Check ya Later 2011...

I can't even believe it's 2012!! I wanted to do a little look back on the 2011 Craft Goals I had set for myself.

1. "I would love my own crocheted granny square afghan."
Done and DONE! You can see the one I made all on my own here. It took almost 10 months (with lots of breaks) but it was well beyond worth it!! It's what I always imagined and it is so cozy and warm! I was also lucky enough to participate in a granny square swap on Craftster as well as the Blogger Blanket Project hosted by Courtney. With the squares from the BBP and even a set from the Craftster swap I made a smaller lapghan for myself which you can see here. I love all the mismatched squares, it is so colorful and the best part is it has colors I never would have chosen myself but I love now!



2. "A crocheted cardigan."
I'm pretty bummed I never did this. I have to say that until just a few weeks ago, I don't think I would have been very successful if I did try to make a cardigan anyway. I was still pretty new to crocheting most of the year to attempt something wearable, I stuck mostly to amigurumis all year. However, the experience I got the last few months while crocheting the two pairs of gloves, hats, scarves and the babies dress (stay tuned for the scarves, hats and dress for my niece) really prepared me for it I think. This is absolutely going on my list for 2012 and I would really love to make it in the first few months of the year!

3. "I would like my own 'Hoop Love' wall."
Thanks to Swapbot, winning a giveaway and a few of my own, I am happy to report that I have a Hoop Love wall all my own! Albeit small and only a few hoops, it's still so lovely! I have another hoop about 1/3 done that I started a while ago but haven't picked up in months. It has shiney blue beetles on it, I can't wait to finish and hang it!
I just realized these are almost all cross stitch, I need to get some embroidered ones in the mix!
(For perspective that is a skinny wall behind my bedroom door and right above my snake tank...that's a giant snake doll on top LOL) I see it when I'm on the couch and look directly to my right because I always keep that door closed when I'm in there.




So check ya later 2011, it's been real....real crafty! Oh lord that was corny!!
Have a great day friends!

Jamie

My Afghan is DONE!!

I am so freaking excited that I finished this last night!!! I attached the last row of squares and added the border and she is now resting comfortably on my bed. I will say that I hoped it was going to be a bit bigger, I'm horrible at measurements and things like that. It's the perfect size for a twin bed but gets the job done on my full size. This baby was a labor of love and I am so proud of her!







You can check out the progress of this afghan throughtout a bunch of different posts I did since I started her back in January.

January
January Again
February
April
May
(a few months of no progress)
October

I am so proud of myself that even though it took this long I really stuck with it. I definitely don't want to make anymore granny squares for quite a while. Between that craftster swap, the blogger blanket project and this afghan, I am all grannied out! Although...I do really want some cute granny throw pillows LOL I'll wait on that for a while though. I am now onto starting all the Christmas presents I am going to make this year. Lots of hats and scarves I think.

I also have a ton of stuff to share with you guys...so much has happened in my life over the last month. Like giant stuff!
My mom moved to Arizona.
I quit my job and got a new one (I start Sunday!) that is COMPLETELY different.
I have a new life plan and career goal that I am really looking forward to which also means I am going back to school in January.
Anyway...that is all going to be a post of it's own!

Thanks so much for popping by and checking out my loverly new afghan, have a wonderful weekend friends!

Jamie

More Afghan News...

Not too long ago I took a look at the three goals I had set for myself for the year and realized I've really only got one and a half done!! The half being the granny square afghan I have been making for myself...since freaking January!! I've had all the finished squares sitting in a basket next to my tv stand and then another basket sitting next to my couch with all the yarns and necessities to finish the rest of the squares I needed. I FINALLY finished the last squares!
Here are some close ups of the last 28 squares. Oh and one of my Halloween rats...

This is a shot of all 88 squares, whew! I can't believe how long it has taken me to make all these!! I noticed that from the first squares to the last ones, my crocheting has gotten looser and looser. The last ones I made are about an inch bigger all around than the first ones I made. Oh well, I learned from the Blogger Blanket Project that even if the squares aren't all exactly the same size, once they are stitched together it'll be ok.

