2012 Ravelympics: The Results

As you know, I started with this:

That massive pile (which it turns out wasn't all the cotton yarn I had by the way), has since turned into this:

Not quite my goal of abolishing every ball of cotton in the apartment, but very respectable considering what I started with and the minimal free time I had during the Olympics. At the end of the day I managed to use up almost 2 pounds worth of yarn I had sitting around, so I'm happy with the results. The rest of the yarn will hopefully be used up quickly as a nice commuting project when I start school next week.

And last but not least, for those that are interested, this is what nearly 2 pounds of dishcloths looks like:

The 2012 Ravelympics

As I am sure most people around the world know, this summer brings the Olympics to London. As I am sure fewer people know, this summer also brings the Ravelympics to Ravelry.com.

I am been a member of Ravelry.com since March 21, 2010, but I have not been an active member for anywhere nearly that long, and I conveniently missed the Vancouver 2010 Ravelympics, so this is my first time ever participating and I am quite excited about it.

I'm not going to lie, I'm a little mixed up about the whole sign up process: where you comment exactly to say what team you want to be on, setting up your project page properly, entering multiple events, etc. I did add my name to a random Google document, so even if I am not actually signed up properly, I am going to pretend I am at the very least.

Since my goal is to use up my stash of yarn, naturally I chose to be on Team Stashdown! Smackdown. Clearly the obvious choice of events for me would be synchronized stash busting, but I am going home stuff hammerthrow instead.

See this?

This is the pretty, doesn't look too terrible picture I took of all the cotton yarn I could find in my stash. Here is the less pretty, but you can see the horror that awaits me picture:

Yes, that is 31 skeins of various colours of cotton yarn. 4,152 yards worth of yarn I am hopefully going to finally kill off. Some of that stuff is definitely not a year old (thank you Michaels $1 per skein sale), so it would be cheating to put it under synchronized stash busting, so I am hitting the home stuff hammerthrow. I've had two people mention to me separately about searching out homemade dishcloths,  little do they know they are about to be bombarded come August. Obviously I'm planning on putting a few away for December too if you check out the colour scheme I have for about half of those skeins.

Side note: is there some secret cult following of non-knitters/crocheters seeking homemade dishcloths? One of these girls apparently searches through thrift stores for her homemade dish washing treasures. I didn't think they were such a big deal.

Anyway, that is my plan for July 27-August 12. Hopefully you will all join me, or at the very least check back to see my progress and results!

It's Been Awhile

Hello again readers!

I've been a bad, bad blogger for the past month. I somehow managed to come down with bronchitis back in April and it decided to stick around for nearly the entire month. Needless to say, not much of anything vaguely productive got done during April.

Despite being sick, I did manage to crochet a fair amount of stuff while laying on the couch all day, every day, so I have a lot of posting catch up to do. Are you ready?

3....

2....

1.... here we go!

3 out of 4 wabbits agree that these carrots are cute! These are a part of my new year-long WIP for A, though he'll get these before Christmas because he's still too little for his Godmama to shower him with chocolate for Easter and anyone that knows me knows that I can't just not give a gift.

If you want to make some carrots for a little one you know, the pattern can be found here for free.

WIP Wednesday #7

I just got another ball of yarn for another WIP I have, so naturally that means I've completely set it aside and I'm working on something else at the moment.

Can you guess what it is? Here' one piece:

It looks kind of like a flower, but it's not. Here's the other part:

Fat Shae seems to be wondering if it's some sort of new cat toy. I suppose it looks a little bit like one of her mousies.

It is neither flower nor mousie though. It's tastier than that (or would be if it was actually real!)

Ta-da! A cute little strawberry. One of many strawberries to come, because you can't just have one strawberry that would be silly. If you want to make some strawberries yourself, you can find the pattern here. The only thing I did differently was use a size E/3.50mm hook.

The strawberries are a part of my larger WIP for the rest of the year. As I mentioned yesterday, A. got a play kitchen for his birthday. For Christmas I've decided he is getting a giant box full of play food and other kitchen accessories made just for him by his Godmama, so if you're not interested in hearing about that, start running now! It's a good thing his mom and dad just bought a new and bigger house because I've got a lot of things planned for him!

