Year of Projects 3: Update 1

Total Items on YOP List: 19
Items Complete: 3

% Overall Complete:  16%

More Socks YAY

I have been on a sock knitting kick since... well, when I learned to knit socks. For any knitter that has not attempted socks, I would highly recommend it. They are small, portable, and somewhat quick as long as the design doesn't get too intense.

These are plain vanilla socks I made for a co-worker. I didn't get to work on them straight through but if I squished all the time together I probably finished them in about a week (week and a half-ish).

I think the most amazing thing that happened is that as I worked them, the stripes just lined up - and the yarn isn't really what I'd call "self striping" - but I think the sock was narrow enough to allow it to create small dark blue stripes.

Sadly, the photo doesn't do the color much justice because it has a little green in it, some grey, some orange, and of course, the dark blue.

Summer Flies

As many of you know I have been fiddling with the needles a lot recently in addition to the crochet that I have on the hooks. Because of this, I have had a few different "wins" as far as getting things off the needles.

With that said, I wanted to share with you my completed "Summer Flies" shawl.

It did not take long at all to knit up - a few days, 5 at the most. In fact, it was such a fun knit, I cannot even tell you how long it took. I would start a section and in no time (it seemed), I'd be finished with that section.

I knit it on size 9 needles using Patons Lace with Sequins. Yup - it even has a little sparkle to it.

I would recommend this pattern for any knitter. I cannot believe I had a good time knitting it.

3 years and DONE

I don't often keep a project on the hook or needles for more than a year although in the last 3 years, I've had 2 - both blankets... blankets created as one large piece, not as squares.

So one, that tells me if I am going to do a blanket and have any hope of finishing it in less than a year I should make it in pieces and two, well... there is no two.

Year of Projects 3 - The List

As it turns out, I totally suck at blog deadline dates. Each week in July slid by with me saying "boy, I really should get that Year of Projects 3 list done" ....

Knock Knock

Who's there?

August 4th.

August 4th who?

Point Taken.

That's right. Not only did I miss the original date of the first weekend in July.. I missed July altogether.

DOH!

Crochet Humor

I sometimes have a spark of what I like to call funny hit occasionally. This one has rattled around in my head for the last few days. Gotta love some good crochet humor!

Finished FINALLY

I simply wanted to share with you, dear readers, that I FINALLY finished the socks for my mother. I had been working on them for well over a month!

It wasn't an overly difficult pattern and they weren't extremely long (sorry, Mom, you aren't really that tall hence your feet aren't that big) - I just went really slow with the pattern because well... I'm a slow knitter *laughs*

I'm very glad they are done and I'm ready to cast on my next SIP project (socks in progress). This time - they WILL be vanilla socks. *smiles*

The funny story behind these socks is that I mailed my mom her first pair of hand knit socks a few months ago. I knew that once she wore them, she would begin to expect more - and I'm perfectly ok with that. I like doing things for my mom. She is definitely 'craft worthy' as far as I am concerned.

I figured that she would just expect a pair of socks at every gift-giving holiday (Christmas, her birthday, Mother's Day, etc). The surprise is that the next time I saw her, she went to Hobby Lobby with me when I had to pick up something and purchased sock yarn for me and said "make me more socks out of this yarn" - handing me the purple and grey yarn (shown above). I smiled and said "absolutely" and was happy she really enjoyed her first pair. Moreso than I thought she would.

Is there a person that you feel is extremely craft worthy that you'd like to mention? Funny story about someone requesting a certain item? Let me know in the comments! (link to any stories you have posted as well - I will have to approve the comment BUT that's ok!)

Tangible Memories (or: fixing someone else's work)

Like warm fresh-baked cookies, newly cut grass, and some perfumes - we all hold memories in the tangible. When someone else's tangible memory is left with me for repair, I always get a knot in my throat and butterflies in my stomach.

I go into the work with the disclaimer "it isn't going to be exact" and "it won't be 100% like it was before" but.... there is always a but "but it won't unravel and I will do my best to get it to match.

This last job was no different other than it has been YEARS since someone asked me to repair their tangible.