WIP Wednesday: A Square, A Wizard, and A Milo

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Writer’s block.

Here’s my weekly update.

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The Hook

I got another square done on Magnum Opus. That makes 32 squares, and of those, only 10 have their ends woven in. At this rate, I should have all the squares done by next October. πŸ˜›

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Currently, my afghan measures about 40 x 48 inches and is only β…“ of the way finished.

I think I aughta pick up the pace. πŸ˜‰

The Book

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I’m still hanging out with Harry during his first year at Hogwarts. Ordinarily a book this short would not take me more than a day or two, but I’ve been pretty busy.

First Years at Hogwarts may bring a cat or an owl or a toad. I always thought I’d choose the owl being such useful creatures. Now, I’d take a cat any day.

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The Needles

I have been procrastinating a bit on finishing Heidi’s monster. The feet need finishing work and stuffing before I can finish the legs. I’ve been working so much lately, and the light at work just isn’t conducive to fine work. I’m off tonight, and don’t have plans for the first time in ages, so I should have them done in time for my FO Friday post.

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Instead, I got started on the Milo I mentioned last week. I have a mailing deadline coming up next week, so it needs to get done.

I’m also still working on hats for CLICK for Babies. That’s the purple thing in my photo.

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So, what are you working on these days? Let me know in the comments. I’ll see you over at the Yarn Along.

Have a great Wednesday!

~Janet

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WIP Wednesday: Still Mashing

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Happy Wednesday! I’ve been busy! Time for some show and tell.

The Hook

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See that? Eep! That was me on Monday. Actually crocheting! I follow Heather of The Patchwork Heart on Instagram. She invited her followers to join her for afternoon tea and crochet using the hashtag “acuppaandhookywiththepatchworkheart.” That was just the nudge I needed. I cleaned the pretty tote holding my afghan yarn of all the detritus that had collected in it, brewed a cup of tea, snuggled under my quilt, and got to work. Ziva felt the need to supervise.

Oh! Speaking of Heather, I must show you something! When I was learning basic granny squares, all the instructions said to keep the right side of the work facing me and not to turn my work. My “squares” didn’t come out square, though. There was a bit of a pinwheel effect. Subtle, but bothersome. Well, Heather has a way to fix that. In her tutorial, she suggests just the opposite: turning one’s work each round. Since each round is going the opposite direction, it eliminates the pinwheeling. I decided to try it.

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The difference is amazing! The square on the left is done the traditional way and the one on the right is done Heather’s way. Both are unblocked. I’m sold!

The Book

Originally, I wasn’t going to put anything here. Then this appeared in my Facebook news feed:

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Yes! Yes it is. So, I’m heading back to Hogwarts. I’m starting, of course, at the beginning.

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It’ll be good to go back.

The Needles

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It’s still a Monster Mash at my place. Hugo and Bea (orange and striped pink) are all knitted and are just waiting for stuffing. Petunia (speckled) needs her legs. The stripey gray body is a bit of a Franken-monster which I can’t expound on yet. I should be able to talk about it next week.

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That about does it for this week. What are you working on it reading? Let me know in the comments. Better yet, come join us over at the Yarn Along.

See you there!

~Janet

WIP Wednesday: One Less Rabbit

Happy Wednesday to you! I have to admit to being a little pleased with myself for managing to post here three weeks in a row. It takes a bit of forethought, which isn’t exactly my forte. On with the show (and tell)!

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The Hook

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Once again, knitting projects have consumed my crafting time, so no progress has been made on my afghan. I really should be getting a couple of squares done each week if I have any hope of using it next winter. How some crocheters can knock out an afghan in a weekweek — in DK yarn no less! — is beyond my comprehension.

I have to admit that I’ve been eyeballing all the fun colors in my stash and have been getting the itch to start another afghan. Maybe a smaller one? I mean, just look a those!

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That reminds me. I don’t think I ever said what I did with those flowers. I need to get a better picture of the garland before I show it off.

The Book

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I made it through the chapter in Embracing The Body that I mentioned last week. I really had nothing to be frightened of. Tara is a beautiful guide. However, the subject of sexuality/sensuality (which, btw, are two different things) tends to be a “hot button” issue, with me at times, and with the Church at large. So much so, that I immediately seem to balk when the subject comes up…which, of course, in a book about embracing our bodies, it is bound to do. Tara handles it beautifully and makes some great points that I’ll be taking with me long after I turn the last dog-eared page. I’ll let you discover them for yourselves, though. Seriously. Get this book!

The Needles

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As you can see, I’ve made tremendous progress on my Milo! I am loving that cable! I chose the bigger twist over the other cables in the pattern because 1) I thought it would be more visible on that dark blue yarn, Β and 2) I’m actually pretty phobic about cables and will usually avoid them like the plague. With only one cross every 8 rows, I though it was doable.

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I got started on my February Lady Sweater. It’s just rows of garter stitch at this point, so it’s pretty mindless. After looking at pages and pages of project photos, though, I’m starting to get a little nervous that it’s going to wind up being a very unflattering mass on me. The yarn I’m using is 80% cotton and 20% merino, which I’m afraid might stretch out badly while being worn. I shall just keep plugging along at this point, though, and we shall see.

I did manage to get one project done done this week (one less rabbit), my purple baby hat for CLICK for Babies. I made it with worsted yarn because that’s what I had, but I prefer DK or lighter for infants. I’ll pick up some DK this week. The pattern can be found here. It’s really easy to modify and has become my go-to baby hat. I tweek it by adding the twisted stitches every 4th row. This hat is also 48 stitches vs 68 and knit on US-7s due to the thicker yarn.

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That about does it for me. As usual, I’ll be linking up with the Yarn Along over at Small Things.

Have a great Wednesday!

~Janet