Monkey Blanket Update...

This was the state of things on Sunday.



Monday I sewed and crocheted the strips together and Tuesday worked on the border. Now we have a blanket.

I think it turned out great. I liked the yarn and the pattern. The granny square hides any imperfections a beginner crocheter has. I started a monkey face. I'm debating whether to leave it as is or add the faces. All in all, a sucessful project in my book! And Monday night I also finished the other cushions. Here is a far away view of my front porch.

Joy #1 has recently asked for a shrug or caplet to go with a new sundress. I think that will need to be my next project. She is so tiny it will be like knitting baby clothes. :)

Thrifty

After 5 years of use, I tossed out the cushions for my wicker furniture. They probably should have gone last year but I gave them a good washing and they held out one more year. I use my front porch all the time. It is one of my favorite things about my house. I don't even mind that the screens are constantly in need of repair or the flaking paint on the concrete. But let's not get side tracked. This post is about cushions.


I have been shopping around for cushions and have not been pleased. Even Martha Stewart's collection this year isn't tempting. After little contemplation I decided to make my own. I need ed heavy duty fabric that was in my price range and cute!



I went with a shower curtain. I have 3 cushions to cover and needed at least 6 yards of fabric. Joy #1 and I found this great curtain at Walmart. I love the fabric and it is heavy! I covered the buttons with fabric too and used 2 firm bedroom pillows for the "cushion" of the loveseat. I am very please with the project and will finish the 2 other cushions tonight. And best of all total cost $20.95. Awesome!

Sock Monkey Blanket

I am not one to be idle when it comes to my needlework. I still haven't ordered my yarn for my next knitting project so instead I perused ravelry and decide to go forward with a crochet project. I decided on the Sock Monkey Blanket. I practiced the granny square this morning and once I got the yarn, jumped right in. I have 3 squares completed and have memorized the stitch pattern and like the yarn.

The yarn was available at my local Walmart and even though it is acrylic, it is acrylic that I don't mind working with Bernat Softee Chunky. Much better than Vanna's choice! I don't know how long it will take me to make this project but I expect about a week. WOW! One week for an awesome monkey blanket! I'd take me a month to knit one that's for sure. I'm definatly seeing the benefits of crocheting. My first love is the knit stitch but with the right pattern I can see making more crochet items as gifts since they go quickly. Time will tell. And these granny squares are becoming quite addictive.

One Skein Scarf

Pattern: One Skein Scarf from SNB Happy Hooker

Yarn: Vanna's choice, pink - I bought this yarn when it came onto the market just to try it out. Well, I've tried it out and if you don't mind acrylic you'll like this yarn. This is the first time I have knit out of acrylic since 2005 and I am not a fan. It was ok for this project but ehh probably not again.

The crochet has been fun but there just isn't much out there I'd like to crochet (no matter what my Raverly queue says). I'll still practice some more but I'm looking forward to my new knitting project.

The Happy Hooker

A few months ago I bought the book Stitch N Bitch Crochet. I learned to knit using the Stitch N Bitch books and thought it'd be the best way to learn crochet. When I got the book I tried out the stitches. It all made sense and reminded me that my mom taught me to chain and hook once when I was 10. I didn't ever make anything and wasn't all that into it at the time but it still stuck somewhere in my brain. It was cool to play around but I wasn't inspired to make anything at the time.

Then yesterday I was searching for a project to start after finishing the socks. I don't "stash" yarn. I have left overs or yarn bought with a specific intention but not enough to just pick and go. (Remember, I'm a project knitter.) My next project will be the pinwheel sweater but I have yet to order the yarn. So, what to do, what to do. Oh right, I could practice crocheting. I grabbed some pink cotton and decided it could be a wash cloth. I casted on, hmm chained on? and single crocheted until I felt comfortable and had a wash cloth. Success!

Next, I flipped through the SNB Crochet and found the one skein scarf. It looked doable and forged ahead. I'll tell you once you can get past the first row it is a breeze. I worked on it while watching Masterpiece theater (my only TV indulgence) and will probably finish it tonight.



I love knitting and doubt I'll trade it for crochet, however; I'd love to make an afghan. A ripple afghan to be precise. I already know there is no way I could knit an afghan. I'd be bored and not enjoy it at all. I would enjoy crocheting an afghan though. So until I get around to ordering more yarn I think I will indulge in a little crochet.

I love this picture. Isn't she a nut!

Sloth: An indepth look into my mind

Yesterday was a day of rest. Almost a shameful day of rest. Both the kids were gone all day and I did pretty much...nothing. It's like I went from full steam ahead to stalled on the tracks. I either do 16 things at once or absolutely nothing. People always comment on how I get so much done during tax season; how I continue my personal work load and professional work load and add 4 new projects in the mix. I find that when I am working at high productivity levels I can't turn it off. It's not amazing and probably crazy. I'm certain its healthy because I only have one small breakdown towards the end of February and then I'm done. This year my break down was shedding some tears thinking, "Hmm I'm crying and don't know why. My brain is totally together,no one has upset me but yet my eyes are shedding tears." Yes, I could actually reason in my brain and not be upset in my mind at all but there I was crying. Weird.

Now I am functioning on the total opposite end of the spectrum. I have all this time to do whatever I want and I sit on the couch, watch movies on my computer, and knit. I should of been outside working in the yard. Getting that raised bed made or cleaning out the front porch, but no. My one saving thought was,"Hey, I'm not wasting my day. I am knitting." And so I knit almost an entire sock yesterday. I had 3 inches from the cuff when I started knitting on it Saturday morning. Now it is finished.

I really need to snap out of this lull because I do have things I want to do and sitting on the couch isn't going to get them done! Maybe I should invite someone over for dinner to force me to clean my house. That always works! 3 days of unproductivity should be enough to recover from 2.5 months of supercharge right!

Built By Jennifer

Today I finished a book, sewed a shirt, and shopped a bit. Pretty good day. This shirt is a Built by Wendy pattern Simplicity 3835. It is my practice shirt and I think it came out great. Very comfy. I thought I would start out with the shirt and then progress into the dress. There are so many variations of this pattern that I think it could keep me busy at least through June. Next up another shirt in non-practice fabric and then a dress!