Chunky, Crochet Throws

This feels a bit odd to be creating a blog post!  It's been so long since I did that!  I was a bit burned out on blogging and stopped posting early last year.  Then, life got crazy busy with going back to work for a while, my daughter graduating from college (with two bachelor degrees...I'm so proud of her!), moving my daughter to another state for grad school, and lots and lots of busy-ness!  I'm attempting a come back.  It's a little hard to decide where to start.  So, I'll start with a post about some fun projects I did this last year...

I found a pattern on Ravelry that I just couldn't get out of my mind.  It looked like a lot of fun to make.  It also looked quick....which was part of the fun!  The pattern is the "5 1/2 Hour Throw" and you can find it free on Ravelry.  It requires three strands of yarn and a size "Q" crochet hook.

I thought it would look nice with three different kinds of yarn...a yarn that has some variation of color and some airy softness/fuzziness (I used about four skeins of Homespun), a solid with a bit of sheen (I used just over two skeins of Simply Soft), and a solid that has more of a mat finish (I used about two skeins of Red Heart Super Saver Solids).  I used about 750 yards of each kind of yarn. 

I made this one for my daughter.  I love how it turned out and it looks great with her green chair and all the other colors she uses to decorate her apartment.  Best of all....she loves it! The colors are beautiful in person!

I made this one for our house and was able to de-stash by using some leftover yarn from a blanket I finished knitting last year.   

These chunky throws are warm and cozy despite all the holes and they're super soft and cozy!  Just ask Penelope....she thinks I made this one just for her!  She lays on it a lot.

This pattern is so fun, easy, and quick that it's a bit addicting.  I made a third one for a wedding gift.  I was told the couple likes blue.  I had a hard time finding a blue I liked as Homespun doesn't seem to have a big selection of blues.  Some looked like 80's/90's "country blue".  I didn't think that would be a good idea. I ended up with this combination.  It turned out pretty and I think they like it.

The chunky hook and three strands of yarn make for a quick project.  Each throw took a week or less to make.

I would love to make another chunky throw but I have so many blankets right now and I'm not sure I know anyone who needs one.  But, if I find a reason to make another one, I'm sure there won't be much hesitation!  ;-)

Chest, Chair and Change

There's a little shop nearby that I love.  It's called, "Cottage Charm".  They sell antiques and vintage things.  Their prices are usually really good and they're constantly bringing in new things.  So, I try to go often to see if they have any thing I might "need".  I've found quite a few great things there over the past few years.  I stopped in a few weeks ago but didn't find anything.  A week later, on Halloween, I stopped in again to see if there was anything new.  As soon as I walked in the door, I saw a black chest of drawers and it was love at first sight!  Yup...it came home with me!

Here it is in my entry when I first brought it home.  It's painted black, distressed, and waxed...it's all done and ready to be loved and used.  I thought it would be perfect to hold my fabric stash.

I love the wood knobs.  It's solid wood with dove tailed drawers.  And, the drawers are nice and clean and don't seem to have a weird smell like old chests often do.

I thought it would work well in the upstairs hall area.  It's just outside of my craft studio for easy access to the fabric inside.  It's a little hard to get a good photo in there though.  I have some decorating to do to the top of the chest.  And, I need to decide what to do with the art that was already in there and is now hanging above it.

It's a wonderful, very detailed cross stitch that my mom did years ago.  My dad made the frame for it.  All together, it's very special because it's been made by both of my parents.  Plus, the cross stitch is pretty spectacular.  The hall is a bit dark and will keep it from being faded.  I'm not in love with the color of the frame and mat though.  I've thought about changing it but feel that would take away from the creativity my parents put into it.  Maybe I can find some things for the top of the chest to tie it in and make it look better.  My mom made a little boy to match and gave it to my brother.

Here's a close up...

I've been on a cleaning, organizing, and getting rid of spree lately.  This chest of drawers took that to a higher level.  Even though I'd already gone through fabric bins, gotten rid of some stuff, and consolidated it to just four bins....buying the chest inspired me to go through again and this time I was ruthless!  I got rid of every piece of fabric that I wasn't in love with.  I only kept what I loved and had enough fabric to do something with.  That brought the amount of fabric down from four bins to one drawer and half of a second.  Wow!  That feels so good!

