The Challenge Drawer

Its been over a month since my last attempt to post to my blog.  My hours are less at work so cable and the internet have been out of the budget. 

I have still been knitting and have come up with these items over the past month: Malabrigo Chunky hat & scarf set , then we have the Schaffer Yarn cable hat, not pictured is the ONline skinny scarf .

I'm hoping his works so I can keep up with what's going on in my knitting life.......not time for much else but I do have much more to share.  Gotta get ready for work have a great day.

be blessedConnected by MOTOBLUR™ on T-Mobile

Test mobile post

be blessedConnected by MOTOBLUR™ on T-Mobile

Sickness....loss of time and The Drawer Challenge

I have been ill for the past month it started with my sinuses and not the average irritation but misery to the point of my ears running and clogging up, no voice and vision impairment. So after working on it with OTC drugs and home remedies that normally offer relief I went to my Doctor P and she gave me some scripts and this lovely script in particular was just waiting to reek havoc in my world. I was given Augmentin 875mg and not ever having any problems with reactions to meds before took with food as directed and drank plenty of water but they failed to mention that I needed to add a daily dose of yogurt to the mix. Needless to say my stomach stayed upset for the the whole 10 days and I OTC remedied the symptoms but to no avail. Finished the meds and then it happened overnight my abdomen swelled to 3 times it's normal size and I couldn't move, hard to breath, and there was no sleep in sight as laying down was not an option at all.

Needless to say I have improved some but still having severe pain in my back. Lesson learned and won't be taking that anymore. Now on to some fiber-related production.

I am currently working on another cowl the Ashford Cowl from the Challenge Drawer in Malabrigo's Silky Merino in Nocturnal I've only made it to the first pattern row so I'm on row 3 but will make strides today and have pics to show in the next post. I am thinking that something from my Challenge drawer needs to come out for my Mom's BD gift unless I decide to do something else it will likely be the ColorShift Lace scarf from the post a few weeks ago. I'm finding that the urge to complete my journey to having projects done before Christmas this year has me leaning to Cowls, Scaves and Hats but I do have a few Sweaters in my Raverly Queue that will get made this year most definitely one will be the Lace Cardi that I made for myself as my Mom really wants one and also a new pattern found on Ravelry yesterday here I have to put them out here to you the public as a way of holding myself accountable to complete projects and reinforce my resolve to stay on top of things.

Update on the Soul-ology Project I wrote the definition for myself of what this means to me and I may have to move or delete some pages as they may not help me to really dig into who I am as a person although I may hold my memories fondly. Will get back with you on the progress during my next post. Until stay Creative.

The Challenge Continues along with other Projects

I'm back yet another week with more progress. First, I have to say that it has been a very stressful week with updates with programs at work and all the stress of working in a Doctor's office but as always I'm doing it with a smile and a feeling of being blessed.

I have been lurking in the scrapbooking world for nearly a year now and want so much to really get the groove of being a good scrapper. So I heard and read about the Soulology Project. It is a scrapbook about you that makes you reflect on yourself and I decided that this is where I would start. Here's the first few pages of my book. This is my graduation from high school back in '85 yes my 25 year reunion is in July that's so hard to believe that all those many years have passed by.

This is me and my BFF my lovely Grandmother who passed away in 2000.





Next is the cover of my Scrapbook that tells it all. I'm a happy sing song type of person who loves to be happy even when life throws me lemons and curves. Look forward to having more pages done in the next week but with the work schedule changes and other things in my life I hope to have some new pages to share with you in the next week.






Here's the next Beret that I'm doing it's knit up from Naturally Caron.com Country yarn in Black. Now I have to say that this skein of yarn is very thready and has been knotted back together so the integrity of the yarn is not the best but it looks so good knitted up. This pattern is inspired by ColorShift from Scarves a Knitters Dozen. My oldest Daughter wanted this so bad so in using up the yarn in Challenge drawer to grant her wish.












The next project from the Challenge Drawer is ZigZag Cowl found on Ravelry and is being knitted up from KnitPicks Andean Silk in colorway Cinnamon. This pattern is a nice one and for the first time I did a Picot edging as the pattern calls for. I was intimidated at first because I have never tried it before. It turned out just fine until..............




This is when the ability to laugh at yourself comes into play and I realized that I was knitting the pattern the wrong way. This came from thinking I had it in the bag and now I'm jumping into the Frog Pond yet again. Will frog down to the first knit row after the Picot edging and start the pattern again.




