GG May ~ A Severe Lack of Mojo

I think somehow we all fear titles like that. In my case, it's thankfully not a lack of crafting mojo, just blogging mojo!  I think a lot of it is the mowing schedule, or lack thereof.  We've been having scandalous amounts of rain here and it's basically turned into mowing whenever it's dry enough to get out... and that usually means the whole yard in one day because the grass is growing so fast!  Which absolutely exhausts me and reminds me I'm not kid anymore, hrmph.  And that one day is enough to throw all the others off kilter!  Guess I'm a creature of habit.  Let's just dive right into the Gorgeousness of the Gifted world, shall we~?

click for more info!

before

after

I feel like I had decent progress on this huck towel but when I think the last update was March... well... But another flower has bloomed and this one confused me excessively while working on it. I print the black-and-white versions of these patterns it did NOT make sense! At least, not until I started stitching it and realized the flower is facing "away"!  If you need reminding, this counts for GG because the huck towel itself was a gift from TiffStitches and makes use of some floss gifted to me by my husband~

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before

after

There's also been a bit more progress on the double-knit potholder, enough that you might have an educated guess what the motif is now!  This has been a nice project to take along to places where I know I'll have a good sit down time.  Maybe next update there will be enough to flip up and show the backside and what this double knitting is all about!  This little creation will be a gift for a friend.

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image found through Google search

Lastly, the giveaway part!  Both old and new this time as I didn't get up my regularly scheduled "everything else" post at the end of April/beginning of May.  I had a whopping five entrants last time (I suspected a Victoria Sampler would be popular).  The random number generator chose #1 who is Elfie, congrats!  I do not have your address so we'll need to get into contact with each other.

Those Darn Accessories

This time the chart is charmingly titled "Those Darn Accessories" by Hillside Samplings.  This is a rather nice primitive design chart featuring a cute sampler-like sewing case about darning over eggs... and what we say today haha.  The little pincushion is in this chart as well.  There were other items that matched this set floating about out there; I think you can still purchase "That Darn Basket" pattern but I don't know about the scissor keep.  This giveaway is just for the accessories chart!

Gifted Gorgeousness Giveaway Guidelines

1. Be a minion follower (upper right corner of my blog)!  Feedly, bloglovin', etc. do not count as there is no way to show it!  I am sorry; blame blogger for this one.
2. Comment and tell me you would like to be included in the drawing!
3. Open worldwide! 
4. No winning twice in a row (example: the winner of June's drawing would not be eligible for July's).
5. Closing date: May 29th, 2019 23:59 CST.

Okay, that's all folks! I've been trying to get this post typed for two weeks now, whenever I got the chance to sit down at the computer. Makes it hard when you just want to zone out instead hah!

March GG ~ A Flower Blooms

Hello, world!  Spring is trying valiantly to take over, but winter is still fighting hard.  There have been more warm days than cold so I will count that as a win!  My daffodil sprouts are now about 3" tall and I can see the line of them from the house. :D  Of course, March has really roared in like a lion and we're experiencing some crazy high winds.  I hope to stays true to the adage and goes out like a lamb!

click for more info!

before

after

I worked a bit more on the Flower of the Month towel and managed to coax one of the flowers to bloom, complete with its backstitching.  More greenery has also sprouted along with the flower! The after picture is a bit dark; days of gloomy rain don't make for the greatest picture taking.  This particular flower counts for GG because the towel is a gift from TiffStitches and there's a bonus gift of floss from my husband after I discovered I was somehow missing one skein.

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Calico Crossroads - Furever

And here is giveaway number three; apologies for the somewhat dark photo! This is an older and really sweet Calico Crossroads pattern, and one of their colored ones to boot! (I'm used to their black and white kitties.)  It has the pattern for the scissors finder which would also double as a cute little pincushion.  This is a totally clean chart, apart from the thrift store sticker on the front.

