'Dry January'

It's now 18 days since my last Coke. My eyes have been trained to simply glide passed those little bottles and cans of loveliness.  The more Coke I drink, the more Coke I want to drink.  However, when I stop drinking it the desire dwindles.  

I have been wondering if the same might be true for crisps.  If I don't eat them will my desire decrease?  It seems there is some truth in it.  This month I'm concentrating on 'No Coke', but I've also had a week free from crisps.  Me thinks that next month I will make into a 'No Coke, No Crisps' month.

I've done this before, and the weight gently slid off me, little by little.  This new year feels like a good time to make one healthy change each month.

- - - - -

In other news, the first two projects of 2015 have been completed!  The first was a new small shawl for myself, and the second a hat for charity.  Last year many hats were made, and it was a great way to use up stash.  I don't know quite what happened, but my stash seems just as big this year.  Actually I do know what happened.  I bought yarn to replace it, and was given yarn as gifts.

This year is a Cold Sheep year.  I am not buying yarn.  Everything will be knitted from stash.  The only exception will be if I am commissioned to make an item.  They will need to provide me with the yarn.  

A Masculine Hat of Strenght and Power

Fiona's partner rather liked the hat, and when I asked if he might like one, the offer was readily accepted.  Instead of the girly pink and orange combination, I have gone for a more masculine orange and pink look.  :o)  The colours were at his request, but rather than making identical hat I opted for a set rather than a pair.

A Hat of Power and Strength

A hat for Fi to wear whilst marshalling.  It should enable her to stand out from the crowd.

Candy Stripe Socks

After the bright, bright pink socks, here's a toned down version - Candy Stripe Socks.

Sock it to April!

February had the hat-a-thon, and April has been designated 'sock month'.  April is also my elder daughter's birthday, and she has a love of hand knitted socks in bright colours, but with no pattern.

The leader of my choir always has cold feet, and last week I asked if she might like some woollen socks.  There was a resounding 'Yes'.  It just so happens that pink is her favourite colour, which is rather handy as it means I can use up the remains of the sock yarn from my daughter's socks.  One sock has been made, but I don't want to start the other one just yet.  S needs to try on the first sock to ensure it fits well before I start the second sock. I'm fine about ripping back one sock, but not two. :o)  

Borromean Cowl

Materials

3 colours of Double Knitting yarn, approximated 30-50g of each.

5mm circular needle.

Directions

Ring  1: Holding yarn A  double, cast on 100st, join. Knit 10 rows. Cast off. Weave in ends. 

Ring 2: As Ring 1 using a different colour of yarn (yarn B).

Ring 3: Holding yarn C double, cast on 100st. Do not join.

Arrange Ring 1 and Ring 2 as shown.

Weave the circular needle under Ring 1, over Ring 2, under Ring 1, and over Ring 2.  Join.  Knit 10 rows.  As you knit move Rings 1 and 2 out of the way.  Cast off, and weave in the ends.

Leftover socks

"Leftover socks" are socks made from leftover yarns.  These socks were made from the leftovers from turquoise and teal socks I made for my DM-wearing daughter.  Two balls of yarn is just enough to make three pairs of socks for her.

The joyous news is that my next two balls of yarn are pink and red.  This will great a gloriously awful combination. But, as I happen to love the daughter-child, I will not inflict this combination upon her.

Project 38

The Hat-a-thon has been completed!

The stash that was overwhelming me has been reduced.  Twenty six hats have been made!  

Behold, a photograph of 25 hats. 

The 26th one has already been sent to it's recipient.  (This is now the recipient.)  It has been given to a friend who works at the airport and de-ices planes. It is cold work. He asked me for a baklava to keep him warm. I explained that as I’m gluten-free, I don’t make baklava. He explained “I can’t say balaclava, so I’m asking for a baklava.” I hope he won’t be too disappointed when he gets a balaclava.

It is very warm, and looks perfect for robbing a bank. It might also be good for wearing at the airport on cold shifts. But I worry that there are strands of my hair knitted into the balaclava. He gets up to some crazy stuff.  Just in case, can you all be my character witnesses?

