Now on Facebook!

I've got a LOT of catching up to do here, but the most exciting thing that has happened recently is that Knot Another Project is now on Facebook! 

Here, I'll share past creations in addition to what I currently have for sale, as well as current news! 

Come on over and say hi!

Overwhelmed

I've been so overwhelmed lately.  I'm trying to deal with so much, and it's just not working.  God has been telling me to simplify, and I'm trying, but in order to do so, He's got to help me.  I'm beginning to see resolutions to one situation of many (I'll get to that later), but hey, it's a start. 

First of all, please keep my grandfather, and our family in your prayers.  He has kidney disease, and started dialysis several months ago.  He has been in and out of the hospital ever since, and is now struggling with severe congestive heart failure, severe heart disease, an 80% blockage in his heart valve, COPD, and an abdominal aneurysm.  The dislysis is making his body so incredibly weak, and due to the weakness, the congestive heart failure worsens.  The fluid buildup makes it hard for him to breathe, and relief is only brought with dialysis.  It's a vicious cycle. Yesterday we found out that he is being sent home from the hospital soon and will be under Hospice care.  He and my grandmother have been married 60 years. 

A family member made his a very pretty lap quilt to take to dialysis, but he oftern bleeds, and doesn't want to stain the quilt, so I made him a brick stitch afghan to use. 

The one thing that seems to be resolving itself is a position I volunteer for at church.  It's just time for me to move on, and God seems to be asking me to be patient as He fills that roll with someone else.

I've also participated in 2 swaps on Ravelry, and my swap partners have been awesome!  Swaps are so much fun!  You make something according to the criteria decided on prior to you joining the swap, and you send it to your assigned person along with any goodies you'd like to include, then someone else does the same for you.  I'm still trying to get creative with little things to include in the swap package.  Mom gave me some good ideas for the next swap I do.

I suckered my dad into one of my projects.  I wanted to make a yarn swift, and dad had the tools, so he joined in on my project.  For some spur of thhe moment tools, our neighbor pitched in and helped me out.  I found the DIY instructions on Crafty Diversions.  The swift was easy to make; I just need to practice drilling straight!  After I was done with it, I thought I'd stain it, for a nice, pretty look.  I'm quite happy with the results.  Now, I just have to find a ball winder...

Another project I've taken up is spinning.  I'm attempting to learn to spin yarn on a drop spindle.  I'm not doing too well, but I've also not been devoting a lot of time to it - I've been trying to finish and start other things!  We're going to be going to Gatlinburg TN soon, hopefully, and I'm wanting to go to the Spinnery there. 

A non-yarn project I'm now into is training for a 5k I plan to run with my sister in August.  I got a jogging stroller for a great deal at a church consignment sale, and have been pushing Sweet E in it while I run.  I figured that I'm pushing 47+ extra pounds of weight when I run, which is no easy task.  Especially uphill!

I need to update you on several other projects - current and upcoming, so I'll hopefully be posting again soon!

Hey there!

Yes, I'm still here.  No I haven't run away.  Yes, I know it seems like I have.  I apologize for the lapse in posts - life got in the way. 

I've been busy crocheting since we last spoke.  I haven't finished Sweet E's Teddy Bear afghan, or YammaDaddy's knit hat, but I have completed several preemis items, a lapghan for charity, a Bible cover for my niece, a scarf ofr my cousin, and am currently working on a Nintendo DS case for my niece.  Numerous items are still in my queue, but I'm trying not to get overwhelmed.  When that happens, I get absolutely nothing done.

I will post pictures as I can. 

Speaking of which, I need to go be productive now, and work on at least one project tonight. 

More cloths

Here are the dish cloths I made for my mom for Christmas. I forgot to take a group shot before giving them to her.  They are made with Peaches and Creme.

Welcome 2010!

Hi to the new year!  I can't wait to see what wonderful things this year has in store. 

