Weekly WIPs: April 17-23

 Happy Monday! I don’t have many massage clients today, so it looks like I’ll be able to make a pretty good dent in my some of projects for the week. I try to always bring something to keep me busy in case I have gaps in my schedule, and in this instance I’m okay with a free day. 

Let’s look at what I’ve got in my pipeline for this week!

Crochet top

The pattern I'm using is the Coffee Date Top from Shop Daisy and Dime on Etsy. This is my second time (okay, third if you count the massive amount of frogging I had to do when I tried to make a cardigan for the first time) using one of her patterns and so far I love it! I’m using a weight 2 cotton blend yarn in a pretty light coral color, and it’s been working up beautifully. I’ve had to frog the back panel a few times, which is frustrating, but I finished it this afternoon, and I'm starting on the sleeves next. I cannot WAIT to wear it this summer! I’m hoping the backless twist will turn out the way it looks in the pattern- I’m a little nervous about it since I’m using such a lightweight yarn, but I think my tension is loose enough that it’ll drape anyway. I guess we’ll see! At the very least, it’s a learning experience.

Macrame belt

Okay so I’m doing something a little reckless and I’m trying two new skills for the family pictures we're having taken on April 30th. I’m going to make my own outfit! We’re starting off with a macrame belt from Fanny Zedenius’ book Macrame 2, and it’ll be the first macrame project I’ll complete.

 Am I nervous? Heck yeah. Do I have an annoying, stubborn part of my brain that is convinced I’ll still succeed? HECK yeah. Time will tell (not that I have a lot of it), but I’m optimistic. ESPECIALLY if I finish my crochet top and I don’t have it weighing on my mind anymore. 

Yellow maxi dress

The color scheme for photos this year is black and yellow, and I decided I'd like to try my hand at sewing! I found this yellow cotton fabric at Hobby Lobby and I think it's beautiful. My dog agrees! ;^)

I spent a few days searching for a beginner dress pattern I’d want to wear more than once, and I think I’ve found it! The only problem is it’s a YouTube tutorial, not a ~pattern, and it’s a bit hard to follow at times. I think I’ll try writing up a tutorial and posting it once I’ve successfully made it (giving links and credit to the original author of COURSE.) I’m not trying to steal her pattern, just clarify it a bit for my own documentation purposes, and if I love this dress and want to make more, I’d like a clearer-cut tutorial I can follow. Less mental breakdowns that way…

Macrame straps

I bought this little $2 kit from Michael’s because A) I need a yoga mat holder, and B) I wanted to practice some knots before getting into a really big project I want to try, and C) it was $2 and I have no self control. I want to make EVERYTHING!

Block the bathroom rug!!

This is a rug I finished about a month ago and kept forgetting to block, until now. The rows of frontmost double crochet warp the rug a bit, and I'm hoping that blocking does the trick. I got blocking mats in the mail, and I’m tired of having to lay down towels in the bathroom after a shower. So this week, it’s happening. I’m putting my clean, wet self on this rug. I'll make sure to update, of course, but probably not with wet selfies. I'm sorry.

Think I have enough to keep me busy this week? I think I'll keep working on my crochet top at work in between clients, then work on the macrame yoga strap after that. I'll block the bath mat after I buy some blocking pins, and I'll work on the belt in the evenings. I have the day off on Wednesday, and if I don't finish it then, I'll focus on finishing it this weekend. It'll be a busy week, but I'm super excited!

I'll make separate posts for each project as I complete them and chat about how it all went down. Stay tuned!

-Haeley