My Balls are Busted

I'm back! We actually got back 3 weeks ago but things have been hectic around here and I just haven't gotten around to posting. I'll do another post another day on all that's been going on.

I've been busy working on all those balls and I've finally got them done! I'm so glad to be finished with that project. The mostly somber colours were getting really boring. I broke out some bright colours this afternoon. What a treat!

So here we go. The original bunch.

What it looks like now. This is all sport weight yarn that I decided to add to the Cuddle Box instead of working up into squares.

The finished product. One hundred and eleven squares! This is the same bin that held the balls. It's crammed full. At 35 squares per blanket, there's enough for 3 blankets plus a few left over.

As I got to the end, some of the balls weren't big enough to make a full square, so I had to get creative. I think they turned out quite nicely.

I enjoyed this challenge I set out for myself and I'm proud of myself for actually finishing it. But I am glad it's done. I haven't figured out what I'm going to challenge myself with next. For now, I'm just working on squares in colours that appeal to me.

I'm also working on a couple of personal projects. I'll share those on Wednesday.

Woo Hoo Wednesday

Weigh-in...I'm down 3 this week. Had a lot of ups and downs this month so my overall total is a loss of only 4 pounds for the month. But hey! It beats gaining, or even staying the same! Since the New Year, I'm down 14 pounds and 6.25 inches. Hoo-rah!!!

Managed to get 13 squares done this week.

In an effort to get all those balls busted, I've decided to not make any more with hearts. They take a bit longer to make and I spend too much time agonizing over colour combinations.

Not so Woo Hoo...I've picked up a bug of some sort. Woke up this morning with the beginnings of what felt like a cold but now I'm suspecting it might be bronchitis. I don't smoke but I'm wheezing like a 5-pack-a-day smoker. We're leaving next week for our holiday and I want to make sure I'm not sick with anything serious so I'm going to try to get in to see my doc tomorrow.

And on that note, I'm off to bed. 'Night, y'all.

Bustin' My Balls: Part 5

Well, it's been a whole month and the pile is diminishing.

Original:

Now:

So far I've made 58 squares.

I was really hoping to have this all worked up before we left for our holiday but I'm not sure it's going to happen. We leave in 11 days. I suppose if I didn't do anything else for 11 days I could get it done but good luck with that. Even with my kids grown and gone, life still has a way of getting in the way. All I can do is what I can do.

Woo Hoo Wednesday

It's been a crazy day. Almost didn't get to making this post.

Weigh-in...up a half pound but down a quarter inch. I'll take it. :-)

Here are this week's squares. Forgive the bad lighting. I only took it a few minutes ago and the lighting isn't as good as it is during the day.

Sixteen squares for Knit-a-Square for a total of 54 so far. The red yarn that I'm pairing with baby weight is interminable. It just keeps going and going and going. I figure I'll get 5 or 6 more squares out of what's left. I'll be so glad to be done with it.

Woo Hoo Wednesday

Weigh-in...I finally blasted through that 2 week plateau I hit. I'm down 3 pounds this week though I have no idea how. Our trip to the city didn't always include the best food choices and I didn't exercise, even though I had planned to. However, I'll take it!!

It was a slow week, craft-wise. I got this cap knitted but I still have to sew up the seam.

And I only got 8 squares done. There are monthly themes and this month it's hearts and red/pink/white. I have tons of red balls but the yarn is a bit thin so I've been pairing it with pink or white baby yarn. I was stumped on what to do with the less than inspiring colours and then it hit me. I can put hearts on them!

Bustin' My Balls: Part 3

On Thursday, Grampa had an appointment in the city 3 hours away so we left bright and early. Since we're redoing our bathrooms, we decided to stay overnight and do some Home Depot shopping. So No Thankful Thursday and I didn't get to posting about my ball bustin' yesterday. So, without further ado, here's how my balls are looking.

Original pile.

And here we are 2 weeks later. Last week there didn't seem to be much difference, but you can see it now.

Thirty squares made for Knit-a-Square 

Bustin' My Balls: Part 2

Here's what it looked like last week.

And here it is this week.

Not much different, yet. Actually, it looks bigger. Weird. Must be the way I arranged them this time. At any rate, I've made 15 squares so far.

I've Been a Baaaaad Girl

On Saturday, I went to the next town over with my 13 year old g'daughter. She has 2 little brothers (4 and 6) and their house is in a state of chaos while the flooring is being replaced after a laundry room flood. I figured she could use a break.

Walmart was my undoing. I had to pick up a few things there and then remembered that I needed some green yarn to finish the memory blanket. Not really certain how much I'd need, I got two balls.

Then I spied some fun colours for the chemo caps. That particular stash needed some jazzing up, colour-wise. The blue one on the left practically glows and the turquoise in the centre is far prettier than it appears.

