Sunday, January 8, 2017

YOP Week #28

 I've been feeling a little overwhelmed lately with all the things I want to do and make this coming year.   I'm trying to fit it all in and yet stay organized.  So, I made little "rules" for myself along the way based on last year.  Rule #1:  I will only have 3 areas of projects going on at the same time....in other words something for me, a gift and a WIP (work in progress) that has been put aside and needs to be picked up again.   I'm not sure that is going to work but that is my goal.  It may take awhile for it to take affect so "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"! LOL!
This is a gift to finish.  A Corner-to-corner crocheted baby blanket for a puppy.  I haven't decided if I will put an edge on it.  If I do it will probably be an off white scallop or picot edging.  My goal is to finish it this week.
 I also made my first project keeper but the only lobster claw clasp I could get at Walmart was this one which is way too big.  It's okay for this acrylic worsted but not for anything else.  I have lots of little charms but now I need smaller clasps.  I can now see the need for progress keepers too and I want them on all my projects.  It's a motivational tool! LOL!  Above you can see yesterday's progress.
 I have made progress on my Jingle socks which are for me............loving the yarn and the knitting......
West Yorkshire Spinner's yarn and Karbonz DPNs.....my favorite needles so far are Addi's circulars for socks but I could change my mind.
Okay, this is where I run into my first glitch with my new system of rules. The cowl below is for me but so are the socks above but the cowl has a deadline of January 31st because I have joined the Red Heart Lover's group on Ravelry and the January CAL or KAL (you can knit or crochet as long as you use Red Heart yarn) ends on 1/31 so I will be putting the socks away and working on the cowl until finished.  I am using Red Heart Fiesta worsted from stash and the pattern is a tutorial on You Tube   
called the Circular Scarf (I think) by Love4Nails.  It is an excellent tutorial and I have made 2 of these before and I love them.  Goodbye turtlenecks and hello cowls!  I am hoping to finish this coming week.
Below is the first slipper of another gift (oops.....there goes my rules right out the window!).  I finished one slipper and was so proud of myself until I went to try it on.........it was way too small and it was supposed to be for my son who's feet are even bigger!  What?  So, I revisited  the pattern and realized that the length of the slipper based on foot size was supposed to measured from the beginning of the stockinette stitch NOT the garter stitch.....measure twice.....cut once!  DUH!!!!!!!!  Oh well, it will be used as a Christmas "pocket" to fill with greens and some tiny Christmas ornaments and berries next year.    
 So close but no cigar!
 Meanwhile, I was able to order some "slipper gripper" fabric on Amazon to sew on the bottom of them when I do complete them.  The deadline for this is January 18th with time for mailing in front of that.  I would like to have blanket done too so I can just mail one package.  So, as soon as the blanket is done I will be picking up this project again...........I was able to get a start on it (this was before I set up my "rules")..........so the cuff is done.  I'm using a really cheap circular needle from Walmart and have since ordered a Chiagu circular size US 4 as I feel like I will be making more of these slippers.
I also committed to Inside Number 23's KAL(knit along) which is a year long (but with monthly prizes) Harry Potter KAL.  The rules are it has to be at least 50 grams of yarn and Harry Potter related either by yarn or pattern or some connection to HP that makes sense.  So, I will have to put the Christmas socks away, finish the cowl and get started on Hermione's sock pattern using this Sirdar yarn which was in my stash for my Summer socks.  It reminds me of watermelon thereby my Summer socks.  These also have a deadline of 1/31 and I need to plan what to do for February in case I need to order supplies.
 In honor of my birthday last week I acquired a little more stash...........my first handspun yarn by Happy Handspun Yarn on Etsy.   Isn't it beautiful?  Don't ask what I'll be doing with it.....right now I just want to display it like a work of art!
 I was really out on Etsy looking for Harry Potter related yarn when this little number caught my eye and several more too but we won't talk about that right now...............just feast your eyes on this Christmas miracle!  These are going to be my Christmas Eve cast on for next Christmas if I can wait that long! LOL!  It is called "You'll shoot your eye out" from the famous Christmas movie "A Christmas Story".  It is from Brazen Stitchery on Etsy.  She has many more beautiful yarns but this was the last skein of this one......for now...........I talked to her and she does repeats so just contact her if you see something you like.  Right now she's working on Valentine's Day....oh be still my beating heart! Did I tell you I also joined Yarngasm's Box of Socks KAL for 2017 on Ravelry? A pair a month for 12 months and at the end you have a "box of socks"!
Well folks....that about wraps it up for this week but I will be very busy behind the scenes until next week.....there may be more CALs and/or KALs and I still need to plan my next Harry Potter project and I am trying to follow a de-clutter challenge  on Mary Organizes which is a great site...thank you, Marsha!  Plus, there is definitely going to be major updating on my projects page on Ravelry, my YOP list and my blog in general.  I love the new year......one more chance to try and get it right! LOL! 
Happy Trails!

22 comments:

  1. My head is spinning! A sock KAL for every month of 2017, a HP KAL for every month of 2017 and more projects on top of that?! YIKES! I was just thinking how crazy I was to sign up for two KALs - one for January and one for January/February. I hope you do well with it and enjoy, or at least don't get caught up in mania to finish all things on time :)

    The handspun yarn is gorgeous. I think I'd frame it in a shadow box and just gaze at it!

