Entering 2019 like...

For the first time ever I decided to sum up a year of my life. It was a weird one, with many losses and many lessons, but I'm out of it stronger and healthier.

I started eating low-carb, lost a few pounds and a lot of visceral fat, my joints are in a much better shape (just like my ovaries), and I survived 2018 without any major depression episodes and just a couple of mild anxiety attacks (which were gone with the diet change). This year I want to work out more, stretch more, build up some muscle mass, start running (that last one was a funny one) and just generally get fitter.

Right before New Year I lost my grandpa to his third stroke. He passed away peacefully, surounded by his children. Unfortunately, I was unable to say goodbye to him but his last wishes were granted and he will always be loved and remembered by his family. This passing was, to some extent, his own decision, because his condition after two previous strokes had been torturing him and he would tell me he had gotten tired of living this way whenever we were on the phone. We had a memorial meeting yesterday and everyone was recalling how kind, generous and amazing grandpa had been. And he always will be.

I parted with a few friends, a boyfriend and a man I had been dreaming of all my life that year, too. People come, teach us and leave when it's their time. They taught me to respect myself, stand my ground and be who I am without trying to please someone else. And that's been the most valuable lesson I've learnt so far. Also, weave in the ends as you go. I made new friends, as well, and have been enjoying our communication very much.

I started a mindful low-waste journey. There have been things I adopted earlier, but that year I paid more attention to what I do, buy and how I use things. I switched to reusable bags, water bottle, menstrual cup, bamboo toothbrushes and cotton buds, to glass containers and used books; I reuse plastic ziplock bags and wait for the silicone ones to arrive; I have never bought much clothes and donated a lot last year, too. I plan to start crocheting beautiful things for the low-waste journey for myself and others in 2019 and, hopefully, collaborate with some eco shop.

In 2018 I made:
- 1 pair of socks,
- 2 bunnies,
- 1 pair of slippers,
- 1 table runner,
- 4 placemats,
- 2 zombies,
- 2 Batmen,
- 2 small Earl dogs,
- 2 large Earl dogs,
- 1 blouse,
- 2 cowls,
- 1 Lost in Time shawl (the 2nd one is coming),
- 4 hats,
- 1 Stripey,
- 2 Stygimolochs,
- 2 afghans,
- 14 piglets.
44 finished objects all in all (if I haven't forgotten any).

I finished my Sunshine blanket eventually! 1 month short of 3 years. And I'm taking a break from large projects. It weighs over 8 lbs (almost 4 kg) and measures over 7'3 (2.2 metres) across and doesn't fit anywhere. But it looks so darn good.

I also found a couple of unfinished tits from many years ago. They need finishing this year. Definitely.

Pig recap / WIP update

I had a little staycation and it was really productive. I managed to finish all the pigs, the large ones named after my favourite characters, Scout, Jem, Boo and Dill.

Scout is on the way to his new home in Minnesota. The rest of the gang are waiting for their new owners.

The accessorized piglets were finally finished, as well. The funny thing is, the garments match exactly their owner. I tried to change their hats and scarves, even coats, and they didn't look well on other pigs. Here are Josh, George and Fred and my little Lappi boy, Jukka.

 

 

I also made a Stripey. That's my first ever designed toy and the design is turning 10 next summer (the pattern is much younger, though). This one is pretty scrappy, but I really like it. And there's a bunny in the backpack!

I love autumn, but this year I've been enjoying every single bit of it, including drizzle, frost, dull skies. Probably, it's just the result of my emotional change and acceptance.

This year I'm participating in the design contest. I've been avoiding all sorts of challenges since my Circus design failure (remember Ivan?), but this time I'm ready. It's not about winning or getting publicity, it's about dinosaurs and my love for them. Those contests somehow match my crojo, drive and ideas but I usually end up frustrated and anxious without anything completed at all. However, I made up my mind to make a small collection of unusual and/or under-represented crocheted dinos.  The first one - going to the contest - is Stygimoloch spinifer!

