The Vest And A Great Pattern Book

I am almost done the back of my son’s vest. The one side curls up in the picture but you can get the general idea of the shape so far. I am using Elann Peruvian Highland Wool in a worsted weight and the colourway is Mallard Heather. It is a teal blue with dark red or burgundy. It is turning out really well so far. The front has a cable running down the middle so it won’t be as fast.

I received some Elann Peruvian Highland Chunky in the mail today for a hoody I am planning to make for Rhys for his birthday. It is a dark grey and I think it will be really nice too. I also got the book More Crocheted Aran Sweaters. Fantastic book! I want to make every sweater in this book. Yes, I know I am 6 months pregnant and actually can’t fit into any of these sweaters right now but I still want to make them.

I really need to get working on the afghans if I want to start working on all these projects. I swear after this I will not start another afghan for at least a year. I know I said that last time but I really mean it this time!

Bulk Buying

First, I must post a correction.  I had four projects last post.  Poor Eva was not mentioned.  Now I have 6.  I started a crocheted pullover cable vest for my son from Kimane Designs.  I also started some slippers from this french pattern that I had to have translated.  Neither is very far along so I will work on them a bit more before posting pictures.

However, I did received a huge bulk food order.  As I have indicated before I live in the sticks.  I ordered a pile of natural food from a food buying club.  Everything comes by the case.  This was ordered before we split up.  Up north many people buy huge quantities at a time and store it.  Most people seem to have 3 good sized deep freezers.  A friend buys 18 loaves of bread at a time for example.  Her husband hunts so he has one or two animals butchered a year.  I haven’t got to the three freezer stage.  I have one small one.  However, I ordered 20 kg of sugar, 20kg of whole wheat flour, and 20kg of unbleached white so I am sure I can make at least 18 loaves of bread even if I can’t freeze that many (and yes I have yeast already).  The kids are quite happy to have cold cereal when I get the 20kg of oatmeal.  I try to buy a box of cereal every once in a while as the oatmeal can get boring.  The downside to ordering like this is the variety.  The key is to keep ordering different things each time giving you a variety of items and not using up so much space.  I hadn’t ordered for quite a while so I have to start this all over again but I hope to have a good supply of everything by the time the baby gets here.   I would have a picture but Brendan came over to help me with it and I didn’t get a picture taken before it was all put away.  Sorry.

Socks Done

Another project completed.  I am on a roll and have three projects left.  Two afghans and a baby sweater.  The one afghan is baby sized but I still need to get going on them.  The other afghan is a UFO from last year.  It was supposed to be for my mom’s birthday but I think I might get it done in time for her birthday this year….in June.  The baby is due 8 days after her birthday (3 days after my birthday and on the day of my niece’s birthday so he may share his birthday with someone in my family) so I can give it to her in person.

This is a yarn from the Art Walk Sock Club when I was a member.  I stopped when the sock yarn stash got crazy.  It was inspired by a Salvador Dali painting.  I like the bamboo blend and will let you know how it wears.

String Bag Done

I finished the string bag. The pattern was from Erika Knight’s Simple Crochet book. I have the UK edition from when I lived overseas and ordered from Amazon in the UK. The pattern called for plastic string but I used Elann Sonata cotton (about 1 1/2 skeins). I had to add a few rounds to make it bigger using the cotton but I am quite happy with it.

Speaking of Elann they had a great bag deal on today for cotton yarn with elastic in it. I have been wanting to make this ballet style top from Cool Crochet for a couple of years but could never find stretch cotton for a reasonable price. Today was the day. I really don’t have the money but I am sure this top will be great after I have the baby as it can be adjusted somewhat (it ties around).

I also did another swatch with some Elann Highland Wool. I had ordered some worsted weight before the split but when I swatched it I found the gauge was off and that it wasn’t dense enough. I had some chunky from my mitten and hat set so I swatched that. The gauge was still slightly small but I am sure with blocking I will have no problems getting the right dimensions. It is for a zip hoody from Crochet Today (I think last February but I am not too sure). I had a credit from Elann so I used that to order some chunky in a grey. I am not really fond of swatching but I have learned over the years that my gauge is never the same as the pattern and it really does save a lot of problems. I have better luck with Crochet Today patterns than Interweave Crochet patterns. Of course I can never find the suggested yarn for IC patterns whereas CT uses yarn that is easily substituted. I am a huge fan of CT because it has kids patterns in it and I have kids. IC will be great when I get back to my regular size (as I am sure I am not having anymore kids now) and know I will get wear out of some of the things I could make from it for me.

