My final holiday gift was for another sister, this time a crochet project. Cloudburst shawl (link to a free Ravelry download) uses a super bulky yarn and I found a beautiful skooshy one for her. While not a beginners pattern it is pretty easy and you can figure it out if you are adventurous.
This was so easy and so lovely I’ve decided I need to make one for myself. That look on my face is me deciding just that.
This photo shows the colour a bit more accurately. I’m thinking I even have enough yarn left to do the same colour. Then my sister can be twins! (Hee hee!)
Sorry for the break, folks. I realize it’s the first bit of January and I should be posting my goals yadda yadda, but that will have to wait. I’ll finish off my holiday projects first.
My sister enjoys Harry Potter so I thought it would be fun to knit a gryffindor scarf.
The pattern is fairly easy for this scarf. It is knit in the round, 23 rows per stripe, a total of 19 stripes. I found this project took a long time, though. For what ever reason it wasn’t grabbing me. It worked out to be very lovely though, and I’m mostly pleased with the results.
I say mostly because when I was all finished and wrapping it up I discovered an error. For the same reason why I get most of my errors, my inability to count. If you check out the photo to the right, the first gold stripe had a couple of extra rows. Derp.
Either way, the scarf is lovely, very soft, and one day I *may* make one for myself. We’ll see. For full pattern instructions click on this link.
Let’s start with some of my For the Horde progress. I have it started and made a mess of the yarn, but a good start is made. After 3 hours of work I have 6″ complete. At the current rate, I should only need 27 hours to finish. It’s not likely, considering it’s the easiest 6″ of the piece, but it makes me feel good. ;p
I have another eight inches to work up and then I start the chest motif, which I am really looking forward to.
I have finished another Christmas gift and about 40% done the next one, which is working up quickly. I have the last three projects chosen and hopefully can get them done within a month’s time.
In the mean time I have made some wristers for my daughter that came out nicely. If I were to do this pattern again (and it’s likely, they are quite pretty) I would not choose a variegated yarn. The cabling on the back of the hand gets lost with the multiple colours. I will definitely make more wristers, they are very quick to work up and there are many possibilities.
Back to Nerd Wars, each new challenges are posted and I entered into the haiku challenge. The challenge was to craft an item and write a haiku about it. My submission was, of course, to do with World of Warcraft:
“One thing that binds all adventurers together is there is always a home to go to or to save. It’s where we come from, it’s where we finish our days. In World of Warcraft, there is a magical stone which can be used to instantly teleport you to your home, the hearth stone.”
After a long day
Pwning noobs with my leet deeps
just want to go home
This pattern calls for two halves to be made then joined in the middle. As you can see, I quite obviously suck at joining because instead of an egg shape I got more of a figure eight. I would rather, I think, have worked it as one piece and closed off on top or bottom. But there it is.
One of the blogs I read is Crochet with Cris and she does some great videos that I find interesting. She recently posted a video on turkish flat stitch with beads, something I’ve never done before. She worked up a bracelet and I decided to give it a try. It is super easy, although I’m not sure why this technique is labelled as turkish. But I worked up a necklace for my daughter in about 5 minutes. My daughter wanted it a bit looser around the neck than a standard choker style, but it still worked.
Image from Mostly Nerdy Crochet. Clicking on the above image will bring you to the appropriate blog posting.
And finally another blog I read, Mostly Nerdy Crochet, posted something the other day that I found interesting. A Jawa! Fortunately she posted the pattern she drafted of it, so it is in my “one day” queue. Isn’t it cool?
Some how the new year has snuck up on us, and the holidays are over. Now we recuperate from too much stuffing and turkey, cookies and pies, and look to the year ahead. We had a wonderful Christmas, loads of family and food. I hope yours was wonderful!
