YoP 2014-15 List (a week late)

So my list is getting posted a week late but....
I didn't take part in last year's YoP but I'm back for 2014-15! We're expecting our second little girl in September so here's the rundown of what I hope to accomplish over the next year (starting July 1, 2014) as I adjust to stay at home life with two girls :)

1. Continue knitting at least ONE pair of socks per month

2. Make at least FIVE things off my current Ravelry queue (items 1-120) and try not to add to my queue more!

3. Make at least FIVE things from one of the many knitting/crocheting books I own that I haven't had a chance to go through yet.

4. Finish at least TWO of my current larger wips.

5. Make both girls Christmas stockings this year (and hopefully finish ones for my husband and I as well)

My goal for July though is to finish up a TON of baby gifts I have to make for friends! Most have to be done by August 1st because that's when the Mom's group that I'm a part of is having a baby shower for several us that are expecting! Here's THAT list! If you're a fan of FreshStitches, you'll be a fan of this list ;)

1. Stretch the Giraffe
2. Vera the Ladybug
3. Kepler the Lion
4. M. Richard the Whale
5. Jonathan the Bumblebee
6. Nelson the Owl

Just a short and sweet update of my list this week! I'll have plenty of finished baby gifts to show off next week! :)

FO Friday 2/1/13

Three FO's to show off this week! Keeping it simple with just showing off pictures so that the little one and I can go enjoy the small bit of snow on the ground this morning before it melts. And then I can catch up on everyone else's blogs too!!

Acorn doll blanket

Take it or Leaf it Cowl

V-Stitch Fingerless Mitts

WiP Wednesday 1/30/13

Started two of my projects from last week that I had in the works. First up, I started a pair of v-stitch fingerless mitts in my Tiny Dino worsted. Had planned to do the Spring Semester cowl but after looking into it more, I changed my mind. This is one of my favorite quick crocheted fingerless mitt patterns to do! it's a long rainy day here so they may very well be done in time for Friday's post! The picture below is what I whipped up quickly last night before bed. All the way to the thumb hole :)

Next up...I started Petunia the Patio Monster last night. Fingers crossed that I don't have to start over on smaller needles but I need to get a few more rows in to see or not. I'm using some Patons Grace that I had in stash. (If all goes well, 2013 will be ALL stash and no new).

I already have a few things lined up to share on FO Friday so don't forget to come back and check them out!

FO Friday: 8/31

Figured I haven't posted some FO's that were non-Year of Projects related in awhile so here they are!

I've been on a bead crochet kick lately so we'll start off will a few bracelets first (and you can ignore the ugly shadow in the first picture lol)

Beaded Ripples bracelet designed by Lisa Gentry

Beaded Band Lace Bracelet by BethToddCreatz

This is such an easy, quick little square with nothing complicated about it but has a great look!

BLO 6" Square by Anastacia Knits Designs

Ignore my ugly join up top, I need to make a few more of these in cotton. All I had readily available was worsted weight which still looks nice but the cotton would give it a nicer look (which is what the pattern calls for)

Linked Bullions Coaster designed by Donna Kay Lacey

Tumbling Diamonds 12" Square designed by Anastacia Knits Designs

Tumbling Diamonds 6" Square designed by Anastacia Knits Designs

Kitty Kat Kanoodler Blankie designed by Lisa Gentry

The Amy Cowl designed by Kelly Menzies

FO Friday 4/27/12

The bad news is that I've been way way behind in participating in FO Fridays. The good news is that I have a few to share! (And a few stashed for future weeks just in case haha)

To start, I made a Shimmer Lace Scarf

Probably a new favorite pattern of mine as it's super quick, could easily be made in a variety of yarns to suit various seasons and it's easy! To match, I made up some v-stitch mitts:

Once again, new favorite pattern and very cute to wear!

Also did a few squares for the month of April! If this isn't bright colors, I don't know what is!

This one I just LOVE. It was a mystery square in a Ravelry group I'm in and the pattern is currently no longer available but I adore it so much!

