Ta-dah!

I finally completed one of my to-do projects today!

Using some fabulous new colors I got off on Knit Picks 

I made Lemur a set of coasters for her apartment.

I used a variety of different patterns so I pinned them all to my Pinterest crochet board for your enjoyment

Happy crocheting from a very snowy Virginia!

Cheers,

Cristyn

Where HAVE You Been!

That, my dear friends, is an excellent question.

I've been studying, studying a lot!

(Being an Anthropology/Middle Eastern studies double major is even harder than it sounds!)

I've been coughing and sleeping far to much

I've been thrifting

and drinking tea tea tea!

I've not been crocheting very much at all

(so I did this just to prove I still could!)

Though I've been playing with colors!

I've been packing for home

and waiting for Spring to finally arrive.

I've been planning adventures.

I've been applying for internships.

I've been watching the steady pace of my blog visitors rise!

And most importantly I've been sick and away and am glad to be back!

Cheers,
Cristyn 

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

It is time to introduce you all to my current work in progress (WIP), also known as the love of my life.

I have tentatively named her (yes, she is a her) my Tangled shawl, after one of mine and Wonderboy's favorite Disney films. 

Mainly, the name comes from the colors because while working the second set of hexagons with dark purple, lavender, and yellow I couldn't help but think of all those purple flags with yellow suns from the movie.

Not to mention that the more I work on her the more I feel her becoming playful and innocent with a little bit of a daring edge like Rapunzel (which also happens to be my favorite fairy tale).

Okay so maybe I've given my shawl a few too many human characteristics?

But did I mention I love her?

I started the Tangled shawl about a month ago, over winter break, and am about two thirds of the way through with the hexagons. This is my first work with granny squares and it takes more time than I was expecting it to, though I am anticipating that this shawl will be done just in time for spring, 

which will be the absolute perfect time to show her off!

I'm using Lisa Harding and  Debbie Bliss yarns. These brands can be a little pricey and I am not used to spending so much money on yarn, but the quality is definitely worth it.

As for the pattern I am using a variation on motif 37 from the book "Beyond the Square". 

I do not own the book nor do I have access to the pattern so I formulated my own pattern and came pretty darn close if I do say so myself! (I will post the pattern with the finished project, until then you will just have to wait in anticipation :) )

I really seem to have a thing for shawls lately. I just ordered yarn for a second shawl. This time it will be simple and all grey. I find I work best by having two projects going at once. One is something real easy that I can work on during downtime after a long day of classes 

(such as the gift for Mrs. J I am working on, which I'll post later, or this next shawl project)

the other is something a bit more intensive

(the Tangled shawl)

that I can sit down and work at  on the weekends and really get to enjoy the beauty of the work.


Cheers,
Crsityn

The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway!

SNOW!

This is my first snow in Williamsburg! I went to bed after a well fought snowball fight in the William and Mary sunken gardens and a nice hot shower, though unfortunately upon returning to my room I discovered my unfathomable lack of hot chocolate!

.............

And this morning I woke up to this...

Classes were cancelled til noon, which meant sleeping in!

So overall a pretty good time over here in Williamsburg today.

Cheers,

Cristyn

Beautiful beginnings...

... don't you just LOVE an alliteration?

Not only do I feel that this is the start to something pretty AMAZING, but today was truly beautiful; fifty degrees in January! The next best thing to snow and no school.

Classes ended by twelve today for me so A, my partner in crime, and I decided to give the local bus system a try. We kinda winged it on a line we had never been on but the risk of getting lost really paid off. Not only did we find the yarn shop we had been looking for, but we also found a cool little tea shop and A was able to get some NEW TEA for our tea times.

We spent a good while in the yarn shop called The Knitting Sisters and I got this really LOVELY colored yarn! I saw it and just had to have it! Truthfully I went in intending to buy just the one skein of yarn I needed to finish my current project, but I sort of lost control. They didn't actually have the yarn I needed so I reasoned that by getting this yarn the trip wasn't a total waste.

I mean just LOOK at all the potential this color has!

Admittedly, my camera couldn't grasp all the perfection of the yarn, so you may have to just trust me on this.

I haven't decided what it's going to be yet, though I am considering a tea cozy or fingerless gloves. What do YOU think?

I also got this in the mail today...

It has 75 different GRANNY SQUARE patterns (!) all of them are simply GORGEOUS. I can't wait to start trying some of them out. I'll post some pics when I have a few completed.

Here's to the start of something good,

Cheers,

Cristyn