Crafting the Days Away

May 1, 2024 My Time Stitching9 Comments

Happy May Day my blogging friends! Wow! 2 months have come and gone without a post from me. I don’t even know how that happened. I even missed my 12-year Bloggaversary! I have been crafting, organizing, purging, donating and watching lots of flosstube. I have stitched quite a bit the last couple of months too, and I am not even sure where to begin. So, let’s start with what I stitched on today. I knitted on my Lace & Fade Boxy Pullover by Joji Locatelli. This was a project I planned over a year ago. Remember this?

Well, I had made some changes in the yarns. Added some, took away some. Changed my mind several times. I finally landed on my colors and started this in February.

I just love all of these colors and think they play well together.

I was so excited to get this started. I had a bit of a setback in the beginning. This is my first top-down sweater, so it was different. But once I figured it out, it was easy going. The lace is easy but does need my undivided attention.

Oh so pretty! My first lace stripe is finished!

I had so many cables hanging that were holding stitches. I was so happy to get them all put onto one needle and start knitting in the round. You can see a sweater taking shape! And here is where I ended this morning.

I just added my 6th color. The pattern says to add the ribbing partway through the last color stripe that I added, but it is way too short for me. So, I added another lace stripe and the last color shown above. I will probably add another lace stripe after this and then add another stripe of this same color and then go into the ribbing. I will have to put the stitches on some stitch vines and try it on at some point. But I am really loving how this is looking. The colors are just beautiful. You can’t tell in the photo, but the shoulders and the lace mohair are a very light pink. So lovely. I am working on 420 stitches around, so not so quick. But I am enjoying it. My word for 2024 is Enjoy, and I have been enjoying all of the projects I have been working on.

I mentioned that I have been watching a lot of flosstube. Recently I have been watching just one channel. I stumbled upon a video mixed in with my flosstubes and have just been drawn to watching all of her older videos. The channel is Stitched By Mrs. D and her name is Paula. She is from the UK and I can just listen to her all day. She makes me laugh and her knitting and crocheting are beautiful. She sews adorable little bears and knits sweaters for them and sews their skirts. she also makes lovely project bags. I hope to purchase one of her bags someday. A lot of the knitting patterns she does, I have done, or I have them in my ravelry. Anyway, if you are into watching those kinds of videos on Youtube, give her a look. I love that she says everything is “Lovely”. On one of her videos, she showed a beautiful shawl called Dust of Snow by Helen Stewart. Ooooh so beautiful! I looked it up on Ravelry and it was already in my library. So, I decided I should start gathering some mini skeins to start that one in the near future.

This past Saturday was Local Yarn Store Day, and I visited a shop that is about 35 minutes from me, and this is what I brought home.

The skein at top left is just beautiful and I had to have it. It has sparkle in it, too and it will become a lovely shawl or cowl someday. It is a fingering yarn from Just Bee Fibers. The next 3 skeins are La Jolla from Baah yarns and they are the called for colors for the Local Yarn Store shawl pattern called Garter Me This. I love La Jolla yarn. So soft and squishy. And while at the store, they had minis! So, I picked up 12 of them for the Dust of Snow shawl. They are also from Just Bee Fibers. I will need 12 more for my shawl and can’t wait to go back and pick some more beauties. I will have to save up for that. The pattern calls for a mohair to be carried along with the fingering minis, but I don’t think I will be adding the mohair. I would need 4 full skeins of the mohair and that will be another chunk of change. I think the shawl will be lovely without the mohair. In fact, Paula, from Stitched by Mrs. D didn’t add the mohair to her shawl, and it is beautiful. Lastly, the 4 little balls of Happy yarn I picked up to add to my jar.

I always pick up a couple when I see them because they are just too cute! And I just love looking at them all together in my jar. Someday I will make something with them.

So, I think that is where I will leave it today. I have so much to share, so be sure to come back. What have you been stitching up over the last couple of months?

