Branching out

Sorry to have been so long in writing. As you’ll see, I’ve been quite busy with my craft projects lately, and decided to be creating instead of writing about what I’m creating. I would like to blog more often and make my posts shorter, so I’ll try to get caught up as of today and hopefully be able to keep up better after that. As I stated in my last post, this has truly been the “Year of Buying,” and now I need to be proactive in my making so that none of my fun and beautiful projects gets lost in the mix.

To start, I’m enamored with knit-alongs right now, so I am actively participating in several this year. The one that started it all was the Yarnhoarder (Amber Lindemann on Ravelry) podcast, as she is doing a year-long dishcloth challenge.

I had a decent amount of solid-colored cotton in my stash from projects over the years, so I thought it would be fun to use that up. I probably had enough to make a few, but I went to Hobby Lobby and found some of their beautiful variegated I Love This Cotton and bought a few colors of that. I also went to JoAnn and found some great prices on colorful variegated balls. I almost bought a whole cone (14 oz. or so) of Lily Sugar ‘n Cream in Christmas colors, but I found individual red, white, and green colors in the inexpensive cotton that I will try first. I might end up buying the cone anyway, as I really want some Christmas towels and dishcloths for my kitchen.

Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton

More I Love This Cotton

Premier Home from JoAnn

I have knitted several (my goal is one a week) and am on track for the year, but I don’t have ends woven in on most of them, so I will post a photo of them as I complete them. I am able to get 3-4 from each set of colors, so I think I will gift them as sets for Mothers’ Day, Christmas, etc. I considered using different stitches for each one, but found the Gramma’s Favorite pattern to be pretty easy and mindless, for when I’m watching a show or need to put it down to help little people at a moment’s notice. I’ve paired together almost all of my cotton yarns, so when I finish a batch, I just need to reach in my bag and pick the next set and get started.

Pairings of different colors of cotton yarn

My first finished dishcloth, in linen stitch

I had the tiniest ball of cotton left from making kitchen towels, hot pads, and dish cloths years ago, so I used that and this pattern to make a cover for my cast iron skillet. It works great!

I’ve started watching other podcasts, namely Hey Sister and Grocery Girls, and they both like to do knit-alongs as well. The Grocery Girls were doing a shawl knit-along for the Joji Locatelli shawls with their names, and I thought the Jodi shawl looked easy, interesting, and different than anything I’ve done, so I completed it with 3 days left in the knit-along. I spent about 5 days completing it (except for the ends—so many ends!) and used stash yarn from last summer to complete it. I enjoyed it so much, after I get this one blocked, I might even make it again in another fun Mandala yarn. I already bought the pattern, and I have plenty of yarn, so I might as well. I’ve never knit a lace chart before, and once I figured it out, this one was very easy to memorize and work up.

Nearly every podcast I have seen is doing a sock knit-along. YarnGasm, Grocery Girls, and Yarnhoarder are all doing one, and YarnGasm is initiating a pair a month knit-along (KAL), called Box o’ Sox. I definitely have enough yarn to knit 12 pairs this year, although I don’t know if I’ll have the time. I have been working on my first pair (I’m a little behind due to the shawl, dishcloths, and blankets I did earlier this year), and have made great progress, just this week. I’m almost ready to turn the heels, and the rest is just knit in a crazy spiral until the ribbed cuff. They are boring vanilla socks for my hubby, but I bought some beautiful Cascade Heritage Prints sock yarn, which is making it much more interesting. I’m trying the Fish Lips Kiss heel, and have the cardboard cutouts for both his foot and mine. I'll post a photo when they're finished.

I have bought quite a bit of sock yarn this year, trying to get to the 12 pair in fingering weight (required for Box o’ Sox entries), but I also have some merino wool left over from Blessing’s sweater, Fishermen’s Wool left over from my cousin’s sweater, and some sport weight that I bought when I first started knitting and had no idea what I was buying.

