YoP again!

Not a very exciting week here at the leftycrafter's household.  I only managed to get one item completed this week.

Pretty pitiful, don't you think?  Here I was all gun-ho last week, completing 5 slippers.  What happened?  I really don't know.  I started on this slipper on Sunday after blogging.  I finished the first one  that day.  I didn't finish the second one until Friday night.

I have cast on another slipper, to knit this time.  Man, knitting takes so much longer than crochet does.  At least for me it does.  I have worked on it since Friday and am still not done with the first one.  I also tried to start on another crochet slipper but I really don't think I have the recipients foot length right.  She told me what size shoe she wears and then measured her foot and the two items do not jive.  So I think she just measured her foot while crossing her legs and not while standing on a ruler.  BIG DIFFERENCE!

I almost caved and bought yarn this week.  The slipper I am working on has a slight mistake in it.  I spaced out the part that when you do a solid stockinette stitch, you need to do a few rows of garter to keep it from rolling.  I remembered that little rule when I was over half way into it.  I KNOW!!!!  You would have thought I would have noticed earlier, but that is what happens when you are teaching yourself how to knit without turning your work.  I was so excited to learn that little technique that I didn't look at the progress I was making until it was too late.  So, I thought about it and decided that I would do a border of fun fur on it to make it extra special for an extra special little girl.  I DO NOT HAVE ANY FUN FUR IN MY STASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I am in a panic. Then the light bulb goes off............................I gave all of my fun fur to my DIL.  I am on the phone so quick..............................YIPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  She still has lots of fun fur and probably in colors that I can use.  Yup, no yarn bought...................And what I don't use will go back to her house. 

So that is all for this week.  

Here is a look at 'the list"

YoP 4 List

New items to do

Slippers

(These make the best Christmas gifts and my entire family said they need new ones)

6 PAIR COMPLETED, 5 MORE TO DO BEFORE CHRISTMAS

WIP's to complete

Log Cabin Blanket

(This has been in my WIP pile for about 3 years now.  It needs to leave it)

DIDN'T TOUCH IT THIS WEEK

One sock

(This also needs to be done for Christmas.  It's been lingering around for 6 months)

WORKED ON IT THIS WEEK

Yearly projects I do anyway

12 dishcloths 

( These also make such nice Christmas gifts and are quick and fun to do)

SIX COMPLETED 8/31/14

Socks

( I love doing them and can not say how many pairs I will complete but need to do some)

Things to increase my skills

2-3 test knits/crochet

(I have done a few of these over the past year and loved doing them.  They totally test my skills as a crafter and help me branch out into areas I would never ever think of going)

   

Personal Goal

Use only the yarn from my stash for all the above projects.

( I am truly going to try NOT to purchase any more yarn this year.  I have already gone 4 months without buying any yarn and I figure I can continue that trend for at least another 12 months.)

NO YARN BOUGHT AS OF 8/31/14

Take photos of ALL items when done.

(I have a habit of gifting items and never photographing them for my blog)

YUP, SO FAR AS OF 8/31/14

COMPLETED ITEMS

Lapghan for my mom

(I started on this on July 1st since this is when the official YoP 4 started)

FINISHED 7/6/14

2-3 Doll Clothes

(I really want to get this done this year......I really do)

ALL FINISHED BY 7/22/14

1 fingerless mitt

( This is for a Christmas gift this year so it WILL be done soon)

FINISHED 8/12/14

Happy Crafting!

YoP week 8

Two month into the YoP and things are looking promising this year. (for a change)  I have been really busy this week with crochet.

Five pair of slippers done....................well almost.  I still need to add decor to the front of them.  I was going to add pom poms but since there are kitties in the house where these are going, thought better of it.  So I will be looking for special buttons to represent each one's personalities.  I still have one more pair to make for this family and then they will be ready for Christmas.  I am using this pattern.

So lets see where I am at........................................again

YoP 4 List

New items to do

Slippers

(These make the best Christmas gifts and my entire family said they need new ones)

5 PAIR COMPLETED, 6 MORE TO DO BEFORE CHRISTMAS

WIP's to complete

Log Cabin Blanket

(This has been in my WIP pile for about 3 years now.  It needs to leave it)

DIDN'T TOUCH IT THIS WEEK

One sock

(This also needs to be done for Christmas.  It's been lingering around for 6 months)

WORKED ON IT THIS WEEK

Yearly projects I do anyway

12 dishcloths 

( These also make such nice Christmas gifts and are quick and fun to do)

SIX COMPLETED 8/24/14

Socks

( I love doing them and can not say how many pairs I will complete but need to do some)

Things to increase my skills

2-3 test knits/crochet

(I have done a few of these over the past year and loved doing them.  They totally test my skills as a crafter and help me branch out into areas I would never ever think of going)

   

Personal Goal

Use only the yarn from my stash for all the above projects.

