Recent Projects #6 - A Very Extended Break

Life got busy and crochet was set aside for a little while.

The biggest news is that I was laid off from my day job. Unfortunately, the location had closed so life got a bit topsy-turvy for a while. At the moment the job hunt is on, but I'm happily returning to crochet as life has chosen to calm down a bit. 

My mother owns a restaurant and has kindly given me the space to sell my wares, so I am gladly inspired - both by my mother's kindness and the opportunity to finally sell some things - to create as much as I am able to.

Recent Projects #5 - Sunshine & All The Bright Colours

Once again, working on a large amount of things for a craft show in a rush had tuckered me out. No surprise there! It took me some time to get things together and start crocheting again, but I'm happy I had a well deserved break.

It took some time, but it seems like our climate has finally decided that my local area is deserved of springtime weather. It's been beautiful and sunny lately. I'm so happy it's finally warming up. I think that happiness is reflecting in my projects too - it seems like I'm crocheting with all the brightest colours as of late, haha.

I've had this book, Geek Chic Crochet, for what seems like forever. I finally had an opportunity to make something from it - a simple neckerchief. It's not the fanciest of designs, but I had a friend that I owed a gift to and I thought it would be cute.

Normally her style is very boho-chic but I know we both love kitschy things from the 1950s and 60s, so I went with a rainbow look with my scraps. It ended up being used to wrap up her lunches - how cute is that?!

NaKniCroMo 2017 Results!

Not long after I decided on my projects for March, I had a happy surprise! I was chosen as a vendor for a local "nerdy" event. It's technically a cosplay sale, but nerdy themed vendors were allowed as well. This had resulted in changing my entire NaKniCroMo plans - no vintage inspired patterns for me, I had to hustle and make some nerdy things to sell! 

I am not complaining at all! I love having an excuse to make nerdy things. I am so excited to be able to sell things I like to make (didn't hate prepping for the last event, but making generic, but popular, things can be draining) and hopefully have a more successful time selling my creations. I can always work on vintage projects later in the year - sometime when the weather is warmer, maybe?

Here are a few projects I had worked on this past March.

National Crochet Month & The NaKniCroMo Challenge!!

Beginning in 1998, March has been (Inter)National Crochet Month! I'm excited to try to crochet all I can this month, as it's my first time I've ever been able to participate!

Normally this month is just a time to celebrate crochet, but I've decided to take part in a challenge as well! Some lovely people on Raverly have decided to create the NaKniCroMo challenge! Inspired by National Novel Writing Month, I presume, the goal is to knit or crochet every day. I thought this was a wonderful goal - especially since I'm still not back to crocheting every day like I have done in the past.

You can find the group here!

There aren't any strict group goals like NaNoWriMo's 50,000 words in this group. Our collective goal is simply to try to crochet every day and keep at our own personal goals! The group has also made a daily photo challenge for its participants! It's an optional task we can choose to do if we'd like. I'm not sure if I'm going to take part but I do like the idea.

My goal this month is to try to make as much vintage inspired items as I am able and also tackling my first vintage crochet pattern. I hope that I'll be able to finish each project, however I do have a history of biting off more than I can chew, haha. 

Starting today, I will be working on my little queue here in order - starting with a cute little vintage bandanna. By the end of the month, I should have some nice wearables just for me! A nice change since I feel like most of what I have done lately has been making things for others, haha.

I hope that by the end of the month I'll get everything done and also maybe even improve my crochet skills! ❤ Good luck to everyone taking part as well! 

Recent Projects #4 - December & January

These past few months have just breezed by so quickly. It's hard to believe it's already almost February. I unfortunately didn't get very much done these past few months, but I'm still glad to share with you what few things I have been able to make.

My first project of the holiday season was a Gameboy Color pillow for a gift exchange. The crowd in this particular exchange can be a bit nerdy, so I expect it to go well. I busted my butt in order to get it done in time. It was a bit of a tough pattern but I conquered in within my deadline.

I decided to make the buttons out of felt rather than crochet them, as I thought it would look a bit neater. I'm really happy with how the pillow turned out, despite a few mistakes here and there. It's a shame it was only reluctantly taken at the white elephant exchange. Now I know handmade items are not their forte. Ah well, I don't regret making it in the least.

Goodbye 2016, Hello New Year Crochet Resolutions

2016 has certainly been quite a year. I know a lot of it seemed so terrible, but there has been so many lovely things that happened this year. 

Pandas are no longer endangered!! I never thought I would see that in my lifetime. Manatee and humpback whale populations are growing as well. There were many new breakthroughs in medical research including a vaccine for Ebola and advancement in Alzheimer's prevention! World hunger has dropped and child mortality is down. This year was so, so hard but it's so nice to see that this year wasn't just really dour stuff.

(For more great things that happened in 2016, check out this wonderful list via Tumblr and this picture-laden Chive article.)