Dresser Projects Update

You may recall a while back I posted about my over ambition in starting new projects before finishing the last. This resulted in dressers full of half done projects which I have come to call my "dresser projects". (So Many Projects!!! Post).

Now that a couple years have passed and I have pulled out many boxes from storage, I have been reunited with most of my Dresser Projects. Lately I've been relentlessly chipping away at old half done projects and finishing them off rather than starting new ones, however this has not depleted the number of Dresser Projects since the entry. Although I have finished off a few dresser projects, during the past couple years, while the dresser projects were stored away, I started a whole new set of dresser projects. So I am left with still, a whole lot of projects and not nearly as much time as I would like to complete them all.  Eventually they will all be completed... but who knows when that will happen! Here is an update on my Dresser Projects:

Small Afghans and Blocks:

Nice blue/grey/white afghan

Close up of pattern, interesting stitches

Blue/Grey ripple afghan, knitted blue squares

Pink hexagons and chunky pink and purple scraps

Off white aran blanket squares and green pinwheels

 Miscellaneous:

Knitted heart square. Will likely be a throw pillow at some point.

Not really crochet, but a dresser project none-the-less: a braided rug that I have been working on for probably near a decade. Well, to be honest I haven't worked on it in years, but the intention is there!

 Big Blankets:

Green Aran Blanket, still kicking around. No progress on this one.

It's been a little while since I've worked on this one (old Dresser Project) I do hope to get it done within the next year or so. I started this one several years ago, and the squares may pose a challenge once I start assembling due to change in tension/gauge over time. Hopefully it'll turn out alright though.

Settlers of Catan blanket

Settlers of Catan!! My favourite board game! I decided it would be neat to make a blanket of the game. I'm not sure what the finished product is going to look like, every time I think about it I come up with different ideas, but whatever way I chose I know it'll be kick-ass cause, you know, it's Settlers of Catan!!! :)

Soft green light weight blanket

Just a light weight blanket to throw on the couch during the summer months. I've taken this thing apart at LEAST 6 times because I would never right down what size hook I was using and my gauge was always way off. Maybe one day I'll end up finishing this darn thing...

Green wool-eater blanket

I *LOVE* the wool-eater pattern, so no surprise, I've started up a green wool-eater blanket. This one won't be fancy like the large blue one-piece, or the fall coloured wool-eater/babbette ones, but should still look great once finished, not to mention nice and warm :).

Fall coloured wool-eater/babbette blanket

Speaking of which, here is the fall coloured wool-eater/babbette blanket I've been working of for a few years now. I tend to take it out in the fall, work on it a whole bunch, then get discouraged at how wonky the gauge is and how long it's taking, then put it away until I forget how much it upset me (usually about a year) then take it out again next fall, hehe. Significant progress on it from the last time I mentioned it in this blog ("So Many Projects"). The great thing is that every year I find another couple new colours to add to it. I really love the colours :).

Solid blue bedspread

This is another old one that has been sitting around in the "unfinished" category for quite some time. This is the one I'm currently working on. I'm hoping to finish this one before the end of the year and use it on my bed for the colder winter months. I ran into a hiccup with this one. I had been working away on it over the last couple weeks and eventually realized that my gauge was wayyy off. Like an extra 6 inches per side. So I had to take it apart and lower my hook size. So far so good. I'm going to put an edging around it to try and hide the wobbly sides.




So that about sums up my current dresser projects. Well, the crochet/knitted ones anyway. I have a bunch of incomplete sewing and quilting projects kicking around, but that's an entry for another time.

Keep crafty everyone! And stay focused! :)

Wedding Gift

Two great friends of mine have gotten married! Naturally, I got crafty.

Heart blanket: C *heart* S

I've done this pattern once before several years ago and thought it would be great to make as a wedding gift if I personalized some of the middle squares with their initials.  The pattern is originally from Afghans by the Alphabet.  This version turned out nice and I'm definitely going to keep it in my repertoire for future use.

Wedding Gift

Another great big congratulations to Curtis and Sharon!

The happy couple!

So many projects!!!

     When you love crochet/knitting you want to try out all kinds of patterns.  Unfortunately, if you are like me and get easily distracted, you end up with a couple dressers full of unfinished projects waiting for the day my interest in it is rekindled.  Now I do eventually open up the drawers and pick one to work on but when it comes to the larger projects, like full king or queen sized blankets, it goes in and out of the drawers many times before it gets completed.  I have blankets in those dressers that have been slowly worked on for years!  I'll take it out, work diligently on it for a month, then put it back as my interest wanes and moves on to another project, sometimes it's a new project, sometimes it's another project from the drawers.

     The other day I realized that it's been well over a couple years since I've had a new blanket to put on my bed or fold up on the couch despite the fact I've been crocheting and working on blankets the whole time!  I decided it was time to correct this.  It was time to pick a project and stick to it until finish..... Easier said than done...

These are just a few of my unfinished projects, mostly blankets

Pink hexes, knitted blue squares and green pinwheels

Aran Patchwork: green one and off-white one

Pink baby blankets

Soft ripple afghan and green afghan (started but then taken appart)

      Then there are my 3 large blankets that I work on more than the others:

One piece blue wool-eater

   This is the one I'm currently endeavoring to focus on.  I started it about a year or two ago when I first discovered the wool-eater pattern.  I wanted to make one piece blanket with the pattern which of course would mean it would be square and so decided it would be for a king-sized bed.  Besides, big blankets always seem so much cozier. I'm now at the point where one big skein of yarn doesn't always make it to the end of the round so I need to buy two skeins per round.  This pattern takes up A LOT of yarn (I can only assume that's why it's called the "wool-eater" pattern) but I think it will pay off big time on chilly fall and winter nights when you need nice heavy weight blankets to curl up under to stay warm :D

Solid blue bedspread

     I found this pattern in a really old crochet booklet from a second hand shop.  The original pattern called for just one solid colour and I liked the idea so I went with it.  I had 4 1000g skeins of yarn stored away in 4 different colours: pink, green (aran patchwork see above), off white (aran patchwork see above) and blue.  The plan when I originally bought them (on sale :D) was to have 4 solid colour blankets. Lately I've had to restrain myself from starting on the pink one (I've had patterns in mind for all 4 colours the day I bought them over 5 years ago, just never finished any of them and in the case of the pink, never even started it). I can only restrain myself for so long.... I foresee that pink blanket being started very soon despite friends' and family's encouragement to FINISH A PROJECT!! :)

Fall babette-wooleater

     Now this one is my pride and joy!  I'm quite proud of it, though it's taking FOREVER to complete. I took the wool-eater pattern and "tweaked" it, then used it in a babette style placement. I've been assembling bit-by-bit as I go which is very time consuming.  I'm not following any set out configuration, just putting squares together and seeing how it looks.  Once the blanket is complete I will compile a pattern which will be available to buy, but that is in the very distant future.  I love the oranges, reds and browns, and I think this will one day be a perfect fall blanket.  I'm very excited to get it finished, but I can only handle so much frustration at how long it takes to sew them all together and weave in all the ends :s.

     Oh and let's not forget the partially done Christmas projects.  I suspect these to grow this year as I have several new Christmas projects I want to start and attempt to finish for the Christmas season.

Christmas afghan and Christmas stocking

     Now of course I still have several other projects, but that's enough photographing for today; I need to do some actual crochet too :).