Day 40: substitutions allowed.

Anyone who is following this blog knows that I'm participating in my 1st ever crochet along MooglyBlog afghan CAL.  The 1st two block patterns released were great.  The third....not so much.  Tamara, who owns the blog, released block #3 which is called Hugs & Kisses.  On the CAL blog, Tamara says she thinks there's a mistake in the pattern, and at least half the people who started this square thought the same thing.  I would NOT release something (esp. if it's not my own) if I thought there was a problem with the pattern.

In good faith, I did try to work up the pattern Friday evening, and after restarting it five times gave up.  I am pretty sure I can make it work, but as I didn't really like the pattern to begin with, decided to substitute it with a different one.

Pippin simply HAS to investigate anything I put on the floor and attempt to photograph.  This is the pattern source: Frostbloom 12" afghan square by designer Shan Sevcik.  I'm VERY pleased with how it turned out.  I started it yesterday and finished it today.

One concern however.......

blocks one, two, and three

No only are none the same size, block #1 doesn't come close to matching up with block #2.  *sigh*

We will see what the rest of the year holds in store.  The point of me starting this CAL is to use up what I've got already on hand for yarn.  Fingers crossed!

Day 37: recap of days 35 through 37. A.K.A. my 1st CAL has it's 1st hiccup

1st & 2nd blocks for CAL

I have been BUSY!  Today was the release of block #3 for the first MooglyBlock Crochet A-Long afghan.  Last night I finished weaving in what seemed like a hundred yarn ends for blocks one and two.

As each block is supposed to be the same size, I added another round to block #2 on the right this evening.  I'm not sure how I will make these all make one happy afghan when they are all done since these first two are so different, but time will show.  Hell, I've got all year to find out.

I'm still working on finishing the cowl.  I'm disappointed that the yarn itself became "bulky" after I had crocheted several rows.  You can see in the picture on the right just where the change happened.  The skinnier part of the skein was making a really cool spiral pattern.  When the yarn got fat, it skeeved up the pattern.

The 3rd block pattern has been released: Hugs & Kisses square by Aurora Suominen.  It's a single color block.  I have to be honest; I'm not feeling the love.  It's ok as a single color block, but I expect my afghan to be multicolored squares and when this block is turned into a multicolor block, it loses the detail in the bobbles & stitches.  I'm searching for a replacement block.  I will still work this one just to see what it looks like, but I don't know if it will make the final cut.

My crafting is somewhat restricted these days.  My right thumb isn't nearly as painful as it has been, but the tendon on the outer aspect of my left hand remains ouchy.  Even if I'm not crocheting, it's still hampering my day.  Have you ever leafed through 300 pages of paper one at a time using your left hand?  Yeah, that doesn't help.  Ah well, that's life.

blanket & cowl

As for the other projects, I'm still not completely feeling the baby blanket on the left.  It's a simple granny square blanket, and quite unisex so appropriate for an unknown sex newborn, but I'm not sure if it's too busy.  I do like how you can see the quadrants when you look at the big picture.  I'll probably keep going.  I don't simply thing Penelope kept reworking her burial shroud for Odysseus exclusively because she didn't want to get married again.  There's something calming about the craft: the repetitive hypnotic sights and sounds and movements, the occasionally dreamy feel of working the same stitch over and over again...the surprising tenacity of yarn which has been worked multiple times.  Although I don't prefer crafting with aluminum knitting needles (they slip too much), the sound of the clicking & clacking will ALWAYS remind me of my mom and my Gram, which brings my head and my heart right around back to center.  Always.

Update: Days 18 - 20; an undo and a redo, and better cat proofing through macrame

My 1st block for the afghan CAL

 

First: an update on the Crochet A-Long I'm working on.  We're still on the 1st block; block #2 won't come until this Thursday.  If you're interested in checking out the blog hosting the CAL the link is here: Crochet A-Long hosted by MooglyBlog

I kept going backwards with this block.  I must have re-worked round nine three times before I decided I would tear out and count previous rounds.  I made a mistake so far back I ended up starting the block all over again.  One of the downsides to being cocky is I haven't been counting stitches at the end of each round--even though the pattern does give this.  I'm on round 16, and there are only three rounds left.  I will finish this today, with a bit of breathing room before Thursday and the introduction of block #2.




