The Tale of a Yarn Inventory

This post is again early because of anticipated ice tomorrow. I would love a day at home to catch up on housework and crocheting.

This week, I've been sewing on the afghan. But not as diligently as I would like. Sometimes a girl just has to be lazy.

On Tuesday, I mounted an inventory of my yarn. I do this about once a year and then just keep up with the changes as the year progresses. This saves me time and money as I know what I have so I don't buy yarn I don't need. Incidentally the price of yarn at Wal-mart went up 30 cents to $2.77. I can't fathom the reason for the price changing so frequently.

This year's yarn inventory was more exhaustive than last year's. The categories are:
Solid Colors - Full Skeins
Variegated - Full Skeins
Solid Colors - Partial Skeins
Variegated - Partial Skeins
Other Yarn (Not Red Heart)
Yarn Balls (This year I listed them all even the little ones)
Cotton Yarn

I have reached the conclusion that I have a lot of yarn. I'm planning to use quite a bit of it on an afghan for my brother and a baby boy afghan. And I'd like to turn all that cotton into dishcloths. And I want to make a tree skirt for my second tree. I'm also planning to make myself a Cheshire Cat costume for a Mad Hatter Tea Party this summer. The crocheted bits will be a scarf and fingerless gloves.

A. C. Moore had a nice sale last Saturday on Red Heart yarn. I bought 3 skeins of Soft Navy (for my brother's afghan), 1 skein of Real Teal (to finish the edging of my brother-in-law's afghan), 1 skein of Blue Suede (for a baby afghan), 1 skein each of Grape Fizz and Wildflowers (just because!). Yes, it was a good sale and I mostly bought stuff I needed.

I discovered a neat tool this week: Sherwin Williams' Let's Chip It. This online color tool let's you turn any picture into a paint card. I like it because it isolates the colors and makes them easier to match in yarn.

My big plans for the weekend and next week are finishing the afghan. Then I'll get started on Christmas 2013.

Until next time, happy crocheting!

Hoping For Snow!

This update is a day early because we're expecting snow in my neck of the woods. If that happens, I'll be snowbound at home which means I'll be unplugged. I'm well prepared with books, movies, and yarn.

This week I've finished the last squares for Stephen's afghan. I'm still working on getting it sewed together. It looks like I might meet my goal of finishing it by the end of the month. After that, I plan to tackle Christmas gifts for 2013 and a baby afghan or two.

Until next time, happy crocheting!

Productivity in the New Year

In the past week, I have sewed on the afghan, made granny squares, and made a baby bootie ornament. I'm quite pleased with my productivity.

Next week will bring more of the same, mainly sewing and square making. I have high hopes of finishing the afghan by the end of the month.

Until next time, happy crocheting!

Happy New Year!

Wow! It's been almost a month since I updated the blog. I was very busy trying to get Christmas gifts done. At the beginning of December, I realized I had left things too late and wouldn't be able to make all the gifts I'd planned.

My 2013 crochet resolution is to crochet (or sew on an afghan) at least 30 minutes every day. I'm still working on Stephen's Christmas afghan. I have 14 more squares to make, but I have 3 out of 5 sections sewn together.

Despite my late start I still managed to make 20 gifts. These included a dishcloth, snowman ornaments, baby bootie ornaments, a purse, a stocking, and some stocking ornaments.

Here are a few pictures: 

This week, I plan to finish up the last squares for the afghan. I'm hoping to have it done soon. I also owe my sister her 2012 his & hers ornaments so those are next on the list. I've already started making my Christmas 2013 list. More about than later.

Until next time, happy crocheting! 

The Stockings Were Hung...

Sorry it's been so long since my last update. I had a computer on the blink for about two weeks and then I was busy at work and at home with Christmas preparations.

With only 18 days til Christmas, I'm accepting that I can't make everything I want to--there's just not enough time because I do have to pace myself when I crochet. I've been working on a few snowman ornaments. I've also organized my brother-in-law's afghan squares into zippered storage bags by row. I still have about 20 squares to make for it. Starting next Monday, I'm going to sew a row together each day. I don't think I'll have it done for Christmas, but I know it will be done soon.

So all my ambitious plans for this year? I'm going to move them to next year and resolve to crochet a little each day.

Here are pictures of the coasters I made and a Baby's 1st Christmas stocking for a friend's baby.

Until next time, happy crocheting!

52 Days 'Til Christmas!

As of today, I've made 32 Real Teal squares. I need 52 total so I have 20 more to make. I also need 4 more black and 10 of a yet undetermined color. I need to make 34 more squares total to have all the 187 I need for Stephen's afghan. If I make 5 squares a day for the next week, I'll be done. After the squares are done, the sewing should go quickly.

I haven't had a chance to take a picture of the coasters yet, but here's a picture of the football hat.

I'm headed home to TN for the weekend and don't know how much crocheting I'll get done, but 5 squares a day would be nice. I'm ready to be done with the afghan and move on to other Christmas projects.

Until next time, happy crocheting!

Coasters and a Hat

Over the weekend and this week, I battled a sinus infection, so I didn't crochet as much as I'd hoped. I did finish all the coasters. A friend contacted me about making a football hat for her baby son's Halloween costume. So I found a pattern and made it. I'm looking forward to getting back to squares. I don't think I'll be making my October 31st deadline, but that's okay. I'll be posting pictures of the coasters and hat soon.

Until next time, happy crocheting!