Super slow week!

So, as my previous post said, my grandmother's passing really took up a lot of the last week.  I have been working on things, but at a much slower rate than usual.  After last Friday, I really only worked on the blue blanket I showed in Vlog #5.  

So, one with the show!  First off, I did finish my varigated, knit Christmas stocking.  I used Bernat Happy Holidays in Merrier.  I really enjoyed the pattern with the exception of how the heel turned out.  I use the pattern, Waiting Up for Santa Stocking by Sour Krot Designs.  I think it must have been me that messed up, not the pattern, but my heel is so pointy.  I just don't like the way that it looks.  I love the way it was constructed, but I just don't like how it turned out for me.

I do however really love the toe decreases that she chose.  This is done round like a hat vs being done like the toe of a real sock.  For some reason that rounded toe looks so much nicer hanging down.  Many moons ago I knit a stocking that used a standard toe decrease and it looked nice laying flat but kind of looked funny while hanging on the mantle.

The next stocking I worked on was Christmas Stocking by Sonya.  This one turned out very lovely!  I really like the finished style.  I don't think it would be as good as my knit one for using as a stocking, but it looks so great hanging up.  My picture doesn't really do it justice.

This pattern was a bit wonky to understand.  Well, it was wonky at the heel and restarting for the leg.  If you have knit or crocheted socks before, you will perfectly understand what is going on in the pattern.  If you haven't ever made socks before, be very careful at reading and working this pattern.  It isn't intuitive.

The last finished object of the week is another donation hat.  This one just uses a basic recipe idea of the crown measures x, the total length is y.   There are many people out there who have created graphic charts to show you the recipe.  I don't want to get dinged for copy write, so I will just tell you to Google that one.

This hat is made from Lion Brand Wool Ease and Caron One Pound scraps that were in my scrap box after finishing the rainbow blankets.  I really like the texture these worked up together.  The Wool Ease is so light compared to the Caron it made a really nice fabric together.

I wanted to share with you all this label I found on one of the balls of yarn from the rainbow blankets.  Not a color that you would see much of anymore.  I am not sure when Caron Sayelle was discontinued, but this ball is at least 20 years old.  I love finds like that!

Here is this week's Vlog Show and Tell.  I hope that you guys enjoy.  I did forget to mention in the Vlog that my yarn weight usage is up to 63.65 ounces out of 400.  So, we keep creeping up there!

Take care everyone and I will see you all next week.  XOXO

Wow, I really dropped that ball!

Hey guys, sorry for the delay in getting any kind of update up for you guys.  It has been a long week!  My grandmother sadly passed away and I was going back and forth with my family getting updates and traveling to North Carolina for the funeral.  Her passing was very sudden.  Taking care of that took up most of my time.

Sorry, but for last week's update, we will just have to go with my Vlog post.  I wish that I had time to write everything up, but I don't want to miss a chance to get this up before this week's video goes live and the new post gets put up.

As to the "pattern" for the cowl:
CO 66
Work in the same moss stitch for 8 rows
Knit for 25 rows
Moss stitch for 8 rows

Remember to bind off in a very stretchy bind off.

I do have this up on Ravelry not as a pattern, but the pattern is written in my description box.  Cowl to Match Lomond Hat.

I should have more up either later today or first thing tomorrow! 

Hats, Hats, Hats-- and a Scarf...

So, this last week or so with the knitting and the crochet have been a bit different than my "normal" flow.  I am running through a lot of the small knitting projects that I had wanted to make to enter into the SC State Fair, I am working on some hats for donation, getting ready to redecorate and waiting to see what Hurricane Florence does....

So...  I will start with the scarf.  I made the scarf that matches the hat from last week.  It is the Dublin Duo Scarf by Bonnie Barker.  It is in the Celtic Cable Crochet book.  I have 2 crochet cable books by her, this is the first one I am working from.  I plan on doing a review after I finish two more patterns from the book.  This scarf actually worked up super fast compared to the hat.  I had originally planned on an extra row of single crochet around the perimeter in the cream I used for the ribbing, but decided against it.  I really like the width of the written boarder.  Just like the hat, I really like the pattern and found it to be very well written.

