Busy week

Even though this week was our Spring Break, it was not a time of fun and relaxation. Dave's car has been in and out of the shop for the past six weeks, so we decided it was time to get a new one. I had forgotten how time consuming car shopping can be! It took us a total of three days, but we now have a new, reliable vehicle.

I didn't get as much crafting time in as I had hoped to, but I still accomplished quite a bit. It took me all week to finish one more pattern repeat of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025. Honestly, I put off tatting until today. It's just easier for me to take crocheting or knitting in the car, and we were in the car quite a bit this week.

I now have three more cowls in my stash. I'll be putting them away until the weather turns colder next fall.

My scrappy afghan is growing. I measured it last night and figured out that I only need 12 more inches. The three skeins in the lower part of the picture will be used for my next three cowls, and the leftovers from those cowls will be added to the afghan. I think I'll be concentrating on crocheting for the next week. I'd really like to finish this afghan before the weather turns nice and warm.

We'll see what the coming week brings!

Awkward

 

Crafting has been a bit awkward since I sliced my finger the other day. I decided to attempt crochet first, figuring that working with a thicker fiber would be easier. Luckily, I only had a couple of rounds left to do on the top cowl. I found that if I moved the yarn closer to my hand, I was able to crochet. It took a bit of time to figure out how to adjust my tension, but I did it!

I supped Tuesday and Wednesday, so I worked on these two cowls and managed to finish them both.

This morning I decided it was time to test out tatting, and I think I did pretty well. It did take more time to finish a pattern repeat, but I wasn't deterred by how long it took. I'm actually quite pleased!

It seems that typing is my biggest challenge right now. I'm a touch typist, and I find that I'm making tons of mistakes. It's driving me a little crazy!

Losing track of time

Well, I did it again. I lost track of time and missed our Tollway Tatters meeting. I simply forgot that this week was the last Saturday of the month. I'll try to do better next month.

I'm still working with the Drapey Cowl pattern. I'm sure I'll lose interest as the weather gets warmer, but for now I'm still going strong.

I have to pay close attention to round 8 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025. I finished one pattern repeat yesterday and one today. This is not a round that is easy for me to remember!

Back in the swing of things

 

It did me a world of good to take a break from crafting. I'm no back to doing the things I enjoy, but at a much slower pace. I started a new cowl several days ago. I've been very careful to not work for too long.

I finished round 7 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025. I really like the way the colors are coming together.

Most of my time has been spent embellishing costumes for the upcoming high school musical, Crazy for You. Daughter Carol bought the dresses and boas. I attached the boas to the dresses after adjusting the straps to fit each of the girls. Working on costumes is not my favorite thing to do, but I am happy to help where I can when it comes to the Drama Club!

Starting round 5

 

At lunchtime today, I realized that I am more than half finished with my latest cowl. About a half hour a day of crocheting really pays off.

My scrappy afghan is now 29 inches long. I really like the way it's looking.

I also started round 5 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025. I'm using size 20 Lizbeth #622 Pink Med. Each pattern repeat takes me about an hour, so I know I have a couple of days left to work on this round.

I think I'm done for the day. My hands are a little sore from all I've been doing. It's better to take a break now than to have to take several days off later. 

A new tatting friend

 

Linda recently joined our Tollway Tatters group on Facebook and asked if anyone was interested in getting together to tat. Yes! We met today at Culver's in New Lenox, and spent about three hours together. A man stopped by and asked if we could make him some socks, which made us laugh. He was then kind enough to take our picture. We're both hoping we can get together again soon.

My scrappy afghan is now 24" long. I haven't measured the width yet, but I'm guessing that I will make it about 60" long.

I finished another Drapey Cowl before leaving to meet Linda. Yes, I have already started another!

Asymmetry

 

I finished my Asymmetry bookmark from Four Dozen Tatted Bookmarks by Robin Perfetti. I really enjoyed tatting this one. I did notice that I managed to twist the last chain, but not until after I'd buried the ends. Somehow I think it will be okay.