Sport weight yarn for a hat and fingerless mitts

The thing that set me off on my next adventure was a prize that I won from Amber for all my sweaters last year! I submitted my 5 sweaters in her Rhinebeck sweater KAL, and she drew my number for a prize around Christmas, so I won a beautiful skein of Fire Opal Fibers fingering weight variegated yarn, and the day it arrived in the mail, I knew I needed to find something to go with it. It is too pretty for socks! So I went to the local yarn shop and found 2 skeins that match it perfectly. Now all I need is the perfect pattern, which I think I’ve found. I already bought it, when it was first released and on sale, and it looks interesting and beautiful. I’m excited to try it with my new yarns!

Cascade Silk (gray); Fire Opal Fibers (variegated); Cascade Heritage (purple)

I also decided that, like the wonderful podcasters, I deserved to try some beautiful hand-dyed indie yarns, so I have purchased several skeins recently from Hedgehog Fibres, Sweet Georgia yarns, and Lolodidit. They are all sock weight, but I don’t know if I’ll make socks or a sock weight hat out of them. I know the lolodidit yarns will be socks. I bought a matching mini skein to make heels with, that matches both skeins. One skein will be my Christmas socks this year (I plan to have them completed around Thanksgiving), and the other is sparkly! The Sweet Georgia is so pretty, and colors I wouldn’t normally have bought for myself, but if they’re in a sock, it won’t matter what I’m wearing with them too much. The Hedgehog Fibres is probably going to be a hat, but I don’t know for sure. It’ll make beautiful socks too.

Hedgehog Fibres (left); Sweet Georgia (right)

Lolodidit: Hippo for Christmas, Lucky mini, What I Want (sparkle!)

I am itching to knit myself a sweater, and one of the Hey Sister podcasts highlighted this beautiful Malabrigo Rios yarn in a deep red, perfect for fall. I have a top that I think looks very good on me in a similar color, so I thought that a sweater made out of this would be perfect. I bought 8 skeins on sale, and I finally found the perfect pattern, based closely on a sweater I have that I absolutely love, which I have outgrown. I am hoping I can knit it in a smaller size, but I have enough yarn to make the largest size. I would love to make a matching hat or fingerless mitts out of any leftovers.

Malabrigo Rios in Cumparsita

I follow Madeline Tosh on instagram, and a couple of weeks ago, she was posting some of her new colors. This one caught my eye, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it! I immediately added it to my cart, then proceeded to look and wait for several more days before I finally bought it. I also found a sale on some Tosh Mohair yarn, and it was less expensive than some of the other yarns, so I bought a sweater’s quantity of it and am planning to knit this cardigan this fall. The mini skein is just a beautiful color I couldn’t justify buying a whole skein of, but loved.

Last but not least, I was looking into Brooklyn Tweed, per the Hey Sister podcast’s recommendation. I found that a yarn store about an hour away carries it, so instead of ordering it and possibly not liking it, I drove out there this week to feel it and see it in person. The owner was a very sweet lady and was very gracious about the raucous 3 little people I trapped in a car for an hour and dragged around a yarn store.

Let me start by saying Brooklyn Tweed is not at all what I expected. I have felt worsted wool before (Fishermen’s Wool is a perfect example), but this yarn felt light as air. I literally felt like I was holding nothing when I picked up a full skein of it. It is not as soft as I had hoped, but the lightness of it makes up for that. I was originally looking for a purplish color (seems to be my color lately), but after seeing it in person, I fell in love with two darker colors, and with the help of my little people, I picked this darker color that I will definitely be making a hat with. I can’t wait to try it on, it’ll be so light! The process is called woolen spun, which means that it has more loft to it, and stays warmer.

After finding the Brooklyn Tweed, I asked her what the softest yarn she’s ever worked with was, and she pointed me in the direction of this a.m.a.z.i.n.g. yarn. It is truly the softest fiber I’ve ever touched. It’s called Road to China from the Fibre Co. and it’s made from alpaca, silk, camel, and cashmere, and I believe it was spun by angels. I can’t even begin to describe how much I enjoy it. I bought 5 different colors (and would have bought more!) but I thought I should be able to make a shawl with that much and wear it close to my face all the time. I think I will take my time knitting this and will wear it every chance I have. It is just gorgeous! It will also be the most expensive article of clothing I own...

