Holiday Stashdown Challenge Week 17

Last week Marie wrote out a list of weekly goals, and I thought that was a great idea. First I had to decide when I wanted all my projects finished. I figured either the week of Thanksgiving, or the week after. It would give me 11 to 12 weeks to finish things up. But because so many of my gifts are fluid and subject to change, I'll plan goals through mid October, and re-assess from there.

But before I get into writing out my goals, I want to address last week's goals. Last week, I expressed the desire to finish 5 afghan squares, 5 star ornaments, and one of my knitting WIPs. Both crocheted projects were easy goals to meet. I even went over my ornament goal, making double what I had planned to make. The afghan square goal was nearly met, as you can see from the photo above. 4.5 instead of 5. But considering the time it took to make them, if I tried harder, I would've done fine. (Counting the half square as a whole square, I am now at 18/30 squares)

However, the knitting goal was not met. I am very close to dividing the front of the vest for a V-neck, but not there yet. I know if I spend a whole day working on it, it will definitely be finished. The scarf for my sister is taking a backseat to the vest, as the vest was basically a gift promised nearly 4 years ago. My brother's birthday is next week, so my goal is to have the vest completed by then. Only problem with that is I will need to find something else for him for Christmas.

Anyway, onto my goals for the next 3 months:

By week of 9/11: Finish knitted vest for Brother 1.  4 more afghan squares (to bring the total to 22).

By week of 9/18: 4 more afghan squares. 5 more star ornaments.

By week of 9/25: 4 more afghan squares. Finish scarf for Sister
By week of 10/2: Afghan completed- squares pieced together and all ends woven in.
By week of 10/9: Scarf for Brother 2, fingerless mitts for Aunt 2, Scarf for A.
By week of 10/16: Hat for E, Start activity rug for E's nieces & nephews.

Be sure to check out Marie's post for this week- more inspiration!

Did I finish anything this week?

I'm not really sure if I finished anything that I haven't already shared. I've been a busy bee, working on various item for the first craft show of the season (for me) which will take place the weekend after Labor Day.

Ah, yes, I have finished a few things: one scarf and a handful of flowered hair elastics. See?

Oops! These are unfinished, but you get the idea, right?

However, even though I am focused on this craft show projects, I have still worked on other things. Like more squares for my Autumnal Afghan (up to 12/30 now!), edging more Smorgasbord squares (it's still not big enough), crocheting lacy snowflakes (I've made 4/16 so far) and working on my hat order.

Maybe I'll have a whole heap of things to share next week. I'm not really feeling locquacious today. I'm linking up with Tami's Amis for FO Friday, and you should see what other completed items people are sharing this week! :-)

Bashing the Stash!

I love seeing Tricia's Stash Bash post every week, and try when I can to post one of my own. This week I actually have a few things to share, and I'm excited!

First off is a small crochet basket. I made it holding 3 strands of yarn together and using a large hook (either K or N, I cannot recall). I definitely want to make several more, and will be making them bigger than this first one. I just retrieved a bag of reclaimed acrylic yarn from one of my basement yarn bins (oh, the places we all hide yarn!) and will definitely use it to make more baskets. This one has a base of dc, increased to 36 stitches, and then hdc in a spiral until it is the size desired. I added handles by working 5 or 6 chs, skipping that many stitches below, twice, and working the number of skipped stitches into the chain when I came back around. There are probably a million patterns for something like this out on the web, but I'm just going from my knowledge of crocheting in the round.

My second stash-bashing project is also crochet, but on the opposite end of the spectrum from the basket: lacy snowflakes worked in a light fingering/baby yarn. All of the patterns today are coming from Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs. I have yet to decide if I will repeat any of them, but as this project is also part of my Holiday Stashdown, I will probably repeat a few. Plus, I discovered more white yarn in my stash that is not destined for anything else-- more snowflakes! :-)

That's all for today! Be sure to hop on over to Tricia's to get more stash-bashing ideas!