January - Sock Blanket Madness

January was a month of knitting for me.  I had decided that since I knit so many things for others for Christmas I was going to knit whatever I wanted, and I did!  I decided to spend a lot of time on my sock yarn blankie.

In January alone I've added 85 new squares (I count the big ones as four) for a total of 330 squares.  In the end I will need 1201 squares to cover my queen sized mattress so I have a way to go, but I love this blanket so much I'm fairly certain that I won't mind the years of work this will take, lol.

If you are interested in this amazing project you can find the original here on Shelly Kang's blog.  Her original blanket is so pretty!

I also worked on a couple of pairs of socks this month.

On Christmas day I started a pair of socks with some yarn Santa brought me.  Its amazing how he knew which exact yarn I would like!  Anyway, I've knit a few pairs of Jaywalker socks before and I love how they fit, so I decided this fun yarn would look nice with this pattern.

I also decided I wanted to knit a vanilla pair of socks, and lets be honest, I really wanted to use this yarn with my blanket.  I love this Turtle Purl yarn called "Taste the Rainbow".

Finally, I decided to finish a pair of socks I started before Christmas.  They were intended for a secret Santa gift, but when I realized the secret Santa gift was due the next day I decided they would be for me, lol.  I wasn't really sure how this Red Heart sock yarn would really work out but I like how its knit up.  I find it a bit stretchy so it seems to knit up best with a needle size down from what I'm used to.  I didn't quite finish these before the end of January so I'll show them in my post for next month.

Part of the reason for this last pair of socks is that I've been gearing up for "Finishuary".  For the whole month of February I'm just going to work on projects I've already started.  The plan is to clear out all of the WIPs so I can start fresh a bit more organized.  We'll see how that goes!  :)

See you next month!

Happy New Year! Time to set some goals...

Well its 2016 and I have been away for a while!  As it happens, since my last post in 2014 I left Mark's Finest Paper's design team as I was starting to feel less inspired to paper craft.  Since then I've not really made very many cards at all.

But I'm still crafty so what have I been doing all of this time?  Knitting!  With knitting I am doing something that both relaxing and beautiful, and finished items delight my friends and family while keeping them warm.  What's not to like? I thought I'd come back to the blog to help keep track of what I'm making in addition to Ravelry.

Today I thought I'd look back at the knitting goals I set back at the beginning of 2015.  Here is what I came up with back then:

1. Finish Sock Yarn Blanket by end of August
2. Newborn and preemie hats for charity - one every other week for about 26 by the end of the year.
3. One crochet snowflake a per month for a total of 12 for my 2015 Christmas tree (this goal may be beyond my abilities, lol).
4. Finish at least 5 sweaters (any size) including 2 already started.

Most of these goals were not realistic and somewhat too specific for me to finish.  I only met #2 and I knit a total of  32 baby hats.  I surpassed one goal, yay!!! 

Here is what I've come up with for 2016:

1. Knit one baby hat per week for a total of 52 by the end of the year.  I think this is completely doable since these little hats are so fast to knit.
2. Update Ravelry more regularly.  You may be wondering why I don't have any pictures linked to this post, well at some point during the year I stopped updating Ravelry project pages so all of my pictures (if pictures exist) are buried in the mountains of pictures saved in my phone.  I don't like this, especially if I've given things as gifts. I like to have a record of what I've knit.  My plan is to start adding pages as I go from this point on, but also to update old projects as much as I can.  I have a feeling I won't be able to completely update 2015, but I should be able to keep up with 2016 from this point forward. 
3. Finish all of my WIPs. I'm committed to this goal since I hate having project bags that I tend to find randomly, stuffed into random crevices around my house, lol.  I think that if I come across something that I just don't like then I should frog the project and knit something I do like.  Wish me luck with this one, it may be a bit difficult.
4. Knit things I like.  Part of the reason that I didn't finish my goals for last year is that I pledged to do things that I don't really enjoy.  For example, I don't really like to crochet that much. Not that I never will, I just won't put the pressure on myself to do things I don't like. 