Brussell Sprouts And Dirty Laundry

It is interesting how things go after a split.  Where I live is in the sticks and we have a small store.  A person can order things by the case and  have started doing that to stockpile some food before the baby comes.  When Brendan and I were together we ordered some frozen vegetables because produce is the hardest thing to get up here.  He loves brussell sprouts.  In fact, brussell sprout sandwiches are his absolute favourite food.  Well the truck came in yesterday (a huge event just like the three times a week when the mail comes to town) and today I went to get some milk etc.  The 12 kg of frozen mixed vegetables and the case of brussell sprouts was there.  I am cooking them now in hopes that my kids actually like brussell sprouts.  They are good for you…..but they aren’t my favourite.

Today is laundry day.  I do laundry everyday but twice a week I actually fold it and put it away.  I tried folding it as I went but it was too time consuming so this is the way I have done it for a few years now.  Brendan’s laundry is still showing up but after today I hope to be done and he can do his own laundry.  I guess I could have dug through the dirty laundry and gave it to him but that is almost as much effort as washing it so I didn’t bother.

Crochet-wise I worked some more on Eva and did a swatch for a hoodie pattern I am considering for Rhys’s birthday.  I don’t have any pictures today sorry.

The Split

Brendan and I have split up. It wasn’t a real surprise but it still isn’t great. It means things are a bit difficult for the next few months but once the baby is born things will be better I think.

I have been making arrangements to make things easier. I have someone arranged for the dogs. They said they would even get them out of my yard for me if I have to go in a hurry (they are outside dogs anyways and have met these people). She suggested her ex-husband who lives across the street in the summer for the cats. Once he gets back up here I will ask him as he is very particular and would take good care of them. People are really good when things go wrong. I am always impressed when people help out when things are not going well.

I started Eva. It is going well except that the one row wasn’t clear. It is the eyelet row and it says 2 tc, ch1 across to the stitch before the ch 1 inc (or something like that) and really it means tc in the next 2 stitches, ch 1, skip a st and then repeat until the st before the ch 1 inc. There is a picture and it is quite clear from the picture what you are supposed to do but not so clear from the pattern. Maybe I am being picky. It is going well anyways.

Frog or Finish

I haven’t written for a few days as I have been catching up on laundry (the washing machine froze in the basement so we bought another one off someone in town) and yes even crocheting! The yarn diet has been blown to pieces. I bought some Lopi from Custom Woolen Mills. This is for a cardigan for Hannah from Loop d Loop Crochet. I also ordered a swift. I have found out if you want a swift you get your husband to stand there with a hank of almost 600 yards of sock weight yarn while you wind it and then casually mention that they have actually invented something to hold hanks but they are a little pricey. Voila! You are able to buy a swift! I ordered the swift from Elann. They also had some nice Peruvian Highland Wool in a Mallard colourway which I though would be great for Rhys who is 5 this spring. I threw in the book Cute Crochet For Kids as I try to make something for the kids for their birthday. Boys are harder to find patterns for than girls.

This month is February and it is officially Frog or Finish Month. Last night I frogged two projects (sorry Alke I frogged the novelty yarn hat as I knew I would never finish it) that were never going to get done any time soon. I am also making a mesh shopping bag. I am almost done. I figure I can really stash bust if I can make enough without getting bored. I have a fair amount of cotton in my stash but in one or two skein amounts. I am really going to make an effort to finish some of these WIPs I have. Two afghans is a bit of a challenge but I am sure if I just focus I can get them done (leaving three small projects left). I have three projects I want to start (no afghans because they take too long). One is Eva’s Shawl. I have some Schaefer Anne in a raspberry mocha colourway that I want to use for this. I am only 5 feet tall so I am confident I will have enough yarn for this shawl. I am not a real shawl person (although I love the look of shawls) but where I live doesn’t have sidewalks so Brendan and I are not getting another stroller for this baby and will just rely on my collection on baby carriers (with another in the mail). A shawl is more practical in the summer over a baby in a sling. Actually, we are one of the only communities outside of Whitehorse that has paved streets in the whole Yukon so I guess I shouldn’t complain about not having sidewalks. I do live in the sticks I admit. The other two projects are the cardigan for Hannah using that Lopi I mentioned earlier and a sweater for Rhys for his birthday.

Here is the mesh grocery bag: