Frogging Again

I frogged three projects today.

One, I wasn’t liking how it was turning out. Maybe the yarn was too busy for the pattern, and the random colour changes were not randomly nice enough for my brain. And so, it was frogged.

The second project was of course another shawl. And I liked the pattern. And I liked how the colours were working in the pattern. But I didn’t have enough of the yarn, and I didn’t want a shawlette. And I don’t remember what the brand or colour is, so that I can purchase another skein if needed. But as far as I remember, I only had this one ball of it. Maybe when I sort out the yarn stashed in the boxes and bags, I’ll find another skein of it. But I’m pretty sure that there’s only one. AAarrghhh …. And so I frogged it.

As for the third ball – well, it was a WIP long enough. And while I had big plans for the project, alas, I wasn’t feeling that project again. Maybe because it was a WIP for so long. Or maybe because I had started it when I was just learning and practising stitches and didn’t like how wonky it looked. And so … it was frogged 😦

On the plus side … I have 3 balls of yarn that I can start new projects with 🙂 🙂 I’m hopeless, I know …

Cakes for Wraps

Red Heart came out with colour-coordinated cakes for wraps, and the colours were looking good on the site. But when I saw it in person, this was the only one that I liked from the selections available in the yarn store.

With the good yardage in light fingering weight, I thought it would make for a good-sized shawl-wrap. I’ve always liked the almost-blanket size wraps, the ones that can wrap around you twice. Light-weight wraps work well for spring too.

This is the progress so far. I’m liking it, so we will keep on going 🙂

With the yarn being thin, it’s going to take a while to finish this in time for spring. And because winter and cold weather has just started here on the east coast, I’m still puling out wool yarn and working on winter items 😉

I’m quickly piling up WIPs again 🙂

The Year of the CALs: Autumn Jewels Wrap

2018 came and went … Projects were started and unraveled … more projects were started and put aside …

It was a chaotic year for me. I don’t know if I’ve settled down yet from the stresses and tensions of events early last year. But I do know that I needed to get back to crafting … and I’m hoping that there’ll be more time for that this year … Wait, let’s just make it a goal and say that I will make time for crafting this year.

I can’t even remember now what I was working on during the past year. I did take quick photos of some projects, and I did finish some items, so let’s start from there.

This past year was the Year of the CALs. After so many years of declaring intentions to join and participate in a CAL and downloading the patttern, this past year, I actually did join and stuck to it! Wow !

Maybe because last year was stressful, and the CALs gave me a purpose to sit and work on something. The weekly releases of the pattern probably did help in settling me down, in giving me something to work towards to, and following a pattern instead of trying to make up random stitches and counts probably helped a lot too 🙂

And here’s the first one that I was actually excited to work on – the Autumn Jewels Wrap. Actually, I worked on this after the CAL was done, but I’m counting this as a CAL that I actually ‘joined’ 🙂

Autumn Jewels Wrap

I got this yarn from a stash forum. And when I saw a pic of the Autumn Jewels Wrap, I knew that the yarn would be perfect for it. The colours weren’t jewel tones, but I liked the sparkly thread that ran through the yarn, so that can be the jewels part of the pattern 🙂

The pattern is not hard, and neither the construction of the piece. I’ve made items in similar fashion, either by design or mistake 😮

Decorative borders are always something that I’m at a loss to do, other than crochet evenly across the edges and then a couple of rows/rounds of single crochet. Maybe that’s something I should experiment with this year, and come up with a go-to border pattern that I can use in projects. It shouldn’t be that hard.

I really enjoyed working on this. The sparkly thread made this a little stiff, but it’s still drapey enough over the shoulders.

Blocked and drying in the sun

I’m on the lookout now for jewel-toned yarn to make another one, in a smoother yarn (maybe a wool/silk mix), and in a bigger size. Let’s see if I can get it done in time for autumn this year 🙂

Rediscovered …

I opened a bag, and out popped this WIP … one that I started last summer, stopped because I couldn’t find the second skein of this yarn to continue, found the skein and continued on, then was packed away in a weekender bag, and remained there.  Ay-yaay ….

So now that I’ve rediscovered it, it’s high time that it was finished.  It’s coming on to summer again.

