Yarn Along

September 28, 2016September 29, 2016 | MrsMcD918

I am still reading The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.

It is really holding my attention.

I am so glad I got this from the Library’s Overdrive.

I am able to read it on my iPad when I wake up at 2 or 3 without waking my husband.

Although, for some reason I read one of the main characters name as Vivianne rather Vianne…so she’s Vivianne to me!

Now that my Sophie’s Cardigan is complete, I am working on the following projects:

For my husband, I am making a Honeycomb Blanket.

A long, long time ago he asked me to make him a green afghan.

I purchased Caron Simply Soft in Kelly Green from the E-Tent, and well, all that yarn just sat in my closet.

I purchased Crochet to Calm and fell in love with the pictures of the Honeycomb Blanket by Adrianne Brigham.

I plan on doing a moss stitch border in green and white.

My second project is Stephanie Japel’s Lacy Keyhole Knit Scarf.

This is the first project in her Craftsy.com Knit Lab class.

Recently Craftsy was having a sale on classes and I purchased Circular Knit Lab in a quest to learn how to knit hats.

Before I start that class though, I want to work on my skills with the Knit Lab class.

I am using Lion Brand’s Wool Ease in Blush Heather.

These are just two of the many projects I have half completed.

Yay for fall and winter…back to working on afghans and keeping warm and toasty!

Joining Ginny’s Yarn Along

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Project bag: Vintage Tea Towel Bag

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Miss ME’s Cardigan

September 26, 2016September 29, 2016 | MrsMcD918

Miss ME was in need of a cute sweater.

Or, I was in need of making a cute sweater!

That seems more accurate.

I have long admired patterns by Mon Petit Violon.

In July she was having a sale, so I purchased four patterns:

At the beginning of September, my LYS was having a 50% off sale and I picked up five hanks of Cascade 220 Superwash Sport yarn in Cotton Candy and Lemon.

Perfect colors for a little girl’s cardigan.

I purchased all the pink and yellow available, I should have purchased the orange too…live and learn!

Although I found the yarn a tad splity, I love the colors and the softness.

I found some buttons I LOVE and I think they work well!

(I am drawing a complete blank where I purchased the buttons.)

This is a very simple pattern utilizing HDC and DC.

It is the wrapping of a HDC around a HDC that gives it such lovely detail.

I used all three hanks of Cotton Candy and one hank of Lemon.

I chose not to make it long sleeved as I felt the Lemon was a nice accent on the sleeves and it would look strange to have full sleeves in yellow.

I am so chuffed with how it turned out!

The only change I made was hook size.

I started and completed the yoke using a 4.5mm hook.

I then increased to a 5mm hook for the body and the edging.

It could do with a good blocking, but since a 2 1/2 year old is going to wear it, I figure it is not necessary.

With the remaining hank of Lemon, I plan on making the Pearl Cloche Hat.

I hope to have a picture of Miss ME wearing it soon!

Although this particular pattern was not on my Year of Projects list, one of my goals was to make Miss ME clothing so…

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Happy Crocheting!

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Yarn: Cascade Superwash 220

Hook: Furls Odyssey 4.5mm and 5mm

Size: 4-5T

(Miss ME is a tall 2 1/2 year old, but even so, the 2-3T would have been much too small)

Linked to: Creative Jewish Mom, Sew Can Do, Live Randomly Simple, Lou Lou Girls, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Yarn Along

September 22, 2016 | MrsMcD918

Due to some serious back pain, I have only been able to read lately, no crocheting or knitting.

Laying on the floor with my right leg pulled up to my chest.

At least I have plenty of books ready to read!

First up, I finished Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns).

Funny and charming, it was a light read.

Perfect for what I was looking for.

Next,a short story by Karin Slaughter-Blond Hair, Blue Eyes.

Any time she has anything new, I snap it up!

I am patiently waiting for the next Will Trent book.

Finally, I am about a third into Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale.

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This has been on my Overdrive holds list for a long time and it finally came in (yay!!).

As for my crocheting, I had made progress on my Sophie’s Cardigan.

I had started the edging and it looks so cute!

I hope to finish it in the next few days if I feel better.

Joining Ginny’s Yarn Along

Lazy Crafting

September 15, 2016September 22, 2016 | MrsMcD918

Since Fall is near (today being 87 degrees not withstanding), I decided to make a Halloween Wreath for the front door.

I searched Pinterest and found some cute ideas!

I loved this wreath from Repeat Crafter Me.

I was lucky to find all the items I needed on clearance at local craft stores.

Supplies:

Foam Wreath ($2.99)
Orange bulky yarn (Big Twist-$1.00)
Black, sparkly yarn (Downton Abbey Lady Mary-$1.50)
“Spooky” ($.29)
Ribbon ($1.50)

Pretty inexpensive project.

