Category: Blog

I’ve seen a lot of people use beads in their knitting/crocheting, but I’ve never had an intense desire to try it. Beads just haven’t interested me and I haven’t really come across a project in which I wanted to use them. However, I decided to use the Ice Queen pattern for a small amount of soft bright pink yarn I had laying around and thought I would give beads a try. I found some matching glass seed beads at Michaels and set about to work.

I cast-on for the project, got a crochet hook for adding the beads as I went, and started my first beading row. I almost immediately regretted my decision of using beads and after only three rows, put the project away for a week. It seemed too fiddly to take around with me, but I didn’t want to frog it, so I gave it another shot when I had a free afternoon in the hospital and tried again.At this second attempt, I fell in love. I fell in love with how the beads made the lace design stand out. I fell in love with how the beads were exactly the same color of the yarn so they seemed destined for this yarn. I fell in love with how the beads were going onto the stitches, so clever like I had invented it (I wish).

I worked all afternoon, all evening, and the next day to finish the project. I modified the edging on both ends to something simpler and ended up with this:My project ended up smaller than the original, which is fine with me since I’m short, which means I have a short neck as well. I also used a slightly thicker yarn than the pattern, so it’s nice and cozy warm. I can’t wait until it cools down and I can wear my “Queen Bead.”
In about two months.

I got so caught up in Stitch N’ Pitch and buying my first yarn in 28 days and working on my mom’s b-day socks that I completely forgot to post about the end of Ravelympics. I managed to go the entire time without buying yarn, part of my record 28 days without a yarn purchase. I ended the streak with a souvenir yarn purchase at Stitch N’ Pitch, a noble way to end my yarn ban. However, after having to transfer some of the stash into the garage and upon the apparent distress of my parents at my yarn accumulation, I have decided to go on another yarn ban for the duration of, well,until there is less yarn or I move out (or until Friday when I go to my LYS for the first time in four months).

I managed to finish 4 WIPs during Ravelympics, 3 of which were blanket projects. I’ve already posted about some of the projects so here is a recap of the gold medalists who crossed the finish line:
1. The Scrappy Squares Afghan
Approx. 2020 yards of scrap yarn used up
80 Squares
My Original Pattern for sale here.
2. Skulls and Stripes Blanket
2478 yards of Caron Perfect Match in Black and White
Made for friend
Improvised design
3. 48 Crocheted Square Sampler
2956 yards of Caron Perfect Match in Sunflower, Purple, and White
Made for Shawna, receptionist for hospital floor where Heather gets cancer treatment.

4. Mystery Project that hasn’t been given to the recipient so I can’t talk about it. But it’s finished and it counted for Ravelympics.

I also managed to finish my 10 WIPs in a row for the WIP Contest and I have a handmade prize in the works. After finishing #10, I did cast on for a project, but now I’ve been working a new project until completely finished before I cast on another. I’m still working through my remaining 6 WIPs to hopefully still get them done. I’ve managed to finish 2 complete projects, each from start-to-finish without starting something new.
One of the projects was a cupcake I made for my friend who in a roundabout way sort of heavily hinted that she might want one. I even put poly-pellets in the bottom to make it stand up better on its own. This was a going-away present for her since she transferred to a different Michael’s store other than mine. Good excuse for a cupcake.

I’ve been working diligently through the stash and ended up using 8295 yards in August, bringing the year total up to 38,429 yards or 21.8 miles of yarn used.

On Saturday, August 24th, I attended my first ever Stitch N’ Pitch. I’m not a big baseball fan, but one of my crochet students and friend LOVES baseball, so I thought it would be a fun opportunity for us. A big sign greeted us on the upper deck of the stadium, as well as a small set-up of two sponsoring yarn shops and their selected goodies. We grabbed some food at Panda Express, then headed to our seats to eat and crochet. There were quite a few knitters and crocheters surrounding us, but not as many as I expected. Apparently yarn and summer in Arizona do not always mix (either that or not everyone is as obsessed as I am, which seems impossible). We did happen to sit in front of a very nice knitter who asked us about our crochet projects and showed us her first knitting project ever: a sweater for her red-headed granddaughter that was coming along beautifully.