Think that's about it for this week. Just a few small things to share! :)

One A Day Tuesday Tallies #3

Time for this week's progress on the granny ripple blanket! Got another 10 rows done (one repeat of each color) so I'm still right on track for this project!

I'm awarding myself worst picture of the week as it was hastily taken this morning (as in 5 min ago) when I remembered it was Tuesday and time for an update! Note the random baby toy in the bottom right, the miscellaneous water bottle next to it as well as the lovely pile of clutter on the couch...oops?

So with that...onward to this week's 10 rows as I chase the little one more since she's likely weeks from crawling, yikes!

WiP Wednesday #3

Despite the usual progress on the usual projects, I wanted to share something different this week as to not be so boring with the somewhat repetitive pictures showing that I've done x amount more rows on the same ol' thing! So...

I found some Lion Brand Homespun odd skeins in my stash that happened to happily coordinate with each other. I'm finishing up the project today and will have it up for FO Fridays but wanted to give you a sneak peek of some of its awesomeness. I will say, no wonder this Homespum was in my stash for so long. It's nice and soft but man do I somewhat hate crocheting with it. It slows down my progress just a short bit.

Don't forget to click on the link at the top of the post for more WiP Wednesday!

My first WIP Wednesday post

Thought since I read everyone's WIP Wednesday posts on Rav, I'd finally join in!

In all technicality I have 8 WIPs going right now and haven't done so bad working on 50% of them the past week! Might as well go down the line...here goes...

Even though it's not much yet, I'm excited for the outcome of this one so I'll start out with the Peacock Shawlette I cast on tonight. I'm normally not much for knitting for long periods of time but somehow this one has sucked me in today and I'm addicted!

I thought I'd be disappointed making a peacock shawlette out of something not so much peacock colors but I'm quite fond of this color combo so we'll keep the fingers crossed! I'm only about four rows in and like I said, doesn't look like much yet but let's just mention it's an accomplishment for two reasons: a) I've managed to keep the CORRECT number of stitches each row and b) I haven't thrown it across the room yet!

I also have my Tunisian tee still going for the CrochetMe CAL. The goal is to have the second base triangle done by Halloween so that'll be my priority this weekend! Here's the first base triangle complete. Excuse the curling in the top corner, it'll work itself out once blocked, finished, etc. I'm making the tee a little thicker so right now it curls more.

I'm also 50% complete with a set of mitts I started. I love the color and the fit of these and finishing the second one should take no time at all!

Now for the big project: my Dusty Snowflake throw for the Red Heart CAL. The goal was to get another row of snowflakes done which I kind of did but didn't meet. I completely forgot I needed to add filler snowflakes in so I added those and then started doing up the second row of seven snowflakes. Each one is just shy of one complete round and a joining round so really a short bit of time and that second row will be done. If I can somehow manage to do it in the next day or so and be ready to start the third row this weekend, I'll be even happier!

That's what's on my hooks and needles this week. I did manage to finish something so I'll even have a quick post on Friday as well, Yay!

Crochet in the news

My mom called me today to share that the local paper ran the following article today:

Homeless Pair Knit, Smoke, Find Serenity Outside Union Station

It's really a great article to read about this lady and her daughter, both currently homeless who spend many of their days between stays at local shelters greeting and chatting up local commuters. I glanced at the first few comments on the article and quickly refused to read many more because well, you guessed it, DC area people felt the need to judge just because they are homeless however, a few did point out the positives in what these ladies do.

• They do commissions for locals. People give them yarn, they knit it up and make some extra cash.
• Knitting (and crocheting) are very much stress relievers and nothing is more stressful than being homeless, having practically nothing and not knowing what the next day, or even the current day, holds.
• Many studies have shown that the best way to avoid depression is to force yourself to have positive interactions with people. Isn't that what they're doing? People who are willing to engage in conversation back with them are bound to have a positive influence.

I know businesses need start up money but man do I wish these ladies would know what kind of money they could make selling knit/crocheted items to those busy commuters. People around here are so obsessed with money and "things" that they could sell about anything for twice what it would normally be priced at a craft fair. With both women hoping to apply for disability because they are unable to do other jobs due to health concerns, a craft business would be right up their alley!