On to 2011. I have never been big on making resolutions, as I am very good at not sticking to them. Instead, I will be listing some crafting goals for this year. And lo! They are lofty! 😀
There are several projects I wish to complete this year. Some are a larger priority than others, being done for others (and therefore higher up on the project list). In addition, I have decided to make a lot more Christmas gifts for 2011. Which means I need to get started on them, and keep up with it monthly. Because they are Christmas gifts, I won’t be posting anything but my progress, but I do hope that in doing so I can keep up my motivation to get these projects done. That being said, I do have a list of projects to complete that I can share with you.
Stitching:
– I would like to finish The Guardian. Ideally in January, but I don’t know as that will happen since I have a big knitting project I would like to finish as soon as possible.
I don’t have any other stitching projects I will be focussing on. This year I would like to do a lot more knitting and crochet.
Crochet:
– I have enjoyed the Bernat Mystery Crochet Along so much that I joined another Crochet Along on Ravelry. One block a month should be doable and I think it will provide a nice break for me while I work on my tougher projects
– Realistically, I realize that I will likely lean towards more crochet Christmas gifts than any other craft, as it is what I am feeling most comfortable with. I would like to complete one of these projects a month.
– I need new slippers. ‘Nuff said.
– Lauryn has requested a hat with ear flaps. No problemo!
– I would love to do some more amigurumi. We will see how that goes.
Knitting:
– I have been asked to knit a wrap for a friend. You can see the project here. I don’t know how long this will take me, as I am not entirely comfortable with this project, but it is a priority and likely my next new start.
– I want to learn to knit socks. Which means I need to grasp knitting in the round. I would love to finish a few pairs before Christmas. <wink wink>
And so those are my goals. On to some updates.
I have finished my white version of the mystery afghan, just in time to gift for Christmas:
It came out beautifully. I am almost finished the last squares for my coloured afghan, and will move on to piecing hopefully later this week.
Hello all, I am back. I apologize for my (relatively) short absence, I was off hunting dinosaurs. The girls and I, along with two of my sisters, went to Drumheller and area to find dinosaurs and visit family.
We all had a really great time. Lots of adventures were had.
In the past few weeks I have been busy crafting. I have had about 12 hours in on the Guardian, and he now is at this stage:
Day two unfortunately resulted in frogging a good section of day 1, but he is progressing nicely now. I have set him aside for a short while as I got the few skeins of floss I needed to continue on with Egyptian Sampler. As of last night, here is its progress:
As repetitive as the border is (and always seems to be with TW’s – although its always worth it!), this piece is moving along very quickly.
In between I have also been crocheting. My latest finish only took about 15 hours all together to do:
I imagine you will be seeing a bit more from me in the crochet department. I have decided to start custom making different ponchos and create a stock to sell on etsy. Hopefully by this time next year I will be well on my way.
That’s it for today! I hope this finds you all well. 🙂
So much has happened since I last blogged, so lets start from the beginning.
When we last left this intrepid adventurer, we had just said goodbye to Scott, who was going back to base to complete basic training. Things went pretty smoothly for all of us, the girls and I got back into a bit of a routine and Scott burned through 7 weeks of training. Week nine of training, however, he blew out his knee, again.
It has been determined that Scott’s meniscus is degenerated too far to heal on its own. He has again been working on physiotherapy excercises and 2-1/2 weeks ago got a cortezone shot.
He came home for a visit June 25th, to stay until July 5. Unfortunately, the morning of June 27th we got a phone call, my grandfather had passed away.
Needless to say, our vacation was cut short. The girls and I were going to be coming home to Alberta for a visit in August for a family reunion; fortunately the airline had no problem changing our leaving date. We have been here in Alberta since June 30th.
Scott managed to stay busy with us gone, going to his Nan’s house to do yardwork and imposing himself on some of our families barbecues. lol
And so the girls and I will be in Alberta for two months, returning late August. It has been wonderful to see everyone, and I hope to get a lot of visiting and travelling in. Kimber in particular really would like to see the badlands and dinosaur bones in Drumheller. I also hope to take them to the mountains, something they have never seen before.
Scott in the mean time is doing much better with his cortezone shot. He is expected to get physical clearance by the end of the week and hopefully will be back in training on Monday. We have our fingers crossed there is a platoon ready to accept him.
