Spring Flower Garland

Finished this really cute flower garland from Attic 24!  I love it so much.  Doing all of the leaves got a wee bit tedious, but really it was a fun little project!

Harmony

A variation of the harmony blanket from Attic 24 for the family of a dear friend who passed away too soon 💔 color choices based on what I had in the house... It was dicey at times, but I think it turned out okay in the end. Mostly I hope it's cozy and comforting ✨✨✨

One Month Down

I decided to try doing a temperature blanket again this year.  My first attempt was last year and I made a few mistakes, that hopefully I learned from.  Mistake number one, was that I chose a stitch that was too large.  It soon became very apparent that my blanket was going to be humongous!  But I was already well into the process before I realized, so I plunged ahead and ended up stopping in May.  My second mistake was not realizing that even though we have extreme temperatures here, a lot of the time it hovers in the mid range so I had better like those colors -- a lot!  Last year, those colors between 50˚ and 70˚ were yellow and orange, which aren't the worst colors in the world, but there can definitely be too much of them.  They're better as highlights -- the center of a flower, for example, is just right.   

To solve the first problem I chose the smallest stitch I could find -- the linen stitch, or sometimes called the moss stitch.  It is basically smaller than a single crochet because the stitch goes down into the space in the previous row.  I also used a 4 mm hook which is smaller than I usually use.  My only worry at this point is that it's going to be too stiff!  But, we'll just have to see what happens!  That's how I like to live anyway.  Life is boring with too much certainty.  I did start and pull everything out at least twice before I fixed on a good width and hook size.  After the second time I even decided to measure and do actual math!  There is a first time for everything.  It should turn out to be a normal size for a human blanket which will be nice.

For the second problem, I decided to not use any yellow at all!  There, that was easy.  I still don't have my absolute ideal color palette, because I am trying to use up some excess yarn that is idling around the closet being useless, but it should be more pleasing this time around.  I am using Stylecraft DK and crocheting the high temperature that was reached each day.

less than 5˚- lobelia
5˚-19˚- lavender
20˚-34˚- turquoise
35˚-49˚- teal
50˚-64˚- grass
65˚-79˚- clematis
80˚-94˚- fuchsia
95˚+- currently undecided

So here is the first month:



New Year's day did not reach 5˚!  But we've managed to get above it the rest of the time -- and several days over 50˚!  Our weather is all over the place!  I can see how this would be a boring exercise in more temperate climes -- a risk I'm willing to take someday (hopefully), but for now, this is making the winter a little more exciting.

Happy New Year!

Finished this blanket this morning -- just in time for a new year filled with new projects!  Pattern found at attic 24.  I made it for my lovely friend, Amanda, but I was oh so tempted to keep it!  I love the colors and the pattern is so squishy and comfy!  I might just have to make an identical one sometime in the future.



I was trying madly to finish the blanket before Christmas, but then a couple of weeks ago I ran out of yarn on my last row of that color -- so close mushroom, so close! 



So I had to order more -- I just couldn't stand the idea of changing the color so late in the game!  It simply would not do.  The problem is that I order from a place in England, so 1. it takes a while to get here and 2. there is a flat shipping rate, so of course I am compelled to order plenty of yarn to make it worthwhile, am I right?  One of my goals for the next year is to stop spending money!  I know!  Completely insane!  But I must do something about my compulsive impulsivity!  Since I knew that I was going to have this lofty objective, I went ahead and planned all of my crochet projects for the coming year so I wouldn't have to buy any more yarn after my start date... of today!  I'm pretty much all set, with one blanket about halfway done and I think five more waiting in the wings. 

We enjoyed a rousing New Year's Eve party at Rose and Rick's abode -- the boys always manage to stay awake until midnight!  No early birds in this house!  The girls both slept at friend's houses so we didn't have to worry about waiting up for them.  Matthew ran Charles to work around 11:45 and barely missed the countdown.  I received my new year's kiss a couple of minutes late.  Neither of the little boys would deign to let me give them a smooch.  They're really quite affectionate, but not in front of their friends apparently.