Weeks went by, I finally had time to start the wreath.

I looked at the lovely, sparkly, light weight yarn and lost ALL my motivation.

It is really hard (for me at least) to make an amigurumi black cat.

Small hook, black yarn, need for reading glasses to see the stitches.

I don’t own reading glasses, so this was not going to happen.

Nope.

Wasn’t going to happen.

Then I found this cute pattern for black cat coasters by Sew Crafty Crochet .

Adorable!

However, I was too lazy to do even these.

I know, how lazy can you be to not even make some coasters?

Pretty lazy.

So, I present The Lazy Girls Pinterest Inspired Halloween Wreath!

I wrapped the foam wreath, made some pompoms, tacked down the sign and attached the ribbon.

All done in one hour and making my front door look festive!

Happy Fall!

Linked to: Moogly, Creative Jewish Mom, Sew Can Do (see Link Parties page for hyperlinks)

Yarn Along

September 14, 2016September 14, 2016 | MrsMcD918

This week’s project was Ravelry’s Crochet Shoulder Wrappers September Cowl Contest.

One pattern was picked and everyone who finishes will be entered to win a Yarn and Style pattern by having members vote on their finished project.

The pattern, Teulada by Yarn and Style, is a simple pattern with just SC and DC stitches.

Suitable for a beginner and enjoyable for a more experienced crocheter.

I used stash yarn and I loved the two skeins next to each other.

However, I’m not sure I’m in love with the finished product.

The variegated yarn did not give me the look I was hoping for.

Most likely, this will be donated to Hooking for the Homeless.

This weeks read (along with On the Road-yes, I am still reading it) is Where the Light Gets In: Losing My Mother Only to Find Her Again by Kimberly Williams-Paisley.

I read her Redbook essay and then I heard both her and her father interviewed on On Point.

The book just came into my Overdrive library, so Gloria is on hold for the moment.

Joining Ginny’s Yarn Along

One

September 11, 2016 | MrsMcD918

Today, September 11th, marks one year since my brother’s death.

The last time I was with Matt, we had taken my son E out to lunch, Matt had said to me-“Ali, you still haven’t watched _________????”.

He had asked me at least a dozen times to watch a particular documentary.

So, today, I woke up really early.

Poured a cup of coffee.

Put my headphones in.

I watched the documentary.

He was right, it was unbelievable and very thought provoking.

So Matt, you were right, I should have watched it long ago so we could have talked about it.

I miss you.

Yarn Along

September 7, 2016September 7, 2016 | MrsMcD918

Lately, for some reason, I am craving reading about other people’s lives rather than my usual fiction and mystery reads.

I am still reading Gloria Steinem’s book My Life on the Road and it is very interesting.

It is always great when you are surprised by things about a person you thought you knew all about.

I did take a break to read Tig Nataro’s book I’m Just a Person.

I have been a Tig fan for a long time, and even though I know most of this story from her comedy, I enjoyed the book.

If you are not familiar with Tig, there is a great Netflix documentary (simply named Tig) that you should check out.

If you listen to This American Life, you may have heard many of her stories.

She’s had quite an interesting few years.

This is the routine that is really famous: Hello, I Have Cancer.

One of my favorite routines of hers is the Taylor Dayne Story

In the book there is a story about Santa Clause, that honestly, made me laugh for a good 5 minutes.

This weeks project is Sophie’s Cardigan made in Cascade Superwash 220 in Cotton Candy (making for Miss ME).

Happy Reading and Crocheting!

Joining Ginny’s Yarn Along

Yarny Goodness

September 5, 2016 | MrsMcD918

I jumped on the Caron Cake bandwagon.

I chose Lilac Frosting (cream, beige, lavender and violet).

The yarn is soft and I had no problem with the abrupt color changes.

I had one knot I needed to cut out, but overall I was pleased.

I chose to make a Granny Shawl Scarf designed by Charlene Van den Brande.

I fell in love with the designer’s color scheme (reds, blues, tans and browns).

However, I was making this scarf for charity so I decided to try it with the Caron Cake.

My thought was that there would be less ends to weave in and therefore would hold up to multiple washings.

The Caron Cake was enough to get to round 16 and do a simple HDC border.

I’ll be copying the designers color scheme for my own and I’ll be increasing the original starting chain.

Also, for mine, I’ll finally remember to do my starting chain with a larger hook (I always forget to do that).

My LYS was having a Labor Day sale (50% off) and I picked up some squishy, yummy yarn for my birthday!

First project up is Sophie’s Cardigan by Mon Petit Violon using Cascade 220 Superwash Sport in Cotton Candy.

Next up (to help practice my knitting and purling) is GAP-tastic Cowl by Jen Geigley using Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky in Cafe Au Lait. This yarn is sooooo soft!