Blessing kept picking up green skeins of yarn, so I looked for some more affordable yarn to make him a hat with, and I found this chunky soft alpaca in green, red, and blue. I figured I could either make all 3 boys hats, or make sweaters for the Chipmunks! It is soft as well, although nothing will ever compare to the Road to China yarn.

While I was there, I figured I would ask her about every interesting project I could think of, and one that has been on my mind for a while is thrummed mittens. I need roving (unspun wool) and worsted wool, so I asked her to direct me. I found a beautiful purple (again!) and green, and found coordinating Cascade 220 worsted heathers to knit with. I thought all of these colors would go together great, and my hubby is probably going to claim the purple pair, but I’ll put some accent colors with the green in as well, so they look like a set.

I needed to spend a certain amount to get a discount on my purchase, and I was very close, so I decided to either buy another sweater’s quantity and make it to the highest level, or just get a couple more skeins and make something smaller, so I went to the clearance section and picked out some beautiful lavender (of course) cashmere. I don’t know what I’ll make with it yet (maybe a cowl, since I’ll be wearing the world’s softest shawl all the time!), but it is very soft as well. I felt very preppy buying cashmere, something I never would have dreamed of when I started knitting.

One of the most fun things I bought recently is a set of cotton yarns from Hobby Lobby to make a sock monkey. I love making stuffed animals for my kids, and they love carting them around, and the idea of a sock monkey intrigues me. It has a pattern on the label, so all I need to do is knit the socks and go from there.

I bought a kit from Craftsy around this time last year (along with many other yarns) for a crochet bear, and finally got around to making it over Christmas. I had most of the pieces complete and just needed to stuff and sew it, so of course I procrastinated on all that. I did finally bite the bullet, and I’m so pleased with the results. It is soft, snuggly, and just the right size for my little Blessing to cart around on his shoulder. Instead of crocheting the little sweater, I decided it was faster to knit and be done with it. I should still pick up some stitches around the bottom and knit some ribbing, but it works the way it is. I also want to redo the muzzle, as the ends are poking out already, but it is functional and the little people aren’t complaining. Seeing how they treat their stuffed animals makes me want to knit them more, and in fact, besides the sock monkey, I have a few other animals in the queue for them.

A few days late for Christmas this past year, I finished a knitted Christmas ball for our tree. I then completed one for this year (I knit the year on each one), and started on gifts for family. I hope to make them for all the family every year. They're very easy and fun, and quick! I will use up the colors I have and maybe do green or blue or other colors in subsequent years.

I also had an opportunity to gift a set that I made several years ago with some beautiful acrylic yarn I liked. I made the scarf, loved the colors, made a matching hat, and had enough of the yarn to make something else, but not enough to finish it. I ordered an additional skein from someone on Etsy, and was able to finish the fingerless gloves. I gave this set to my aunt for her birthday in January, and she has told me so many times how much she loves wearing them all! I was glad to find a good home for something that I wasn't sure I needed to keep. 

I think that covers all of my recent purchases. I have so much to work on and so much in my possession right now. I am pretty sure I have enough yarn to last me at least the next 2 years, so I made a vow to my hubby that I would not buy more yarn for 2 more years, unless it is for a specific event or Etsy orders.

Speaking of Etsy, I also made a Viking hat and beard this month. I will be posting more updates about my shop in the coming months, so be on the lookout! A couple of changes and a special are coming up!

That is a lot of yarn, a lot of yarn photos, and very little knitting/crocheting to show, but thank you for reading to here if you have. I have three other projects on hiatus right now, 2 blankets and a set of slippers that I might talk about occasionally, but there is not a lot to speak of right now on them. I will post more often, as I am all caught up now and just need to update with new projects and progress on the ones mentioned above.

Until then, happy crafting!

Quick update

Exciting times in my life right now, I just have so many projects going, I don't have time to take photos or write about them all. I am part of many knit-alongs (KAL's), and trying to keep up with all of those has kept me very busy lately.

