Month: October 2020

Taming The Scatters Of Yarns
Storage · yarn

Taming The Scatters Of Yarns

My Time Stitching9 Comments

Good afternoon my friends! My third post in three days! Can you believe it? Today I want to talk about my yarn mess. I had yarn scattered all over the house. There are several bins of yarn in the storage room. They will stay there as they are mostly my cheaper yarns from the big box stores.

I had yarn in a trunk, which started out to just contain all of my mini skeins from AJHC Wools. It was overflowing with full skeins as well.

I had yarn in the ottoman in the basement.

The lid wouldn’t even close all the way anymore. I also had yarn in the recently abandoned file drawers in the basement.

I had stuffed so much yarn in one of the drawers, that it would no longer open and hubby had to take it apart. A tag from one of the yarns had gotten stuck and wouldn’t allow the drawer to open and the bottom of the drawer was pushed off of the track. Ooops!

I also had yarn in bins on top of my scrapbook cabinets that were over flowing. I also have a rolling cart with drawers that were all stuffed to the max. Yarn everywhere!

So I really wanted to gather my hand dyed yarns and get them in some kind of order and together. So after talking to a friend a few weeks ago, and hearing about her storage, I was getting very excited about doing something for my yarn. I thought about it for a few days and I decided to go with the cube storage with bins.

So hubby and I searched on line for something that wasn’t expensive as it would be in my laundry room; the only space in the house. And not really space as it meant taking out my 4 scrapbook storage units. So we found some that we liked at Target. So we ordered and picked them up. Hubby put them together and I put all the bins inside the cubes.

I LOVE it!! So neat and tidy. And then I was worried that all of the yarn I wanted to put in the bins would not all fit. But actually, it did! I even have 1 empty bin.

A couple of the bins have a specific dyer’s yarn and the rest of the bins are by yarn weight. I also ordered some metal tags for the bins, but had to wait for them to be delivered by mail.

I just love how it all turned out. So neat, organized and all together. Sorry about the side photos, but there is only a couple of feet between the storage and my washer and dryer. So that is why the photos are off kilter. Just a FYI…the 4 bins on top of the yarn storage are full of photos that I have yet to scrapbook :O I also have a 5th box in my craft room. Sheesh! I am so behind. As for the 4 scrapbook storage units…they are…um…in my…..um….living room. They are full of scrapbook kits and paper. Some day I will get to them. They may end up in the garage. But for now they are in the living room. I don’t mind. Hubby doesn’t mind and no one is coming over to visit while there is a pandemic.

So, do you have some new storage for your stash?

Crossing Stitches Is Soothing
Autumn Lane Stitchery · cross stitch · Cross Stitch Patterns · Fabric · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Passione Ricamo

Crossing Stitches Is Soothing

My Time Stitching8 Comments

Hello again! Two days in a row! Wow! Yesterday I told you I would share what I am cross stitching. Cross stitching is very calming to me. I usually save my cross stitch time for evenings. But there are days that I just can’t wait to start making little x’s so I will stitch in the morning. But whenever I sit down to stitch, it always helps me to relax and let go of what is going on around me. So, what am I stitching on?

20 year anniversary from Passione Ricamo

When I finished stitching Lady Mirabilia, I pulled this WIP out and have been working on it ever since. This is the 20 Year Anniversary Piece from Passione Ricamo. I have finished the Prosperity block, minus the beads which will be added when the entire piece is finished.

Prosperity

Then I went on to stitch the Calypso block and the Once Upon a Time blocks.

I have started the last block in this row, but just barely, so nothing really to show. And since I have been so good the last 10 months in not starting any new cross stitch projects, I decided to treat myself to a mystery SAL from Autumn Lane Stitchery. It is called Dark Queen of the Seas. It started on September 1 and once I started seeing all the cute fish popping up in the facebook group, I could resist no longer. So I purchased the pattern from Autumn Lane’s Etsy in September and ordered the fabric and beads and specialty threads from Under the Sea Fabrics. I was so excited to get this and get started, you know, with the hint about a mermaid. People were tagging me in the post, too because they knew I love mermaids. But, after purchasing the pattern, and reading the welcome letter and the details, I was disappointed. In the details were instructions that if you wanted to post on social media, use the hashtag Dark Queen of the Seas or hashtag It’s not a mermaid. What? How? Why? Oh I was so deflated. I probably would not have purchased the pattern if this info was up front. I did receive my products and started stitching on it this week. I purchased Opalescent fabric from Under the Sea Fabrics and after stitching half of a fish, decided no way. I love the look of Opalescent fabrics, but I just can’t stitch on them. I think it is the light reflection in the sparkles and then it makes it difficult for me to see the holes. So I ditched that fabric and picked up a fabric I was originally thinking of stitching it on, 16ct Aida Iris from Fabrics by Stephanie.

