Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop 2018

I decided to join in with Jo from Serendipitous Stitching and her Easter Treasure Hunt Blog Hop this year. To be a part of the fun all you do is start from Jo's blog and write down the letter that each blog is featuring to make this year's Easter Treasure Hunt phrase. When you figure out the phrase you should comment on Jo's blog:) So much fun!!!

My featured letter is:

I didn't end up getting anything new finished up in time for this blog hop, but I did 'finish/finish' a piece that I stitched up last year.

This is 'Carrots' By SubRosa. It was a free design created last spring for anyone purchasing another design in her Esty shop. I can't find it in her shop now, but maybe if you asked really nice she will add it at some point:)

 The chart came with instructions on making a pouch and felt carrots to go into the pouch.

The pouch was to have a green felt fringe on the top edge of it, but I didn't have the right shade of green felt so I left it off. I thought it would be fine, but it seems a little bare on the top, so I might try to track down some in the right shade and add it on. Also I think it needs a way to hang the pouch as it pretty much has to sit flat the way it is, but that can be fixed too:)

The next blog to visit is:

craftartista.blogspot.com

Happy Blog Hopping!!!

Craft On: Spring Away

Linking with Nicole of Frontier Dreams

It's been a good long while since I've posted, maybe a month? I think the winter cold got to me a little this year and I needed a bit of a tech break. We do not live where all the snow has been, in fact we had been completely dry here up until a week or so ago when we started getting the spring rains. We are cloudy with drizzle and on the cold-ish side of things today. We really need the rain, so I don't mind:)

I have been knitting and stitching a little here and there, though not as much as I would have liked. I am still working on the same projects I was the last time I posted:)

Cloud Wrap from Curious Handmade:

 Sockhead Slouch Hat from Kelly McClure

I love, love, love how the Cloud Wrap is turning out. The color and the little puckers are just perfect!! The hat is a little less exciting as this is the third one I've made and it is a lot of repetitive knitting, but perfect for tv watching and even though it is mostly black (daughter's choice), I do like the bursts of blue in it:) I thought I wouldn't get it done before the warm weather hit, but I think it'll be done by next week and we still have chilly weather in the forecast - though thankfully not below freezing!!

I'm off to eat lunch, knit a bit more and get some chores done!! Have a lovely day!!

Craft On: 1, 2, 3!?!?!

Linking up with Nicole from Frontier Dreams

3 projects on my needles?!?!?

Why, yes there are!! ~Actually if I am being honest, there are a lot more than 3 projects on needles, but these are the ones I'm actively working on:)

I've made quite a bit of progress on my Cloud Wrap...

I am right at the point where I'm done with the increases on both sides, it will now increase on one side and decrease on the other.

Also got a bit done on my Hermione sock...

I have the leg done and have started the heel flap.

And then I started another hat for my daughter..

This will be a Sockhead Slouch hat like the last one I made for her. She really likes the style and it fits her really well. This yarn was to be a pair of socks for her, but she said she'd rather have a hat. This is a really easy hat to make, a super portable project.

Craft On - Making Progress

Linking with Nicole from Frontier Dreams 

This week has been much more productive with the knitting!! First off I did finish the first of the Hermione socks and got a start on the second one:-)

I really love the texture on these:) However my kitchener stitch on the toe didn't turn out real well. I've done this stitch before without a problem, so I'm not sure what happened. I'm going to finish the second sock and see how the toe turns out on it, and then I'll decide if I want to take it out and try again or not.

I got a little further on the Cloud wrap as well and I really like how it's turning out as well.

The lighting washed out the color a bit, it's really a much deeper teal blue, but it does show the start stitches pretty well. Going to a bit of a heavier weight yarn really did help with stitch definition and it's easier to knit with as well. I am really starting to enjoy this project now:)

Hoping to get the other sock done by next week and get a lot more done on the wrap!!

Happy crafting!!

IHSW - Feb 2018

Linking up with Joysze from Random Ramblings and her International Hermit and Stitching Weekend:)

It's been quite some time since I participated in the IHSW and I'm super excited that it is back up and running:) Thank you Joysze for putting the work into this stitch along and the Facebook page as well!!