There’s no pattern to this.  Last year, I was obsessed with the tip-to-tip pattern – starting from one point of the scarf, and increasing to the width, then decreasing to the other point.  Kind of a gamble, because I don’t weigh the yarn, so I’m eyeballing the yarn and guesstimating the widest width of the scarf before I start decreasing to finish off.  lol

For the stitches, I was on a run with the knit mesh stitch.  Just a simple yo, k2tog.  My eyes were liking the pattern with the variegated yarn, and it was working up fast.  Well, It looked like it was working up fast, because there weren’t too many stitches yet when knitting back and forth.  Now that there’s 100+ stitches – I haven’t counted yet how many I have on the needle now – the purl stitches are kind of getting tedious for me.

I also started adding rows and patches of stockinette stitch to make it more interesting.  I was thinking of making some kind of pattern with the solid rows, but then I was thinking too much and counting stitches, and then I would forget with the next row anyway, so I just let it be.

I’m hoping that when it’s done and blocked that you’ll see the pattern better.  And hoping too that it’ll be wide enough.  And that I will guesstimate right and will have enough yarn for a decrease to a point, or else there’ll be frogging sessions.   I don’t know why I do this to myself instead of following a pattern … and sticking with it 🙂

Fall is Here

It sneaked up on me at 4:02 pm today.  That’s the time I heard in the news, and I had to stop and wonder where summer went.

Interestingly, for the past several weekends I started multiple fall projects, as well as pulled out languishing WIPs to try and finish them.  Or maybe it was the other way around – try to finish languishing WIPs, but ended up starting more projects, so now I’ve actually added to the WIP pile …

Don’t believe me?  Here ….

These are two knit projects from a couple of years ago.  It started out as inspirational projects because I wanted to work with the new yarn.  It turned into practice pieces … and then got left in a bag in a bag in a bag … What to do with this now?  Continue it?  Or frog and start again, because supposedly, I can knit better now and what I make now will look better than these …

And this is kind of a WIP, but a new one that I started … because I think I should finally make something from this gorgeous yarn and colourway.  I’ve started several items with the yarn, and frogged them all.  The yarn is getting a little frayed, so I think I should start a project and stick with that.  This is short rows and mesh stitch practice.  Now that I’ve started this, I’m hoping that I have another skein of the yarn hidden somewhere, so that this can be a decent size when done.  And I’ve lost the label, so I’m not sure where to look for it now …

 

And this?  I started this the week of the solar eclipse in August, because the colorway was named Moonstone … I know, I know, kind of corny.   *sigh*  Anyway, it’s just going to be a wide and long shawl or wrap.  Just a pattern series of garter stitch and mesh stitch.

And another Lion Brand Shawl in a Ball, in Namaste Neutrals.  Because I liked the glint against the browns.  I’m thinking a capelet would look nice with this.

 

This was going to be the super-scarf last year.  Remember that trend?  I don’t know if that’s still a trend this year, but I’m determined to finish this year.  But see, I’ve run out of the yarn and I’m only at half the length, so I need to get out and get some more of this.  I’m leaving this out to work on, anyway.

So there you have my fall projects … I’ll keep you posted on the progress …

Have a good weekend, all !

 

Revisiting the Bucket List

Several years ago, I made a bucket list of what I wanted to make.  The original post came up as a related post, so I decided to see what I’ve actually done.  I could actually strike some items off the list – wow!

So, revising the bucket list … Here is what was on my original bucket lists, and how I’ve done …

1)  Entrelac – learn how to knit and crochet entrelac correctly – nope, not yet.  I’m still doing the biased basketweave pattern.  Will remain on the list.

2)  Granny Squares with a Zigzag Twist – nope, not yet.  Will remain on the list.

3)  Apache Teardrops – nope.  Having second thoughts on whether I still like this.

4)  A hexagon project – Yes !!!  The African Violets !  I still want to add to it, to make it bigger.

5)  The Cathedral Rose Window Afghan – Stained Glass Afghan – Kaleidoscope Afghan – Nope.  Will remain on the list.

