scrap blanket: FO

I don't crochet many toys anymore, I actually closed my shop at the beginning of the year and got rid of all the toys and blankets that I had left over. I'm not sure what exactly made me cut it out of my life so drastically but it has made me feel better not having any of it around anymore. I may go back to selling at some point though because I do still love to crocheting for other people. I do know that I want to crochet with yarn that is not acrylic, I've started to not enjoy the feeling of it and the fact that it will pill so quickly sometimes.

I decided that I wanted to get my acrylic stash out of here too. Even though I said I didn't want anymore blankets made out of acrylic yarn, I had no idea what else I could do with the amount of yarn I had in my stash. So, I started a blanket! Hah. My kids do love all the blankets that we have here though, so I know that it's going to get tons of use. I started this one in January and finished it last week.


I used a v-stitch pattern found on this blog for this big blanket. I crocheted strips of the pattern that I later crocheted together, I started with white stripes alternating with color. I ran really low on white after the first two strips, so for the last two, I just did all color. I am really happy with how it looks all joined up. The finished size of the blanket is 65X56", a good snuggling size.


The blanket used up over 2500 yards of yarn! I still had some yarn left after I finished it and it was probably enough yarn to crochet another strip but there there were only a few colors that had decent amounts for a row or two. It would have bored me too much to keep using the same colors over and over, so I decided to join what was left into a big magic ball. I joined all the yarn with the russian join method. I'm not sure what I will end up making with it, possibly a big toy.

I now have an empty drawer that used to be overflowing with yarn, it feels really great to have it all cleared out. Although now I just want to buy more yarn to fill it up again! That seems to always be the way it goes when it comes to yarn. I hope you're all having a great weekend and that you didn't get as much snow as we got here!

my week & WIPs

This last week was Spring Break for my kids, we ended up dealing with a lot of sickness unfortunately though. My son got it first and the worst, I ended up taking him into the hospital. Thankfully, it was nothing serious, they gave him medication that worked insanely fast. We walked in with him passing out constantly and crying in pain to walking out with him hyper and talking my ear off. I was definitely relieved after that visit, he was still pretty sick after the medicine wore off but he was still a lot better and after a couple days, he was back to normal. So while dealing with sick kids, I didn't get too much crochet or knitting done, just a bit here and there.


I crocheted a few rows into my v-stitch blanket. That basket used to be overflowing with yarn, it's now only half full, the other half is where the rest of the blanket is sitting. I'm so close to be through it all, it's exciting!


I've also been knitting on my sock a little bit, I have one tube done so far. I can't wait to get the heels on them and then wear them! I'm knitting with my Knit Picks sock needles, I wanted to try them out after using another pair of their needles in a larger size. They're now my favorite pair, I find my Knitter's Pride needles to be far too sharp for my liking now.


Thought I would pop a picture of my cat George in here too, I haven't shared anything about him in a very long time. I think he might be full size by now, he's huge! The spring weather has gotten to him, he runs wild around the house and spends a lot of time staring out the window at the birds. It's really entertaining to watch him be so crazy.

I hope you're all having a great weekend!

on hooks & needles: April

crochet:


I am determined to get this v-stitch stash busting crochet blanket finished. I alternated color with white in my first two sections and now I have very little of it left, so the next two sections are going to be all color. My stash has gotten very small, so I'm running out of a lot of colors but I'm still trying to keep the colors as random as I can, it's not so easy anymore. I'm crocheting the two last sections at the same time to try to keep the color spread around, if I didn't, I think the last section would probably be maybe two or three colors. I'm so excited that my yarn stash has reduced so much! A part of me didn't think I could actually ever get to the bottom of it.

After this is finished, I'm going to be joining the smaller bits of yarns that I still have into one big magic ball. Hopefully it will make a nice sized toy.


knit:


For my April socks, I decided not to choose a paper bag but instead knit a pair of socks that I've been itching to cast on. I'm using my left over Spun Right Round yarn in the So Over the Rainbow colorway and my Mellifera Yarns Merino Twist Sock in the Raven colorway. I've wanted to knit a pair like this since seeing this pair over on ravelry.


I'm still knitting a patterned sock, this one is Diagonal Lace Sock, it's a free pattern. I think the pattern almost looks like rain falling, so it goes well with the rainbow toes. I'll be knitting an afterthought heel for this pair.


Some knitting on my Scrappy Hue Shift has been happening! This one can be very addicting and hard to put aside but I'm slowing down again because I will be running out of minis again. Last month, I won an etsy gift card from CraftyRie's blog, so I decided to spend it on new mini skeins. When I started this blanket, I bought a bunch of mini skeins from NikkiSlipp on etsy and I loved knitting with them, so I checked her shop first and she had some new colors that I hadn't used yet. Her yarns are so gorgeous, I really wish I could buy full skeins from her right now, like this one or this or this or this! Seriously, go check out her shop, she's really a great seller!

I'm really glad that DPN's come in a pack of 5 and that I enjoy the cheap brand!
swapping:

I'm also participating in a swap this month, I'm trying to be a lot more choosy with them this year after being burned a couple times last year. This one is a Spring Swap, it's being held in Liesl's Buckaloo View group on ravelry. I have no spoilery pictures to share right now, I'm kind of bad with giving stuff away I think, I don't know how much is too much to share without giving it away completely! I've had a lot of fun gathering and knitting or crocheting (not telling!) for my partner. I'll be sure to snap a picture of what I send her before I mail it out so that I can share it here!

Hope you're all having a lovely day!

right now on hooks & needles (& upcoming)

crochet

Sometime last year I figured out that I really don't enjoy the feel of acrylic blankets anymore. I don't hate them but they're just not so nice on my hands. My kids still love them and use them, so all the blankets I've crocheted in the past have nothing to fear! I'm also thinking of crocheting toys using something else soon too, so I have a big stash of acrylic just sitting in the closet that I need to do something about.


