Last weekend I took a wee break from all my massive projects to make something teeny tiny.
It’s a llama!
The pattern is by Ravencraft Designs, who I follow on Instagram. I followed along with every post as Jess worked out the process, and as soon as I saw that the pattern was released I jumped over to Ravelry and bought a copy. Then I made a start with a little scrap ball that just happened to be in front of me at the time.
I can’t get over how small she is, and I’m the one who made her!
The number of ends created a bit of a mess when it came to sewing the legs together, but maybe that was only an issue because I made mine so small, using a thin DK yarn instead of worsted. What a shame, I’ll have to make another one in a thicker yarn and see if I get the same result.
What do you think I should call my little llama? Let me know in the comments!
Before I even start this I’m preparing myself for this month being a bust. What with my new role at work and a bunch of job interviews to prepare for, there’s been very little time for my goals.
9
That was a brand new target when we started.
15 Birthdays on time – 12/15
One of my friends in choir had a birthday and I got there in time! But I also missed a couple of others so not all great.
16 Christmas cards made – 3/16
Nope.
17 Birthday cards made – 8/17
Just the one, but that’s more than none.
18 Items decluttered – 9/18
Nah.
So yeah, a pretty naff month overall. But I’m still trying my best and that was the real goal all along 🙂
How’s everyone else’s goals going, if you set any? Got any exciting plans for October? Let me know in the comments!
This is getting silly now. I’m sure I only posted my May review last week!
1 New blog followed per week – 4/4 (yearly total 25/25)
Done. This one is going so well 🙂
2 New stitches/techniques learned per month – 1/2 (10/12)
This month I had a go at Bavarian crochet. Like most things, it’s not as difficult as I thought it would be. I’m thinking of making a cushion cover with my little test sample.
3 Instagram posts per week – 6/12(88/75)
I slipped this month, but I’m still ahead of my overall total so yay I suppose.
4 Exercise sessions per week – 23/16 (100/100)
Woo hooo I’ve caught up with my overall total!
I’m going out on my lunch break every day, and it feels really good to be getting back into moving regularly. At the moment I’m meeting my step goal at least six days every week, which hasn’t happened for nearly two years.
5 Blog posts written per week – 13/20 (105/125)
Below target, but still better than I thought. One thing 18 for 2018 has taught me is that I’m actually a lot more productive than I think I am in several areas.
6 Patterns written up – 1.5/6 (1.5/6)
No movement.
7 Areas in my flat sorted – 3.5/7 (3.5/7)
No more this month. I blame the sunshine :p
8 Minutes of writing per day
Still not every day, but I’m certainly working on it more often.
9 pm bed time – 7/30 (59/181)
Another improvement on last month, but obviously I still need to work on this more.
10% of wages saved – 10/10
Done.
12 Hand-written letters – 6/12
None this month, but I’m writing one at the moment.
13 New recipes tried – 7/13
Nothing here either. I’ve bookmarked a few to try, but didn’t actually get time to try them out.
14 Meet ups with friends– 14/14 COMPLETE!
We’re only halfway through the year and I’ve already met a goal! I can’t believe it, especially as it’s this goal. I’m really not as unsociable as I thought.
This month brought it home with a night at the pub after my choir’s summer concert, and a starlight swim on the coast, which was utterly wonderful.
The scenery was amazing, the weather was gorgeous so the temperature was just right, I battered my fear of heights into submission and jumped off the 3m diving board, and spent some lovely time with lovely friends.
15 Birthdays on time – 11/15
Ooh I’m getting close with this one. Three friends had birthdays this month and I managed to make them all.
16 Christmas cards made – 3/16
Just no. It’s too hot to be thinking about Christmas.
17 Birthday cards made – 7/17
Three birthdays, but only two cards made this month. I’m not sure how the third friend feels about birthday cards, as she’s a professional declutterer, so I made her some fairy cakes instead.
18 Items decluttered – 6/18
No time this month, I really must get on.