Gifted Gorgeousness Giveaway Guidelines

1. Be a minion follower (upper right corner of my blog)!  Feedly, bloglovin', etc. do not count as there is no way to show it!  I am sorry; blame blogger for this one.
2. Comment and tell me you would like to be included in the drawing!
3. Open worldwide! 
4. No winning twice in a row (example: the winner of March's drawing would not be eligible for April's).
5. Closing date: March 29th, 2019 23:59 CST.

I ran into some slight drama mailing out the previous giveaway pattern.  I send just the chart in the padded envelope, no little goodies that sometimes come along with giveaways.  The clerk at the post office insisted that, though the pattern was paper (or rather, cardstock), it wasn't paperwork and so, needed to be charged at a different rate.  Something that normally costs around $3 was going to cost $15.  I guess the clerk could tell I was most confused with this sudden multiplication of shipping charges and called a manager up -- who overruled the clerk and the pattern went on its merry way for the original rate.  I get where the clerk was coming from (since it's not paperwork) but this was the first time this has ever come up in all my history of past giveaways!

I suppose one way of getting around it entirely would be to fold the patterns and put them in a regular envelope but I'd really like to avoid doing that.  Have any of you run into this weird shipping dilemma?  This only applies to shipping outside of the USA.

Kind of sparse this month!  I did manage to finish the knit hot water bottle cover and went on an adventure with a thrifted find.  Those will be tales for the next post, along with the winner announcement~  G'luck and until then!  :D/

Random #1: Winner and Deliciousness!

Well now! January left me behind and it's February! I guess I'd better get my random post in before it turns to the next GG already. I do hope February will be a bit warmer on average; so far we're starting abnormally warm (I may even have windows open today!) after a week of terribly cold temperatures.  Of course, it will be back to Winter later this week.

image found through Google search

First up, the winner from last month's giveaway of the cute snowman by Homespun Elegance.  There were two entrants and the random number generator chose comment number one: Ariadne!  Yay!  Please let me know your address and I'll have it posted out at some point~

a pile of string

I've been working on a few items of interest, and this one doesn't get included in the GG posts.  It is affectionately grumpily known as the "rats nest" -- a veritable pain in the tuchus of a knit!  I'm trying to be somewhat mindful of our household waste production and plastic bags are up there with being everywhere when going shopping!  I have plenty of cold sacks and cloth bags for regular groceries.  This little bag will be for loose produce when it's complete.  It's very light and airy and is making good use of the mountain of crochet thread I have hoarded stashed.

little more open

I really love the idea of this project but I think I am just far too tight of a knitter to function well with magic loop method. :(  It leaves huge ladders between the "loops", not large enough to be a problem but they are noticeable.  Plus the random mistakes that would be a nightmare for me to pull out... I will finish it out of pure stubbornness and then find some other pattern to battle!  I had hopes of loving it and making it for gifts but alas, not this pattern.

This does make me sad because it limits my options of knitting smaller things.  I am fine knitting in the round or flat.  Maybe I should really focus on mastering double points (they still leave ladders too, though).  Bah!  Not every crafting endeavor turns out well.

we have a stem/leaf!

I also started the next Flower of the Month stitch, October's calendula (marigold).  I seem to be missing one of the colors in this despite it being marked as "owned" in my spreadsheet, hmm.  I have no other projects containing it so it is a mystery where this bobbin got to! 

his

hers

Totally random:  These scrumptious milkshakes were from a local ice cream shop. Oh, they were so delicious.  The one on the left is a cookies 'n' cream shake with chocolate dipped Oreo cookies and other deliciousness.  The one on the right is a vanilla bean shake with chocolate dipped strawberries and other deliciousness.  They are served in pint-sized mason jars with the rim dipped in chocolate.  My husband didn't want to waste a single second taking photos of them and dove right in ahaha.  It was a wonderful treat for us and totally counted as lunch, right? :)