Today was a relaxing one for the most part and then we're going to Amanda and Dave's for dinner.  I'm so excited for the new year!  I try to calm down and not get into the cliche of making new year's resolutions, but I honestly cannot even help myself!  The excitement of a completely blank slate yawning and stretching out into the great beyond appeals to the deepest parts of me and I get carried away with hopes, dreams, resolves, affirmations, desires... delusions.  Matthew tries to temper my fervor by telling me to stick to just a few goals, or not be so strict and absolute, but I generally ignore him and forge wantonly ahead with "50 million actions of improvement" that are going to utterly transform my life!  Hurrah!

Bauble Building

Noro Obi

I finished this granny square last night and I must say that I am smitten!  I love this yarn so much -- and I certainly had to work hard enough to obtain it!  The noro obi yarn has been discontinued, but a few retailers still have some in stock so I had to buy a few here and a few there... As I googled, stores would claim to have some, but then they didn't.  And some retailers had their last few skeins on discount, while others were (smart, mean) and had increased the price, if you can believe that! 😲 . But at last I found 11 skeins or so and I am so so happy with how it turned out.

Another Yoga Training

I am headed out to Utah again to start another 200 hour yoga training!  It will be at Bodhi Yoga in Provo again, and I'm so excited!  It is called Restorative Partner Yoga -- henceforth to be referred to as RPY and is in depth hands on adjusting, 52 partner yoga poses, and learning about Ayurvedic Marma point and 10 sens energy line alignment.  It is only available to students who have already completed her 200 hour yoga teacher certification, so obviously very exclusive 😁

I made Syl this Chakra mandala -- based on a pattern from Attic 24 

Not the best picture, haha!  But hopefully she'll like it!

I have several hours to spend in the Chicago airport -- which I don't mind.  I always enjoy people watching!  I love how this woman takes off her shoes to put her feet up on the chair -- treating everything with respect, but also not able to shake her upbringing even when she's in a probably not very clean place.  I mean, really, how many people have sat in that chair???  It boggles the mind.

African Flower Blanket

Ta-da!!!! The first blanket that I made for myself (and Matthew) is finally finished! It took over a year, but I did make about six other blankets in that same time 😁 I should've waited for better light to take pics, but I was too excited. 378 flowers -- each of them unique, done pretty randomly, and I just happened to have the exact right amount as I was finishing my last row -- so serendipitous! Can't wait to cozy up in it, haha! Perhaps in the fall?  









I first saw this blanket on pinterest linking to a blog in the Netherlands -- I'll include it here:  (african flower blanket) and I was distressed to find no information on a pattern or colors -- not that I usually include those sorts of details in my posts either, haha!  But I'll turn over a new flower petal and include some of those specifics.  I found a pattern and tutorial at Heidi Bears and just did the first four rounds.  I decided to used Lucy's hexagon join as you go method so I saved the gray section for the joining stage.  All of the yarn is Stylecraft from Wool Warehouse and I used these colors:

✽ sherbet ✽ turquoise ✽ empire ✽ grass green ✽ petrol ✽ violet ✽ spring green ✽ duck egg ✽ lobelia ✽ cloud blue ✽ aster ✽ bluebell ✽ aspen ✽ lemon ✽ teal ✽ white ✽ silver ✽


I did it all very haphazardly -- more organized people would probably cringe at my method, or lack thereof.  For a while I would do a pile of centers of one color, and then change the next rounds and then I did piles of using only two alternating colors instead of three... pretty random.  And then with joining I never even figured out ahead of time how many I would need in each row!  I just had all of the flowers in a bag, pulling one out at a time and only putting it back if the colors were too similar to what was directly around it, hoping I wouldn't get to the end and have only bright green left!   I joined them by doing a sort of herringbone pattern back and forth while the rows got longer in each direction.  I thought I might have to go back and do a few more, but as a mentioned above, I miraculously ended up with the exact right amount!  How freaky is that?  I love magical things.  I first thought I would have a curvy edge, but then decided I liked the look of straight edges better so I did have to hurry and do some half hexagons in the silver before I could start the border.  I used the border from a blog called dover and madden.  I did the first five rows wrong at first!  It was so frustrating!  At first I couldn't figure out why it didn't look right, but by the time I did realize I was very far along -- this blanket is humongous!  But I knew that I would be happier if I started over and did it correctly and it is true!  I always have to tell myself that it is not about finishing a project -- it is about the PROCESS!  So, it is fine if I have to spend a little more time.  It's not like I had a deadline hanging over my head. I think it is one of my favorite borders ever.  There you have it!  If you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them!

