Yarn Chicken aka Why You Shouldn’t Procrastinate

A friend of mine is getting married. Exciting!!! So we had her bridal shower a couple weeks ago. I, of course, procrastinated on getting a gift. I knew they didn’t need much for their house, and the registry was pretty picked over by family members. So I put the task off.

Then, inspiration struck – on the Thursday before the shower… I decided to make an afghan. I had this gorgeous yarn and we were expecting snow, so I figured I would have a day off from work on Friday to get it done. My prediction was correct and everything was going wonderfully. I spent most of the time working on it wishing I was going to get to keep it at the end because this yarn is so warm and cozy!!!

Then, disaster struck. On Saturday, with two hours to go until the shower, I ran out of yarn. I was SOOOO CLOSE!!!!! This is what we call yarn chicken. When you keep going, thinking that maybe there’s a chance you’ll have enough, until you realize there’s no way.

Alright, no problem. There’s a Michael’s about 15 minutes from my house, so I’ll have plenty of time to get it done. I get in my car and drive to Michael’s, making a bee line for the yarn. Well, this particular store apparently didn’t carry that colorway. Boo! On to the next Michael’s.

I start driving, and 1 mile from the other Michael’s I come to a screeching halt. There are firetrucks, ambulances, police cars, and lots and lots of traffic. Apparently someone crashed their car. I would feel bad for this person, except they were being arrested, so I’m thinking it was their own fault. Don’t drink and drive, people. It prevents other people like me from getting yarn in a timely manner.

I finally get to the store, get the yarn I need, and rush out of there. I get home with one hour to go and start furiously crocheting away in the middle of the living room floor.

This story has a happy ending, though. I finished with a half hour to spare and plenty of time to throw on a dress and wrap it up nicely with the other gifts I had purchased.

I’m happy to say that the recipient loved the blanket, so it was well worth all of the chaos to get it done in time.

For those interested, I used Loops and Threads in Stormy. It is a simple corner to corner blanket, using a size L crochet hook and it took me about 10 hours to complete (not including the frantic driving!) for a blanket measuring about 45″ by 60″.

So, what’s your craziest yarn story? How often do you play yarn chicken?

Overdue Update

Life is busy. What else is new? I thought I’d dump a few things on here that have been occupying my time lately.

So, I live in New England and we get snow. It’s’ a fact of life. Not one of the facts that I particularly care for, but I’ve gotten over it for the most part.

But snow needs to stay where it belongs: Christmas through Valentine’s Day. Outside of that time frame, I detest snow with a passion that is usually saved for Dolores Umbridge.

So when March brought me not one, not two, but three snow days, I did what any crafter would do. I crocheted some crop tops for summer time.

 

I am obsessed with this yarn, but unfortunately Michael’s discontinued it. Now I’m scouring every Michael’s I come across to see if they have more on clearance, but I think I’m out of luck. Anyways, It’s Loops and Threads “Urban” in this gorgeous mustard color with a little tweedy effect to it. The top was made using this pattern although I made some alterations to take into account the weight of the yarn.

Here it is on me! I will definitely be rocking this to some concerts over the summer.

I had also bought it in gray, and made this cute cardigan based on this pattern (same thing, made some changes since this yarn was thicker than the yarn the pattern calls for).

My,

I really like the kimono like effect of this sweater! I think I’ll have to make a couple more with some other yarns. It was so much easier than I thought it was going to be!

Now that I’ve overcome my fear of making clothing, there’s no stopping me. I can’t wait to whip up a bunch of cute crop tops and bikini tops for my Etsy shop and maybe I’ll even write up some patterns for my blog!

Side note: only 10 days until my amazing vacation! Anyone have tips for international travel? Where are the best LYS (little yarn shops) in Scotland and Ireland?

Snow Day Cowl

So a Nor’Easter tore through and dumped a little over a foot of snow on my house. This led to two snow days in a row!  My husband is medically disabled, so he is home all of the time. Snow days are extra fun because I have someone to spend them with! We have developed quite a few snow day traditions over the years, but the two main ones are cinnamon rolls and Scrabble. Unfortunately, he beats me (almost) every time, but I still enjoy the game. We didn’t play yesterday because I had so much shoveling to do, but today it’s time to sit back, relax, and annoy him with my two letter words.

My favorite pattern – the Virus Shawl.

Infinity Scarf and Earwarmers

Cozy Snow Day Cowl

Obviously, bonus days off from school also means it’s time for some major crocheting. I had a couple of half finished projects that I finished up yesterday. I finished up and listed my mustard and cream infinity scarf and ear warmer and completed a coral colored virus shawl.

I also decided to get mildly creative and make my own pattern for a cowl using my new favorite obsession – Lion Brands’ Scarfie yarn. This pattern uses the mixed cluster stitch, which I cannot take credit for. I was inspired by Daisy Farm Crafts but wanted something that was worked in the round so that the ombre effect of the yarn would go up my neck.

This is my first written pattern, so please let me know if there is anything that needs to be corrected or better explained.

Materials
size L crochet hook
Lion Brand Scarfie (or similar weight yarn)
yarn needle

Stitches and Abbreviations Used
Foundation Single Crochet (FSC)
Mixed Cluster (MC)
Chain (Ch)
Single Crochet (SC)
Yarn Over (YO)
Slip Stitch (sl st)

Mixed Cluster
There are many tutorials online for this stitch. I’m going to explain it as it pertains to working in the round, but check out some video tutorials if you need more help.

First one of the round
Ch 2, YO and insert hook back into the first stitch of the row.
Pull through. You should now have 3 loops on your hook.
YO and pull through two loops.
This completes the first half of the cluster.
YO and insert hook into second third stitch (skipping one SC from previous round).
Pull through so you have four loops on hook.
YO, insert back into same stitch, and pull through again – 6 loops on hook.
YO and pull through all 6 loops. SC to close cluster.

Second and all others
YO and insert hook into the SAME STITCH.
Pull through – 3 loops on hook.
YO, pull through 2 loops – 1 loop on hook.
This completes the first half of the cluster.
YO, skip one stitch, insert into next stitch and pull through – 4 loops on hook.
YO, insert into SAME STITCH and pull through – 6 loops on hook.
YO and pull through all 6 loops. SC to close cluster.

Creating the Snow Day Cowl
Begin by creating 50 FSC
Join to first FSC with sl st, making sure not to twist.

Round 1:
MC across the whole round for 25 total MCs.
Sl st into the top of the first half of the cluster.

Round 2:
Ch 1, SC into first stitch (same one you sl st into).
SC across – 50 SC.
Sl st to join.

Repeat both rounds until cowl measures 10 inches. This uses approximately half a skein of Scarfie. More rounds can be added for a fuller cowl.

Adventure awaits…

So at this time last week, I had no plans for my April break. Now, I have a fully planned international trip to not one, but two countries!

How did this happen? My friend found a Groupon for a trip to Ireland and Scotland, I needed a vacation, and here we are! While I’m SO excited for our amazing trip, I’m starting to realize how much money I need to save over the next couple of months, and how much planning needs to get done!

So, I’m doubling down on my Etsy, picking up every shift I can at my several jobs, and spending a lot of time on Pinterest trying to figure out what to do while we’re there.

No matter what happens, I know that adventure awaits and I’m so excited to be going!

I’ve had a lot of ideas that I think “Oh hey, I should write about that!” but I never had a platform. I decided to create this blog to encompass all of the crazy aspects of my life. You can expect to see posts on a variety of topics, like travel, crocheting, DIY projects, teaching, being a caregiver, and more.

Join me on this adventure!