I don’t like the way I pretty much missed June. Honestly, it went so quickly we were at the 2nd before I even realised it was July. This month I’m going to set aside some regular time to focus on my goals, and hopefully being a bit more mindful will stop time whizzing past me before I can properly enjoy it.
How was your June? Did you meet any goals? Let me know in the comments!
A somewhat pictureless post for now, as I managed to crack my phone screen in my pocket and of course that’s where I keep all my photos!
1 New blog followed per week – 4/4 (yearly total 21/21)
A reader pointed me to some more tatting blogs this month. I love looking at the photos and wondering how long it’ll take for my tatting to be half that good 😉
2 New stitches/techniques learned per month – 1/2 (9/10)
The month whizzed by and I only had chance to learn the mattress joining stitch. It is wizardry though so I’m not disappointed!
3 Instagram posts per week – 14/13(82/63)
I felt like I hardly posted at all, but I more than met my goal. Maybe it’s just because I didn’t post regularly.
4 Exercise sessions per week – 22/18 (77/84)
Sunshine helps so much with this one! It’s far easier to get outside for a walk when it’s not raining sideways or freezing cold.
As well as the canal, I found a public park quite near my work so I’ve been heading there for some walks as well.
5 Blog posts written per week – 13/23 (92/105)
Er yeah. I’ve actually written a few that I haven’t posted yet, but I still definitely fell short. I knew this one was coming though; I really lost my blogging mojo this month. I feel like it’s back again now so here’s hoping I can catch up.
6 Patterns written up – 1.5/6 (1.5/6)
Nada.
7 Areas in my flat sorted – 3.5/7 (3.5/7)
I wish I had taken a before photo of my yarn stash so you could see the difference right now. It’s even colour coded!
8 Minutes of writing per day
Mostly done, it just wasn’t blog-writing.
9 pm bed time – 4/31 (52/151)
Well. Better than last month, I guess?
10% of wages saved – 10/10
Done and done.
12 Hand-written letters – 6/12
One more added to the pile.
13 New recipes tried – 7/13
After nabbing some chorizo at the farmers market I found a recipe for chicken and chorizo jambalaya. Never heard of jambalaya before so I had to try it, and I’m glad I did because it was lovely!
14 Meet ups with friends – 12/14
My choir put on a ceilidh (kay-lee) and I only meant to go for an hour or so, but I ended up dancing the whole night away.
I also got in another birthday meet up, as this was the first date I could get in at the archery centre. I loved it of course, and the awesome thing is so did my friends! Plus I got this badass picture of me.
15 Birthdays on time – 8/15
There have been no birthdays this month, which feels odd after the first 4 months of the year.
16 Christmas cards made – 3/16
I whacked out a couple more, it is so strange making Christmas cards in the sunshine.
17 Birthday cards made – 5/17
No birthdays means no cards made either.
18 Items decluttered – 6/18
I had a sort out of my wardrobe and got rid of some dresses and tops that I will never wear again. It’s still pretty crowded in there though so maybe I should have another look through! I’m also getting rid of some yarn I knew I would never use.
Another up and down month this time, but I was never aiming for perfection. The focus for June is to sort out my flipping bed time!! I’ve set a permanent alarm on my phone for 8pm, to kick in my night time routine and hopefully get me ready to face plant my bed by 9. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
How are everyone’s goals going (if you set any)? Did you have a good May? Let me know in the comments!
1 New blog followed per week – 4/4 (yearly total 17/17)
I found a tatting blog! Lots of handy tips there for one of my many new hobbies.
2 New stitches/techniques learned per month – 2/2 (8/8)
This month I drafted a post (but haven’t got round to posting it) about increasing stitches in Tunisian crochet, and I’ve also started to learn some tatting.
3 Instagram posts per week – 15/12(68/50)
This was definitely much easier when I had a challenge to follow. April went by so quickly I went a whole week without posting anything because it felt like just a couple of days. I caught up though after looking back over my posts and realising that I hardly ever remember to post my finished items; a few FO posts and I was back on track.
4 Exercise sessions per week – 16/16 (55/66)
The archery centre ran an extra session on bank holiday Monday, and that absolutely counted as a workout. 90 minutes of non-stop firing and retrieving arrows is TOUGH!