Dark Queen of the Seas start

I think it will look fine on this fabric. It is much lighter than the recommended fabric, but I think it will work fine. I had done a floss toss on this fabric when I first pulled it from my stash. I should have stuck with my original choice 😉

So I will continue stitching on it, even though it will be an Ursula type character and not a mermaid. The MSAL runs for a year, so a small section each month will give me a nice break from the 20 year anniversary piece. I have also ordered a special project bag that a lot of people have received and are using for this project. I can’t wait! I will share when I receive it.

I have received my September “Christmas Gift” project bag from Clevergirl Designs.

September Project bag front
September Project Bag back

A fun travel themed bag. And yesterday I received my October Bag..

October Project Bag front
October Project Bag back

Love the October bag!! So cool looking. And my little pumpkin that I crocheted last year.

So that is what I have been up to. What are you doing these days to relax?

I Keep Crafting
Knitted Shawl · Knitting · yarn

I Keep Crafting

My Time Stitching5 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! Can you believe that it is just about mid October already? The days, weeks, seasons, keep going by and I am still crafting and doing things at home. While home is my happy place, I won’t lie; I miss going out, doing things, and going places. But I continue to stay home to protect myself, my husband and my mother. I wish I could blog more, but, sadly I still have not found my routine. My daily schedule has been altered drastically and I am still trying to find my way. So I do what I can when I can and fill my days and evenings with crafting when possible. So just what have I been up to? Well, a couple of weeks ago I finished 3 shawls during a week. The first shawl, The Mermaids Garden Shawl by Soft Yarn Designs, was finished, but I finally got around to blocking it.

It is quite large and a very interesting shape. I am not sure how I will wear it yet. I guess I will figure that out when I get to wear it. But I love how it turned out. It blocked so nice and drapes very nice.

The yarn is from AJHC Wools; Basic Sock in colors Min and Blushing Bride. So pretty 🙂 This pattern is available on Raverly.

The next shawl I knitted up is the Inspire Create Repeat shawl by JL Creations. It is knitted with Blue Sky Alpacas Sport weight yarn. I have become a fingering weight snob, so I was not sure how this shawl was going to turn out.

It knitted well. The yarn is soft. And I loved the patterns.

It blocked really well and I was able to add a considerable amount to the length, which is what I wanted. Once it blocked, I threw it on and was able to get it to lay the way I wanted on the first try. That is definitely a plus for me. This pattern is available on Ravelry.

The last shawl I finished that week, is the Sharon Show shawl by Casapinka. I wrote about my progress in previous posts. I LOVED knitting this shawl. I learned a few new stitches and the pattern was well written. I was, however, disappointed that the last section was pushed out a week. To me it seemed like it was not ready for release and was rather written while on vacation. While this is not a drastic thing, I based my schedule of other projects around finishing this one. And I must say that the crazy cat stories and talking from the view of the cat in the facebook group was a bit weird for me. So I am not sure that I would do another one of her MKAL’s. But I did finish it right after the last section came out and blocked it right away.

The blocking process was perfect; it stretched out those stitches and opened them up nicely and now the edges don’t roll in.

The yarn used is Miss Babs Caroline and it is so soft, having 10% cashmere in it. It drapes so nicely, too. This was my first time using Miss Babs yarn, and it won’t be my last. If fact I ordered some for a cowl I want to make. It is a different yarn in DK, but I can’t wait to get it and try it out.

If you are looking to knit up a fun shawl in lots of different stitches, I definitely recommend this one. It knitted up pretty quick and was fun. The pattern is available on Ravelry.

So that is what I have knitted lately. Tomorrow I will share what I have been cross stitching. What have you been up to?