6)  Kitchener stitch and seamless grafting – nope.  I’ve sort of figured out a way to join seamlessly, but this will remain on the list.

7)  A lacy beach coverup – yes !   Here’s the post  and another one, if you want to read all about it.   And one already in progress 🙂

8)  A fine-lace/fingering weight project. Yes!  I’ve worked more and more with fingering weight yarn.  I do have hanks of lace in the stash, but haven’t started anything with that yet.  And while this is not quite a fine lace project, there is ‘lace’ in the title – does that count?  Hawaiian Lace and Busco Gancho Lace 

9)  A Japanese pattern – any pattern.  Nope – will remain on the list.

10)  A woven blanket made with the Cricket loom.  Yes !!  And am planning on starting another one, before I forget how to use the loom and weave.  This 5-panel blanket had me woven out, after I finished working on it.

11)  Mandala Crochet Coat – nope.  But will definitely remain on the list, since I’m drawing a lot of mandalas, anyway.  One of those designs will end up as a coat, since I now have the basics on how to crochet a coat or jacket 🙂   Oh yes, although not a mandala, I did crochet two coats last year!  Yaaayyy!!

 

Not originally on the list, but I added ponchos to my mental list, even though I think at some point I said I wasn’t going to make those.

Surprisingly, I don’t have any new major thing to add … Just more ideas to make the same things with different yarns or patterns, like the coat, beach cover-ups, and woven blankets.

But the year is young … something may come up yet!  🙂

Do you have a crafty bucket list?  How are you doing with it?

 

 

 

 

Weekend Non-Projects

It’s the first day of spring !!

Happy Spring!!  Yaaayyy – It actually feels like spring today, with the temperatures actually warming up later today.  Then it’s back to winter on Wednesday, with a forecast of snow …

I’m still on the hunt for a crochet project for National Crochet Month.  I’ll even settle for a knit project for National Craft month instead 😉

So with spring and warmer weather on the mind, I picked up a skein of Prism, because I liked the colours – when it was wound up in a ball/skein.  Now that I’m working on it, these colours are not calling to me.  Maybe it’s the wrong pattern.  I don’t think I’m continuing with this … By the way, I’m almost done with this ball, and this shawl is barely wrapping around my shoulders.  So definitely the wrong pattern, because you’re supposed to get a decent sized shawl with just one ball, right?  Or not?

Last night – at midnight, actually, because I wasn’t really sleepy yet and was browsing Pinterest and also it was at that moment that I decided that I wanted to try something – I started this.  I’d been wanting to work with the Caron Cakes in Pistachio, but wasn’t sure what to make of it.  I thought maybe a summer poncho in a lacy pattern would look good with this, since it’s a worsted weight yarn.  Another variation of a pattern, or more of two patterns combined.  *sigh*  I’m liking the pattern – which I’m making up as I go along – but now thinking that it may be a bit heavy for summer … Needs to be more lacy …

We’ll see.  I haven’t given up on it yet.  I have another two cakes, so I hope it’s enough for the poncho.  Or wrap.  Or something that can be done with three cakes, because I’m being good and it’s not time to buy yarn yet 🙂

And I saw the Rick Rack Rib stitch last week, and had to try it out.  I thought I had ‘memorized’ the pattern when I first saw it, but found out later that I was missing a k1 or a p1 in between the rick racks.  The darker colour is the wrong stitch, although I’m sort of liking that too.  The red colour is the correct sequence.

This is becoming a sampler of practice knit stitches  That’s the herringbone in the grey part, that I had to try a couple of weeks ago.   And I can’t remember what I was doing with the darker red colour.  It started out with practice on the mesh/lace stitch, but I don’t know what happened in between.  And I didn’t want to frog, because it didn’t look bad, and also because I don’t like to frog knit projects because I can’t pick up the correct number of stitches again after that :o)

And that’s my non-projects for the weekend.  They may or may not be frogged – well, the first one is definitely going to be frogged and turned into something else.  And I’m set on working on the Pistachio and finishing something with it, and perhaps have it ready for another out-of-state soccer tournament in a couple of weeks. And the knit sampler – well, that’s probably going to sit until I see another knit stitch that I want to practise on 🙂

Have a good spring day!