Knit, purl, knit, ukulele, knit

I realized something this morning:  I haven't updated my blog in nearly a year.  Bad blogger!!

So, what's been going on?

Ukulele! After taking time off due to vitamin D deficiency pains, I'm back to it, and the great news is my hands remember.  Challenging songs are now a pleasure to play, and I'm looking forward to getting better. My goal over the remainder of the year is to improve my strumming and picking skills.

Knitting!  I've had a ravelry account for 7 years and not done much with it.  My guest room closet is also loaded with yarn, and I've decided to begin working through my stash.  That yarn stash of mine is actually organized on ravelry now, all 60 yarns!  I've also used the needle chart to record all my knitting and crochet needles/hooks, and it turns out that I have duplicate sets in some sizes.  Big surprise there. :-)  This weekend includes a girly day with friends, cookies, and knitting, and I'll take my extra needles in case any friends want them.  On the yarn front, I've made some headway, but also bought some new yarn.  My thought is to keep my interest peaked by buying new, exciting yarns periodically...as a reward for using some of the existing yarns.  Here are some items I've made recently...and some projects that are in my queue, or find me on ravelry, http://www.ravelry.com/people/dawnner.


Beaded wrist warmers.  This I Dream in Color sock yarn is super soft and feels nice on the hands.  I added some bright yellow beads to accent the yellow variegation in the yarn.

Years ago, Sean's mom gave me several balls of crochet thread, which has been sitting in a closet untouched.  I've decided to use it for bookmarks, some lace gloves and doilies.  Here are the bookmarks I've done so far:

A unicorn chapstick cozy.  Yes, it's odd, but it's also a little bit awesome.

A pretty, Irish tea cozy.  This pattern is a challenge, but the result is worth it.  I plan on making more Celtic tea cozy with Aran knitting, using a pattern available on ravelry (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/little-and-large-aran-tea-cosy).

May 12th is Fibromyalgia Awareness Day, and for a friend who suffers this illness, I made a snuggly purple hippo.

My first lace project.  I had never made lace or blocked a finished product for that matter, and this was my first adventure.  It came out lovely.

I'm now working on some eyelet wrist warmers and a matching eyelet cowl, made with bamboo silk. Then, gansey socks, and some scarves.  Pictures soon...