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    1. I'll be "double-dipping" for some of these KALs for sure!

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  2. Good luck on the KALs...I am not joining any this year....nope..not gonna ;) Brazen Stitchery has some great yarns...I thought about joining her HP yarn club, but then decided I didn't need any more yarn clubs at the moment either...but it is tempting...

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    1. This is my first time with Kals and CALs so we shall see. OMG, I didn't know she had a HP club! I'm in a year long HP KAL...I better go back and check it out! LOL!

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  3. You have some great ideas for this year. I love the orangey brown yarn. I have some small amounts of yarn that I got at an art festival that I keep in a wooden bowl...just to be pretty! Enjoy your afternoon. Stay warm! Hugs, Diane

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    1. Great idea about the wooden bowl display except for Miss Peeps! LOL!

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  4. Rules are made to be broken. Right? Right! Knit/crochet on sister!

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    1. I must admit, I have always been sort of a "rule breaker" but it's sad when it's your own rules! LOL! Thanks for the encouragement though!

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  5. I love your Etsy purchases. Etsy is such a great place for shopping. I love how your crochet blanket is coming along. It looks great w/that texture and those colors.

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    1. Actually, the little girl wanted purple and I am just using some acrylic stash I had and now I ran out just before the end so there will be another color added to the mix! LOL!
      Yes, Etsy is wonderful and I love supporting independent business women.

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  6. Busy, busy, busy. I have yarn put into cakes for socks for me and was thinking of the Petty Harbour pattern but maybe the Hermione would be good and I could join the KAL with Inside Number 23 too. I do want to try the box of socks KAL too but with the 100 pair of mittens I have to make before October, I don't know if that will be doable or not. I can try though and that way I would at least have some socks done. I love all of your projects. You are an industrious lady.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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    1. Oh, I think you get the prize for industriousness! 100 pairs of mittens for charity? Hats off to you! Have a great week!

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  7. Ha-ha! Rules schmules. I'm confused now as to which three projects are at the front of the line. You certainly have a lot going on. Joining challenges would definitely stress me out because I know I would never make the deadline. I've got so many wips I need to work on but can't decide what to pick up first. Have a great new week.

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    1. The first 3 are the cowl, some socks I haven't even cast on yet and the blanket but there should be an old WIP in there too. I thought the rules would help me stay on task but it's too convoluted...lol! You are right....rules schmules. You have a great week also.

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  8. I am chuckling because I made those same rules last December I broke them with a week! But one rule I have made and I am going to stick to is to do any Cals at my pace and then the frustration wont set in, life just gets in the way sometimes. Good luck anyway, you got some lovely projects.

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    1. Thank you, Sharon. Yes, they're already broken and I won't get frustrated as I am too relaxed now and need a little motivation to do the projects I want to do. I thought maybe a little pressure or a deadline or 2 might help me! LOL! We shall see but I pretty much go at my own pace now that I'm retired. I had enough of deadlines when I worked for all those years. Happy New Year and have a great week!

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  9. Have you ever done Hermione socks? I find it one of the best patterns to work. The oattern is super easy to memorize. The birthday yarn is so warm and rich looking. Too bad about the slipper......a true learning experience. The puppy will hhave a nice bkanket soon. I still like the Fiesta yarn for your cowl too.

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    1. No, i haven't done the Hermione pattern before but it's been on my YOP list for about 3 years!!!LOL! Another one that is being talked about right now and is a free pattern on Ravelry is the Mercury sock pattern. I plan on doing both this year. Yes, learning....still after all these years! LOL!

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  10. A belated happy birthday to you, Sam. May I interject a thought. A thought that may or may not have any relevance? While I can't tell exactly how large that lobster claw is, I have preferred my larger lobster clawed stitch markers to my smaller ones. They are much easier to get on and off the yarn (especially worsted weight yarn). And they just feel easier to handle. Of course, don't hesitate to go smaller if you really prefer smaller, but I just didn't know I'd prefer larger until I had both. I always reach for my larger ones when I have a choice. I just measured mine and my large lobster claw has a 1cm opening while the smaller one I made has an opening just over .5cm (if that helps to know).

    What fun to read about your rules and plans and how you're breaking them right out of the gate. That Happy Homespun yarn really is a work of art. I look forward to seeing what you make with your pretty new yarns and how many more rules you break before the month is over. And in case you don't know... the great thing about the Red Heart Lover's CAL/KAL's is you only have to show progress by the end of the month. As long as you sign up by the deadline, set up your project page with the right tag, and post a progress picture at some point you're as good as gold. I'm not doing January's, but maybe I'll see you in another CAL/KAL in that group!

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    1. Thank you for the info but this lobster claw is so big and heavy it would definitely stretch out any yarn except the most sturdy! I won't go too small but this one is way too big. About an inch tall with about 1/2 opening and the prongs would poke a hole in a sock for sure! Yes, I've posted my project on Ravelry and in the group already....now I just have to "get 'er done"! LOL! Thank you for pointing out all these wonderful CALs and KALs! Thank you also for the birthday greetings!

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  11. I love your rules, unfortunately, I can never stick to one of each type of project. Fortunately, I am quite organised so seem to be able to juggle several. Will be joining you for some of those KAL's!

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    1. I probably won't be able to either as birthdays and sometimes a new "bright and shiny" project comes into sight! LOL!

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