I am participating in a year-long dishcloth challenge (I am working on 1 a week, generally), I did a shawl make-along (completed, but ends not woven in), and I have so much yarn I'm saving for sweater-making this fall. If last year was the "Year of Doing," this year is the "Year of Buying." I've purchased (and won!) my first skeins of hand-dyed yarn, indie-dyed yarn, and all of it is wool! I never thought I would let myself spend that kind of money on yarn, but I've let the envy bug get the best of me. Now I have far more yarn than I could ever use in a reasonable amount of time, so I need to stop buying again.

Here is just a taste of all the projects I need to work on in most of my crafts (i.e., supplies I have that I need to use!):

Cricut:

Farra gift-needs vinyl

Cheryl gift-needs vinyl

Cathy gift-needs painting, vinyl

shirts

pillows x 9

Tote bags

boys' room decor

birthday/anniversary cards

Hall family tree

Tags for Etsy

Sewing:

pillows x 9

outdoor curtains

tumbling block quilt

5 quilt placemats

DPN cozies

DPN roll

project bags

straight needles case

Aprons 

Seat for mud area

Glasses case

Knit dress

Knit top in aqua

Knit top in purple

Knit dress in purple

Yarn:

socks x 15

sock monkey

Striped cat x 2

Striped bunny

beards x 5

dishcloths x 30

Christmas towels

felted slippers

bento box quilt

Christmas balls x 4

Jodi shawl-weave ends and block

So Faded cardigan sweater

Malabrigo sweater

Joji cardigan sweater

Melanie Berg cardigan sweater

Sophie's universe blanket

Sky blanket

Dish scrubbies 

Quarter keepers 

Christmas dish towels-toweling with crochet tops

Update spreadsheet

Pom Pom gloves x 2

Fox paws x 2-kit, palette

Fair isle fingerless mitts

Sheep hat

Genie cowl

Hippo

Mandala 12-point star blanket

Christmas light garland

Hats

Capelet (boucle)

Gator hat

Crazy Christmas hats for Festival x 3

Hopefully, I'll get to make a decent dent in these lists this year. I'll try to post things as I complete them, and do another update soon with photos of the things I've finished lately. Until then, check out my Etsy shop and the new School Spirit items. 

Happy crafting!

2017: Year-in-Review

Obviously, I've not kept up as well as I'd like this year, but considering how the year started out, and how I felt after the sudden death of my father, I'd say I did fairly well on the creating aspect of my life. Unfortunately, I suffered from a pretty deep depression last winter and spring, and it took months to start breaking the ice. I am still pretty reclusive, I still feel anger and anxiety nearly every day, and I've put on a lot of weight since having Blessing, that I just can't seem to shake. I'm really hoping that having passed the first anniversary of losing him will help to keep the blues at bay and get through this winter without too much trouble.

I hate to start on a downer, but that really has a lot to do with how much I accomplished this year. The first few months of the year, I spent days in front of the computer, constantly trying to take my mind off things. I discovered Staci at Very Pink Knits, and immersed myself in tutorials and new projects. I shopped for "fancy" (wool) yarns and tried a few new things I'd been too scared to before. I made my first sweater, a little person vest for Blessing. I had to sew it together, which took forever (weaving in ends took even longer!), but it is all but done. I still have to block it, which I'm waiting to finish the pair of socks I'm on to block all my wools, but he can wear it, although it's still a little large for him. I felt good about that sweater, so I tried my hand at top-down raglan sweaters and completed 4 of those.

As I mentioned in my last post, I finished the blanket I started in August to send to SC for a housewarming. I also finished the C2C blanket earlier this year, and started on my Mandala quilt. That one will hopefully get some time next year, but for now, I've got one block completed and 7 more with a good start (out of 16).

