YoP Week 46

It's been a month since I last visited you, dear blog.  I am so sorry for the neglect.  I really thought that THIS year I would pay better attention to you, but alas, I haven't.  Please forgive me.

But I have done a small amount of crafting, while I was absent from the blog.  

I complete my metro socks.  Ok, lets be honest here.  I got tired of working on the lace pattern so I changed the leg part of the pattern.  Then I got sick of the legs and just wanted them off my needles.  So I finished them off about 2-3 inches shorter than I normally do. They are my socks and that doesn't bother me.  Our 'sock weather' here is so short and the temps are really not that cold most of the time, these will be fine to wear.

So I was out of ideas as to what I wanted to do next.  So this happened

Yup, another pair of socks.  This time cuff down and on double points.  It took me forever to try double points and now I love them.  My biggest problem with magic loop, toe up, is, I really do not like the heels.  After I retire, I am going to go back and revisit the sweet tomato heel by Cat Borghi.  I am also going to look into other heels that I have and see if there is one out that that I absolutely love and then maybe I will return to TAAT toe up magic loop.

As for personal life.................................less than two weeks and I will be officially retired.  I know I keep talking about it, but I really am excited and have started making plans as to what hubby and I will be doing with our lives.  And our plans are....................take each day as a gift and live it to it's fullest with all glory going to God.

My replacement is back to work and we have been working fast and furious getting her trained to take over.  She had a ;minor melt down this past week when she realized how little time she had to try and learn everything I know.  It isn't going to happen.  I have worked there almost 20 years and she has been there 1.  She will need to make her mistakes and learn from them, just like I did.  I did let her know that she could call me anytime with questions and I would be happy to help her out.  I'm not a total jerk, ya know.  LOL

My brother was in town, for a week.  He came to spend Mother's Day with our mom.  I was not able to take time off during his visit and my Hubby was wonderful and kept brother entertained for me during the days.  My mom was thrilled to see him and we had a wonderful Mother's Day with her.  The family that lives here, all got together and created a picnic for her.  

It was a lovely day for us Arizona folk.  The temps were in the mid 80's with a slight breeze. That is quite unusual for us.  Normally, by the middle of May we are already in the 100's and the wind is ugly at times.  Mom said, this was the best thing we could have done for her on mothers day.  How sweet is that.

I am off to do some much needed house work.  I have emptied my office and it seems all the stuff has ended up in my craftroom.  I can hardly walk in there.  SO that is going to be gutted and cleaned today as well as doing laundry.  Groceries and menu planning happened yesterday so we are set for a couple of weeks and by that time I WILL BE RETIRED!!!

Here is a look at my list.

Happy crafting.

YoP 4 List

New items to do

Sweater for me

Started 12/21/14

DIDN'T TOUCH IT 

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

Yearly projects I do anyway

Socks

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

STARTED A NEW PAIR 

5/3/15

Things to increase my skills

JOIN A CAL OR KAL

STARTED 1/8/15 TO BE COMPLETED BY DECEMBER 2015

3 SQUARES DONE 3/08/15

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 05/17/15

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 05/17/15

OOPS, DIDN'T TAKE PHOTOS OF THE SCARVES I MADE AND SOLD 12-19-14

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

3 pair of socks

COMPLETED 4/30/15

Be Loving

Unplanned project but did it for love

COMPLETED 10/19/14

Slippers

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

8 PAIR COMPLETED 11/09/14

12 dishcloths 

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

THIRTEEN COMPLETED 11/16/14

5 RUFFLED SCARVES

12/19/14

BOOT CUFFS FOR DIL

3 COMPLETED 01/25/15

NEW PRAYER SHAWL FOR MOM

COMPLETED 1/6/15

1 test knits/crochet

COMPLETED 2/19/15

YoP Week 42

This post comes to you from our sponsor, Haven't done much.

You heard me right.  I have hardly picked up a needle or hook in two weeks.  My life seems to be heading in all directions and I don't even have the energy to knit or crochet.  