I also discovered there’s a canal about 10 minutes away from work, so on the rare days it’s not raining I’ve been going there in my breaks for a walk down the towpath. It somehow makes the work day more enjoyable.
5 Blog posts written per week – 16/20 (79/82)
Even though I wrote a couple of posts for my other blog as well as this one, I still fell a wee bit behind. Not too badly though.
6 Patterns written up – 1.5/6 (1.5/6)
I finally whacked out the pattern for my mini octos. Yes it’s the simplest pattern ever, but I worked it out for myself so I’m proud of it.
7 Rooms in my flat sorted – 2.5/7 (2.5/7)
I had a sort through my bookcase, but that’s not really a whole room is it?
8 Minutes of writing per day
I’m getting better at this!
9 pm bed time – 2/30 (48/120)
Oh dear…
10% of wages saved – 10/10
Done
12 Hand-written letters – 5/12
Yes, I’ve written to the same friend twice. Still counts.
13 New recipes tried – 6/13
The yellow sticker box actually helped me out this month, as I bought a few things and then looked up how to use them when I got home.
First up was avocado pesto pasta. I’m happy about this one because all I’ve ever done with avocado before is use it on toast in place of butter – tasty, but not really a recipe! The one downside to this is that avocado blackens even when it’s whizzed up in pesto. I took some leftovers to work the next day and it looked utterly disgusting, although it still tasted just as good.
Next up was sausagemeat pasta (or rice, if you can’t find the pasta. Ahem).
This was a happy accident, as I didn’t read the label properly and thought I was buying sausages. Somewhat disappointed when I got home and realised my mistake, but it worked out in the end because this stuff is GORGEOUS.
14 Meet ups with friends – 10/14
My birthday helped a lot with this goal. I’ve been out for meals, gone to a bouncy castle theme park, and met various friends in various coffee shops.
Me, exhausted after an hour of bouncy castle-ing
I also went to my cousin’s hen party and worked my way through the most enormous stand of cakes. Good times.
15 Birthdays on time – 8/15
Despite Easter messing with the post, my sister’s parcel arrived in time for her birthday, hooray!
It was my cousin’s birthday the following week, and her custom kindle cover arrived in plenty of time. Can we take a moment to be impressed that it fits perfectly, when I never actually saw the kindle and just worked off measurements my cousin sent me?
16 Christmas cards made – 1/16
I’ve actually made one! Although I forgot take a photo. Maybe I’ll update when I get home tonight.
17 Birthday cards made – 5/17
I am really proud of the owl card I made for my cousin.
My camera couldn’t really pick it up, but the moon behind them is gold card. The black owl really stands out against the moon and the white stands out against the purple background. I just love it.
And this was my sister’s card
Can you tell I got a Big Shot for Christmas?
18 Items decluttered – 4/18
I emptied the shelving rack in my bathroom, got rid of things I was clearly never going to use again, and organised everything else so it’s all in a logical order. Very satisfying.
The bookcase also received a thorough sorting out, as I was having to double-shelve some books and I hate not being able to see what I’ve got. Some have been returned to their original owners, some have been sold to Ziffit, and the rest went off to the charity shop.
I’ve really slipped in some areas (looking at you, 9pm bed time), but then in others I’ve done much better than expected. The 14 meet ups with friends seemed a bit ridiculous when I chose it, a kind of ‘stretch goal’, but we’re not even halfway through the year and I’m almost there.
Maybe the real goal is just to write down when I meet my friends so it stays in my mind and I don’t see myself as such an unsociable hermit.
1 New blog followed per week – 4/4 (yearly total 13/13)
This month I branched out a bit and followed a sewing blog, , as well as a couple more yarny people and a zentangler.
2 New stitches/techniques learned per month – 2/2 (6/6)
I’m still to write up posts, but this month I learned how to knit cables (at last!) and the very basics of patchwork.
3 Instagram posts per week – 27/12 (53/38)
Thanks to March Meet The Maker, I totally smashed this one. It’s been really fun interacting with people on there and making new friends, I’m definitely going to keep up posting (although not every day) and keep that community growing.