Being home means I also have a lot more time for stitching. I have been working on Egyptian Sampler and would really like to finish it before I leave here. If it goes really well, I may even finish another project or two.
Can you believe 2007 is over already? Or is it just me. This year seems to have flown by, and it feels like not much has been accomplished.
In stitching:
This year was filled with plenty of working and not as much stitching as I would have liked. I only had one major stitching finish this year in Lily Maiden, and the rest were all small projects.
Coming up in 2008 I would love to finish a few of the large projects I have on the go. Midsummer Night’s Fairy is coming along beautifully and I would love to have her finished this year. I don’t know if it is realistic of me to add in Woodland Faerie or Egyptian Sampler, but I would like to get a good chunk done this year. I would also love to actually start and finish a stocking this year.
I have decided I am not participating in any exchanges or round robins in 2008. I have a very hard time meeting deadlines and that simply is not fair to those I participate with (as most of my exchangers/rr buddies/PIF recipients can attest to). I will focus on the stuff I am working on and if I feel the need to send someone something it will be in the form of a RAK instead.
In knitting:
I did get a handle on knitting this year and am starting to branch out on some new areas (more to come on that another day). I am still working on my squares afghan and have mostly made mittens and such, but I am finding that I desire to knit more and more.
In crochet:
I picked up my hook a lot more this year, too. I just love the speed and the ease of crochet. My poncho was my big finish and plenty of slippers made the rounds this year, too. Hopefully in 2008 I will finish the giant afghan that I still haven’t bought the remainder of the yarn for.
In blogging:
Well this was a dismal blogging year for me, wasn’t it? I will try to blog a bit more this upcoming year, and try to stay on top of the blogs that I have in my blogroll. I am sure I have enough SBQ’s stored up for a week or two of topics anyway!
In family:
This was a great year for visiting family! My mother and two sisters came in January, two other sisters in July, SIL and FIL in August, and an aunt and uncle in August. Not to mention the oodles of family we now have around since we have moved to this province. It is nice getting used to having family around again.
That is pretty much all for this year. Plus I have to go off to work. I hope you all have a safe and wonderful New Year!
Just a really quick post today to say I am still alive. Can we just write off December?
Seriously, it is quite busy these days and blogging unfortunately has become a very low priority. I am here, I am stitching, knitting and crocheting, but I am likely not going to post again until January.
So – have a blessed holiday and I will talk to you all in the new year!
Well it is my birthday today, turning 3-(cough), and I thought I would celebrate by stealing a meme from Jenna:
Meme instructions:
1) Go to Wikipedia
2) In the search box, type your birth month and day but not the year.
3) List three events that happened on your birthday
4) List two important birthdays and one death
5) One holiday or observance (if any)
Three events:
1848 – In Boston, Massachusetts, the first medical school for women, the Boston Female Medical School (which later merged with the Boston University School of Medicine), opens.
1512 – The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, is exhibited to the public for the first time.
1604 – William Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello is presented for the first time, at Whitehall Palace in London. **(As an interesting fourth item – The Tempest is presented for the first time in the same place on the same day 7 years later)
Two important birthdays:
1942 – Ralph Klein, Premier of Alberta (until last year. Which explains a lot about the man. Seriously.)
1808 – John Taylor, American religious leader (d. 1887)
One death:
1972 – Ezra Pound, American poet (b. 1885)
One holiday or observance:
Mexico- Day of the Dead celebrations begin. (I grew up observing All Saints Day on this day, but Day of the Dead is a day that has always seemed interesting to me. It seems like such a wonderful way to honour our ancestors.)
My final holiday gift was for another sister, this time a crochet project. Cloudburst shawl (link to a free Ravelry download) uses a super bulky yarn and I found a beautiful skooshy one for her. While not a beginners pattern it is pretty easy and you can figure it out if you are adventurous.
This photo shows the colour a bit more accurately. I’m thinking I even have enough yarn left to do the same colour. Then my sister can be twins! (Hee hee!)
Schokti's Coffee Cup 
