Plenty of FO's....and a couple of WIP's!

So, it's time to bring you up to speed!! I was pretty  productive these last couple of weeks i must say...specially since i finally finished the sweater!! It's a little bigger than i'd like, but that just teaches me that swatching is essential(i've heard that here and there). I can deal with the slightly bigger sweater, not to mention i also made quite a few other mistakes, yet it's my first and i'm just glad i got through it!

For those not familiar, if you're making something where size is important(anything you would wear for example since it has to fit you) it's suggested to make a gauge swatch(aka a small piece of fabric using the needles/hook and yarn you'll be usin
g for this project) which is used to measure the stitches per inch which in turn lets you adjust accordingly depending on the size you're going for.

I got a couple of hats done as well; my favorite is inspired by the character Pascal from Animal Crossing(once again lol)! He's a sea otter that trades you furniture for a scallop(in New Leaf)... <3  The other hat i did didn't end up looking quite like the pattern's pictures. Perhaps it was that i didn't block it and/or shaped it and i skipped adding the tassel...somehow i was not impressed. It did help me realize that i hate garter stitch and that i'm not the biggest fan of short rows.

You guys remember the gorgeous hand-spun from shespins.com? Well i finally casted on and i'm about 80% done with this project. I wanted something where i could use up all the yarn and something that would showcase the colors. Didn't quite find what i wanted anywhere so i opted to make up a pattern for a simple... doily? Place-mat? Table runner? Not sure what the correct term for it is, but it will sit on my table or nightstand probably under my misc trinkets and such. It's a very simple knit, maybe i'll write up a pattern in the near future. Love it!

Talking about patterns, i've yet to make any tutorials from Lion Brand's free list. Just haven't found the time! But, i think i know what my first one would be, hence this little cute(and quick) crochet envelope. I may even do a knit version since the concept is so simple....we'll see!

I've also spent quite a few hours working on my website which you can view right now! Check it out here - malonsshop.com. As i've mentioned before i'm a real newbie and editing while learning takes me a long time! Lol. There's still a lot of tweaking to do as far as the content and plugins/feeds, not to mention the lack of pictures and the like(it's a little boring right now). But, at least i got both shops linked in and it's on it's way.