Happy Stitching,

ginny

cross stitch · Cross Stitch Patterns · Fabric · Floss · Hand Dyed Fabrics · knitted cowl · Knitting · Mermaids · Mystery Stitch A Long · Pillows · Stitch A Long · Tiny Modernist

I Stitched May Away

June 1, 2023 My Time Stitching8 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! Happy June! Let’s hope it doesn’t go by as quickly as May did. Sadly, I only had one post in May. I was sick for about 2 weeks shortly after my last post. And then getting back to normal took a bit. Nothing serious, but it was my first time getting sick in 5 years and I guess my immune system was sluggish. Hubby was sick first with a sinus infection, and maybe shared with me? We had also made the decision to go without masks, so maybe we picked up something while out and about one day. Anyway, I am feeling much better now and thought I would hop on to the blog and share what I have stitched on during the month of May.

First, I did finish the Anchored Waves Cowl by Stephanie Shiman using a beautiful Wonderland Yarn Blossom cake.

Just look at that fade!!! Wonderland Yarns really do have the most awesome yarns that fade so perfect. It really turned out beautifully.

I look forward to wearing this one in the fall and winter. I don’t have anything else on my needles except for my Airplane scarf, which is my travel project. I didn’t get a picture of it for this post. I have been wanting to make some summer tops for myself. I picked a crochet top from Berroco. So cute. But you know how my crocheting goes. If I don’t have pictures and specific instructions, it’s pretty much not going to happen. I couldn’t get gauge and my sides were not straight on my swatch. So, I decided to purchase a book with some summer tops from Berroco, using the yarn I had bought called Isola. The one I wanted to make does not have written instructions. Maybe they all only have charts, so I nixed that one, too. So for now, no knitting. On to cross stitch.

I stitched on the Ocean Pearl SAL from Tiny Modernist Cross Stitching.

The reason I decided to do this SAL is the Mermaid, of course. She is so cute. And on the right side of the treasure chest, the pattern has a pirate there. I wasn’t sure if he would be an important part of the rest of the design, but I decided not to stitch him. Instead, I added another mermaid 🙂

So cute!! I really enjoyed stitching on this one while I was not feeling well. I am using all of the called for Fancy Flosses and stitching her on 16ct Aida Cascade from Fabrics by Stephanie. I received part 3 and started stitching on it last night. This is how far I have gotten.

The snow globe is full of ocean life and I know I will love stitching on it over the next few weeks.

I also stitched on Blossom and I am still loving all of her beautiful colors.

Even with all of the color changes, it has been a wonderful piece to stitch.

I just started stitching the next page, from the middle towards the top. So I guess I am about half way finished. I had to take her outside to see if I could capture her brilliant colors. For the details on this one: She is Blossom from Mirabilia. Fabric is 16ct Aida Busy Izzy from Fabrics by Stephanie. I have put her aside to stitch on the Ocean Pearl piece and a few smaller pieces. I look forward to getting back to her later this month.

A few days ago I pulled out my June pillow kit.

The threads in these kits just come rolled up as shown in the picture above. Since there is only a few colors, I decided to make my own Floss Drops to put the flosses on.

I die cut the tags. Pulled out some stamps and stamped a few summer images. I used some different sized circle punches to hang the flosses on and to add them to a floss ring. It gave me a chance to use my beautiful floss ring I purchased from @themermaidsdaughter6 on Instagram. I love the look of Floss Drops. I love seeing all of the flosses hanging all together. But I will admit, I am not a fan. Seems like a lot of work to me. It’s not to say that I will never use them again for a small project. But I am happy being a bobbin girl. Anyway, I finished the pillow yesterday, in perfect time for displaying in June. Kit is from Pine Mountain Designs. These pillows are from 2007, so I don’t think they are available anymore.

I am so happy to have another monthly pillow off of my project to do list. Only 4 more to go!

