Back to needles

I'm knitting again. Swollen fingers and pregnancy carpal tunnel have made knitting an undesirable hobby for the last couple months, plus I have a hard time knitting stuff for cold weather during hot sticky summer days. However, I've recently hit a knitting streak.

By knitting, I mean yarn craft in general. I crochet as much as I knit. But "knitting" is a much less cumbersome word than "crocheting" (which is even a trick to type).

Anyway, it started one evening when we took Baby G to a restaurant where she sat directly under an AC vent and was turning blue by the time dinner was over. I decided that she needed a short sleeve jacket of sorts to wear on summer and fall evenings when the AC is on high or the weather drops a few degrees. That sent me digging through my yarn stash (a super size ziploc storage bag that is so full, I can't shut it anymore) where I found some very soft Caron Eco yarn. My mom is shuttering even as she reads this because she doesn't believe in any yarn that isn't at least 123% natural fiber and hand painted, but I don't have her yarn budget.

Her little sweater was a crocheting delight - almost instant gratification. I remembered how nice a quiet craft is. While I love the even more instant gratification of sewing, I don't love the sewing machine waking G from her nap or working in the sweat shop I refer to as my sewing room. Knitting, on the other hand, can be done in any convenient location in silence except for the soothing background noise of a movie.

I'm looking forward to knitting a few items for our new baby as well as for my friends who have recently become mommas. Happy needles, yet again.

P.S. The basic pattern came from ravelry although I modified it some to fit my needs.

The Promised Mobile

A few days ago, I asked for accountability to finish G's mobile. It worked. I finished it and have moved on to a set of leg warmers for my soon-to-be-scooting baby. Now, all the mobile pieces are waiting on Tim to finish the frame (He's close).

I made up the patterns for the dragonfly and bumblebee, but the pattern for the ladybug is here and the flower is here. They were very quick and would make great gifts. I am working on the write up for the dragonfly. I had no idea how time consuming it is to write out a pattern. When I'm making it up, I just adjust until it looks right. Reproducing it for anyone is difficult.

A word about where I find patterns. I usually list the websites on the left side of my blog under "My Inspiration." My favorite site for knitting and crocheting patterns is ravelry. They have hundreds of free patterns to make just about anything you could think of. If you have any interest in yarn crafts, ravelry is gift.

Mobile Accountability

Sometimes I need a crafting kick in the pants. I usually crank through my projects, especially knitting and crocheting. Recently, I hit a wall because I don't love the pattern I'm working on. It's a mobile for Gwennan with ladybugs and a dragonfly and bee circling a flower. I'm stuck on the flower - the petals require that you count every stitch. Plus you have to make multiple pieces. I've noticed the more pieces I have to make and stitch together, the less likely I am to finish. Maybe that's why my mom makes both socks in a pair at one time. When you bind off the last row, you're done - a complete pair of socks. It's so discouraging to bind off, only to realize that you still have 6 more pieces to make and connect.

So, I'm giving myself a deadline. I must be finished with this project by Sunday. Please, ask me about it, beg for pictures, berate me if I don't post this mobile. I need to move on to another project. Thanks!