Giant Snowflakes and Shawl Progress

 The Fibre Friends Podcast has challenges every month.  October's was to try a craft you have never done or not done in a long time.  I crochet but have never made snowflakes.  The steel hooks and crochet cotton are just too fiddly for me to work with. On the show, Louise made giant ones and I loved them.  Bernat Blanket yarn and a size N hook got me the best results.  Hooks K and L made to loops too smooshed together.  My hands hurt after just one so I have to limit making them to one every few days.  Plans are to hang them in my picture window and make a wreath for my door with some.  The pattern is found on ExpressionFiberArts.com . I used the video instructions which are clearer than the written ones.

Love In the Time of Coronavirus Shawl was originally a MKAL.  It has seen some progress, and I'm ready to start Clue 2.  The pic is midway thru Clue 1.

Tonight will be spent with my Hansen mini spinner and some fiber.  It's been a while. 

Pat made me an attachment to hold my magnetic board on my metal floor frame and make it easier to see my pattern when cross stitching.  I can just leave it upright to look at it, and won't have to keep stopping to pick it up and check where I am. 

Crafting Progress

With the arrival of slightly cooler weather, my desire to be crafting has improved.  The Hoarfrost Shawl is finished and just needs blocking and a picture.  I did some stitching and spinning too.

I decided to do a finishing things up project for the next couple of months.  I'm calling it "Finish-It-Up Fall".  I have a list of several partial or waiting for a long time projects I would like to see completed.  My Vivid Blanket needs 5 more squares and put together to be next off the list.  A Shawl, socks, and cowl are also waiting in the knitting bag.   (Hope to at least get the socks and cowl done) There are a couple of spinning WIPs to get done so the wheels are empty again. 

There's also cross stitch projects listed. I want to finish the last of the back stitching on the cats, and a few small stitch projects for ornaments. 

That is more than I will finish, but I want to make a good attempt.  Remember the story of how to eat an elephant - one bite at a time.  Well, one stitch at a time will get stuff finished.  I want the blanket, cat stitching, and at least one fiber project off the list first.  Then I tackle the others and see how far I get.

Summer Heat Wave and Crafting Progress

 The heat has been tough to deal with during the last few weeks.  I know it's all over the country and I hear some friends saying how hard it is to keep cool and safe.  Luckily, I do have air conditioning and stay inside with it most of the time.  I keep all the blinds closed to and that helps to keep the house from heating up.

My crafting has been affected by body aches and pains.  I didn't finish my spinning goals for Tour de Fleece this year because of this.  It's the first time nothing was completed during the race since I started participating in it.  My intentions are to finish the two fiber I started before the end of August.  My other crafting had to take a week long break as well so I could rest my hands.  Extremely small amounts of cross stitch has been done in the past week or so.  I did finish my "Skaha" sweater a few days ago, and promptly cast on for the "Hoarfrost" Shawl by Andrea Mowry.  That's moving along splendidly.  I have until September 30th to finish it for a KAL in one of the Ravelry groups I'm in.

We finally bought the new crockpot to replace the one Pat broke.  I picked a smaller one, since nothing seems to make it to the freezer.  lol  I mad Shredded Barbeque Chicken breast in it three days ago.  It was only two large breasts so I knew it would go fast.  Meatballs and sauce or a roast are next on the menu to cook in it.

Knitting Along in Slow Motion... Summer Heat

 It feels like I am slow motion knitting.  Plans were to have my Skaha sweater off the needles this past week.  The finish was so close, I could see it.   I had the yoke down to the last couple of decreases when I looked closer at it. It looked too wide at the neck.  Yep.  It helps to read the pattern correctly.  I had only done half the decreases required.  I had left out all the ones on the left of the markers.  So I was visiting the frog pond with it for a few days, ripping the whole yoke out.  Markers are where they need to be and sleeves are re-attached.   It will be in time out for a bit until I love it again.

Meanwhile, it's Saturday and Tour de Fleece starts now.  I have some fibers picked out and my wheels ready to go.  Plans are to spin every day but not to over do the time.  Taking breaks is very important not to cause an injury to yourself.

Pat made up the vertical support for my floor frame so the frames don't tip down on one end any more.  He made two so I can leave them attached to the scroll rods and just swap them at the clamp on the floor frame.  I am trying to spend a little time stitching on my current projects, but progress is very slow.

Summer is here and we are getting ready for sticky, humid, hot weather for the next few days.  I will be inside with the a/c on.