Crochet A Rainbow

As I am sure many of you know, on March 11, 2011 Japan was hit with a major earthquake and tsunami. Lives were lost, thousands are still missing, and families have been ripped apart by water and rubble. Japan faces an uphill battle to rebuild, further complicated by the nuclear plant situation in the country.

Back in January when Australia was devastated by flooding, Sarah London started her Crochet A Rainbow project to help provide those suffering comfort that remind them there is a rainbow after a storm. So far 460 people are participating and they've received 904 granny squares that Sarah has sewn into blankets to be donated to the people hit the hardest in Australia. Now she is sending blankets to Japan, with the first shipment going out earlier this week.

I encourage everyone to sign up and help Sarah Crochet A Rainbow to help change the lives of the Japanese people hardest hit by this disaster. This is stash blasting at it's most useful by far.

WIP Wednesday #4

You saw this coming.

Yes, today I'm working on more Swiffer Socks and judging from the pile of yarn I still have I may be working on this next week too. I'm almost halfway through them, but I will be doing some dish cloths too in order to use up the extra bits of yarn. I had hoped to be a bit farther on these, but with birthday partying on the weekend not much got done.

What I Did This Weekend: Part III

Here's the last and least exciting project of the weekend:

Remember these? I had just enough yarn left over from the Swiffer Sock to do a dishcloth and I decided to make a couple extras and use up another ball of my stash. As you can see they're not perfectly square, but frankly I don't care that much because they'll still get the job done.

This coming weekend will unfortunately be the exact same as last weekend (aside from making more birthday cake). I've had a couple friends email me asking for some Swiffer Socks and one request for a Swiffer Duster. This means I broke the no more yarn rule again and went to Michaels to buy more yarn, BUT I managed to only buy what I needed for these projects and not fall victim to the irresistible $1 a ball price.

Have a great weekend everyone!

What I Did This Weekend: Part II

Any guesses about what these fluffy things are?

A cat toy? A piece of food that's sat in your fridge a bit too long? A lost sock escaped from the depths of under the bed? Nooooo.

It's a Swiffer Duster! Another item that means no more disgusting disposable sheets for me. I am so over opening the closet door where our cleaning supplies are and seeing these nasty disposables still being saved to use "just one more time" so we aren't just throwing out money.

These can be made with any little bits and pieces you have leftover too. There's an inner tube part that's made from a tiny bit of 100% cotton yarn, but the fluffy part of it is whatever you happen to have around that's bulky. This blue is leftover from one of my little spartan's hats.

And what makes them even better is that they trap more dust and icky things than the disposable ones do.

Mmmm look at all that delicious dust:

Did I mention it's "multi-purpose" too? Check out the Fat Shae petter 2.0:

If you want one of these for yourself, check out the pattern here.

Eco-Friendly Swiffer Sock

Check out what I made this weekend:

Any guesses what it is? I'll give you a hint.

Got it yet? If for some reason you haven't, it's a Swiffer Sock.

I hate the disposable refills. Someone around here always seems to want to keep these gross disgusting clothes covered in God only knows what because they think that they can get more use out of them, so clearly this was a necessary project. Though the pattern used worsted weight acrylic yarn, I used some 100% cotton yarn because I have lots of little balls of Bernat Handicrafter Cotton Yarn (Lily Sugar'n Cream if you're American) and I'd rather use that up than steal from my stash of amigurumi yarn because that is one part of my stash I don't intend to "trash" at all.

As you can see, the completed project has a "duster" side that traps all the dusties in your house in its ruffles.

Isn't that awesomely handy? Much better than the disposables that last for approximately two swipes across the floor, then do little more than push dirt around the floor (in my opinion anyway). Bonus: if I end up in that situation, I just need to wash out the pad and I'm good to go again, though I plan to make a few extras for just this situation.

But do you know what makes it even better? It's reversible! Check it out:

After you finish up cleaning the floor all you need to do is soak the pad in some water with a bit of your floor cleaning product of choice, flip it around, and you're off to the races again. Once you're all done all you need to do is toss it in the laundry and wash. No more disposable cloths that don't even last for the entire kitchen floor for me, and a great project to use bits and pieces of whatever yarn you have leftover.

Draft Snake Pattern Update

I hope everyone is already working on their five resolutions and trashing some of their stash in the process.