Sweaters, socks, and the largest blanket I've ever made are just the beginning. I also passed the 50 orders (hooray!!) milestone on my Etsy shop. Here is an exhaustive list of all the yarn projects I made this year:

2017 Finished products:

Knit Marissa messy bun hat-leftover Vanna's Choice

Crochet Eric train conductor hat-dark blue cotton

Crochet bow ties x 4-Red heart bits

Knit hair bow-leftover bits

Crochet Cheryl black hat w/ red/tan flower-bought all 3 colors

Crochet pink elephant for baby shower-RH pink

Crochet brown beard with leftover RH/ILTY balls for Etsy

Crochet light brown beard-leftover ILTY for Etsy

Crochet light brown beard-purchased ILTY for Etsy

Crochet C2C blanket in Cherry Twist-purchased 7 skeins

Knit Blessing sweater-Sue baby yarns

Knit Blessing merino wool sweater-purchased Cleckheaton

Knit girl sweater-Sue baby yarns

Crochet monster truck hat for Peyton-leftover Simply Soft

Crochet elephant for Blessing-denim twist leftovers

Crochet light gray Viking hat w/ black beard for Etsy-leftovers w/ new white

Crochet teal shawl-purchased Yarn Bee sugarwheel

Knit teal/purple/brown RH socks-purchased sock yarn & reinforcement thread

Crochet cow hat x 3-leftover white, black, and light brown ILTY

Crochet monster hat-leftover RH orange, teal, white, black

Crochet red beard-purchased ILTY terra cotta

Crochet brown beard-purchased ILTY brown

Crochet yellow beard-leftover ILTY yellow

Knit pink/teal/navy cloudborn socks w/ aqua heel-purchased colored and aqua

Crochet baby viking hat in blue-Caron blue pound from Grandma

Crochet child viking hat in blue-Caron blue pound from Grandma

Crochet adult viking hat in blue-Caron blue pound from Grandma

Crochet child beard-purchased ILTY yellow

Crochet child braids-purchased ILTY yellow

Crochet adult viking hat-purchased gray ILTY

Crochet adult viking hat w/sand horns-leftover ILTY

Crochet brown beard-leftover ILTY

Crochet dark brown beard-purchased ILTY

Crochet dragon shawl-Centaur Mandala

Crochet purple viking hat-ILTY purple, scraps

Crochet purple XL viking hat-ILTY purple, scraps

Knit Bl'aig green sweater-Sue baby yarns, purchased green

Knit L'aig blue sweater-Sue baby yarns, purchased all colors

Crochet Susan beach blanket-purchased ILTY-9 1/2 skeins

Don't know if you're counting, but there were also 10 beards and 7 viking hats nestled in there! That's 41 completed yarn projects, and I'm still working on a couple. And this doesn't even take into consideration all the quiet books, quilting (even though I didn't get too far, I still started one), and the Soft I made Blessing. I still have grand plans for quilting 6 placemats, making my own knitting project bags and DPN holders, and even a DPN roll, but I'll have to dust off the sewing machine and get really comfortable with it before then. I need to lose a ton of weight (well, not literally a ton, but a LOT), and I'd like to look into making some dresses and skirts in my new size.

I have pledged to my hubby that I will not buy more yarn (except for Etsy orders) until I have used up at least half my stash. With my Mandala craze earlier this year, I have enough yarn to make many, MANY projects without even setting foot in a retailer (or online; no more shopping!). I have sock yarn to use up, an intricate lacy shawl's worth of yarn, plenty to make lots of stuffed animals with (and some super-cute patterns to try out!), a beautiful and difficult scarf pattern to try, some Fair Isle patterns to work on, mittens, hats, and numerous novelty items to make. I'm pretty excited, and I can't wait to share them with you, as they come up. 

I also have so much Cricut material to use, gifts to make, and felt to cut. I still want to make fun felt board Montessori-inspired manipulatives for the kids to play with, and I just need to do it. As a preview, here's a list of some of the items you'll hopefully be seeing in the near future:

Knit teal/stripe short socks

Knit hubby gray/red socks

Knit 2017 Patterson Christmas ball ornament

Crochet dish scrubbies for gifts

Crochet NICU octopus

Crochet sky blanket

Knit wool slippers

Knit stuffed cat x 2

Knit Blessing dog

Knit fox paws scarf

Crochet bear

Knit bento box quilt

Knit hippo

Crochet ugly square

I'm sure some other items will sneak in there before these are finished, but the great thing is, I have all the yarn to make every single one of these projects! I think that's a good thing...

