WIP Wednesday: Start-itis Is Dangerous

It's been quite a while since I did a work in progress post, and given my recent spat of start-itis, I have quite a few things I'm working on but no finished products yet. Also, I seem to have completely lost my desire to sew lately. With my current situation, my sewing room became filled with random things and I just can't muster any motivation to work in that room right now. I even have a skirt that just needs buttons and buttonholes, lol. It'll happen soon. I'm not going to guilt myself about it. Bare with me on the photos - my good camera is not at my house right now, so I've had to make due with just my phone :) So, what have I been working on?

The big project I've really been trying to steam through is my Ginny Cardigan. I started this last September, but only managed to make the bottom ribbing before I set it aside to do the math on the body shaping. Then Christmas gifts happened, and this just sat in a bag. I really want to have it finished, so I've devoted most of my knitting time to this project. Sadly, knitting time has been scarce, but it's enough to see progress. I love the yarn I'm using (Wisdom Limerick) as it's so airy and soft and much lighter than it looks like it would be. I still don't enjoy bottom-up construction though. I keep looking at new designs to line up for when I get this finished, then I notice that they are bottom-up and I cringe and look some more, lol. I'm just so worried that it won't fit like I want it to, and there is no way to know until you've got it finished. I much prefer top-down. I'm sticking with it though, and I certainly won't let it keep me from designs I love if they are bottom-up. Maybe I'll get better at measuring after I make more this way.

My next most frequently worked on project is a pair of plain socks. I LOVE this yarn - it's from the first Arne & Carlos line (the Summer Night colorway) and it's a jacquard printed yarn so you just knit and it looks like you've done fancy colorwork. Isn't that great?! I love this color combo, and I knew I wanted to make a completely plain pair of socks to really show off the yarn. I searched all through my Ravelry library for a plain sock pattern that I already have, but never found one that quite met my preferred criteria. I ended up just using the pattern from my recently finished (but not blogged yet) Smocked Guernsey Socks. If you've seen those sock, this may seem strange since that sock has a fancy stitch pattern. Basically I just used the numbers off that pattern and instead of the smocking stitch, I just knitted. When I reached the point that I needed to start the heel, I decided to use an afterthought heel so I wouldn't break up the pattern in the yarn (it fell on one of my favorite color sections, of course). Once I finished the toe, I unpicked the scrap yarn and knitted the heel. At first, I just decreased the same as the pattern tells you for the toe and I thought it was good ... until I tried it on. The heel was way too short, so the sock slipped down off my heel within seconds of putting it on. I knew I needed to unpick the heel, but I just never felt like doing that so this project sat for several weeks. This past weekend I was finally in a fixing mood, so I re-knit the heel. This time I followed the decreases from the only other sock pattern I'd used - the Lace Knee Socks pattern from the Knit Sock Workshop class on Craftsy. This wasn't earth shattering, but it was just the info I needed since I knew that heel would fit. All you do is decrease, then knit a row, repeat until you have 12 stitches, then kitchener. Super easy! Now the finished sock fits great :) I was so inspired that I immediately cast on the second sock and spent my Sunday knitting time working on getting these done. These are my current "take along" project since they are easy to throw in my bag and go. I'm hoping to finish them soon.

Back at the end of January, I was really in the mood to have several projects to choose from. I blame suddenly having my sewing room in disarray. I really loved the Antarktis shawl by Janina Kallio, and I thought it would be a great pattern to show off a yarn I've been wanting to use. I cast on with Araucania Lonco yarn in this purple teal green variegated colorway. This was a sweet ebay score from last year and I've really wanted to work it up. I love the color combo. I'm hoping that since this is a cotton yarn that I will be able to wear it more than my other wool shawls. I actually did have much more of this knitted, but I decided I didn't like how loose the gauge was turning out so I pulled out the whole thing, lol. It's sat as this sad little triangle ever since. I think once I finish my Arne & Carlos socks this project will get more attention.