So stay tuned for the next chapter in the Stash busting Challenge.

The Challenge Continues

To continue the progress of my Challenge to use all the yarn in my drawer I completed the Color Shift Scarf and added a Beret using the same lace pattern from the scarf and here it is. I'm not really sure who will be the reciepent of this project as several people commented on it during it's completion. I really love this pattern for the both projects as they were completed in less than 2 weeks and for me with the schedule I have that's really great. The model is my lovely oldest DD.


Here's the second view what else can I say but there will be some more sets like this one as the pattern is just so much fun and an excellent to bust up the stash.



The Mojo is still working and there are a few patterns on Ravlery that I have my eye on one being Swirl Neckwarmer



For these lovely cakes I'm thinking another Hat and Scarf set but haven't yet come up with a pattern so still searching Ravelry for something I really want or maybe I'll look through on my cable stitches book and choose something from there......stay tuned on this one.

Lastly this is the drawer that will tell the story there should be some addition to make sure the drawer is as full of completed items as it was yarn before November first 2010 in order to be able to give all of my loved ones something especially made just for them. As you can see there are a few completed items there and by next week I hope to have a few more well in reality at least one more. Hope your creative juices will continue to flow as mine are in full gear.

Challenges and Progress

It's been a while since I blogged but the Challenge I gave myself is very alive and well. See I have yarn all over my house in boxes, totes, baskets and drawers. So I decided to think about my gift knitting/crocheting for this coming Christmas and thought if I could just get rid of what is in my drawer that would be a very good start to decluttering and to having some other options for gift giving. This is what my drawer looks like today and I will report the changes on a bi-weekly basis Yes holding myself accountable is important to me and this time my Mojo is working so we'll see the progress......just hope my Mojo holds out.

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHq9ZKTEVqt_hKhB874AQHvN61mOsMGzNJXF8gaapwHSxUvDFw7I2YfJDWG9vVNg4d9Qu-3bePUmfJu2aRwQtD1_CPaQn4ZhpZo-ZFaREbk2FXN7UhvUCUEswDPornJvRDI7mgzn7DXNs/s1600/100_3451.JPG">

Here are a few of the projects that have come out of that drawer over the past month. First there is the Shipwrecked Scarf that will have a matching hat I have to add that the pattern for the scarf comes from Scaves a Knitters Dozen and is called Colorshift. For those of you that sew this pattern has become my TNT (tried and true) pattern that is quick efficent and easy to work up the yarn does all the work. I would really like to sell the hat pattern and I'm about halfway through it so if you are interested in test knitting please leave a comment as I am working it into a PDF file and should be good to go in the next 2 weeks. This is made from Yarn Love's Anne Shirley in colorway Shipwrecked hence the name of the hat and scarf set.



Then we have the Golden Sun Scarf also made from the Colorshift pattern using Malabrigo's Silkey Merino in colorway Sand after blocking this yarn has a beautiful drape and I will definitely be ordering more from Eat.Sleep.Knit if you haven't checked out this online store you are missing something special. Please visit from the link on my sidebar and enjoy. Her prices are very reasonable.



The next project to come out of the drawer is the Abstract Leaves Cowl knit from KnitPicks Essential Wine kettle hand-dyed yarn and I have to say I really love the subtle variations in colors as this was worked up. The one thing I have to learn is that with lace you don't need to knit tight as lace comes out in the blocking know while your knitting it.


I also have some sewing projects that I will be sharing in the upcoming posts so stay tuned and stay Creative!!!

Long Overdue~~Content Heavy

It has been a long time since I've graced my blog. There's been a lot of working, some knitting, beginning a new relationship, finally doing something I've always longed to do and discovering a childhood craft item used today as a styling tool.

This is my very first tattoo and I always wanted to have them and after doing much research. Yes research, I have keloid skin (prone to over growth of scar tissue after a wound)and needed to make sure I wouldn't end up with scars so the Star was my test tatt and other than the point I didn't even realize she was done with my tatt.


I always wanted these words: Strength, Faith and Serenity and my tattoo artist took my concept of having a floral concept placed with in the look and viola' Now I do have to say that this tatt was so painful but the outcome was so good. I do plan to get a few more and one of them is going to be fiber related just trying to work out the best tattoo details for this one.