It took me a while to get the squares all laid out in a way that I thought would be random enough yet not have a bunch of the same colors all together. I really wish that I had used a lighter blue color. When you really look at it you can see the difference between the black and blue but at a quick glance they kind of look the same. Oh well, I love the colors all together none the less.

I have started sewing the squares together now. I have 5 columns of rows stitched together so far. I have 3 more to go and then I have to sew those all together. My goal is to have it finished before I host Book Club at my apartment on Nov. 6. I think it's feesable. Once I have all my Halloween stuff finished. I'm making my entire costume, parts of Jeremy's and I have a pumpkin to carve for a contest at the party we are going to. Our friends, Shannon and JP always have the best Halloween party, I'm so excited!!

Granny's Galore!

Are you ready for more squares?! I'm so happy with how fast I hooked these ones up. Again I made another batch of 12 more for a total of 60. I only need 28 more before I can start sewing them all together!! I'll be taking a break from these for a little bit because I am in a Granny Square swap over on Craftster. Send out date is the end of this month so after I sew all the squares I receive from my partners into a little lap afghan for work (they love to keep our office at subzero temperatures) I will get back to this big one. Just in time for summer, ha!




For my new friends, you can see the other batches here.
Bunch 1
Bunch 2
Bunch 3
Bunch 4

Thanks for looking and I hope everyone has an awesome weekend!!

Granny Squares Continue!

So I kind of stopped making the granny squares for my afghan. I had made so many at once, I think I burned out. No worries though, I picked that hook back up again! I have 12 more finished, a total of 48!! That's more than half way done!

This weekened we went camping in the Poconos at my friend, Kara's family cabin. It took about 2 hours to get there so I did some crocheting on the way there and back while Jeremy drove. It's this really old house built in the 1840's. It was once a Bed & Breakfast but now is just a cabin her family goes to for hunting, fishing, camping and general getting away from it all! It was beautiful even though it rained a lot. There were 10 of us there and when a bunch of people went fishing I stayed behind with my sister and our friend, LaQuan in the cabin. I crocheted a ton more while Jessie read to us from this really awesome special Time Magazine Issue, 100 Ideas that Changed the World. It was everything from cavemen to discovering the Atom, the idea that the Earth spins around the Sun, electricity, and all the most influential ideas that have changed the course of history! We only got about half way through before everyone came back but it was a good time just talking and learning about all that stuff.
Anyway...here are the next 12 squares!






You can see the other squares I've made if you'd like...
First Bunch
Second Bunch
Third Bunch

Also, I have no idea why I've been making them in bunches of 12, weird!
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!!

I won!

Last month Kam had a spectacular March Mega Sponsor Giveaway! I won a custom 4" cursive typewriter hoop from Ruggles Stitch. I was able to select my own quote and Alexia typed it up for me. She even painted the hoop Kelly Green for me! My quote wasn't very long so she suggested a 3" hoop instead and I am sure glad she did. It arrived in the mail yesterday and I am LOVING it!!
The quote is from the Blind Melon song "Change" and means a lot to me.
One of my 2011 Craft Goals is to start a Hoop Love wall of my own and this bad boy is going right up on it!




I hope you all have a lovely Tuesday, we are having some craptastic weather here. Rain and Grey skies, bleh!

Swap-Bot

Most of you know my love of Craftster. I've done a few swaps on there and I really want to start on one of my 2011 Goals for a hoop love wall. There aren't any swaps on Craftster that I want to do at the moment and I really don't think I could organize one myself.
Enter...


A couple weeks ago Courtney posted about joining Swap-Bot. I had looked into this site a few times in the past but never fully understood it, especially after being so used to the way Craftster is set up. I decided to give it another looksy and I found a swap that is just what I'm looking for! Cross Stitch Surprise. There's no theme and you just stitch something up that you think your partner would like. I was lucky that I could get in on this swap since the majority of them you have to already have participated in past swaps and be rated =(
I'm pretty excited and I can't wait to get my partner so I can start brainstorming some ideas!

Have any of you used Swap-bot? What was your experience?