4 Exercise sessions per week – 7/18 (39/50)
I’m still trying to get back to running regularly, but so far I’m only managing once a week. I’d forgotten how tough it is to build up a habit from scratch, but I’ve done it before so I know I can do it again!
5 Blog posts written per week – 24/22 (63/62)
Getting the hang of this!
6 Patterns written up – 0.5/6 (0.5/6)
Turns out my waffle hat was a bit short and the shaping at the top was odd so I’m re-making it and tweaking as I go.
7 Rooms in my flat sorted – 2.5/7 (2.5/7)
I realised I had gone about this the wrong way by starting with my box room; it’s the space that needs the most work and it was really draining my energy that I didn’t seem to be getting anywhere.
So this weekend I did the hallway (the easiest space) and the bathroom. It feels so good to finally cross some of the list and I’ve got my mojo back to keep plugging away at the box room. It will not defeat me!
8 Minutes of writing per day
I’m getting much better at doing this, and it’s true that the more you use a skill the more it grows. As well as this blog I’ve gone back to my old blog and started writing stories again.
9 pm bed time – 15/28 (46/90)
Yeah, it’s a goal to aim for.
10% of wages saved – 10/10
Done at last, although my car is still doing its absolute best to bankrupt me. Heap of junk.
11 Items listed in my shop – 0/11
I’m actually putting this goal on hold for a few weeks, for a good reason. There’s a blog post coming that’ll explain. 12 Hand-written letters – 4/12
Just the one this month, which I suppose is on target. I do like writing to my friends, I really don’t know why I don’t do it more often. 13 New recipes tried – 4/13
I managed to find another keeper this month with DIY KFC. It’s so long since I had KFC I can’t tell if it tastes like the real thing, but it does taste gooooood and that’ll do for me!
This looks overdone, but it was just perfect
14 Meet ups with friends – 5/14
One of my friends had a significant birthday so she had a wee party at her flat, and last weekend we had a bestie date with Black Panther and ice cream.
I also had another friend over to my flat for a catch up, which I very nearly cancelled because I was feeling particularly introvert-y, but I’m glad I didn’t.
15 Birthdays on time – 5(or 6?)/15
The significant birthday friend got her card and present a day early, how’s that for organised!
There’s one I’m not sure of and I’d like some opinions. It was my Dad’s birthday on a Tuesday, and I posted his card and present on the Monday, first class so it should have got there on time. But it didn’t. Thanks, Royal Mail.
So do I count it because I posted it on time, or not because it didn’t arrive on time? Let me know what you think!
16 Christmas cards made – 0/16
Still none so far.
17 Birthday cards made – 4/17
I made a unicorn-ish card for my friend to go with the unicorn mug I bought for her present.
I also made and sent my sister’s card last week, as her birthday is the day after Easter and I know the post is unreliable (even more than usual) around Easter time.
18 Items decluttered – 2/18
The KFC recipe required so many new spices/flavourings that I had to sort out my current spices so I could fit them in. I had some stuff in there with dates in the early 2000’s. So I cleared those out and even alphabetised the ones I had left. Much better!
I’m making some pretty good progress so far, I think. April is birthday central for my family so all the birthday goals should jump up for next time. I just need to keep working on the others as well.
How are your goals going (if you made any)? What do you think about counting my Dad’s present toward the total? Let me know in the comments!
I was supposed to have an FO to show you today, but guess which muppet picked up her crochet without the hook this morning.
I’m disappointed, but on the plus side I spent my lunch break joining in with #sharethelove on Instagram. I’ve found so many new beautiful accounts to follow and it’s really interesting to see which of my posts different people like.
If you’re on Instagram you can still play – messgage me a heart (@quietwater_craft) and I’ll share my favourite post from your feed in my stories. Or set up your own and get sharing other people 🙂
Hopefully I can get these flipping baby shoes finished at the weekend. Who knew something so small could cause so much trouble?
How’s your Friday going? Got any FOs to share? Let me know in the comments!
