I'm not sorry to see March go!

A day late March round up! Late is better than never right?

This month came in like a lion and went out like a lion, especially emotionally. Maybe next month will be better. I like April a lot.

First things first about this month! I learned to cable!

An Antler Hat  from TinCanKnits for my great niece. 

And a Classic Cable Knit Hat  for my husband! (Thanks for the pattern Jess !) 

It was on my list of things to do this year and I feel really accomplished I did that.

I finished a few other things that are worth mentioning, a Grain Shawl  for my sister, a honey cowl with friend yarn for myself, and I learned to crochet!

See? A crochet dishcloth!

I also got a huge knit picks order from my husband.

So many goodies!

And as an added surprise he got me Mothy and the Squid  minis! Deadly nightshade, industrial accident, and Easter egg! With markers!

And My Dear Friend Logan  sent me a hug cowl! It's so soft and lovely. And scraps for hexis and squares!

I got quite a few hexis done, and blanket squares.

But that's pretty much all I've gotten done as far as fiber. It's been a long month, that ended with my husband being ill for a week. I'm pretty tired.

These are my current wips:

A virus shawl, Hitchhiker , and a yellow hexi.

I don't have much else to say. Everything had been fairly miserable on the homestead. Especially for someone who suffers with OCD, and Bipolar Disorder. I've been trying my best and hanging in there.

But we did do some fun things this month.

Like go out for sushi

And go to the park

And play Pokémon Go

And I won a really cool poke ball from Zoe.Creates on instagram ! 

Here's the round up:

March Round Up:
3 hats (1 charity one)
1 softie
0 coin purse
0 pair of socks
1 shawl
5 dishcloths
1 cowl
0 scarf
0 blanket
7 mitered blanket squares
5 hexipuffs

Year to date round up :
3 pairs of socks
3 softies
3 charity hat
5 unrelated hats
4 dyed yarns
2 shawl
1 blanket
0 sweater
1 scarf
2 cowl
0 glove/fingerless gloves
5 dishcloths
1 coin purse
 27 mitered blanket squares
 11 hexipuffs


Total things knit = 14 (not counting blanket squares and puffs)
Total dyed yarns = 4
Total things loomed: 6
Total things crocheted: 4

Things out of 2017 goal list completed: 8 out of 13

So that's about it. See you next month. (Whoops, it is next month).

P.S. look what husbando bought me to cheer me up and as thank you for taking care of him! Books and yarn!

The yarn is Easter Moon Rocks and Mochi by TiltingPlanet ! Isn't it pretty?!

5 Ways to Knit What You Want and Reduce Anxiety

I have bipolar disorder. It's something I've been very open about. I also have OCD. And neither of these are the quirky cute crap you see on Facebook with obsessive dog disorder and bipolar weather. No the real, crippling, debilitating disorders.

Today, I realized I am manic. I am thoughts racing, anxiety ridden, never finish anything, believe I'm invincible manic. And because of this I have 0 desire to finish my knitting WIP. In fact, I have a deep seated NEED to cast on Vanilla Extract Socks by RizzaKnits and a Honey Cowl. Seriously. Toe up magic loop socks. I have a MIGHTY need. They're ADORABLE. Nevermind that I only have size 2 magic loop needles. I'll make it work.

But. I also have many, many current projects.

Seriously. A lot. 

But. I am a well oiled machine when it comes to mania. 

So since I know a lot of knitters have a lot of projects too, I decided to make this list. 

5 Ways to Knit What You Want and Reduce Anxiety

1. Project bags. No, I don't mean go buy 75 more. I mean that you should come up with a set number of projects you feel comfortable working on on a daily/week basis. Then pull that number of bags out. For example, I can knit four without an impending sense of doom. So I have 4 bags I use, which means 4 active projects. Everything else?  Well, that leads us to: 
2. The Void. Everything your not working on? Put it in The Void. A bag or a plastic tote box. Something you can seal to keep things like dreaded moths away. Things in there don't count. And when you find yourself thinking "Wow I want something quick and easy!" Go through The Void before you go through your patterns! You might find something that strikes your mood. 
3. Notes. So. Many. Notes. With every project before you place it in The Void, write down everything you can think of! Gauge, number of stitches, pattern repeat, needle size, everything. This helps when you decided to pick it back up again! You won't find yourself ripping back because you don't know what pattern repeat you are on. 
4. Bags, on bags, on bags action. I put every individual project in its own zip lock bag. This means when I want to pick it up again all of the yarn is together. It also means there are less tangles in everything. 
5. It's okay. I promise. I know that sometimes you just really want to cast on some thing with that new yarn, but you have an overwhelming amount of anxiety or guilt over your other projects. They won't have hurt feelings. They understand that wacky hot pink MCN with green speckles is an attention seeker, it needs to be made into socks now or it'll clearly die. No one is judging you, we've all been there. Take a deep breath and remember you are going to be okay. You'll get to it someday, and if you don't? Oh well. Knitting is for enjoyment. Enjoy it. 

That's all the advice I really have. So now, if you'll excuse me, I have the cutest ever pair of toe up socks to knit. Seriously. 

P.S. here is a Linkity Link  to RizzaKnits on Instagram, thanks for answering my question so quickly, Cassondra! 

P.S.S. here is a LinkyLinkLink to my friend ArmyWifeKnittingLife (Jess) new blog! Go read!!!