Mysterious Monday...

So, if you're a long time reader you will know that I am a big fan of the mystery make along. I have two in particular that I participate in every year and they happen to  both go on at the same time. Now is that time, lol. Not that I'm complaining - I love the social aspect that goes on in Ravelry groups during the mysteries and seeing everyone's toys coming together. No matter how busy I am, I always make a point to join in the fun :)

First off this time was the FreshStitches Mystery Crochet Along. It started on April 4th, and the neat thing this time around is that it will involve Kool-Aid dying. She has you make everything in undyed wool yarn and then we will learn how to dye the pieces and what pieces should be what color later on. Pretty cool idea, huh? As of now, I have Clue 1 and 2 completed, and thy look like this:

At this point in clue #1 I was thinking it would be a seal (which is why I have the pieces arranged like that).

Clue #2 gave a different and undeniable perspective - that's looking to be a shell, friends. It was pretty obvious at this point that the pattern is for a sea turtle. I also peeked at Clue #3 (which was released today) and saw that all the pieces get dyed green except that shell, which is dyed blue. Pretty sure that means I'm right, but I'm still excited for the final clue next week :)

My second mystery project just started this past Friday, April 15th. It's the Fuzzy Mitten Mystery Knit Along 2016. This has become one of my favorite knitting projects of the year :) I've loved every one of the animals Barbara has designed for us, and I'm sure this time will be no different. She says that this year the animal will be bigger than normal, but also she decided to release the body parts first and the clothing after over the 6 weeks of clues (usually it's the other way around to keep the mystery alive longer). She says it will be obvious what we are making after the 2nd or 3rd week, but this way we will be able to make sure our clothing fits (we've had issues before with not getting a good gauge on the clothes and not knowing they were too big until it was too late). I managed to finish knitting the first clue during church on Sunday and this is what I've got:

It's hard to see in the photo, but the two needles on the bottom have a bind off section between then, so these are going to be the legs. Barbara give you the option of adding panties to the animal for modesty in the pattern or going without and I just decided to go au naturale and leave mine in the nuddie pants. The decreases in the middle are looking like a belly button (which is super cute), and I'm slightly worried it's a doll - as in a human - in which case mine will look like a nudist, lol, but oh well. It's fun. We'll see what next week brings.

I've been having a lot of fun with these two project lately, and I've been working on a very old toy project in between clues. I even managed to do some sewing (gasp)! It's true! I've been in such a funk with sewing lately. My sewing room is moved and completely functional, but I still technically live at my house (meaning I sleep there and my clothes and kitchen stuff is all there). It's a strange kind of limbo to live in, and I never thought it would be a big deal, but this dissected life has turned sewing into a planned event. I can't just meander into my sewing room when the mood strikes like I'm accustomed to since my entire sewing room is now a 45 minute drive away. Because it requires planning and setting aside time, I then guilt myself into being more productive with all the things I need to do to get out of this horrid dichotomy, making sewing seem frivolous and wasteful. It's a sad state of affairs. Thank heavens knitting is so portable. I've finished several other projects that I still have to photograph (again, my stuff is split between 2 places, making photos a planned chore), so hopefully those things will show up here soon and you won't have to just see random book reviews, lol. I did devote my Saturday night to sewing this past weekend though, and I managed to finish a skirt I started in January as well as mend 2 other me made skirts (gotta get ready for Me Made May), and I even cut out a shirt that I will hopefully sew some of later tonight. Life is crazy, but I still need to flex my creative muscles to keep myself from going completely insane.

So that's how things are going with me :) I'm so grateful for these fun mystery projects that add a sense of urgency to making the pieces so I don't miss out on the surprise. I definitely recommend joining in if you feel so inclined!