Next, I worked on a slew of hats.  Seriously...  all of my FOs and WIPs are hats...  I didn't work at all on my August Knitcrate or September Knitcrate projects...  All has been for the fair or donations this week....  LOL!

Fair hats, K&K by Nathania Apple, I have made this hat before and I love this brim!  I come to this hat when ever I want a super basic hat pattern that doesn't have ribbing.  I am not one of those people who doesn't like purling, I just want a different shape.  I went a head an made it in the "Toddler" size and the Adult size.  I put toddler in quotes because I would say that this is more young child in a lot of yarns.  Make sure of your size gauge before you start for a toddler or a child. 

For donation hats, I wanted to use up my orange scraps, it isn't a color that I really use much of, so one ball is more than enough for my stash.  I started with one of Margaret Olander's favorite donation hats, the Better Late than Never Hat by Kathy North.  I really love this hat's construction!  It isn't something super spectacular if you have made a lot of hats unless you are like me and just love clever changes to the basics.  I also am so tickled at how well I am getting my rows to stack when I am smart about working.  So, I got two Better Late than Nevers done, then I decided to go a little off script with another hat.

I took the brown and orange one and used it as a size guide to make my own double crochet-double strander hat.  I know there are 500 patterns for this out there, I think Margaret Olander has a "recipe" for this kind of hat.  I just wanted to finish off that brown and suck up as much orange as I could...  I did finish the brown ball, but I had just enough orange left over for....

A cream and orange (creamsicle) Better Late than Never Hat.  I actually started this one last night when I was chilling with a mask on my face waiting to go to bed.  Trying to de-stress from "What if...Planning".  So, next week this one should be done and I will hopefully not have only 5 hats to share with you guys as FOs and WIPs.


So, I have some fun additional information on my Youtube channel (that just sounds so bloody funny!) video from today that is in conjunction with my "Show and Tell" here.  Please stop over there and take a listen to the fun shares.  I have some fun acquisitions and "reviews" to share with you guys!  Including Halloween finds, my disappointing Mary Maxim purchase, and books!

I want to take a moment and thank all of the people who have supported me this year in my getting out there again.  It has been a long time since I shared in the open like this and I have really missed being able to share with my friends and make new friends.  I know I don't see very many comments on my blog, but I do see my "lurkers" and I am very grateful for you all! 

Hugs and Kisses until next week hopefully!

Crafting Makes the World Go Around...

At least it makes my world go around!  Sorry, I haven't had time to get back over here to share with you the updates on my WIP and FOs.  I thought I was going to have more time on Saturday before the football games started...  I was WRONG!

So, lets get this ball rolling!

I did finally finish my C2C Rainbow Blanket.  I might still put a boarder on here, I haven't decided yet what that should be if I do.  Maybe one of the random purples I have up in the craftroom...  I don't know yet, but I will figure it out.







I finished two hats. One is this pink and cream one.  I used Vanna's Choice yarn and the pattern is the hat from Dublin Duo by Bonnie Baker.  I got her book, Celtic Cable Crochet and am just smitten with the aesthetic of all of the patterns.  I think I might go ahead and make this the next book that I work my way through the whole thing.  I can't think of one that doesn't just look like fun to make.

The next hat is Crochet Ribbed Hat by RecycleCindy.  I liked this hat as a starting place, I have a whole basket of neutral scraps still, so I think that I might work through a lot of those using patterns like this that are just simple and basic.  I already have another brown and cream one going upstairs.

I have been working on my two Knitcrate projects.  I finished the one from the Primary box.  I had some extra yarn from knitting the cowl I decided to knit an ear-warmer.  The cowl pattern is The Beach Ball Cowl by Virginia Sattler-Reimer.  I liked it, but I will have more to say about the combo when I do my final review of the first Knitcrate and the unboxing for months number two.  


No one part of this was wrong, I am just not 100% sure I like them together.   That might change after some wet blocking too.  The fabric is fun to touch through and I am looking forward to wearing this when it a touch cooler.




The ear-warmer is my own pattern (if you can call it a pattern) CO 100,  in the round- 5 rows of K2P2 rib, 15 rows knitted and 5 rows of K2P2 rib, extra stretchy bind off in pattern.  I love the feel of the yarn around my face.  I ended up with only a small amount left over.  I don't even know if I have enough to add into a junk pompom...