Another sad little project is my second pair of socks for Craftsy's Free Sock Knit Along Class. I really enjoyed the first pair of socks, so I quickly chose a yarn for the second pattern and cast on (the class is 3 months long and includes a new pattern each month). The yarn is a deep stash dive of Deborah Norville Serenity Sock in the most inappropriately named colorway ever, lol. I know it seems ridiculous, but I was so put off by the fact that this yarn is called "Aquamarine" that I just couldn't ever use it. Isn't that silly? That's what happens when you work in gemstones, I guess. For the record, aquamarines are light to medium blue - a color which is not present at all in this skein of yarn, lol. Anyway, the yarn is really soft and I think it will show off the Serpentine Sock detail. I've only made the toe so far, but I hope to buckle down (again) when I finish my Arne & Carlos socks. It was really fun talking with the other KAL participants with my first pair, so I definitely want to still be in that conversation.

In other news, I've been bit by the fancy baking bug lately. Making my Valentine macarons made me really in the mood for more fancy baking (and more macarons I can eat myself, lol). I made another batch of pistachio macarons last Thursday (with milk chocolate ganache this time) as well as these lovely lemon glazed madeleines. I'm telling you,this Craftsy class is dangerous, lol. I now completely want to make a lemon tart as well as zillions of different flavors of macarons. Wouldn't hazlenut ones be amazing? It helps that they are actually fun to make too when you know what you're doing so you take away that ever present element of "what if this fails miserably". Anyway, much fancy baking has taken place of late.

I also won a sweet prize from Stitch Diva Studios. Jennifer Hansen hosted some great giveaways on their Facebook page last week and I WON! I won this deliciously soft skein of Feza Harvest yarn in the Citrus colorway. It's 100% merino wool that is organically dyed. The yellow color is awesome. I can't wait to make something yummy with it :)

And finally, I only just discovered Neko Atsume and I am in love :) A game where you just look at cutesy kitties occasionally on your phone? I'll take it. Sometimes a cute kitty is all you need to brighten your day. I recommend you look in to this app if you haven't yet.

So that's what's going on in my crafting world :) There have been lots of audio books as well as lots of home improvements and cleaning and getting rid of junk. I'm glad to have my little creative outlets when those life necessities get a little overwhelming.

What are you making?

*Craftsy links are affiliate links, but all opinions are completely my own and I highly recommend them - plus the knitting class is completely free!

WIP Wednesday: Socks For A New Year

Anyone who gets the Broadway reference in my post title - we should be friends, lol. I found myself wondering what I should make as my next project. I recently finished a cute animal (what I called me Post Christmas Gift Making Palette Cleanser, lol), and suddenly the weather actually turned slightly cool. When Craftsy announced their new Free Sock Knit Along Class, I decided it would be a great kick to finally tackle another pair of socks. I've only ever made one pair, and they didn't end up fitting great, so I never wear them. I did learn a lot though, and suddenly the thought of making socks as a social event upped the appeal. I decided to dig in my stash for some appropriate yarn.

I decided to finally use my Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Grape Gatsby that I received in a Soak gift box I bought for a steal on Craftsy a year or so ago. The yarn is 80% Superwash Merino Wool and 20% Nylon, so it is deliciously soft and springy. I held onto this for a long time because I couldn't decide if I should make socks or a shawl, but at the end of the day ... I would probably not wear an almost neon colored shawl, fun though it would be, lol. So socks it shall be!

I started knitting these last Friday night, then I had a kind of dramatic weekend where all I really wanted to do was knit ... so I did...

By Sunday evening, my sock looked like this! I can't believe how fast I knit so much up, especially since I'm not that accustomed to knitting with sock weight yarn. The pattern is the January pattern included with the class - Smocked Guernsey Socks by Lucy Neatby. I love how this yarn is working up with this pattern - the little wrapped "smocked" stitches are nice little pops of color. I've been running around all week since then, but I"m hoping I can keep up the momentum and finish these socks in time to wear them in the cool spell.

