Trying to get back in the game…

I just realized I haven’t updated this in over half a year! Crafting has honestly been few and far between since BugABoo’s birth. Life keeps me crazy busy so I’m trying to find time here and there to do some kind of crafting, even if it’s only a few minutes a day! Since my last update I’ve become a Pinterest stalker. Seriously. I’ve pinned so many projects I want to do and then get sad because I realize that I just don’t have the time to do them; at least not right now. With that said, I have made/tried a few of the recipes I found.

As far as knitting is concerned, I’ve more or less put that on the back burner. I did knit a pair of mittens for BugABoo but that was more out of necessity than anything else! Although the color isn’t exactly the same on both because I used a self-striping sock yarn and double stranded it, I’m incredibly happy with the way they turned out. They keep his hands perfectly warm plus feel good on his gums!

The next project I finally finished is Kristi’s Waves Scarf. It only took me 2 years, but I did it! I think this turned out great and she loves how soft the yarn is.

I told you all awhile back that I started another project but couldn’t give you the deets until I gave it to the person. Well, it finally happened. I not only finished it but also gave it to the person! It was a complete success and I’m totally stoked that she loved what I made! I decided to knit her a pair of socks using the Prickly Pear Socks pattern by Thayer Preece Parker and Araucania Ranco Solid in a beautiful light blue colorway. I started them last year in hopes to have them finished by the end of the school year as her teacher gift but that definitely didn’t happen. I planned to work on them while waiting for the labor-starting medication to kick in. I ended up only knitting the first sock’s heel and 1/2 of the second sock’s heel. I put them down and planned to pick them back up but was too tired and things just rapidly progressed from there. Fast forward six weeks after arriving home and I picked them back up. Um, yeah… Let me just say that putting something down in the middle is definitely not a smart idea. Lesson learned. I “finished” the second heel but ended up with twice the number of stitches. I ended up ripping both heels back and finished them shortly afterwards. The pattern was really fun to knit and pretty easy to memorize. I love that Parker used two different stitch patterns to create the columns. They turned out so beautifully that I honestly didn’t want to give them up!

My 2013 goals and how I did (in bold):

• Create at least 3 patterns — 0
• Knit Christmas gifts for at least 5 family members — 0
• Complete at least 15 projects (I’m expanding this to include all crafting) — 11, 5 of these knitted
• Knit at least a few of those for Baby Kramer — 2

Not completely terrible but I honestly wouldn’t have been able to do anymore than that.

I decided I’m not “setting goals” for 2014 because I have 2 children under two, am pregnant with my 4th, and due in August. I’m going to craft as much as I can but if I don’t get to, that’s okay.

On to sewing… My latest project is bibs. All of Trin’s bibs are too short so when she eats, she’s getting food and liquids on the front of her shirt. I feel that defeats the purpose of using the bib in the first place. I was actually complaining about this to my MIL and told her I need to get a move on sewing some or Trin was going to have to eat nudey (I was mildly joking). She ended up purchasing this adorable, incredibly soft purple fabric with pink and purple butterflies. I used the same pattern I featured last year, turned and topstitched it, and added a snap closure instead of velcro this time around. Here’s the finished project:

The second one I made out of a piece of flannel fabric I found at Hobby Lobby in the sale bin. I originally purchased it to make a fitted diaper but decided that it would make a way cuter bib and wipes. It’s turned and topstitched and also has a snap closure.

So that’s been the extent of my crafting endeavors. While I do hope to update more often than last year, I’m not really sure how feasible it’s going to be with 3 kids under 3 years of age! Until next time… Much love and many blessings!

♥Courtney♥

The test post

So this is the test post with the new host. I think one reason I didn’t update my crafting blog much is because of the way Livejournal incorporates pictures and text when editing. I find it cumbersome and annoying. I really enjoy using Blogger but didn’t want to have both blogs on the same host because of the whole picture thing. We only get so much room and since we all know how much of a picture addict I am, I didn’t want to overload my other account and run out of room. 😉 So here is the test post. Let’s see how it goes!

The newest project which I’m only a quarter of the way finished. I set the goal at the beginning of the year to have this blanket finished within two weeks and that seemed pretty reasonable. Ha!!! Um… no. The lace pattern is a 16 row repeat and has 126 stitches per row. I was thinking, okay no problem. I’ll do one lace repeat per day and that’ll take me 12 days. Well, that obviously hasn’t happened because doing just one row takes me close to 5 minutes. In the grand scheme of things, 5 minutes isn’t that long but once I get through 6 or 7 rows, my wrists get tired and start hurting (I’m pretty sure I’m developing carpel tunnel). I think if I wasn’t on the computer all day typing for school I’d be able to do it no problem. But alas, I’m a quarter of the way finished. Here’s what it looks like so far:

My new goal now is to finish it by the end of the month.

I received an email the other from Amy at Knitty. The winter issue is now out!! Woohoo! I absolutely love (and am thankful and super grateful) Knitty magazine! I find it amazing that designers make patterns for this magazine and make them available for no cost. It shows just how incredible the knitting community is! I’m sad to say that of all the issues, this was not one of my favorites. There are a couple of patterns I would definitely try and a few that I totally fell in love with like the Jaqueline cardigan, Shetlander fingerless gloves, Chrysanthemums mittens, Sweetheart socks, Rock Creek hat, and Undergrowth hat. Okay, I take back what I said earlier and apologize for all those tears shed! There were a lot of patterns I liked. The Sweetheart socks will probably be one of my first endeavors since I have way more sock yarn in my stash than anything else. 🙂 These are toe-up and are just super sweet. I have been wanting to try fair isle since I don’t have much experience with it so I’m thinking that the Shetlander fingerless gloves, the Rock Creek hat, and/or the Undergrowth hat will be the next project(s) casted on from this issue. I really love the simple yet complicated texture of the Rock Creek hat. I also love the fun and complexity of the Undergrowth hat. I think this hat would be fantastic in a light sage green color. Hm…. Idea bells going off in my head!!

As soon as this blanket is finished, I’ll be casting on Cookie A’s Toe-up Socks as featured on Knitty Gritty. Okay, just to give you an idea about this sock–I have never tried a toe-up sock but have always wanted to. The whole short-row heel thing kind of kept me away. Well, after watching an episode of Knitty Gritty where they demonstrated how to do this sock, I fell in love and immediately wanted to cast on! The even more cool thing about this pattern is that it features a heavier sock yarn and larger needles (my IGC flare is totally going off right now). I told you all about this awesome pink stripey yarn I found at Uncommon Threads over the summer in one of my previous posts. My only concern is that the stripeyness (yes, it’s a word in my dictionary) might cause the lace pattern to get lost. But I’m thinking it’ll probably be okay because the striping isn’t overwhelming. 🙂 Needless to say, I’m uber excited!!

Once those are casted on I’ll also be starting Matt’s cross-stitch project. I think this project will actually go pretty quickly because there’s no back stitching! Woohoo!! Backstitching is seriously one of the many banes of my existence when it comes to cross stitch. Although for this particular project, my bane of existence will be the continual color change. There’s over 70 different colors in this project. I get rid of one bane only to find another. Eh… the story of my life! 😉

Let’s see… I think that’s about it today so until next time. Many knitting blessings!

♥Courtney♥