I have been working on Caribbean Escape by Jennifer Dickerson.  I am once again loving the yarn, but... I will say that over all but not super excited with the pattern.  I will get more into that when the next box gets here and I give my final review of the yarn and box as a whole.  Don't let me sound too negative, it isn't bad, I am just little meh on both combos though.




The last thing I have been working on is Cakes Two to Tango by Gwen Kok.  Now this is a super simple pattern once you have both balls established, but those first few rows you need silence and patience with yourself.  The pattern is very well written, you just need to pay attention.  HOW PRETTY!  I am using Lion Brand Mandala Baby in Unicorn Cloud. 

I am already planning my next round with this pattern.  I have the yarn, it will be the Warlock color way for the fall!  I love how it looks using the same colorway, but the pattern is written to use different colorways.

I do have my next Vlog up, please, go and take a peek.  This one is a Show and Tell video mostly but I also introduced my next challenge for 2018!

Take care and I look forward to hearing from you all! 

 Please, if you want to follow more closely with the 25 pound challenge, let me know and maybe we can start a group on Ravelry or Facebook.

Portland Trip Part 1 of I don't know...I could go on forever about it

So, you have read about the saga of my luggage.  I did finally get my large bag back.  It took hours of calls, 20 some Tweets (I really don't use Twitter) and 4 days...  She made her way back home though!  It was one of the most frustrating situations I have ever dealt with while traveling.  I truly hope that United handed poor Neil Penney's bag over quicker than American handed mine over (4 DAYS) especially as my bag was never "lost" it was just not where it was supposed to be.

Part of getting my bag being back in my possession means I can start sharing what I worked on (not much at all) and what I got while traveling around the greater Portland area.  Most especially my birthday/travel yarn purchase (also a plug for the sweetest yarn store to ever exist)!

Love the messed up hair!

So, the flight to Portland was pretty standard, nothing to report, cross country flight.  We flew from SC to Dallas at o'dark thirty.  I had one single hour of sleep going into the airport, but I was jacked up on travel adrenaline and the big ideas in my head that I have to circle back to at some point...  I took my hexies on the flight thinking that between those and my kindle I should be entertained the whole way to Portland.  Lack of sleep caught up to me very quickly...

So, don't get me wrong, I did get a lot of crochet done, but I was way over ambitious on the flight project thing and with only an hour of sleep...  I kept nodding off but never quite getting to sleep all the way to Dallas.  Cotton Top was out a lot of the first leg.  He could have slept the whole way if he had taken the window seat from Dallas to Portland.  I was picking up my crochet as I was awake but having to put it up again while nodding off...  It was a mess.

Finished hexies

This went on the whole flight.  I did get to sleep about half an hour when we were over the desert...  But yeah, it was frustrating.  By the time we got to the hotel in Portland I had crocheted all of my tiniest balls in the basket into centers (1 and 2 round circles) so that was at least done, but I had over a gallon bag full of balls for the outsides and "whole hexies".  I never did get a count on my centers that were completed, but it was a samie bagish amount.


The whole week, I was toting around this 2 gallon bag of bits of yarn and circles.  I am sure that if anyone had noticed me getting to and from cars, in and out at our destinations, the hotel lobby...  They would have thought I was nut bag.  I didn't take it on our train and walking destinations and I did forgo taking it to the nightly parties.  I did manage to remember to take my cutting pendant off every night while changing clothes (I am prouder of this than I should be).

Yarn left still in basket

The craft time on the flight back was about the same until we were most of the way back home (last 2 hours in the air) because I was just getting sleepy. 

I finished a total of 54 hexies while I was gone.  25 have their ends woven in.

That is it!  Seriously, this was the least I have ever knitted or crocheted while on a vacation ever.  Especially a vacation where we were traveling for Cotton Top's work!  Normally I find myself in the hotel most of a trip while he works, but Portland was so easy to navigate on foot and train!  I also had the teenage granddaughter of a colleague to go to the zoo, gardens and shopping with.

My yarn and look at that bag! LOVE!

I want to share my yarny purchase before I start on the vacation portion of our trip.  First off, I am not counting this towards my "Great Craftdown" this is something we do every trip we go on out of state.  This is somewhere between a memory reminder and trip "scrapbook" for me.  It was also my 35th birthday while we were traveling, so Cotton Top is the one who kinda bought it for me.

