Craftylilly

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy Chinese New Year wishes to everyone.  The family and I are going to spend a quiet day, but we did start the day with New Year's wishes and red envelopes for the kidlets.  Here's to a prosperous and healthy new year to us all.  I remain hopeful for a good Year of the Ox!

A short Youtube search came up with a bunch of Chinese New Year's celebration videos.  I found this one to be kind of amusing, and yet shows some of the things involved in celebrating the new year.  So Gung Hay Fat Choy everyone!  Happy New Year!

I am not a quilter

I am not a quilter, however, I've been intrigued lately with an idea.  You see, I have several knitting, crafting, and hobby related T-shirts that I don't wear that much anymore.  I'd like to clear the room in my closet, but I don't want to give up the designs that I like so much.  I started thinking about a way to save the T-shirts, and came across a link on how make a T-shirt quilt.  So now I've got ideas swimming around in my head about making a T-shirt quilt with my crafting T-shirts.  Should I be worried?  I mean, I really can't afford another hobby here.  Right now I'm busily thinking of how to do this one quilt.  I'm sure I won't want to quilt anymore after that.  Right?  RIGHT???

The Noro Striped scarf is moving along in it's endlessly entertaining way.  I love how the colors are working together.  I also finished spinning up about 7 ounces of sportish weight wool 2-ply.  I bought the roving through this etsy seller.  She doesn't have anything up right now, but I enjoyed spinning up this batch of roving.  I'm calling it my Robin's Egg yarn.  As always, I have no plans for the yarn.  I don't think I've even spun a specific yarn for a specific project.  Spinning is my one craft that I enjoy doing just for the act of doing it alone.  The finished product is incidental.  Spinning is the most relaxing and meditative of all my crafts for that reason, I think. 

Choices, Choices

I've been working slowly on my Cassidy hoodie for the past couple of months.  When I work on a more involved project like Cassidy which has a lot of cabling, I like to break up the knitting with other WIPs.  So, a couple of days ago, I finished up one of the front sections of my sweater, and decided to cast on for a small project to work on for a week or so before casting on for the other front sweater section.  I chose the Luxe Neck Warmer from Knit2Together, and some lovely Malabrigo, and cast on. 

 At this point in my story, the knitting cosmos started sending me a message.  I knit along happily for several rows before I realize that I've twisted my cast on.  No problem, I think.  This cowl is a small project.  I rip it out, and cast on again.  I knit again for several rows, and start thinking, "Gee this cowl is looking rather small, like PQL small."  I take my measuring tape out to see and sure enough, it's way too small.  The yarn gets ripped out again.  The casting on begins again, but this time I cast on another lace repeats worth of stitches.  Before I knit in the round I carefully check to make sure I haven't twisted my stitches.  Satisfied, knitting begins.  Several rows in, I start noticing that one section of the cowl has way more stitches than it should.  I carefully start looking at my knitting and realize that I've done twice as many YOs are needed for the lace repeat in one section. 

Friends, I've was brought to my knees by a feather and fan stitch motif. 

So, I cast on for a Noro Striped Scarf.  K1P1 ribbing... Ah, a stitch pattern I can handle, and mesmerizing color changes to amuse me. 

Frustration and Anticipation all in one day

Let's talk about the frustration first, so I can end on a good note:

• Since Chinese New Year is at the end of the month, I'm trying to plan ahead a bit.  I want to make won ton soup with the kids, and drove out to the Asian market which is a couple of towns over to stock up on wonton wrappers.  The market is cleaned out of wonton wrappers.  When I say cleaned out, I mean there's a whole shelf in their sizeable cold case for them, but the whole shelf is bare. 

Now for the little slice of happy anticipation:

• RM is heading out of town this weekend for a work conference.  Now, I'm not happy he's out of town, as we all miss him when he's gone, but I did get a couple of movies to watch while he's out, movies that he would never, ever watch.  So, on Friday and Saturday nights, think of me happily knitting or spinning and watching guilty pleasure movies.  When RM and I were first married, he traveled all the time, and so I got to watch all kinds of TV and movies that interested me alone.  Since we had our kids, and he has worked in a job that he commutes to everyday, my viewing has slowed down considerably.  It's time for some catching up.  

Let's do the school warp again

The kids are heading back to school tomorrow, and we've been enjoying our last lazy winter day today.  Laundry has been cleaned.  Nintendo DS's have been played.  Pirate costumes have been donned and swashbuckling has occured.  Church has been attended.  All in all this has been a good break.  We're all ready to face the new year. 

PQL is ready to face the new year with her new handknit lap blanket.  I used another easy pattern from the Encore 8-hour Baby Blanket Revisited pamphlet.  She picked an easy eyelet pattern that I think looks great with the variegated yarn she chose.  I again used Ella Rae Amity which is a decent acrylic blend.  I like it about the same as Encore, and think it may even be a smidge softer.  My Addi Clicks needles were put into good use again on this blanket and I still sold on the set.  Now that PQL's blanket is complete I can turn my attention back to my languishing Cassidy hoodie.  I'd only completed the back before my charity and holiday knitting took precedence.  My goal is to have the hoodie done by Stitches West at the end of February.  Of course I won't be able to work on the cardi alone, so I've got some cowls, hats, and scarves I've been wanting to work on in between the cable knitting.  Right now I feel so satisified with finishing the kids' blankets.  It's a good feeling to knit something that is well loved and used by the recipients. 

I was able to spin over this holiday break as well.  Oh how I've missed my wheel.  I spun up 8 oz of Crown Mountain Farms Superwash Merino in the now discontinued colorway Midnight Hour.  I plied my singles into a bulky weight three-ply yarn.  I love how it came out.  I think it will make a lovely scarf/wrap as I ended up with about 300 yards of bulky.  I am enjoying spinning so much, I've already started spinning up some handdyed wool in a magenta and blue colorway. 

Bloggers have been posting their New Year's goals and reviewing how well 2008's goals were kept.  I really didn't make that many goals last year.  Making a crafting goal is a sure way to make sure it won't happen.  I did keep up with a few things I wanted to do however.  I knit 3 charity projects this year, and managed to write in my own journal at least once a week all year.  For 2009, I'm planning on knitting and spinning from my stash, continue with writing in my journal, take a continuing teacher's ed. class, and get in shape.  I've already started the getting in shape idea by making it to the gym about twice a week since mid December.  I'd like to enter a 5K run held in a neighboring town in September.  So, essentially, I do have goals, but am avoiding calling them goals as that may be the kiss of death for acheiving them.

I hope you all are enjoying the last vestiges of holiday goodness!  I'm off to relax some more on the couch.