I also was thrilled to find out that my socks have been featured on Kollabora this week :) Woo hoo! If you're at all interested in knitting socks, this class would be a great way to try it out. Join me, won't you?

*Craftsy link is an affiliate link, but all opinions about the free class are my own

WIP Wednesday: Endings and Beginnings

So, I've been diligent this week in catching up on the Fuzzy Mitten Mystery KAL, and last night I officially finished all the current clues! My guy is in pieces, but I put him in his karate outfit to show what he will look like after this weekend. Headless amigurumi!

The final part I worked on was his suit, and that is the part I finished last night. Man, this outfit took just as long as the whole animal to make, but isn't it ridiculously cute? I'm still pretty interested to see how it all goes together (mainly how the tail sits in the pants).

The tail was the big piece included in clue #5, and I just had to share this photo to brag - the middle area of what you see in the photo is actually the seam on this piece! It's completely invisible! I impressed myself with that one, lol.

So, my little guy is all in pieces in his suit, hanging out in this basket until Friday rolls around with the final clue. I know what it is already, but the head is the final piece to really bring him to life. I can't wait!

I finished catching up with the mystery KAL pretty early last night, so I decided to officially begin my Christmas present knitting. I probably shouldn't show this here in case the recipient reads this blog, but I'm going to just hope they don't. I'm really excited to use this fancy yarn. It's Aarlan SwaLaine that I got at a thrift store for a steal - it's 100% wool that is a black mixed with burgundy. This is also the first chainette style yarn I've ever worked with and it's been pretty fun so far (aside from the fact that it's shedding like mad - anyone know if this is part of it being a bit older or if it's just the nature of some wools?). I think the chainette gives a neat texture and I really can't wait to see how it looks blocked.

I worked on these projects while listening to The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. I just read The Secret History a few weeks ago and LOVED it, so I was very excited to give this one a read since it got so much acclaim. I'm halfway through and loving it so far. I love the way she writes.

So that's my world this week :) Head over to Gracey's Goodies to see what other people are up to!

WIP Wednesday: Penelope-ing and Cat Sewing

I've been sailing right along with my knitting this past week. I had kind of an off week overall and was feeling really down for no good reason. Meaning I could barely force myself to do anything at all once I got home from work. Thankfully, knitting came to my rescue :) I didn't feel like do anything but knitting, so even though nothing got done around my house for a week I do have some crazy sweater progress to show for my time!

I finished the entire body of the sweater this past Sunday! I just started this sweater on October 1st to go with the knit along, and this is the most progress I've ever made on a sweater in that period of time. I think part of that speed is due to the incredibly simple nature of this sweater - it's all stockinette! I decided to just follow the size large this time and I'm really happy with the fit in the body. I did make the sweater about 4 inches longer than the pattern calls for, but I have a long torso so this still makes it hit me at the hip. 

Sunday night I realized that I had no idea what buttons I would use for this sweater, and the time for buttons is fast approaching so I scoured my stash and came up with nothing whatsoever that would even remotely work. Thankfully Hancock Fabrics had a big Columbus day sale and Monday was the last day. They had all their buttons 50% off, so I went a bit crazy and picked up 4 possibilities.

The bad part of my button excursion - they didn't have enough of the ones I like best. The blue iridescent ones on the top are far and away my favorites (they look like they were made to go with the blue yarn, don't they?!), and they only had 8 buttons in the store when I need 11. I bought them anyway in hopes that I can find another card of them. Just in case I can't get more, I bought the other sets as back ups. I think my next favorite set is the pink and yellow speckled ones, then the clear-ish iridescent ones. I swear my button stash grows by leaps and bounds with each finished sweater. Anyone else have this problem?