I brought along a purple ripple blanket to work on. Oh yeah, and there was baseball there too.
You can see a glimpse of the game in the background. I actually managed to watch the game, and I thought it went much faster with projects in tow. Unfortunately, our team lost. But I did manage to “score” a souvenir: a sock kit from “Purls Yarn Shop in Tucson.” It was a “ToFUtsies” sock yarn with a sock pattern and a set of sock needles, all for the price of the yarn. Here’s a pic of my souvenir sock yarn with my free souvenir T-shirt.
Do you notice a theme with the purple yarn? I like purple. And I may actually go to a baseball game again, of course only as long as I bring a project with me from now on.

PS> The sock needles I acquired with my souvenir yarn are already in progress on a new sock project: a set of Jaywalkers for my mom for her birthday (she already knows about them, otherwise I’d never get them finished).

Another pattern has been added to Kounting Sheep Designs. Introducing the Miss Priss Hat Pattern. Crochet a cute granny cloche with optional flower or bow embellishment.

This special design has a special story behind it that I will post shortly. Also coming soon will be individual one-of-a-kind hand-crocheted Miss Priss Hats for sale and special order in my etsy shop. Check back for more about the Miss Priss Hats.

In the spirit of the Olympics and Ravelympics, I just had to post about my own records (okay, maybe not world records, but we all can dream, right?). I broke the 20 mile mark. I’ve officially used more than 20 miles of yarn this year alone. I plan on going for at least a marathon this year–26 miles–which I’m sure won’t be too hard.

So far, I’ve finished 3 projects for Ravelympics, all of which were WIPs (works-in-progress).
I am now, as of tonight, finished with 9 WIPs and only have 7 remaining. If I make it to 10 WIPs finished in a row, I get a prize in the WIP Contest. One more projects to go, which comes at good timing because I sort of have to start a new project by this Sunday for Stitch N’ Pitch.

I realized that I have no current project that is not too bulky, uses too many colors, has too many tiny pieces, or would be finished before the end of a baseball game. So I will be starting a Laminaria Shoulderette in Classic Elite Alpaca Sox yarn (pictured above. It’s actually more orange than red; a gift from a Secret pal. I just can’t see using this beautiful yarn for something to go on my feet.) either Thursday or Friday so it can be in-progress by the game. Luckily this yarn is currently in my stash, so I won’t have to buy new yarn.

I haven’t purchased yarn since July 28, so it’s been 21 days. Another record. Wow, until I wrote that just now, I hadn’t realized it had been that long. I’m hoping to go until the end of Ravelympics, but perhaps I could round it up to an even 30 days. We’ll see if my resolve can last that long. I’m like the Michael Phelps of knitting and crocheting.

Kounting Sheep: I’m here today with the first double Gold Medalist in the Afghan Marathon and WIP Wrestling events, the Scrappy Squares Afghan. Scrappy, tell us a bit about yourself, now that you have crossed the finish line and become a finished object.Scrappy: Well, it’s taken me quite a few months to get to this point, but it’s been worth the wait.Kounting Sheep: What brought you to this point?Scrappy: I’m made up of 80 diagonally-knit garter stitch squares, crafted from leftover oddballs of yarn only. After countless hours of creating squares, I was finally able to reach the point in which all the squares were lined up to find a layout. Once the layout was decided upon, it was just a matter of mere hours before I was all put together and ready for the finishing touches: the red garter stitch border.Kounting Sheep: Yes, red is quite the finishing touch to your look. An afghan your size must be quite a feat. Is there anything more you can tell us about your design?Scrappy: Yes. I used up more than 2020 yards of yarn from stash. Each square took five minutes to crochet together, and each row took a mere 15 minutes to crochet together. The finishing aspects took the shortest amount of time, surprisingly.Kounting Sheep: Wow, that is amazing!. Even I’m impressed at how little time it took to put together. Any final words?Scrappy: It feels great to be an done. I’m glad to just be out of the stash and on the bed.Kounting Sheep: Well, congratulation on being the first finished project in my Ravelmpics and WIP #7 in the WIP workdown contest.

