Another Project Completed!

This one has been on a back burner for the last few weeks while I have been ill. The first leg warmer seemed to take me forever to complete, but one evening last week I fancied making a start on the second one, and it only took me a few hours! Why does that happen? Usually it is the second one that takes forever though, so I suppose it was a nice surprise for the second one to be quicker for a change. And it gets something else crossed off my list after a pretty unproductive month!

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Reviewing January Goals and Looking Forward to February

Since the end of the month is almost here, I thought it would be a good excuse to look back on what I have achieved throughout the first month of 2014. Early on in January, I set myself some targets that I wanted to achieve, and I am pretty happy to say that I managed to achieve most of them! 

The first goal that I completed was to finish the pair of beanies that were in the set that my Grandma got me for my birthday. These were a pretty quick make and I really enjoyed doing a small project for a change!

 

Next I could cross off completing James’ Valentines’ Day present, but I can’t share that yet because I want to keep it a surprise! I can share the next couple of projects with you though, I completed my ‘January’ square of my Fairytale Sampler in just a few evenings, so I am on track for completing each square on time each month, although I do have some more work to do on the border as I go.

What I’ve Been Up To Recently…

Well, yesterday I handed in the final essay of the semester, which gives me two weeks off before I start semester too (that’s ignoring the fact that I have 30 books to read for next semester but still…) so I am enjoying (relative) freedom, around the reading and my overtime at work. Since I have been so bogged down in essays though, I haven’t had chance to share my recent activities on my blog. I have been doing quite a bit of crafting in general, and I have been making small steps towards some of my 23 before 23 goals.

Getting Organised/Having a Clear Out:

So, two of my goals were part of my aim to get myself organised and de-cluttered! While these are likely to take a long time to achieve completely, I have been making a start! I scoured Pinterest for some ideas on room organisation, and I created my Organisation Board, to get me in the mood. It certainly worked, because last week I had the urge to start my sorting with my wardrobe and drawers (which I generally hate…) I try to sort out my clothes pretty regularly, but they were well overdue. After a couple of hours pulling things out and trying things on, I was left with a bin bag for the tip and two boxes for the charity shop! There wasn’t masses to get rid of, but just clearing out some of my unnecessary stuff felt incredibly satisfying. I didn’t just stop there though…oh no! I put some of my Pinterest tips into practice to make my clothes storage work better for me. I began by adding some drawer dividers into my socks and underwear drawer, to prevent it from being such a free-for-all when I was getting ready in a morning.

My second drawer holds my t-shirts, hats, scarves and gloves, now nice and accessible.

My First Finish of 2014!

I’m am very happy to say that I have finished my very first craft project of 2014! If you saw my post about the lovely birthday presents that I received, you might remember that my Grandma bought me a crochet kit to make two beanies. Well, I put it to good use and made a start on the first beanie on the 3rd of January. I started on the woman’s hat first, and I made myself an oversized, baggy beanie. I had finished it by the 5th! On the 7th January I started the men’s beanie so that James could have one too, and I finished it yesterday on the 8th! Here are the finished items:

Crochet Boutique: For the Next Crochet Generation

Author: Rachael Oglesby
Genre: Non-Fiction, Crafts, Crochet.
Published: 2012
Pages: 128

Considering I am an avid crocheter, my bookcase is surprisingly sparse when it comes to crochet books. I think that part of the problem is due to the lack of books aimed at a ‘younger’ crochet audience. While many of the crochet books that I have experienced have some lovely patterns in them, many of them are for items that I wouldn’t need, or for dated clothing and accessories. Crochet Boutique is definitely not one of these books though!

I first heard of this book when I read a review of it on another blog (shamefully, I can’t remember where it was…) but just the post, I was struck by how ‘modern’ the designs were, and how fashionable they appeared. When my Mum asked me to choose some craft books for Christmas, this was one of the first ones to pop into my mind!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! 

Busy CAL-ing Away!

Wow, where have the weeks gone??? Time seems to have flown by since I last updated you on my CAL progress! I can’t believe I have just completed week 9! The CAL is moving along so quickly…I’m having so much fun taking part 🙂

The blanket is growing so much quicker than I had imagined, here is what I have so far:

 

Look how huge it is! Not only is it growing longer, but it wasn’t until I laid the blanket out for this photo that I realised just how wide the blanket will be! As proof of the size, here is a photo of me laid on the blanket:

Another Very Busy Week!

I’ve been keeping myself busy with my crafts again this week, around my graduation that is! I have done my weekly CAL so I’m up to here:

The next set of instructions is out today so I am looking forward to the next few rows! You can also see my new tin in the photo…I bought this in Scarborough after a trip to the beach this week and it is the new home for the ATC’s that I have received….they have a lovely snug fit in there 🙂

I also managed to finish the maxi skirt that I have been working on for a while!

What I was busy doing in my break

So, I know that my blog was neglected for a while when I was revising for my exams and writing essays but fortunately my crafting wasn’t! I have been really busy improving my sewing skills and working on several cross stitch pieces!

Before I show you those though, here is an update on my Not Your Average Crochet CAL:

 

Week three is done! I spent Saturday quickly finishing my Dad’s Father’s Day card ready for Sunday morning, so I had completely forgotten about the CAL. It made a really nice surprise to find it as I was browsing through my reader, so I spent Sunday evening after work busily stitching the next few rows…I’m really impressed with how quickly it is growing! I can’t wait to get the next set of instructions tomorrow.

Now, here are some of the projects that I have been working on recently:

The first sewing project that I completed was my set of three fabric baskets. One holds my pattern envelopes, one is great for my stash of fat quarters and the third holds my post supplies! 

Not Your Average Crochet CAL

A while ago I showed you the yarn that I had started collecting for Hannah from Not Your Average Crochet‘s CAL. At the beginning of June we finally made a start on our stripy blankets and so far I have been storming through the rows!

At the end of the first week, I had completed the first rows:

 

These rows were really quick to do and, even fitting them round a busy schedule, I still completed them in two days.