  I've never used it before, so I'll give a little review.  It's Lion Brand Shawl in a Ball in the colorway, Healing Teal.

For the most part I like the self-striping.  And I like the effect of the white cotton thread that is spun into this colorway.  I'm not sure, though, what I think of the unevenness of the thickness of the yarn. There are lots of large slubs which produce fuzzier places in the finished project.   I'm used to this in say, Red Heart's Unforgettable, and, like Unforgettable, it can be a bear to unravel (actually, I think this yarn was harder to unravel).   The cotton thread spun into it also produces a different feel in how it handles. It's hard to explain, but it has to do with both the random thick-and-thinness of the acrylic fiber (which stretches to some degree), combined with the cotton threads which don't really stretch at all.

The short of it is that it took some getting used to.  While it took me telling myself it was okay while I was working with it, now that this project is finished I'm deciding that the cotton thread is a plus in that it adds strength to what appears to be an otherwise un-spun acrylic fiber.  I'm not sure there are a lot of projects I'd use this yarn for.  It makes a nice shawl, so I guess the name of the yarn (Shawl in a Ball) is fitting.

And that's all she wrote!  To see what other Yoppers are up to, visit our group on Ravelry.

2018 Yarn Stash-Down:  18.17/100 Skeins

Shawling along...

Last week I commented that my progress on my two Spicier Life Blankets seems to slow down with each new section.  I don't know what's up with that, but I decided I needed to take a break from those projects.

Wanting to participate in the April's Monthly CAL (which includes shawls) on the Our Happy CAL Place group on Ravelry, I decided to dig out some skeins of Lion Brand Shawl in a Ball yarn I bought at a deep clearance price last December, and start a shawl using the pattern, Ruthie's Sunshine.  Here's just a peek at what I've got done so far:

I think I'm going to call mine Oceanside.

I kind of love the pattern, but I keep making mistakes! And then I don't find them until several rows later!  I'm about half-way finished, but if I hadn't had to rip back so many times I'd have this thing finished by now, I'm sure.

It's a very simple pattern, and because it's so easy, it's tempting to believe you can mindlessly crochet this, but I don't recommend it. I find I really need to hold the thing out after every row or so and count the double crochets (and/or the V stitches).  Counting either of those makes my mistakes stick out.  Not counting will get me every time.

Next week, I imagine it will be back to my Spicier Life Blankets since I really do want to get them finished.   And maybe I'll have this Oceanside shawl finished soon!

To see what other YOPpers are up to, visit our group on Ravelry!

Making things... baking things...

As I wrote yesterday, I had a birthday this past week.   I didn't make any grand plans to celebrate, but I received the sweetest invitation from a young friend a couple of weeks ago to bake together.  For his birthday (which was the week before mine) he said something he'd like to to do is bake with Mrs. B...

He had talked of making biscuits when he and his siblings were at our house a few months ago and we didn't have time to do that then, but evidently Isaiah hung onto that thought.

I put on my apron and was his sou baker (is that a thing?) for a couple of hours this past Thursday.

Mostly, I just watched, chatted, and cleaned up after Isaiah as he worked very proficiently making biscuits.

He thought that was a great arrangement.  And it suited me just fine.

Isaiah worked fast and it was difficult getting a non-fuzzy picture of him rolling and cutting out biscuits.

Here's a clear picture...  Isaiah is arranging biscuits on the baking sheet so they'll bake nice and even.

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While the biscuits were baking, Isaiah started the book I brought him as a birthday gift.  Hubs has a collection of old Landmark books we've begun selling and otherwise rehoming, and Isaiah comes from a family of big readers, so we thought this title would make a fine gift.  I tucked in a bookmark I had made.   

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And finally, the biscuits were done baking and we enjoyed a couple with jam and butter.

While this was meant to be a birthday gift for Isaiah, it was a birthday present for me that I'll remember forever, I imagine.   Thank you, Isaiah, for the invitation to bake with you, and for showing me what a good baker you are!

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And on the crochet front, I'm still working away on my two Spicier Life blankets.

They're both just a little over half finished.  I don't know if it's my imagination, but each section seems longer than the section before it.  While I'm enjoying working on these, I'm starting to slow down. Can't wait 'till I get to the borders. 

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

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.