I know I've been quiet for the past month.  I would say I'm sorry, but then again, I've enjoyed what this month has held.  Up until the week of Christmas, I was crocheting and knitting like mad trying to get the dishcloths done.  I ended up completing 25 in total!  They were received very well, and I heard several murmured requests for a set.  I plan to make several more sets this year as I enjoyed trying lots of new patterns. 

I don't like to make New Year's resolutions, but I would like to try working with new and different yarns this year, and I'd like to knit and crochet down my stash.  I took a picture of the current stash so I can monitor my progress. 

Here are some of the dishcloth sets:
For my grandma:

For my sister:

My neighbor:

A very special friend at Chick-fil-a:

My college roommate:

That's enough for now, but later, I'll post pics of the set for my mom, and my mother-in-law.  I forgot to take "group shots" for those sets, so I'll post each cloth separately.  I'll also post my beginning stash photo, so you all can help keep me accountable!

Christmas Savings

I've still be knitting and crocheting like crazy, preparing Christmas gifts.  I can't wait to share the pictures with you!  I've also been trying to figure out the best way to handle Christmas on a budget.  One of my many cousins just shared some fabulous deals she's gotten in her most recent blog post.

I've heard of Swagbucks before, but haven't really taken it seriously.  I should have!  You earn 'bucks' easily - just by using their search engine when searching the web.  I am quite partial to Google, so the thoughts of giving it up, ,even once in a while made me sad.  Then I saw that the Swagbucks search results are partially powered by Google.  Awesome!  So now, I can search and earn!  Earn what, you may ask?  You can trade your Swagbucks in for a variety of things - Amazon.com gift cards, books, magazines, and all kinds of things!  Unfortunately, I haven't found yarn on their 'gift' list yet! Haha!  I would love to earn enough bucks to do some Christmas shopping on Amazon, but I'm not getting my hopes up that they'll accumulate that fast.

Anyway, if you (yes, you) sign up (It's totally free) for Swagbucks using one of the links in this post, I'll get 1 free Swagbuck (which would just be awesome!)  If you don't sign up, it's not going to hurt my feelings, but definitely check it out!  Free stuff is always cool, especially to a mostly-stay-at-home mom. 

I'm off to do my homework for the parenting class YammaDaddy and I take, and I've got to get it done while Sweet E sleeps! 

I hope you and your families had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We did, but more (photos) on that later.

Crafty Madness!

Has it seriously been three weeks since I last posted?  I've been working away on my Christmas crafting, and have lost track of time.  Again.  However, I've been forced to put things for me away, and work on things for others.  Not that I mind, but at the end of the day, I'd like to eventually have something to keep.  When the new year arrives, I will be making things for me and my family to enjoy, and hopefully be able to get some charity items made.

I've finally got my Etsy shop up and running!  Currently, the only items listed are coffee cozies, but it's a start.  I have several scarves and afghans I will list for sale soon - I just need to take picutes of them! 

Speaking of taking pictures, YammaDaddy bought me my birthday and Christmas present this past weekend - a Nikon D3000!  Woohoo!  I'm loving it!  Yes, my birthday is in December.  Yes, I've already opened my gift.  No, I don't feel guilty. :) 

A friend of mine is having a baby, and is due Jan 1.  She likes small afghans for her kids, and I usually make her 2 - one for her child to hang on to, and one for the laundry.  She swaps them out, and her youngest son never knows his 'night night' is being washed.  Sneaky, and a great idea!  I have afghan #1 made for the new baby, and as soon as I finish a chemo cap for my friend who just started treatments, I'll get busy with baby afghan #2.  I will also be making her youngest (well, he's currently the youngest!) 2 replacement afghans since he loved his other two to death.  Quite literally.  I love it that he loves his blankies so much!

I'm still baffled by the lack of spell check on this new Blogger composer, so if you find it, let me know!  Even though posting photos is SO much better now, I may have to switch back to the old style, just to have spell check.