37 Projects completed - I'm now at 70% of my 52 in 52 challenge.

The second hat of the Hat-a-thon

And behold, the second hat of the Hat-a-thon.  It is a garter stitch, sideways hat with short row shaping.

And the Hat-a-thon has started!

In January, I was confronted by the size of my stash. It was overwhelming. I decided that something needed to be done about it.  And the Hat-a-thon Challenge was born.  A group of us are having a marathon of hat making in February.

A full marathon is 26 hats.  Others will be taking part in the half marathon, and there is a third group are taking part in the ‘relay.  

My hats will be going to a local charity called ‘Southern Befrienders’. Elderly people can ask to be paired up with volunteers who pop in to visit them, normally about once a week. Last Christmas, the elderly people all received gifts from the organisation. Many received hand knitted and crocheted items, things like hats, socks, gloves etc. They were greatly appreciated.

This is my first hat of the hat-a-thon, and my  12th project of the year.

 

I forgot to add my 11th project.  It is a needle holder for my circs.  Effectively it is a garter stitch scarf with a point, and D ring at one end, and a pocket for a needle sizer and measuring tape at the other end.  That is project 11.

A sea of yarn

Since the 15th of December I have finished 5 UFOs (UnFinished Objects). Some of them have been incredibly close to being finished, but something has happened that meant they were tossed into a work box and forgotten about. Whilst it is good to finish projects, the number of item that were almost, almost done makes me feel sad.  

I have realised that I have a blindness - I simply can not see the projects that have been started and are unfinished. As this is perceptual blindness, the solution is pretty simple - stop and register what is actually in front of my eyes. But I must admit, I am frightened by what I will find. The adapted solution is to look in one box and deal with that one box.  

There are a few different things that can happen to these UFOs.

1. Finish it

2. Frog it and donate the yarn

3. Frog it and return the yarn to my stash

Last night I found a UFO that was not mine! It was my daughter's. I'll chat with her today and see if she would like me to finish those slipper socks for her. It would mean one more UFO leaving my work box!

Christmas Pudding Hat

My first Christmas present for 2014 has been made!

This is my husband kneeling before me.  It was the only way I was tall enough to take  the photograph.  

Lace Spoon

52 in 52
8  Lace Spoon

My daughter is studying art and one of her assignments is based around spoons.  She commissioned me to crochet a spoon for her.  She will take the spoon, dip it in porcelain slip a few times and then fire it.  The cotton will burn away in the kiln leaving just the porcelain behind.  

52 in 52 for 2014

There is a challenge I have taken part in the last few years, making/finishing 52 items in 52 weeks.  There have been times when I have succeeded, and times when success has been elusive.  

This time thought, I decided to start at the beginning of my Christmas crafting rather than on the first of January.  

1  Mat for the Christmas tree

A friend gave us two cushions that almost, almost matched the colour of our sofas.  Sadly the almost match did not look good on the sofas, but as long as the cushions were in another part of the room they looked good.  It wasn't terribly practical, so I used the fabric to make a mat for the Christmas tree.  I didn't want the top of the chest being scratched by the base of the stand.  The mat was then edged in a cream fabric with small circles of red, gold and green.

2 and 3  Minion Hat 1 and 2

Hats for my elder daughter and her boyfriend.  One of them is delighted to have a Minion Hat.  The other is not terribly impresssed.

4  Square Hat

This is the hat my elder daughter really wanted.  It doesn't look much when lying flat, but when worn, it looks like there are cat ears.  

5  Penny's  Hat

Penny is a character from "The Big Bang Theory", and she has a hat just like this.  This hat made my younger daughter very happy.

6  Shaun the Sheep Shirt

There’s a family tradition of ‘interesting sleeves’ for shirts. The men in my family are all kilt-wearers, and the kilts get worn at formal events. The shirts look very formal when worn with a jacket, but when the jacket comes off, the silliness is revealed. My husband’s wing collar shirt has Winnie the Pooh sleeves.

I bought a shirt for my elder daughter’s boyfriend, and then unpicked the sleeves. These were used as a template and new sleeves were produced in ‘Shaun the Sheep’ fabric. The sleeves were stitched into the armholes and cuffs.