The next thing I discovered on YouTube was using Pipe Cleaners to curl my Locs, yeah I know are you really serious Pipe Cleaners. Well I did this method and was really hoping that they would turn out good because all the other methods I tried my curls would fall immediately by the end of the day. The first look is after they were done and my family wanted to get out and do some running so I curved the pipe cleaners added the earrings and bounced and got many compliments on this style.







Then the next day I released the pipe cleaners and here you have it curls for days and as I write this post it is now 2 weeks later and I still have curls and will definitely continue using this method to curl my locs as it is my new TNT method of styling.





Here's my latest project in my quest for becoming comfortable with lace knitting I searched Ravelry and found the Abstract Leaves Cowl by Deb Mulder. This has been a very easy pattern and I feel like I'm afraid of lace knitting for no reason other than it's just something I haven't tried. So this is the first of many projects I plan to do before the year is over.




Until the next post stay Creative!!!!!!!!

No news is Good News or Is it?????

Okay I'm trying to get my creativity back in motion. I started the Newsboy Cap from Debbie Strollers Stitch N Bitch Nation book. The pattern was created by Shanita Williams-Alleyne for this book. I've had this on my Ravelry queue for at least a year and really wanted to have another go at cable knitting. I started this hat and was done in a few days and then went on to the brim and here's were the problems started. Here's the pics so far.

Half way through the process of this hat and loving how quickly it worked up.

Feeling good about this so far.

You can see a hole at the brim from the join not liking this at all but it can be hidden. Also doubting the outcome alot but with each pattern you learn to accept or jump into the frog pond. I accepted this for what it is and my oldest DD likes it so there you go.




My issue with this pattern although it's easy and works up quick is that the brim made the hat smaller As I look at the hat on my daughter I see that maybe I brought my brim over too far but I was following the pattern so that the insert for the brim fits. I have another on the needles made from a bulkier yarn. Will post those pics later to see how that works out.

Stay creative.

Making My way Back

Been gone for a while but here with sad news I lost my first grandchild on Christmas Eve and almost lost my child in the process. Just grateful for a wonderful team of nurses and doctors that took her complaints seriously and did what was needed and saved her life. It's been a rough road but I thank God for saving her life and the grace to give her another chance. She's still physically sick having to go back in the hospital twice and because of this we just buried Amir on Jan. 5th.

It's been really hard to get back into the swing of things and so much so til the next day I ended up in the hospital the next day with chest pains only to be admitted and discover my cholesterol is high by +45 points and I had to start on heart medication for tachycardia (rapid heart beat).

Getting back into the mood of crafting should seem like the natural thing to relieve stress but I'm so worried that my daughter could turn again at any moment my concentration has been off. I did manage to make this card to add to my collection of cards. This is a plan little card inspired by this Martha Stewart punch.

Pictureless Post and 2010 Projections

OK wanted to show some progress on a few last Christmas projects that I've been working on but unfortunately I can't find my adapter for my memory card so this will just be a blog of random thoughts.

First there hasn't been any real progress this year in my long list of items I wanted to do before the end of 2009. I had this long list on Ravelry that would and did include something for all the special people in my life and was able to make a few things and my job with it's changes and long hours got in the way. I did however manage to complete 2 crochet sweaters for myself that I'm actually proud of. You know the main thing is to go out in public and people as where did you buy that from and you can tell them you made it and have them say wow. Great feeling as you crafters know.


A few things that came into my world this year was the joy of cardmaking and the pursuit of scrapbooking. On the sewing front not much to show but a most of the fabric choices from last year and nothing cut out. I did however manage to get making a good uniform scrub top down and now have a TNT pattern for that. Quilting brought a few baby quilts but nothing more than that. The other thing that I had become good at was posting regularly to my blog and now I changed from Wordpress back to Blogger where I first started out and just haven't taken the time to sit and rededicate myself to being accountable with my crafts. There's something inspiring about putting yourself out there to others that at times pushes you to stay true to what you say you love doing. It's what I miss the most about blogging. The camaraderie of sharing that new yarn, fabric, creating tool, reference material or new and fabulous find that has propelled me to keep forging ahead to explore and create.


2010 Projections

I want to learn Fair Isle knitting for real this year and at least make a nice hat or pair of mittens.
Make more clothing for myself
Have all of my projects for the holidays done by Oct. instead of the proverbial day before panic
and as always to grow as a creator and crafter.

Hopefully I will get back here before the end of next week but if not Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone.