Laying out the squares

I love my colour combination- Burnt Orange, California Poppy, Granny Smith, Lupine and Midnight Heather. According to my spreadsheet I am 88.50% done. I should be done with everything but the peach tomorrow. Then I just have to wait till my yarn shows up. I randomized all the squares and put them on an X,Y grid. As I finish up squares I am laying them out so I can see what it looks like together.

The real battle starts after the squares are done. First I need to weave in all the ends. That is going to be LONG. I am going to block the squares. I was at my LYS Thursday and learned about blocking wires. I had never heard of them and since I am on a grid they would work really well. I just have to weave the wires through the spaces and then use T-pins to hold the wires in place. After all that I need to join the squares together. I am going to use Highland Green which is a more traditional green. It should coordinate well.

One down, 119 to go

 I have been a crocheting fool. I have finished almost all of the 4 round. I ran out of yarn for one of my colours so I am 6 shy of the 120. I went through this evening and sorted everything out for the final round. It has gone really well. I am going to start laying out as I finish up squares so I can see what it looks like all together. I have a regular green that I think I am going to use to join them all. I don't want to use a 'neutral', but then again green can be a neutral.

A finished square! Position 2,2 in the 11x11 grid.

Granny Squares progress

I've kept up with my goal of 24 square rounds per day. I already know that when I get done I won't be lifting a crochet hook for a LONG time. It does take time, but I am enjoying it. There is a rhythm to crochet that I enjoy. It is also an easy pattern to do while watching TV. I've watch A LOT of Law and Order this week. There are marathons almost every day on some channel or the other. Everything I've learned about crime investigation and justice I've learned from L&O. It really is a good who.

So I am 40% done. I really love having a spreadsheet to keep track of how much I've completed and when I need to sort out for the next colour. On to the third colour!

I may actually finish something!

I did start my granny squares crochet blocks and so far I am staying on task. It does take some time, but I am liking the routine. I am doing 120 non-repeated blocks. I decided it was easier to work a colour at a time, rather than finishing a single block with all 5 colours.

So here is some math:
120 blocks*5 colour rounds= 600 rounds
600 rounds/30 days= 20 rounds/day

There are 31 days in May, but it was easier to assume there were 30. I have done 24 per day because it works out to 24 per colour. I am going gang busters now, but my guess I will slack off in a bit. Doing the extra 4 per the last 4 days has bought me a slack day.

I am using ziplock bags to keep things straight. I am famous for leaving things different places and then forgetting where I put them. My system is to put them in the bag of the next colour I'm supposed to crochet. I have a pivot table that shows me how to divide the colours for the next block. Told you I was a nerd! Granny squares are a bit wasteful, but if I weren't using the yarn for this I wouldn't be using it at all and that is even more wasteful.

Eating paste

Last Thursday I went to one of my local yarn stores for a granny squares class. I used to crochet, but hadn't in a while and last fall I signed up for a crochet along. It was once a month for 6 months I think. I made it to only 2 or 3 classes. I bought all the yarn so I have a ton of yarn sitting around. During one of the few classes I did attend, I asked about granny squares and so I like to think I brought about this class. Anyway, I went to the class unprepared. I forgot my supplies at home and didn't have enough time to go home and pick them up after work. So I went to Joann's and picked up $2 yarn and a cheapo crochet hook. My first mistake of the session was admitting that I had done that. I got the stink eye for saying I went to Joann's. I just couldn't get the pattern to work. It was off from the get go and it go progressively worse and was all misshapen and not square. It was like kindergarten where all the other kids are writing their name and you don't even know letters. I felt like I was the paste eating child! Sidebar- I never ate paste as a kid and I have no idea why anybody would. It was AWFUL! I even left the lesson early. Sitting in my car I texted my friend to tell her how awful it was and how I was going to have to either get a tutor and pay somebody to crochet up a few for me to take to the next lesson.

Yesterday I decided to try again. This time it turned out OK, but on the class handout I found out that there are different kinds of granny squares and they had taught me the circle in square kind. I like the original one, the one that was the inspiration for the granny square quilts. Worked like a dream. I can write my name! I did two and they turned out fantastic.

Since I can't leave well enough alone, I've decided to make an afghan. I am going to use the yarn I picked up for the crochet along. I used this image as inspiration. I love the two sample blocks I made. And because I am a big nerd, I don't want repeats so I used a permutation generator to get all possible combinations. With 5 colours there are 120 combinations. If I used 4 colours out of the 5, it is still 120 combinations so I am going with 5 colours since they will be bigger blocks and hence a larger throw with same number of blocks. Always thinking, this one. Technically I can get it done in a month. 120=4/day*31days/May. Yeah, right!

Still crafting

I have been busy with work, but still been working on projects. I've been doing a lot of cross stitch because I find that the most relaxing. I finished up the June Woodland Sampler and just started on the July. I am really surprised by how much I am enjoying it.

I also finished up my scarf. It is too hot to take a picture modeling it. I haven't decided if I want to stitch the ends together or use buttons. The colours lend to large wood buttons. I am leaning towards buttons. One of my local yarn stores is hosting a crochet along. A sampler afghan of different stitches. I am going to sign up. This year I have been branching out into different areas and I am enjoying the variety.