In other news for the day, I have to say most of my progress in the past few days has been made on the baby gift that I can't quite share just yet! It's 50% done and I hope to share the pictures of it after the recipient has received it soon :).

Everything else:

• Snowflake Throw: 3 motifs done just yesterday so I'm ahead on that
• Tunisian Tee: I need mucho concentration time so that's a "when the hubby is taking care of the baby" project, no true progress there
• Ropes & Ladders Scarf: Nada
• Knook Leaf Table Runner: Completed my third leaf this morning
• Knook Scarf: Had to start over because I attempted to work on this while taking care of the little one and it didn't quite work. I counted wrong, accidently skipped a wrong stitch, went to drop the stitches to create the open lines on it and ooopss, a giant hole appeared and it was beyond fixable besides a total restart
• Vortex Baby Throw: This is a slow progressing project and by the end of the week I should only have the corners left to complete on the second square
• Convertible Crochet: Not sure I mentioned I was working on this one. I'm doing it in Red Heart Shimmer in Lime. Will post pictures of my motifs tomorrow, it's one of those motifs that you absolutely have to block first in order to get a decent picture.
• Dare I say I'm most likely taking on another cardigan in addition to all of the above? O:) I told you I'm a sucker for CALs and I can't turn down one that I have the yarn for! The Chevron Lace Cardigan

Sorry for lack of pictures this post, I'll make up for it by blogging two days in a row ;) so expect plenty of pictures tomorrow! I'm also going stash diving because I'm curious as to the color combos I have so yes, plenty of pictures to come!

We all have to start somewhere

Yes, I currently have a default blog style from Blogger.
Yes, this is currently my only blog post.

But you have to start somewhere, right?

I used to be the owner/frequent updater of a Livejournal back in the days of high school when blogging wasn't as popular and having an "LJ" meant you ranted about your high school drama and your friends commented in support. Thank goodness those days are now defunct.

Blogs today are so fun to read and I wanted back in on the action. My husband and I have our own travel blog that we love to update when we take great hikes/trips but I wanted my OWN space. One to share my adventures in crafting, one to discuss projects with others.

Enough about intros, lets get to the point (or is it the hook?) or both? I've got an abundance of wips, things on the to do list and upcoming CALs that start soon!

I decided to go up to my stash and see what I had to work with. I've got my three bins: (1) yarn designated for a project (2) yarn scraps (including random 1/2 skeins, etc.) and (3) full skeins of yarn I own that are essentially homeless (they have no designated project). I figure once I get a few followers on here, we're going to play "Let's help Nicole clear her stash" in the form of me showing you a picture of a skein of yarn I have and you tossing out ideas on how to cleverly use it.

The large bag of full skeins that are homeless:

The half skeins, odds and ends box:

The "I have a home and project, please knit or crochet me :)" :

Before that begins, I might as well do the run down of what I'm working on so I'm able to keep everyone up to speed on progress with the projects!

(1) Tie Front Top

(2) Ropes and Ladders Scarf

(3) Vortex (Part of a CAL in a Ravelry group I'm in)

Projects starting soon:
(1) Dusty Snowflake Throw (Red Heart's Fall CAL)
(2) Betty's Tunisian Tee (CrochetMe's latest CAL)
(3) Leafy Washcloth (CAL within another Rav group)
(4) Baby Gifts for a Friends (several different items for several different people but certainly I can't share them here in case until their finished and given to the recipient)
And then there's my Rav queue that contains 32 projects all using yarn I already have therefore making my current queue the official "stash-buster projects" but more on those later.

I'm excited to get back into the world of blogging and sharing my progress and reviews of various projects and patterns. I'm also excited to hear what you're working on and projects you'd recommend for me to review.

Feel free to say hello on Ravelry, don't be a stranger!
I know how it is to be a "lurker" on blogs/boards because I used to do it which is surprising since I don't shut up if you know me in person!