Thats it!  We'll see if I keep up with this throughout 2016 but right now I am fairly possitive.

Happy New Year everyone!

Get Inspired - Pretty Pink Peonies Week 2

Hi Everyone, happy Saturday!  Its my turn to contribute for our Get Inspired column over at MFP Speedy TV!

 

Today I am using a lovely photo provided by MariLynn last week:

 So pretty!  Here is what I came up with:

I enjoyed making this card, and I used a Mark's Finest Papers' set called Lotus Blossoms.  Its such a pretty set.

I chose two patterns from a 6x6 patterned paper book then decided on a kraft base.  I trimmed the pieces, inked and distressed the edges, then stamped and embossed my images on a white panel.  I water coloured the image, when I did this I thought the colour I chose was brighter than it turned out but I like how it goes with the colours in the paper.  I adhered the main panel to the card with foam tape, added twine, foam taped the image panel, and added some stick pins and self adhesive pearls.  For the inside I used leftovers from the same patterned papers and a pretty sentiment from the stamp set.    

What do you think, are you feeling inspired? If you are we'd love it if you leave a link in the comments! :)

As I mentioned before, this post is part of the  Get Inspired page at MFP Speedy TV .   If you are not a member of MFP Speedy TV, its a free social networking site focused on stamping and cardmaking with MFP stamps.  In additon to our column you will find lots of inspiration, including other informative columns on a daily basis, so why not click over and see what you are missing!

So thats it for me this week! Next week I will have some new inspiration for you, see you then! :)

Get Inspired - Neon Brushstrokes

Hi everyone!  Its Saturday which means its time for some cardmaking inspiration!

This week its my turn to share something I've found inspirational. Of course I turned to Pinterest, and I found this lovely picture that originally came from craftgawker.com.

The main thing I was inspired by in this photo is the brush strokes of neon.  This is what I came up with:

I started by taking a white cardstock panel, and brushing some bright neon acrylic paint in stripes.  I found the paint at the dollar store, so if you want to play with neon you can find these supplies inexpensively.  Once dry I stamped and heat embossed the image from a Mark's Finest Papers  set called Nature's Brushstrokes, probably my favourite mini set of all time!  As you know I love jute twine, especially on a CAS card, so I used my craft knife to carefully cut slits along the sides of the image, and then a yarn needle to thread the twine through the holes.  A few rhinestones finished the panel off, and the panel was foam taped to the card base. 

Please don't forget to go to the Get Inspired page at MFP Speedy TV next week to see what MariLynn does with this image.  She and I are so different n our approaches so I can't wait to see what she does! Feel free to share your own creations with us by linking them below.  :)

If you are not a member of MFP Speedy TV, its a free social networking site focused on stamping and cardmaking with MFP stamps.  In addition to our column you will find lots of inspiration, including other informative columns on a daily basis, so why not click over and see what you are missing!

Get Inspired - Rustic Flowers (Week 2)

Hi Everyone, Happy Saturday!Its my turn to contribute for our Get Inspired column over at MFP Speedy TV!

Last week MariLynn was inspired by a magazine photo:

The colours are really pretty and I love the roses.  Here is what I came up with:

I used the MFP stamp set called Love, Love, Love.  I started by stamping and embossing the image on cream, and coloured the image with water based markers.  I thought a kraft base , and some patterned paper was used for the background.  Originally I was going to work with a wood grain background, but I decided the lace pattern was vintagey enough to have a similar feel. Jute twine, and some self-adhesive pearls finished things off, although I couldn't resist adding a bit of glitter gel pen. :)

  

As I mentioned before, this post is part of the  Get Inspired page at MFP Speedy TV .   If you are not a member of MFP Speedy TV, its a free social networking site focused on stamping and cardmaking with MFP stamps.  In additon to our column you will find lots of inspiration, including other informative columns on a daily basis, so why not click over and see what you are missing!

So thats it for me this week! Next week I will have some new inspiration for you, so I hope to see you then!