I will have clean dishes... well, maybe. ;)

I haven't had any creative knitting mojo lately so I've been knitting dishcloths, dishcloths, and more dishcloths. Michaels had a sale on recently of the Bernat Cotton and I picked up a few new fun colours. Each skein makes two cloths in the size and pattern I like. I have pretty much used up all my old stock and have tackled a few of the new ones already too.

I like to give the dishcloths away sometimes so I should be all stocked up now for myself and some to save. I knew it was time to make some anyways since I'm down to only a few to use for my dishes and they've got to go soon.

The other reason I haven't started anything new is because a new Nerd Wars Tournament starts on Friday. :) Can't wait! It's always so inspiring. We do have our Alexis' hat to do and I should be done all the figuring for it soon.

What do you craft when you're not sure what to work on? Do you have your favourite stand by project that gets to be a fill in project when you don't have something else to work on?

Welcome Back NHL!

The kids and I were excited about the return of NHL hockey on Saturday. We all dressed up to support our favourite teams while we spent the day watching game after game. We were thrilled to find some free Sports Package channels allowing to watch more games than we planned.

Now normally a day filled with hockey games means loads of knitting time for me, however I was too excited, especially starting off with my beloved Flyers, that I didn't knit a stitch till after supper. This will not stay the case as I get used to enjoying hockey again. ;)

What do you watch when you sit down to craft? Or are you one of those people who can read while they craft?

The Castle Collection: Alexis' Hat

So I mentioned recently about the Castle Collection that a few of my Ravelry friends have started. I really am excited about this. I spend quite a bit of time relaxing in front of the TV with my knitting. Sometimes I see an item I wish I had the pattern for or get inspired by an episode to make something. Now we're putting that together. We want to create a pattern for this hat...

I didn't realize how much work goes into designing a pattern form a picture until now. lol We're still in the very beginning stages but I've already knitted up four sample squares of possible stitch patterns. And then I've been posting them for voting and discussion. I think we've got that part figured out know but now we're talking yarn and gauge. When will it end?!? lol I'm only kidding. It's definitely more work when you've got a team trying to design it but it's also very worthwhile.

Another collection in the making....

Looks like I'm starting another collection of knitted items. I'm teaming up with some of my favourite Ravelry peeps to create items inspired by or seen on the TV show Castle. A dear friend got me interested in Nerd Wars (a crafting game played on Ravelry). The team we're on is based around Castle and other amateur sleuths. Our members' interactions on Team Writer have inspired some knits that have already been created and are inspiring more.

So this group of excited fans, we're going to be putting together the Castle Collection (at least that's the name for now). I am so thrilled! I love Castle and a few other sleuth-y shows. It's so fun to take the things you like and combine it with your favourite craft. 

New projects....

There's nothing better than a new project, except for maybe buying new yarn for a new project. ;) I've gotten both this week. :D

I was in at my LYS on Wednesday (my son said we should visit the yarn ladies) and picked up two new chunky yarns, one in red and one in white with black bits throughout it. I'm planning on knitting two more Matrix cowls as soon as I get a chance to watch one and get inspired.

And, one of my favourite toy designers posted another test pattern. Of course, I got on top of this right away and get to knit the new pattern. My kids love it when I get a new toy pattern and I love supporting designers I like. Win win for everyone. :)

So there's a few things to get on the needles. Its so nice to have something to do. I was definitely feeling a little lost with the new year and all my projects complete. I've never really had that happen before. I've stopped knitting a few times but it was usually because I was just too busy to knit. (Babies will do that to you.) But this was different. I was out of projects, out of ideas, and out of inspiration.

So happy to be getting my knitting mojo back!

Does this ever happen to you? What do you do to get back into gear?

No knitting time...

So big plans for our little family - we're moving. :) Not far but far enough. In the middle of April we'll be moving about 1/2 hour from where we are now. Over the next few months I'll be busy getting ready so I have no idea how much knitting I'll get done. Hopefully there will still be some. I just hope I'm not too tired in the evening to get my needles clicking.

I wasn't sure where to start for knitting with the new year. I had pretty much everything finished up, so I'm redoing my Trinity Cowl. I love the pattern I made but didn't like the size of the actual cowl. It's coming along now. :) I'm trying to make all the cowls one skein wonders. At least so far anyways. I'm excited to see where my patterns will take me. :)

Will post pictures soon. I'm trying to get organized here with all the moving stuff as well as regular life stuff. Should be fun!

Happy New Year!

Well, it happened! It's 2013!!! Hope you had a fun time last night staying up with someone important to you. Did you watch the ball drop in Time Square? Do you go to or host a party? Do you stay home and enjoy a quite night? We stayed home and watched the ball drop in Time Square. Nice to spend the time with hubby.

So have you started thinking about what you're going to craft this year? Too be honest, I haven't. lol Sad, I know, but life has been busy. I'm finishing up a toy right now for a little girl who is going to be a big sister soon. I have a couple of knitted gifts to give away still too. 

I would like to work more on my Matrix Collection. Hopefully I can come up with some more great cowls. Maybe some hats would be nice. I got my movies out again and will have to spend some time watching them and get more inspired.

I think I may start a Castle collection too. I have the first three seasons on DVD. I would like to take some inspiration from the shows and design some more items too. 

And there is always KALs to join and toys to make for my kids. ;)

We'll see where the year goes and what I get crafted. As long as I've got a project on my needles I'll be happy. :)