Rethinking the blog

Between technical issues ....

... work laptop ancient browser cannot be upgraded and blogger no longer supporting it
... home laptop power cord died
... kindle power cord died
... cell phone vs ultra-frustrated 10 yr old

Etc etc

And new found inspiration found at a knitting retreat where I spent two days with ultra crafty folks

And especially two days being inspired by and charmed by both Robyn of http:\\www.shemakeshats.com and Jen of http:\\www.makexdo.com...

Well, let's just say I took a look at my out-dated and ever-so-slightly boring blog.... and decided its time for some changes and focus.

I still plan to post info about what I am making and a little time talking about the inspiration. But instead of doing monthly planning... a single progress post and an end-of-month wrap up that throws all the projects en masse and probably a bit more overwhelming.... I am thinking I will focus more on what, when, why and a bit at a time... see if I can't share more thoughts... a little more of myself.

Stay tuned.

Sept Mid-Month planning

1) WIP the First - DONE 

2) Class 1 - hat - DONE - Olifvander’s - charity hat 

3) NEWT to 50% - DONE

4) Pair of Yoga socks - DONE - Flourish & Botts leg protection 

5) Blanket square #1 - simple square, DONE - Quality Quidditch Supplies - selling it as a cloth for cleaning up -- plan on donating this to a baby blanket for a pride-mate

6) Blanket Square #2 - not so fast, an aran square - Apothecary - blue antique bottles as inspiriation NOT STARTED

7) Planned Partial - a mitered top for me - changing to Magical Menagerie class... original pattern was started and frogged three times before I decided it was not the pattern for me for this time... instead cast on and started a top that has vertical strips used in construction. Hoping it will still let me show off the good yarn and have some fun with construction.

8) Will probably have a hat (or three) on the needles for my traveling knitting - those will get tossed into Madame Maxime’s class at the end of the month Change of plans - one DONE and turned in

9) Quidditch Know Your Nimbus - hat made with favorite yarn and favorite top-of-the-line tools (addi clicks) DONE



10) Quidditch Know Your position - Yarn buster baby blanket (planning one for this month and the other for October) DONE

Unplanned, but DONE

A bracelet for Potage's Cauldron Shop

I'd also like to get Pikachu (yellow blob above) done this month, plus six more blocks, plus get the top as close to done as I can, plus my Aran square AND not the least, at least one more (or two or three) charity hats for Knockturn Alley. 

First half of the month was awesome and I was dedicated and look at all I got done. BUT, now it's been a couple of days where I haven't been able to knit hardly at all... and I can't find the yarn I need that I am running low on for Pikachu. Sigh. Been a rough week.

Sept planning

1) WIP the First - DONE - just had to weave in the ends on a charity hat (have two more sitting & waiting for future WIPtheFirsts 

2) Class 1 - hat - DONE - Olifvander’s - charity hat 

3) NEWT to 50% - I have two more squares to make plus getting my second stuffie to 50% - where I’m at about 10%  -- hope to make this goal within two weeks; then perhaps get another 6 squares and be within two hours-ish of finishing the second stuffie (for Oct Flexible Scheduling)

4) Pair of Yoga socks - should be relatively fast - Flourish & Botts leg protection 

5) Blanket square #1 - simple square, should also be quick - Quality Quidditch Supplies - selling it as a cloth for cleaning up -- plan on donating this to a baby blanket for a pride-mate

6) Blanket Square #2 - not so fast, an aran square - Apothecary - blue antique bottles as inspiriation 

7) Planned Partial - a mitered top for me - Knockturn Alley with the self-striping mitering meant to distort view - but might need to put it into a different class/shop 

8) Will probably have a hat (or three) on the needles for my traveling knitting - those will get tossed into Madame Maxime’s class at the end of the month 

9) Quidditch Know Your Nimbus - hat made with favorite yarn and favorite top-of-the-line tools (addi clicks) 

10) Quidditch Know Your position - Yarn buster baby blanket (planning one for this month and the other for October)

Makes me a little tired just thinking about it. Especially since I'm at a never-ending stockinette stage on the Pikachu.

August - EOM wrap-up

NEWT- out of the 21 squares, I completed 10 (counting 12 as 50%)
           - out of the 3 stuffies, I completed 1 and got the other one started (counting 1 1/2 at 50%)

Hats for NerdWars - I completed four full hats and got them turned in for various prompts; plus got 3 hats to the almost-done, just need ends woven in for future WIP projects tocomplete for detention.

Plus I got the Baby blanket seamed from the donated squares and sent off to the new mom. :-)  I am quite pleased with the end results.

Too cute not to share right away

He's Azumarill ... and I don't think he turned out too bad. I would rather he was a little more 'eggy-shaped', and I wasn't happy at all with my bubbles. I wish I had used firmer wire for the tail. And the ears are quite heavy and want to flop the majority of the time. But the wire inside the ears was a brilliant design as they are definitely posable. And the mouth design is pretty brilliant as well. It really makes the face just-right. He was finished around 9:30 pm last night and little a was already in bed. But not asleep yet. So, he got to see it last night and it ended up sleeping the night with him. Which is something because it's hard for a 10 year old boy to go all gushy and give a girly 'it's sooooo cuuuuuute' claim and snuggle stuffies.

Of course, within five minutes he was thanking me for it, then thanking me for the NEXT one already promised to be made for him, but not started yet, AND requesting food for the Pokemon. lol.

August mid-month Progress post

Quite a few blanket squares finished.

A few hats....

And good progress made on a Pokémon.

August Planning

August is a month off of HPKCHC... but I've broken down and proposed a silly old NEWT. We'll see if it gets approved... if not, I'll have to update some of my plans.

NEWT proposal is to do a 3 x 5 afghan with the Know Your Mushrooms pattern - I did a 3x3 afghan as an Order Mission last term... Plus a 2 x 3 'table cover' in the same pattern. I'm hoping that seamed together they'll make a nice blanket for Alex at the end of the year.

AS WELL as to make 3 large stuffies - an Azumarill, a Pikachu, and a Sudowoodo (which is really a Mandrake plant root). The first one should come out to 18" tall per pattern design. Pikachu's pattern is only 9" - but I plan on modifying the pattern dramatically to make it 18" tall... and the Sudowoodo should come out to around 14" when he's 'free' and about 12" in his pot.

My August plans are to get 9 blocks of the afghan finished, and Azumarill finished. Then in September I'd like to get 9 more blocks done along with Pikachu to the half-way point. October leaves 3 remaining blocks for the afghan along with finishing Pikachu. And November gives us time to seam the two sets of squares into their respective shapes and finish the Sudowoodo. In December I can seam the three 'objects' into a single afghan and adding a border to the blanket.

For NerdWars - I'm hoping to turn Azumarill in for the challenge Nerdology - Villians and Heroes - I can give the pokemon to the hero Ash.

The rest of the Nerdwars prompts will hopefully be fulfilled with making charity hats, I figure a couple of hats should be able to get knocked out along with the beginning of my NEWT.