It certainly has been a busy time trying to achieve all my crafting goals during April. With traveling, it makes it more difficult, but I have managed to keep up. May, on the other hand, may need a little catch-up work! (see my blog post Crafting Goals 2025 for the fill list)
For quilting: A new flower block every month
Achieved! Bloodroot - this one I added to a frame (you can find instructions for framing on a previous blog post)
For Knitting: A Challenge to complete my 25 for 2025 list. Here is the challenge: Knitting/Crochet 25 for 2025 challenge
Progress Made with another three categories checked off!
The Easy Breezy top checked off #5 Summer top. Here it is on my blocking mats. It has since dried and is ready to wear. It is made from 100% silk..... it feels very luxurious.
The Maya Hat checked off #15 Gift (made it for my Mum's birthday) and #23 DK weight pattern.
I also checked off #25 (2025 Mystery knit or New Technique) as my gnome this month was a mystery knit along, however then I realized I should have checked that off in January when I finished Freya's Echo as it has Latvian Braids (the white bands below), which was a new technique for me.
At this time, I have 13 of the 25 categories checked off..... over the halfway mark - woo hoo.
For Spinning: 5 grams of roving each day all year
Achieved!
With the large advent project out of the way during March, it was really nice to enjoy some smaller amounts of roving. First, I finished the roving I had started at the end of last month. I chose another similar, but darker one to add with it to make a 3 ply yarn. This just needs to be plied now. (the photo on the left is truer to color)
Since my March roving from Dreamfire was a wool/nylon blend (perfect for socks), I started spinning this next.... And because I like knitting with a rounded wool (3 plies instead of 2), I grabbed a while lace-weight pre-spun yarn to make up the third ply. This also makes my spinning go further. I should get at least a couple of pairs of socks from this.
Lastly, I plied off some roving I had spun last year that has been waiting patiently. It's great to have most of my bobbins available once again!
For Crochet: A temperature blanket
Progress Made!
After arriving home mid-April, I was looking at the grey section of my March block (area of the block when I traveled down south) and decided it wasn't visible enough thus I undid the joined squares and redid it in grey instead of white. It's much more visible now! Can you see the difference with the blocks side by side?
April's block is also complete. You can definitely see the difference in temperatures between Canterbury in the south (cooler) and Auckland in the north.
Toy Making: A gnome challenge by Sarah Schira (one every month).
4th Achieved! Mystery Gnome - Professor Fungi. A mystery knit is always fun, especially little knits like this gnome. I decided to use the leftover yarns from my Alchemy Loop cowl knit to make this. He is sitting in the strawberry patch where the green leaves make him look more blue than green, but he is actually more teal than blue.
An added addition this month was a small cluster of mushrooms - perfect for Professor Fungi. The tops of the mushrooms use homespun wool which I just happened to have from another project.
There are now five gnomes sitting on my window sill plus the mushrooms. Much excitement was seen on my granddaughters' faces when they arrived the next time they visited.
Embroidery: Make a small Redwork ornament each month.
Achieved!
I am totally enjoying this little bit of embroidery each month. I really wish I had time to do more embroidery but at the moment, I have other pressing tasks to catch up on. Maybe in a month or two, when things settle down.....
It was quite hard to keep up this month with being away, but I managed it. May is going to be just as tricky as I'm away twice, which cuts down my hours to complete my goals. Be sure to check back next month to see how I get on.