Garden out front

Thursday, August 16th, we went to Wooly Wooly Wag Tails Yarn in Washougal, Washington.  A) Isn't that just the cutest name for a yarn store?!  B) Jennifer has an amazing shop.  I didn't get pictures of the inside because we had people waiting on us.  C) Jennifer is also just the sweetest shop owner!  I will get around to that in a
second.

So, as always I asked Jennifer if she carried anything local or unique to her store.  No romance, right to it; we had two other people traveling with us who aren't yarnies or married to one.  She took it in stride and was very gracious!  She carried a wonderful variety of colors and textures to share with me.  I purchased 3 brands and different fibers.

The blue yarn is Mountain Colors Hand-Painted Yarn.  Holy cow this stuff is visually so intoxicating!  I am beyond in love just for the look of this yarn!  The color way is Avalanche Lake.  The fiber content is 100% Merino Wool.  The fiber is sturdy but not rough at all.  I have no idea what I am going to make with it, but it will be for me and I am going to just love it!

The lavender yarn is Traci Too by Imperial Yarn.  The colorway is Sweet Plum.  The color is just right up my alley with the dusty lavender, but the texture is so soft and bouncy!  I have worked with a similar yarn years ago, it was one of the first high quality 100% wools.  I loved how the bounce in the fiber stayed into the finished project.  The two balls I got of this will be turned into Architexture by Jennifer Weissman.  This yarn was displayed in that pattern in the store and it just had to be mine!

My yarn and new coffee mug

The Fuchsia is Teresa Ruch Tencel.  I only got one of this to make a shawlette (I haven't picked a pattern).  It is just special.  This is the kind of yarn you buy with every intention of making something, but end up petting it for years because you are just in love with the yarn itself.  On its own this is a stunning fiber and I want to just love it as it is until the right project comes along.

Now as I was checking out, we got to chit-chatting and Jennifer was so gracious and sweet and gave me a birthday gift.  The circular needle and the soft pink yarn both were birthday gifts from her based on our conversation.  I just felt so blessed and happy to have met her and spend the little time I got to spend in her store.

Please take time to go and see Jennifer if you are in the area!  The address is 982 E Street-Washougal, WA 98671.  Come on, the store name alone you guys!!!  Wooly Wooly Wag Tails Yarn!  How sweet!!!!

Cannon Beach, Haystack Rock

Sunday after we landed, we went to Cannon Beach.  I didn't get anything there.  Believe it or not, with the number of shops that were open, I couldn't find a single shirt to fit and I really wasn't looking for jewlery.  Most of the places with local art were closed by the time we were done taking in the Pacific ocean (first time for 2 of us).

It was freezing.  I was the only one with sleeves and pants.  Everyone else was still dressed for South Carolina.  I was amazed at just how different the beach was from the Atlantic coast.  I could have easily just stayed here and taken up "writing that novel".  It was just stunning, the air felt so clean and the water just freezing!

How many times do you have a lovely drive through mountain passes to get to the beach.  There was a house off in the distance that I just really was in love with.  Not that the house was that special, but the view that house has...  OH MY GOODNESS!  LOOK!!!  How can anyone say no to getting your morning coffee looking at that!  So, now I know my millionaire house!  LOL!

This house will be mine!

Monday afternoon, we went up to Mt. Hood!  I was able to grab some more normal stuff like shirts.  I also grabbed this bag that I am using as a project bag for my Cakes Two to Tango Shawl.  I know it is so silly, I only have 50 bags around my house!

Tote bag

This was an easy drive and so much fun!  I wish I had gotten a shot of it while we flew in, but I was pretty out of it Sunday.

I did however get some shots coming around the bend to see the mountain.  I will have to edit those into videos that I can share.
It took everything to not stop and take a picture every mile we went.  It was just so pretty and the air quality was so clear when we first got to Portland.

Mt Hood coming around the bend

First full look of the mountain

These are untouched!  These are like my normal "ugly" natural pictures!!!!  Look at that BEAUTY!!!!!  Look, I am 100% a mountain person.  The beach was stunning, however, I was dying at Mt Hood and Trillium Lake.

