Children's Day!

Who doesn't love Children's Day? Being 26 years old is not a good enough reason not to celebrate it, right?
Over a week ago my and my hubby got invited by my in-laws to their holiday home. Placed in small town, very near to mountains. Weather was surprisingly good, so we even got to do some hiking!

I regretted not taking any of my WIP's with me, so I could do some open air crocheting.
While enjoying the view, that is.

When we took some rest in the evening, my mother-in-law asked if I heard of octopuses (or is it octopi?) for preemies. As soon as I got home I googled a bit and gathered info on The Danish Octo Project. I found also a big Polish group on Facebook, crocheting and distributing octopuses.

All softies must be made of 100% cotton, and stuffed with polyester filling.
Soo... I dug up all skein ends of Alize Bella I could find and started my work. First two projects are staying with me, because I didn't get the tension right, and filling shows through :( I couldn't bring myself to frog them, though.
Here's my collection of finished octopuses/pi:

Two in the middle are the ones staying :)

I also have some unfinished heads, and tomorrow I'm visiting my sister in search of more cotton.
Let's just have one more look at those swirling arms, shall we?

I think I could find time to crochet another one today.
Have a nice afternoon!

Gosia.

Long weekend is gone...

...aaand I'm back at work.

I've had an amazing 4 day long weekend, though!

On Thursday we visited Pszczyna, just like last year. On Friday we ventured in the opposite direction and arrived at Moszna (please, don't check for direct translation from Polish to English... just don't). The castle itself, looks like it was stolen from Disney logo, but it has a certain charm to it.

Not to mention a skeleton-princess in the highest tower, who did cost me some sleepless nights when I was a kid.

The most enjoyable part for me was a long stroll in the park. Rhododendrons were still in bloom... and just look:

Unfortunately two days of sunny weather turned out to be enough to build up thick stormy clouds, and Saturday and Sunday got us mostly grounded.

Every cloud has a silver lining, right? I had ALL the time in the world to knit! I started with speedkniting booties for my cousin's new baby. Bows Before Bros by Carrie Briggs :

And then I moved to crocheting my Syna Shawl.

No. I did not re-brand my Banana Leaf Shawl. I guess it's destined to be my standby project.

It's a new shawl I started on May 20th. Pattern is called  Syna by Mary Renji

I started using a delivery box as a project bag. You know how they say: reuse, re-purpose, recycle! :)So far I'm done with two lace section repeats, and I'm still enjoying my work. It is a mindless work except for moving from one section to another.

Netflix & Ch.. Crochet it is then!

Have a nice afternoon!

Gosia.

Mysterious Purple-Grey Thing...s

My niece's bitrthay was two days ago so I can safely reveal what I kept in secret since March.
Two chubby, striped kittens!

Some of you may remember my first kitty made from  The Parlor Cat Pattern by Sara Elizabeth Kellner. It was for my youngest niece's first birthday.
Word travels fast, so soon I had an order for "two big cats, four small ones and a set of mice".
Since I really enjoy going to work, and in having a life in general, I had to cut this order short. First one was a good and tried Parlor Cat:

But as I finished and still had a lot of yarn left (Nako Rekor, really nice, soft, a bit fuzzy acrylic) I decided to make a second cat. This time using different pattern from the same collection: 

The Window Cat by Sara Elizabeth Kellner.

At first I was afraid making two row stripes will show the jog on round beginning, but frankly, it turned out better than the first one!
I skipped making legs. I just like it better that way, and I saw many Ravelers do it :)

Yesterday I gave them to my niece. She loved them! Her real cats however... not so much. I hope they won't decide to murder their new flatmates! :)

Now that that's done I can get back to Banana Leaf Shawl. It's going really great, but I'm still not halfway through the skein! I'll take some pics for the next post!


Have a nice afternoon!
Gosia.

Happy Birthday, Sockalong!