( I am truly going to try NOT to purchase any more yarn this year.  I have already gone 4 months without buying any yarn and I figure I can continue that trend for at least another 12 months.)

NO YARN BOUGHT AS OF 8/24/14

Take photos of ALL items when done.

(I have a habit of gifting items and never photographing them for my blog)

YUP, SO FAR AS OF 8/24/14

COMPLETED ITEMS

Lapghan for my mom

(I started on this on July 1st since this is when the official YoP 4 started)

FINISHED 7/6/14

2-3 Doll Clothes

(I really want to get this done this year......I really do)

ALL FINISHED BY 7/22/14

1 fingerless mitt

( This is for a Christmas gift this year so it WILL be done soon)

FINISHED 8/12/14

Life is pretty much back to normal now.  It has been nice to get back into our normal routine.  I love family and having them for company.  But there is that little part of me that still loves 'my life' even more.

I got my hair cut this weekend and man is it SHORT!  I didn't realize how short it was until I went and tried to style it today.  HEEHEE  It is maybe 1-1.5 inches long at the most.  That means, I had 5 inches cut off.  But let me tell you...........................it is much cooler.  Seeing we are still in the 100's it was called for.  Hubby asked me what I was going to do when it got 'cold' outside.  I told him "I can knit and crochet and make hats and scarves and all sorts of stuff to keep me warm."  And you know what he did??????????????? HE ROLLED HIS EYES AT ME!!!!  Men!

OH...................I need to tell you something...................This not buying any yarn for a year is KILLING me.  I have seen some of the most wonderful yarn all over the place and I am soooooo tempted but then I think of all the stash I have at home and how it really needs to be made smaller.  I have been good............................so far.

Until next week

Happy Crafting!

YoP week 7

Week 7!  I can hardly believe that it has been almost 2 months since we started year 4.  I so enjoy this idea of a Year of Projects.  It as really helped to discipline me more with my crafting, blogging, photography and organization.

So what have I been up to this past week?

As I told you last week, my niece and her kiddos left on Tuesday.  Wednesday, my nephew came to town.  Gosh it was so good to catch up with all my brother's "children" and his grandchildren.  My heart is full with all the love that came through my doors these past two weeks. The house is back to just hubby and myself (and our dogs).  It sure is quiet around here.

Now, on the crafting front..............

TA-DA.......................I finished the second mitt

 and this is a photo of the entire set.  I think the recipient will be well pleased with it, don't you?

After that I got a hold of my son in Texas and asked him to give me the length of every one's feet there.  This was pretty funny, as he really HATES touching feet.  I have a feeling he will just hand everyone a ruler and tell them to do it themselves.  I want to get started on the slippers ASAP.  I figured it up and I have between 11-13 pairs to make this year.  Hopefully I can get them all done before 12/24/14.  So for the next few weeks, you will see lots of photos of slippers........well maybe.  As of yet, I have not received any measurements.  I am not worried about 3 people though....................my foot and theirs are the same size so that will be the ones I do first.

Otherwise, this week has seen me working on the never ending log cabin blanket.  It is such a nice mindless knit (as long as I keep track of how many rows I am doing)  I can watch TV, listen to conversations around me and even participate in them or totally zone out everything around me. I also managed to do a few rows on the 'second' sock that has been lingering for about 6 months now.  It was the perfect project to do while waiting at my Doctor's office.

I want to thank all of you for your kind comments last week.  The fact you all could see the anchor on the dishcloth made me quite happy. 

So lets see how I am doing this week.

YoP 4 List

New items to do

Lapghan for my mom

(I started on this on July 1st since this is when the official YoP 4 started)

FINISHED 7/6/14

2-3 Doll Clothes

(I really want to get this done this year......I really do)

ALL FINISHED BY 7/22/14

Slippers

(These make the best Christmas gifts and my entire family said they need new ones)

WAITING FOR MEASUREMENTS AS OF 8/17/14

WIP's to complete

1 fingerless mitt

( This is for a Christmas gift this year so it WILL be done soon)

FINISHED 8/12/14

Log Cabin Blanket

(This has been in my WIP pile for about 3 years now.  It needs to leave it)

WORKED ON IT THIS WEEK

One sock

(This also needs to be done for Christmas.  It's been lingering around for 6 months)

WORKED ON IT THIS WEEK

Yearly projects I do anyway

12 dishcloths 

( These also make such nice Christmas gifts and are quick and fun to do)

SIX COMPLETED 8/17/14

Socks

( I love doing them and can not say how many pairs I will complete but need to do some)

Things to increase my skills

2-3 test knits/crochet

(I have done a few of these over the past year and loved doing them.  They totally test my skills as a crafter and help me branch out into areas I would never ever think of going)

   

Personal Goal

Use only the yarn from my stash for all the above projects.