So that is all of my stitching for May. I am hoping for a couple of finishes in June, but we shall see how it goes. I have been spending my stitching time watching Flosstubes. I have a few favorites that I love to watch and one of them is Nichol Sophr LLC. She is a quilter, cross stitcher and card maker and I don’t know what else she does, but everything she creates is beautiful. I don’t necessarily stitch what she does, but I love watching her and seeing her projects. I am not a quilter, but I want to buy all the fabrics and make project bags (I probably won’t, but I really want to, LOL) She has wonderful tutorials on her channel and her card making videos are wonderful. Yesterday she started a Patriotic SAL and I decided I need some Patriotic pieces to decorate my house. You can find all of the details on her Facebook page group. If you want to participate and be in her drawings each week, you have to stitch on a Cherry Hill Stitchery Patriotic piece. Or you can stitch on whatever you want and hang out each Wednesday on her Flosstube Live. I haven’t had time to gather things for it in time for the start yesterday, but I did purchase a PDF from Cherry Hill Stitchery last night and pulled some fabric and floss from my stash this morning.

I will be stitching Stars and Stripes. The fabric I chose is 16ct Aida Everything Else from Mystic Fabrics and all of the flosses are DMC. So, yeah, another new start, LOL It’s ok. It’s a small 😉

So that is what I have been up to. How did your May go?

Happy Stitching!

ginny

cross stitch · Give-away · Pillows · yarn

Stitch Progress and Day 5 Blogaversary Celebration

March 28, 2023March 28, 2023 My Time Stitching11 Comments

Hello blogging friends. This post will be pretty short as I am pressed for time. But I did want to hop on with my Day #5 giveaway. First a peek at my Spring Basket progress.

Oh this is looking so sweet! I am almost finished with the rabbit on the right and then I will start the border. I just love this little stitch! Do you recognize the pillow in the background? I purchased all of the month’s pillows from the Pine Mountain series back in 2007 I believe. I talked about finishing the rest of the pillows in an old blog post. Well, they all were somehow tucked away in a bag that I recently found. I still have 6 or 7 pillows to finish. So now that I have found them again, I will have to work on getting them all finished. Of course April-August for sure have not been stitched. Fingers crossed I can get the April one finished for display sometime in April.

Now onto the giveaway. You know I love hand dyed yarn. This yarn is from a local to me dyer. She makes the most amazing self striping sock yarns! I have no idea how to knit socks, but it may be on my bucket list 😉 I thought this skein would make a very cool pair of socks. Or anything else you would want to make with it. It is “400 yards of self striping Goodness”. Put the code Sock Yarn in your comment if you would like a chance to win this. I will draw winners on March 31, 2023 along with the drawings for the last 4 days of giveaways.

That is all I have for today! I hope you are doing something fun like stitching.

Happy Stitching!

Ginny

cross stitch · Fabric · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · patterns

Shawlette Finish and a New Start

March 25, 2023 My Time Stitching17 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! There is a lot of different weather going on outside of my craft room window today. Everything except the sun. It’s cold, very windy, raining, sleeting, snowing. The perfect day to be inside and hanging out with you 🙂 Since the calendar says it’s Spring, I am still hoping that it arrives soon.

So, earlier in the month I started the 22 Little Clouds shawlette using the February Wonderland Ocean series yarn. This is where I left off when I first posted about it.

The yarn was so nice to knit with, and the pattern was one of those that you really only needed to glance out every now and then. So I watched a lot of tv while knitting on this one.

I was so happy to see the subtle fade emerging. It is so beautiful and I couldn’t wait to see more. So I kept knitting.

Wow! I really love how this yarn gently fades into the next color.

I loved it so much I finished it about 2 weeks ago. It still needs blocking, but it is finished and it turned out so cute! It was a great, quick one skein project. I don’t have a new project on my needles, but I did start a new project last night.

After all of the Flosstubes I have been watching, I decided I needed some small projects in my life. Things I can finish rather quickly, and into something other than a framing to hang on the wall. Especially since I am really out of wall space. So I ordered this one and it arrived a few days later. I dug into my stash for a piece of fabric and found a piece of 16ct Aida. I believe that the color is Dirty Aida.

And in a hoop! Wow! I can’t tell you the last time I used a hoop. I am a 2 handed stitcher, so using a hoop or Qsnap makes me feel like I am stitching very slowly. But it is relaxing and I am enjoying the stitching while watching more flosstubes, LOL

This is where I am at with this one. I just love all of the colors in this one. I really would have loved to stitch this on a white or light fabric, but since the birds and bunnies are white, I needed to go darker. I think I will be making this into a little pillow, but I may try my hand at framing it myself. The design area is about 5.5″ x 5.5″ so a small table top frame would be perfect. I am hoping I can get it finished by Easter.

