The Lace Mess Shawl (in progress)

This week has been a slow knitting week for me as my wife and I had to re-home our dog this weekend (sadness) as he was not getting along with our cat. The cat and I have been together for nine years and we had the dog for less than four months. We were hoping to hang onto his heart for a while until we could find him the perfect home, but that perfect home crept up on us. So instead of knitting this weekend, I drank chardonnay. And then (unrelated to the chardonnay), I had the flu for two days. I am still recovering from the flu, but I went to work today and spent my evening knitting and watching Parks and Recreation! Also, on Saturday, I went to a sale at Baaad Anna's and picked up many treats for Winter which I will be knitting up projects from over the next two months.

As promised last week, I started knitting The Snowstorm Shawl (aka The Lace Mess Shawl) by Sylvia Bo Bilvia, but it has become less of a snowstorm because of the teal colour (I had really hoped for white!) and is less messy than I had hoped (I really like math and counting and patterns) -- but it has provided the experience with lace play that I had hoped for. I am trying to add in some random yo though! I am most of the way though the first hank and am aiming to finish with the hank by Sunday afternoon.

Also, baby alpaca is SO FUCKING SOFT!

So that is all for my blog post this week. But I am wanted to leave you with a photo of my kitten because she is adorable and was loving the baby alpaca almost as much as me (maybe even more!)

xo
tash

The Sunlight Shawl for Sad People (now waiting to be blocked!)

Tonight, I finished knitting The Sunlight Shawl for Sad People by Sylvia Bo Bilvia! I used Violeta Africana from the Malabrigo Sock line and knit it with 3.75mm needles. I started the project on December 19th while I was visiting my in-laws in Michigan (where I also found the yarn). Now I just need to block it.

Next up is The Snowstorm Shawl (aka The Lace Mess Shawl) by Sylvia Bo Bilvia which I will be knitting with this Teal from the Diamond Luxury Collection Baby Alpaca Sport line!

xo tash

Winter crafting goals

Here are the patterns that I will be attempting for my Winter crafting goals:

1. The Sunlight Shawl for Sad People by Sylvia Bo Bilvia

2. Some Sort of Scarf by Caitlin ffrench

3. The Snowstorm Shawl (aka The Lace Mess Shawl) by Sylvia Bo Bilvia

4. The Country Roving Cowl by Baaad Anna's Yarn Store

5. Elk Tooth by Caitlin ffrench

Bonus Pattern Lovely Legwarmers for Tall Boots by Caitlin ffrench (which I might not get to as I do not own a pair of boots -- yet)

xo tash

Crafting goals for 2013

My wife, M, started up a blog to keep track of and motivated them through sewing projects over the next year. Considering that I have many crafting goals myself, I figured that I would start a blog as well. I need all of the motivation that I can get.

Rules for the blog:

1. My blog will be updated every Wednesday evening with an image and write-up about my current project.
2. Each Wednesday night, I will weigh the yarn that I have left to get an idea of where I might be on the project. If weight is not relevant, than I will attempt to monitor my progress another way.
3. Each Wednesday night, I will also update my ravelry account (jewellerytears) with any progress.
4. I will attempt to get through the goals set out in the blog, by season.

Goals for the blog:
I have four rad artisans in my life and I am smitten by their designs. So I want to knit through them. The artisans are Sylvia, Caitlin, Nicola, and Anna, who all work at Baaad Anna's Yarn Store in Vancouver, unceded Coast Salish Territories. I will be excluding a few patterns from my goal (sweaters, blankets, and finished objects that have already been knitted for me) and will be including many of the patterns that these four artisans release during the year.
In my next entry, I will be posting a list of my Winter patterns.

xo
tash