it's possibly a thing

Lastly, there's this little teaser for the next GG.  Until then!  :D/

November GG ~ Secrets

Howdy, everyone!  It's such a busy time of year and I've been feeling under the weather for weeks now. Not sick, just exhausted and blah! They've finally harvested the fields around us so I could start the deep fall (winter?!) housecleaning. It normally would've been done months ago, but I didn't realize they would wait so long to harvest the soybeans (it was a terrible year for them here).  So, I've been hanging out our windows caulking gaps and scrubbing everything inside and out. That had to be put on hold as it turned cold and we've already had our first significant snow (very early for this area).  I'm hoping for a brief warmup so I can finish up the outside caulking!  Whew. I'm pretty sure I've unearthed enough fur to make another cat. How does it get everywhere?!  Maybe I should save it and spin it into yarn!

click for more info

Anyway, onto the Gifted Gorgeousness, the SAL where we work on gifts, gifts to be given or gifts received or gifts slid in by the magic of Shoehorn Power!

before

after

After getting back from Grandma's, I feel like all my crafting has taken a nosedive!  There's just a bit more on the last side of the MH3U cube for my husband.  I love that blue but we've seen the end of it in this piece, alas~  It's the giant tail left and then I really need to figure out how to actually finish-finish this piece into a cube without ruining it, eek!  I've been toying around with some ideas but I dunno if I can pull them off.  We'll see~

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I actually have some other work complete but it will have to wait for a somewhat large January GG post as they're going to be Christmas gifts!  Instead, here is another Flower of the Month huck towel completed.  This was one of the projects I took with me to my grandmother's house.  This is not GG unless it's a gift for myself for finally being done, hooray!

before

after

Technical Details

• "September: Aster" freebie pattern by Ellen Maurer-Stroh, found here.
• 2-over-1 on a 14-count ecru huck towel.
• Finished size: 4.5" x 4.5" (11,50cm x 11,50cm).
• Started October? ??, 2017, finished October ??, 2018, unknown hours.

I was not very good at keeping details for this stitch.  But sheesh, a year is too long for one of these.  I just wasn't into this particular flower for some reason.  October will be the calendula -- most readily known here as a marigold!  I tend to like yellow-y flowers so I hope it will go faster.  And as a bonus, it will count for GG as I will make use of the huck towel sent by Tiffany at Tiffstitches!  :D  I have yet to find the two remaining towels in any store, at least in the ecru color.  Even eBay is weirdly pricey for these.  JoAnn's still carries them online, so I will hopefully be able to make use of their free shipping and 40% coupon combo that usually happens this time of year.  Fingers crossed!

just three more!

Since it was another "third", here is where the completed collection now stands.  They all look so happy together!

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Lastly, here's another giveaway!  It's a little late for Christmas stitching this year (though I know a few of you are fast enough hah) but I hope you enjoy this piece.  The chart is clean and actually doesn't look like it's ever been used (this was a thrift store find!).

Prairie Schooler #109: Starry Night

I love the color scheme in this leaflet; it's so serene.  There are seven different designs depicting the Star of Bethlehem and the Nativity and they would make lovely ornaments.  I'll ship anywhere in the world~

Gifted Gorgeousness Giveaway Guidelines

1. Be a minion follower (upper right corner of my blog)!  Feedly, bloglovin', etc. do not count as there is no way to show it!  I am sorry; blame blogger for this one.
2. Comment and tell me you would like to be included in the drawing!
3. Open worldwide! 
4. Closing date: November 29th, 2018 23:59 CST.

Thanks for reading this edition of Ishkabibble Babble and good luck to anyone entering! \:D/

June GG ~ Side #5 is a Finish!

Allo there, folks~  Thank you for all your reassurances last post that "appy" is quite fine where it is!  I am currently waiting for the sparkly red floss to finish the fireworks.  I could not find it in any store, anywhere!  I was going to order it online but they wanted four times the price of the floss for shipping -- lol no.  I am patient and attentive to sales so I know there would be a free shipping coupon at some point.  Luckily within the week!  It took quite a while to ship as I just received it yesterday.  I haven't even found time to bobbinate it let alone use it.

