Ravelry Blog-A-Long Update #6

The update this week includes some progress. I've been working on joining the circles as I go along for the Flowers in the Snow project. This is not easy. Like I said before, I've got 192 chances to get it right! 

But seriously, this is not easy. I was considering switching gears and NOT joining them as I go along. I was even considering making today the day I take all of these out until I took the photo. Doesn't really look so bad after all. 

My problem is that I see the close up item and fail to see the big picture. When I'm looking at it close up I see "oh that one stitch is too loose." And "why did I put those two circles next to each other?" 

Blerg. 

When really, I need to look at the big picture and realize that it's gorgeous. I'm the only one who sees the flaws. I'm going to continue and get better at it. So there.

And as for Sarah's sweater. I haven't had much time to work on it. The thing is that I started working the sleeve on DPN's and that's really hard for me. It's best if I sit at a table and use the surface to help hold the rest of the garment. 

But, I am ridiculously proud of myself that I made that ribbed bottom edge. Is that gorgeous or what? 

Sorry the photo appears to be a little blurry. Might've been the lighting. Not sure. 

Anyway, hopefully I'll have lots of progress to show next week, too.

Check out everyone's year of project updates.

Year of Projects Series
Initial Post
Ravelry Blog-A-Long Update #1
Ravelry Blog-A-Long Update #2
Ravelry Blog-A-Long Update #3

Ravelry Blog-A-Long Update #4

Ravelry Blog-A-Long Update #5

Ravelry Blog-A-Long Update #4

Hey Friends! I have an update. Although I cannot include pictures this week because my laptop is currently broken and I have to hobble along on my son's really old but absolutely adequate desktop computer. (I know, first world problems, right?) Anyway, getting pictures onto this post is just something I'll do later in the week when I have my own machine back.
Anyway, I have decided to take a break from the original Year of Projects project I had started on. That was all of the blocks from 200 Crochet Blocks. I have 30ish blocks done. Here's my difficulty and why I'm finding the project so frustrating. I'm having trouble making them all come out the same size which is why I was asking about blocking in a previous post. The ones which go round and round are easier to make the correct size because I can always just add another round of something if necessary. The ones that go back and forth are much harder for me to get right. Obviously I still have a problem with this gauge stuff. It also really depends on the day, I think. Some days I work really tightly and some days it just seems to be easier for me to work more loosely. Kind of a bummer. So I've decided that this project needs to just take a break and think about the error of its ways.

I finished my first ripple blanket since I've last updated. It was fun to figure out a new pattern.

Flowers in the Snow

I've started on the circles for this project. I have been to her site and drooled over her version of the project so many times that I just couldn't help it any more. I had to get started. So far I have somewhere around 50 circles made. I honestly haven't counted today. I decided yesterday that my goal will be to make at least 12 each day because that would get me finished with the circles in 16 days.

In a couple of weeks I am taking a knitting class at my Local Yarn Store, the Yarn Gourmet, where we'll be knitting a top down child's sweater. I'm really excited about it but I'm concerned because I've been doing so much crochet. I took some time to practice my knitting last week and my fingers weren't happy about it. Practice makes perfect right? I may have to whip up a couple of knit scarves in the next two weeks to get my fingers and my brain ready for knitting rather than crochet.

Thanks for checking out my update. Promise I'll add photos later in the week.

Check out other folks projects and join the year long blog-a-long on Ravelry.


Year of Projects Series
Initial Post
Ravelry Blog-A-Long Update #1
Ravelry Blog-A-Long Update #2
Ravelry Blog-A-Long Update #3

Time Flies

Ugh. It's been too long. Really. We should talk more often.

So, we have participated in four Christmas celebrations, a birthday party, Christmas Eve church service, a trip to South Dakota and back and various other activities since we've updated here. And since then we've been doing laundry, laundry, laundry, and laundry. Oh yeah, and I forgot, Jon finished painting the kitchen and putting up new trim near the ceiling. It looks wonderful!

I've also been knitting since we've been back. I decided I would just make my favorite items as I have time throughout the year so they would be available when I wanted to gift them or have opportunity to do some selling.

I accomplished some holiday scrapbooking this Friday as well. I get much more done when I focus on current events and then go back to the ancient history when I have the time or the interest. For example, vacation from this summer is already complete and I'm almost done with Christmas for this year. However, lots and lots of previous birthdays and other stuff have yet to be even thought about. All in due time.

Oh yeah. The boys return to school tomorrow. Ahh. Yes, that is a huge sigh of relief. It is time. They need to hang out with some other kids. They are about to tear each other apart and I can only say "knock it off" so many times and still have it work.

The photo above is the dads and the kids walking on the lake after the big snowball fight. It looked like fun from inside the warm house where the moms were. They're great dads. And really good picture for being taken from inside the house, eh? We had a great time in South Dakota. More on that later.

Sarah puts e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g in her mouth now. Don't get your fingers too close. She will put them in her mouth. Really. I'm going to have to step up the vacuuming around here.

Oh, I also helped some folks with some organizing projects. What fun that is. I finally found the thing I would do even if I didn't get paid to do it. Maybe some day I will get paid to do it. We'll see.

Guess that's it in a nutshell. We've been busy. And it's been great.

Sarah's New Hat

I just finished the first hat I have knitted for Sarah. It's a Debbie Bliss design knitted with Misti Alpaca yarn (80% Baby Suri Alpaca, 20% Silk). It's a DK 4ply yarn. It's so soft and pretty.

The main thing I learned from making this project is that seaming is harder than it looks and sounds in the books.

WHERE is my book?

I ordered a book from Amazon so that I could participate in a Knit A Long, my very first one, and my book has not arrived. It's making me crazy. I've called every book store in town and no one has it either. So, I think, chill out, it's just not out yet. But noooo. Lot's of people in the KAL already have books that they bought locally. Obviously, none of them are my neighbors. I am learning quite a bit about the local knitting stores though through this little endeavor. Some of them, at least the people who answer the phones, are not very friendly. That's too bad really. It looks like I'll have to travel to Valparaiso to find a friendly and well stocked yarn store.

Bag Style KAL

KAL is short for knit-a-long for all those not in the know. I've just joined my first one and I'm so excited. I've been wanting to make myself a bag and I figured the best way to make sure it actually happens and gets finished is to join a group and have some fun with it. I'm waiting for my book to arrive and then I'll decide which bag to make. There are several I'm interested in so we'll have to wait and see. Maybe I'll make them all and give some for Christmas gifts.

Just thinking, I should really start taking pictures of my knitting projects for posterity. I guess it never occurred to me before.

Today

Today was a day. Boys in school, S. at home with me. I'm still working on knitting her a shawl. It's about 10 inches long and it needs to be 26. Gonna take me a while.

I'm trying to decide whether I want to join the knitting club or take a quilting class. Obviously I'm already a knitter but I would really like to try quilting. Maybe I'll try it on my own with a small project first. I have my Grandmother's old handkerchiefs that I think would make a great quilt.

Feeling very crafty lately. Not sure what's up with that.

I get to teach about ORGANIZATION and clutter on Sunday in the TLC class (that would be Transforming Lives through Christ). We're meeting in the MC3 building which is the first time I will have stepped foot in the place. It's interesting because we talked and talked about it all and now it's really happening. Of course, it's been happening for the past two years through all of the hard work by people at GCC but I've been out of the loop. Time to jump back in.