Focus, Man!

I think I have crocheting ADD...

One Week Down

The first week of the training has come and gone so quickly!  There has been a teensy bit of drama, shall we say, with my family, but everything is working out -- the Universe is as is should be, right?  There wasn't really room to stay at my parents' house because of some unexpected guests, but Steve was nice enough to invite us over to his house.  Jessica is in China, Emily is in Estonia, and Jenny is on her mission so they have loads of room over there!  Phin and Archie love the playroom upstairs and get right down to business as soon as their eyes open in the morning -- so much so that Phin was not careful enough maneuvering himself around the ping pong table and was gashed!



But he soon recovered enough to show me his smooth yoga skills



We made it through the first few days of me being gone all day and then on Saturday the kids went with my parents to a time share up in the canyon behind Ogden.  I am so glad that they are able to spend time all together!  I know my parents are getting old so I cherish any opportunity that we have to make lasting memories.  I also don't worry too much about my kids being a burden because honestly, they are so well behaved!  And I'm not even being biased.  At all.

I was hoping to spend time with my Ella girl, who came down from Idaho ostensibly to see me while I'm nearby, but Rachel came with her and they were out very late on Saturday night with Joseph Clay, of all people, so I really didn't get to see her as much as I would've liked.  We did spend the morning together on Sunday.  Joseph showed up early to enjoy some of Jill's delicious orange rolls and then fell asleep on the couch, waking every so often to mutter something about the knot in my ball of yarn -- but I eventually got it!  I'm determined and tenacious when it comes to tangles!  



And I finished the assembly of this sweet little blanket for Bonnie Williams' soon to be baby girl





The training is going so well at the yoga studio!  I've enjoyed reading more of my chakra cards



And my favorite thing is leaning back and gazing out the high windows to see the tops of my beloved mountains.  It really is a gorgeous location, like a brick, ivy covered tree house.  It rains every couple of days and the hillsides are covered with greenery... so lovely!

Matchy matchy

I try to always match my nails and my yarn -- as one does.

mandala obligada

Hooray! My parcel of yarn finally arrived on Monday! I had brought some with me for a blanket, but then realized I had left half of the colors I needed at home in Illinois. frown emoticonI ordered from my favorite place in England wool warehouse, but it took longer to get here than to the U.S., so funny!

I've been itching to try a mandala wheel so I proceeded to make one a day this week.  I don't love the one that is larger, but I'm not sure if it's the pattern or the colors and it's just kind of wiggly wobbly.  I really like the look and heft of the other three -- the pattern for them is from Attic 24

 My fingers are happy to be working on something again!  Now I'm going to start some granny squares or something...

blankets for our mamas

I finally finished this blanket!!! Just in time to send it off for Christmas. It took me longer than any other blanket I've made so far -- definitely need to watch more K dramas to keep up my crocheting regimen. I'm slacking. I'd like to thank everyone from park days, dance class, and rehearsals for your support -- you know who you are!

And I finished this one this morning. I worked on it mostly in the car on our long trip this past summer, but still had some loose ends. A shout out to 16 hours of Broadchurch in the last week for making this possible.

rainbows and babies

I made this blanket for my friend's rainbow baby -- I finished it in July, but finally was able to give it to her today. Syndy was so kind to make the onesie for me.

 

 ::And a pic of flowers because I LOVE them!  I am so pleased with my zinnia harvest this year!

cozy stripe

Three year old comes in while I'm running on the treadmill, "Mommy, are you pretending to run?" Why yes I am. I'm also pretending to be out of breath and sweaty -- I have a really good imagination.

I finished another blanket!!!  This one is for my loveliest of friends, Miss Fara.  It is another Attic 24 special.  I have been so happy with the kits and the instructions.

smile emoticon

My first ever knitting project! A lap blanket in citrus hues for my little ray of sunshine smile emoticon

I got the pattern from Purl Bee.