I have been so busy at work.  I was put on a BIG project this past week and there is no way it will be completed before I retire in a 6 weeks.  (27 days left to go to the office!)  The person I am training to take over my position has been out for almost 2 weeks with surgery.  I have no idea when she will be returning and she has only been trained on one of my three Docs and that training has been static at best.

My son and DIL had their marriage convalidated in our church last weekend so there was lots of stuff to do for that.  It was so beautiful and I even shed a few tears from joy for them.

My DD is going full speed ahead with her October wedding and consults me on stuff, now and then and I really am enjoying that too.

I take two days a week and go visit my mom after work.  Two other nights after work, I entertain my grand daughter.  That leaves one evening free and let me tell you, by Friday after work, all I want to do is curl up in a little ball and hide from the world.  But that would be rude.  So Fridays, we try and have time with friends that we haven't seen all week or even for a few months.  Saturdays are filled with menu planning and grocery shopping and we like to attend Church that day too.  Sunday is laundry day and doing my part of the housework.  That does not leave much time for crafting and these past 2-3 weeks have proven that to be totally true.

Don't get me wrong...................I would not change one bit of my life at the moment.  I love my family, I love my friends and I love crafting.  I just need to find a bit more balance than I have had in the past weeks.  

I keep telling my hubby, "once I retire I will have lots of time to do my crafting again".  He laughs so hard.....................having been retired for 10 years, he knows this is a pipe dream. But one could always hope, right?

Actually, today, we sat down and planned out exactly what we want to do with our home over the next year.  We have some unfinished remodeling and we so want to finish it all up so we CAN sit back and relax and enjoy our home.  So the plans for that are in the making and I am sure, it will be taking up quite a bit of our time over the next year.  

I am not going to post my list this week.  Nothing was done on it other than working on MY socks twice in 3 weeks.  Other than that........................nothing has been touched or done.

So until next time...........................HAPPY CRAFTING!

YoP 39

Hello, my friends.  I don't have a lot to talk about today.  It has been a quiet week at work, home and on the crafting front.

I did however complete the bed socks.

They will be gifted to their rightful owner either on Easter or on Mother's Day.  Haven't decided yet.  I do like the way they turned out.  Still do not like the fiber though.  I will not ever buy any of it again.  On the plus side, this is the first 100% wool that I have worked with that I did not have issues with my skin breaking out in a rash or even itching.  I don't know what they did to the fiber, but that was great for me.

I did not touch anything else this week, crafting wise.  I am hoping I can get back to my socks this afternoon and get a nice portion of the legs done.  I am feeling startitis hitting me and I am trying so hard not to succumb to it.  It is hard though.  Seems like every time I complete a project, I just want to start 3-4 more.  I have been really good about not doing that this YoP, but the urge is still there.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.  Next weekend is Easter and that is the busiest week of the year for hubby and I because of our involvement at our Church.  I don't know if there will be a post next week or not.  In fact, there may not be a post for the next two weeks.  We are totally booked on the weekends, until the weekend of the 18th/19th.  Hopefully I will get some crafting time in the next two weeks and have something to show for it.

Right now, I am off to do some clothes shopping for the upcoming Easter weekend and the weekend after that my son and his wife are having they marriage con validated in the church so need something for that day too.  I am just not a fancy clothes person.  Give me blue jeans and tee shirts and I am one happy camper.  

I also have the privilege to provide the ring pillow for the con validation ceremony.  So need to get on that right away.  I am hoping to find a ready made one at Michael's or Joann's today.  I will personalize it with ribbon in their colors.

So off I go....................................Happy Crafting!

Here is the updated list.

YoP 4 List

New items to do

Sweater for me

Started 12/21/14

DIDN'T TOUCH IT THIS WEEK

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

Yearly projects I do anyway

Socks

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

STARTED A NEW PAIR 10/7/14

DID NOT TOUCH THEM THIS WEEK

3/29/15

Things to increase my skills

JOIN A CAL OR KAL

STARTED 1/8/15 TO BE COMPLETED BY DECEMBER 2015

3 SQUARES DONE 3/08/15

STILL NEED TO COMPLETE THE LAST SQUARE I WAS WORKING ON AND AM NOW 2 SQUARES BEHIND.

