Wow! How is it March already? We are starting to get the veggie garden going, which will start taking a lot of our mornings soon. So far we have planted Bok Choi and Celery in the main garden, transplanted the strawberries into their new home, planted a ton of seedlings and just direct sowed some lettuce. We have some lettuce out in the main garden that was planted last year that sprouted this spring. hehe So, we’ll have some decent lettuce in a few more weeks. I just discovered that yesterday. The Bok Choy has a pest cover on it now because we have deer and rabbits around that will eat it all. It’s already sprouted, so I wanted to protect it. The metal raised planters are all from Vego. I absolutely love them. The deck planters have pieces in the bottom that not only keep the dirt in place, but also hold water to keep the plants more consistently watered.

In the land of knitting and crochet, I am full into Sock Madness right now. Round 2 should start early next week, so I am taking the opportunity to finish some things. Last night I finished my Finding Your Way Cowl, designed by Lilinette Crochet. It’s a fantastic pattern, and I loved venturing into Mosaic Crochet. She includes both written and charted directions, so it’s a great way to learn mosaic crochet.

I also finished my Yathrib recently, designed by Arabian Knits. This is a gorgeous sweater. I absolutely love it. The pattern is so well written, and I wear this cardigan a ton.

In amongst all the knitting, crocheting and gardening, I have also had some design time. I have two hats that are about to go for testing or editing. First is my Snowflake hat. This one has different decrease charts for each size hat to give a slightly different look to each hat. Just like you would have unique snowflakes, you can get more unique hats. This one will start testing next week, hopefully.

Next is my Butterfly Garden Hat. This one just went to editing, so it’ll be a couple weeks before testing starts. This one has a double layer brim and will be warmer than a lot of my other hats.

I’m also about to get going on some sweaters. I have three that are about to go to an editor, if I can get the patterns squared away. I will start sharing those as they are off to the editor. 😀 I also have a sweater that my mom requested that I’ll be starting today. I just need to get my spreadsheet set up for sizing and things, and then I can get going on that one.

So, things are pretty busy around here. Hopefully this year I will actually keep this blog active. Thanks so much for reading!

Another sale has started! This one is for all my non Ravelry friends. I know that many people still suffer greatly from the website changes on Ravelry, and some people have just never wanted to go back. With that in mind the Fasten Off Yarn A Long (FOYAL) was created, and I was very happy to join along! There are over 90 designers participating this year, and the sale will go on until the end of the day, December 8, 2023. But, apart from the sale there is a Discord channel where everyone talks and plays games until December 31. You can find the link to the Discord channel by going to the website, How To Play, and Platforms.

If you are looking for my sale patterns, you can head over to my shop on Payhip, and if you use the code FO2023 you can get 25% off everything. I decided to list all my patterns for sale this year, so you can stock up now to knit along during the FOYAL or for later. I have to say that there are a lot of amazing patterns for sale in the sale bundles that you can access from the website, though. So, be sure to go dig around a bit, and see what others have offered.

Have fun!!

Now that Thanksgiving has come to an end, I am going full into the Gift A Long crafting. My first project is a crochet scarf called UNsquared Granny Super Scarf. This scarf is a twist on a traditional granny square and is worked in a rectangle. It’s a great project for learning how to crochet, as it has both written directions, as well as charts. I find crochet charts to be a bit confusing, so this is a great way to learn how the symbols work compared to the written directions. It’s helped a lot! It also has very simple stitches.

I also love that it’s not just a great project, but it’s great to work on while watching tv, or while travelling. I chose yarn from my stash that is from Yarn Bee. I picked a greige color, along with a darker grey. It gives a wonderful contrast and some visual interest, while staying neutral. You could very easily use more bold colors for a pop, or alternate with a different color every single round. I highly recommend checking it out!

Remember the Indie Gift A Long sale is going for a few more days, but the fun will continue until the end of December. Head over to the Ravelry group to join in the fun!

It’s that time of year again! The Indie Gift A Long has started! If you are looking for a fun community of crafters working on gifts for both themselves and others, you really should check it out. I’m a participating designer again this year. There is a huge bundle of patterns for sale from 262 designers! It ends up being over 5,000 patterns for sale! The 25% of sale runs until 11:50 EST on November 27th. So, there is still plenty of time to join in. Along with the sale, there are games being hosted and many many beautiful prizes to be won.

My favorite part of the gift a long is the atmosphere. There are so many wonderful people to chat with, patterns to peruse, new designers to find, and friendships formed. But, it has also been a way for me to reset. It can get so hectic this time of year. It’s so nice to be able to just sit back and craft without any need of finishing. While yes, there are prizes handed out along the way to some lucky finishers, there is no pressure. If I don’t get it done it’ll be there afterwards. And this part of the fun goes until midnight on December 31. So, there is over a month of just hanging out and laughing with others. All the designers are there to share in your fun and to help wherever we can. It’s also a wonderful time to try out a new to you technique. There is such a wealth of knowledge from all the participants, that if you get stuck there will be no problems in getting help. Someone will be around that knows of a video or website with great instructions. 😀

Come on over and join us!!

Here is a little picture of my Sno’ Fun Scarf to add a wee bit of visual interest. 😀