Although I enjoy the Olympics, that’s not why I’m excited about today. Although the Olympics are the inspiration for why I’m excited about today, that’s not the main reason for my enthusiasm. No, it’s because today is the Ravelympics–a special “event” for knitters/crocheters that coincides with the Olympics, but in actuality has nothing to do with athletes or sports. No, it is in fact for crazy people like me who are obsessed with yarn and want to join thousands of cyber craft friends in setting project goals during the Olympics, hosted through Ravelry, in the hopes of completing them in a mere 17 days.
I’m part of “Team Stashdown,” a group of “craftletes” who are only working from stash yarn for the next 17 days…yes, that’s right, I will not be able to buy a yard of yarn for the next 17 days. (As part of my “training” for Ravelympics, I am on Day 11 without a yarn purchase.) As part of Team Stashdown, I have 6 projects that will be competing in the following events:1. WIP Wrestling–those craftletes competing must only work on works-in-progress during the Ravelympics. All six of my projects are WIPs.
2. Afghan Marathon–not for the faint of heart, but for those wanting to complete an afghan in 17 days. In my case, I have 4 WIP afghans competing that I hope to finish by closing ceremonies.
3. Sock Put–for craftletes knitting socks. I only have one Monkey sock in this event, so shouldn’t be too hard.
4. Amigurumi N Toys Toss–exactly what it sounds like. I have one Stackable Cat that is more than 50% done, so hopefully I’ll be able to finish him up.
So basically, Ravelympics are for those of us who will always be on the “watching-side” of sports and have to find some way to compete in something. Besides, I would be knitting or crocheting anyway while watching my favorite events, so I might as well have thousands of cyber friends doing the same thing with me.
(In case those reading this blog haven’t figured it out by now, I am lost in my own little yarn world.)

I’m trying not to think about summer anymore, which can be hard in Arizona during the monsoon season when the temps get up past 110 and the humidity makes me feel like I’m swimming through the air. (Yes, Arizona has humidity. It is not always a “dry heat” despite what people think.) But it’s the last day of July, and although August isn’t much cooler, it at least means that summer is more than half over. So I’m thinking about reindeers instead.
Like this cute “vintage red and green” reindeer celebrating Christmas in July, in front of a prickly cactus.

This project makes my 6th finished WIP. That means I only have 10 more to go. I’m happy that I’m finally motivated to finish all the half-finished projects lying around stashed in various places. I’ve been working on my “Scrappy Squares” afghan made up of diagonal knit squares using all my oddballs of yarn. I’m up to 60 squares out of 80 and I have fewer balls of miscellaneous yarn lurking in my stash. You know how yarn can lurk; it’s best to use it up before it starts breeding.

I be makin’ lots o’ squares. Diagonal knit ones, crocheted grannies ones–just lots of squares.

That’s all I had to say.

Speaking of miles of yarn.I may have over 33 miles of yarn in my stash, but so far this year alone, I have used up 29684 yards or 16.85 miles of yarn.
That means if I continue to work at this rate and don’t buy another skein of yarn (yeah right!) I could potentially use up my stash in under two years. I can officially say that I am obsessed with knitting/crocheting. Yes, it does seem impossible that I could use up this much yarn in this amount of time. But if you consider that I take a project with me everywhere and the only days I don’t work on something are when I am terribly sick, and I probably knit/crochet a minimum of 2-5 hours a day, it doesn’t seem that impossible to use that much yarn.
So I guess what I’m trying to say is, I don’t feel so bad for having such a large stash, because I use a lot of yarn.

PS> The above picture contains 3 “Baby Genius” Burp Cloths I’ve made recently for my new niece or nephew.