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 03/29/15

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 03/29/15

OOPS, DIDN'T TAKE PHOTOS OF THE SCARVES I MADE AND SOLD 12-19-14

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

One sock

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

COMPLETED 9/27/14

Be Loving

Unplanned project but did it for love

COMPLETED 10/19/14

Slippers

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

8 PAIR COMPLETED 11/09/14

12 dishcloths 

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

THIRTEEN COMPLETED 11/16/14

5 RUFFLED SCARVES

12/19/14

BOOT CUFFS FOR DIL

3 COMPLETED 01/25/15

NEW PRAYER SHAWL FOR MOM

COMPLETED 1/6/15

1 test knits/crochet

COMPLETED 2/19/15

STARTED BED SOCKS 3/4/15

FINISHED 3/27/15

YoP week 38

Another couple of weeks have passed.  They have been great weeks and I have accomplished some knitting in that time.

We took a road trip on the 13th to go and see hubby's mom and some friends in Las Vegas. It was a great trip and we enjoyed ourselves so much.  Our best friends went with us and we always seem to laugh so much when we are with them.

I did complete mom's first sock before we left.

I love the way this yarn as the variations in color.  I DO NOT like the yarn.  It is splitty, catches on everything, is thick and thin throughout and I will never buy it again.  But, once it is made up, it really is soft and pretty.  I will say the one thing that has impressed me is....even though it is 100% wool, it has not made me itch or break out in a rash as other wools do.  So I am able to work on it longer.

I did start the second sock on Sunday, while visiting with friends.  I didn't get much time to work on it after that until Tuesday on the trip back and then again on Wednesday night after work.  I didn't pick it up again until last evening and went to work on it fast a furious.  Here is where it is at now.

I have another 2 inches to do on it before I start the toe section.  I should be able to complete that by the end of this week no problem.  Then I will need to look for something else to do.  

I might go ahead and finish up my socks that are still on the magic loop needles and also frog the sweater that I started and start it back up in the round.  I really want to get those two things done before the end of this year of YoP.  I can't say that the sweater will be completed, but at least it will be ready to knit the way I prefer to do a sleeveless sweater.

My Grand daughter grabbed me after I got off work on Wednesday and we did finally make the pillows for her doll bed.  Now she is one happy camper and I don't have to try and sneak in the house.  LOL  Actually, it was not a big deal and she is a dream to be around and loves to work on crafts with me.

Other than that, not much else is happening in my world.  I have just a tad over 2 months left before I retire.  I am training my replacement and she is a wonder to work with.  She is smart and learns so quickly.  It has been a dream to work with her and I know she will do an excellent job when I am gone.

So let's look at the list again and............................................................

Happy crafting!

YoP 4 List

New items to do

Sweater for me

Started 12/21/14

DIDN'T TOUCH IT THIS WEEK

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

Yearly projects I do anyway

Socks

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

STARTED A NEW PAIR 10/7/14

DID NOT TOUCH THEM THIS WEEK

3/08/15

STARTED BED SOCK 3/4/18

ONE COMPLETED AND OVER HALF WAY DONE WITH THE SECOND ONE

Things to increase my skills

JOIN A CAL OR KAL

STARTED 1/8/15 TO BE COMPLETED BY DECEMBER 2015

3 SQUARES DONE 3/08/15

STILL NEED TO COMPLETE THE LAST SQUARE I WAS WORKING ON AND AM NOW 2 SQUARES BEHIND.