( I am truly going to try NOT to purchase any more yarn this year.  I have already gone 4 months without buying any yarn and I figure I can continue that trend for at least another 12 months.)

NO YARN BOUGHT AS OF 8/17/14

Take photos of ALL items when done.

(I have a habit of gifting items and never photographing them for my blog)

YUP, SO FAR AS OF 8/17/14

YoP WEEK 6

Another week, another post.  This one is a day late but I did make one.

We have had such a busy week.  My niece and her three children as well as my nephew came to town last week.  We have had so much fun with them.  It has been years since I had seen my niece and I had never met any of her children.  So that has been a real blast for me and my hubby.  They are just adorable and I love them to pieces.  I hadn't seen my nephew for about 3 years, so it was great to see him again and get to know him as a grown man.  The nephew left on Sunday and the niece and her children leave tomorrow.  The house will be real quite for a day and then my last nephew comes in on Wednesday and will be here until Saturday.  They are all here to see my mom since she has been so sick.  She has totally enjoyed all the attention too.  We still have two more that will be coming to visit but not until September and another one in November.  I love having a big house that everyone can stay at when they come.

So now you know why my blog post is a bit late.  I did manage to get some crafting done though.  Wanna see?

 First up is another dishcloth.  This one took a bit of doing.  I had never done knitted bobbles before.  I hope you can see it is an anchor.  LOL  It is a Christmas present for someone dear to me.

 I did another DW dishcloth in the same color as last weeks.  This one is a bit smaller as I had just a little under half a skein left from the big one.

Lastly, I started back on working on the second fingerless mitt.  The stripes are not going to match and at this point, neither the recipient or myself care.  I am just going to be very happy when it is completed. I will then have the entire 'set' done for Christmas.  I have already completed the scarf and the slouchy beanie.  This is the last item I needed to complete.

I also did something this week I have not done in years.  I taught my niece to crochet.  I sat her in front of me (she is right handed and I'm not) and started her out and she is now working on a ripple afghan for her home.  We went and got the yarn for it yesterday.  It is 241 stitches and she is doing grand with it.  She showed me a picture on Pinterest and I found the pattern from Attic 24 and she is off and running with it.  This will help her pass the 4 hour plane ride home to Wisconsin from Arizona.

I have been off work for the past week and it has been so nice.  I love having time to do stuff around the house.  Grocery shopping during the day when everyone else is working is a dream.  Working on my crafts whenever the mood strikes is fantastic.  I am really looking forward to my retirement next year.  I could get use to this freedom quickly.

So let's check out the YoP list AGAIN!

YoP 4 List

New items to do

Lapghan for my mom

(I started on this on July 1st since this is when the official YoP 4 started)

FINISHED 7/6/14

2-3 Doll Clothes

(I really want to get this done this year......I really do)

TWO DONE 7/16/14

ONE ON THE NEEDLES

ALL FINISHED BY 7/22/14

Slippers

(These make the best Christmas gifts and my entire family said they need new ones)

WIP's to complete

1 fingerless mitt

( This is for a Christmas gift this year so it WILL be done soon)

STARTED WORKING ON IT 8-10-14

Log Cabin Blanket

(This has been in my WIP pile for about 3 years now.  It needs to leave it)

One sock

(This also needs to be done for Christmas.  It's been lingering around for 6 months)

Didn't touch it this week

Yearly projects I do anyway

12 dishcloths 

( These also make such nice Christmas gifts and are quick and fun to do)

SIX COMPLETED 8/9/14

Socks

( I love doing them and can not say how many pairs I will complete but need to do some)

Things to increase my skills

2-3 test knits/crochet

(I have done a few of these over the past year and loved doing them.  They totally test my skills as a crafter and help me branch out into areas I would never ever think of going)

   

Personal Goal

Use only the yarn from my stash for all the above projects.

( I am truly going to try NOT to purchase any more yarn this year.  I have already gone 4 months without buying any yarn and I figure I can continue that trend for at least another 12 months.)

