Time

Time is a funny thing. It goes sluggish when you want it to go fast and goes incredibly fast when you need it to go slow. The holidays are coming and for a crafter, Christmas is approaching at an alarming rate. How does a day that doesn’t move manage to sneak up on me every year? I’ll never figure that out. Life’s mysteries. File that away along with why I can never find a matching pair of socks and why all of my bobby pins disappear.

A few days ago I took a fall walk here in the nature of Zaltbommel. Despite being heavily overcast, it was beautiful. The leaves are just starting to turn making the woods look mysterious in the rain that is Autumn in The Netherlands.

Of course I had to take a project with me which ended up being the shawl WIP in the baby stages.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be doing a lot of secretive knitting. I just need to finish up what’s on my needles now and then start casting on gift projects. Tis the season!

Here’s my current WIPs :

This is a shawl in progress. Look at the gradient! I am in love with it. It’s much larger now, although I won’t get another decent photo of it until it is off the needles and blocked. The pattern is “Lala’s Simple Shawl” and as always, can be found on Ravelry.

This is one finished fingerless mitt. I’m having second mitt syndrome and the other is casted on but in my project bag. I plan to finish that up and free the needle this week. These will match my striped and slouchy hat I’ve finished. This pattern is “Across the Street and to the Bar Fingerless Mitts” (found on Ravelry) and it is a KAL (Knit-Along) for a group I’m in. Fun knit and very customizable!

My lonely finished object of the week :

I love this hat. It reminds me of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. The pattern on Ravelry is “Striped and Slouchy Hat”.

The baby blanket is in project time out again. Going down a needle size didn’t seem to help much. In fact, somehow it managed to make it worse with the way it was laying and ended up to be a million stitches to a row. Some things blocking just can’t fix. If I stick with it, it might be done once Alex retires. I have decided I don’t like the specific yarn and how it is laying and coming together in the big picture. So off to the yarn shop to find something else and the current yarn will be rewound and put back in the stash. Time only knows what it’s destiny is now.

The Ugly Side of Knitting

You aren’t ready to knit if you aren’t ready to rip back…

As I work on this baby blanket, the farther I get, the more I realize my needle size is a smidge too big and it’s making the stitches quite holey. When I started this project, I surmised that it might be an issue but I just kept going in hopes it would turn out alright. Shame on me… So now, the inevitable has to happen. Ripping back on hours of work because the project isn’t turning out how I would like it to. It’s been sitting in my project bag in some sort of knitting time out. I sulk at it from time to time but time’s a wasting and I have to do the painful frogging and just move on. Call it perfectionism or nitpicking, but when I make a project, I want to be proud of it. So out with the holey and it’s time to start again. On smaller needles this time!

Take two!

Onto more happy and positive things. It was a beautiful day here in the Netherlands and Alex and I couldn’t resist taking a lovely autumn walk. The leaves are starting to turn and the air is delightfully crisp. I finally got the chance to wear a shawlette I made months ago that was too hot for summer, while Alex proudly wore the hat and scarf I just knit him!

I especially loved this gazebo out in the middle of nowhere, and the only bloom left in the Heemtuin.

I can’t wait to take a walk in the Heemtuin during the spring and summer when all the plants come back. I bet it’s a beautiful sight to see with their butterfly, dragonfly and amphibian gardens. Alright, alright, enough from me for today. If I listen closely, that blanket is begging me to fix it… Until next time!

Double Trouble

Ever since I was a little girl, I have always been going from one thing to the next. Couldn’t hold my attention to a single thing for very long. For me, coming into the world of yarn crafts is proving to be no different. With me being bistitchual, it’s double the trouble. In the beginning, I was good about being project monogamous. Begin working on a project, finish that project before anything else. But the better I got at knitting and crocheting, I began to realize there is just not enough time to make all the things I want to make! I have such a hard time just picking a single project to work on. So to battle that, my needles are always full!

So let’s look at my WIPs! Up first is the baby blanket. I haven’t made much progress on it but I have until Early December to get it finished. As you can see in the photo I’m just on the first few rows of cream.

Second up on needles is another hat in its beginning few rows. You can never have enough hats and I love making them. The options are just endless! This particular hat is called “My Striped & Slouchy Hat” and can be found on Ravelry. I’m going to stripe it with some variegated yarn of the red flavor.

Now onto the finished objects! I found this hat pattern on ravelry to match the scarf I recently made Alex. I couldn’t resist making it and it was such a quick knit! Soaked and blocked, here is the finished project! The pattern can be found on ravelry under “Christian’s Scarf” and “Christian’s Hat”.

Alex and I have recently acquired Nintendo DS Lites again and are hooked on handheld gaming. So I made a case for Alex Pokémon style! I haven’t decided what I want to make for mine but I’m sure I’ll come up with something soon. This is crocheted and since I just made it to fit there’s no pattern for this.

That’s all I have going on for now! I’m sure in another week I’ll have started even more…and maybe finished a few too!

Ends and Beginnings

Summer is over and it is officially my favorite season, Autumn. Where the leaves will start turning and burst into beautiful rich colors. Where the days are cool enough to be cozy in scarves and gloves and hats. Where the morning air is crisp and full of potential to contemplate over a morning cup of coffee. Autumn, what a perfect time of year for weddings. Less than two weeks to our big day!

The scarf for Alex is finished and blocked! I must admit I got a bit impatient with the baby blanket and just had to start on it. So I went ahead and cast on and completed the first repeat of the chevron pattern. It has a seed stitch border and eyelets. It’s adorable and fun to work on.

Alex and I went on an adventure to Efteling over the weekend with the family. I had never been there. It was magical and strange, beautiful and kooky and I loved it. Everywhere you looked was something straight out of a fairy tale. It has given me quite a bit of inspiration for future projects I want to make. Truly a magical place where fantasies come to life!

A fun weekend with new memories made. A perfect end to our summer. Until next time!

Welcome!

Hi there and welcome to my very first blog. A quick introduction may be in order. I’m Sarah Jayne, the Wol Harpy. A lover of all things yarn. Whether you are a long time knitter or crocheter, or haven’t knit or crochet in a while or are just a beginner, I hope my blog inspires and encourages you to pick up your needles and create something beautiful with your own two hands. Knitting and crocheting is so gratifying. It’s something to show off and be proud of!

Its getting chilly (not to mention rainy) here in the Netherlands as we head into fall. My favorite time of the year. Cold enough for scarves and hats and gloves and all the other cozy warm things, yet not cold enough for me to not venture outside. I’ve been knitting a scarf for Alex in a deep dark red. I’m absolutely in love with it as it’s a good chunky masculine pattern.

After I finish that cozy scarf, I’ll be casting on a baby blanket for my dearest friend Anna who lives back in Michigan. She’s having a little girl in December. I can’t wait to meet my darling niece Madilyn. Anna has chosen light grey, cream and pink which I’m going to do a classic chevron pattern for. It will be adorable. If I have time before baby Madilyn is born I want to make an African Violet crochet elephant plushie as well. Too Cute!