On Instagram I follow a giveaway account called Yarn4Less. Obviously I signed up originally for the free stuff, but since then I’ve learned what a lovely community it is.
Not only are the people super friendly and supportive of each other, we also use our crafting skills for activism and charity. Right now everyone is making granny squares, to create a blanket for victims of domestic abuse.
Here is my first square:
Of course I’m not just making a regular granny square, that would be far too easy and I love front post/back post stitches too much!
I’m also going to make a second square with alternating rows of regular stitches and fp/bp like this one. I think it’ll make an even more interesting texture.
Then I will get right back to crossing things off my WIP list, honest!
How’s your week been? Finished anything crafty? Let me know in the comments!
I am officially no longer allowed to say that I never win anything. Inspired by a conversation I had on Yolanda’s blogiversary giveaway (go check it out!), here’s a round up of my blogging wins from last year.
From Cherry Heart BlogI won a copy of Colourful Crochet by Marianne Dekker-Roos.
Even more wonderful, I immediately started a puff stitch scarf and when it started to go a peculiar shape I sent a message to Marianne on Instagram, and she answered me!! She talked me through it and we had a lovely conversation, and I basically felt like I was dreaming. I had a crochet conversation with a crochet superstar. Wow.
When Julias creative year had a blogiversary giveaway I knew instantly which card was my favourite, but also that I would have been happy if I won any of the lovely prizes. Then the results day came, and would you believe I won my favourite.
I was introduced to I am simply hooked through Stitching Santa (which is brilliant by the way – you should totally join this year!), and I really enjoyed reading and commenting on lots of posts. Then Jenny had a giveaway for guessing which of her items sold best. It was actually really hard to decide and I dithered for ages between the jellyfish and the cute spiders. In the end I went for jellyfish and I was right, hooray!
My prize was one of the fab jellyfish, which is now hanging quite happily from my pull-up bar.
He helps me get stronger
And finally – remember I made some Daisies for Vicky?
These were sent down to England to be made into a blanket, which would then be raffled off to raise money for Victim Support. People could donate any amount they wanted, and every £1 was one entry into the raffle.
I think I donated £2 just to bring the total up to a round number, and with absolutely no expectation of winning when there were people who donated £10 or £20 or even more. But guess what?
Totally won!
Lynda’s Craft Room did an unbelievable job of joining the squares together, it’s so neat!! Then Lisa from the Wee House of Crochet sent it over and I have not stopped admiring it since.
Before anyone asks, yes I did do the lottery last year (several times) and no I didn’t even win a tenner. I suppose you can’t win them all!
So that was my incredibly lucky 2017. Did anyone else win last year? Let me know in the comments!
Last year I followed a few bloggers who were doing the 17 for 2017 goal-setting challenge. I loved the idea, but by the time I came across it the year was already well under way and I felt it was too late to join in and try catching up.
I wasn’t entirely sure I would try it this year either, but then (most unlike me) I started thinking about it in the run up to Christmas, and making a plan.
To start off I just wrote a list of everything I want to work on this year – things like making my Etsy shop more successful, getting my fitness back, and tidying up/decluttering my flat.
Then I had a play around putting them into order by priority level, and the amount of time it would take to achieve them. And finally I assigned them all to their number.
I’ll be honest; I’m not 100% convinced I’ll keep all of these goals in these formats, but it’s a starting point and gives me something to work towards. So here are my 18 for 2018 goals:
1 New blog followed per week
I love my blogging family and I’d love to grow it even more.
2 New stitches/techniques learned per month
I tend to stick with my favourite stitches in crochet, and I’d love to advance my knitting.
3 Instagram posts per week
This was supposed to be another avenue for advertising my shop, but I kinda failed last year. I’m hoping to fix that this year.
4 Exercise sessions per week
Oh I want to be fit and strong again!
5 Blog posts written per week
For more regular posting, but also to create a backlog that I can use as scheduled posts during busy weeks.
6 Patterns written up
I think this will be the year I really get into writing patterns. I’ve already made a start on one and I enjoyed the process.