Yeah, we were done with the mountain fairly quickly as none of us are skiers and no one was prepared for hiking.  So we decided on our way back down, we went to Trillium Lake to see the view.  I could easily spend a week redoing the Mountain and Lake.  The weather was just perfect and really showed both off to their best.

Trillium Lake with Mt Hood

 I swear the landscape just makes it so easy!  I look like a pro with this scenery!

Cotton Top and Me

Over the weekend, I will get part two pulled together.  I still have pictures to round up onto my computer.  I am hoping that later this week I will get my regular WIP post up and take some time to let you know what the next few months will hold for us.  I might have to rearrange some things because I came back sick (like always) and have had to post pone starting my next crafty adventure.

Yarn Sales Are KILLING Me!

For the most part, I haven't too many issues with staying clear of buying more yarn.  I have been very happy with the reduction of my stash.  My room looks so much cleaner when I don't have yarn falling all over the place...  I haven't spent much on yarns, but I am a sucker for the caked yarns' color stories (I got a few balls of Sugar Wheel from Hobby Lobby on their big clearance).  This last 2 weeks though have been torture!  Everywhere I look, there are Caron Cakes for $3, Sugar Wheels for 30% off, fluffy rovings for $4, Vanna's Choice for $.99 (I did grab those, there were 6 balls of gray on that clearance)...  All of the yarns I want to use all of the time were on sale and in front of me everywhere!

Here I am doing my best to not buy what I don't need and even Wal-Mart is rubbing my nose in it.  I am not saying that never did I find super sale, bonus clearance yarns before, but the more than 50% off sales I did buy from were big deals for everyone including me!  These were Holy Grails; myths until we saw them in real life.  Now, every time I turn around there is a 75% off clearance and I want them so badly!

Let me remind you all how little I need yarn...  The big yarn wall is my "For Me" horde/stash.  All of that yarn is just for me, only for me and no plans of sharing it!  Well, we all know that isn't 100% true, I still do a lot of charity work out of that yarn.  The small yarn wall, under my wreath on the far left, is my charity yarn wall.  This has been collected, gifted or purchased to make charitable donations.  What does this all mean?  Carrie Doesn't Need More Yarn! 

Let's be honest here, the Great Craftdown of 2018 might just push over into 2019!  I have considered getting a knitting machine to work things a little quicker.  I love doing boarders so I could flat knit a blanket in "no time" and hand crochet or knit a boarder onto it.  Or doing hats on the circular knitting machines and finishing by hand...  Just so I can work my stash quicker.  That still would leave me with my horde of paper and fabrics to work through, but...  That would take my stash down by 1/3...

ARGH!  First World Problems! 

Speaking of working through stashes... 

I haven't started anything new (Thank Goodness!) but I have made progress on what I am working on...  My C2C Rainbow Scrapghan is coming along.  Apparently I measured wrong again, but I have
a fix that works so I will be keeping it under 7 feet long!  I just started adding in the green yesterday.  This is the last bit before I start decreasing, so I guess I am just over the 50% mark!

I also have been planning my projects for the flight and while I am on holiday.  This is what will be in checked bag, yes, I always start packing at least a week before we leave.  I am terrified I will forget something actually important.  I have a clipboard of patterns in there somewhere.


I am taking this on my flight though.  I am not sure why I didn't stay on top of my hexies like I have done for the last 16 months, but apparently I lost my mind and forgot...  At least it will be easy flight crafting.  Maybe it isn't as bad as it looks, there are some finished hexies in the bottom too...  Still!  That is a lot of scrap yarn! 

You guys!  I had this whole bin empty of yarn after Nilla Waffer joined us for Grandma baby sits time...  It hasn't been that long.  I know that Summer break is almost over, but where did all of that yarn come from?!

I suppose that is about it for what is going on here!  I hope that you all take care and I hope to have something to post next week!

Hugs and Kisses!

Off Kilter and Needing Re-Alignment--Attempt 29

LOL!  I might just scream if I don't laugh...  So I have tried to write the saga of the last three weeks over and over again during the last three weeks.  I have deleted, re-written and deleted more times than I can count.  I have sat here wondering if I can even write more than a sentence without being interrupted...  Just for the record, just writing this far, I have had to stop about 6 times already.