I finished another Drapey Cowl this afternoon. I didn't think I'd like like the color combination, but now that it's finished I really like it.

My scrappy afghan is now 17" long. I haven't decided yet how long I'll make it. I guess I should measure the width and go from there.

The weekend is looking really busy, so I'm not sure how much I'll get done, but I'll be sure to post my accomplishments!

Project progress

 

I started off round 2 of Renulek's Spring Doily 2025 with a mistake. I thought the second ring looked strange, but I couldn't figure out why. So, I kept on tatting. When I started the second pattern repeat, I realized that I was short one picot and three double stitches. So, I snipped off the mistake and started round 2 again. It looks much better now.

My scrap afghan is now 16" long. It's nice to have something to work on that doesn't take much concentration at the end of a busy day.

Since the weather has turned warmer, I haven't had the urge to finish cowls quickly. This has been my take along project that I work on between lunches at school. It's only a total of about 30 minutes a day, but I do enjoy seeing how projects grow little by little.

Feelin' productive

 

I'm feeling pretty good about today. I took my crocheting with me, and I was able to finish this Drapey Cowl while subbing. I actually pulled out my tatting, which is full of mistakes. Still, I had something to do with my hands while supervising students.

Mom had a dentist appointment this afternoon, which really didn't take much time. In fact, there was time enough to start another Drapey Cowl before dinner!

Scrappy

I tried to post last night, but the Internet wouldn't let me... again!

I spent quite a bit of time crocheting yesterday. I really am trying to use up my yarn stash, and these Drapey Cowls have been quite popular with my friends.

My basket of leftover yarn balls was getting pretty full, so I decided to start my scrappy afghan. I crocheted a foundation chain in groups of five, but I'm not sure how many stitches there are. I just wanted an easy way to make sure I didn't skip or ad any stitches, and five is my favorite number. 

Right now, my plan is to do the afghan in half double crochet, but I may throw in a few different patterns just for fun. We'll see how that works out.

There won't be much time for crafting today. I'm subbing this morning, and Mom has a dentist appointment this afternoon. I think I'll try posting again tonight, just to see if the Internet is cooperating!

More cowls

As I had hoped, I finished my Drapey Cowl in Nevada Dusk.

The cowls don't look like much on my footstool, so I decided to take a selfie to show what they look like when worn. They're really cozy!

I had a good size ball of yarn left from another project, so I decided to see how far it would go. I used a combination of single, double, and treble crochet. I think it looks pretty nice!

Fully loaded

 

I gave up on the Internet last night. I don't know what's going on. Does severe cold affect connectivity? I tried to access a variety of web sites, and they would only load partially. This morning, all seems to be good. At least my Blogger page fully loaded!

Yesterday was one of those days that somehow flew by. The only thing I accomplished was to finish my gradient black Drapey Cowl. I'm not attracted to black, so I'm not sure why I purchased this yarn. It's I Love This Yarn! from Hobby Lobby and it was very nice to work with. 

Yes, I've started another Drapey Cowl. The color is Nevada Dusk. I plan on finishing it today, and if the Internet is working, I'll post a picture tonight. 

Today is an e-learning day because of the cold weather. The expected high today is 4° with a wind chill of -25°. So, I have the day off! I have plenty to do around here, so there's no chance of getting bored. 

My main goal today is to stay warm!

A craft day

 

Today I felt like making a Christmas button tree, so that's how I spent my morning. I love the way it turned out!

This afternoon I felt like finishing up projects. So, my Drapey Cowl (pattern from Yarnspirations) in "Dakota" I Love This Yarn! from Hobby Lobby was first on my list. I highly recommend this pattern. It is so easy!

Next up was finishing my Curds & Whey bookmark from Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konnor. I love this pattern, because the only thing I need to carry is my shuttle and the work in progress.

I wonder what I'll be inspired to work on next?