Blogging? People still read blogs?

It's a shock, I know! A lot of blogs I have read in the past are now defunct. I can understand, as life surely gets in the way. I look at my blog as a journal of my knitting projects with some other stuff thrown in. I wanted to keep them separate at some point, but over the years I feel like I know people just from reading their blogs. I guess it's voyeuristic, but if you put it out there, I guess it's fair game!

 A lot of bloggers I know have gone the route of Ravelry or Facebook. And that's ok! I like looking at photos on Rav and reading the updates on FB. But there is something a bit more personal about a blog, maybe more of a backstory. And I like stories!

I want to show some of my projects I've completed. It's been so long since I did any updating, I forgot a lot of the details. As I update my Ravelry page, I can't put in needle or yarn. And I know that helps some people, it's something I need to be more diligent about, I guess.

I belong to the dozen groups on Ravelry: dozen shawls, dozen neckwarmers, and dozen hats. It was my goal to knit a shawl a month, a neckwarmer (cowl), and a hat. I've been pretty busy, just not taking photos or updating.

I made the Jacques Costeau hat for the dozenhats group.

I think the yarn is Lorna's Laced Shephard Worsted Weight in the color Zombie BBQ. I had to get it just for the name! Love the colors, and since it's a beanie/watchman hat, I think it would look good on a boy or a girl.

A crocheted slouchy for my daughter. I needed a quick FO fix, so I turn to crochet when that happens. It also helps to stave off castonitis. 

I ran out of yarn for the body, so I used a solid for the brim. I made the brim quite a bit wider than the pattern called for (4 rows of sc). I really like the wider brim and the slouchy-ness of this hat. It's mostly cotton, so I don't know how warm it'll be in the winter. Maybe it'll have to be a transition season hat?

this Cowl is called Gray Loop and it's been in my queue for a loooong time. I saw this pink yarn and when it was the choice for April in dozen neckwarmers group, I knew it was time! I love the yarn, the color, and the pattern. Long infinity cowls are becoming my favorite. Unlike a scarf, you can't lose a cowl, and if it's too warm, unloop it and let it hang!

I made the hitchhiker cowl as part of instagram Kal. I love instagram. In fact, I use instagram more than I use my digital camera. My phone on my ipod takes pretty good pics, and the filters are way cool. I went stash diving for the yarn, some orange fun sock yarn! I might have to make this again in a different color, maybe a variegated.

the first real lace cowl I have made is the Rosewood One Skein. Since it was knit in March, I can't remember the yarn or needle. It was a fun knit though and I like how the edge rolls. I like the shaping, too.

And I did a test knit for an online friend. The shawl has a cable spine, so cool. Though I don't like my shawls so open and airy, this one was nice and pretty easy to knit. I used a lace yarn (Alpaca Cloud by knitpicks) and size 6 needles. I had to block this one, and blocking does make such a difference!

The last pic is a close up of the cable detail. I really really like the cable!

 I have a few more photos that I will show you, but I'll save it till next time! In the meantime, I need to start preparing for our new adventures in homeschooling. I will have 5 students this year!  Going to be busy and fun!

Until next time!