wool
FO Friday!
Heyho crafties!
Just a short post to share with you guys my latest FO, a cutesy easy shawl started on September 27th, 2014 and finished on January 14th, 2015. It is my second FO of the year, W00T!! The pattern is called “Bamboo wedding shawl“, from Purl Soho, and the yarn I used is Cascade Heritage in the color Como Blue. I used a size 4mm needle instead of the 3.25mm needle the pattern called for because I have knitted with Cascade Heritage on 3.25mm needles before, and I just knew I wanted this shawl to be more airy and supple than that.
It is the second time I have knitted this pattern, the first time was a little over a year ago as a Christmas present for my mom. It was before I started blogging so there is no photo of it anywhere here, but here’s one just for the heck of it 🙂
As you can see it’s very thick, very wide, full of mistakes and not very long to boot. It was also my very first lace project, and I must say I made a lot of progress since then. The pattern that seemed so complicated to me at first now feels so easy and relaxing to knit now, and the result looks so much better too. Ah, the miracles of time!
Start it off with a bang!
2015 only just started, and with it comes a a few resolutions, projects and ideas to start off the new year afresh. This year, I made a few promises to myself. Nothing big or fancy, just a few things that I think are going to make things better.
- I want to learn how to relax more.
I like to keep myself busy and I always have a lot of projects and ideas all lined up – not that it’s going to change, but I think I need to make more time amongst all those crazy projects to just take time for me. Enjoy some company, play with my cats, savor a good cup of coffee – that kind of thing. - I want to start less, and finish more.
I think it’s a crafter’s plague to have too many projects on the needles, and to really finish only a few of those. I broke my personal record for frogged projects in 2014, and it made me reflect on why those projects were frogged in the first place. Some of those were just failures that never saw the light of day, but I noticed that most of them simply happened to be projects I started but wasn’t inspired enough to work on them, let alone finish them! So this year, I want to work on fewer projects that I feel more inspired by, and take them to the finish line. - I want to knit from stash. No, really.
I love to shop for yarn. Who doesn’t, really? But I recently came to the conclusion that bigger isn’t necessary better. What I mean by that is that even if you have the nicest yarns in the world, they won’t mean a thing unless you use them. This year, I will not buy yarn “just because”, or “because it’s on sale”, or “because it’s pretty”, or any combination of those reasons. This year, I’ll only buy yarn if I have a specific projects in mind, that I do not have appropriate stash yarn for. No exceptions. We’ll see if I can downsize my yarn stash this way 🙂 - I want to weave more.
I have a nice floor loom, and I love it, but I feel like I’m not using it enough. Part of the reason is that I do not own a lot of weaving thread, so my options are a little limited when starting a project. In 2015, I want to acquire a wider variety of weaving thread (How perfect, I can use the money I save from not buying yarn, eh?) and create more handwoven projects. - I want to keep this blog going.
I have never had a blog before, and as a kid, I was never able to constantly keep a journal either. It is a big challenge for me to get into a habit of updating my blog regularly, but 2014 really showed my how fun it is to share my stories with like-minded people, and how enjoyable the process of writing it can be. So this year, I’ll do my very best to keep my blog updated and fun 🙂 - I want to publish more designs.
In 2014, I published my very first knitting pattern, my Sunny Summer Stripes sweater. Although it hasn’t really been a success so far, I want to keep trying. So in 2015, I want to create more, design more, and publish more. In the making, I currently have 2 sweater patterns and a sock pattern that should be published some time this spring. Once those are done, I’ll move onto something else, and I hope I’ll be able to write many, many more patterns this year.
That is it for New Year resolutions! Enough, isn’t?
In other news, I want to share with you my very first 2015 FO, my snowflake sweater, started on December 4th, 2014 and finished on January 1st, 2015 🙂
Happy new year guys!
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Crafty-Effie/snowflakeDecember rush
Hey-ho Crafties! As December rolls around, bringing its share of freezy-rosy cheeks and joyful moments, I want to share with you my thoughts as I am slowly getting started on my Holidays preparation. There’s a lot of mysteries and secrets around this month as most of my quick projects will be offered as Christmas presents, but I’m sure I’ll find a way to show you a glimpse of what I’m working on throughout the month without spoiling too much of the surprise 🙂
First off, I finished the Woodsmoke Sweater I was test-knitting for the lovely Megh Testerman, from Studio North. I am completely in love with the finished garment, and I can tell you that I will wear the heck out in the next few months as the temperature drops to inhuman levels (ok, I might be exaggerating a little bit). And I found the cutest owl buttons to go with it, isn’t cool?
The cardigan is complete, at 36 355 stitches. Needless to say that I did not qualify for the the NaKniSweMo this year, since the sweater was under the required 50 000 mark. I must say though, even though I didn’t make it, I’m still very happy about the sweater I completed, and I at least know I reached the goal in my own way – especially knowing that I finished my Frosted Rose cardigan during the challenge, which puts me at way more than 50 000 stitches combined.
Since I finished the 2 sweaters I have been working on in the last couple months, I (obviously) decided to start a new one, and I’m really excited about the project. I just cast on a couple days ago, the pattern is called Snowflake from Tincanknits and I’m using a lucky destash find of Plucky Primo Sport in the color Cryin’ Icicles.
In other news, I have been spending my time cleaning and decorating the house, and I slowly started cooking and baking for the Holidays – hmmmmmm, sugar pie!! (if you don’t know what this Quebec specialty is, you oughta look it up. Seriously. There, just click here).
So how’s your Holiday preparation going, fellow Crafties? 🙂
- ← Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
Crafty Effie 