I managed to balance it on 3 points (if you want to keep it seated on a bed, shelf, desk or in the armchair) by adding a chenille wire into the tail. The rest of the body is not wired since I wanted to make it playable for most ages.

I will eventually write the pattern, but this time I set no deadlines and prioritize the destash and finishing of the WIPs, so, no actual date of the release is known.

Speaking of the WIPs, my Sunshine Blanket is nearing its end. It's been my opus magnum, my Dark Tower, Lord of the Rings and War and Peace. It began in 2016 with the Dandelion mandala and border, Quatrefoil pillow, continued with a bit of Sophie's Universe and River, and it's rounding up with Havana.

It's enormous!

16 rounds are left plus the assembly and some border, but I hope to finish it before Christmas.

What's on your hooks these days?

Now or never

Unfortunately, the most usual thing about me is screwing deadlines. Especially, the crafty ones. Especially, the ones I set for myself. When there is no dependence on outside circumstances, I'll screw it. I was going to finish the piglets a week after the post - along with the lapghan - and I didn't. The pigs aren't yet dressed up, but I still have something to show you.

First, here's my stash buster, Speckled Squares Blanket by Jackie Hodson. It turned out, my stash was too small for a decent full-size afghan, so, I got a lapghan of approx. 84 by 112 cm (or 33" by 44"). Now it requires a rocking chair, a house with the terrace in the north (for the rocking chair), Autumn and hot cocoa.

I ran out of some colours in the process and decided to needle-felt something of a similar shade. It looks pretty nice even after washing in the washing machine. No seams, no knots - perfect.

 

You can grab the pattern or a kit (when they are restocked) here:

Speckled Square Blanket

Back to the pigs, I got the whole gang assembled. Just look at them!

  

If they don't make you silently "awww", then I don't know what wrong is with you, cold-blooded, ice-hearted humans!

I managed to dress 2 of them before the double-sided Tunisian hook got me captivated.

 

Which actually resulted in a human-size slouchy hat, to match the piggy someone might want to adopt. I was planning to try finished items on Etsy once again. So, all of them will go to my shop soon (unless you are eager to get them before the official shop restock, then just leave a comment).

 

      

So, tonight I'm back to the pig accessorizing and I hope to finally finish all coats, hats and scarves!

Tampere and amigurumis

I've become a rare guest here. For a number of reasons. The main one, I haven't designed anything new so far and has been destashing with someone else's patterns. However, I have plans for upgrading some of my old patterns with new pictures or just pictures (yep, Boho Fingerless Gloves are the first on the list) and, probably, editting.

Meanwhile, I went on vacation guess where. Finland!!! Yes, again. Yes, I love it. The destination was Tampere this time.

 

Those views are hard to compare to anything. Lakes and forests are what always pleases my heart and eyes. And Piggy enjoyed them, too.

Just look at those little wild strawberries we found in the middle of the city. He enjoyed meeting Moomin, his family and friends as well. 

Unfortunately (or fortunately), I didn't take many photos, but there are plenty of videos over on my IG.

I really loved some obscene contemporary porcelain statues which I can't help sharing.

And eventually there was a day in Helsinki with street food at Kauppatori and tram rides, and blackbirds at night, and late night crochet.

During my trip I finished a cowl, started another and partly made 13 piglets. There has been a little pig detox going, thus, I'll show the finished amis in a week or so along with the finished detox object.

Right before the trip I managed to finish 7 amigurumis in about a month (which is a lot for me). I've been really inspired for a while and it was pretty mild/cold for the summer to crochet. So, here they are:

 

I can now officially state that I'm not a mere pattern hoarder and that I actually used at least a third of the patterns I bought/downloaded.

In case you want to make similar amis for yourself, here are the links to the patterns (all of them can be bought from Ravelry, Batman and Pocket Earl Dog are free):

1. Pocket Earl Dog by MoRAmadePattern

2. Earl Dog by MoRAmadePattern

3. Zombie Boy by Mila Kralina

4. Batman by Serah Basnet

Speaking of crochet I could really touch upon my overall well-being. After finishing the said amis and packing the yarn for the trip, I realised that my left arm would hardly move. All of my joints were sore. I would pick up the pan lid and drop it because my fingers would be unable to hold it. 