Before you all get too excited about them and finish all the projects I suggested for you, Vashti, the creator of the draft snake informed me that she's updated her pattern since posting it on her blog.

The updated pattern for this cute little fellow that will help keep your house draft-free, keep some cash in your wallet, and use up your scraps of yarn can be found here for free on Ravelry. com. The updated pattern includes instructions on how to crochet the forked tongue that you see in the photo.

Thanks again for a great pattern Vashti!

5 Resolutions You Can Make

For most people, a new year means new resolutions. I will openly admit that I break resolutions about ten minutes after I make them for the most part. In elementary school the first assignment we had when we were back from Christmas vacation was always to write down our resolutions for the new year and every year I resolved to write neater.

Guess what? Not only is my writing still messy, but it's probably gotten worse over the years. Good luck if you ever wanted to borrow notes from me in university, all you're going to get is a few pages of chicken scratch comprised of my own unique blend of printing and cursive writing.

Needless to say, I've kind of given up on this resolution business. Especially now that my marks don't depend on it like they did back in the day.

However, those who are resolution inclined I have good news for you. Even though I don't really do resolutions, I can certainly help you out with yours! And another bonus, a lot of these ideas are good stash busters too.

Resolution #1: Get More Organized

You've decided. This is the year you're going to go through all your junk and finally get rid of it. You're going to go out and buy cute baskets and bins and actually use them. But wait, why buy baskets and bins when you can crochet some instead?

Side note: I can only dream that one day my stash will fit in this stash basket.

Stash Basket

Resolution #2: Lose Weight

Sadly, while crocheting all night might keep your hands busy so you can't chow down on unhealthy snacks, it isn't a big calorie burner. This is proven by the fact that I've gained about 10 pounds in the past few months. For those of you that have resolved to slim down this year, what better way to inspire you is a cute bag to carry around your yoga mat?

Namaste Yoga Mat Bag

Resolution #3: Save Money

Saving money is another very popular resolution to make because well, who wouldn't love some extra cash in their bank account? This project saves you money on two fronts: it uses extra leftover yarn from your stash, and it helps to keep your house warmer and save on those nasty wintertime heating bills that creep higher every year it seems. This little critter will use up any little bits of yarn you have left over and keep drafts from sneaking in under the door.

Draft Snake

Resolution #4: Be More Eco-Friendly

We all know that if everyone in the world made some small changes our planet would be much better off. Obviously everyone in the world will not drop their habits and instantly change, but you can help this change happen. There are lots of crochet options out there to replace disposable items we use every single day. The best part? A lot of these things are quick to whip up so you can make some for yourself and your family and friends.

First off, raise your hand if you use paper towels for everything. Guess what? You don't need to. You can crochet yourself some basic dish cloths and save money and the environment.

Dishcloth

Plastic bags are another bad guy. They take a ridiculous amount of time to actually biodegrade and everyone ends up with a huge mess of bags shoved in a closet at home that just take up space and never get used or recycled. Not to mention that the 5 cents a bag most stores around here are charging for a plastic bag adds up.

The solution? Reusable bags. Reusable bags that you a) don't have to buy from the grocery store and b) you can toss in with your laundry when they get dirty. (Really, what are all those stores selling the reusable bags made out of that heavier plastic thinking?)

String Market Bag

Finally, how many of you are guilty of using lots of cotton balls or kleenex to remove your makeup at night too? Why not whip up some makeup remover pads and their storage bag. Just like with a cotton ball or kleenex these are still use and toss, only instead of tossing in the garbage, you toss into the laundry.

Eco-Friendly Makeup Remover Pads and Bag

Resolution #5: Finish What You've Started

I'm pretty sure that this one comes up for a crafter of any sort. If you're anything like me, you have about a million projects on the go at one time. How about starting one more small project that will help you finish up all those other WIPs? A perfect size to grab as you run out the door to your appointment, use on your commute to work (so long as you aren't driving!), or to pull out of your purse when your friend is late for your coffee date and it holds all your crochet essentials.

Crochet on the Go!

So there you have it. 5 good resolutions. 5 good solutions. In the meantime, I'll still be working on writing neater.

Linking to:

Today's Creative Blog

Creation Corner

A Little Knick Knack