7  Denim and fleece quilt

top

This quilt is unusual in that it has no batting between the top and bottom layer, but with the weight of the denim and the warmth of the fleece it isn't required.  It is made by taking a square of demin and one of fleece and stitching around the square 2 cm in from the edge.  The squares and ten joined together with a 1.5cm seam allowance.  

The central panel was made from jeans supplied by J and family members. Cutting squares from jeans takes a considerable amount of time, and it was getting harder to find jeans to use.  Therefore I bought denim, and that was so much easier to use!  

The instructions said to fray the edges of the denim squares.  I found it best to do this before stitching.  It made the work progress well.

This is a warm, snuggly quilt, the same size as the duvet underneath.  It is the underside of the quilt that I like best.  It looks so much tidier!  No fuzzy, frayed edges.

underside

However this quilt has been made for a guy who is now almost totally blind. It is very tactile, and so snuggly.  I'm sure he will love it. (He does.)

Pjs and Skirt

Yesterday I make some new pjs bottoms and today it was a new skirt (which I am currently wearing.)

Item 25 is another Bee Sock.  

26. a Twisted Dozen sock

27. pjs bottoms

28. wrap skirt

Knitting ever onward

A little while ago I finished a single adult bee sock.  This didn't fit the intended recipient correctly.  Making the adaptations required, I have made another adult bee sock which has a much better fit.  Its pair will be made soon.

23.  an adult bee sock

Normally I would start the second sock immediately after the first one was finished, but a deadline was looming.  A friend asked me if I would make a prayer shawl for a friend of hers.  Normally, I wouldn't do this sort of thing, but because of the person who asked, I agreed.  

Knitting, crochet and many crafts consume a lot of hours of work.  This work can be done whilst on the bus, watching television, listening to an audio book and in the times when people are hanging around waiting.  But, it still takes a lot of hours.  For this reason, I only make things for people I like, and only things I know they will love

24. rainbow prayer shawl

A pattern for this shawl will appear shortly.

More items to add to the list

The total stands at 17 finished items.  And now it is time to add in a few more.

18 and 19 - a pair of Colinette socks
20 a Laxey tartan doorstop

21 a single adult bee sock
22 a single baby bee sock

The second baby bee sock is on the needles and will be finished tomorrow.  The adult bee sock will remain single for a little while.  They are being made for a friend, but this first sock didn't fit correctly.  I will need to make a different size, and then I'll come back to this one and make a friend for it.

23 and 24 a couple more drawstring bags.

Wow!  Almost half way through the challenge.  Hooray!  

Riotous Baby Blanket

My hands were bored, there was a crochet hook and a ball of yarn.  One thing led to another, and a baby blanket was made.

It is really weird.  I love almost all of the colours in this blanket, from the rich green into the blue,  purple and flowing through to the red.  But I don't like the golden yellow and hate the colour morphing between the yellow and green.  Sadly this means that I don't like the blanket.

But it is the 14th completed project and the 17th item.

Two more draw-string bags

I realised at 2.30pm that I hadn't done anything constructive with my day.  There has been pottering around, a bit of this, a bit of that, but nothing to physical to show.

My craft room has all sorts of bits in it, and I made a couple of little draw-string bag.  They were made simply because I could, but I had no idea what to do with them.  And then one started calling softly "I'm a gift bag, suitable for CDs." 

11.  Blue gift bag

12. Second blue gift bag

And the total is now up to 13 projects, 16 finished items, and we are at the beginning of week 16!  I am back on track!  Hooray!

A second thought on '52 in 52'

Time for a list.  Lists make me feel better.

1. Rubik's Cube
2. Wizard's false beard
3. Hereford Helices socks
4. Reverse stocking stitch socks
5. Teal cardigan
6. Purple and black socks
7. Autumnal striped socks
8. Rainbow sheep drawstring bag
9. Black drawstring bag
10. Rainbow hat

That's ten finished projects in 2013, but 14 finished items (there are two socks in a pair).  At the start of the year I very often count socks as '2' rather than 1 because it helps me feel further on.  Then later in the year when things are flowing, they revert back to 1.  :o)  

Using this logic, there are 14 finished items and 15 weeks have passed since the start of the year.  Perhaps things aren't as dire as they first appeared!