I’ve been wanting to start this for quite some now, that is, a weekly update. Not just a review of what I’ve been doing on the blog, but of anything that’s going on in my life and environment. Crocheting, of course, being the center of attention. I could say that I’m just always so busy, and that’s why I’ve not done this yet, but that wouldn’t be entirely true. Sometimes I’m just too tired or lazy, and sometimes I second guess myself and think, “What’s the point?”. Well, the point of it is to share and remember. This blog, so far, has been more or less a place where I publish my original patterns and WIP’s to share with everyone, but recently I’ve been wanting it to be more. Not only would I like it to be resourceful, but I’d like it to be a place where I can go to and look back on my crocheting journey, as well as other moments and milestones in my personal life. A sort of journal, but not private and not overly personal, not full of deep thoughts and emotions. Light and airy, uplifting and helpful. And so now with having created the first published update, it provides me with the incentive to keep going. It will now be expected of me to produce a new update every week!
So. Having said all that, let’s get on with it!
First and foremost, it’s my husband’s birthday today! He says he’s only 26 years old, but that’s up for debate, lol. (That would make me only 13 years old!). We don’t have any real big plans for today. We already went out for a stroll around the block this morning. Now hubby’s sipping a glass of wine, Olivia’s napping, and I’m sitting here in front of the computer with my coffee. After dinner tonight (steak!) we’ll enjoy some birthday cake. I took a photo of it, shown below. It’s gonna be YUMMY! (Hopefully my teeth won’t be aching too much after eating it!).
At the beginning of March I decided to finally try my hand at designing a sweater for my daughter Olivia. I did many, many gauge swatches and researched online about sizing (not all sizing charts are the same, so I had to guesstimate and use Olivia’s measurements to come up with the right size for her). After a number of attempts I came up with something that works. I am using Peaches & Creme cotton yarn (just started on the second 14 oz cone of it), color “Chocolate Milk”, a size J-6 mm hook, and the Moss Stitch. It’s about a size 4 children’s. But with Olivia growing so quickly, I don’t think it will fit her in the fall. So I will have to make a larger one after I finish this one. I wanted to share my pattern with you here when it’s done, but I’ve discovered a mistake I made while making the hood and I need to fix that, which I will do when/if I make a larger one. Also, IF I make another one, I’m thinking I might use acrylic yarn (most likely Red Heart Super Saver) instead.
Here is a photo of what it currently looks like. I just started making the first sleeve yesterday (well, I actually started the sleeve a couple of weeks ago, but couldn’t get it right so I put it down for a while). You can see in the photo the buttons that I’ve chosen to use on the sweater.
Next, here are a couple of photo’s of Olivia modeling the sweater, before I started on the sleeve. I shared these photos on the Facebook fan page a while ago, and as I stated there, while I think the hood looks kind of Gnomish or Pixieish, Olivia’s thinking more along the lines of Dinosaurish, lol.
Around the middle of March I broke down and bought 3 cakes of Mandala Baby yarn (color “Far Far Away”). News of the price of it being reduced at Walmart was circulating around Facebook, and so I just couldn’t resist! I didn’t have a project in mind for it at the time, so I browsed the internet looking for ideas and/or patterns. In the end I decided to create a blanket with it. However, I didn’t want it to look like all the other blankets (I’m not really a trendy person), so I dug out a stitch pattern book and created my own. I’m using a V-Stitch pattern called “Winning Ways” from the book shown below (published by Leisure Arts, available at Walmart), and a 5 mm hook. It’s about 44 inches wide, but I’m not sure how long it is as I haven’t measured it lately. I did have to buy two more cakes of the yarn (luckily the store still had cakes of the same dye lot), because I don’t want the blanket to be square. It should be about 60 inches long when it’s done, give or take. I will probably also add a border to it. I just started on the fourth cake a couple of days ago.
And last but not least, I’m slowly working on a doily. It seems that every week or two I do another round in it. Working with crochet thread is really a strain on my eyes, plus, I have to pay extra attention to the stitching and following the pattern (and I need quiet and no interuptions for that!). I am following this pattern. It is called “Dreaming of Spring Doily” by Olga Poltava. Only a few more rounds and I am done 🙂
Oh, and before I forget, that sweater I was knitting for myself (mentioned here) is heading for the froggy pond. In it’s place, I’m going to either make a knit poncho (I found an easy pattern which uses far less yarn than the sweater) for myself, or maybe even another blanket.
And the final order of business…that monthly newsletter that I’ve been talking about for a few months. It’s not been started yet. You can still sign up for it, I just don’t know when exactly it will begin. I need to come up with content. Which means I need to be more active here on the blog. I often find that there’s just not enough time in a day. If only I could just snap my fingers and have everything done all at once, lol. (But I do enjoy the physical process of doing things!).
