YOP Week #2

                                                        I have a finish!  Wow, if I could only keep this up every week! 
Under the section DOILIES:
This was a great pattern.  I always call it a great pattern if I understand it and don't have any trouble with it....lol!  I'll be making more of these.  I used some leftover pink cotton yarn from Rowan.  But per "the rules".  I now have to dig up a doily WIP and finish before any new doily patterns can be made.   I linked to the pattern in last weeks YOP post....Week #1.

I started the baby kimono but the pattern I had chosen was not clear at all and so I searched for another and found one by Joji Locatelli which was a real surprise because I did not know she had any baby patterns.  I trust her patterns as they are always highly rated but this will be the first one I will have made.  Also, it calls for 2 buttons and buttonholes which I have never done,  So, I think I will knit up a practice swatch and follow a You Tube video I found for knitting buttonholes so I know what I'm doing before I attempt it on the kimono.

The rest of my progress has been on my cross stitch..........
Monthly Monday....I've made progress...........

 Witchy Wednesday........

Fall Friday....Tom Turkey...........

 Stars and Stripes Saturday...............

 Not quite finished with the white row..............

 Santa Sunday.............I was gifted several of the Prairie Schooler Santas.  They come out with a new one every  year.

 And for the days in between...................

Sew She Did by Lori Holt at The Fat Quarter Shop.............I'm outlining so that I can do mindless fill in the blanks cross stitch and watch t.v.

 
 Okay.......is this called stash enhancement?  Not sure but I bought a pattern I have wanted to stitch ever since Donna at Stitching in Doo Dah (podcast) made one similar by the same designer, Caroline Manning.  She has loads of gorgeous patterns and so here it is...............

 This is full coverage and there are 39 squares..............I have 1 and 1/2 done...........I can't put it down!
It's like knitting with self-striping yarn.....you want to see what the next color looks like.....the first square I did the border too just like joining in crochet.  This appeals to me on so many levels.  The symmetry, the colors and their placement, no outlining or special stitches and a design that does not require you  to look back at the pattern every 2 seconds....it's pretty evident what the pattern is after a few squares................

Another reason I am so in love with this pattern is that it gives me a zillion different color combinations that so far I really like but would not have come up with on my own.  I will be using this piece as a starting point for many more projects.  She calls it her Granny's Afghan but not sure if it really is but I love it!  She went from the afghan to developing a cross stitch pattern.  I want to take the cross stitch pattern and make a crocheted afghan using those exact same colors.  I'll match the DMC floss colors to yarn!  It's a long way off but I really want to do it.  This piece has given me so much inspiration....thank you Caroline!

There are 2 things I forgot last week.  Connie reminded me...."no socks?".....how could I forget one of my favorites?  There will be a sock category added and some sock yarn ordered.  Plus, I have a few sock books to dig up.  I also forgot to add some of the resources (besides the obvious Ravelry) that I will be utilizing.........

I rarely buy magazines anymore but I have had real good luck with the Holiday issues and I go back to them time and again. 

.......

this Knit Picks book definitely has some practical making in it

I have had this book for years and now that I am back into cross stitch I plan on picking out some projects from it............I do have a lot of cross stitch resources from years ago....books and magazines

 That's all the fiber related projects for this week.  I have worked outside though!  I mowed Monday

 and it was like a hay field....some parts still are.  I let the grass dry out a bit and then used it as mulch in several places around my yard.  I go to Mountain Home next week and hopefully will be able to get mulch there but meanwhile I used what I had............
The little pool would not hold the paint for some reason so it is what it is.....I had to get planting!
 See the grass mulch?  I am hoping it helps keep some moisture in.  I had to get my banana peppers planted.....see...they already have peppers on them!

  spaghetti squash....

Cucumbers (pickling).........

zucchini..........

and a big crop of daisies!

Barry has just arrived....it's raining now and the wind has picked up.  We have flash flood warnings.  Just so the power stays on and my sump pump keeps working! LOL!  What a cozy afternoon and probably the next 3 days to stay in and enjoy homemade pleasures!
Please stop by here and see all the other beautiful makes from the Year of Projects group.
Happy Trails!!!