December Wrap-Up

Happy New Year! I actually accomplished a few things in December, mostly driven by last-minute decisions to gift some hand-crafted items. Will I ever learn?? Probably not, but I'm super happy with what I made, so it's all good. :-)

I decided to crochet this adorable stuffy, "Nibbles the Monster", inspired by the book "Nibbles: The Book Monster" by Emma Yarlett. Pattern is by Nicole Chase. This was for my five-year-old "nephew", the son of some of my best friends.

Next I decided to weave this beautiful linen dish for my grandmother. The kit is from Anne Weil of Flax & Twine, and the pattern is called Adeline Linen Dish. 

I finished the month off with a loom knit dishcloth called Half & Half Scrubby by Heather Lynn. (Link is to Ravelry.com, which has had accessibility problems, please proceed with caution.) Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the finished product before I gifted it to my father! Here is a progress photo with a cute kitty by way of apology:

That's it for finished objects, but I also started a new gnome from Imagined Landscapes and continued work on the gnome from the same designer that I started back in September. I just finished the September gnome last night, so look forward to pictures of that adorableness in the near future! 

I have big crafting plans for 2022. I'm really hoping to get significantly more done than last year, not just because I want the finished objects, but because I want to spend the time doing something that I love! What about you? Do you have big crafty plans? Let me know in the comments!

Happy crafting!

November Wrap-Up

I was able to accomplish a few more crafty things in November! The best part- many of the projects I did were free and pretty easy for the average person to accomplish, so I'll be sure to include links to techniques and projects so you can make your own!

First, I made these cute little crochet Christmas ornaments. Their pattern is not available online, unfortunately, but they were the free project with issue 111 of Mollie Makes magazine, so if you have it laying around somewhere, now is the time to make it!

Next I made a much-needed knitted hat. This pattern is called "Duality", and is free on Ravelry (please note- Ravelry has some accessibility issues that have caused injury to some, so please use the website with caution). 

Then I got an email with a free pattern for a finger-knitted wreath, and I couldn't resist whipping up a couple of them! The first picture is made with strips of red fabric, the second is made with bulky-weight yarn. You can find the free pattern from Flax & Twine here.  

The last thing I whipped up last month was the easiest Advent calendar for my son. I had some pull-out papers from issue 58 of Mollie Makes magazine (yes, it seems I utilized them a lot this past month), and the papers included little illustrated numbers, so I cut them out, wrote what he gets on the back (candy, small toy, things like that) and strung them up on some spare yarn. You could do this with any cute paper- no need to find this exact magazine! You could cut number shapes, or Christmas ornament shapes, or anything, really!

That's it for FOs for the month. I currently have the following projects OTN (on the needle):

1. All Work, Gnome Play by Sarah Schira (Ravelry link- use caution)

2. Leave Gnome Stone Unturned by Sarah Schira (another Rav link), which is a mystery knit-along

3. Chromatic Cowl by Amy Detjen (final Rav link, I promise!)

My big plan for the month is to finish up some works-in-progress and make a Christmas present or two, but I'm taking it easy! December is busy for everyone, and I intend to live in the moment and enjoy crafting when I can, but not push it. I hope the same for all of you. 

Happy crafting!

October Wrap-Up...Finally!

What a busy start to the month I have had! So many work obligations, so many appointments, so many meetings...but finally things are calming down as we head into the Thanksgiving holiday week. Thank goodness!

I finished two little things in October, as I am slowly starting to get my crafting mojo back as the colder months approach. 

Here is a cute little pin-loom pumpkin that I made:

I used my pin loom to weave a few orange squares, sewed them into the shape of a pumpkin, and then used one of my Purl & Loop Minute Weavers to weave the stem. I got the pattern and idea from WindsweptMind.com. 

I also finished this knitted blanket square, which is going to be made into a blanket with many squares from other friends for a mutual friend who is currently working through some medical problems. 

The pattern for this square can be found on the DROPS Design website, though it is just a basic 8" garter square, so it's not too difficult to make up your own version if you so choose. Just choose your needle and yarn carefully to get the right size of square! 

So, what's in the works now, you might ask? I am currently working to knit a much-needed hat, I'm crocheting some Christmas decorations, I'm nearly finished with a knitted gnome, and I hope to get some work done on the woven towels that have been languishing on my loom for the past few months. Now if I can just find a bit more crafting time! :-) Hopefully the holiday week next week will afford me a few more moments to relax and craft. I hope the same for you. 

