Finished Object Friday, 9/21/2012

Today's finished object is...this blog. I've been thinking about it a lot, and I need to be reducing my commitments, and this blog has become increasingly superfluous as I have focused less and less on crafts as a business. I'm sure I'll still update from time to time, but not as a primary focus or as a frequent thing that I tell myself I "have" to do.

This comes out of a lot of life change in general. I've recently quit my job, and I'm thinking about moving, and traveling, and all manner of other things, and it's time for me to start clearing the decks.

It's been a pleasure getting to know you all! I'll still be active on Ravelry, and still be reachable here or through the CCC Facebook page, just not checking in as often. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Finished...Friday, 8/31/2012

I've been very "out of crafting" mode the last week or two. I think I really forced myself to the wall by pushing so hard to finish my blanket for the Ravellenic Games. However, tomorrow I'm leaving on a trip to Texas for a week, and I'm bringing cross stitch with me, so by next Wednesday I should have some progress to show. ;)

However, today something else is finished. I hope I can be forgiven for, unusually, posting a non-craft related thing in this blog. I do try to keep it on topic, but today is a big day for me - a big ending.

Today is my last day of work.

In 2003, I started working for my mother's small business doing part time work - primarily book keeping and data entry. By 2005, this was my primary source of income. By 2007, this was my full time and only job. But I've grown increasingly unhappy the last few years, and starting in June of 2011, I really hit the wall. I reached the point that every day was an effort. Every work activity I had to do was, "crap, I have to do that. :(" And finally, I accepted: it didn't matter if it was a "good" job, or any of the other justifications I had given myself. I shouldn't have to do a job that makes me miserable. I decided in February of this year that I would quit, and that today would be my last day. I've been counting down ever since. I informed my mother around February, and we as a company informed our clients in late July, and I've spent this month doing wrap up and organizing and all manner of other "omg we're almost done" kind of stuff.
And today is my last day.

This is the end of a big chapter of my life - a job I've had for 10 years - and I only have a few somewhat thought through ideas of what is coming next. All I know is...it's gonna be something new, and I'm totally freaked out about it. ;)

Until next week! Fiber Arts Friday; Finished Object Friday

Finished Object Friday, 8/24/2012

Well, I've had a very busy couple of weeks. Traveling! Getting sick! Quitting my job! It keeps a girl occupied! And has prevented me from posting. I've been fairly burned out on crafting the last week or two, and I'm certain it's a direct result of the push I made on my Ravellenic Games project. However, I DID finish it, last Saturday (as in, the Saturday still during the Olympics, not this most recently passed weekend) and now I finally have time to share it! I'm very, very proud of myself - I made 145 granny squares (I miscounted), sewed them all together, busted a whole bunch of stash, and FINISHED, all during the Olympics!! :)

And here it is!

That's a Queen sized bed...

Close up!


Succeeding at this makes me want to tackle and finish a few of the other larger projects I've had lying around...like the quilt I started two years ago...or the costume stuff I've been toting around to make for 5 years...I have the feeling that with my soon-to-be-unemployed status, I'll be getting a LOT finished that I've been wanting to complete for a while...that's the hope, anyway! :)

See what everyone else has been making on Tami's Ami Blog and Wisdom Begins in Wonder!

It's Friday But...

I'm pretty much just crocheting like a maniac. Nothing finished, nothing photographed...next week. Next week or bust... :)

Work in Progress Wednesday, 8/8/2012

Well, I finished the first 71 (by accident) squares for my Granny Square blanket, and then started to sew them together, and very quickly realized that it wasn't going to be as big as I wanted, and I immediately launched in to making another 39 squares. Those are now more than half way done, but life is busy (between work, social life, and ALL OF THE CROCHET) and I'm not going to take the time to take new pictures. So instead, here are pictures of the first 71 squares! :)











The current plan is to finish these 39, then see where I am in terms of stash busting. I'm DETERMINED to use up these colors if I possibly can (at least one skein of each needs to be done, done, done). As such, I'll launch in to making more based on how much material is left. I'm currently thinking I'll just keep making squares til the main colors are gone. I want to keep joining them, but if I start running out of colors, and all of the existing squares are already joined, then the squares around the edges will be wonky because they'll all obviously be made with a different array of colors, whereas if I just mix them all together before sewing it won't show at all. This plan might mean that I won't be able to finish before the end of the Ravellenic games...but I'll know that I've at least tried my damnedest. :)

Check out what everyone else is making over on Work in Progress Wednesday!!!