Anyway, on to the giftedness!

click for more info

before

after

Hooray! The fifth side of the Husband Cube is finished!  Narg wound up with a lot of pleasant-to-stitch colors but really seemed to take forever.  I guess because there weren't any little patterns in his large blocks of color like the others had.  And the tail was suitably a pain in the tuchus just like in-game.

Technical Details

• "Nargacuga" glyph from Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, pattern charted by me.
• 2 over 1 on 20-count light tan jobelan fabric.
• Finished size: 3.50 x 3.50" (9 x 9 cm).
• Started: March 29, 2018, Finished: June 8, 2018, unknown hours.  

and then there were five

Next up, the final side!  It will be Ceadus which wasn't originally planned for ???? reason.  Poor guy, he's even a flagship monster in the game; dunno why we didn't immediately think of him.  His pattern is a little creepy but looks really interesting to stitch.  As a bonus for a cube finish, it won't matter which way Ceadus faces -- he's an underwater battle and goes whichever direction suits him best hah.

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Not for GG, but I wanted to squish in a little progress on September's Aster somewhere. It may be September before I finish this one hah.

before

after

At least one flower (and bud) is finished! Maybe the other will bloom a bit faster.  I think I've achieved acceptance on the orange center.  Or at least laziness.  :D

Re: Blogger Comment Fiasco --  I will be doing the "Notify Me" version of the comments on my blog.  If I don't have/can't find your email address, I will reply directly to the comment.  I didn't have this set up on the last post so if you haven't received a reply from me, it's because none were sent!  This whole thing is really silly and I hope that it's soon fixed.

Next up will probably be for the Smalls SAL if I can rummage up another little piece out of my digital stash.  Still not quite feeling Christmas!  See you folks next time for another edition of Iskabibble Babble~  \:D/

February GG ~ No Shoehorns Necessary

Hello again; I hope you all haven't Valentine'd yourselves into a chocolate coma. Or maybe you have and that's a good thing.

click for more info

It's (already) time for the next Gifted Gorgeousness!  I promise to behave myself this round and not shoehorn everything in ahaha (though the birdhouse totally fit).

First up, I received a wonderful package in the mailbox from Crafty Rahenna.  I've always wanted some DMC floss cards for when I make my own patterns.  I had just talked to my husband about them, wondering if it would be possible to make some of my own with bits of floss.

YAY!

I've already used them as I charted up the next side for the Monster Hunter cube (a GG regular) and they make things so much easier than digging through the floss boxes!  I especially love the one with the actual bits of floss.  Thank you so much, Rahenna~ \:D/

Since I finished the little bird house at the end of January I needed to hunt up something else to work on as the cube side has yet to be printed.  To the craft hoard storage!

brown squares

You can totally tell what this is, right?  What if I told you it was another bird (why is this turning into a birding year?) because it totally looks like a bird.  This little one is from a giveaway I won waaaaay back at the end of 2012 from Mii Stitch (where did her blog go?!).  I loved this pattern the moment I received it though it has certainly taken me a while to get around to it, especially since I totally fell off the map in 2013.

I am going to change it a little bit, maybe.  I'm using the supplied floss which has remarkable coverage capabilities but is darn near impossible to railroad.  I do wish American crafty magazines would supply such fun bonuses though!  The fabric is plain white Aida but the setting sun decided to "dye" it for the picture.

Next, I worked on a few more centers for the long-neglected Speaker Cozies.

spokes

It's been a while since they were last worked on (September of 2016, ergh).  They are a good choice for craft meetups so I think I'll keep bringing them, at least until I have another full doily (or two) complete.