Today I'm having a day off - 3rd of May is a national holiday in Poland.
Since last year it's also a holiday for all sock knitters...

Sockalong Anniversary!

For more info on this marvellous initiative check out Winwick Mum's blog.
Last night I managed to complete my 7th pair of socks.  I think they're worthy of celebrating this day!
Pattern: Skew by Lana Holden.

Photo by my hubby, who demanded that I mention him.

I'm absolutely delighted with this yarn! To be honest, I wasn't trying to make them match, because I couldn't get my head around color repeats. Also, different toes are useful for telling right sock from the left one :)

I think I should do a small compilation now, entitled "my year in socks":

#1: Green, 100% wool, 200% satisfaction

 #2: Grey monster-socks for my hubby

 
#3&5: Baby socks!

#4: First toe-ups - for mom's TV evenings :)

#6: Picture says it all! \m/

#7: I know, I know... just one more look at those heels:

We were supposed to go on a nice trip today, but it's rainy, so we decided to stay inside. I can't even pretend I'm worried about this...

Have a nice afternoon!
... I surely will!

Gosia.

PS.: Thank you, Christine for making this possible! :)

Never* Again! (*at least not this month, okay?)

Done, done, doooooone! The quickest blanket ever!
Elven Pixie Blanket by Tall Gal Knits, also known as Never Again Blanket

You know what? I absolutely LOVED making it! The best moment was when I removed pins after blocking, and discovered it grew over 10cm in each direction. Final measurements are 80x90cm! I used four 50g skeins plus about 1/3rd for border.
Also it got really soft and lacy afterwards.

Not to mention how it made the lace stand out:

 I wanted to give it to my coworker as soon as possible, so I didn't wait for a good picture light.
It would take me too long, because late April just turned really cold!

Ahh, now I can return to my Skewed Socks. I'm almost ready for second heel!
I also decided to add some rows to my Banana Leaf Shawl - I'm sure I could find a use for it this summer!

Have a nice afternoon!

Gosia

PS.: Mom wanted me to take pictures of her tulips. I counted over 27 varieties... 

Skeeeew-haaa!

A I mentioned last week I became a proud owner of 4 Superwash Ciao by Mondial. It was all by ACCIDENT, and the only one to blame is my favourite yarn shop, for sending me emails about discounts.

I had this project on mind since a long time. Pattern is called Skew by Lana Holden. Construction of the sock is just plain awesome! At one point I was sure I made a mistake as it would not look like a sock at all! But then...

There is however a small problem with fit. As long as the fabric is stretched - fits just right. The moment I let it go - it gets baggy around my ankles. I think that's partially because of my bony legs, and the fact that pattern is not really adjustable.

That won't stop me from casting on a second sock, of course!

As for my other WIP's - I'm in the middle of the 4th (and final) skein of my Never Again Blanket. After so many repeats it became a mindless knit :)

Now I'm out to enjoy this lovely spring day!

Have a nice afternoon!

Gosia.

Whooops!

Oh no! I just realized I skipped my blogging Sunday!
At least I have a decent excuse - the weather last week was PERFECT. We decided we need some fresh air so we went to our favourite park.
The one we visited last summer, and spring.

Since today we have a horribly cold and rainy Sunday... I'm back!
My "Never again" blanket is going surprisingly well. I am just few metres away from completing third skein. I can't wait to block it!

It is impossible for me to stay focused on one project at a time, so I started this crochet beauty:

Using Ten Stitch Blanket leftovers, and some black acrylic/wool mix. I follow the Granny Mandala pattern by Crochet with Raymond. I hope I will have enough patience to turn it into a circular shrug or a cardi.

Today I got an email about a big sock yarn discount. Couldn't help myself... 4 skeins are on their way.  I think this means getting be back to socks knitting this month. Just in time for the first Sockalong anniversary I guess! :)

Ohhh, now I need to make some progress on the blanket before my new yarn arrives.

Have a nice afternoon!

Gosia.