The New Year

I can't believe it's been over a year since I last blogged.  I'm going to try and do better this year.  So here's my first blog for 2015.

I've always wanted to learn how to do Tunisian crochet so I just looked it up on YouTube.  Found an easy lesson and decided to make this afghan..  I decided to make it in different shades of blue.  Did thirty rows (back and forth) of Tunisian crochet for each color. Then did six rows of single crochet in navy blue for the ends to stop the afghan from curling.  This was very time consuming and I don't know if I would make another one any time soon.

Even though this took me two months to complete, I am satisfied with the finished project.  The afghan is very warm and just in time for the below zero temperatures we are now getting.

Until my next blog...

New Things for the New Year

Happy New Year!  New Year resolutions are not my thing.  I can never keep them, so why bother. However, there are some things I would like to do in this new year.  I would like to:

• Begin sewing and building my wardrobe (started new blog ellelovestosew).
• Complete a knit/crochet project from beginning to end.
• Take a beading class. 
• Blog more.
  

Looks like I may be stretching myself too thin.  Well I'll see how it goes.  Will keep you updated.

Cables to Keep Me Warm

Winter storms are coming one after another.  It's time to make some warm hats and scarves for myself.  Since I love cables, I decided on the Cabled Beret .  It reminds me of the Irish Hiking Scarf  I made a while ago.  Now I just need to find a similar pattern for a cowl and maybe a pair of fingerless gloves.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Ravelry Friends!

Getting Started

I used to sew a long time ago and then I stopped.  Now I've been bitten by the sewing bug and I'm excited to start again.  One of the things I would like to do is get a new sewing machine.  I have a basic Singer but I'm looking for a machine that can do a little more.  I have no idea what machine or brand (Singer, Bernina, Pfaff, Janome...)?

I'm also going to need some sewing notions, so I decided to get a new sewing basket to keep all of the notions in one place.

I wonder what will be the first thing I will make?  Something real simple that I can whip up on my old machine.  We'll see and I'll post the finished project later.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to my Ravelry friends!

Cold Hands....

My hands are always freezing at work.  So, I decided to knit a pair of Mitt Envy fingerless gloves.  They were quick and easy to make and I just love the cables.  Might just have to make another pair.

My First Quilting Attempt

Always wanted to learn to quilt but was afraid I would end up with another stash crowding up my house.  Well I conquered that fear and learned to make a log cabin potholder.  They are not perfect but I will be using them.  Now I'm looking to make something else.  Not too big, maybe a placemat. 

My First KAL

I'm going to participate in my first KAL.  I excited and can't wait to get started.  This KAL is the Westknits Mystery Shawl KAL 2013: Color Craving by Stephen West.  It will be a while before I post any pictures for this shawl.  Don't want to ruin it for the others in the KAL.  I'll just include a picture of the yarn I plan on using.

The Shawl

Just finished a shawl for myself.  The air conditioning at work gets so cold, so I decided to make this and keep it at my desk.  I got a little daring and put a few stripes in it.  I love how easy it was to make this Boneyard Shawl by Stephen West.

Rested.....

Just came back from a 7 day cruise to Mexico, Belize and Honduras.  It was good to sit back, relax and read book.  Left the yarn and needles home because it was too hot to knit.  I usually knit less when it gets warmer.  Maybe I'll pick up sewing again.  Gotta clean out that sewing room first.  Ugh, that's a big chore that has me procrastinating.

Fiber Festival

Yum!

I'm always looking for new dinner recipes.  My sister sent me this one.  Not sure what the name is but I'll call it Shrimp Pesto.  She was actually at the grocery store and one of the employees was preparing this for taste testing.  She liked it, tried it and then sent it to me.  It was good.  Wasn't too sure about the grape tomatoes.  I'm not down with eating warm tomatoes.   I'll try this again but maybe with broccoli or some other vegetable.

 

Recipe:

-16oz package (frozen) of gnocchi

-1 container of grape tomatoes

-1 package of large pre cooked shrimp (peeled and deveined)

-8oz jar of Classico Traditional Basil Pesto (or whatever you choose)

-shredded Parmesan cheese

 

Cook gnocchi as directed on package.  In large skillet/sauté pan, combine gnocchi, grape tomatoes, shrimp and pesto.  Heat through and sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy.

Happy New Year!

New Year Ravelry family. No resolution list here. I'm just grateful to live to see a new year. Here's the first project for the year. It's the Storm Cloud Shawlette.

A New Year

Happy New Year Ravelry friends. I'm not the type of person to make New Year resolutions since I can never seem to keep them. I know what I would like to achieve for this year. So forget the lists, forget the resolutions. If it happens I'll share it on my blog. No more stressing.

My New Toy

Knitting is one of my favorite hobbies. I also love to read. Since I take a bus to work everyday, that's when I do most of my reading. However, I'm not thrilled about having to drag a bunch of books around with me. Hence, my Christmas gift. Now I can take all of my reading material and place them on this one little device. I love my Kindle Wi-Fi. Yeah!

Knitting Retreat

A group of friends from work went on a knitting retreat to Rush Creek Retreat in Sugargrove Ohio. The cabin was beautiful. It had plenty of room for all fifteen of us.
It's very relaxing to be able to sit and knit, crochet, etc without any other distractions. Definitely will have to make this an annual event.

Me Time!

Knitters Connection started yesterday. Didn't sign up for any classes this year. However,I did sign up for membership and picked up my goodie bag. Our knitting group at work took the afternoon off. After eating lunch we stopped by to see what the vendors were selling. Then we got a good three hours of knitting and crocheting in. I'm going to have to schedule more of these half days for knitting.

WWKIP Day

On June 12th, our knitting group sponsored our World Wide Knit in Public Day at Polaris Fashion Place in Columbus Ohio. Close to twenty people showed up to knit and crochet. The rain held off allowing us to be there all day. A lot of people were interested in what we were doing. It gave us a chance to promote the fiber arts.

Meet the Ravelry Gang

Our knitting group at work (Stitch'n Club) got to meet the Ravelry gang at Yarnmarket. There was a nice turn out. It was great to meet the creators of Ravelry. Thanks to Deborah at Yarnmarket for a successful event.