Anyway, until next time, merry Christmas and happy New Year! God bless you in 2018 even more than 2017.

Blankets, and socks, and sweaters, oh my!

It is never my intention to go months without updating, let alone 6 months, but that is what happened this year. I have been keeping busy with my crafting (well, crocheting mostly), but I haven't done a great job of keeping up my blog along the way. I have taken loads of photos of everything, and even kept a detailed list of all the projects I completed this year!

I'll start with the last thing I finished, a very time-consuming project that has kept me busy for months! This summer, we were blessed to get to go see my aunt and uncle in South Carolina, and they have always lived near water. Either the ocean, a huge pond on their ranch, swimming pools in their backyards, lakes that are actually drained in the winter, or Lake Murray, where they currently live, and have just finished building a beautiful new home. They have always been very generous people and let us stay with them, borrow their vehicles, provide everything we need for our stay, and never ask for anything in return. They always send gifts for my children's birthdays and Christmas, when we don't really do that for the rest of the family.

I found a project on Ravelry this summer while we were visiting them that inspired me, and I knew as soon as I saw it that I needed to make a similar project and gift it to my relatives. It is based on Planet June's Turtle Beach blanket, and I used colors I found from Hobby Lobby. When I picked them out, I had the "sand" colors in the reverse order, so it looked differently than the final project turned out. I am not completely satisfied with how the sand turned out, but it's too late to take it out, as it has to go on an airplane with my mom in a few days. I really like how crocheting through the back loop (for the whole blanket!) gives the ripple effect more definition, and I think it really adds to the project.

My gauge must have been completely off, because I was planning to make it 52" x 60", and it turned out to be 46" x 75". I also had over 4 skeins of yarn leftover, so my math must have been off as well. At least I use Hobby Lobby yarn a lot, so it won't go to waste!

This blanket is what I've been working on since the beginning of August, to the exclusion of nearly everything else. I started a baby blanket just before then using some of the Mandala yarn in Phoenix and a no-pill yarn from Hobby Lobby. I've only been able to get about a third of it finished (I think?), so I'll be working on it more after my next projects.

I am currently working on a pair of socks (yes, socks!) that will probably have to be a gift for my sister-in-law, that I plan to finish up in the next week or so. I have limited yarn leftover to finish them from another pair of socks, so I don't think I'll be able to make socks big enough for my feet. These will be the 3rd pair of socks I've made since I wrote last! I'm following a sock knit-along with the Yarn Hoarder lady on Youtube, so I decided to try my hand at knitting socks. I don't mind it too much, I just don't think I can make the exact same pair over and over like some people. I've tried 3 different things with each pair: a German short row heel, an afterthought heel, and currently, just a short row heel with a pattern on top, and I have enjoyed each pair. I still don't think I can allow myself to spend upwards of $30 on yarn for socks, but I think the novelty of pretty yarns for socks is an interesting notion.

Here is the 1st pair (technically, the 2nd pair I've ever made):

Red Heart sock yarn, German short row heel

Here's the 2nd pair:

Cloudborn sock yarn, afterthought heel

The current pair I'm working on is with the Cloudborn yarn, with the aqua as the main color and the stripes for the toe and heels (hopefully). If I run out, I'll figure out something else to do with the yarn, but it was too much to just put into my ugly square.

Other than the projects listed above, I've been involved in a craft fair at my alma mater, so I made viking hats, braids, and beards in infant, child, and adult sizes using my school colors (blue and gold). They were a lot of fun to wear to our Homecoming football game (we were even on the local news!), and have gotten a lot of traffic on my Etsy site. I am putting them out as "team spirit" products, and they can be made in any school's colors. I have my Etsy shop on vacation until after the holidays, but they'll be available after that for any team.

I have been busy the last 6 months, finishing up large projects and starting new ones. I finished all of the boys' striped sweaters during that time. I'll include photos of these at the bottom. I also planned 2 birthday parties, 2 vacations, reffed a LOT of volleyball matches, and joined the local symphony chorus. Blessing is walking, so he keeps me busy during the day, and we volunteer at our church a couple of times a month. We are planning a large Christmas party this month, and I still take the boys to see my grandparents at least once a week. My grandpa passed away early in October, so we are very eager to spend as much time as possible with Grandma.

