I’ve been super busy at work and have been working 40+ hours the last couple of weeks and it looks like it will be that way for at least a couple more. I’ve been sooooo tired when I get home from work. (I’ve been getting up at 2 am lately to get to work by 4 am.) About all I can manage to do in the few hours I have when I get home before going to bed by 6 pm is knit. I usually fall asleep knitting, though, and the other night I noticed I had purled on my project instead of knitted. So I had to do a little frogging this morning to correct my mistake.
New Year’s Resolutions aren’t something I usually make, but I kind of sort of made one to myself that I was going to try to use up some of my stash of yarn. I’ve done a lot of knitting since the 1st of the year. That’s about all I’ve had the energy to do. IF I can only figure out how to stay awake doing it……… But, anyway, I’ve made several things I need to catch you up on:
This lacy shawl is made out of some yarn that I’ve had so long I can’t remember when or where I got it. It had a simple lace stitch but I kept getting confused on which row of the pattern I was on. Consequently I had to frog a lot. (Maybe it was because I kept going to sleep!) I was getting frustrated, but I managed to stick with it and now it’s done! It’s just the right size to throw over my shoulders when I’m watching tv or knitting. I still have about four skeins of the yarn left. I’m trying to think of something else to make with the rest of it so I won’t have to put it back into my stash.
I found some leftover yarn that I’d made Hubby a sweater out of a long time ago. (I can’t even remember when it was. This yarn has been around for a long time.) I was pretty sure I’d have enough of this yarn to make a simple shell for myself. I found a mock turtleneck shell pattern and got it made in no time. It turned out a little big, but that’ll be ok. I can wear it like a vest with another sweater or blouse under it.
I still have some of that yarn left, so I made a pair of fingerless gloves. They have long ribbing at the wrist so they’re quite warm. And believe it or not, there’s still yarn left. I think I’ll make myself a little purse or holder to carry my ipod around in. I haven’t made that yet, but when I do, and if there’s still yarn left over, it will go into my bag of scraps to be made into another granny square afghan one of these days. Well, no one can say that I didn’t get my money’s worth out of that yarn purchase!
After working with that yarn for a while, I got really tired of looking at it. So I rummaged around in my stash and found a little skein of off-white baby weight yarn that I thought would be perfect for a lacy cowl collar. I got this pattern from Lion Brand. It turned out absolutely beautiful!
I’ve been looking for yarn to made Hubby another sweater, but alas, I don’t have enough of one color of yarn in my stash (a color that he would like anyway) to be able to make it. One day, I was thumbing through an old issue of Family Circle easy Knitting and saw a sweater I thought he might like. It’s made with several colors of broad stripes and the main color is gold.
I showed it to him and he also liked it. I went searching for yarn and found enough of the different colors I had to make it. It’s not the same colors, but close. I showed him what I found and he said he liked the colors. That was the go ahead I needed to start it. If you’ve been a reader of mine for very long, then you know that I get obsessed with a new project. Especially when it has different colors and I’m anxious to see how the colors work out. I’ve been working on it as much as I can stay awake plus taking it to work and working on it during breaks and lunches. (That helps me to not eat when I’m really not hungry anyway.) I’ve finished the back and am halfway up the front now. I think it’s going to be a quite handsome sweater.
Daughter #2 and I used to get together once a week to work on crafts. She moved away and although it isn’t that far, it’s still too far to come down once a week for a craft day. Besides she’s working a full-time job now, so she couldn’t even if she could make the trip. So we’ve discovered Skype. The last three Wed. nights, we’ve call each other and talked and crafted together over Skype. It’s GREAT! And it FREE! We can show each other our latest projects, gab about everything that pops into our heads and I even get to see the boys and visit with them too! I just don’t know what took us so long to do this!
I’ve been off from work the last couple of days, got a little house cleaning and washing done, and a little more knitting. It’ll be time to start another loooong 40-plus hour week in a few hours. Of course, I have to watch Survivor tonight. And then get up at 2 am. Ugh………until next time……….
