The summer of KAL's

It's been a couple of months since I had anything worthwhile to update about. It's been super-busy around here, as you'll see, and I've devoted most of my time to one project, that I finally just completed yesterday, so I haven't had much else to write about. Here's a little of what we've been up to since May:

These are my "monthly" projects that I try to get done the first 2 weeks each month. I'm trying to complete a homeless set of the red to finish it up before winter, and the cotton dishcloths and potholders are Christmas presents. I have June's finished but didn't take a picture, because I haven't woven in the ends yet. I'll probably do that when I weave in July's.

Two new pairs of socks blocked and finished! The black ones are almost indentical to another pair I've made, and the shorties are flip-flop socks I started two years ago and finally got finished.

This adorable little dude finally got taken out of the bag from two years ago and finished up this month. Part of another MKAL, I stopped when it got to the stuffing part because I find that fiddly. I'm glad I finished though, and will be making more little friends like him in the future. Maybe one with braids and in worsted weight...

The red-ish cowl pictured is my Arizona yarn from our 2019 trip to the Grand Canyon. I bought Dream in Color MCN and only made this cowl with a single skein, instead of doubling it. I love the colors! Next up is a silk cowl I made with Shibui laceweight held double. I love how drapey this one is! Thirdly, this is a MKAL shawl that's been sitting in a bag waiting to have ends woven in and blocked for over two years. I finally finished it, and the next day I found out the designer was having another MKAL that started the next day, so of course I had to start that! This shawl was my Tennessee shawl, using cotton grown and dyed in Tennessee from our trip there two years ago. I *love* it! It was so fun to knit (although it did take a while), but it turned out so beautiful! I was really excited to make another of her designs, and just finished this one up this week:

It was a beast to complete as well. I don't care much for the geometric design and I was disappointed I didn't get to mix and match the yarns like the first one, but I think it'll grow on me. It took most of 4 skeins of yarn and I can't wait to see how it blocks out. I feel like it is narrow for a shawl, but I might try to get more width when it's wet.

I also re-opened my Etsy shop, Knit Picker Crafts, and had my first order come through! It was a brown viking beard. I counted and realized I have made over 50 of these things. Who knew?

I made the mistake of entering so many KAL's and CAL's this summer! I was browsing patterns on ravelry and I am a sucker for a mystery KAL. I stumbled on the SOSUknits shawl above, and about 5 more! I entered in a PurlSoho KAL for this cute little linen bag. It was my first time knitting with linen and I don't think I want to do it a lot. The bag turned out cute but it was not fun to knit with. I have some linen for a tank top but that might be my last project. I also entered Stephen West's MKAL for a pair of socks. I have yet to cast them on but the second clue comes out tomorrow. I'm hoping to cast on tonight. I also have a Joji Locatelli KAL that isn't due until the end of September, so I haven't cast it on either. I bought some MYAK yarn and can't wait to use it! It's so soft... There is also a CAL for the cute little dolls I crocheted last summer. I'll be making two dolls plus some fun summer accessories. I don't have anyone to make them for at this time, but they make amazing gifts for baby showers. My friend from church just had to move to Guam with her military hubby and 4 young girls. I wish I had the dolls to send with them before they left. Maybe for Christmas this year I'll make one for each of them and ship them off... There is another shawl MKAL in August for Sweet Georgia yarns that I've bought yarn for as well. I was going to use stash yarn, but my knitting friend, Sharon, purchased the most gorgeous yak yarn from a lady in Kansas, and I had to have the exact same ones. She is doing her Sweet Georgia shawl with it, but I might use mine for something else.

I also taught my boys how to punch needle, so they all have cute crafts to display in their new bedroom. I made my nephew an adorable Grogu punch needle for his birthday in May, and forgot to take a photo! I need to ask my brother to take a photo and send it to me.

I also helped the senior ladies from my church crochet washcloths to go in the Operation Christmas Child boxes this fall. I made about 10 myself, and started all of the projects for the ladies. They also gave me a bag of novelty hat skeins with Sesame Street characters and asked me to knit hats. That's something I will be working on this fall!