So that is a little bit of what I have been up to since yesterday. And that brings me to my Giveaway #2 for my 11 year Blogaversary.

Since I also like to Crochet, I have hung onto this yarn for a special giveaway. This one I will have to limit to the US as I don’t know how the International shipping will be. When I special ordered yarn for my Nature’s Walk blanket, I way over bought and had all of this yarn left over. All full skeins except for the light pink at the top, but I don’t have a use for it so I threw it in.It is Comfort DK from Berroc and is so soft and squishy. Use code word YARN in your comment if you are in the US and would like the chance to win this. Tune in tomorrow for another giveaway. Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Stitching,

Ginny

Knitted Wrap · Knitting · Uncategorized · yarn

The Carolyn Wrap

February 28, 2023 My Time Stitching12 Comments

Hello my blogging friends! How are you on this last day of February? There were 2 ice storms here within a week.. The second started yesterday and this morning everything was encased in ice. The sun is out and the temperatures rose quickly so it has all melted now. More rain, freezing rain, snow weather to come this week and next. It appears that Mother Nature is going to cram a lot of winter into March. So I am wishing for Spring to hurry up and get here.

Back in December, I saw posts on Instagram from @GamerBabeKnits showing a black and white photo of her advent wrap that she designed for Speckled Finc Studios. The black and white photo was so awesome, that I was so disappointed that I was not able to get in on the advent this last year. And then she put a color photo on her Etsy and I just swooned!

Wow! I instantly fell in love with this. The yarns were made special for the advent, so I knew I would not be able to get this colorway. So I contacted a local dyer, Janice, of Adelaide Fiber Company, and asked if she would dye me a fade for this gorgeous pattern. She said she would and I let her do her thing. She sent me pictures now and then of what she was making and I loved the skeins she showed me and let her build it from there. In January she told me she was finished and would be putting them in the mail. I received them on my Birthday!!

I was so excited when I opened the package! Such beautiful colors! I couldn’t wait to get started. So I got started winding some of the minis and getting all of my supplies ready to go.

I wound the first 12 colors. Mostly because I only have 12 mini yarn snugglers and because 12 mini skeins fit perfectly into my Karolyn bag.

Time to get knitting! I want to see what all of these beautiful skeins look like knitted up!

I have one repeat in and I can say that I am loving this pattern! The first 2 colors are so sweet!

Well, 3 repeats in and this is looking so awesome! The pattern repeat is 24 rows and is pretty easy to do. I can even watch TV and knit this.

I can tell you that this pattern is pretty addicting. I also want to see the next color knitted up. My elbow is aching from constant knitting so I am going to had to cut back a little. My plan was to do at least 1 repeat a day or at least 24 rows. 1 New color a day 🙂

This wrap is growing so fast! I am knitting on it as much as I can do in a sitting. And I still love every stitch and seeing every beautiful skein of yarn come to life.

So many beautiful colors! I am loving how the colors change with each pattern repeat.

Down to the last few skeins! I am knitting more than I should be, wanting to get this finished.

It is finished! I LOVE it!! This wrap took me a little over 3 weeks to knit. This photo is before blocking. For those of you who wonder why block? Well, see all the puckers in the pattern from the decreases? And see how it doesn’t lay flat and the lace is sort of hidden in the puckers?

Here it is on the blocking boards. I used blocking wires down the long sides as well as the blocking pins. Now it will lay flat and that lace is opened up and so pretty.

I am absolutely in love with this wrap! I can wear it as a scarf on the colder days and wear it as a wrap on those chilly nights at the beach. The pattern is very well written and also includes a chart as well as a check off list for each repeat. This pattern, The Carolyn Wrap by Yvonne Poon aka Gamer Babe Knitter, is available on Ravelry and Etsy from GamerBabeDesigns. Yarns by Adelaide Fiber Company are available on Etsy.

