ADVENTure: Home Decor Edition

In between knitting Christmas gifts, I've been working on a few items to decorate the home this season. 

 I've made two felted trees. The pattern is in Mason-Dixon Knitting: Outside the Lines. You can see on the larger one that I ran out of the dark green, so I combined it with a lighter green to finish it. I have a place in mind to put these, and there's enough room so that I can eventually create a whole forest of felted trees in a variety of colors. This year, I may make one more small one and call it done.

 Last winter, I began accumulating Christmas-y fabrics with a Christmas quilt in mind.

 A few years ago, Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts hosted a quiltalong.  She made one block per week, and I printed out the instructions for several of the blocks.  I don't think she has these instructions on her blog anymore--she's hosted many, many quiltalongs since then--so I am very glad that I hoarded saved the patterns.

I finished the top on Monday!  It's roughly 60" square.  I am planning on using some red and white printed flannel for the back.  I just have to go to Joann's and purchase the rest of the materials.

ADVENTure Report

My ADVENTure got off to a rough start.  I had to re-knit this cowl because it was way too big.  But then I had enough yarn left over to make these girly mitts (free pattern on ravelry). These are for my seven-year-old niece.

 And for her older brother, some mitts (which I have to finish);

 And a ribbed cowl.

A big thanks to Kristyn for getting us all excited about this year-long ADVENTure!

I'm checking out for a couple of weeks.  Happy Fourth of July!

Counting down

The kids' last day of school is next Thursday.  I am all too aware of how quickly this time will pass.

Somebody turned ELEVEN last week!

I should be outside planting flowers.  And then I should be out shopping for the third grade end-of-the-year party.

Dresden fun--sidelined indefinitely.  Maybe they'll come out in time for the 4-H fair!

And of course, there's always laundry.

ADVENTure FAIL!  Way too big for intended recipient.  Starting over...

Here I go--past the large stack of library books and out into the garden.

In Which I Reveal (Part of) My Stash

Here it is:

I can explain.  Really, all of what you see was purchased (most likely) with a birthday/Christmas gift card(s) and was purchased with a particular pattern in mind.  But I can only knit so fast, and then six months later I'm discovering quite a bit of yarn tucked away into nooks and crannies.

Let me show you what I have in mind:

So, this red I ordered last spring (I think) during the Webs April/May sale (which is going on now). I was originally going to knit the Inca Marl Ruffled Coat, but it turned into another Francis.  And since Francis only needed half the yarn, I can make another red sweater.  Right now I'm leaning toward this, but I don't have really strong feelings about it.

Next, I ordered this lovely green to make the Jali Cardigan.  But I could always be persuaded to make something else.

This navy Lopi has been languishing for over a year.  Seriously, last year I ordered maybe five skeins.  Then about six months later I ordered another four skeins.  Evidently I wanted to make something different...now I may make this into a long-sleeved Shalom cardi.  With this yarn, I want to make a "throw it on over everything because it's chilly in the house" type of sweater.  Again, not married to the Shalom--I've already mentally knit and frogged several sweaters with this yarn.

Now, this one, I am seriously committed to this pattern.  It is true love.  It is my Mount Everest of cables, and I simply must have it.  I also have strong feelings about the color. 

You may wonder why I am showing you all this delicious, warm wool just as we're heading into summer?  I am challenging myself to knit one sweater between now and September, and I'm inviting you to join me in a knitalong.  Just one sweater, with four-plus months to work on it!  Do you see a pattern you love?  Do you have any suggestions for a different one?

And lest you think I've gone off the deep end with selfish sweater knitting, there is quite a stash that I haven't shown you.  I am joining in Kristyn's ADVENTure this year--and I've ordered many skeins for that, too!

This is the first project for the ADVENTure.  The nieces and nephews will be getting cowls this year--and maybe some crazy mitts made from all my leftover half-skeins of yarn.  There will also be scarves for some of the grown relatives as well.  I plan on packing those smaller projects along for car trips and poolside afternoons this summer.

That was a LOT of linky love for a Thursday!  So now that I showed you mine, show me your stash.  What do you have planned for the needles for this summer, and are you game for a knitalong?