My cat, Pippin.  He LOVES yarn!

Now, some of you may be wondering about what I may need to cat proof.  It turns out my lovely cat Pippin lives to chew on ear bud cords whenever he's given the opportunity.  I have problems with insomnia, so I have tried falling asleep with ambient noise and binaural beats programs via my iPod.  After I lost the second set of ear buds to chewing during the night, I decided I needed to take action, as I don't intend for ear buds to be single use only.



 

I've discovered that if I crochet around ear bud wires, this prevents Pippin from getting at them.  My first set was covered with chenille yarn, but the ear buds themselves weren't very comfortable to wear to sleep.  I did buy a new set (above) and decided in lieu of crocheting with yarn, I would macrame with c-lon cord.  It will be lighter, and the ear buds themselves are very comfortable for sleeping.

 

 

 

So, that's about it.  Saturday I re-worked the CAL square, yesterday & today I've been macrameing my ear buds.  When both are finished, I will post updated pictures.

 

Happy crafting!!

Day five recap: I tried to knit.......

Day one recap

Top: I must organize:
Bottom: eyelash scarf

So, 2014 begins.  Rich & I spent the last night of 2013 at home watching movies.  I chose Tombstone with Kurt Russell & Val Kilmer.  Rich chose Pathfinder with Karl Urban.  It was a nice quiet night at home.  We stayed up until well after midnight.

The Christmas tree didn't come down until 1/1/14.  After that process, I had room to reorganize the projects & yarn I want to keep at hand, because I find that I am much more productive when it's literally right next to me.  This picture is only a small sample of what I have for goods.



Malabrigo yarn in Rios

After making some sense out of chaos, I settled in & worked on two things.  I finished weaving in the ends of an eyelash scarf I had finished a month ago (duh), and when that was done, I worked on the crocheted shawl I'm making with Malabrigo washable wool.  My parents bought me two skeins while on vacation in New Orleans, but I quickly realized I needed at least one more so I placed a call to The Quarter Stitch in New Orleans and ordered one more.  It wasn't the exact same lot number as my original two, but the yarn is so heavily varigated that it looks fine.  Here's the pattern I'm using:

Kristen shawl pattern as seen on Fiberflux.blogspot.com

So, this is how I ended 1/1/14.  I'm one for one with my resolution!  Yay for consistent crafting!

inaugural post! 2014 will be the year I craft EVERY SINGLE DAY come hell, high water, or Hitler!

OK, so Hitler may be a bit drastic, but you get the point.


My cat has laser beam eyes

I spent much of 2013 knitting & crocheting & beading.  There were several reasons behind this. 

The most obvious is lack of finances.  I can spend my free time and less money crafting with raw materials than I can buy the finished product.

The second most obvious is that I'm vain.  Let's face it, I'm a great crocheter.  I'm a great knitter.  I'm an AWESOME beader.  I'm terrible with humility.

2013 has been a trying year for me.  I've tried a bunch of stuff, but not everything has stuck.  I've tried balancing work and home with iffy success.  I've tried new crochet & knit patterns with better success.  I've tried to maintain my sanity with a crazy home life (unsuccessful fertility treatments) and a crazier work life.

Through all the insanity, all the joy, all the madness, the one thing I kept coming back to with the expectation of some normalcy has been crafting.  The click of the needles is comforting.  The feel of the yarn between my fingers is better than the feel of the silky of a blankie woven between my fingers at bedtime. 

I have many reasons for appreciating the crafting arts.  One of my goals in 2014 is to share my love and where it comes from.  It's only 7:30 p.m.; I think I have time to work on my shawl.  Stay tuned; I will post every day!