I can see myself knitting this pattern again in the future. I think it will be a favorite. Do you have a favorite pattern that you have or would create again and again?

Happy Stitching!

Ginny

Knitted Sweater · Knitting · New stash! · yarn

Planning A Project

November 19, 2022November 18, 2022 My Time Stitching9 Comments

Hello blogging friends! I currently have nothing on my knitting needles, other than my travel project. But it isn’t for lack of trying. I visited my Local Yarn Shop during their Shop Hop a couple of weeks ago and fell in love with a pattern the gals there were talking about. One of the gals that works at the shop was wearing the sweater, the gal who was having a trunk show with her amazing yarns was knitting the sweater. And one of the other gals that works there and myself were busy trying to find the perfect yarns to make the perfect fade for the sweater. We decided on pinks and mostly Adelaide Fiber Yarns. This is what we came up with and what I went home with.

This is the pattern.

I am planning on adding to the bottom of this one to make it longer. Maybe an additional 4 stripes. I love the soft, elegant, cozy look of this sweater. I am not sure how I will like the sagging arm pits, but I think it will be a nice loungy sweater for at home.

I love all of these colors and was anxious to get started on a swatch to see how all of the yarns would knit up together.

Lots of yarn winding going on here. In fact, my bum shoulder was hurting for a couple of days. So much so, that later when I added a 600 yard skein to the line-up, hubby had to wind it for me ❤

Yep, that’s him. He did a great job, too. This yarn cake will be added to the line later.

This is what I caked. These colors make me so happy! They pretty much match my flower arrangement.

Something still didn’t seem right with the fade. So I added a skein of Antique Lace from The Wicked Knittah.

The fade still does not seem to be flowing. I was having such difficulty coming up with the colors that would show the fade that I had in my head.

I was taking skeins out, adding skeins in, winding more skeins, going through my stash trying to find the perfect colors. By this point I was getting pretty frustrated. But I think I finally found my fade! These are the colors that I ended up with.

So I started knitting my swatch to see how the colors would knit up next to each other. The pink mohair yarn in color “A Mother’s Love” by Adelaide Fibers will be the lace stripes in between each of the color stripes. I had started knitting with the color for the bottom. I had knitted 2 stripes of that color when I first thought I was going to repeat 2 of the colors.

So the purplish color will be the bottom color. The next different colored stripe will be moved up and the color at the top will be moved down to the second color. The light pink will be used for the neck edge and sleeves. I pretty much get gauge with my stockinette stitch as knitted. Even though the pattern calls for gauge after blocking. I still don’t quite understand that as I have no idea how to block a swatch. Do I pull and stretch a little? A lot? Not at all? Will the yarn keep it’s shape after wetting? Thankfully, I don’t think this pattern will matter too much if I get gauge or am close. I will have plenty of yarn, so I won’t need to worry about that.

So this will be my color line-up…I think…I’m pretty sure.

Now I just have to figure out which size I want to do. Not sure when I will be starting this. I am planning on knitting this as a KAL with Kristine and she is waiting for the light pink to be dyed by the dyer. I think this was the most intense project I have planned for yet. Have you had a project that just seemed to take forever to plan out?

Happy Stitching!

Ginny

cross stitch · Fabric · Fairies · Floss · Fox and Rabbit · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Mirabilia · yarn

Juggling Four Projects

April 9, 2022 My Time Stitching11 Comments

It is April 9 and it does not feel like Spring yet. I woke up to a dusting of snow this morning 😦 I had planned on going to a Spring Fiber Fest today, but too many other things came up this morning and then it just seemed to be too late for the drive. Hopefully tomorrow I can get there. Even though I really do not need to add any more yarn to my stash. I did find out that there will be a booth carrying not only yarn, but cross stitch products too. Oh yeah, gotta go 😉

So as my title indicates, I have been juggling 4 projects lately. I have juggled 2 in the past, but not 4 that I can remember. Usually I knit in the morning and cross stitch at night. But I am all over the place with 4 projects. So, first up is the Liva Cardigan.

