A Little (Emphasis on Little) Peek

   I have been doing my secret sewing this week and I have one project half done.  Here is a sneak peek at what I have been working on.

   I have also been busy knitting dishcloths.  I have to make a couple more dishcloths and I will call it quits for the year.  I finished three dishcloths in the last four days. 

   I'm watching Flosstube on youtube and learning about cross stitching.  I have never done any cross stitching but there are some super cute charts out there.  I couldn't resist buying some of my favorite charts and a couple of little kits to start off with.  I will be starting off stitching on 14 count Aida cloth.  This is yet another craft that yields lovely projects but the sky is the limit as far as how much you can spend getting to the end result.   There is hand dyed floss, hand dyed fabrics and lots of accessories and notions to help the cross stitcher finish beautiful pieces.  I'm enjoying watching Floss Tube and seeing all the pretty finishes.

Dishcloth Update

So here is an update on my dishcloth project.  I didn't commit to making one dishcloth a week, but I have been knitting dishcloths pretty regularly.  I have 11 dishcloths made, although the ends need to be woven in, I'm considering them finished and I have two more on the needles.  I will have plenty of dishcloths to share with DD at the holidays.

All The Colors

   I started another colorful crochet blanket this past week.  It's a ripple afghan.  This is a super simple pattern I got from a Mary Maxim Booklet called The Best of Mary Maxim Ripple Afghan Book.  I found that pattern booklet on Amazon.  The booklet has about 10 beginner to intermediate ripple afghan patterns in it.  I chose the classic ripple pattern.  I love the sharp peaks and valleys.  It's made with single crochet and I'm using tons of color in it.  Each row takes me about 25 minutes.  I'm adding whatever color wherever and however many rows I want.  I will be keeping track of the colors I use and in which order and I'll publish that list when I finish the entire afghan, just in case someone is interested.  This afghan will be made with all Knitpicks Acrylic Brava Worsted.  This is the beginning.

    Consulting my project list, I see it's time to start birthday sewing.  DD's birthday is in November and I want to make her a couple of things.  I will start those this next weekend.  I'm planning two projects, one will take a couple of hours to make and the second one will take about double that time.  I don't mind making things for DD, she is completely worthy of any homemade items.  She uses whatever I make for her and always takes time to tell everyone that it is handmade by her Mom.   So no photos of these projects until they are gifted.

      I'm also planning to make to make DD a birthday cake this year.  I stated a tradition several years ago and I would make a rum cake for her birthday each year.  She loves the cake and it is so easy to make.  I skipped last year because I didn't feel up to it, but I'm making one this year and I even bought the rum already.  I had to get the rum first because it's usually that last ingredient I think of and I end up having to make a special trip to the liquor store because I only go into the liquor store to get rum for this cake every couple of  years.

   After secret sewing is done I will get started on my souvenir fabric tote bag projects using the fabrics I purchased in Hawaii.  Here is a picture of the pieces all cut out.  Yeah.  I don't know why it took me so long to start these.  I can't wait to use them.   I'm using Crafty Gemini's Must Have Tote Bag Pattern with the only difference being I'm using two fabrics for the tote bag instead of one.  This tote bag pattern is the best.  I have been using it for years.  It costs three dollars and you get a picture tutorial and a link to a video tutorial.  Thank you, Vanessa.

   

The First Afghan I Ever Made

   I made a black, white and grey acrylic granny ripple afghan for my big brother in 1983.  I bought the pattern and the acrylic yarn at my local JoAnn's Fabrics.  I had not made anything as big as an afghan before and I always forget about this one when I think about old projects.  I asked my brother to take this picture the other day so I could document my first big project with a crochet hook.  He loves this afghan and I love him for using it and loving it all these years.

Fun Crochet - A New Project Start

Now that the pesky knitting project is finished, I have given myself permission to have some fun with colors and I started a beautiful crochet project.

I started a granny square blanket and I'm using lots of colors in it.  The squares are three rounds with a beautiful pop of color in the center surrounded by cream colored yarn.  I'm using a G hook.  And of course, I'm using all acrylic yarn.  The cream surround is KnitPicks Brava Worsted and the color centers are also acrylic, some are the KnitPicks Brava Worsted and others are from Red Heart. These squares work up really quickly.  They measure four inches square and it will take approximately 160 to make a decent size blanket.

The Scarf I Couldn't Finish Is Done.

   I had an awful time knitting this scarf.  I started knitting this back in late May.  I have been trying to finish the scarf since then but I kept making ugly mistakes and having to rip it out and start over.  I started over about five time.  It was completely worth it to get it right because it's done now and I'm super happy with it.  This was knit with KnitPicks Brava worsted yarn in the denim colorway.  It's approximately six feet long and it took about 1.25 balls of yarn.  I knit this on size 11 knitting needles and the lacy fabric is very drapey and pretty.

More Snowmen

All the snowmen ornaments are done.  I will not be making any more of these this year.  I still have more white wool, buttons and beads to make more, but they will have to wait.  It took me a whole week to make these ornaments in my spare time.   I will be sharing these with my dear daughter.  These snowmen were so much fun to make, but it's time to move along and get started on other projects.