Since it has been so long since I posted last and recapping almost 3 weeks would take us next to forever...  Let's go quickly though life to get to crafts! 

The leak

I finally had some time off without Tater Tot and Nilla Waffer.  The first day of that week, my kitchen ceiling sprung a leak.  Three weeks later, I am still dealing with it, as I am trying to work on this post, my repair man for the hole is here patching the hole (he will be back tomorrow to smooth it and get it ready for painting).  So, my "Week Off" was spent having plumbers and insurance people in and out of the house. 

The hole

While dealing with the leak on my "Week Off" my mother in law needed some help with her car and shopping, so while my husband was helping her, I had to run support going back and forth across town.  I had to leave my plumber here on his own (he is a family friend) to do the repair work while I picked Cotton Top up from playing musical cars with my mother in law. 

We have also have had an engagement of some sort ever week.  My calendar for July and August are both booked or limit availability.  I am going to have to sit down and try to get some time off to do some house work at some point.  It is kind of hard to do things when half your downstairs is sideways with the leak stuff...

I have also had some issues with insomnia.  I was watching Nilla Waffer and Tater Tot on Monday and Thursday but that was becoming way more complicated than it needed to be.  Thursday just wasn't a good day at all for me-Thursday nights are when most of my church ministry activities fall.  The split in the schedule was messing up my sleep schedule.  After week one I had one night of insomnia, week two was 3 nights.  Now we have the days smooshed together and my sleep has more or less gone back to normal.

So, with all of that...  Crafting has been at a minimum to be honest...  Because no matter what I go to start, I have to stop ever 15 minutes...  It has been exhausting!

But, progress has been made on The Great Craftdown of 2018.  Just not nearly as much as one would hope for 3 weeks worth of not posting....

I have no idea what order these went in, but I am going to start with 12 cards got made to more or less finish out the Backyard Picnic collection from Michael's.  I have a lot of washi and die cuts left, but those are neutral stylewise, so they will get used in other places.  I did make three shaker cards this time.  I wish the pictures really showed those off.  They are much prettier in person.  They look so simple and basic in the pictures.

I also realized a few weeks back that I really don't have a lot of "Thank You" cards.  I really need to get more of those made so I can send those out quickly vs having to make one as I go.  I might come back with the washi and die-cuts and make a few more like the butterfly card.

I am kind of sad to be done working with this collection because it was fun but I am ready for something different.  The style was very similar across this collection, but it didn't feel like all of the images went together easily.  The washi was a dream to work with though.  I set up some scrapbook pages using just the washi tapes.  I can't wait to get some pictures of those and eventually work them into layouts on their own. 

As part of the craft room cleaning, I found a few leftover balls of Sheepish from other projects.  A single ball of purple here, a ball of variegated there...  I decided to pull one out to make these hats.  I will be adding a purple rib band to the smaller one.  I wanted to check the fit on Nilla Wafer's head before I finish it off though.  It should fit her head size though.  The pattern I used is Unforgettable Hat by Elizabeth Pardue.  It was very easy to follow and simple to make.  I have used this pattern before.  I love the ribbing on it.  The yarn is Bernat Sheep(ish) in Punkish. 

I really wish they hadn't discontinued this yarn.  I love it!  This yarn is like working with a roving style yarn that doesn't shed or get in your nose like natural wool like this does, there is no short staple fiber in the yarn.  It give you a beautiful drape and soft fabric as well.  I wish that someone would come back with a similar acrylic yarn.  It won't be the same without Vickie Howell's color choices, but it could still be nice to work with.

As I was cleaning my craft room, I decided that since there were holes starting to form on my main yarn wall, I should break down the boxes from Craftsy.  I got these as projects to work on after the move, but for the last year, they have sat there mostly packed up still.  My craftroom still feels half packed because I keep finding new boxes of things that should have gone in there or been unpacked into the room as a whole.

I really enjoy making shawls, so while I couldn't sleep over the last three weeks, I crochet this shawl from the kits.  I had three balls of Lion Brand Heartland in Denali for it.  The pattern is Wrapped in Warmth by Kathy Lashley.  You can't get the kit anymore, but the pattern is available directly from the designer and the yarn is readily available at big box stores and online.  The pattern is super simple, but I really like working on things that give my brain a break but are still beautiful.