More Granny Squares!

I have to say, I am pretty proud of myself for making so many of these squares already, I finished 12 more for a total of 36! I'm almost half way to the 88 I'll need altogether for my Granny Square Afghan.
There something so gratifying about setting a goal and really working toward achiveing it!
As you may or may not know, making myself an afghan is one of my 2011 Craft Goals.
You can see the first 12 I made here.
And the second 12 are here.

Here are some shots of these beautys!





Have any of you made resolutions or goals for the year? How are you doing on them?

More Granny Squares

I've made 12 more Granny Squares for a total of 24 in my 2011 Craft Goal of making myself an afghan. I really like just watching a movie with a mug of hot chocolate or tea and hooking these bad boys up.
Here are some pics of the new ones I finished over the last few days.
I took these pictures during the day thinking that the natural light would show the colors best. Turns out...the purple kept looking really blue in the pictures, kind of annoying!





It is Lion Brand - Vanna's Choice Eggplant. This picture shows the true color of the purple.



My basket is getting so full of granny squares!

Working on my 2011 Goals

So instead of doing what I should be doing (Vegas Shirts and a Birthday Present), I have been hooking up these adorable Granny Squares. One of my 2011 Craft Goals is to make myself a Granny Square Afghan. Friday Jeremy had surgery so he spent most of the weekend at my house recooperating. We just laid around and watched movies and Arrested Development (love) on Netflix. Since he was in pain, he wasn't up for much snuggling which gave me lots of time to craft! I have a little Caron brand Afghan booklet, you know the ones they have in the little racks hanging off the yarn sections in Joanns? There is the perfect granny square afghan in there so I decided that is the one I will make! I'm using almost the exact same color scheme too just because I love it so much! I only had the red, yellow, green and black yarn on hand so I've been making those ones. I want to incoorperate some blue and purple too.
I need 88 squares total so this is definitely going to take a while. I'm such a crazy person about lists that I even have a giant list of all the color schemes of each square and how many I'll need, etc. There's nothing like checking something off a list!

Some gratuitous granny square shots...





My step mom put all my Christmas presents in this basket and before we left I asked if she wanted it back. She said I could keep it because I "like baskets". I'm not entirely sure what that means, I don't even own any baskets but I couldn't tell her I didn't want it. So I took it home and it has been sitting, empty next to my TV stand. I had nowhere else to put it or store it or anything. THEN! As I was trying to decide where to keep all my granny squares I saw it there, all alone and empty in the corner...BOOM! I shall fill it with my granny squares!!

2011 Craft Goals

I've never made a New Year's Resolution. I know myself too well and that I would never stick to something for a whole year. I'm lucky if I stick to something for a week!

I have however, decided that there are a few specific things that I have wanted to make myself for a while but just haven't gotten around to.

1. I would love my own crocheted granny square afghan.







I have no idea about the color scheme or if I even want one or if it will be random colors but I do know I would like it to just be a classic granny square (there are a million fancy granny square motiffs out there). I don't want a giant one for the bed, I would like one to go over the back of the couch and use while lounging around.

2. A crocheted cardigan.







I love cardigans, I wear them almost everyday. I see them as my "grown up hoodie". I pretty much lived in hoodies as a teenager and in my early twenties (holy shit, I feel old saying "early twenties") I love t-shirts and tank tops but when it's cold out I need something to wear over them. So cardigans are a new staple item in my wardrobe. I would really love to make my own. I think this will be a little more difficult since I've never crocheted an article of clothing and the whole "blocking" thing is kind of intimidating. But I really would like to have at least one that I've made myself.

3. I would like my own "Hoop Love" wall.







I am going to try to join one or more of the Craftster swaps so that I can incorporate embroidery hoops from fellow crafters. I also really want to use some of the patterns in the folk art cross stitch book I got at the VNA Sale.

I'm sure I'll be making a bunch of other things for myself throughout the year but those are the 3 major things that I have been thinking about and would really like to try to complete.

Wish me luck! (isn't it so rude when someone tells you to wish them luck?! I mean what if you don't want to?!)