7 Rooms in my flat sorted
There are still some boxes I have never unpacked since I moved into this flat 9 months ago, plus I’m just a messy person. It needs sorting.
8 Minutes of writing per day
This could be blogs, short stories, or the novel I’ve been working on for years. Doesn’t matter, just as long as I get my creative writing muscles flexing.
9 pm bed time
I need a lot of sleep. A lot. But I would also like to start getting up early enough to exercise before work like I used to, so the only answer is to get to bed on time.
10% of wages saved
My friend in New Zealand is getting married this year, and going to that will wipe out pretty much all of my savings. This goal will hopefully build them back up again pretty quickly.
11 Items listed in my shop
I was utterly rubbish with this last year. Time to sort myself out.
12 Hand-written letters sent
My friends and I used to write letters to each other regularly, but at some point we got out of the habit. I’m determined to get back into it again.
13 New recipes tried
I get bored easily.
14 Meet ups with friends
I had a looooooot of problems last year, and one of my coping mechanisms (which turned out to be hindrance rather than help) was to withdraw from pretty much everyone. I’m an introvert so I do need my alone time, but I refuse to let it slide into loneliness again.
15 Birthdays on time
Confession: I still haven’t sent a present to my friend whose birthday was in September. I’m great at buying/making the presents, now I just need to get myself to the post office and send them on time!
16 Christmas cards made
The hope being that I won’t need a frantic making sessions in the second week of December.
17 Birthday cards made
Partly ties in with 15, but I’m also hoping to build up some stock for the shop.
18 Items decluttered
I have too much stuff. Nuff said.
I’m a bit of a nerd, so I printed off a chart for tracking them all weekly and it’s going to be pinned to my bedroom mirror so I can keep an eye on it as the year goes on. They’re even colour-coded by weekly/monthly/yearly goals.
First of all, apologies for the quality of these photos. I have been doing battle with this thing so long that it’s now completely dark outside.
It’s all because of buttons.
I have a lot of buttons. A lot. I spent a couple of evenings sifting through them trying to find a style that 1. I liked 2. went with the cowl colours and 3. I had enough of. You wouldn’t believe the number of buttons I have in sets of four, and of course this needs five.
I finally managed to narrow it down to two options; lovely brass and shiny purple.
But I just could not decide between the two, so off I went to instagram and facebook and had a poll. It was close for a bit, but then purple took off and became the clear winner.
But (of course there’s a but) while attaching said buttons, there was a casualty
I haven’t got any more of these.
So the choice was made for me; this baby got brass buttons.
But nobody told me how different attaching buttons is when it’s knitting rather than crochet.
And why is weaving in the ends so difficult?
What am I doing wrong??
Anyway it’s finished at last, and ready to go into the shop when I can get some proper photos. Phew.
Who’s ready for the weekend (me me me!)? Got any FOs this week? Let me know in the comments!
I love October, if only for the multiple excuses to paint my face!
It feels like September was less busy than August, what with me having a virus for the last few weeks and spending a lot of it resting, but it seems I still managed to get quite a lot done.
3 Christmas presents are now complete, I made some Daisies for Vicky, got a commission for a birthday card, finished off 2 Seafoam Scarves and 2 cosies, and made some good progress on my scoodie.
I finally managed a mass listing session for my Etsy shop so now my items are into double figures. And I also had a very successful giveaway on Instagram, and reached 1,000 followers on there.
Ooft I’m tired just typing all that!
So now we’re into October, I’m going to try setting some goals and see if I can achieve even more.
Make at least one Christmas decoration per week. They’re small, it should be easy enough.
List the rest of my cards in the shop.
Make 12 new blog posts (3 per week).
Write up a proper pattern for my waffle hat. Which will probably involve making it up again because it’s been so long.
Finish this doily that’s been hanging around for months It’s long past time!
I’m away to a festival in Budapest at the end of the month, which will give me a bit of crochet time while I’m travelling there and back, but not much at all while I’m there. It should be really fun though so I don’t mind too much.
How did your September go? Got any goals for this month? Let me know in the comments!
Quiet Water Craft 
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