If you're on Ravelry and are interested in some non-bill, non-advertisement mail, the Fraggles are hosting a Card Swap. Easy Peasy! Mail a holiday card, receive a holiday card!
www.ravelry.com/discuss/backstage-team-fraggle/3537024/1-25
Rules are simple:
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Reply to the thread that you want to swap.
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PM my your snail mail address and what winter holidays you celebrate
(Christmas, New Year’s, Solstice, Kwanzaa, Festivus Hannukah- I don’t know any
others)
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Deadline to sign up Dec 5th.
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I’ll PM your swap partner’s info on Dec 6th.
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Mail out date Dec 12.
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Post here when you mail your card.
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Post here when you receive your card.
As I mentioned a couple weeks ago - I'm doing a MKAL (Mystery Knit A Long) of Fiddle Knits' The Philosopher's Stone. It uses gradient yarn and beads. It combines cables and lace (really, really addicted to cable projects) and I have never used as many different cable crossovers as in the 40 rows of clue one. The yarn I'm using is Alpaca Cloud fingering, which is a little fuzzy for this much cabling (I really didn't predict this much cabling from teh swatch pattern provided) but it is super soft, and I think the cable definition will improve with light blocking and the lighter colours as I swap out skeins for the gradient effect. So that I don't "spoil" the mystery -- I'm posting the picture below the page break - so click if you want to see clue 1.
Finally finished my Spring Spirits kerchief! Sewed it to an elastic headband instead of those pesky strings to tie.
This was the free pattern and free yarn that came with May's Simply Knitting magazine
It was postmarked Mar 11, and I received it Thur! Michigan is only half t he country away, it's not like it had to get here from Borneo!
The card itself was super fun, you pull the first sheep and a dog chases out an entire flock!
And Jessica made me the most adorable owl bookmark! (I'm the dinosaur who still prefers actual paper books)
Thanks a million Jessica!
So I'm going to do a beaded Mets shawl this summer with this yarn and beads:
I'm trying to pick the pattern. If you're on Ravelry check the craft a long thread here, to see the three I'm deciding between and give me an opinion.
Here's pictures of the three I'm considering:
It took a few days more than a year (according to Ravelry) in my defense I did complete a lot of other projects in that time frame, and while it wasn't done for Christmas, her birthday was two weeks ago - so I'm giving it to her for her birthday when I see her this Sunday. The yarn started out as just leftovers from projects for Christopher and the Angie, but then I added some red's from mine to give it better balance.
I've been on a boot binge. Yup, binge. I went from one pair of tall boots to 5, and bought a bunch of new short boots. I really like all the boot cuffs I've been seeing on Ravelry, and when I saw them in the store I liked them - but I have thick calves so the ones in the store really don't work well. So I dug around my acrylic yarn bag and found some thicker yarn so they would work up quickly and knit one pair and crocheted another. I actually have 2 more in progress as well.
You can actually see an awesome "hack" I picked up from my daughter. Pool noodles at the dollar store can be cut and you can get 1 1/2 to 2 pairs from one noodle depending on the height. The things they sell to put in your boots to keep them upright start at $8 a pair -- and that's TJMaxx's price!! so I did all my boots for $4 instead of $40!!
If you've known me awhile - you know I'm involved in NerdWars and Nerdopolis on Ravelry. I'm captain for Team Fraggle in Nerdopolis. We're a small, friendly, laid back team, main goal is not coming in last, life happens you know? Sometimes projects don't get done on time - but an end of month deadline sometimes helps.. Signups for the next tournament (starts Feb1 ends Apr 30) run through the 27th. Link for signups is HERE, you do need to be on Ravelry to play.
If you more do, larger longer time projects, Nerdopolis has the Summit Seeker challenge - you gets stars (points) for progress during a given month. If you have a lot of WIPs there is the Area 51 challenge - where following the theme is optional and you can submit 2 things for stars each month. If you tend to volunteer or donate (stuff or$) there is a different charitable focus each month to get a star (donated stuff doesn't have to be made that month) There is even a section called The Lab - which is for non Ravelry specific crafts. Beading, painting, colouring, baking,sewing there are a tons of non fiber craft options to explore. And then there are three challenges each month, which get answered with a Rav sanctioned project.(knit, crochet, spin, dye, weave) You can get one star or the max 5 stars (there is a badge for over 5 stars- but only 5 count for the scoring)
On Ravelry (social media/giant data base for fiber related crafts) groups have swaps from time to time. I recently participated in a Beer Swap. My sender, Michelle from San Diego sent 2 pumpkin ales from local breweries, as well as a beer in honor of her favorite sports Tony. ( I just love the name Punk in Drublic)
She also sent a wonderful blue yarn - La Jolla - dyed in her area that she got on the San Diego Yarn Crawl - I love that the color name is Rogue... I'm going to have to make sure to stock up on Rogue's Dead Guy Ale before casting on!!
I attached the two sleeves of my Sleeves shrug, and started on the back. I started my scoreboard KAL, I'm hoping the whole cowl looks like this:
One of the groups I belong to on Ravelry, it's a team group connected to Nerdopolis and Nerdwars, Bazinga (based on the Big Bang Theory- tv show not physics) had a pattern swap for the off month (the tournaments run three months, then there's a break and team sign ups, then the new tournament - like sports off season with all the trades etc) Pattern swaps can be fun - no mailing, no postage, you get one or two partners, there is a total spend limit of $20 for both together, you get your partners and the links to their pattern wishlists and pick one (I send 2 if they are small/cheap) . The thank you thread can be dangerous - people post the pattern's picture with their thank you, and not just my queue grows. I got three really great patterns this time around. I've been looking at sweater patterns (totally Grace's fault.. LOL --- I'm not mad at you Grace!) and I was gifted this one:
Then I had been looking at knitted taxidermy and totally fell in love with Christmas Moose!!
Last - I've been wanting to make Dandy Sir Cephalopod forever!! I even bought the wooden button moustache over a year ago!! Now I need to find it LOL...