NO YARN BOUGHT AS OF 8/10/14

Take photos of ALL items when done.

(I have a habit of gifting items and never photographing them for my blog)

YUP, SO FAR AS OF 8/10/14

So until next week

Happy Crafting!

YoP week 5

I had this brilliant idea of starting my blog writing earlier in the week.  That way, when Sunday rolled around, all I would need to do it just add a few finishing touches to it and it would be on it's way.  Otherwise, it seems, I am using a lot of time on a lovely Sunday morning glued to my computer instead of doing thing around the house and yard that need my attention.

So let's see how the week went in the crafting area.

First up

Another dishcloth finished.  I like this pattern too, and had forgotten about it.  I was reminded of it when I pulled one of these out of my dishcloth drawer and decided to try it again.  It is the DW pattern.  It is pretty quick and very easy to do.

I have not worked on anything else this week. (hangs head in shame)  The weather here has been so unpredictable and my arthritis has not liked it one bit.  So the hands are not working as well as I would like them to.

This week, I will be going back and trying to get the other fingerless mitt done for Christmas.  Then one gift will be complete.

I have found a pattern I am dying to do for my friend for Christmas.  Take a look.  She is a HUGE fan of these little creatures.  They are pretty simple to do BUT.............I do not own any yellow yarn AT ALL!  I scoured my stash last night.  I have the blue but no yellow.  I really don't want to purchase any yarn this year.  I do have the green and gold yarn left from her Green Bay Packer afghan I made last year.  Do you think it would work?  She is a HUGE Packer fan. Please give me your feelings on this.

So let's check out the YoP list AGAIN!

YoP 4 List

New items to do

Lapghan for my mom

(I started on this on July 1st since this is when the official YoP 4 started)

FINISHED 7/6/14

2-3 Doll Clothes

(I really want to get this done this year......I really do)

TWO DONE 7/16/14

ONE ON THE NEEDLES

ALL FINISHED BY 7/22/14

Slippers

(These make the best Christmas gifts and my entire family said they need new ones)

WIP's to complete

1 fingerless mitt

( This is for a Christmas gift this year so it WILL be done soon)

Log Cabin Blanket

(This has been in my WIP pile for about 3 years now.  It needs to leave it)

One sock

(This also needs to be done for Christmas.  It's been lingering around for 6 months)

Didn't touch it this week

Yearly projects I do anyway

12 dishcloths 

( These also make such nice Christmas gifts and are quick and fun to do)

FOUR COMPLETED 8/1/14

Socks

( I love doing them and can not say how many pairs I will complete but need to do some)

Things to increase my skills

2-3 test knits/crochet

(I have done a few of these over the past year and loved doing them.  They totally test my skills as a crafter and help me branch out into areas I would never ever think of going)

   

Personal Goal

Use only the yarn from my stash for all the above projects.

( I am truly going to try NOT to purchase any more yarn this year.  I have already gone 4 months without buying any yarn and I figure I can continue that trend for at least another 12 months.)

NO YARN BOUGHT AS OF 8/3/14

Take photos of ALL items when done.

(I have a habit of gifting items and never photographing them for my blog)

YUP, SO FAR AS OF 8/3/14

Yesterday I spent the entire day cleaning my craft room up.  When mom left her apartment, I inherited so much stuff and of course, it all got dumped in my corner of the world.  I am so happy to report.....................I have a floor again in that room.

I organized all my pattern books and even put them from shortest to tallest.  A bit of OCD coming out, I know.  I also put all of my patterns that I have printed off of Ravelry and other pattern sites into sheet protectors and got them all put into three ring binders.  No more paper floating around MY room.

Sewing center is all cleaned up and ready for me to sew away on my next projects that I have already cut out and was just waiting for time to clean it up so I could get to the machines.

Josie's study desk is all set for her to do her homework on after school.  She loves being in this room so we set up her desk in there.

Our company arrives this week.  We did get the new floor laid.

The bottom picture is not all that great as it gives it a really yellowish hue and I don't know why.

Then, we managed to get the guest room all done.

Pictures are courtesy of my mom (the middle one), and my late aunt (the outer two)  I use to cross stitch but the hands won't let me do that anymore.  

The futon is out and ready for someone to sleep on it.

Guess I need to put sheets on it now so it will be all set for the 'crews' arrival.

My niece, gave me such a sweet surprise.  She wants me to teach her to crochet and she has self taught herself to knit from YouTube.  She needs a little help with some of her knitting stitches (cables) and I will be happy to do that for her.  So it will be a FUN crafting week for me after all.

Until next week.......................

Happy Crafting!