I've been pretty busy with midterm stuff for school, but I have managed to complete a few smaller projects. Some crocheted wire and bead bracelets, and a small heart-shaped pillow. I haven't had time to take pictures yet, but will try to do that late next week. I also received the mannequin head I purchased off of Ebay, and can finally take some better pictures of things I've had sitting around waiting for good pics for my shop. I have to say, that having it sitting on the table in the living room has made things interesting. Nothing like walking out of the bedroom half awake to see a severed head sitting on the table.
My surgery is scheduled for Tuesday morning, and although I'm really excited about the prospect of my pain and other crap being reduced, or possibly eliminated, I'm extremely anxious as well. I don't do too well in situations involving doctors, needles, and being sliced open. I've just been trying to stay extra busy to keep my mind off of it. The fact that I have assignments due in my online classes the day after surgery has helped. I'm trying to get them all finished before tomorrow when we leave for our trip to Greensboro. I'm hoping a little R&R before heading to Chapel Hill for the surgery helps.
I've got lots of supplies and ideas ready to keep my busy during recovery. Actually, so much stuff planned that it will probably take me months to get through it all, so I definitely won't be bored. Plus, I have all this stuff I need to take pictures of, lol. Oh, and Chad knows how to make the smoothies now, so I'm all set. :)
I've been keeping busy around here, just not busy updating the blog. I've been working on a lot of different things, and been really busy with school as well. I don't have pics of the sculptures or ceramics I've been making, but I'll update with those as well when I do.
First I have the hemp necklaces made for an Etsy order. I did 10 of these, but forgot to get a pic of all of them together, so, here's 1 of them. They all looked like this anyway.
Next is the first pair of socks I've ever knit. First time working with dpns also. I think they turned out pretty well. I had some issues turning the heel on the first one, but found a tutorial online and it went smoothly from there on. I decided not to match up the stripes in the yarn, partly because I think they have a bit more character this way, and mostly because I was just feeling lazy when I started the second sock. They are amazingly warm and snuggly on my feet which are always cold. Around here they're referred to as "THE ICY TOES OF DOOOOM!!!" I'm planning to wear them to keep my feet warm during surgery later this month.
Next is the arm warmers I started to knit. Found the pattern here. Hopefully they turn out the way they're supposed to, but I've never made an applied I-cord before, so who knows. So far, so good.
The chocobo blanket is over halfway finished. Not a great pic, but you can see it's coming along nicely. I haven't had much time to work on this one lately because of how involved it is, and the fact that it isn't very portable. I did make quite a bit of progress over the weekend.
Lastly, Chad and I bought a dehydrator the other day, and he got it out and started using it today. Hopefully we'll have lots of yummy dried fruit to snack on starting tomorrow. I can't wait!
I've been making an effort lately to stick with trying to learn to knit, even though I'm really slow at it and have to really pay attention to what I'm doing. I'd much rather crochet since I've been doing it so long I don't even have to look down, and can do like 5 other things at the same time. Unfortunately, I've fallen in love with a few knit patterns recently, so I'm trying to hone my skills in an attempt to tackle 'em.
This project was born because I needed something to do while in the car when traveling to Chapel Hill for my pre-op appointment last Friday, and back home. The only project I had in the works was the chocobo blanket, and crocheting from 23 balls of yarn is not car-friendly. I chose this dishcloth because it was small, and I had some spare cotton yarn lying around. Big shock. If you ask my husband, he'd say I have an addiction. I can't seem to stop buying yarn.
Anyway, it looks a lot better than the horrible picture gives it credit for. I'm actually somewhat happy with it, considering that it's only the 2nd knit thing I've ever finished.
I'm probably getting in way over my head, but I'm tackling a pair of socks. I actually started them Saturday since the yarn had at my doorstep while in Chapel Hill. So far, they're turning out ok, First time ever using dpns, so I'm pretty proud of myself. Had a bit of an issue when it came time to turn the heel, as the pattern directions made no sense to me, but I found a great tutorial with awesome pics, and voila, heel turned. :) I really want to finish the first sock and make sure the size is right, but I'm working on an order for 10 necklaces that came in to my Etsy shop. I'm hoping to have them finished in the next few days, and get back to my socks. I'd really like to get them finished before I have surgery since they suggest wearing warm socks, and these seem like they'll be very warm and snuggly.
OK, I know I've been slacking when it comes to posting things here. I've been extremely busy with school lately. Since the college is going through accreditation this year, we are having to make up our snow days which is a huge pain in the arse, especially since each class is doing it differently. Some meeting on extra days, other adding time to the beginning or end of class, or adding additional assignments. So, basically, on Mondays and Wednesdays I have no break from 9:30am until 4pm... I'm apparently supposed to eat lunch while working on ceramics which is a disgusting idea. Wet clay and food do not mix!
Anyways, I finally got around to posting a pic of the fisherman afghan that was a custom order on Etsy. It's the same pattern as the burgundy afghan I did with the cables, diamond, and popcorn stitches, but is larger. This one is 60"x80", and was made to cover a queen size bed. It was easy peasy after I figured out the number of stitches for the pattern repeats to make it longer. I also added in a few extra panels to make it wider.
My newest WIP, the Chocobo Blanket. I'm just getting ready to start on this one and can't wait to see the end result. I think this is my favorite graph I've done so far, and it's going to be hard to part with this one. I'll probably end up making a second one for myself to keep. :)
After all the blankets I've been making lately, I decided that I'd take a break and make something smaller. I came across this pattern a while back, and have been wanting to make it. I actually made something for myself for once! Yay!
Unfortunately, this bag turned out to be a lot more work than I had anticipated due to the number of ends that needed to be worked in. Once again, why I prefer not to make granny squares, although I did work them in as I went along, so not as bad as it could have been.
I made a few changes to the pattern. Each square is only 4 rounds, 3 of the multicolor and 1 of black. I also changed the handles and ch 70 instead of 90, and only did 2 rows of sc. The bag was assembled with sc in black. It ended up being about 10"x10" (not including the handles.)
Originally, I was going to make the bag in the multicolor and the bright green that I had left over from the cactaur blanket, but it was just too bright. I switched the green for the black, and overall, I'm very happy with the way it turned out.
For Earth Day I thought I would post some of my market/shopping/beach bags. They're 100% cotton and machine washable, and a great way to keep plastic out of the landfill. The first one is variegated brown, and the second is variegated brown with a white accent stripe.
