First finished project of 2016

What's that? A finished project?! But it's only January!!!

Here it is!

Close up of the blanket

Folded blanket

That's right, one project has been finished! I did the last of the crocheting last week, and this week I've spent what seems like forever sewing in all of the ends. I almost put it aside and started working on something else, but managed to resist temptation and completed it properly for once.

If you'd like your own diagonally striped crochet blanket, here's a nice link to the instructions, which are pretty easy to follow, especially if you have some crochet knowledge. If you don't have any crochet knowledge but want to tackle this project anyway, then I say go for it! Have a quick practice making a small square to get the hang of it, then get on and do it. I'm not a great crocheter, but really enjoyed making this blanket as it didn't require too much concentration once you'd got the steps in your head. It's a great winter make as it's lovely and cosy on your knees as it grows. It was also a great stash buster - Although I did end up buying another 3 balls of wool so that I could keep my pattern going (3 bands of four blocks wide, then 1 band of two blocks, then 3 bands of four blocks etc)

So that's one project moved from the "work in progress" pile to the finished pile! YAY!

I was going to move onto one of the other WIPs, but realised I haven't got the materials I need for any of them. Looks like I'll be visiting a yarn shop soon... but this did meant that I ended up starting a new project - a one ball hat, on 2 needles. I regretted it almost as soon as I started, as the wool is slightly awkward to knit with and will be an absolute nightmare to sew up at the end. Ah well, I'm sure that I'll struggle on and get it done, it should be a reasonably quick knit.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year blog readers! I hope your new year started off better than mine - I've been feeling ill since new year's eve which is rubbish! Ah well, hopefully things will improve as the year goes on.

I've set myself some goals this year - most of them to finish off things from previous years. I'm hoping that by writing it down I'll feel more accountable for getting them finished, and hopefully will be able to cross them off my list over the year with my slightly more regular posts.



So, here it is. The list of things to be finished in 2016:

GAL 2014 blanket - 12 squares are done, all that needs doing is the joining. Need to decide what colour I want the joins to be first though. Initially I thought black, but I'm now considering a different colour that isn't in any of the squares, which does limit choice! Perhaps a baby blue, or a purple...

Snape Illusion shawl - This needs a border adding. It should be simple, but I know it will be boring which is why I keep putting it off. I just need to sit down, pick up the stitched and knit, get it over and done with.

Doctor Who Quilt - The top is done, it just needs to be turned into a quilt! Now that I have my fancy new machine I'm hoping that I'll be willing to take the plunge with this one. It's taken a long time to get this far, so I'm really nervous about ruining it, and may have to try some test quilting on something simple first.

Stash Buster Crochet Blanket - This started out as a stash buster, and did it's job pretty well. I've had to go out and buy more wool so that I can complete it! I started it between Christmas and New Year and hit the halfway point a couple of days ago. It's lovely and almost mindless, which has been great while I've been ill.



It may not seem like much, but several of these projects have been lying around for far too long. There is of course the Epic Gen 1 Pokemon cross stitch that's still being (slowly) worked on, but there is absolutely no chance of me finishing that this year so I left it off the list. I also have some wool that's been hanging around for a while with a couple of patterns, so I can see a project starting there soon. Plus I want to do more with the fancy sewing machine! There just aren't enough hours in the day sometimes.