A frustration

Squares and yarn

I have previously  posted that I wanted to finish off an afghan that I was going to be working on this month and I figured I would have something a little different to show by the end of the month.  Well what I didn't expect after starting this afghan was the problem that I discovered last night when joining the first two granny squares together.

The yarn that I was using was Bernat Softee Baby. I figured using the same type of yarn would mean that the weight of the yarn would be the same.  The first square I did was the white square and it worked up really quickly and I figured this would be a project that I could quickly get done.

Yarn and squares

Yesterday I decided to work on the second squares so that I could get it joined and I would feel better about the progress on the afghan.  I sat working on the square as I wanted to get it jointed to the white square.  I noticed that it didn't seem quite as big as the white but figured it was just how I was looking at it and I didn't think anything about it.  I guess I should have stopped as soon as I started to join the square together because after joining it I discovered what I didn't want to see.  Even though the green square is the same number of rows and I used the same crochet hook is considerably smaller than the white ball of yarn.

I had another ball of the green yarn but with a different label and it felt like it would be better so I tried it as well.  Both of the green balls of  yarn are a thinner yarn than the white Bernat Softee Baby.

Squares

I am pretty frustrated with this because I had been looking forward to working on a baby afghan that was going to be different than the ones that I had making lately.  This was also a project that I could work on a bit at a time but also something that I was enjoying doing.

Now I have two squares finished for two different afghans and no desire to work on two afghans.  I had been looking forward to doing a two colour afghan this month.  I am extremely frustrated with the yarn because the labels have the same description on them but it is when you actually work with them you discover they are not the same.

For now I am going to continue to work on the baby hats and then I will think about what I am going to do with this squares.

Has this happened to you?  If so please let me know how you handled it.

Weeks going by too quickly

Baby afghan just started

I am not sure where last week really went but I do know that I was able to find a little bit of time to sit and craft which made me happy.

The pile of baby hats is continuing to grow and that is making me very happy.  I am trying to see if I will be able to crochet at least 30 hats this month and am getting closer to that goal now. I think I have around 20 hats completed now for this month so if I can continue crocheting even a little bit each evening I should be able to get the rest of the hats done before the end of the month.

Cookies and Cream - The ball of yarn for the baby afghan

The other project that just got started yesterday was a baby afghan using a different type of yarn that I have never used before.  This yarn got my attention a couple of weeks ago and of course after seeing it on sale I decided to pick up one ball of it.  The ball of yarn that I first picked up was Cotton Candy as it is for an afghan that I want to work on this summer.  The Cookies and Cream ball of yarn was bought this weekend when I had a 40% off coupon at Michaels so picked this one up so that I could start making an afghan right away with the yarn to see what it looks like.

Cotton Candy - Another ball of yarn ready for afghan

The balls of yarn are 284 grams and it says it is enough to make a baby afghan so I decided to try the v-stitch pattern that I normally do.  The pattern on the label is for a large granny square afghan so I may end up using the second ball of yarn for that but will see how I like this first afghan.

With the weather being as hot as it has been trying to sit and crochet has been a bit of a challenge at home but with sitting on our balcony I have been able to get a bit done as we normally have a bit of a breeze outside.

This week I am hoping to be able to get a few more baby hats completed and then I will see how much more I can get accomplished on the baby afghan.  I am making this afghan a little smaller as I am not sure how this yarn will work up.  After this afghan is finished I will be able to determine if I can make the next one a little wider or if I will stick to the afghan being around 18 inches wide.

It is now time to try and get some work done before it gets too hot out.  Stay cool and I will see what crafting I accomplish this week.

Classes at Creativ Festival 2012

So last week I spent 5 days taking classes at the Creativ Festival and had a lot of fun.  Have to admit that after 31.5 hours of classes the brain is a little tired and you aren't really sure what you took or what you completed.

Here are some pictures of what I did during my classes.  There isn't a lot of any one project completed because when  you have between 1.5 and 3 hours to work on something you really don't get very far.

Wednesday

Crocodile Stitch - flat

Crocodile Stitch - round

Crocodile Stitch - crocheting - Becky Simmons

 This class was the first one for the week for me and it was learning how to do the crocodile stitch both flat and in the round.

Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Sweater

Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket - Kate Atherley
  The Baby Surprise Jacket class was a little different than I thought it was going to be.  Yes we learned all the different techniques for making the baby surprise sweater but now we have to go out and find the actual pattern so that we can make it.



Thursday
Bargello - Carol Storie
  This was an introduction to Bargello class and it is to complete a stocking on linen instead of canvas.  I think for a beginner class the canvas would have been a lot easier.  I am really glad that I had taken Bargello before so I was able to just sit and stitch for the 3 hours.


Introduction to Spinning
My Thursday afternoon class was an introduction to spinning.  I have wanted to learn how to spin for over 10 years so this class gave me the opportunity to finally sit and spend some time trying to get something that looked like yarn out of fleece.  I am pretty proud of my accomplish but still have a long way to go before I am going to be able to actually knit with my own yarn. So lots of practicing is ahead for me but at least with my own spinning wheel I should be able to improve on this ball of yarn.


Perforated Paper: Joy Snowflake - Jennifer Aikman-Smith
My final class for Thursday was a perforated paper ornament with Jennifer.  Well as you can clearly see I didn't get anything accomplished in this class but that was fine.  I was pretty tired by the start of this class and figured that if I tried to stitch I would probably miscount and have bigger issues so as there were only three students in the class we sat and chatted with Jennifer.

Friday
Blackwork & Hardanger - Carol Storie
  I was able to get some of the hardanger started on this design so will continue working on this before I put in any of the blackwork.








Sparkle Magic Needlecase - Jennifer Aikman-Smith
   The sparkle needlecase is a needlecase that we can put all of the needles that we use for metallic threads in.  If you want to see what it looks like complete,SilverLotus has already completed her's.  As you can see I still have a long way to go before mine is finished.

Dragon Boat

Dragon Boats - Carolyn Mitchell
I had always looked at these ornaments and wanted to learn how to make them so this year when the class was offered I jumped at the chance to learn how to do them.  As Carolyn said they are a lot of fun to make and you want to make more and more of them and yes I will be making more.






Year of the Dragon Silver Sampler - Jennifer Aikman-Smith
We normally give Jennifer a couple of challenges each year for her to design and this year I have to say that the Silver Dragon Sampler is so different for Jennifer. The colours are the greys, and silvers and I am so looking forward to finishing this project before the end of 2012.



Saturday

You Add Magic to My Life - Jennifer Aikman-Smith
  This class was 1.5 hours so there really wasn't a lot of time to get much stitching done but it's a start.   I got a few stitches done on the dragon so will see how long it actually takes me to complete this project.

Christmas Needlecase & Scissor Fob - Kim Beamish
  This class was the needlecase and scissor fob that went with the class that Kim taught last year.  Of course I didn't take the class last year but I was fortunate that Kim did bring some kits with her this year so after class I picked up the Biscornu kit so I can have a complete set.


Sunday
Canvaswork Dragon - Jennifer Aikman-Smith

Canvaswork Dragon

  In this class we got to pick our own colours for our dragon so mine is going to be a blueish grey dragon.  Can't wait to get working on this one.



So that is some pictures of all the different classes that I took at the Creative Festival 2012.  Now I just need to find the time and energy to finish all of these different projects.  The good news is I just need to put a hanger on the dragon boat and it's completed and sew the mini baby surprise jacket together.  So those two projects should be completed very quickly.  The other projects are going to take me some time but will continue blogging about each of the projects and I work through them.

Now off to figure out what project I want to work on first.