Posted in Completed Projects, Cooking

Mrs. Cactus (More thoughts on the year to come)

Posted on by mslindz

My first FO of 2009: Mrs. Cactus!

Mrs. Cactus

Pattern: Mrs. Cactus from Amigurumi World by Ana Paula Rimoli
Started: December 28, 2008
Completed: January 4, 2009
Yarn: Bernat Berella 4 – brown, orange, tan, and white
Hook: G/4.0mm
Notes: I think I’m getting better at this crochet/amigurumi thing. The finishing went much better this time around, too. Quite pleased with the overall result!

Mrs. Cactus will be joining Mr. Cactus tomorrow where she will live happily in Matt’s office.

These things are addictive and incredibly cute. I love making them! I now have 5 amigurumi books in my collection. The Borders store closest to me closed January 3rd and they were having a 40% or more off everything in the store sale, so last week I went to see what they still had left. The knitting/crochet books were pretty picked over, but I did get 4 books, including two more amigurumi books. One I’m not totally thrilled with the patterns in it, but it does explain crochet charts which completely baffle me. I bought Creepy Cute Crochet (checked out from the library and LOVED), Amigurumi Animals, Folk Shawls, and Color Style.

I have been working on my Spring Forward socks and they should be done by the end of the week. Tomorrow I’ll be going to Michael’s to hopefully get the yarn for my sister’s replacement Christmas gift – a Harry Potter scarf. It has to be acrylic and Vanna’s Choice has the perfect colors. That will be my project of focus for a while. I don’t think it should take too long to knit, really. It’s done in the round, nothing too fancy, just color changes every so many rows.

In yesterday’s mail I received the buttons I ordered from The Button Shop. I LOVE THEM. Seriously. I will so totally order from them again, the next time I need some buttons. They are beautiful! I ordered them Tuesday (late Tuesday night) and received them Saturday. Pretty fast, if you ask me :o)

4/365: Buttons

The front, darker ones, will be used for the Gable sweater. Not sure what the other ones will be used for yet, but I loved them, so ordered them. I’m sure I’ll find a use for them soon enough!

I also got the two pair of socks I ordered from Sock Dreams. No pictures yet, but I do like them quite a lot. I got really long, over the knee black ones and knee high rainbow striped ones. I have no doubts I’ll be ordering from them again! Ordered mid-day on Wednesday, arrived Saturday.

I’ve decided on another thing I’d like to add to the pile of “Things I’d Like To Do This Year.” I want to use my crockpot more and try out more recipes. So, to combine the two, I have decided to cook something in the crockpot once a week. One new recipe a week. I’m sure there will be more than just new crockpot recipes throughout the year, but this is an easily achievable goal and will continue to encourage us to eat at home. This weekend we made cabbage soup. It came out alright, but I have decided I don’t really care for celery in crockpot soups. Celery was in the last soup we made and in this one. I just don’t care for the flavor it gives everything!

Let’s see, then… what’s my list of “Things I’d Like To Do This Year” in list format?

  • Read at least 12 books this year
  • Take one photo per day (Plurk Craft 365)
  • Blog more (personal and here)
  • Do more colorwork knitting
  • Knit something that requires steeking
  • Knit more sweaters and lace
  • Wear socks that I’ve knit
  • Try one new recipe per week using the crockpot

Hm. When I put it all in a list like that, it kinda seems Big and Scary. Really, though, it’s not. My knitting group started a book club at the end of last year, so that definitely encourages me to read more. I have my Plurk friends to encourage me to take photos every day. More photos = more blogging. I already have yarn coming to me for colorwork fingerless gloves AND a colorwork sweater that requires steeking! I have two lace projects on the needles. I have a bag of socks I’ve knitting and haven’t worn. There are PLENTY of recipes on the internet for crockpots and I have books/magazines with recipes, too. So, yeah, in a list, it might look Big and Scary, but in reality, all of these things are things that I can reasonably do! :o)

I finally got caught up with people’s blogs and it’s left me feeling like there’s something I need to DO in 2009, but no clue as to what that might be. I’ve been thinking on it most of the night, considering what goals or projects or whatever might be calling me. So far, I have no idea what it might be, but I have a feeling that this year will be just as good, if not better than 2008.

Author:

I’m a thirty-something who lives in Cincinnati, OH. Crafting, for me, started young - I can’t even recall a time I wasn’t crafty in some way. My first foray into yarn was doing plastic canvas embroidery and making Barbie doll furniture. Not long after that I learned to crochet from a book my grandmother gave me after asking to learn what she was doing (she crochets, afghans mostly these days). After that, I took up counted cross stitch and then came sewing when I took two fashion design classes in high school. My mom had a sewing machine from my great grandmother and I taught myself to sew from patterns on it. I still use this same sewing machine today! I started knitting in 2004 when a co-worker was pregnant with her first child and I wanted to make something for her. I bought a “learn to knit kit” from Lion Brand for a baby hat and booties set. I did make the baby hat and booties (with very few problems) and ended up gifting them to the co-worker. I wanted to make a blanket, but I wasn’t quite able to get that done in time since it took a lot longer then I’d imagined! It wasn’t until the end of 2004/early 2005 that knitting really took a hold of me. Now I love knitting and almost always have a project with me, even if it’s just something small when I’m out and about. I like a wide range of projects depending on my mood. Sometimes I like a good challenge knit and other times I enjoy a lot of stockinette or garter stitch. I love Ravelry for keeping track of my projects and for finding new things to knit - I feel like I’m always spending time on there! It’s also a great place for getting to know other knitters, crocheters, and various fiber enthusiasts. In the fall of 2008, I purchased a spinning wheel from someone on Craigslist. It’s a Babe Fiber Starter, single treadle wheel and after a bit of trouble getting used to it, I’ve managed to spin up some fiber. In January of 2012, I found someone local that was selling their Lendrum DT and it came to live with me! The Babe now lives with Jen (aka piddleloop) and she’s learning to spin. I’m still trying to find time to spin along with knitting, crocheting (occasionally), and whatever else is going on, but I work it in here and there. I’m sure there’s something I might have left out here, so if there’s anything else you want to know about me, just ask :o)

5 thoughts on “Mrs. Cactus (More thoughts on the year to come)”

  2. I was on an amigurumi kick for awhile and was making draft dodgers. There are still more I’d like to make. Maybe this is the year for it? Also, the buttons look fabulous!
    I ordered the Color Style book too. I hope it is good!! Maybe we’ll be doing a lot of colorwork together this year! After all, we both did Gable at the same time without knowing it!

    Reply

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