Multi-Timer, Project Finishes, Vaccine, Spring Has Sprung

I started using a Multi-Timer on my phone.  I saw it on one of the podcasts I watch.  You set it up with 12 hours for each of a few projects and only work on those items until they are finished or the 12 hours are up.  You can reset anther 12 hours for a project to continue working on it.  I did add 7 instead of the suggested 5.  You just can't add more projects until the original ones are done.

 My 'Frozen' Sweater was finally finished at the end of March.  Two spinning projects are also finished.  Right now I have my 'Skaha' sweater, 'Vivid' blanket, and the 3 cross stitch on my timers. One cross stitch project just needs the backstitching finished so I hope to get that done this month.  I re-set the spinning timer so its an on-going project.  Plans are to use it and finish a braid a month.

I went for my first Covid vaccine.  My husband had his in the morning and told me it would be impossible for me to walk the building to get mine, due to my back problems.  I had to try. I took the crutches instead of my cane so I could lean on them if I needed to. I got there, parked, and got out of car with the crutches.  A National Guardsman saw me and got me a wheelchair.  He pushed me through the entire process, and took me back to my car after the observation wait time.  I never could have done it on my own. The only side effects I noticed was a sore arm - no worse than with the flu shot last year.  I go back in a couple of weeks for my second shot.  There are no plans to go to stores or socializing  after the required 2 weeks after shot 2 as of yet.  

Spring weather has made an appearance and I look forward to sit in the back yard under my awning.  

Sweater Attempt Number 3

 It appears my "Frozen" color work sweater just does not want to become a garment.  The first two times it was much too big.  

Try number three has issues as well.  I think the size is fine this time.  After frogging the almost complete body, I started knitting with the same yarns, just not in the same order as I frogged the skeins.  I didn't realize there was a bit of a light blue tint on the natural cream (main color) from where I had used the darkest blue in the color work.  About five inches into the body, I could see this discoloration at about an inch from the arms separation point.  So, now I frogged back to a row under the arm separation, switch to a skein I know was just used in the body and have knit onward.  Here's hoping I finish the sweater and can wear it before Spring gets here.  I have plans for the other skein to become a hat after a good soaking.  I will put the same pattern in the area of the blue tint just in case.

There's still only a little spinning and cross stitching progress so far this year.

Time to feed the cats.  One is meowing and the other sort of makes a trill noise for food demands.  As they age, they are getting much more vocal and a bit sassy.   lol

A Demanding Old Cat

 My old boy cat has become quite vocal, even more than he was last month.  He goes in the kitchen and calls me loudly.  He even does a meow that sounds like he's hurt or in pain.  lol  His "pain" is a demand for extra canned food.

His other activity is to stand in front of me when I am in the recliner, stare at me with his big Puss n Boots (from Shrek) eyes and then meow.  He wants his snacks.  He also is demanding I give up my chair to him so he can go to bed on it.  Ummm....no.   lol

Knitting and Spinning 2020 Tallies

My end of year totals are not that great.  It's like 2020 stole some of my crafting mojo.  I only finished 6 knit projects, 61.5 ounces of fiber spun, and 2 medium cross stitches.  The knitting included 1 sweater, 3 pairs of socks, and 2 shawls.  

My objectives for 2021 are simple.  Craft what I want when I want.

Starting of the year is my "Frosted" sweater which has been almost finished, frogged twice, and re-started for attempt number 3.   I still have "Skaha" kitted and ready to start.  There's also the "Love In the Time of Coronavirus Shawl" kitted and ready to go.  And, of course, the never ending Vivid Blanket.  I need to put some strips together on that.

My cross stitch plans are to finish my current WIPs.  "Curious Cats" cross stitch just needs backstitching of which there is a fair amount.  "Christmas Tree and Birds" is showing progress.  It's slow going because you have so many color changes with lots of 1 or 2 stitch sections.  "Seaside Lighthouse 2" hasn't seen much attention lately, but that needs to change.  There are a few small ornaments in the works too.

Spinning has been mostly in limbo since TdF last July with only a little done since then.  I need to jump start that and get some braids done. 

Goodbye 2020....Hello 2021....A Day We Will Never Forget

 The year of 2020 was the worst anyone had seen.  It brought such devastation, fear, and death from Covid-19.  It saw the entire world restricted and in isolation.  There were many protests across the country.  So much needs to be done to make our country fair and equal to all.  The start of 2021 was a continuation of everything, except for one huge hope - a vaccine to fight the virus.    Now we have mutated strains of the virus spreading it even faster to contend with.  I still have high hopes of the vaccine's success.

Then, yesterday happened.  The attack on the Capitol in Washington, DC was something I never dreamed would happen.  I'm still numbed by the horror of seeing it on my television.  It will take a long time for recovery from the trauma inflicted by it.