In sewing news, I did manage to get a project to almost completion before my funk fully kicked in. I made my first ever circle skirt (which has absolutely no hanger appeal whatsoever, lol) with this Gertie design cat fabric for the Put A Cat On It Sew Along. This was a big drafting experiment, and it mostly worked out except that my lining fabric stretched majorly and now the fit is distorted at the waist :/ I've concocted a few plans to fix the issue, but I haven't been home much to try them out yet. Hopefully I'll figure it out this week. After that I just need to hem this and it's finished :) I'm also hoping to muster up the courage to tackle my Halloween costume alterations. Ugh.

That's it for me this week! Head over to Gracey's Goodies to see what others have in the works :)

WIP Wednesday: New Sweaters - Yay!

In honor of finishing my Agatha Cardigan, I started two more, lol. The one that I've devoted the most attention to lately is my Penelope.

The knit along officially began on October 1st, and managed to finish the color work for the yoke pretty quickly. I just joined the pieces together for the body last night. I decided to use some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino in Coral from my stash for the yoke because I liked the color combo with my main yarn. The main yarn is Cascade 220 Superwash Paints in Sapphire Seas that I've had since 2013. It's high time this pretty yarn gets used!

The Cascade yarn is hand painted and has a lovely color variation of blues and a little bit of purple. You can see this better in this picture. I know it's an unconventional color combo, but I still like it :) Plus all of this yarn was from my stash! Yay for a huge stash when you don't have money to buy yarn, lol. I''m really excited to have this sweater for the winter.

Before the Penelope KAL started, I needed a new project so I went ahead and began another sweater, lol. I've always loved the Ginny Cardigan from Unofficial Harry Potter Knits and I kept coming back to that when I decided that I wanted a more outerwear type sweater this year. It worked out perfectly to make since I have this amazing yarn in my stash that worked perfectly for it - it's Limerick by Wisdom Yarns (now discontinued) and it's a DK weight 100% merino wool superwash yarn. The yarn is very hairy and varied in thickness compared to my usual standardized Cascade and cheapy acrylic yarns I tend to use. I was worried at first that it would look odd, but it's knitting up beautifully. I guess this is really my first "rustic" yarn. I love the color variation - it goes from kelly green to a more blue/teal color and back. Anyway, I just started the owls on the back before I set it aside for the Penelope, lol. I'm really excited about this sweater too though!

I also finally started sewing my Halloween costume this week. I think I cursed myself by thinking it would be a quick project. I got the  dress all put together only to discover that it's too tight when I tried it on. Ugh! I've let it out everywhere I can, but it's still too snug so I may add gussets to the side seams. I didn't want to think about it any more last night so it's just hanging out in the naughty corner for the moment.

I'm also pretty ridiculously excited about Sewing Indie Month and my submissions :) The voting is going on right now, so if you wouldn't mind voting for one of my projects over here. Sorry for all the vote begging. I'll lay off next week, lol.

That's it for me this week! Head over to Gracey's Goodies to see other fantastic works in progress :)

WIP Wednesday: So Close Yet So Far!

Well the good news is that I've finished the knitting on my Agatha Cardigan! I've got it all blocked and ready for button band stabilization.The bad news is that when I tried to put buttonholes in the ribbon with my sewing machine last night, it freaked out in a big way. My buttonhole foot is plastic and it seems that the needle has been hitting it on occasion, making a rough ridge that the thread likes to catch on and pull upwards in the stitch generally making it look like crap. I'm planning on sanding the piece when I get to work tomorrow, but until then my cardi must sit unfinished :(

I did manage to sew the ribbon onto the button side of the band, so at least there's that. I'm really pleased with how that finished side looks now and you can't see the black through the purple yarn at all - definite plus :)

In light of my sweater not being able to be finished, I finally started a project I've put off for too long. I'm making Giddy-Up the horse for a baby shower on Saturday. I used this marled black wool that made for the perfect color to mimic the intended owner's own horse she grew up with, so I'm hoping this gift is a slam dunk of sentimentality, lol. I'm working to finish it up today.

