At the end of the second quarter, these were the goals I set for the third:
- Baby gift for my friend
- Finish free pattern
- Publish 4 for sale patterns
- Finish squares for king size blanket
- Get to work on that doily that's been hanging around forever
- Continue weekly charity stitching
I did make the baby gift for my friend. I whipped up and shipped off a pair of Monster Socks for my friend's little girl. That felt good. And the sparkly, pastel yarn I used was really cute for this project.
I finished the free pattern. It's a collection of six washcloth patterns that Practical Crocheter has put on this blog over the years. In addition to that, I also published two free potholder patterns related to another pattern I was working on. One was basketweave stitch worked in the round, and the other was waffle stitch in the round. There was some confusion over how to do the increases in the waffle stitch potholder, so this quarter also saw me make my very first video tutorial, which was a surprisingly fun project.
As for patterns for sale, I published the Woven Mesh Cowl, Garden Lattice Baby Blanket, and Waffle Stitch Hat. All three are crocheted. I also worked on editing a baby sweater pattern I wrote ages ago and making new samples of it. Unfortunately, I found some serious errors in the sleeve shaping, so that project is much more involved than I anticipated. However, I'm still hoping to get it published in the next month or two.
(That last is a sneak peek)
My efforts at working up samples for new patterns were also waylaid by my trip to Dallas for Fiberfest. While there, I talked to the owners of Rancho Inca Alpaca, among others, and they asked me to make samples of the Ocean Waves Cowl and Woven Mesh Cowl in their yarn, because they are looking for pattern support for their products. The patterns each require one skein of Rancho Inca Alpaca's 3-ply Sport, which is divine to work with. One skein was 80/20 alpaca/wool, and the other was 80/20 alpaca/silk. I love both, but the alpaca/silk was my favorite! I'll definitely work with it again. Suffice it to say, that project has been a priority.
I did finish the remaining squares for my king size blanket. I also went ahead and pieced, edged, and finished the blanket. It is now on my bed, just in time for cooler weather, and my husband and I both love it! It is by far the largest thing I have ever made, so I'm pretty proud of how it came out.
I still haven't done a thing with that doily. Between various patterns taking more work than anticipated, the decision to go ahead and finish the blanket, and my unexpected project for Rancho Inca Alpaca, it just wound up at the bottom of my priority list. I'll get to it eventually.
I did continue with weekly charity stitching. The twelve sample dishcloths I made for the free pattern are being donated to my local food bank, along with eight other dishcloths I made and a small bottle of dish soap with each through the Each Stitch Counts project. A small, separate benefit to that project is that I'm using up some of the ribbon in my stash to tie dishcloths to soap bottles.
Since I have some cotton leftover from that project, I've started making soap sacks to donate through SACK. The Become a Dragonfly baby blanket was set aside for a while, because I ran out of yarn for it, but I started back on it with a new skein a few days ago.
Overall, it was a busy quarter!
Here are my goals for next quarter:
- I have four patterns I want to put out for sale, including that baby sweater I'm working on now, another knitted baby sweater, and two scarf patterns. That should keep me pretty busy for the rest of the year. Last year, I made a point of getting all my patterns done before Thanksgiving, but that's not happening this year.
- I want to finish the Become a Dragonfly baby blanket and ten soap sacks for SACK. The baby blanket, along with some other things I made this year will be sent off to the women's shelter at Pine Ridge at the end of the year.
- In terms of personal projects, my oldest son needs a winter hat. I've picked out a simple cable pattern, and I'll use the same yarn I used to make his gloves last year. I've also promised to make my 4yo a Denna Square for him to use as an X to "mark the spot" when he plays in the back yard. My 9yo has requested new gloves, but I might not get to those for a while.
This post has been linked to Busy Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Your Moment, Heartsie Girl, Wonderful Wednesday, The Stitchin' Mommy, Thursday Favorite Things, and Friendship Friday.
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