Craft Corner: Current Crochet Projects And Journaling

I’ve been meaning to talk about some of my crochet projects because it’s been ages since I’ve talked about some of the things I’ve made.  Hopefully I’ll talk about them a little more, but I don’t want to make any promises about how regular these posts will be.

One of my current projects is an Elf Hat, and the pattern can be found here.  I haven’t gone with traditional Christmas colors, but I wanted something really fun for it, and the yarn I used fit with that really well.

I’m also working on some slipper socks, and the pattern I’m using is super easy!  I really love the Caron Cake yarn, so the color blocking on it means the slippers are mismatched, but that’s okay with me, since I’m going to be wearing them at home anyway.  I’m pretty sure I can get at least one more pair out of the yarn I’m using.

I’m also working on a mermaid tail blanket, and while I can’t find the link to the pattern, it’ll be fun to work on.  I’m not very far with the pattern (as you can tell) because there’s a lot of counting in this part of it, and I haven’t had the mental energy to count.  At least for what I’d need to do for the pattern.  It’s going pretty slow right now, because I’ve been working on other things but hopefully I’ll be in more of a counting mood soon.

I also wanted to talk about journaling!  I really love journals and notebooks, and I have more notebooks than I know what to do with.  I’m really excited about this new journal I got at Mysterious Galaxy called The Severed Moon.  It’s from Leigh Bardugo, and there are prompts and quotes from all of her Grishaverse novels.  I’ve only done a couple of the prompts from it, but I’ve really enjoyed it so far.  Plus, it’s really pretty and there’s something very magical about it.

Even if it ends up being a sporadic thing, I also feel like I’ll get a lot of inspiration from it, so it might be good during NaNo when I’m stuck and need a break.  Or if I need some inspiration in my day to day life.  I’m really good at buying journals and starting them but I’m terrible at keeping up with them.  But I also really miss it because I used to do it all the time in high school and college, and then it just dropped off.  Maybe this journal will get me back into journaling more regularly.

Oh, back to crocheting really quick!  The backdrop I used for all of the photos is a blanket I made a few months ago.  Usually I just use my dining room table if I need to take pictures for the blog, but I decided I wanted to do something different.  Plus, it’s pretty and colorful and a lot easier then clearing off a table every time I want to take a picture.  I really do need/want a different set-up every time I want to take some pictures.  It’s something to think about.

That’s really of the crafting I have going on, so that wraps up today’s craft talk!

Currently Obsessed With: October 2015

Currently Obsessed With is a once-a-month feature but sometimes more feature where I talk about my favorite things from the last month.

Currently Obsessed With

It is November, which means NaNoWriMo has started!  I look forward to it every year, and I really am hoping to do at least one post about it.  I’m also going to the Night Vale live show tomorrow, and I am so excited about it! I also went to a Halloween party, and a midnight kick-off party for NaNoWriMo, and they were awesome!  I had a lot of fun, especially in my Cecil costume.

Crochet:

I crocheted things…and finished them!

Crochet- October 2015 Unicorn Hat

I made a unicorn hat, and I did have to slightly adjust the pattern- I did one less row for the hat, and I did half double crochet for the earflaps instead of single crochet.  I did the single crochet for one earflap, and thought it seemed too short, so I opted for something slightly taller.  I know the mane added some weight, and pulled it down a little, so I wonder if that’s why it was in single crochet.  But the earflaps I made are the perfect length, so I’m happy with how it worked out!

Crochet- October 2015 Headphone Hat

I also made a headphone hat, which was part of my Halloween costume, and let me tell you, it was so much easier (and cheaper!) to do than actually buying the headphones.  I considered making a microphone, but I knew that would have stressed me out, so I’m glad I didn’t make one.  Anyway, I also altered the hat a little bit- I added a row to the hat because I finished it, and it seemed a little too short, so I took out the ribbed part, added another row, and re-did the ribbed part of the hat.  Adding another row of that would have made it a little too tight.

I did learn the magic circle technique, and I can’t believe it took me so long to learn it!  I skipped over so many projects that featured it, and now I want to do all the projects that feature it.  It will make crocheting in the round so much easier.  I also learned how to do post stitches, which was hard at first, but it got easier!  The first row or two was hard, because I could never remember if I was doing a back post or front post stitch, but after that it was easier because I could actually see what stitch I was on.  I have a couple of things I want to do next, but they might have to wait until October.

Books:

I got the Night Vale book!!!!  I got it on audible, because it’s narrated by Cecil, and I can’t imagine reading a Night Vale book any other way.  But I am curious about reading a Night Vale book, so I may end up getting a copy of it. I bought a few e-books: H2O by Virginia Bergin (so I can read the ARC I have of the 2nd book), Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern, The Queen Of The Tearling and The Invasion Of The Tearling by Erika Johansen, and Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor.

Books- October 2015

I also got More Happy Than Not by Adam Silva in hardcover- I totally meant to buy the e-book and did instant purchase not realizing that it was on hardcover, and spent a couple minutes trying to figure out why an e-book was $16 when I looked at my email and realized I bought the hardcover instead of the e-book.  But I kept the book because I’m going to read it anyway, and it made no sense to me to return it.

T.V./Movies:

I’ve watched a few episodes of Arrow, and I like it enough to at least watch the first season.  I’ve also been re-watching Doctor Who- I’ve watched the season with Capaldi, because it was just added to Netflix recently.  I still don’t like Clara, and I’m not sure how I feel about Capaldi yet.

And Walking Dead…until it’s confirmed, I don’t want to believe that IT has happened.  But I’m also trying to get ready for the fact that it may have happened, because it is possible.  It’s been a week, so I’m sure you know what I’m talking about, but I also know that there may be people who haven’t seen it yet, so I’m being really vague instead of doing a spoiler alert.

Around The Internet:

You can find all of the cool stuff I find on the internet over on Pinterest.  There are way too many cool things out there!

I went down The Nostalgia Machine rabbit hole.

I can totally relate to this post about finding new favorite books.

What Should I Read Next? is an interesting book recommendation generator thing.

Booklist Online has one of the most balanced posts about Twilight I’ve ever seen.  And I really like this post over at Book Riot about Twilight.

Music:

I heard this song on the Air Raid Podcast, and I just love it!  I can’t wait until the album comes out, but in the meantime, I’ll have to check out his EP’s.

Happy November!