The solution came unexpectedly (like, literally, all best things in my life): I subscribed to the Mobility Flow week by Dr. Jen Esquer. And it worked miracles. Bye-bye, carpal tunnel syndrome, hope we'll never meet. Since then it has become part of my daily, and especially, crocheting routine. To help my joint and nerve pain (not crochet related), I decided to add a low-carb diet to the stretching, aiming at 20 to 30 g of carbs a day. 3 weeks into it I can say that it's been one of my best decisions so far. A sugarholic has stayed away from sugar for 3 weeks and going strong. I won't demonize sweets, as I will return them to my diet again at some point, but the unhealthy addiction is gone. I walk past the ice-cream and don't buy any, no chocolate, no cookies, almost no fruit. And no feeling of deprivation. To crown it all, as I go down or up the stairs, my knees still click but don't hurt, yay!

I'll keep you posted!

crocheting vs knitting

I have recently bought over a kilo of kids' cotton yarn for 2 garment projects.

The upper row of off-white cotton was going to become a light springy pullover, which I planned to finish before May holidays.

It was supposed to be something very simple: simple 3/4 raglan sleeves, plain stockinet.  I bought knitting needles and decided to refresh my skills. The pullover grew very slowly. About a fortnight of morning drives to work and several lunchtimes allowed me to almost finish the back. I actually started the raglan part yesterday. The stitches weren't very neat, but blocking should've corrected that. Anyways, it looked airy and light - just what I wanted.

Until I discovered a mistake in the raglan part. 5 rows below the one I was working on... Taking into account that I had already slipped a stitch in the front part and had to fix it on a different set of needles with more adventures, well... This time I didn't cry or threw tantrums, I just pulled out the needles and made two tight balls to straighten the thread.

Yesterday evening I picked up one of the Japanese pullovers from my to-do list and in an hour with Dean and Sam managed to finish a decent part of the hem. Let it be airy but lacy, it's its fate then.

That was a little reminder to myself why I DON'T FREAKING KNIT!

Bunny McCarrots: tests and mistakes

I usually make 2 or 3 prototypes for a pattern: it starts with the inspiration and a rough hand-written sketch, then a model plus the yardage, and the third one is worked for the pattern photos. So, it was time for the second Bunny to check the pattern, make corrections and measure the amount of yarn. The thing is, the yarn I use in most of my projects is a wool blend in DK weight, but the factory has recently changed the manufacturing process and the acrylic they have used since 2015 makes the thread thicker. And I have both the old and new yarn. I took the skein in pearl-grey and a hook and started making the head and body parts. Hmm.. The head turned out to be a bit, no, not a bit, just bigger. I blamed it on yarn, as it contained the high-volume acrylic. But when I turned to the outfit details, which used the earlier manufactured yarn, the parts looked really loose. I stuffed the legs and body and - yep - the stuffing was peeking through. Hmm.. never happened before.. unless.. And here I checked the hook. Holy cow.. It was 3 mm instead of 2.5 mm. Most of my hooks look the same, differing in the plates with the size numbers, and I had the same models for these 2 sizes. So, I just didn't check the digits. A real facepalm. His face is less sweet and less kawaii, because his head is bigger.. And it's a disaster..

My son isn't keen on making things (which is strange taking into account his crafty parents), so I registered him for a Christmas tree contest at school. Quite a logical momma. I saw a nice idea on Pinterest: cardboard trees covered with paper. They were so cute that I decided to take them as a model. My mistake. We were cutting paper and gluing it all Saturday evening (yeah, I managed to get the kid involved in cutting. Give him a pair of scissors and he will move the world). And on Sunday morning it was a complete disaster, wavy and messy.. All day I was trying to make something up. We needed to redecorate the trees and make them look neat and, at the same time, crafted by a child, something easy and viewy. My only strong suit is yarn. So, let it be yarn. And buttons. And bells. And beads. And a bit of cotton for snow. Some juvenile labour. And some colour correction. So, here they are.