January craftiness

How is it February already?! January just slipped by me. I didn't do much crafting the past month, but I did have a few of finished projects and another project started.

First up, a shawl design by one of my favorite designers using a skein of indie-dyed yarn that's been in my stash far too long:

Trillian by Martina Behm

The yarn is 100% organic merino dyed by Gynx Yarns in the Cancun colorway. I love how this yarn worked up and the design is super simple to knit without referring back to the pattern much at all. The garter stitch makes this fingering weight shawl nice and squishy but the border adds a bit of interest to an otherwise simple design. The pattern is written so that any amount of yarn may be used, designating the minimum percentage you must have remaining to complete the shawl so you can resize the shawl to fit the yardage you have. I had only one skein of this yarn and was happy I could use nearly all of it without fear of running out and having to rip back. :-) I've knit several of this designer's pattern now and can certainly recommend them! They are simple, fun knits and perfect when you don't want something complicated.

My second knitted item finished in January was a scarf:

Gallatin Scarf by Kris Basta

Another simple knit using less than one skein of worsted weight yarn. I chose a basic wool in a tonal green from my stash and am really happy with the result. Knit on larger needles (US 10.5/6.5mm), this scarf practically flies off the needles! This was another design that required minimal pattern checking as I knit. The result is a fun, reversible scarf with lots of texture. This works up into more of a scarf than a shawl, but the design would be easy to adapt if a shorter, deeper shawl were wanted. I think it's great as is though and hope whoever receives it enjoys it. I'm adding it to my bin of shawls to be donated this coming Fall.

My batch of bulk bin bags were the only sewing I did this month, but I have plans to spend more quality time with my sewing machine soon! I did start a new weaving project:

warped and ready to go!

"Start" is about as far as I got. I got my loom warped with this bright, summery cotton/acrylic blend (you can't see, but there's sparkle too!) and then realized I needed two pick up sticks to make what I'm planning work. Yeah... I really should have read some directions first! lol I refuse to pay $10+ per stick and since I'm not buying new, those were out of the question anyway. So for now, the project waits patiently on my loom while I hunt for secondhand yard sticks. ;-)

Were you wondering what my last "new" purchase was last year? Wait no more!

a second heddle kit for my secondhand loom

Of course it was craft-related! I bought this (along with the 2nd heddles to match the two that came with my loom) on December 31st when my local yarn shop had 25% off for their year end sale. I knew these had the potential to help me burn through a lot of my stash yarn and I also knew they'd be tough to find secondhand, especially for the price I paid. So I splurged a bit. Nice way to end the year, I think. Once I find those yard sticks, expect much more weaving! I'm super excited to try double weaving! :-)

I'd get more accomplished if I stuck to one craft, but what fun would that be?!? ;-) Everything will get done when it gets done. No pressure. I craft what (and when) it makes me happy. :-) Are you multi-craftual too? Or more disciplined than I am? 

(links for fibery projects will take you to my Ravelry project pages - if you don't know, Ravelry is free... and awesome!)