Phineas' Rainbow

My little Phinney saw me making blankets for all of his older siblings and started asking me when I was going to make one for him.  I hadn't necessarily planned on starting another so soon after finishing Ibby's, but he was so earnest that how could I refuse?  He really likes rainbows, so I chose to do this one from The Purl Bee.  They sell a kit, but it was $1 million, or $780 to be exact.  Either way, prohibitive.  So I set out to find 42 colors of yarn -- not merino wool, not hand-dyed -- being different colors was pretty much my only requirement.  I soon found that this project was not achievable using only local sources so I carefully perused the colors available at the Wool Warehouse in the U.K. and hoped for the pixellated, internet funny colored, best.  I ordered everything on Dec. 23 and I can't remember exactly when the very large parcel arrived, but as soon as it did I got right down to business.  It is actually a bit embarrassing that I was able to finish the whole thing in about a month -- I truly did manage to make dinner most nights and keep up with laundry!  I just tried to have it on hand to work on some squares wherever I may be -- except church.  I still refuse to crochet there, even though I am just sitting there... hmmm.  Maybe someday.  I get so impatient when I'm working on things -- I just want to finish as quickly as possible!  I refuse to comment on the number of korean dramas consumed during this time.

::rainbow in embryo

 ::rainbow in stacks

 ::rainbow grid

 

::together at last

 

 ::happy boy with his rainbow!

*update I thought I should add which stylecraft colors I substituted for the ones offered at Purl Soho.  I also have a chart that I made if anyone is interested.

✽ candy floss ✽ fiesta ✽ bright pink ✽ fondant ✽ soft peach ✽ pomegranate ✽ raspberry ✽ shrimp ✽ lipstick ✽ matador ✽ claret ✽ gold ✽ spice ✽ copper ✽ camel ✽ saffron ✽ sunshine ✽ citron ✽ lemon ✽ bright green ✽ lime ✽ meadow ✽ petrol ✽ sherbet ✽ spring green ✽ aspen ✽ turquoise ✽ aster ✽ teal ✽ cloud blue ✽ royal ✽ denim ✽ silver ✽ grey ✽ graphite ✽ bluebell ✽ lavender ✽ wisteria ✽ violet ✽ plum ✽ magenta ✽ clematis ✽

The yellows and the greens were the most difficult to match, I thought.  And some of the ones I thought I would use with the pinks I ended up using with the purples.  

grumpy granny

It has gotten hot and humid here.  Really just in the last couple of days.  It has actually been so pleasant around these parts which is pretty unusual.  We had Charles' graduation party this past Saturday.  He did it with Sam out at his grandparents' cabin at Lake Bloomington.  I had never been to that lake and I've lived here for 11 years!  Isn't that crazy?  The cabin was very nice and they had a little speed boat for people to go tubing and a bigger pontoon boat for a cruise around the lake.  A lot of their friends came, but the only people who came from the ward were Jordan and Justin Myers and then I called the McLaughlin's and told them to come because their kids would love the boats, etc. so they came, too.  But we had invited tons of people.  I didn't feel too bad, but I did a little teeny bit because I have been to so many people's freaking graduation parties!!!!  But we're never first choice.  We're friendly and likable, but not popular, right?  It's a family characteristic.  So we had loads of food leftover.  And we had a lot of fun!  We were there from about 1-6 and everyone was happy and entertained the whole time.  I had never even met Sam's parents, but they were really nice.

I had more drama with Fara, but we're okay now.  And my period started.  I guess I have really bad pms.  I just need to be more aware of that and not take any of my thoughts seriously for a couple of weeks out of every month.  And people should be nice to me.  We did agree that she was a little rude and that I was sadder than I should've been about it.  We love each other -- a lot.   And she's gone now.

I guess nothing else is really happening.  I'm trying to remember to study Spanish, but I keep forgetting.  We're going to be staying in people's houses in Guatemala so it would be nicer if I could talk to them a little bit.

Oh, I just finished my first afghan!  It is a Granny Stripe and I got the pattern from Attic 24  and I think it turned out pretty well for my first project.  It is going to be for Lulu.