Like normal - for me anyway, I made headway on one and lost ground on the other. The first project I worked on was O Tannenbaum from With thy Needle and Thread. I started off here...

And ended up here. This finished this section of the design. There are 5 sections that are intended to be cut out and placed in different cubbies of a shadow box. I'm not doing the box, but will quilt the pieces together to make a small wall hanging. 

 I also worked on the first design in the Farmhouse Christmas series from Little House Needle Works. I started here...

And ended up here. I guess I did make a little progress on the the right side of the barn, but as I was stitching it I realized that I miscounted on the left side and needed to frog most of it. All-in-all, I lost progress on this one.  I intend to quilt these designs together as well.

Not bad for a couple of days though and I'm loving both of these projects so much!!

Off to see how others got along this weekend!!

FNSI - A Late Valentine

Linking with Wendy at Sugarlane Designs for Friday Night Sew-In!! 

Didn't get as much done as I had wanted this time, but did get a late little Valentine project finished off. This was a fun little stitching project by Heartstrings Samplery called 'Handprint on my Heart'. I did it over one on 32 ct linen with the called-for CC Cherry Cobbler.                               

I finished it into a little pillow hanger for a china hutch in our living room.

I had this stitched in time to get it all finished up before Valentine's day, but didn't get to it until last night. I had hoped to also make a grime (or crud) guard for another q-snap frame I just bought, but hubby wanted to go out for dinner when he got home last night, and who am I to say that I'd really rather cook dinner myself? :) So we went out and then rented a movie, so that took the rest of the evening. 

The rest of this weekend will be spent doing as much stitching as possible! Well, I may need to do a little cleaning and cooking too as my mother-in-law is coming over tomorrow:) But this weekend is IHSW - International Hermit and Stitching Weekend!! This is a stitch-a-long I participated in some a little over a year ago, and it kind of fell apart for a while, but it is back!! And I'm pretty happy about it. You are welcome to join in as well, if you'd like:) 

So now I'm off to look a bit at what others worked on last night, and then do some stitching:) 

Craft On - Un-Knitting

Linking up with Nicole of Frontier Dreams and her 'Craft-On' blog hop.

This week has proven to be super un-productive knitting wise. Last Thursday I showed off  my 'Cloud Wrap' that I thought I had finally figured out how to make the star stitch look decent. I ripped out what I had and got to knitting it (again)...

I knitted until I got to the star stitches and even though they were still not turning out how I wanted them to, I kept on going until I knitted 2 too many rows and knew I needed to tink back. That's when I took a real hard look my knitting and decided that it's not so much the star stitches turning out badly, it's just that with how fine and airy this yarn it, they just don't show up - and this is even after ripping it back initially to knit on a smaller needle. To the point that I have a hard time finding them even when I know where they should be. So I ripped it out...

And started it (AGAIN!!!), but this time with a little heavier yarn. I was using Cloud from Knit Picks which is a lace weight yarn in an Alpaca base. It is so light and soft and I LOVE the color, but do not love knitting with it. This yarn is from Loops and Thread and is an acrylic yarn, but is super soft. It shows as a fingering weight but has 650 yards per 100 grams, so a really light fingering yarn. I like the color, though not as much as the other, but I really love how the fabric is turning out. It won't be as light as the original, but I think it will drape just fine and since I'm still using the smaller needles, it should come out about the right size.

So, all-in-all, it's not a total loss, just frustrating. I will eventually look for another project to use the lace with, but not any time soon :)

I also had a bit of a snag (literally) with this pair of socks. These were the first I knit and I love wearing them, but old floors - hardwood and uneven carpeted- doesn't make for the best friends with hand knit socks. The snag was bad enough that it would eventually unravel, so I decided to pull it out from the toe and work back up. I thought that would be easy enough, but even though these are made from washable wool they have felted just a little around the foot/toe area. Made pulling out the stitches not so easy, but I got them and just need to tink back another row or two and then it should be right at where I will start the toe decreases. Thankfully I still had some of the yarn from making these:)

I did get a bit more done on my Hermione socks as well, but not enough to take a picture of. Hopefully by next week I'll have the one I'm working on done and the second one cast on. Hoping for a more productive week!! :)