The only other things I have been working on are my scrap projects.  I did find more gray yarn, so I have been working on the granny square blanket in blue and gray.  I have 7 blocks left to go (I actually finished 4 already but I don't have pictures yet) before I do the final boarders and sewing.  I have decided to make it 5x6.  The block are around a foot square.  I did want something slightly larger for this project.  I thought that a real lapghan would be too small and make it look like a mess of mismatched blocks.  The more blocks you add though, the more intentional it ends up looking to me.

As I have been thinking about finishing up this project, I have been trying to work out seaming, boarders, layouts...I think I am going to block this as a blanket not as squares.  With the granny pattern, I feel like there is more wiggle room with the blocking.  It won't be flat until I block it, but I think it will be easier to smooth as a blanket vs as squares.  I am alternating gray final round with blue.  I am going to boarder the blocks with a dark charcoal Caron One Pound I have.  I will do a final boarder around the blanket with the Caron and then I will pick a blue to do the final round with.  All of it will stay in the granny square pattern established in the blocks.  It is a more masculine afghan; keeping it simple I think is also best since it is a donation blanket.


I also got some more hexies done.  I can feel the pull of getting these done.  I am so close...  I just need more scrap yarn!  I think I am at 330 total, I could be wrong.  I just need 70 more hexies!  Since I have been working on the shawl and squares, I think I have a bit more more to work with, but I really need more small balls of scrap to finish this blanket off!  I can't believe it has taken me over a year to get this close! 


I have considered this one's finishing as well.  I am going to block the hexies, whip stitch them together in off set rows and not add a boarder.

I uncovered a box of scraps in my workout room.  I didn't find many small scraps that would work for the hexies, but I do think I could do a rainbow blanket with what is in there.  I am thinking about doing granny squares in a rainbow radiating out.  Maybe for next year...  I don't know...If you are reading this, what do you think?  There is everything but blue in that box, but I have some balls of blue still hanging around.

That wraps up what I have been doing...  Like I said, for 3 weeks worth, it was kind of sad!  It has been hard to get things done with all of the interruptions...  Ah well...  On to next week's adventure!

There are no dorks here!

Like I said in my last post, I am working on cleaning my craft room.  I would love to be able to really move around in there and have my desk space back!  I am almost done.  I got the desk wiped down at least now....  It is really sad, there are some basics that I really miss about having a normal room.  Don't get me wrong, I love my craft room, it is just that it is hard to work around not having vertical space to use for my storage solutions.

I have an idea of where I want to go with my space once I have worked my stash down.  I just will have to go through some growing pains until I get my stash worked that far down...  I am just glad to be able to work in there again right now!  I am taking the victory!

While I was organizing the top of my "personal use" yarn space, I found three random balls of bulky yarn.  I have no idea where the blue one came from.  The pink was actually a ball I had gotten my grandmother when she said she wanted to try and crochet again.  The purple has been hanging around for about 10 years now.  I had some turquoise that I bought at the same time but that has all been used for different projects.

Of course, I am a dork...I couldn't just have random balls hanging around... So I brought them down to the study and found patterns for them!  I am sure that is what any rational adult would do...  Right?  No, just me then...

First I found, Rainbow Twist by Thao Nguyen.  This was an interesting scarf to knit.  It went super fast, but the addition of the large scale cable was a lot of fun!  The first twist gave me fits because I was so sleepy- I was knitting to stay awake at that point Monday night- I wasn't paying attention to where my working yarn was laying.  Once I got a good night sleep though, the next two cable pattern rows were a breeze.  If you are looking for a simple gift, accessory or have a random ball of super bulk yarn...  Make this scarf!  I used Wool-Ease Thick and Quick in Blossom.

Second I found She's a Betty Bonnet by Gretchen Tracy.  Holy Mackerel!  I am in love with this pattern!  I love the texture of this pattern.  I really wish that the pictures of my hat showed off the texture or the yarn showed off the texture.  When I started, it didn't look that bad, but by the time I was decreasing the crown, I realized that the texture popped on the back but not the front.  That is okay, I will remake the hat I am sure!  This hat was knit in Premier Serenity Chunky in Stormy.  I got Nilla Wafer to stop for 5 seconds to show off the split neck detail.