While I was going through the fabric, I ran across this scrap of fabric...again.  But, this time, I was about to get rid of it because I've had it for years, hadn't used it, and didn't know what to use it for.  I love it though.  It's beautiful!  And, I have a lot of red in my home.  Then...it hit me...all of a sudden...something I'd never thought of before...

I could use it to recover this chair...

I had just enough and it looks so much better!

I think Salsa even likes it!

It sits in our kitchen at the built in desk.  The fabric looks great with the flowers in the tin tray and with the curtains on the other side of the room.  Yay!  I'm so happy to have found a great use for it!  I have one more piece that I'm planning to use to re-cover a sewing bench cushion.

Going through the fabric was such a success and I was feeling so great from it that I decided to go through my yarn stash again.  And, I was ruthless with that too!  I got rid of almost all the leftovers from finished projects and I have a bunch of full skeins that I don't love and hope to find homes for or donate.  I'm using some of the drawer space for my cotton yarn.

While I was going through the yarn, I decided to try using a ball winder my mom had gotten at her church rummage sale a few years back and given to me.  I'd never tried it because I have another one that she'd given to me that had also been found at one of the church rummage sales.  It has a bigger spool to wind more yarn.  But, I thought it was time I gave this one a whirl.

It's heavy duty and made out of wood and metal.  Pretty cool!  I didn't realize until I went to use it that it sets up and works a lot different than most.  It worked great though and made a little ball from leftover yarn.  That's as big as it can make though.

I won't use it much because of the small amount it can wind but I'll definitely keep it.  I like how it's metal, has a bolt shaped like a heart, and how often do you find anything that says, "made in Liechtenstein"?!  Very cool and very unique!

It's interesting how buying that chest has made my cleaning out and ridding of things so much more successful.  And, I'm not done yet!  I still have more things I want to go through or go through again!

Fiber Fiesta

The annual Fiber Fiesta held in the northern San Diego County city of Vista was held last weekend.  It's a small fiber festival but one of the very few we have in Southern California.  I've been to it several times by myself but this year was extra special because my daughter went with me.  That made it a LOT more fun!  

We had a blast wandering through the weaving barn.  It's filled with looms and lots of them have projects on them.  This one was especially exciting.  Not only are the colors gorgeous...

...and the weaving is beautiful... 

...but, it's also a big dobby loom.  My dream loom!  I got to work on one of these years ago and I've wanted one ever since.  The pins on the wood bars create the pattern in the fabric and a new bar is advanced for each throw of weft thread/yarn.  It's fun and magical!  I love this kind of loom!

The barn is filled with looms...large ones, small ones, newer ones and very old ones.  We saw someone weaving on one from the 1800's.  I believe this one was from the 1930's.  I thought the handle on the beater bar was interesting.  I'd never seen that before.

One of the weavers told us about this old Jacquard loom the museum has inherited.  They're very excited about it and working hard to get it up and running.  It'll be the logo for their museum.  It's so tall that it almost reaches the rafters of the barn!  I couldn't get a picture of the whole thing as it was surrounded by other looms and things.  This is part of the top...

I peeked between some things to get a picture of the many threads running through it...

These red strips have holes punched in them and as they feed through the loom they control the pattern that will be created in the fabric...

The very long loop of those strips runs from the floor to the top of the loom and up into that part that's almost up to the rafters and then back down again...

Here's another picture of that top part from the other side...

Fascinating!

There was a table near one of the doorways/openings to the barn with some very nice ladies who were excited to show us how to do Kumihimo.  They had a basket filled with little kits with yarn already measured out and ready to share.  We were excited to learn.  Kumihimo is Japanese braiding and it's very easy and fun.  We caught on quickly and finished up our braided cords later that day and started some new ones.  I'll try to get some pictures of our cords for another post.