Yep, this one is still on my needles. This is a pattern in one of the Berroco books and can be found on Ravelry. I am using the called for yarn, Topaz by Berroco. I have picked up stitches along the left and right front and for the collar. I have to knit 6″ on about 300 stitches. I think I have 4 1/2″ stitches in right now. So, it is going slow, but I am getting there. Once that is finished all I will have to do is to sew on pockets (of course pockets) and weave in ends. It has been a few days since I put any stitches in. The Fairy Correspondence Shawl is the reason why.

This is section 2 and my least favorite of this one. The bobble row took me over 3 hours to get across :O Wow! They are not perfect either, but they are staying as is. There is a little v at the top of them that I don’t think is supposed to be there, but I’m ok with it. The Weeds and Thickets section before and after the bobbles were not fun either. None of these sections were hard, just very time consuming. I love the look of the Weeds and Thickets, but I am really hoping that there are no more of these or bobbles in this shawl. I am loving my color choices. That pop of pink is perfect with the purples. Purple yarns are Jilly & Kiddles Tour de France and Bonjour and the pink is Ishtar from AJHC Wools. Yesterday I finished section 3 and love it!

This section was called Conifers and it was so rhythmic and relaxing to knit. I was even able to watch tv while knitting this lace pattern. Though I guess I did get a little too into the “Bridgerton’s” as I forgot a yarn over a couple of times and had to unknit several rows. But I didn’t mind as this pattern was wonderful to knit. Section 4 doesn’t come out for a few days, so hopefully I can get the Liva cardigan finished.

The other 2 projects that have captured my attention are cross stitch. You know I can’t not have a cross stitch project going on in my life 😉 So now I have 2 going, LOL First up is Blossom by Mirabilia.

This one is a joy to stitch. The colors are so vivid. There are more than a few stitches in each color, so it isn’t like confetti stitching. I am stitching her on 16ct Busy Izzy from Fabrics by Stephanie. It is such a pretty fabric and I am loving watching Blossom come alive on it.

A special piece of fabric finally arrived for a project that I have been wanting to stitch since February. It is not the normal Aida that the dyer usually dyes so I wasn’t sure it was going to work. It is a rather flimsy Aida and the sizing looked to be off. One of the reasons that I use Aida is that I am a tight stitcher and having a flimsy fabric like Lugana or linen does not work for me. This Aida feels like a Lugana, so I am trying to be conscience of my stitches not being too tight.

Yes! I finally started the Fox and Rabbit 2022 Mystery SAL. The fabric is Winter Wishes by Fabrics by Stephanie. Like I said, this Aida is different and the Winter Wishes is a bit lighter than normal. But it is working. The floss I chose is DMC 115. I went with a color way out of my color comfort zone and I feel like I made the right choice. The way the colors change in this floss is awesome! I really like the continuous stitching with one floss. This is where I left this piece last night.

This project is quite large, using a 29″ x 29″ piece of fabric. I am not sure when I will be caught up with this one. The section that is stitched above is the February section. So I have all of the borders of the January section, the March and the April sections to do. I think after this section that I am stitching on now is finished, I will stitch the April section and hopefully have some time to do some catching up before the next section comes out May 1. This pattern is the 2022 Mystery Sampler and is a free design from Fox and Rabbit.

So that is what I have been up to. Juggling these 4 projects has been fun. I am enjoying each of them when I work on them. How many projects have you juggled all at once? I’d love to know.

And now I leave you with a most glorious sunset that I just saw out of my craft room window ❤

Ginny

Knitted Shawl · Knitting · yarn

Happy Blogaversary!

March 25, 2022March 24, 2022 My Time Stitching19 Comments

Hello blogging friends! Today my blog is 10 years old! Yep! 10 years ago today I started this little blog to document my cross stitch, knittng, crocheting and whatever else I have been up to. I have really enjoyed it and have met so many wonderful people from all over the world. Yesterday I spent a lot of time looking at my older blog posts and reading the most wonderful, loving, supportive, encouraging and sweet comments. I thank each and every one of you who has visited my blog. I also thank you for taking the time to leave me a comment. I read each and everyone and love hearing about what you have been up to, also. I look forward to many more years of blog posts and sharing my love of crafting with you ❤

So, what have I been up to? The past couple of months have been a rollercoaster of emotions and I have immersed myself into crafting and cleaning and more crafting. I won’t bore you with the details, but in the coming days I will share with you what I have been crafting. Today I will start with what I am knitting.