I know many of you guys don't know me at all, I also haven't been blogging for years, so you would have never had a chance to learn this Carrie fact...  I adore split neck hats!  I really wish there were more designs out there for these!  The bun hats took over the last two winters, but I will be honest, the split neck is better!  You can wear a low pony tail, scarf and collar at the same time you head stays warm and dry!  There isn't bulk on this style of hat, no fixing your hair to wear this style hat and it stays put on your head!  I know, I am still a dork...  This isn't helping my bid out of dorkdom...  I have made a few over the years, but She's a Betty and Lomond Hat by Littletheorem may be my favorites!  Go get some bulky yarn and needles!  RUN!  KNIT!

So for the third yarn I went with Zombie Killer Slouch by Luciana Young.  The name was eye catching enough!  I couldn't resist this hat after that!  My biggest issue with this hat is that this style doesn't look great on me.  I think I have made one that looked okay on me...years ago...super thin yarn... extra long slouch...AKA, too much work!  This hat however was simple, fun and easy.  It was great for a lone ball and not wanting to over think while working!  This took no time to work up!  I am sure I can find it a good home!


I then took the pink left overs and made a heart applique...  I have no idea what I am going to do with that!  It will hang out until I have a use for it.  <shrug>  Who knows, I might just throw it on a blanket or hat down the road.  I don't make a whole lot of yarn embellishments normally, but I like having them to use when I want one.  It is one of those odd things, you just don't think to make them until you need them normally-well, me at least...

I still had some scraps of all three left over.  Guess who has two thumbs and started another scrapghan!?  Yep, this time a C2C blanket.  It will take me years to finish this blanket!  I haven't worked that much with bulky yarns for the last year or two or 5...  But, I have no random bits going back into the craftroom! I actually pulled 4 random bits balls and added them to this blanket!

One of the things I have been working on is using my scraps as I go.  I know you have seen my hexies and the gray/blue blocks, but it has gone deeper than that.  The Dr. Who Scarf was mostly made from the Harry Potter scraps.  A lot of the donation hats from Lent were made with scraps that were going to just clutter up or were already cluttering up my craft space.  It is perfectly good yarn that I love to work with, but because it isn't a whole ball, I don't think to go and work with it!  Until I have my yarn stash more under control, I won't see these balls in my room.  So, I am trying to work through them now while I see them!

I had this post mostly ready to go up Friday, but I couldn't find time to finish...  In my pictures of my mostly sorted craftroom, you will notice a blue bin on the top of the big yarn wall.  The one on the left hand side...  Yeah, so I didn't go through it while cleaning.  I thought it just had my leftover cakes from a crocheted cocoon sweater, some old straight knitting needles, bits and bobs that were yarn related but not sorted...  NAH!  I found a whole group of Vanna's Choice (stray balls are in the blue bin on the right) including GRAY, 1.5 balls of GRAY!  I was over the moon!  I can go back to my 12 inch granny square blanket!

I also found 2 more balls of Bernat Softee Chunky (vintage) that will become a crochet cable "book bag", another ancient WIP- lace fingerless gloves and some bits that have homes!  So even as I am posting this post, my craftroom is already changing for the cleaner!

I have some plans for the extra large One Pound skeins, so as those get used, I will pull another extra large bin in and sort my large group things into that on top and use my cubbies for smaller quantities and some of my paper supplies that need help in staying organized (boxes only go so far...).

On to paper crafting.  I had to move my paper crafting back upstairs (that is what is on my desk under the window) because Nilla Wafer is older and wants to play with Grandma's stuff A LOT more!  Tater Tot likes to watch, Nilla Wafer wants to take supplies and do her own thing...  So, not a lot got done aside from moving things up to my craftroom.

I did get my second page mostly done for my first scrapbook ever...  I am having a problem making the second page's pictures pop and lift off the page more.  I wish the picture did them more justice, but I haven't stuck them down yet.  I have embellishments planned, but I need to get the pictures fixed.  I am in search through my stash of a navy blue floral...  That should get finished tonight though.  Then onto scrapping our morning at the Jean-Talon Market.  I already have produce papers pulled for those!

Last week was super productive and some how I did manage to actually make things to show you!  This week is packed full already.  I don't know how much time I will end up having, but I am excited to see!

Take care you guys!