Work in Progress Wednesday, 8/1/2012

It's the Ravellenic Games, and I've been working my tail off (or, really, working my hands sore) tackling what, for me, counts as an Olympic event: trying to finish an entire granny square afghan in two weeks. I started at around 5:30 PM on Friday, and have been working during nearly all of my spare minutes since then.

My project calls for 72 squares. I made six entire squares before switching to a production line model, and since then I've made all of the centers; yesterday night I finally got to adding the outer layer to all of my squares. So I now have 12 completely finished squares, and 64 to go...and then joining them...and then, if I have time, I'm going to make more squares to make the blanket bigger and to use up the stash yarn that I've been using for this. I want all of that yarn GONE. :)

And here they are...

Finished Object Friday, 7/27/2012

Well, it's been a bit! I've been working very early the last couple Fridays, with evening plans to boot, so I've missed some Fridays. Meanwhile, this Wednesday...I didn't HAVE any WIP - since I hadn't yet settled on my Ravellenic Games project - and therefore very little to say for myself. But now I'm finally around on Friday - if rather busy - and can quickly take a few minutes to show off the vast amount of spinning that I got done during Tour de Fleece!! :)

Angora!
I tried my hand at spinning angora for the first time!

1 ounce, Navajo plied, around 40 yards. :)

Silk!
While I was experimenting with fibers, I also took a stab at the silk cap that I had bought!

Also 1 ounce, also Navajo plied, but it's sooooo thin, I ended up with 110 yards!

Everything else I tackled was sheep-y. I did some "confetti" - boring old wool with bits of multi-colored yarn mixed in...

And I spun some lovely superfine merino that I had bought, the braid felt like a dream, and I tried my hand at fractal plying - no idea if it worked...

Of course, I did a bunch more of the spinning of the fiber that I prepped and dyed myself...

Finished the first pound!

All in all, I did about 2 pounds worth of spinning during Tour de Fleece. But man, I need a break! So it's time to drive myself insane crocheting for the Ravellenic Games. ;) Here's the whole TdF stash!!


You know you want to...check out Fiber Arts Friday and Finished Object Friday.

Work in Progress Wednesday, 7/18/2012

It's still all Tour de Fleece, all the time for me - all my crafting time is going to spinning. :)

On Monday night, I went to my first spin in in ages! The NYC Spinning Group met down by the Winter Garden, and I joined eight fellow spinners to sit in Battery Park and pull out our spindles. :) I finally made some progress on the ochre I've been spinning - I've been neglecting it intentionally so I can finish it in August for Nerd Wars Work in Progress challenge. :)


Then, last night I pulled out the silk I bought at Maryland Sheep and Wool. It's my first time spinning silk, and I found it pretty hard, but I solicited some tips from my TdF group (and now from ya'll!) so hopefully I'll have less trouble tonight. :)

The blue is another project, it'll be on Friday's post, though. ;)

Check out all the Works in Progress over on Tami's Amis!

Work in Progress Wednesday, 7/21/2012

Not much to say this week - it's all Tour de Fleece, all the time! Here's what I'm working on now:

It's almost 4 ounces, I've got maybe half an ounce left of the first hank, then 4 more ounces after that, and I'll two ply it, should be fingering weight if I've gotten all my ducks in a row. ;)

Work in Progress Wednesday! Go over there! Check it out!

Finished Object Friday, 7/6/2012

This week has been all about Tour de Fleece, and spinning my own dyed fiber! It's been pretty fun. I've rarely spun this much this quickly (though not never! ;) ).

Right before TdF, I finished the second skein of yarn for my Nerd Wars dissertation. I posted a couple pics last week, I think, but now I've set it and dried it and all that jazz. :)


127 yards, exactly 4 ounces, roughly DK/Worsted weight.

Then, in May I tried Wilton's dyes for the first time. I posted a bunch of WIP pics of this on Wednesday, and now it's done! Turns out it's only 5.4 ounces - I had thought it was more. I wasn't too happy with the singles, or even how it looked while I was plying it, but once I got it off the niddy noddy and it was all dried, I'm actually thrilled with it. Funny how that goes...



400 yards, 5.4 ounces, fingering weight. Really very happy with it. I want to figure out what to make with it! :)

Check out what everyone else has done this past week at Wisdom Begins in Wonder and Tami's Amis.