So, of course, I started a blanket! It was really the only thing I could think of to quickly use the stash up, although it doesn't seem like it's made a huge dent yet. I'm crocheting a V-Stitch blanket, using Le Monde De Sucrette's pattern. I'm crocheting different width sections and will be joining them up, either while crocheting or after... I haven't gotten that far yet. I have lots of white and off white yarn, so I'm alternating rows with those colors. So far, I'm liking the look of it. I've finished one section, it's going to be a big blanket, it measures from my feet to my shoulders.

knit

I'm knitting a cover for a hot water bottle, something I've wanted to have for quite a long time. I'm knitting it using some Woolike yarn I had bought last year, I'm holding three strands of yarn. It's making a really nice fabric. The pattern I'm using is free and can be found here. Since I don't have a lot of needles yet, I'm only using one needle size, so I upped the stitch count a little.


Not too long ago, I added to my Scrappy Hue Shift blanket. I still see this as a very long term project, I'm out of sock yarn to use again. I think I'll let it sit for a couple months, so I can get at least more than 2 squares added before stashing it again.


upcoming

I gathered up supplies to cross stitch this design from Satsuma Street. I'm hoping to find some time to start soon, it's been on my list for quite some time!


Besides the cross stitch, I have my February socks to get started on next week. I'm surprised I made it all the way to now without just ripping a brown bag open to knit some socks, I've been craving some sock knitting. Over the weekend, I'll be picking my bag out.

I hope you have a great weekend!

summer stash busting granny

Between being distracted by cute new patterns, I am still working on my summer stash busting. My big granny square blanket has now grown to 12 squares. It's big but I want it bigger and I still have yarn to use, so it should end up being 4X4 squares. After that I should be able to call it done.


The other day when we went to the park, I rolled it up and dragged it with us to get some pictures. My son decided to lay down on it, so I got some cute ones of him too. The sun was pretty bright, so I only got eyes closed shots, looks like he's sleepy. They were the best shots of the day.


Have a great weekend!

more summer stash busting

I'm still doing some stash busting here. I haven't really done much with the granny blanket this week but I made a couple small projects.

I made this banner to put up in my basement aka the kid's domain. I used Uppercase Alphabet pattern again. No pattern for the circles, I just went with it and crocheted into the back loops. I love this cute banner! These banners are so much fun, I'm definitely making more soon.


I also made myself another fruit & veggie bag. The pattern I used for this one is called Pop it in Your Handbag String Tote, the only thing I did differently was the top of the bag, I did three rows of single crochet before starting the handles. This design is really clever, the bottom is made of two circles and you can fold the bag up into the circles for easy carrying around.


You can follow my Summer Stash Busting on instagram, I'm using the hashtag #summerstashbusting. Join in if you want, I'd love to see more stash busting!

Have a great weekend!

summer of stash busting granny blanket & yarn along

My stash busting granny square blanket has grown a lot! I'm still having loads of fun crocheting this, I think I could even be done with it before the end of the month. I'm going to make it four by four squares big, I still have plenty of yarn left to do it. The color selection is getting a little limited which is a good thing, I'm actually getting through the stash!


Besides the stash busting crochet, I've been doing some reading again. I think I'm still going through a bit of a funk with it though, I'm taking a lot longer to get through books right now, even when it's a really good one!

I finally finished The Infernal Devices trilogy. The last book was really good, it wrapped everything up so well. And it was nice to get to the end and know that I actually finished and won't have to wait another year for the next!

I recently finished Catherine McKenzie's newest book Hidden, I enjoyed it, it kept me guessing throughout. The book is out right now in Canada and is being released in the US in the spring of next year. If you read this one, don't forget to read the epilogue.

And I just started Neanderthal Seeks Human: A Smart Romance, I haven't gotten anywhere in it yet so I don't have anything much to say yet. There is a knitting circle in it though.

I'm sharing here today:

more summer stash busting

This yarn is Bernat Handicrafter in Chrysanthemums, I bought 3 big skeins of it last year when a store was in clearance. I was so excited about the yarn but then didn't do a whole lot with it, so I have quite a bit of it still hanging around. It was time to get using it, I decided to make some produce bags. When I buy fruits and veggies, I buy a lot of it at one time and the plastic bags usually end up ripping on me, so a crocheted bag (or two) should help a lot.


I don't know why I have never made myself one of these bags before, it seems like I would have done this a long time ago. I have made two so far using the Flea Market Bag pattern by Linda Permann. I gave one to my sister to use, so I still need to make another for myself, I have plenty of this yarn left to do it. I'm thinking of using a different pattern for the next one though, if you have any suggestions, please share!

Summer of Stash Busting!

This summer I'm going to try to do some stash busting. I definitely do not have a huge stash but it's pretty big and starting to take over a little bit too much in the small space I have for it. I'm going to try not to buy too much new yarn until I get a good handle on what I've got already. So, I won't be using up all of what I've got, just a good portion of it.


First up is a big granny square blanket. I've already started on this one and I am loving it! I'm making 15 round granny squares and am joining them as I go. I'm using my Loops & Threads Impeccable Solids in this blanket, it's a soft acrylic yarn, I use it for all my toys.


I'm picking my colors out at random, I only change what I've pulled out if the color doesn't look okay. So far I am having lots of fun working on this, it's really growing fast. Fun projects equal quick end results! I can't wait! I'm going to make this blanket 4 by 4 square if I have enough yarn to pull it off.

I have more projects in mind for my Summer of Stash Busting that I can't wait to start working on. I've got some fun yarn that's been sitting here for too long waiting to get used. I'll be using the hashtag #summerstashbusting on instagram if you want to join in or just follow the fun!