And I also cut out another project for Sewing Indie Month a few days ago - a denim Melissa skirt by Muse Patterns. I'm really keen to get started on this, but I'm not sure if my buttonholer will cooperate. We'll see. I'm sure that a denim skirt will come in really handy in my wardrobe.

That's about it for me this week :) I have to go make my signature butterscotch cream cheese swirl brownies now, so if you'd like to see more projects just head over to Gracey's Goodies to see what others are up to!

WIP Wednesday: Second Sleeve Syndrome and A Gift

It is official - I have finished the first sleeve on my Agatha cardigan! This is the longest sleeve I've ever made, and I will admit that I couldn't wait to get it finished, lol. I've heard of second sock syndrome, but do you think there is a second sleeve syndrome? Equally as detrimental.

I do love the sleeves on this pattern though. I love the lace panels and I love how the decreases look on the underside. I also love how the sleeve looks cuffed (which is how it's designed to be worn). It's funny - I deliberately made the button and neck bands so that they wouldn't feel like a drudgery when the rest of the sweater was finished ... but now the sleeves have taken their place. I guess there's just no avoiding it. Now to make another sleeve :) I want to finish it even more at the moment because the weather is feeling ever so slightly fall-like. I've actually wanted a sweater about mid-day at work, which is unheard of for me. Anyway, I hope to finish this one up soon so I can start on my next projects.

On the sewing front, I've been a little wishy washy. I've cut out a muslin, and taped together a pdf pattern but I have yet to sew up that muslin or trace and cut out a muslin of the other pattern. I just haven't been in the mood to do much more than knit lately. I did have an evening where I made a long awaited gift I promised back in May. I told my mom that I would make her a t-shirt for her birthday since she liked my Floral Plantain so much. She wanted hers made from this red heavy ITY knit that she had a scrap of, but it wasn't enough fabric so the project has waited for a replacement. I stopped by a thrift store I haven't been to in several months last week and came across the exact same fabric but in a royal blue color. I grabbed it and made the executive decision to make the shirt out of this fabric :) I love making the Plantain pattern because it basically requires no brain power at this point having made it so many times.

I finished the shirt in maybe 1.5 hours, and then spoiled the surprise by asking my mom what type of neckline detail she wanted. I had several trims and sent her photos of each to choose from. In the end she chose these blue rosettes that seriously matched the color exactly - this was just meant to be, ya'll. Unfortunately she did not make her choice that evening, so I have not had a chance to sew the roses on yet. So this sits on my dress form waiting until I get it done. My mom tried the plain shirt on and likes it though, so at least I know it will be a success :)

So that's what's going on round these parts this week. Head over to Gracey's Goodies to see what others have in the works.

WIP Wednesday: It's All Happening!

Hello, All! It's been a pretty momentous week around these parts because ...

I finished knitting my Emelie cardigan! It's a miracle! To be real, I do still need to re-knit the bind off on the button band, but still - the main knitting is done and I'm so excited. I started this project last August (ugh!), so this has been a much anticipated sweater. This is my first fingering weight sweater, and I learned quite a bit in the process.

I included a more lightened version of the photo just so you can see what I mean. It's not awful, but the button band bind off just doesn't stretch quite enough, so I'm going to take it out and redo it. I'm not looking forward to this, lol, but after a year of work I'd rather not think I wish I had done something to fix it while I wear it. I'm hoping to buckle down and get this done this next week so I can get it finished before the one year mark (August 17th). We'll see ...

Also I completely lost steam on my project for the Ami-Along. It's really cute! I just lost all desire to crochet for some reason. He just needs to be sewn together and get ears and he's done, so this is seriously a half hour away from completion. Hopefully I feel up to it soon so he doesn't remain headless, lol.

