Funk is the Worst

I admit to having been an absolute lazy bum these past couple of weeks. I've been in a funk and it's been hard to snap myself out of it. I've only done a couple of rows on Celestarium. But after seeing Vi's lovely Age of Brass and Steam on the blocking board, I think I've finally found some motivation.

Friggin gorgeous, man.

In my last post, I talked about wanting to make Beans some pj's.

Well....

He does look rather dashing in them.

I mean, look at that adorable pair of pants!

Beans is such an awkward shape, though, that I had to really just kind of improvise and hope for the best. Thankfully, that's something I'm really good at, and I'm pretty proud of the results.

Beans helped me pick out some yarn at the pj party.

I actually ended up returning the yarn the following week. I was just not happy with how it was working up. I am just NOT a fan of acrylic in any form, apparently.

Beans also met some pretty cool kids.

The following weekend was Harps and Thistles Spring Clearance sale. I was mostly good and only bought a few things.

Abode 100% merino wool from Berrocco.

Classic Elite's Villa, a bamboo/baby alpaca blend.

Malabrigo Finito in one of my favorite colorways.

1/2 and 1/2 flame which is half wool and half milk fiber. It's pretty nifty!

Sarah will be so proud. As you can see, I only bought two skeins of green yarn! Apparently, my new fixation is red.

I also got my new shipment of the Madeline Tosh yarn club color in.

They hit it out of the park with this one.

Emily's already told me I'm making something for her with it.

Well, guess I better keep my motivation vibe up and actually do some stuff.

A Little Break to Make Little Things

I realize that I don't post finished objects here very often. It's the problem when you're pretty much exclusively a shawl maker. They take such a long time to do. And when you're actually knitting them, it can start to weigh down on you.

Yes, the process of knitting can be soothing, but once in a while you need to actually have a finished object in your hands to feel some form of validation. So, I took a break from the shawls and made three small, easy projects.

Remember that yarn I said I had to dye because it was the wrong color? Well, it came out beautifully. I had bought it with a bandana cowl pattern specifically in mind for it.

Did I mention it's going to be a day of bad pictures? And yes, I know I need to clean my mirror.H

The pattern itself was altered significantly. I had to do decreases on every row rather than every other as was written. If I wouldn't have done that, I would have run out of yarn. Besides, with my short little self, it would have hung down to my nethers, assuming that it would have fit over my chest.

I also took some time to make Alex something she's been asking for repeatedly.

Say hello to Mini Mini Jaws. Mini for short. This little dude was knit with some Knit Pick's Wool of the Andes. He only took me an hour or so. And the best part is she actually really likes him.

Then I decided I was going to be an epic jerk and knit Emmy a spider, of which she is deathly afraid. But it was going to be a cute spider and she wouldn't be able to resist!

I used a bamboo silk blend that Mikayla had bought me for Christmas. And, well, let's just say that Mr. Spider never made it to my sister.

I'm super proud of the mandibles I added to his face. The original pattern only had two eyes and a smooth face. I don't think I could describe just exactly how I did it, but it worked, so yay for me!

I love more realistic looking plushies, but didn't have enough room for 8 eyes. I figured four was a good compromise.

You can see them a little better here.

I've named him Manny and have added him to my collection of amigurumi.

Having actually gotten some things done, I feel rejuvenated and actually excited to work on my shawls again. I managed to burn through about 20 rows of Celestarium the other day. I've got 7 rounds left of Chart E and then it's the increase row for Chart F. Which is going to take me up to 576 stitches per round.

Yeah, so that excitement just left me...

I've also been on a huge cleaning kick (don't fall over dead, mom and grandma) and decided to finally tackle the two rooms in the house that were completely inaccessible due to a large volume of junk.

One of these rooms is destined to be my personal library. Y'all, I'm so giddy about that, let me tell you! The problem is that I'm now on the hunt for a chaise lounge and they are friggin expensive! Even the used ones. So, uh, if anyone knows of a good deal on one within an hour of me, I'd really appreciate the info.

While cleaning, I happened upon my drop spindle and some crappy roving that I had bought forever ago. I gave it a whirl (heh) and ended up with some not terrible yarn. It's a lot thinner than what I've ever been able to do before, which makes me really happy.

Did I mention this is my super fancy spindle because I can't not use pretty things when I make stuff?

I spun and spun and spun until I was tired and just wanted to go to bed. Which is what I get for spinning at 11pm but there you go. I thought I had a decent amount done. When I wound it I ended up with a whopping.... 13 yards.

Yeah.

It's about enough to make a hexipuff, which is where it's heading, I think.

Oh! Managed to win some free yarn in a contest.

It's so soft and squishy and makes me so happy.

Tomorrow night is the next pj party, so methinks it's time for Beans to make an appearance with a new set of spiffy pajamas of his own...

Guess I've got my plans for the day.