I ordered several items for my loom, including yarns to make table runners for my mother-in-law, and several more heddles so I can weave double-width and delicate yarns. I'm excited to have time to warp something up. I also bought some embroidery kits from Hobby Lobby. I would like to learn to make some appliques and things and enhance my sewing skills. The kids all wanted to make stuff too, so of course I bought them small kits! I guess that is a lot of yarny stuff for the last two months. I've just spent so much time on the shawl MKAL I forgot about all those other things. We've also had a lot of other things going on. Right now we're in the midst of building loft beds for my sons, painting nearly every room in the house, and getting ready for school, volleyball season, and taking care of the garden. Here are some photos from the not-crafty side of life:

Well, aside from an amazing fiber festival coming up at the end of July and some KAL's and painting, and everything else I mentioned, there isn't much else to tell! Ha! Happy knitting! We're closer to Christmas than New Year's 2023!

April...drought...brings new projects!

We need rain! It has been so long since we've had a good drenching rain here, which is not at all normal for this time of year for Missouri. We have 275 gal IBC totes to collect rain water, and they have barely been half-full since we hooked them up in February. It only takes an inch or two of rain to fill them, so we are really hurting for some moisture around here. A lot of my "free" time has been tending to the plants that we've been trying to start, planning the garden for this summer, planting perennials, weeding, and watering what we've already got. I love perennials! I love watching them burst through the soil, seeing the first signs of life for the year. Many plants (like creeping phlox) appear dead during the winter but just when I think it's not going to come back, every inch of it turns green, and then lilac with the beautiful flowers that last for a couple of weeks. It is truly magnificent to see it in full bloom. Even though I've been very busy with the garden, I have managed to find time to complete some projects. I've got a pair of socks that are just about off the needles that I'll showcase next time, but I've got some fun neck jewelry for this month!

I finally finished my silk woven cowl! I've had this on the loom for a couple of months and watched a friend finish two projects in the time it took me to weave one, but I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I hem-stitched it on the loom on both ends, as well as zig-zag stitching with my sewing machine. Then I cut off the fringe, folded it over twice to bury the ends, and sewed both ends together. I don't love how that turned out, but until I get my sewing machine out again, it'll stay like that. I love that I can double it over, and the silk lays really nicely and it's not too bulky.

Next up is this gorgeous shawl that has been sitting in a bag for over two years. I had over 50 ends to weave in because of all the color changes, but it was so worth it! I LOVE these colors together!! The pattern was so much fun to knit, I enjoyed all the different sections. It was like knitting a sampler. The pattern is The Knights Who Say Knit on Ravelry and it was a mystery knit-a-long (MKAL). At the time, I was participating in 4 KAL's, and I really enjoyed each of them. I still have one shawl that needs ends woven and blocked, and the other is a little gnome that isn't quite finished yet. Those will hopefully be done by the end of May. The other KAL was a sweater, and it's going to be the last to be finished.

My little L'aig was trying to finger-knit a scarf over a long weekend using Bernat Blanket Alize. He does a row here and there, but isn't committed to it yet. I bought yarn for all 3 boys but he's the only one that seems interested so far.

My new knitting bestie, Sharon, is so crafty! She taught me how to sew these super-cute flat-bottomed drawstring bags, so I bought fabric for all the kids and my family for Christmas. She also taught me to use my needle-punch to finish this kit I bought myself for my birthday last year. I enjoy the craft, although I think I still need some practice. It's fun and a great way to use up scrap yarns! I helped her figure out how to warp her loom, so we are happy to share with each other.

Here are March's and April's homeless sets and potholder/dishcloths gift sets. Since we were gone at the beginning of March, this was practically all I worked on from the time we got home until mid-April. I was so ready to do anything else after 4 weeks of these things! I got to work on my socks that I mentioned and finish a couple of other WIP's at the end of April and I was thrilled before starting on May's sets. I'm about 3/4 of the way finished with May's Christmas gifts.

This was another WIP I started on the cruise and finished in April. I used yarn I bought in Colorado Springs and crocheted this beautiful reversible cowl. It's very warm and a little stiff. I love how the colors look together.