 I also cast on a new project (I'm in a very "plan future projects" mood lately). This is the Nosegay Vest by Andi Satterlund, and I'm joining in the knit-along for this one. I loved this design when it was released, so when Andi announced the knit-along I decided it was a good opportunity to get this made up. This project will be a few firsts for me - it's my first vest and it's also my first colorwork. I've watched the Intarsia class on Craftsy, but I've still never officially used the technique, so I figured I would just go whole hog and have this be my first project. Another factor in making this vest is that I'm actually able to make it entirely out of stash yarn - yay! The color section on the rose will use Cascade 220 Superwash (in Strawberry Pink, Daffodil, and Salmon) and Lion Brand Wool-Ease (in Avocado). The body is where I ran into a smidge of a snag. I had two skeins of I Love This Wool yarn in Winter White from Hobby Lobby that I've acquired over the years - the two skeins are different dye lots, but close - the problem is that the vest requires a bit more yarn than just those two skeins. I went to Hobby Lobby to get one more skein ... only to discover that they have discontinued this yarn! They had other colors in the sale section, but none that I could use.

. 

So I returned to my stash and dug out all my skeins of white/natural colored wool to compare. The closest color I had was a skein of Patons Classic Worsted Wool in Aran, and I decided to just go with it and alternate skeins every two rows. This complicated my yarn pulling arrangement to be sure, but it's manageable as long as I stay on top of things. Now I'm just trying to decide if I like how the vest is looking. It's not just the color - the yarns are different plys, so it's coming out like a subtle stripe in the fabric. I included a blown up photo to show what I mean. I've only knitted the bottom ribbing so far, so I'm going to go a bit further into the stockinette section before I make my official Yay of Nay decision. I want to see if the stripe gives a "kettle dyed" look, or just looks silly, you know? Wish me luck!

On the sewing front, I've been very busy but with not much to show for it. I've had McCall's 6503 on my list for years - I really want to make view D in a navy blue cotton. I already have everything I need for the official dress in my stash. I made my first muslin in the size that I usually do for Simplicity patterns about a month or two ago and it was enormous (this is my first time with a McCall's pattern). I was frustrated back then, so I just kind of chucked the muslin aside and went on to the next project. I decided to try again in a smaller size this past week, so I checked the finished garment measurements before cutting and put together a smaller size. It came out too small! RRrrrrr.... I voiced my frustration on Instagram, and a few very kind sewing bloggers tried to help me out (thanks Gillian and Brooke!), sadly I was so not in the mood to work on it further at that point that I didn't delve that deep into the adjustments. I did try an experiment and used the midriff band from the previous larger size muslin on the new, smaller muslin and that actually seemed to solve the too small problem really well. Now I have my usual hollow chest adjustment to make, but on a bodice that has no darts I have no idea how to accomplish this. The other ladies told me where I could find the info I need, so I know for next time. I've just been distracted by the new and shiny things ever since, so I haven't bothered with this any further. Hopefully I get in a more "get this figured out" mood soon.

On my sewing table right now is a freshly traced Sorrel top pattern I just grabbed yesterday. I just couldn't resist the Sew Independent pattern bundle that's up for grabs right now (today is the last day if you want it). Of course the patterns I loved the most were in the highest price bracket, lol. Anyway, I really loved the Sorrel top with it's neat inset collars. I love a good t-shirt, and this one just has such neat options. I printed it out right away, put it together last night and traced off my size. I've already pulled out a dark teal interlock fabric for the body and a blue floral t-shirt for the collar - both of these were thrifted so I'm ok with using them as a wearable muslin. I've never made anything with inset pieces like this before, so I'm curious to see how I manage. Hopefully I can make this up after work tonight :)

I'm also REALLY excited that I finally have a copy of Butterick 6217. I've been trying to buy this pattern for months at the pattern sales, but it's always been completely gone or only available in the small size. My sister found this one and grabbed it for me this weekend and I was so so happy, lol. I have 2.5 yards of that same rose print swiss dot fabric just begging to be made int o this shirt. I can't wait! I also have about 3 other dresses floating around in my head that I really want to make up. If only I could just sew and not worry about working or any issues with fitting, amiright?! I would be so productive then. Anyway, I'm sure this pattern isn't far off in my future :)

Phew! That was a long one! That's what's happening over in my neck of the woods. Head over to Gracey's Goodies if you'd like to see what some other knitters have in the works as well :)

WIP Wednesday: The Light At The End ...