I hope to keep updating more often, especially after the holidays. I will post a year-in-review shortly to go over all the things I was able to complete this year, which is great for me to see. A lot of times I feel like I can't get anything done, but then I check that list and see that I've done a lot more than I realize. Until then, happy crafting and merry Christmas if I don't get to post before then.

DK sweater for Bl'aig

DK sweater for L'aig

DK cardigan for Blessing

Lately

I've been busy knitting so many things lately, I haven't taken the time to take proper photos. I have been working on the sweaters for the boys, plus a blanket, making beards like crazy, weaving in ends on projects I've had off the hooks forever, and making gifts with the Cricut.

The boys' sweaters are finally coming along nicely. I finished weaving in all the ends on little Blessing's brown cardigan this week, although I still need to sew on the 5 buttons. Once I get that finished, I'll take a pic to post. The blue striped pullover now has 1 sleeve finished (as of yesterday!), and I'm about ready to finish the second sleeve soon. I still have ends to weave on that one. I also started a green sweater in the same style, using the same colors as the brown one. I'm about two-thirds done with the body, and will post photos as it gets closer to finished.

I found a home for the little purple striped sweater and wove in all the ends on it. My best friend had a little girl in March, so I gave it to her as a gift this weekend when she was in town from Tennessee. It will look great on this little cutie this winter!

I wove in the ends on my big maroon crochet C2C blanket today and let the boys finally lay under it during movie night tonight. They love how soft, large, and warm it is. They didn't say so, but the hubby spoke for them.

I have made 2 more dwarf beards since I wrote last, both in a color I had not done before. I took photos of my handsome hubby in it, so I would have a photo of a male wearing my beards with no helmet of any kind.

Beard in light brown Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn

Surprise! I have a beard!

In character

Side shot; it's not too small, he just has a very large head...

My hubby has always worn glasses and rarely has an opportunity to see himself without them (unless he's 4 inches from the mirror), so he was pleased to see himself in a photo without his favorite accessory.

I also made some projects with the Cricut for Mothers' Day, but had some technical difficulties, so I haven't yet had an opportunity to give the mothers their belated gifts. I will be doing that soon, so I can share some of the fun things I've been doing with that piece of equipment. I have a lot of iron-on and a lot of the regular vinyl, so I will be on the lookout for opportunities to use both of those for gifts and for around the house in the coming months and years.

One of the last things I've been working on is a beautiful knitted quilt, by Very Pink Knits. I am making it with Lion Brand Mandala yarn. Yes, I have hopped on the Mandala bandwagon and I've fallen completely down the rabbit hole. I fell in love with this yarn after I saw this cowl on Pinterest:

I found out it was unavailable ("Out of Stock" on LionBrand.com) online and only available in certain WalMarts, so I tried to look on Ebay, but it was quite pricey there. I don't live near any of the WalMarts on their map, but I realized that my mom was visiting her sister in South Carolina, and they had it there! I begged her to pick up some for me in the above color, as well as two others. She sent home a huge box of 15 cakes for me! Then, a couple of weeks later, we were visiting family in Springfield, Missouri, and the yarn was at a WalMart just over the Arkansas state line, so I begged the hubby to go there with me, and I was able to get my hands on all the other colors (there are 16 total). So now I have more yarn than I will ever be able to use for a long time, but it's unique and a little hard to get a hold of.

I am using one of the colors (Wood Nymph) to make the quilt. I have one block (out of 16) done, and the small squares for 8 more completed.

The pattern calls for bulky weight yarn and the Mandala is DK, so I just made the first squares to the correct measurements instead of following the number of rows. I ended up with 23 garter rows, or 46 stitches, after the first squares were finished. The other 8 blocks will have the cream in the center and the outside, with the purples in the middle section. I can't wait to see it put together!

I am feeling a bit dizzy, probably from staring at the computer screen all night instead of knitting, so I should wrap this up. Hope you are having fun with your projects!