First up, the Liva cardigan. Yes, I am still working on it and I can happily say that I am into the final stretch with this garment!

This chaos is the reason I have been slowed down on this project. Double Pointed Needles! They are not my friends. This is sleeve one, and I did get through it. With many starts. FYI: When the pattern says to end the yarn after stitching up the side, but not to cut the yarn…cut the yarn. I tried several times to get the sleeve going on the DPN’s and every time I ended back at the beginning of the round, I had a long length of yarn between the stitches. Now I have knitted with DPN’s many times and I just couldn’t figure out what in the heck was going on. After about the 7th try, I cut the yarn and started with a new length and what a miracle! I had no problems. So I won’t be doing that again. But I made it through and then knitted the right side. And then it was time for sleeve 2.

Sleeve 2 went much easier and much quicker, but I am still not a fan of Double Pointed needles. I will be learning magic loop before I have to deal with them again.

I have added the hem and am now knitting the collar and front bands. I have about 1 1/2″ done. About another 4 1/2″ of mindless, soothing knitting in between the sections of the Fairy Correspondence Mystery Knit Along from Softyarn Designs that I have started.

I have chosen these yarns for my mystery shawl. The purples are Bonjour and Tour de France from Jilly & Kiddles and the pink is Ishtar from AJHC Wools. I am loving these colors! The Knitalong started this past Monday, but you can still join if you want to get in on the fun. You can find it on Ravelry and if decide to knit this, don’t forget to join the group on Ravelry and get in on the chat. With this knitalong, we could sign up to write an actual letter to someone else that has signed up. Lena matched people up and our first correspondence is due in the mail today. Mine went out yesterday and I can’t wait to hear back from my “knitting pen pal”. So here is my start on the mystery shawl.

I am loving my color choices with this first section of the shawl. My little pink flowers look a little wonky, so I am calling them Fairy Dust. Maybe they will look better once it is washed and blocked. Section 2 comes out later today and I can’t wait to get back to knitting on this.

So that is what I have been knitting on. What are you working on today?

Bella Filipina Designs · cross stitch · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Mermaids · Project Bags

Stitching, Knitting and Shopping

November 12, 2021 My Time Stitching8 Comments

Hello blogging friends. The temps are getting cooler here after a few days of surprisingly wonderful warm and sunny days. The dreaded white stuff is coming though. About an inch or two of snow is predicted for this weekend 😦 Are you a fan of snow and cold weather? I am not looking forward to winter and can only hope that it will fly by as fast as my summer did.

I need to plan out some projects for the winter. But for now, let’s talk about what I am stitching on right now.

I finished the tail on Pearl of the Orient Seas, minus the beads. I have moved scrolls to the middle of the design to work upwards.

While I am enjoying the stitching on this one, the colors are starting to bring me down and I am getting the itch to start something new. I am trying really hard to resist, but I do see some smaller projects creeping into my plans. For now, I stitch on 🙂 Just to remind you, the design is Pearl of the Orient Seas by Bella Filipina Designs. Fabric is 16ct aida, a one of a kind dye from Fantasy Dyed Fabrics.

The Marit Shawl by Amy Christoffers is still on my needles. It is going well, but still looking a little small to me.

I am actually on the decrease tier now and making half triangles for the top edge.

Maybe blocking will give me the size I need. This shawl will also have tassels.

