First Works In Progress post of the year

 I had the first week of January off.  That was good, except for having to deal with the snow.  

When I went back to work it basically hit me sideways in a sneak attack of tech issues, a surprise early deadline, and a last minute "Hey, this needs to get into the paper." 

I was so mentally drained each day that I didn't do much of anything except sit and watch television. 

When I did work on something I mostly worked on the Inspired by Joy blanket

I finished part two this past weekend.  Or, maybe Friday. ... 

I love how it's turning out.  I'm learning new things.  I will say (and this may be unpopular) I am not very keen on the way the crochet-along videos are done.  The host goes too fast for me and he's going with different colors so I'm having a hard time figuring out some of what he's doing, because he decides to do color changes when the pattern doesn't call for it. 

Project Name: Inspired by Joy

Started: Dec. 26, 2022

Finished: 

Designer/Source: The Crochet Crowd

Yarn:

Color A - Red Heart - White

Color B - Caron One Pound - Rose 

Color C - Caron Jumbo - Rosewood

Colors: white and rose colors with hints of green.

Required Amount: I purchased two skeins of each color

Needle/Hook Size: 5.5 mm /  I/9

Gauge: beats me ; pattern calls for 13 dc x 6 rows = 4″ [10 cm]

Made For: Myself, maybe

Dye Lots: Will find that out later.

I haven't touched Edna since I last wrote. 

I did a bit of work on my #723 snowflake cross stitch

Marking a grid on the fabric has been immensely helpful. Especially with the bit of confetti stitches within the pattern. I was working on this a bit last night, and thought this snowflake would probably look fantastic in all white on black fabric. Or, maybe a silver thread? 

Project Name: #723 Snowflake

Started: Jan. 1, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: Tiny Cross Stitches

Fabric: Aida cloth 14 count Hobby Lobby Zweigart. Aida has silver threads running through it. 

DMC floss in called for colors

747 ; 964 ; 995 ; 996 ; 3756 ; 3761 ; 3843 ; 3846 ; B5200

Colors: blues

Needle Size: 26

Made For: Myself

Last weekend I started a new chart from Stitching with the Housewives

Project Name: Month to Month - February

Started: Jan. 15, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: https://www.etsy.com/shop/stitchinghousewives

Fabric: Aida cloth 14 count Hobby Lobby Zweigart.

Floss: Using called for Classic Colorworks fancy floss

Colors: Black, pink, red, teal, green

Needle Size: 26

Made For: Myself

I'm trying to decide if I like working with fancy floss or not. The black color keeps knotting up on me. I've worked a little with Forbidden Fiber Co floss previously and it was a joy to work with.  

I haven't touched my spinning wheel yet this month. 

I completed the chart for my Valentine's stitch.  

I'm happy with how it turned out.  I still need to FFO it.  I'm thinking of making it into a pillow. Hopefully, I will FFO it this week. 

Project Name: Happy Valentine's Day SAL Chart is only available in the group. 

Started: Jan. 1, 2023

Finished: Jan. 7, 2023

Designer/Source: Cherry Hilly Stitchery Chart is only available in the group. 

Fabric: 14 count aida I dyed aquamarine 

Floss: Called for DMC and recommended DMC for the substitutions for fancy floss.

B5200 ; 310 ; 321 ; 3345 ; C816 (A floss I included in case I want to add a bit of sparkle

Stitch count: 77w x 58 h

Size: 4 5/6”w x 3 5/8”h on 16ct/equivalent.

Needle Size: size 26

I started a pair of socks. I've worked on the first sock mostly in the car and for minutes at a time in the early a.m. 

I have 6.5" of the leg completed.  About 1.5" more and I can start the heel flap. 

Project Name: Vanilla socks

Started: Jan. 7, 2023

Finished: 

Designer/Source: My own pattern

Yarn: Patons Kroy sock yarn

Colorway: Mexicala stripes

Colors: oranges, red, purples and a smatter of blue and white

Required Amount: Two skeins of sock yarn. 100 grams

Needle/Hook Size: U.S. 1 (2.25 mm)

Gauge: beats me

Made For: Myself

Dye Lots: WL238520

On other news, I've collected them all! I think. Back on New Year's Eve I decided to put an order in on Hobby Lobby.com, to fill the gaps of the colors I didn't have. Hobby Lobby's website had a "Free shipping" promo if you bought $40 or more. I still had to pay a $3 shipping company surcharge, or whatever it was called.  I wasn't too happy about that. And I'm even more annoyed I had to pay it because it took two weeks for the DMC floss to be delivered. 

This is a few skeins over 100 skeins.  Doesn't seem very impressive in the bag. 

Then I spread them out and took a photo. 

Much prettier. Too bad I can't display them in such a manner. 

I spent the evening sorting and organizing the floss in my collection that wasn't already kitted up with a chart. 

I should have all the colors in the collection, save a few of the etoile and most of the DMC floss that is "fancy" pearlescent, and the like. 

I've been thinking hard about how to organize the floss so I can easily tell if I have a skein of this or that.  Previously I've been using the sew sampler boxes and putting a portion of the collection in a box.  I am still digging through skeins and skeins of floss to find a particular one.  Definitely too much time. 

I asked in a Facebook group how people stored their floss, and I did some looking online. 

I finally settled on flossaway bags and stackable tote containers. 

This is maybe half of the flosses. I had to order more bags.  This is going to work so much better than my old system.