Then it was off to another store that I'd heard about but never been to. I wasn't sure if it was a regular second hand store or a consignment store. I didn't go with the intention of buying anything. I just wanted to see what the store was about. I learned that it's a regular second hand store. And they had yarn. A bit more costly than what our local thrift shop charges but still cheaper than buying new and it's worsted weight instead of the baby yarn I usually find in ours.

As promised, it's been tucked away until I use up my current stash.

Somebody put me in time-out.

Bustin' My Balls

Hahahaha!!! Not those balls, y'all!

*These* balls!

This is what was in the tub of balls I had after organizing my stash. I guesstimate there are about 75 squares hiding in there. Grampa and I are leaving for a holiday March 6th. I'm challenging myself to bust as many balls as I can before then.

C'mon. Admit it. You thought this was going to be a naughty post, didn't you? lol

I'll Show You Mine If...

...you show me yours. Your stash, that is.

It was Grampa's weekend to work so Sunday afternoon I decided to organize my stash. Figured it was a job best done when he wasn't around to see just how much I actually have. You all know what I'm talking about. *wink*

Good grief. Even I was surprised. I mean, I knew I had a lot but, geez, Louise!

First up are the WIP's.

This is an afghan I started ages ago to give my mom who is a huge fan of jigsaw puzzles. I don't have enough of the lighter purple to make a piece so I added a couple of others so you could see what each section will look like. Mom knits like crazy for charities but, like many of us, doesn't make anything for herself.

The following are things I'm working on for Knit-a-Square .

Go-over.

Tank-top style vest.

KASCuddle for babies. I make these with the little bits of leftovers. Two strands and always one light strand and one dark. I love the tweedy effect it gives. And because the colours are always changing, it doesn't become boring to work on.

Hexagon sweater.

I've had the light blue yarn for literally years. I remember buying it when my eldest, now 32, was a child. Eek! So I've decided to get it used up. It's a little thin so I'm pairing it with the green baby yarn to make the square a bit thicker. I came across the other two squares that I had worked on as a take-along project and then forgot about.

This is the yarn I have for the cancer caps I'll be taking to Mexico.

Crochet cotton picked up at the second hand store. The plan is to use it for embellishments on some of the darker squares.

Reeeeeeeeally old school Phentex that's been discontinued for ages. Some I bought way back when and some I found at the second hand store. This stuff is fabulous for slippers.

Bought to make myself a shawl.

Also bought to make myself a shawl. Lighter weight than the previous one and probably way more than I'll need...lol.

Baby weight.

Sport weight.

Chunky. The large ball of green on the left is actually neon green.

Textured yarn.

Christmas yarn.

Worsted weight above and below.

Some yarn I found after I got all the photos taken. Again, the green on the right is the most glorious shade of neon. Going to make a scarf for the teen aged g'daughter with that.

A 44 Qt/41.6 L tub of balls.

The KASCuddle yarn.

And here it all is, minus the WIP's and crochet cotton. Sorted by weight because that's what makes sense to me.

And I see I missed three large skeins of a nice soft worsted weight. Doesn't surprise me. You should have seen the state of my living room while I was doing this...lol.

My goal is to use this all up this year without buying more. I'll still pop into the second hand store to see what they've got. I generally don't get too lucky there as yarn gets snatched up fairly quickly. But anything I pick up will be set aside for next year. Wish me luck!  Haha!

Ok. Who's brave enough to show their stash?

Shopping Spree

I'm almost done the Spidey-ghan. My next project is a pink and black afghan for La Princesa, our 12 year old (and only) g'daughter. I had picked up some pink when I was in the city but it wasn't really as "hot" as I had wanted. So, this afternoon, I headed on over to the town down the road to hit up Walmart and see what they had.

I think the pink will be about right. Check out the colourful one on the right. I have no idea what I'm going to make with it. I just loved how bright and cheery it is so I picked it up. I'll figure out what to do with it later.

These ones will turn into a blankie for our newest g'son who will be 1 in August. His room is done in these colours. Hopefully his mom doesn't change things up before Christmas. I got the last 2 balls of brown so his blankie will be mostly yellow.

I got 5 balls of the upper one. I fell head over heels in love with the colours. It has a fine shimmery thread running through it. It's soft but not snuggly soft, if that makes sense. I might work it with a strand of white to make the colours more subdued. A friend's daughter is expecting her first baby (a girl) in September. I think this would be beautiful done up in a baby sweater, but I'm not sure how it would be received. Modern moms don't seem to use the "old school" sweaters. They all use fleece hoodies. Maybe I'll just make a blanket with it.

I only got one ball of the lower one to see how I liked working with it. It's sooo soft...like petting a kitten. I'll probably make a hat or a scarf for La Princesa.

So, there you have it. All squirreled away before Grampa can see it and complain...lol. Not that he does but he might raise an eyebrow since I already have a humungous stash. What he doesn't know won't hurt me, right?  LOL