Now onto the shopping as mentioned in my title. Last week Shop Hop started at local yarn shops. I decided not to shop hop this year, but just visit my very local shop, The Knitting Nest. I picked up some yarn for the newly published on Ravelery, Urchins and Scallops shawl from Soft Yarn Designs. This one should definitely be put into my winter knitting plans 😉

After getting home, I realized the yarn colors are very similar to the colors used in the pattern. I think they are perfect. The lovely shop owners also pointed out that they had some new stitch markers that they knew I would be interested it. Mermaids! Yes, please. And I couldn’t help but pick up another Project Bag by CleverGirl Designs. This one is a little bigger than the bags I usually order from her. It just fits into the bin I keep them in, but is taller than the other bags. I don’t think I can ever have too many of Kristine’s bags. Hubby ordered me another year of the Bag of the Month from her in August. I have received August, September and October, but I cannot find the pictures. Today I was surprised with the November and December bags and they are Awesome! Here is my November bag…ready?

Oh my gosh! It’s Gnomies!! so stinking cute! I LOVE it! And here is the back;

My December bag was just as awesome.

She knows my love for mermaids and I do love this one. In fact, it matched the mask I was wearing when I went to the yarn shop to pick them up. Did you catch that cute Seashell zipper pull/progress marker? So cute! And check out that cute wallet looking matching piece! Have to show the back and the open wallet, too!

Just look at that cute little Floss Catcher! I just love all of Kristine’s bags. They are so well made and her attention to detail and choice of fabrics is amazing. You can find her on Instagram @clevergirldesignsco

This is how I store my CleverGirl Project Bags.

There are 20 bags in these bins. It doesn’t include the one I am using for Pearl or the 2 new ones I picked up today. I can still use some more, LOL

This been is full of not so pretty bags filled with wonderful projects. Some day it will be filled with pretty CleverGirl Design bags.

While at the Yarn Shop today, I was looking for even more yarn. This time for a sweater. Yep, a sweater, not a shawl! I haven’t made a sweater in years and I think I need to add one to my winter stitching plan 😉 I didn’t buy any, as I need to figure out what I want to use. So, I am off to make a swatch. What are you up to? What are your crafty plans for the weekend?

cross stitch · Fairies · Hand Dyed Fabrics · Knitted Shawl · Knitting · Passione Ricamo · yarn

Catching Up With Some Finishes

November 3, 2021 My Time Stitching11 Comments

Hello friends! Today was a lazy day and I didn’t get much done. It looks cold and gloomy outside, maybe that explains my mood today. Anyway, I promised a photo of my finished 20 Year Celebration piece.

Please excuse the wrinkles. It was on the scrolls for a long time. I can’t tell you how happy I am to finish this piece. It is so beautiful in person. I love the Round Robin feel to it. A little bit of 12 different designs by Passione Ricamo. I am still looking for a framer, but this piece definitely has to be framed. Another one out of the WIP pile!! I stitched this on 16ct Aida Nantucket Sky from Fabrics By Stephanie.

While I was finishing up the Jolie shawl, a local yarn dyer, AJHC Wools, posted a picture of her yarns in a pink to black fade that I absolutely fell in love with! So I checked my stash and ordered what I needed to make the Grevillea Shawl by Ambah O’Brien. Here are the yarns in all of their gloriousness:

Isn’t it just fabulous? I couldn’t wait to get started on it.

With every repeat of this pattern, I fell more and more in love. The pink section was so long. I was so happy to have added my first mini skein, Blizzard. And did you happen to see that adorable progress marker? A Starbucks coffee cup from my Best Stitchy Friend ❤

The colors are looking so awesome together! Four out of 10 so far!

Almost finished! Just one more mini skein to go!

I am so in love with this shawl! I love the long section of the light pink and the fade is so perfect! Just the blocking left to do. This shawl is the perfect example why blocking is necessary. The pattern is so blocky and lumpy. Here is a close-up.

The pattern is broken up into puffy squares and the lace pattern is barely visible. Blocking allows the fabric to lay flat and opens up the lace pattern. And here is the finished shawl, which I have already worn and LOVE it!

See how that lace opened up and the pattern isn’t puffy anymore. Love how this one turned out. Again, the pattern is the Grevillea Shawl by Ambah O’brien. Yarn is from AJHC Wools.

So that is it for my finishes from over the summer. Stop back again soon to see what is on my knitting needles and what I am cross stitching now. What are you stitching?

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