Lastly, this is not for GG but I wanted to stick it somewhere as I don't do many posts a month.  Here is a little more progress on the Flower of the Month's September Aster.  I think I spent just as much time unstitching the lightest purple as I did stitching it.  I am a Distractable Do-er.

before

after

At least the glaring orange is pretending to moderate with the other purples coming in, thank goodness.  I'm still not 100% convinced it's the right color but I'm still giving it the benefit of doubt!

Okay, I think I've babbled all I can (not really but I'll stop).  My Ravellenics is Really Slow this year.  I've been having some weird days for the past couple of weeks.  I think my flu shot is protecting me... mostly.  Let's all hope it continues to do so!

An Eclectic Ensemble

I did!

Howdy, y'all! Thanks for all the interest in the blog hop post. I'm glad you guys like Frosted Pumpkin cuties too! I figured I'm well overdue for a crafty recap that doesn't have to do with holiday stuff so let's take care of that, shall we~? :D

before

after

First up, I finished the next side to the Monster Hunter cube, Zinogre the lightning doggy!  I rather like how this guy turned out.  (Have I said this about all of them? ;b)  I was worried about the lightest color blending in too much with the fabric but it turned out to have just enough texture to make it subtly pop.

Technical Details

• "Zinogre" glyph from Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, pattern charted by me.
• 2 over 1 on 20-count light tan jobelan fabric.
• Finished size: 3.50 x 3.50" (9 x 9 cm).
• Started: July 6, 2017, Finished: September ??, unknown hours.  

I'm pretty sure this is a hunt

Four sides down!  Next up is Nargacuga, the hyper catbat.  I haven't started him yet; I'm not even done tweaking the chart for him!  He will be a rather dark stitch as I'm trying to keep to the main species and not the subs (this will present a problem for the last stitch).

I promise this is a flower

I have also started the next Flower of the Month -- September's Aster.   I'm still not enthusiastic over this one but it's not too terrible to stitch.  I snack on it on occasion but that has tapered off with all the holiday crafting.  I do not like that jarring orange center.  I am leaving it until the rest of the flower is stitched to see if it becomes less InYourFace but I am not hopeful!  Luckily it's only a few stitches that will need replaced if need be!

sunflower coaster

I'm kind of proud of this one.  I couldn't find a crochet or knitted sunflower pattern to suit my needs, so this was my first attempt in cobbling something from nothing!  I had to learn how to crochet the crocodile stitch (which, if you're interested, consumes a LOT of yarn), plus learn how to do it in the round.  For a first attempt, it turned out fairly well.  It's made of cotton yarn so it should work well as a coaster, though I'm not sure the recipient is using it as such!  I do wish I had written down ANYTHING about what I did for this pattern haha.  I'm not sure I could recreate it, though I think I'll give it a try at some point not-Christmas time.

front - front, back - back

I feel like I've been doing an awful lot of knitting lately too.  These are "star stitch" washcloths made as part of a Christmas present!  YAY I AM ALMOST TIMELY.  Also it is a good thing I started these rather early as the star stitch is torture for us poor tight knitters and these take me quite a while to make.  It does lovely things to variegated/ombre yarn, though, and that is why I chose this particular stitch pattern.

close up of the action

I have two more I'm going to make in "winter" colors.  I might make some for myself, but they can wait until after Christmas!  I did both a crochet cast on and bind off which have quickly become my favorite ways to start and end a knit project!  My tension is a bit better with them so they are looser, creating the slightly scalloped border on both edges.  Very much would recommend!

There was a minor annoyance with this yarn.  I bought the first skein at Michael's and it was 2oz.  This was enough to finish one cloth, plus about 7/8ths of the next one.  I bought the second skein at JoAnn's and it was 3oz!  Ugh.  3oz would've been enough to finish both, in the same dyelot (you can't tell the join on the second cloth though), with only a bit left over.  Now I have almost a full skein left to do ???? with.  I was a little grumpy over this.