There were vendors/booths outside selling hand dyed yarn, tools, handmade clothing, etc.  We had a lot of fun shopping and could have come home with SO much stuff if the budget allowed.  We couldn't afford all the wonderful things we fell in love with but we still managed to spend a little too much on yarn.  So much for the yarn diet!

I got two beautiful skeins of yarn from my favorite dyer, Inner Yarn Zen.  I love this one!  The color is "Carmel Pumpkin Spice".  Just wait til I get started on a project so I can show the cool effect that's created with how she dyed it!  Yarn love!

There's just something about this one that literally makes my heart flutter when I look at it!  It's gorgeous!  Of course, all of these yarns are much more beautiful in person!

Newton's Yarn Country was there with their amazing yarn bargains.  I couldn't resist this time!  They sell huge skeins of yarn for six for $20.  Amazing!  I bought this cotton to make a kitchen towel.  Unfortunately, I read the tag wrong when I got it and I might not have enough.  I'm planning to play around with it today and see what I can figure out.

We got three skeins of this super soft cotton.  They said it works great for towels and just keeps getting softer and softer as it's used and washed.  I'm planning to use the red and cream for weaving kitchen towels.  My daughter is going to use the brown to knit a cowl or scarf.  

We got several other colors but they didn't photograph well to accurately show the colors.

The Fiber Fiesta is held at the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum and it's always fun to walk around to see these magnificent old machines.  In fact, I think their annual show is this next weekend.  They actually start some of these up and drive them around at the show.  Amazing!

This might sound weird but I think this one is pretty!

There was a gem and rock show going on last weekend too.  And, the museum has classes throughout the year for various things including weaving and blacksmithing.  It's a little far away but I'm thinking of joining.  It's a wonderful place with lots of nice people and I love how it's preserving history.

De-Stash / FO Challenge - FO #3

It's no secret that I love cotton yarn.  I'm particularly fond of Sugar 'n Cream and all the pretty colors it comes in.  Not to mention that it's so inexpensive that it's easy and cheap to pick up a ball of it here and there and not feel guilty about it.  It's colorful, it's cotton, and it makes me happy.  Then....there's the stash!  I have quite a bit of it in my stash.  So, I'm working on finding wonderful ways to use it.

I've used up two balls of it over the past couple of weeks!

I made this set of wash/dish cloths with some leftovers.

The colorway is "Earth Ombre".  I love these colors together.

This post is also a great way to show ya'll my adorable new soap dish.  I love the cute little bird on the side.  I saw these at World Market before my trip.  After my trip, I had a great excuse for getting one...the two, little bars of hotel soap that I brought home.

Here are two more dish cloths that I just finished up this week.

This colorway is called, "Barnboard Twist".

I love the colorway and the name!

This de-stash / FO challenge is helping me so much!  Knowing that I posted and promised to do this helps me get things done.  It feels so good to use up some yarn from my stash and finish up some great things.  I'm so happy to have finished and posted three things in three days!

Just in case you missed the first post...this challenge is open to anyone.  If you'd like to join in on the fun, just let me know.  I'd even love to share your accomplishments on my blog (with links to your blog, of course).  We can all encourage and inspire one another.  Happy de-stashing!  :-)

UPDATE 8/10/2014 - I'm joining in on Linda's Crafty Corner, Stash-Buster Link party.
If you'd like to join in on the fun, hop on over to her blog.

Road Trip, Day 5 and 6 - East Texas

The fifth day of our trip started in Austin, Texas with a short drive to East Texas to see family. The drive was gorgeous!  We went through rolling green hills with lots of trees, flowers and farms. It looked like a story book.  Perfect and beautiful!

We made a stop along the way to visit a yarn shop called, iPurl in The Woodlands, Texas.  I found it online when I started planning the trip.  I've been following them on Facebook and in May they posted some great tools they'd gotten in the shop.  I was hoping they'd still have some by the time I got there.

We received a warm and friendly greeting when we walked in and the entire visit was nothing but enjoyable!  The people were super nice, the selection of yarn and supplies was wonderful, and they had lots of inspirational projects displayed around the store.  And, yes...they had the tools I was hoping for.

