Pick a Number...

Updated with more pictures 8/31 - Done!

It happens all the time... somebody posts a picture on my Facebook page, another crafter shows off their latest work, a designer announces a new pattern...and I print off yet another pattern that I want to make, and add it to my pile.

There are just so many cute items I want to make! Trouble is, I already have several projects in the works. One of them is an afghan... 20 large squares. (Finished that in mid-August)

I get bored with big projects. I want to make little things that pop off the needles (or hook) quickly, so I usually have a number of projects going. On Sunday, I realized I had 5 projects in the works... a bit too  much, in my opinion, so I finished up a cowl I had been working on, off and on, for a few weeks. Then, after a trip to the craft store for more Fiberfill, I finished up Mike the Monster.

Down to three projects... that gave me "permission" to start another... but which one? I pulled out the stack of patterns by my chair (probably over an inch thick) and started leafing through with pen in hand. I came up with a list of 25 patterns I wanted to make... so I put a post on Facebook asking my friends to pick a number from 1-27 (because even while I was typing up that status, I thought of two more things!)

So, I will be updating this post as I finish projects. Of the 28 items on the list (yes, added another one), I have completed three, and have two more in the works. One of my Facebook friends said that she would like to see pictures of all 29 (oh, yes, added one more due to a Facebook post yesterday) finished products. So, as I finish up projects, I will add pictures by the numbers.

1. Gift  - done... So... here's the story: A few weeks ago, my friend Joanna put up a Facebook post about a squirrel getting into their house. Her response was to run outside and climb up onto a chair on their porch. The comments on her post were pretty funny, but a few days later, the squirrel saga continued, as someone (still unidentified) "squirrel-bombed" their house by making about a dozen pictures of squirrels. Some were put on paint stirrers and "planted" around their lawn. Others were taped onto the porch railing. When I saw the pictures on Facebook, I laughed so hard, I had tears rolling down my cheeks. My response was to look for a squirrel pattern. When I finished him up, I snuck him over to Joanna's house and handed him off to her husband to put somewhere in the house where Joanna would find him.

2. Tiger Hat - started 8/12, Finished 8/14

3. Unicorn - started 7/28, finished 8/10

4. I've seen all sorts of hats for little girls inspired by the movie Frozen. I decided to make one for an American Girl Doll. The crown fits over the hat, so they can be worn separately.

5.  Cowboy Booties.. finished 7/28

6. Fox stuffed animal - started 8/21

7. Chosen by fellow craft show Artisan Gail - Drowsy Owl Hat

This is already in my Storenvy Shop for $12, and will be on my craft table this fall if it doesn't sell before then.



8.Reflective Beanie

This is made with a reflective yarn. The first picture is in a dark room with a flash. Picture on the right is in daylight.

9. Chosen by my friend, co-worker and fellow craft show artisan Joanna - Loopy Love Slippers

 

These are Newborn size and will be on my craft table this fall for $10. 

10. Knit Sampler Hat - started and finished 8/19. I had fun with this one, just making it up as I went along. Each color is a different knit pattern: ribbing, cable, diagonal rib, reverse stockingnet, stockingnet. If this one sells this fall, I will definitely make more.

11. Minion Slippers - finished on a road trip to Michigan. Had to buy knitting needles because I only put one in my craft bag!

12. Oscar the Grouch Hat - Chosen by The Crochet Lounge - I had fun with this one! I made it in an adult size. I figure it will be something that makes people stop in their tracks at my craft shows... just need to find an adult who loves Oscar enough to wear it out in public!

13. Chosen by my niece Nicole... Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle hat...

14. Started 7/26 - Crocodile Stitch Owl - just finished 7/28

15. Nemo - This one was fun!

16. Penguin

Introducing... Pudgy Penguin

17.  Cthulu Scarf

18. Kitty - Started 8/16. I gave my husband my list and said "Pick one that isn't highlighted yet."

19. Frog - Started and finished 8/23. This didn't end up looking anything like the pattern I had printed out. I just kept making changes!

20. Pig - started 8/17, since I had pink yarn out for Miss Kitty

21. Little Turtle - started and finished 8/11. I think I need to make more of these little guys. It was fun to make, and worked up quickly.

22. Also chosen by Gail - One Skein Filet Shawl - started 7/24

23. Also chosen by Gail - Sock Monkey Baby Booties

24.  Walker Bag - started and finished 8/25 - but since I spent 6 hours in a waiting room, I had plenty of time to spend working on it!

25. Woven Scarf - started 8/17. I was working on Miss Kitty, but needed fiberfill to keep going, but my husband was sleeping in his chair between me and the closet where the fiberfill was... thought that stepping over his feet to get to the closet might wake him up.

26. Christmas Sock Monkey
About a month ago, I found a bag of Christmas yarn on my desk. No note, nobody asked if I found it. I thought it might make a cute sock monkey.

27. Mini Mikie - since I made the big Mike Wazowski (pictured above on the globe), I wanted to try my hand at making a smaller version that I could sell at my craft table for $5, since $5 crafts tend to sell more quickly. I made this little guy up as I went along.

28. My choice - needed for an upcoming sermon at church - Bronze Serpent

We are working through a series called "Story of Hope" at church, beginning in Genesis and going through the entire Bible. In a few weeks, the sermon will be on Moses and the Bronze Serpent. It doesn't look all that big in this picture, but he's nearly 4 feet long.

29. CD Coaster - A Facebook friend told me about these. I had to alter a pattern a bit to make it fit on the CD. I'll make up a few more and see if they sell at craft shows this fall.

Want to chime in on a number for my next project? There's a thread on my Facebook page where you can pick a number!

And the winner is...

I rounded up my projects this morning for a picture. This isn't 100% accurate, since three projects were already delivered, and some of my own notes were so confusing (slippers? which slippers? I put in the camo slippers at the lower right, and afterward realized the slippers I finished in June were the flip-flop slippers I made for myself!).

I got ten guesses, from 9 to 100, averaging out to 38.5. The actual count: I finished 28 projects, using six and a half pounds of yarn (which I probably replaced in one shopping trip on June 30 - picture below).

22+ skeins of yarn for $15.23 when Savers had a 50% off day

My closest guess was 30...from my daughter Connie. Now, that doesn't seem fair...she knows me well, she is my Facebook friends as well as a fan of Penguin Place, and I e-mail or text her pictures all the time... and, she's my kid... she can come over and pick out stuff from my inventory any time! (Well, she lives about 7 hours away... maybe not any time...)

So, we go to the next closest guess, which was 23. Allison Marie is a fan of the Penguin Place Facebook page, and frequently likes my posts, so she just might have something picked out already.

What's up next for Penguin Place?

Stitch-cation!

The Crochet Crowd is having a challenge, making an afghan of 20 squares of very different textures. To qualify for prizes, the afghan needs to have at least 7 colors. I picked out these colors from my stash: 

Blues, grays, purple and a pale yellow. The squares will be joined with off-white. I finished up one square last night, with yellow and gray stripes. (Sorry, forgot to take a picture!). I have until September 1st to finish up. I will be posting pictures of my progress on Penguin Place.

So, congratulations, Allison Marie!

Once I finish up this major project, I think I may run another giveaway like this! It was fun, and it kept the creative juices flowing!