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 03/22/15

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 03/22/18

OOPS, DIDN'T TAKE PHOTOS OF THE SCARVES I MADE AND SOLD 12-19-14

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

One sock

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

COMPLETED 9/27/14

Be Loving

Unplanned project but did it for love

COMPLETED 10/19/14

Slippers

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

8 PAIR COMPLETED 11/09/14

12 dishcloths 

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

THIRTEEN COMPLETED 11/16/14

5 RUFFLED SCARVES

12/19/14

BOOT CUFFS FOR DIL

3 COMPLETED 01/25/15

NEW PRAYER SHAWL FOR MOM

COMPLETED 1/6/15

1 test knits/crochet

COMPLETED 2/19/15

YoP Week 36

Welcome to my blog this week.  I am happy to be back on here.  I didn't get to blog last week mainly because there really wasn't anything I could blog about, crafting wise.  But this week I can finally reveal the test knit I participated in and give you the link where you can find the pattern.

They are called, Delphinium Boot Cuffs and the link to the pattern is here

Here is another shot of them.  I kind of have to laugh, because, I don't wear boots and had to grab my hubby's boots to show what they would be like on a boot.  And, no, he is not going to wear them.  I have already given them to a very nice person and she was thrilled with them.

I have decided that reading other peoples blogs is both fun and dangerous.  This is a Japanese Knot Bag.  Thanks to Kim at Page After Page, I found these on her blog with the link to get the pattern.  So off I went to look at the pattern and found myself out buying fat quarters of material right away.  It took about 30 minutes to sew up and probably would not have taken that long if I had read the instructions better.  The only thing on the instructions I could not find is, how big were the seams suppose to be.  I made them 1/2 inch and it turned out ok, but had a bit of an issue with the bottom of the bag.  So might try 1/4 inch next time and see if that helps.  I love the bag and have my sock project in there right now.

Speaking of socks.....................I have started some new bed socks for my mom.  She really likes the home made ones best as they fit her.  DUH!  So I pulled out my lone skein of Mochi MIni and started on them.  I am using my favorite pattern Car Socks.  I have made dozens of socks from this pattern and it has never failed me in fit for anyone.  It has my favorite heel of all times too.  With this yarn and the changing of colors, I could not be happier.  

It is so hard to get a great picture of a sock when using only four needles.  It just does not cooperate to show it off well.

Getting ready for another road trip and the socks will be going with me in my new Japanese Knot bag.  WOOHOO.  So I probably will not be posting next week.


 Other fun stuff I did this week was, make the bedding for an American Girl Doll bed that has been sitting in my craftroom for over a year.  I even had to make the mattress out of foam and that was no easy task.  That is the one time I wish I had an electric knife.  But I managed and my Grand Daughter is thrilled with it.  I still need to make pillows and it will be completed.  The bed had been given to me by a co-worker and I just never seemed to have the time to do it.  Well, Grand Daughter, spent the night last weekend.  So off we went looking for material.  Hey, I needed fat quarters for my bag anyway and fat quarters worked just fine for the bed too.

Happy Crafting!

So lets see how the list is shaping up:

YoP 4 List

New items to do

Sweater for me

Started 12/21/14

DIDN'T TOUCH IT THIS WEEK

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

Yearly projects I do anyway

Socks

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

STARTED A NEW PAIR 10/7/14

DID NOT TOUCH THEM THIS WEEK

3/08/15

STARTED BED SOCK 3/4/18

Things to increase my skills

JOIN A CAL OR KAL

STARTED 1/8/15 TO BE COMPLETED BY DECEMBER 2015

3 SQUARES DONE 3/08/15

NEED TO COMPLETE SQUARE 3 AND START ON SQUARE 4

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 03/08/15

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 03/08/18

OOPS, DIDN'T TAKE PHOTOS OF THE SCARVES I MADE AND SOLD 12-19-14

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

One sock

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

COMPLETED 9/27/14

Be Loving

Unplanned project but did it for love

COMPLETED 10/19/14

Slippers

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

8 PAIR COMPLETED 11/09/14

12 dishcloths 

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

THIRTEEN COMPLETED 11/16/14

5 RUFFLED SCARVES

12/19/14

BOOT CUFFS FOR DIL

3 COMPLETED 01/25/15

NEW PRAYER SHAWL FOR MOM

COMPLETED 1/6/15

1 test knits/crochet

COMPLETED 2/19/15