Blankets & Mitts & Swaps, OH MY :)

Yes, it’s a Free-For-All Friday and I’ve got a few fun things to post…Maybe something along Sillylittlelady’s post from today: FFFO* Friday 🙂 I’ve been keeping up with her journey on her gorgeous orange sweater and it’s a beautiful finished project. While browsing my bloglovin feed this morning, I came across several FO Friday posts and I’m feeling inspired…

You guessed it (if you read Wednesday’s post) I finished up the Midsummer Baby Blanket for my soon-to-arrive niece!!!! Check it out!!

I love the colors.

I love the texture.

I’ve even weaved in all the ends.

Now I just need to block this. It’s cotton and little out of whack. I’m hoping a good blocking will even it all out.

I also managed to finish up my Yarn Bliss Super Secret Swap project. It was a pair of the Gefn Mitts by Kristen Ashbaugh-Helmreich. I had the pattern in a Knitscene Accessories 2014 magazine. I actually bought this magazine at Sophie’s a while back to knit this shawl in a gray and yellow. Mayhaps I can start that soon…Anyway, back to the awesome swap project and package I sent:

The mitts in the blocking bath:

 

Here they are, well at least one of them on my hand since I had to model and take pictures.

I loved that I didn’t need to knit separate mitts for the right and left hands, I just knit the same one twice.

And finally the whole package I sent:

My swap partner Heather loves greens and blues hence the Manos Lace I thought she may be able to do the Dreambird shawl she’s been wanting to do. She likes caramel in her coffee so I included some for her. And some stitch markers. Who doesn’t need those 🙂

What have you finished lately? Would you want to be involved in a yarn swap?

v’s & bumps,

Jenna

 

5KCBWDay6&7: Sharing Means Caring

Yes, well I’m cheating again…doing the two-for-one thing in term of posting for this intense blog week. Who knew that posting, DAILY, would be such a challenge. It’s not that I don’t enjoy posting on my blog. I love it. I love feeling like I’m connecting with other people out there who knit, crochet, or just like to read blogs.

Day 6: Views of Others, Views of Yourself.

I’m supposed to write about a crafter I admire and about how other people feel about my knitting.

From the beginning, I’ve needed a way to be creative but had a hard time finding a medium where I felt I could really get across what I envisioned. I found that in knitting. I have my mom to thank for that.

She started her crafting journey I’m sure well before I was even a thought in her mind. When she was pregnant with me, she would cross-stitch the most beautiful pictures. Several family members still have something she worked on at that time. Even I came away with one.

Not the best photo, but that’s CROSS STITCH! Not a picture or a drawing, it’s thread! Every time I see one of her pieces, I am still in awe. She also dabbled in sewing, making my brother and I countless outfits when we were toddlers and all of our Halloween costumes until we were in high school (by that time, we thought we were too cool to dress up). She had some crazy busy years when I was in college and got away from crafting. After I graduated with my undergrad degree and decided to get a Masters, she was in a terrible car accident. She had some trouble recovering from a lacerated spleen and was put on bed rest. This contributed to her having a blood clot in her leg that traveled to her lungs and she had a Pulmonary Embolism. Thankfully, she was taken to the hospital and put on some serious blood thinners along with having a filter put in. With rest, she recovered. After her accident she took up knitting to make hats for her future grandchildren.

That was much more personal than I intended to write. I think when I talk about my mom, I’m always going to be more personal. It’s just the way it is.

As far as what others think or feel about my knitting?
When knitting in public, I get the general stare of most people who walk by. A few even point at me and poke their friends while saying, “Look!” Occasionally, someone will stop and ask if I’m knitting or crocheting. Rarely, a fellow knitter/crocheter will approach with hesitation and ask what I’m working on and then share what she is working on.

I think some of the best responses I’ve gotten to my knitting is from my husband and his friends. For Christmas of 2012, I knit my husband’s friends beanies. In the rush of getting them finished for the holiday, I didn’t get to take pictures for my Rav project page. When I put up the Facebook post calling for pictures of all the finished projects I had ever given to people, his friends were among the first to send me a picture.

 

I think it’s safe to say that these are among the best loved gifts I’ve ever knit. I can’t think of three more worthy guys to whip up a hat for.

Day 7: Looking back, Looking forward.

This part of the post has to do with looking back to last year’s KCBW, but since I’m brand new to the knit blogosphere, I can’t really do that. Instead, I’m going to look back on my knitting journey. I would say I’ve come some ways since the beginning. I’ve tackled a few things I never thought I would, like cables and lace, and I’m gearing up for my first sweater (I’ve decided on a winner and I’ll post this Friday!).

As for looking forward? In one year from now when the 6th Annual Knitting & Crochet Blog Week comes around, I hope that crafting will have taken me down the road to knitwear design. I’ve got a few ideas brewing, but I’m not quite sure how to execute them. I think some further journaling, math, and swatching should be done before I unveil anything 🙂 I also hope to have tackled my first sweater and I’d really like to attend a knitting retreat.

As for wishes for my blog? I hope that I can continue to post regularly in the every-other-day timeline. I also hope that it can connect me to more great people, ideas, and inspiration to make me a better knitter.

This bad boy got real lengthy real quick. And awful wordy too. Overall, I’ve enjoyed this blogging challenge week. It has certainly taught me I’m not an everyday poster, but it did spark some new thoughts and ideas. It was also a great connector in the blogging world. I’ve come across some neat blogs that I’m not sure I would have without it.

v’s & bumps,

Jenna

 

5KCBWDay3: Adventures with my Little Green Elph

Today’s topic for the 5th Annual Knitting and Crocheting Blog Week is Photography. Eskimimi challenges bloggers to take a look at their photos and experiment a little.

I decided to take a look at my very basic photographs of my projects. So I’m starting with my most recent finished project for my friend Leigh: Her GREEN scarf 🙂

Generally, I take pictures like this in progress:

I put my darling project on a black background (sweet futon) during daylight hours. Maybe a finished one looks like this:

A close of up the stitches:

 

Maybe a “creative” shot:

 

So with this week underway, and the need to document my finished projects, I decided to try a model for my work. The only problem is that my husband was at work and the only other living things here to be tortured photographed were my kitties. Brother sits the stillest, so he was draped and pictured:

That’s my adventure 🙂

v’s & bumps,

Jenna

PS. The Green Elph is my Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS Digital Elph in a nice lime green. I’ve had it for quite a few years and it’s not fancy, but it does take nice pictures.