busy day

Busy days have become commonplace.

I picked out yarn for a baby blanket I am making for my coworker. (It’s actually for the lil bun in her oven). It is Caron Simply Soft in “Soft Blue”. The yarn is so silky and I hope the perfect match for a lil baby boy.

I picked a stitch out of the awesome stitch book Matt got me for my birthday: The Harmony Guides: Basic Crochet Stitches. The “Single Crochet Cluster Stitch I” looked like it would be a good baby blanket stitch since it lacked holes for baby fingers to get snagged on.

It didn’t look bad but I was having a rough time getting used to the pattern. I just wasn’t “feeling” this project so after a couple weeks, I gave up on it and frogged it after a discussion with my mum. Frogging is a depressing yet invigorating act for me… Unraveling progress into raw material was the right choice!

I began again using the “Single Crochet Cluster Stitch II”. This pattern was much easier for me to follow and I got into the rhythm right away. I’m now looking forward to working on this blanket and don’t need to have the open book in front of me at all times to verify my stitches. Progress is a beautiful thing!

I like the way this stitch looks, the texture and pattern is coming out so nicely! Do you like it for a baby boy blanket?

I feel like other than crochet, my art has slipped to the side again. I haven’t been journaling or blogging regularly.

On a positive note – I have acquired three new bottles of fountain pen ink. Sunday I had to get out my dip pen and nibs to give the colors a look-see. I ended up uncapping my black india ink and playing with my Speedball B-5 nib. The nibs n pens are from my father’s collection and they hold a special place in my heart because of that. I love thinking that my dad used to draw and create with these same tools.

Speedball “B” nibs are round and are not really made for calligraphy but I felt like writing with it. Does it look horrible? – I kinda like it. I want to pick up some calligraphy nibs for the dip pens and watch for a fountain pens with an italic or calligraphy nib. I think I’ll see what books I can find at the library that contain actual alphabets to practice. (I just hope I can find the time!)

I have a grand total of six bottles of fountain pen ink now. I suppose every collection has to start small. I am loving all the colors which is my favorite part. I spent all of August abiding my by “no unnecessary spending” vow. I did very well and rewarded myself with the purchase of a Lamy fountain pen off of eBay. :squeee:! I can’t have more bottles of ink than I have fountain pens, can I?

Speaking of my addictions, I saw a fancy new notebook at Walgreens. It is Oxford brand Stone Paper Note Book. It appears the crew over at DIYPlanner already knew about it and there is a post here. I didn’t buy it because of my spending cap but I did take some time touching the unusual smooth plastic-like-feel paper. Maybe if I finish off a few notebooks, I’ll splurge on it. I believe it was around $3.50 at my local store if you were curious.

This morning Matt left very early so I got up much earlier than I had planned. I think it was 6:30am. Iggy Pup sleeps in bed with us and was snoring heavily when I got up. I couldn’t justify disturbing his sleep. I use his sleeping-in time to cuddle with my kitties and get things done around the house. (Yes he tends to sleep in a lot!) I figured that around 8am he would want to get up and start his day with a nice walk or at least a potty break. I walked into the bedroom to find the lil puppy prince on my pillow! How can I not adore this puppy with all my heart – look at that face!

Take care and be well.

Posted by diysara in Art, Crochet, diyplanner, Journal, Life, Links, misc, Pens and/or Paper, Pets, Ramblings