New Year, New Blog

With this new year, I've decided to start a new blog. In the hopes that it will encourage me to actually blog more, I've moved from Blogger to WordPress and renamed the blog. So you can find me now at Share's Yarn Cakes. Hope to see you there!

Malabrigo March Madness, NATCROMO, COM...Oh My!

Need I say more? Well, OK, maybe I do. March is a busy, busy month! It's National (and International on Ravelry) Crochet Month (NATCROMO/ITCROMO). It's also our 2nd annual Village Hopelessly Overcommitted Cast On Mania (COM). And it's Malabrigo March Madness (MMM). btw, it isn't a coincidence that COM is the same month as MMM. ;)

First, Malabrigo! Yep, I'm going backwards. *warning: shameless self promotion ahead* ...cause I need votes! I am a new Malabrigo Junkie. I've had this heavenly yarn in my stash for about a year, but never done anything with it other than occasionally take it out and pet it. And I wasn't really that in love with the worsted I had...the color YES, but the feel, no. So when MMM came around this year, I thought what better way to get me off my butt and try it. I'd always heard how soft it was but wasn't really seeing it myself...in the skein. Then I started using it! OMB! (That's Oh My Bob! for any non-Ravelers out there.) It really is amazingly soft and keeps getting softer the more I work with it! I am now officially in LOVE!

So what better way to show my new found love, than with a song! ...and an entry into the 2010 Show Your Devotion Contest. So here is my first ever attempt at 1) a video and 2) singing in public...so to speak. If you're on Ravelry, check out the Contest thread in the Malabrigo Junkies group and vote for me! ;) Voting ends the 31st...I think.



Now, onto NATCROMO! This year for NATCROMO, I got to be a little more active in the Ravelry Party than last year, but still not as much as 2008. Nonetheless, I was still crocheting and actively promoting crochet to others. I have worked on several things...

a dress for Thing 1's Ariel doll. She picked out the pattern (from the 80's!) and color. It just needs snaps and a little ribbon:



a scarf that will end up as a gift before too long (you'll have to wait to find out who for). It's taken a while to find out what pattern this Plymouth Baby Alpaca Lace wanted to be, but this is it! It's the Alpine Frost Scarf (Rav pattern link) by Amy O'Neill Houck from Interweave Crochet, Winter 2008.



And then I've also been working on a couple of new designs too! ...but I can't show you those right now. ;)

And finally COM! Crazy thing to do! The idea is to cast on/start something new everyday of the month. Sounds a lot easier to do than it is. I couldn't keep up last year either and then ended up with a TON of projects that are either still WIPs or I've finally frogged. This year, I've tried to be smarter about it. I have never planned to try to cast on something every day...just wanted to allow myself the freedom to start something new with no guilt. All the things I've done for NATCROMO have been included as well as a few knitted things...

Like this Faberge Neck Warmer (Rav pattern link) by Nina Machlin Dayton (that is also for MMM) from the gorgeous Malabrigo worsted I was given in a swap last year:



(I'm about halfway through this neck warmer now...need to take a new pic!)

And this Cable Band Bag (Rav pattern link) by Jennifer Jones using the GORGEOUS merino/alpaca Pistachio and Chocolate handspun yarn from my Danish friend, Lykkefanten.



Clearly, they're all still WIPs, but ones with a greater chance at becoming FO's than the COMs from last year. :D

And all this while dealing with colds in our house that took all but one of us out for 2 weeks! ACK! Anyway, I hope you all have had a better and more productive month. But it's still been fun!

And as always...Happy Crafting! :D