Masks

What have I been up to, craft wise?  Many things, but this is one.  My mom picked up a mask for me at her beauty shop (the beautician's neighber makes them, and she sells them in her shop).  I like then way it was made, and finally bit the bullet, dug out fabric, made a pattern, and started sewing.  I'm not a person who sews, but, apparently, I can make a mask.  Or a dozen.  Here are a few of them.

Camaleon Yarn

My closest local yarn store is this one: Kanahwa City Yarn Company.  Yesterday, I saw a post on their facebook page to this pattern: Hurricane Hat, with a suggested yarn of Malabrigo Worsted yarn.

We went for a hike at Coonskin Park, and, finishing a little earlier than expected, we went to the yarn store, and I bought three skiens of Malabrio Rios yarn in the color Camaleon.

I think it will become a hat and a scarf.  Looking forward to knitting it.

Doggie Birthday Card

The top picture is of a friend's dog.  The second one is my attempt to create a birthday card for said friend, featuring said dog.

Hard to be creative?

Have you noticed that during the pandemic, your normal urge to stretch and test your creativity is gone?  Or at least stunted?

I love to make cards, and yet, it took a month of pandemic to sit down and make a card.  The experience was joyful, and I wanted to make cards (even when I couldn't) but I didn't until that day.  Now, I'm making them, but not as often.  I miss it. 

I actually have two blogs, and while this one is lucky to see a post a month, I usually post about four times a week on the other one.  But from the middle of March until now, there is only a single post.

I hope I can settle into a new routine of posting and creating.  I'm working on it.  But if you are experiencing the same thing, I think we can both take comfort in the idea that this is a normal reaction to an abnormal time. 

Forest Green and Navy Tweed Scarf

I finished a scarf tonight.  The truth is, I should have finished it months ago - all that was left was the bind off.  I'm not sure why I didn't do the last row ages ago. but there you go.

Steve and I purchased the yarn at a store called Cast On Yarn Studio in Vermillion, Ohio.  We were taking a quick trip along Lake Erie in Ohio to look at lighthouses.  We turned the corner in Vermillion, and there was the store.  I hadn't even looked for one.

The yarn is from Cestari Sheep and Wool Company in Churchville, Virginia.  It is from their Traditional Collection, 100% Wool, Forest Green and Navy Tweed.  It is a worsted weight wool, but a little thicker than what I usually use as worsted weight.  I bought three skeins - you can read about the stash addition here.  I only used two of them for the scarf.

There is no pattern.  It is a 2x2 rib, 34 stitches wide.  It is over 5 feet long - taller than me, so maybe 5.5 feet?  I used Knitpicks needes, US number 8 - that is larger than usual, because of the thicker wool.
There are errors in the knitting.  I did some of it in movies theaters (back when we weren't avoiding a virus and went to movies.  I didn't always notice the errors and by the time I did, it was too late to fix them.

I'm sure with its squishy ribbing, and thick wool, it will be a very warm scarf next winter, made of my two favorite colors.

Christmas gift spread

This is a spread in my Bullet Journal from 2018 - I did a similar spread this year.  .  It is how I organize gift giving for Christmas. Each box or stocking is dedicated to one person (or a pair of people).  Names are written on the gift tags or on top of the stockings, As gifts are planned or purchased, they are added to that person's gift on the page

I could do exactly the same thing using a list, but I like creating this spread and filling it in.  Plus, I don't really know how many gifts each person will receive when I start, and that would be a drawback to a simple list.