For the Toes in the Sand BOM, I've only done one of the two blocks. This month was a Y seam of sorts. It turned out well and I just need to find the time to finish out the next one.

Baa Ram Ewe

I'm in the middle of several small projects. I finished up my two June blocks for the Toes in the Sand BOM. I am really enjoying that. Fabric choice makes such a difference and i feel I am getting my money's worth from both the ruler and the pattern.

I'm in the middle of my June Woodland Sampler cross stitch. I need to take a picture when I get done. It is a firefly this month. It is cute. I have to use the metallic floss again. I'm not looking forward to that; it was a nightmare in the February block.

Saturday I went to the Iowa Sheep and Wool Festival. I had so much fun. There were a ton of vendors for yarn, roving, spinning wheels and all sorts of good stuff. There were sheep to look at and pet. They did a great job with signage of the different varieties of sheep. I picked up yarn from Esther Purl again and already crocheted up half of it into a scarf. I didn't get the hank wound into a ball again, but this time I was wiser and watched a youtube video. Supposedly you undo the hank and if you position it over your knees you can unwrap it nicely. It worked pretty slick. The scarf is just treble crochets.I wanted something airy for the fall.

The festival had sheep dog trials which I found very entertaining to watch. I sat through several of them. Some of the dogs were in training so they would get distracted easily, but you could see the ones who had done it a while and knew what they were doing. So on that note, here is a clip from Babe.

Snow in May

Des Moines received 7 inches of snow over two days. Two days in May. This is what I awoke to this morning.

I had picked up a silk and wool blend at the yarn show in March and figured I would get a head start on next winter. Little did I know that I could use what I made with this extended winter. I love my cowl. I turned into a mobius strip so it is all twisty and interesting. I used a pattern from Fiber Flux that is essentially blocks of single, double and treble crochets. It was a good pattern to jump back into crochet. I have enough length to be able to wear it long or wrap it twice so it is tighter around my neck.

So here are a couple pictures my friend Emily took. It was windy and I was cold but they get the point across. 

Sewing circle

My friends Emily, Amy and I had a fun sewing evening Thursday night. I crocheted with yarn from Fiberpalooza. It is a silk/cormo blend from Esther Purl Fibers. The pattern I am using is from the Fiber Flux Crochet Along. I made a bit  mistake by just starting to crochet from the hank. I didn't know I was supposed to turn it into a ball. I googled and found out after the fact that it is just ridiculous to crochet straight from the hank. I didn't even know what a hank was! I am used to yarn from Hobby Lobby where you just pull from the center. I could kick myself because the Des Moines Knitting Guild was winding for free at Fiberpalooza. I am really not bright sometimes. Anyway, Fiberpalooza was awesome!!! I learned A LOT about how yarn is produced and how blends are made. Emily picked up a drop spindle to learn how to spin. This may lead to alpacas for her.

Emily has made decent progress on her deer. You can now see antlers. The purple-y bit of it's  body is really pretty in person.

Yeah, I've been busy

I went on a trip. That story may make a reappearance if I work on something I brought back. I have been doing some crafting, but not a whole lot.

I worked on the Woodland Sampler. I think February turned out well. March is cute, but I left out the 'March' text because it was bright yellow and I didn't care for that. I am waiting to see what colour 'April' is before I decided. I also signed up for the Springtime Sampler. There are 25 frames with a number in each. The control freak in me has shown up with this though. March 21st is the start of spring- the equinox is technically on the 20th, but 21st is the 'traditional date'. The sneak peeks I've seen are more Easter/April themed. Even if I consider them April dates, April 25th is nothing. I guess it is a sampler not a countdown, but I don't get the numbers then. I think I may leave out the numbers. I can always stitch them back in.

I've decided to the Virtual Quilting Bee with Amy Smart (Diary of a Quilter). It just seemed like fun. Her posts are very well written and I think that is what sucked me in. A fat eighth solid bundle from Pink Castle Fabrics went along with it, so I went that route. I don't have any super bright/rainbow type quilts so I figured I should try that. The stack is very pretty. The first block is out, but I haven't done it yet.

I am also working on another toddler height chart. This one has progressed much better than the first attempt. That was so awful. I'm using Riley Blake this time. I am starting to like Riley Blake. I used to be strictly Moda before. Oh and I LOVE Art Gallery. The feel of the fabric is fantastic.

What I REALLY need to be working on is my Des Moines Modern Quilt Guild Madrona Road challenge. I want to do a pillow of interlocking plus blocks. I just can't get motivated.

I think that is it. Wait, one more thing. Fiber Flux is having a crochet along. It is a beginner/refresher one. My plan is to participate. I haven't crocheted in years, so I figured this would be a good way to get back in. I don't have yarn yet, but I am in luck! Fiberpalooza is March 23rd in Winterset. I have missed the first two years, but Emily went last year and thoroughly enjoyed herself. Heartland Fiber Co does a great job with their in store events so I am sure this will be just as good.