You guys! I am going to finish my cardigan in time! It's a small miracle, sure, but I am thrilled :) I really buckled down this weekend - Saturday night I did the short row shaping on my second sleeve, then Sunday I knitted the entire sleeve AND the button band. This is crazy speedy for me - just shows you what true desire and dedication can accomplish :) So, on Monday morning, my sweater looked like this:

 Sorry for the crappy photo, but you get the idea - lots of tails to weave in, blocking to be done. You know, the usual "after work" of sweater making. I also had quite a few nasty spots in my yarn that had to be deep cleaned out. The yarn just came that way, but I figured it would wash out when I went to block it - nope, I had to pull every trick I could think of and after 2 days of soaking with various cleaners, tide stain remover powder + dawn dish soap paste won the day. The glory of this yarn is that it's machine washable, so after soaking out the stains I just put it in the washer for a white load and let the washer spin out the excess water. This was SO MUCH EASIER than squeezing the sweater in a towel before blocking and it left the sweater much drier than any previous sweaters I've made. So it doesn't take 3 years to dry due to the lovely Florida humidity. Hooray!

I laid the sweater out last night and I actually didn't even have to pin it in place! Man, I love cotton yarn :) I was weary of getting rust spots from the blocking pins like I have in the past, so I just stretched it to the size I needed and let it lay there. This morning, it was drier, but not totally dry so I decided to go rogue and set it up like this:

Since the cotton was already stretched, I figured it couldn't hurt to dry it on my drying rack so it gets good air flow. Hopefully this does the job and I have no problem backing the button bands tonight after work - after that this baby will be FINISHED! Huzzah! Also, I have my dress done as of Saturday night, so I will get pics of this tomorrow, then post them on Friday, the 31st - just under the deadline! Yay!

Since my sweater is done, I decided I'd earned a cutesy palette cleanser last night. Last week, I went thrifting in Melbourne and hit a major yarn score - 36 skeins of brand new (with the bands and in factory bags) yarn ... and they were only 25¢ each! I couldn't throw those babies in my cart fast enough, let me tell you. I even got 6 skeins of Bernat Dippity Dots in the white colorway, which is a yarn I've always wanted to try but always talked myself out of buying at $3.99 a skein when I have such a crazy stash already. But for 25¢ ... I think I can justify that, don't you? I was itching to try this yarn out, so I brainstormed in my pattern stash and decided to make something ridiculously adorable.

I will confess, this is not my favorite yarn to crochet with - those dots make things pretty complicated. Most of the dots end up on the wrong side of the work just due to how crochet stitches are formed, so I just turned each piece inside out :) It sounds strange, but it actually feels the same - the biggest difference is that normally I would be looking at the stitch from the outside of the animal, but this time I'm forming the stitches from the inside of the tummy (hopefully that makes sense). I haven't managed to get all of the dots on one side of the work, but there are definitely more on the side you can see here. I love the effect, so I'm willing to put up with the perschnickity yarn. The yarn is also a weird gauge - it's listed and sold as Worsted weight, but the yarn itself is more like a sport weight, so I'm using a size F hook and I had to pick a very light worsted weight for the contrasting color. Anyway, this is going to be my entry for the Ami-Along (I may make more entries, but this is it so far). I'm not sure if it will get finished tonight, but it certainly will be in the next few days. I can't wait! 

So, that's it around here this week :) I feel like I can breathe a bit, and now I can focus on my other long standing WIPs. Of course this hasn't stopped me from planning another new project, but I'll say more about that soon. For now, head over to Gracey's Goodies to see what others have going on :)