My Finished Zoe Shawl

I finished my Zoe shawl a couple weeks ago, but just today took the pics

I don't like my photos, Noro is hard to photograph accurately

This is not the typical shawl size. It's pretty small. I'm not sure if I would even call it a shawlette, but I did leave off the ruffle which would have made it a tad bit bigger. I only used one skein of Noro and didn't want to use more... me being lazy and wanting to finish.

I do like the colors, and this Noro is much easier to work with. It's the Silk Garden Sock.

I found the pattern on Ravelry of course. Click here if you're interested in making one.

Now I'm working on something crocheted, but I can't share what it is just yet. I have a deadline that's way too close... so I need to get to it.

Have a great week!

Another Noro Project

I've started another project... my crafting ADD will not let me finish the ten that are still not finished.

It's a shawl and I'm using Noro Silk Garden in color 307. Noro colors are so hard to accurately capture in photos (or maybe it's the one taking the photos)

Today, I plan on taking the photos for the Inside Out Crocheted Bowl that I posted about a few days ago.

The pattern is ready to post so hopefully I'll get it all posted by tomorrow.

But don't hold me to that... I will definitely try

I'm adding this photo by request to show the skein of yarn. You can't really see all the colors. 

Snowdrop Shawl in Noro

Last weekend I spent a few hours making a shawl for my boss.

I love the shape. Maybe I'll make one for me.

My photos are terrible. I wish I had taken the time to get better ones.

Anyway, I used Noro Taiyo Sock. Yes the dreaded Noro. Actually the skein was not as bad as usual. There was hardly any problems with it this time minus the tangling. The pattern was fast and easy. I only used one skein of yarn with about 50 yds left. The pattern can be found here.

This is the only finished project I've made lately. Sad... But hopefully it'll motivate me to do more. Wait... I did make about 15 to 20 face scrubbies. I've also been a terrible blogger lately... not kept up with my favorite blogs. I'm a little ashamed of myself. I enjoy reading all of your posts and seeing your projects. Maybe doing so will bring me out of my funk. I think coming back from vacation then having to get ready for the holidays caused me to get a little down. Enough about that... we all have our down and out times.

Ireland's been asking me to finish her patchwork blanket. The craft room is a wreck... as usual, so cleaning it may help with motivation. That's what I'll be doing this weekend. 

What I've Been Working On

I just realized that it's been almost two months since I've posted anything crochet related. I've started about five new projects and finished about three...not so bad.

Julia Vaconsin's Basic Mitts

I also completed a South Bay Shawl in the Red Heart Unforgettable. I think this is the Winery colorway.?

It needs blocking and better photos

This is my latest...

the dreaded Noro

I am proud of myself because I have waited two years to use this yarn again. This time I am using the Taiyo sock in the S9 colorway from Knotanotherhat. I just couldn't resist. This will be another Elise. One of these days I will come up with a shawl pattern. It's just hard to beat the Elise pattern, but I am getting pretty burned out on it.

To find these patterns just click on the links in blue.

Searching for Snow

Here in the foothills of North Carolina we don't get a lot of snow. We did last year...it snowed four times before Christmas. But normally, we see it a couple of days each winter. That's ok with me since I'm not a cold, snow, winter type of person. Every winter I say, 'Lets move to Florida.' Michael and Ireland love the snow. So yesterday Michael decided we were going to look for snow. The mountains always get more, so we decided to head west. The only great thing about where we live is the distance to attractions. The mountains are an hour away and the ocean is about four hours depending on the particular beach. We ended up going to Beech Mountain.

This winter has been mild and mild in the mountains as well. There is no real snow. All of the snow in the photos is man made. It's all fake. Ireland didn't believe me. She couldn't grasp the idea of fake snow. I was surprised at all of the skiers that were there. I thought it would be dead.

Michael is a skier and used to go all the time. We wanted to introduce Ireland to it all and see if she would like to go back and ski sometime. Since there was no real snow Michael didn't ski, so we'll go back again. Maybe next time I can try out the ice rink. To me that seems more interesting.

Ireland had a good time in the fake stuff

When we came home I didn't crochet one little bit. I wanted to, but my latest project is really getting on my nerves.

I like the pattern but the yarn is not my favorite. I get charmed every time I step into my LYS. I find myself standing in front of the Noro, admiring the awesome colors and imagine how great they would look around my neck, and then I break down and buy some of it. When I start crocheting with it I curse the yarn and imagine myself burning it.

Raveled here
Needless to say, I am Not a Noro lover. Gasp...I said it. I am breaking up with Noro.

The next time I go to the shop I will walk right past those charming Noro shelves and go to the Universal Classic Shades or Poems. Yes I will. I love the Classic Shades but have not used Poems. I'm hoping it will be as beautiful and has to be much softer.

More about this project when I finish. Hopefully, then I'll be happier with it.