Technical Details

• "Star Stitch" cloths, knit, pattern found here (free!) on ravelry.
• My ravelry project page found here.
• Cotton yarn: Lily's Sugar n' Creme in coral seas ombre.
• Size 9 (5.5mm) needles, plus a crochet hook for cast on/bind off.
• Started: October 28, finished November 10, unknown hours.  

Lessons Learned

• Crochet bind off.  
• Better tension control for purling! (!!!!)
• Where to buy yarn, bah.

I think that's all with crafts that I can show right now.  I have some small projects on the crochet hook which are turning out quite fun and really cute.  Plus I have another Christmas present on a different set of needles.  Plus plus I have some holiday cross stitch in the works.  Plus plus plus it's almost Cookie Time!!  I'm so happy to be excited about Christmas this year. :)

nyaa-p time

And even though it has nothing to do with anything I made but LOOK AT MY NEW PAJAMAS.  I don't impulse buy very often but I had to have these instantly, pink or no pink.  How can I ignore sleepy kitties and yarn balls!  These are seriously adorable and very comfy too.  They were brand new with tags, in a thrift store no less, so I got them for a whopping $6.  :D

helping

This entire post could've counted for Gifted Gorgeousness, haha.  I look forward to joining in again next year!  I hope you all have a wonderful time and those of you in the US, have a Happy Thanksgiving!  I don't have to cook for it this time.  \:D/

I Picked Up a Small Needle!

Hallo, world!

After the ceaseless whispering from my project bag, I finally succumbed to fishing out a cross stitch piece. I have not stitched since October of last year, before all The Happenings happened.  Getting a flower out let me make the "2017" folder in my cross stitching photo album... halfway through the year!

before

after

Yay, a finish! (I've omitted the bees.) Of course, there wasn't much left on this piece so it was fairly easy to achieve victory. But a finish is a finish and always a morale boost.  I even braved washing it (held my breath as it submerged) to remove the fabric ink and hoop marks and to give it a bit of freshening up.  I probably should have ironed it!

Technical Details

• "August: Gladiolus" freebie pattern by Ellen Maurer-Stroh, found here.
• 2-over-1 on a 14-count ecru huck towel.
• Finished size: 4.5" x 4.5" (11,50cm x 11,50cm).
• Started September 2016, finished June 25, 2017, unknown hours.

Next up will be September's Aster.  I feel a little unenthusiastic about this one and I'm not sure why.  Perhaps I just prefer fluffy flowers.  Most of the colors are kitted up, minus one that is frustrating the heck out of me.  My inventory says I have not one, not two, but THREE skeins of this color.  Where are any of them?!  They must have become victim to the move and will pop up in some really obscure place a year from now.

aroooo

I also kitted up the next MH3U side after setting my husband loose with my floss collection.  He has a much better eye for color than he gives himself credit for!  Plus, if no colors are acceptable, we go "string shopping". What a terrible travesty that is. ;)  I started stitching at the last meeting with the local "yarn & yak" group.  They're more of a craft whatever you want group instead of strictly knitting or crochet.  This picture is about two hours worth of work, with plenty of yakking in between!

weird angle

I've also managed to squeeze in a knit washcloth with the Little Cowboy Afghan. It felt weird not having anything else to send with it and washcloths are fast and hopefully useful. I went up a size on the needles since I'm SuperTight. It gave it a slightly more loose gauge which should allow water to actually soak into it (yes, I've had water run off my cloths).  I did not like the three-stitch seed/moss border.  I think if I make another of these, I will adjust the border to be slightly wider.  It wanted to curl whereas the dolphin one did not and I think that will help.

Technical Details

• "Rubber Ducky Cloth", freebie pattern by Jessica Worthig, found here.
• #4 needles (3.5mm).
• Yarn: Peaches & Creme Solids in gold.
• Finished size: ~8" x 8" (~20cm x 20cm).
• Started July 17, 2017, finished July 21, 2017, unknown hours.

That's all!  It's been super hot lately so crafting and fangirling over new anime has been A Good Time.