Last, but not least, is this adorable little purple guy my son bought on vacation. He asked me to finish it within a couple of days after arriving home, but it's amigurumi, and it hurt my hands. I was finally able to finish it about a month later, once I figured out how to do the finishing. I don't mind making all the tiny pieces, it's the sewing and finishing that either makes or breaks a cute stuffie. I think this one turned out pretty precious. So that's been the last month and change! Hopefully next month I'll have a pair of socks, a shawl, a gnome, and maybe even a blocked cardigan to showcase. I don't really know what I'm going to be knitting in May, but I would like to warp my loom with some worsted acrylic, and making some very soft scarves with Homespun yarn. I need to re-sew my woven cowl and start cutting out bags for Christmas. We have a trip at the end of June, so I'll be starting another "vacation" project then, so I might just work on one of my blankets for May. Not that I want to be covered in wool all summer, but those are the next big things I need to complete to work through all my WIP's this year. I do have a colorwork scarf I can knit if I get tired of that, as well as a sock monkey and some other stuffie ideas. I might even make another stegosaurus in a bigger yarn for each of the big boys. I also bought supplies to make my own lye soap, cheesemaking, drop-spindle spinning, and natural dying. I need to try my hand at those before my busy fall kicks in. We'll see how I feel after this heat wave!

Back in the swing of things...

We made it through the Bermuda Triangle and home again! It was a lovely trip, and we enjoyed it so much, we've booked another cruise for next year! We didn't get to take all of our children, and weren't planning to take any of them, but we couldn't find someone to watch our littlest for 11 days, so he got to go with us.

Our shipmates

Beach knitting!

Sunset on Sunset Cove, Key Largo

I was able to take 4 projects on our trip, and ended up working on all of them at some point, but I finished one that has been in the works for 2 years. It was a MKAL from 2021 that got too hard when I got to the lace, so I put it in a bag and stuffed it in the closet. Since I'm trying to finish my WIP's this year, I pulled it out and got to work. I finally finished it the last night of our cruise and blocked it when I got home.

Loving the Shetland lace sections!

Beads are so much fun!

Long wingspan

I love how the lace turned out! I had to make an Excel chart of the repeats to finish it, and counted after every. single. row. It was tedious but I really like it.

I also finished a set of cotton dishcloths and pot holders in February. The rest of the month I spent working on the shawl. They are Chiefs' colors and my family are big Chiefs' fans, so I already know where they're going.

February's Christmas gifts

Up next are some precious little hearts I made with leftover yarn for Valentine's Day. We didn't do anything special for our kids or each other, since we were planning our cruise, but my little Blessing got me at bedtime that night. I was putting him to bed and he asked if we were going to go out and get something for them while they were sleeping. He said, “Not candy, but a card or something.” My heart broke and I said there would be something for him when he woke up.

When your sweet little snaggle-toothed baby flat out asks you for a valentine, of course you stay up two hours past your bedtime crocheting him and his brothers something!!

For my sweet valentines

While we were in Florida, I found a GREAT yarn shop that I wish was in my town. I was looking for something local. I had already ordered sock yarn from String Theory Colorworks that was amazing, and she gave me the best customer service experience! I thought it would be fun to find something from Miami and we had some time to kill before our AirBnB was available, so we went to Sheep Thrills. I found this awesome yarn from Circulo there and bought 4 skeins of it and had it hand-crocheted up the first night we got home. I'm keeping my WIP's in it in the living room. My little shipmate also picked out a cute stegosaurus amigurumi kit that I've been working on since we got home. 

Circulo Jumbo XL

I also had another pair of the Candyman socks on my needles. I'm ready to do the heels on them but haven't had a lot of time to work on them since we got home. I also took a hat to start with some yarn I got in Vicksburg last summer, and some yarns I got in Colorado Springs a couple of summers ago and started a crocheted cowl. I finished the hat but don't have the pom-pom on it yet, so I don't have any photos of it. I am about halfway done with the cowl. 

Other than these things, I've been working on my homeless sets for March and April, and I have finished March's Christmas gifts and started April's. I also have a cowl on my loom that I've been weaving on occasionally. Oh, and my new knitting best friend showed me how to sew project bags, so I've got one of those I need to photograph. I'm making them for all the kids for Christmas. 

Silk Ella Rae yarn from our Arkansas trip last fall

It is garden season and along with a new cruise to plan for, we bought a shed for the backyard. It should be installed by the end of April, so we'll be filling it with garden supplies and yard equipment. We'll be cleaning out our sunroom and garage, so I might not have as much time to craft this month. Also, we'll be planting annuals and our veggies. The daffodils and hyacinths waited until we just got home to bloom, so I'll leave you with some sunny flowers!