I finally got a lucet!  I've been wanting one for a while but haven't found any in yarn shops until now.  This one is made with beautiful cherry wood and it comes with directions complete with photos.  I'm so excited to give it a try!

The other tool I was hoping they'd still have was one of these yarn ball holders.  It spins and keeps yarn easily available but doesn't let it tangle.  One of the sweet ladies in the shop said it's one of her all time favorite yarn tools.  They not only had some left, they also had a choice of finishes.  I chose this dark wood one.  I love it and I'm so excited to try it out too.

I looked up the company that made these wood tools and it turns out they came from California....where I'm from!  Funny how I never saw them in yarn shops at home and had to come all the way to Texas to find them!  I'm just happy to have them and happy they're handmade in America.

I'm so into crochet thread lately and always on the lookout for pretty colors.  iPurl had lots of it in a few different brands.  I had to get some!  I already have in mind what I want to make with it!

While my items were being added up, I noticed some cute purse handles hanging near the cash register.  Yes, I had to get some of those too!  Aren't they cute?!

They had them in several different colors but I had to have the red ones.

I think they'll look super cute on a black felted purse.  Or, who knows...maybe another color!

As she bagged up all my goodies, she put a little gift inside for me...

a set of cute little stitch markers...

My daughter even bought some yarn!  It's a beautiful sock weight yarn with pinks, oranges and (I think) some purple in it.  It's pretty!  She's planning to crochet a lacy cowl with it.

We enjoyed our visit to iPurl so much!  I think they enjoyed our visit too as we chatted a lot and before we left they took our photo and posted it on their Facebook page...

I wish we had a local yarn shop where we live.  And, I wish it was like iPurl!

Not only did they have great stuff and wonderful people but they also have lots of classes, stitch-alongs, charity project stitch-alongs, groups, etc.  It sounds like so much fun!

Back on the road...we headed north to visit my wonderful aunt and cousins.  We had a wonderful visit!  I love them so much!  I'm not posting any photos of them though as mine all turned out blurry (my daughter got good ones). It's always wonderful to see them and spend some time together.  Since we live so far apart, we don't get to see them very often.

We were excited to find out they have Cardinals and were quickly on the lookout for some.  It didn't take long.  My aunt re-filled her bird feeder and they were there in no time.  They were, however, quite hard to get pictures of.  In fact, they seemed camera shy.  We could walk near the window and they didn't always fly away.  But, as soon as we tried to take a photo, they'd fly away.  I did get a few from a distance though.  I just zoomed in with editing to get a closer look.

Here's a wider view to see her lovely yard.  It's so green!

Here's one of the Cardinals.

See...he's looking at me and about to fly away!

There were lots of other pretty birds there that we do don't have at home. I just wasn't able to get pictures of them either.  Oh...and my daughter saw her first firefly!

My aunt had Passion Flower vines on her fence .  I'm always fascinated by them.

I posted this one on Instagram.  I used an effect but it really was purple.

Isn't it amazing?!

Hopefully, Ladybug won't mind me posting her picture.

She's my aunt's dog and she's such a sweetheart.

I finished knitting my Gap-tastic cowl while I was there. It was perfect timing too!  It may be summer but people and businesses seem to keep things extra cool in the south with AC's turned up high.  I actually wore it for a while in my aunts house.  Ahhh...it felt so good!  I'm happy to report that my handspun Merino yarn is very soft and not itchy.  Yay!  I posted this on Instagram that day...

I had to get a photo of this before we left.  It's an antique child-sized desk that someone gave to my aunt when she was a child.  My mom played with it as a child too.  And, I got to have it for a while when I was little.  I have great memories of having this in my room.

Our visit was short but wonderful!  After a day and a half we had to hit the road again for our next destination...New Orleans, Lousiana!  I'll start posting about that as soon as I can.
The hotel we are at right now has bad wifi and I am finishing this on my cell phone.   It is quite challenging...to say the least!