2015 Half-yearly Review

As the 30th of June marks the halfway mark of 2015, I am undergoing a half-yearly review.


Time to tidy, 
Time to assess and reorganise.

On the blog I've added a new search category: 'FO' for 'Finished Objects'. Any posts which show completed projects will be tagged with 'FO'.  

Belcarra Cardigan

How many 2015 FOs are there so far?

Plainly, the purple Belcarra Cardigan took a lot of my time and effort.  I am sure everybody was getting tired of yet another post about that cardigan!

The Speedy Ripple Blanket was extra special.

Speedy Ripple Blanket

Owl Bib

The cute Owl Bib was a fun distraction after working on larger projects. 

At Easter, I made some new Mini Baskets and gave away even more as gifts, with delicious chocolate eggs inside them, of course!

These baskets are becoming great 'stash-busting staples' to make and use every year at Easter.

Mini Easter Baskets

Then began the saga of the poppies …

Poppies!

… starting with the search for the perfect poppy pattern and ending with a huge pile of poppies, destined for big things.  Their fate will be revealed later in the year.

Slip Slope Scarf
& Silk Mohair Scarf

The most recent projects are turning out like the Mini Easter Baskets and the Poppies–seeming to be another fad, not able to settle for just one: scarves, scarves and more scarves! 

Just completed in June are another self-designed Silk Mohair Scarf (dedicated blog post yet to come) and a Slip Slope Scarf. The latter is crocheted using short rows and slip stitch technique (also known as Bosnian crochet). I have learned a lot along the way and absolutely love the results. 





So, that's all the finished work, leaving me with the following works-in-progress (WIPs):

WIP Project Bag

• This will become a little project bag. The official pattern title (by Janet Brani) is "WIP Project Bag".
  The crochet is all finished; it is just waiting on a lining. That will happen next time the sewing machine comes out to play.

Alpaca Tricot Scarf

• The striped alpaca scarf which began at a Craft Show workshop with Prudence Mapstone is progressing steadily.  It is made with a double-ended crochet hook using a tricot (Tunisian) technique.

Silk Mohair

• This week I am using this spectacularly hand-dyed yarn (at left) for another silk mohair scarf.  I hope to complete it as soon as possible so it is ready to warm up this winter.

A Week in WIPs
including a green baby blanket

• Back in March, I reviewed some WIPs which included a green baby blanket. I am guilty of not working on the blanket at all!

Blue Fingerless Mitts project
in the bag on the right.

• I also began some fingerless mitts which had originally been packed back in December as a ready-to-go take-along project. Except they were only 'taken along' once! I might take them with me tomorrow when I go to the hospital again.

 Yes, tomorrow … (sigh) … I will be admitted to hospital for a day treatment and again in a few weeks for some more; but(!)  … guess what!  I am naughtily planning a craft circle in the hospital to keep me company, providing circumstances are favourable.  We'll have to wait and see on that one, but it is a happy thought.

Health-wise, the first half of 2015 has been very difficult with lots of challenges–very different to 2013 about which I reported, "success with one goal in 2013: no hospital admissions for an entire year. That's 2 years in a row now. Yay!" 
My friend Adrienne commented, "I think zero hospitalisations needs more than a one line aside," and she was right!  

Perhaps I celebrated too quickly because June and December 2014 found me back in hospital again. At least this year the admissions are planned so I am not expecting any dramas.

Crochet Goals

What to expect of the rest of 2015?

"Not sure," I ponder. At the beginning of this year, I set myself the goal of creating projects that are "altogether new to the world"; that "I have either redesigned in part with modifications or … designed from scratch all by myself."

I am achieving that with a new design of silk mohair scarf which is being worked into a written pattern.  So far I have at least three scarf designs to be put into pattern format.

I have lots of design ideas and my challenge is to make time to develop my own works.

More Finished Objects to Share!

There is nothing like a review of previous posts to see how I measure up to my own standards!  Not quite there, I'm afraid! 

I still have a list of FOs that need to be blogged on Lupey Loops, most of them from 2013! (That was a busy year.)

A year ago, my aim was to "revisit tricot" after making a set of tricot placemats (one is pictured above) and I have done that with the previously mentioned striped alpaca scarf. I haven't tried to "work tricot in the round" as hoped yet. That opportunity may come soon as I hope to make a matching hat for that scarf.

Other 2014 goals met include:

• Maintaining a blog about my crochet adventures
• Working from existing stash to save money: I'm improving at that, using stash yarn for the Belcarra Cardigan, WIP Project Bag, the Fingerless Mitts, Mini Easter Baskets and Owl Bib.
• Understanding Twitter: I now have a Twitter account and am learning how to use it. Tweet to me @Jodiebodie2.
• Understanding Google+:  I have joined Google+ but haven't been able to apply much time or effort to this cause.  I am trying to work out the whole 'communities' thing because I would like to have another online space for Lupey Loops participants to meet and chat in real time, send each other files and photos etc.  Do you think Google+ is suitable or would you recommend something else?
• I wanted to finish two garments for myself and I wanted a cardigan: the Belcarra Cardigan is one half of that goal met.  I have the materials for two more tops waiting in the wings.
• Two amigurumi guitars have been mended and I think I have found a better home for my Fab Four–as a fundraiser for a new cause.
• Ravelry queue: shortened a little bit but there are always new things to add!

The following goals from back in 2013/14 have not come to fruition:

• A cotton top called 'Helene' by Melissa Leapman which has been patiently waiting for two three summers for my attention. I began swatching but never got any further.  I had hoped it to be ready for summer 2014/15. Maybe this summer?
• A couple of monkeys! My children fell in love with some toy monkeys and asked me to make them but I never had the right materials in the stash. The children have grown and fallen slightly out of love with the monkeys since.

  

All in all, I am pretty pleased with progress 

but loathe to make any new goals just yet!

How about you? 

Related Posts on Lupey Loops

"2013 Scorecard", 1 January 2014:  http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/2013-scorecard.html

"Knitting & Crochet Blog Week 2014: 7 - Looking Back, Looking Forward #5KCBWDAY74", 4 June 2014: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/knitting-crochet-blog-week-2014-7.html

"Blip", 14 June 2014: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/blip.html

"Home from Hospital", 19 December 2014: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2014/12/home-from-hospital.html

"Welcome 2015: A Year of New Projects",1 January 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/welcome-2015-year-of-new-projects.html

"Speedy Blankets", 18 February 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/speedy-blankets.html 

"A Week in WIPs", 7 March 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/a-week-in-wips.html

"Better Than a Bought One", 26 March 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/better-than-bought-one.html 

"A Personal Touch", 12 March 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/a-personal-touch.html

"Whoooo's This?", 19 March 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/whoooos-this.html

"Happy Hospitals", 31 March 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/happy-hospitals.html

"Easter Greetings & More Stash-busting Mini Baskets", 5 April 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/easter-greetings-more-stash-busting.html

"Poppy Patterns", 20 April 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/poppy-patterns.html

"Adelaide Stitches & Craft Show", 9 May 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/05/adelaide-stitches-craft-show.html

"Poppies Shaping Up", 4 June 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/06/poppies-shaping-up.html

"Scarves, Exhausted with Colour", 18 June 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/06/scarves-exhausted-with-colour.html

"Slip Stitch (Bosnian Crochet) Scarves", 25 June 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/06/slip-stitch-bosnian-crochet-scarves.html