Happy crafting!

September Wrap-Up

I actually got some crafting done this past month! I'm slowly climbing out of my crafting slump, and I'm in love with the projects that I worked on this month. 

I completed two items:

1. A crocheted potholder/trivet, kit by Casa Marengo Studio. 

2. A shape loom Christmas tree, loom also by Casa Marengo Studio. 

I also started a few other projects that I'm excited about:

1. A blanket square in a vivid pink color for a collaborative blanket with some friends, pattern is "Happy Patch"

2. A new Mystery Knit Along gnome, pattern by Sarah Schira of Imagined Landscapes, pattern is "All Work, Gnome Play". 

3. I started some sewn masks, but they still need nose clips and ear loops. I'm using my usual pattern from Sewing Therapy. 

I've already been working away on the three WIPs above in the last few days, so I hope I'll be showing you pictures of those finished objects in the near future!

Selling Crafty Possessions

I have recently been trying to sell off some of my mother's craft books. She passed away in 2016, so it is far overdue, but the emotional labor behind getting rid of such things has been intense. I finally have started by posting some things on a craft website, Ravelry. 

She had so many books of so many different kinds! Embroidery, quilting, knitting, crocheting, mixed media, felting, spinning, cross stitch, the list just goes on and on! She was a life-long lover of all things craft, and it really shows as I work my way through her library. 

I have been fortunate enough to offload some of her cross stitch materials to online acquaintances that I know will love and respect her books and magazines. I sent a huge stack of cross stitch magazines to a friend on the West Coast. I just sent a few books to a friend in Denmark. I hope to pass more along to other craft lovers as it goes. 

Here is a picture of ONE stack of craft books I have gone through so far. There are sooooo many more. 

So, here is my question- do you ever have craft books you want to offload somewhere? What do you do with them? If I can't get them sold online somewhere I will probably give them to Goodwill or a local craft re-store. Any ideas I can get would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, and happy crafting!

August Wrap-Up

What did I accomplish in August? Honestly, I didn't finish a SINGLE THING. Not my finest craft productivity. But I had good reason- I'm pregnant, and the fatigue was so intense I couldn't bring myself to craft most days. I did work on a long-term WIP, however, and it is almost ready to bind off and be complete. It is my brioche cowl: 

I'm also excited to finish the current towels I have on my loom, plus I've been asked to make some samples for a shape loom shop, so I have my work cut out for me! I'm still going to be crafting slower than normal, (a friend recently told me, "You're crafting constantly when you're making a baby, it's just not on the outside") but I'm hoping to get some things done this month. I'll keep you all posted!

Happy crafting!

What do you craft in the hottest part of the year?

The heat is here! We have had heat advisories in our neck of the woods for the last few days, and we are scheduled to have more in the near future. 

So what should we craft? I can tell you that knitting and crocheting sounds much less appealing to me when it is hot outside. I need small, quick projects that don't require me holding warm materials on my lap! Here are some ideas:

1. Face masks

Yes, I am still making face masks. I work around 250+ people per day, and until my young child can be vaccinated, I will be masking. I've made three masks for my son, two for my spouse, and one for myself so far this month. Sitting at the sewing machine with a small project that doesn't drape onto my lap is no problem in the heat! Here is my preferred mask sewing pattern/tutorial: https://sewingtherapy.net/diy-mask-with-a-replaceable-filter/

2. Shape loom weaving

The shape looms I have been working with are quite small, very portable, and require few supplies, making this an easy project to work on in front of the TV (and under the ceiling fan). I currently have a small pile of looms from Casa Marengo Studio that I am working on weaving up as samples for her. Look at these cute little ornament looms! 

3. Cross stitch

Cross stitch is an excellent idea for this time of year. I prefer to make smaller cross stitch projects anyway, so maybe some ornaments, or cards, or other small seasonal things would work for you. I found quite the collection of free patterns here, and I really enjoy the back-to-school patterns that I found here on that site. Lots of cute teacher gifts!

4. Origami

How about a little paper folding to keep you cool? I loved origami as a child, and I still have fun breaking out the pretty papers once in awhile. I found a bunch of fun tutorials here. The same website (gathered.how) also has other papercrafting tutorials. 

So, what will it be? What craft is going to be doable while staying cool for you in these late summer months? Let me know in the comments, I would love to hear! 

Happy crafting!