All kinds of crap

2paw – I owe you a very long email. Ditto April. And probably a few other people!

Thanks for the well-wishes. I spent the 7th of January in good company enjoying lovely coffee and cake and fondling many yarns and then spent the next day (my actual birthday) recovering! Not a bad start to the year.

Instead of doing individual FO/WIP posts for the stuff I’ve finished and have on the go I’ll just do a quick-and-dirty round up of some stuff now and some other things later in the month.

Fluffy Bunny and Camo Ninja minions for my sister-in-law and brother, respectively.

Gentleman's Sock in Railway Stitch in Araucania and Regia Stretch for my dad (bit late for Christmas, never mind!)

Windward by Woollywormhead - best modelled shot I could get, sorry!

I also have a pair of finished wristwarmers, a finished shawl for me, a finished cardigan for my mum (only 3 days late), some things I made for a swap last year, plus a purge of UFOs and probably lots of other stuff I’ve forgotten about.

 

I’ll get there … eventually!

FO: Taygete shawl

This is the face of someone who is pleased with their work!

Pattern: Taygete by Romi from 7 Small Shawls to Knit; Year One: The Pleiades [My Ravelry Project Page]

Lost momentum over the knuckles

I may have been watching too much snowboard and ski cross. (A knuckle is a small hummock of a jump that can catch you unaware and leave you floundering with little speed for the next bit of the course).

Given that we are now heading downhill into the final straight of the Winter Olympics, one would assume that I’d be gathering speed (see what I did there?) with my Ravelympics projects. One would assume incorrectly!

I have made incredible progress on my crochet top (Cupcake from Stitch ‘n’ Bitch Crochet)

And it looks real and everything

and I’ve also managed to rip back, wash and re-skein the yarn from my Modular Tank top (a.k.a. The Albatross)

Look how pretty!
My plan for this yarn is to quickly turn it into a waistcoat that I will actually be able to wear this year!

I’ve done absolutely nothing on anything else. It’s all my mum’s fault for tearing/straining the muscles in her left shoulder, necessitating my assistance in a lot of stuff. Caring time is inversely related to crafting time!

Oh, tell a lie! I did manage to make myself a pair of Dashing fingerless mittens!

I messed up the second cable cross (I went too early) but I decided I quite liked the faux bois look I ended up with and so left it!

To conclude – I’ve actually done quite a lot and I should stop underestimating my ability to craft in a crisis.

Carry on!

FO: Pixie slippers

Pattern: Peter Pan Slippers by Gabriela Ordenes [My Ravelry Project Page]
Yarn: Sirdar Cossack Chunky. Colour 086 – a black/midnight blue with rainbow flecks of colour.  Acrylic/wool/viscose mix. 130 m/147 yds per 100g.  115 g used (approx. 150 m/164 yds)
Hook(s): 6 mm plastic hook
Dates: 15th-18th of January 2010
Modifications/notes:

• I think these are my first non-washcloth, non-granny square crocheted finished object.
• I’m sure a more experience person could have knocked these out in less time, but a more experienced person would not have made the second slipper into a triangle instead of a square.  It’s OK, I’m laughing now.
• The pattern, despite it’s brevity, is not easy.  The author is not a native English-speaker and I think some things have been lost in translation.  With pattern and diagram [DELETED LINK AT REQUEST OF DESIGNER] in hand, though, I made it through.
• I wouldn’t recommend this to a complete beginner since you sort of have to know what you’re going to stick where and what it’s suppose to look like.
• But look how freakin’ cute!

Did I fall asleep?

If your immediate response was “For a little while”, then feel free to join me in weeping for another Joss Whedon vs Fox Battle, in which Mr Whedon lost.

I’m not solely reflecting on the demise of TV show, but on me (my favourite subject!).  The amazing shiner is gone, and the ear infection seems to be on the way out.  I’m still dizzy and bit woozy, but I’m much better than I was.  Thanks for all the good wishes.  I’ll probably never be well, but I can at least try to be less ill!

On with the craft!

It’s not the Sistine Chapel, but it’s my first non-standard crochet granny square.  There were tears, there were tantrums and there was a lot of ripping out, but with help from my fellow crochet-along-ers on Ravelry, I made it!