Farewell March, Hello April!

· by · in Miscellaneous. ·

Wow, I can’t believe March is over already! Here is a quick recap of the month and the projects I have planned for April!

March was definitely a month of growth and learning. I’ve met some amazing bloggers that continue to impress and inspire me. I can’t wait to check my notifications every day to see what everyone is doing, growing, crocheting, cooking, sewing, knitting, and so forth! Thank you all for the very hard work you do not just with your gorgeous makes, but with the amount of time and effort it takes to post your blogs! I appreciate it!

Crochet Projects for March

Mindful Mandala – This project has been so much more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. By using the Osho Zen Tarot cards for inspiration I have gained so much insight into myself personally. The added bonus has been that I absolutely am in love with this design and have learned quite a few new stitches and techniques. It is challenging but not so much that I feel put off. Just enough that when I finish a section I am really proud of what I’ve accomplished and learned. Both personally and crochet-ly. 🙂

I have always loved watching as a project builds under my hook. From the foundation chain to the finish I am continually amazed at what I am ‘growing’ with yarn. My Mandala has been completely blowing my mind. It feels like a flower unfurling and blooming with every round!

Donna’s Poncho – This was actually the most viewed crochet post for Tanglewood Knots this month! Thank you all so much for your lovely compliments on this poncho! It was fun and easy to make. This was the first project that I really used Caron Cakes for and I loved the way that the self striping worked for this.

Spring Sweater – This little cardigan was actually a test run for a pattern that I want to use to make myself and my daughter Aimee some long duster style sweaters. I love the pattern, it’s easy and builds up pretty quick. I also used Caron Cakes for this but was not as thrilled with the self striping effect. My eye goes straight to the color change rows.

Tankini Style Summer Top – A little tie in the back tankini top that I made following my own design – which only means that I didn’t follow any written pattern, just used common sense crochet techniques and fairly basic stitches.

Woven Tartan Plaid Blanket – An easy technique for creating a woven plaid design. I used the Clan Tartan colors for my husbands family name, but this technique can be applied to make a countless number of plaids.

Non Crochet Topics for March

There were several not crochet related topics for the month of March too.

  • On March 1st I redesigned Tanglewood Knots website appearance.
  • We all discovered Stitch Fiddle thanks to a post I read by Texas Purl Designs
  • I shared what I hope was some helpful blogging and WordPress tips
  • There were some poems and other non crochet related interests of mine which led me to create Tanglewood Tapestry to be the new home for all of those tidbits. I’m still building content on this but have made a few posts. Recipes, Scary Saturday, World of Warcraft, and Short Stories, so far – I will be adding Reading Tarot Cards soon.
  • And there were some nominations for Blogging Awards – Thank you again for your nominations!

April Hopefuls!

These are some of my goals for April and some crochet project plans.

  • I want to find and follow a minimum of 10 other crafty blogs per week – I absolutely love going on WordPress Reader explorations!
  • I want to do a series of posts dedicated to Hairpin Lace crochet – I love this technique and have some project plans in mind
  • Design more summer tops – I have several designs in mind and will try to write patterns for ones that I feel are truly unique and provide basic instructions for the ones that are really just basic stitches. My lovely friend Danielle has agreed to be my design model so I will be posting these as I get some America’s Next Top Model quality pictures to go with them!
  • I have one leftover WiP that has been sadly neglected since January that I must finish! It is a shells pattern blanket that my Mother-in-law asked me to make for my sister-in-law. I’m not really sure why it’s taking so long other than it’s a repeat pattern that I’m only using one color for so it is too easy to get distracted by shinier projects. 🙂
  • And my Mindful Mandala – I will be choosing a new inspiration card tomorrow, hopefully we’ll be getting back to the more happy, flowery, cheerful, positive type of cards – if not I will deal with whatever the Universe decides – I can handle it now!

Thank you all so much for reading my posts! The comments are so thoughtful, kind and funny! Thank you to everyone that comments for giving me mini Christmas/Birthday gifts every time I read them!!

I’m looking forward to April and can’t wait to get after it!!

Thanks for reading!

~ Tami

44 responses to “Farewell March, Hello April!”

    • You should do it!!! It was really awesome to sit down and go over everything I did this month because I was thinking I really didn’t do anything! Plus I hope other people do recaps so I can make sure I didn’t miss any of their posts!! 😀

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  2. What a busy month you’ve had! Thinking about it, I’ve probably done more this month than I can remember off the top of my head. I might have a go at a March roundup myself. Although it’ll have to wait til I’ve finished moving house!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Please do! I felt pretty proud of myself while I was proofreading this post! It was really nice to see it all in one summary – Plus it helped me focus on what I want to do next month!! 😀

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    • That’s why I called it April Hopefuls – I always tell myself that if I have a plan I’ll be more organized (insert scoffing noises here). Plus as soon as I forget what my plan is (which will likely be before Monday) I can take a peek back at the post and say Oh yeah that’s what I was doing! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

    • Why thank you Teresa!! Of course sticking to my ‘plan’ could go off the rails at any time – especially because I just saw a post on Yochet’s blog for a shawl/blanket that I love!! 😀 Must…stay….focused!! LOL

      Liked by 1 person

    • It’s a good thing there wasn’t a spot for comments on your blog – I just read your post and probably could have written an annoyingly long comment. I wish that there was a LOVE button and not just a Like button. So here’s my comment – WOW, just wow! You go girl!! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

      • I wish you a lot of motivation for this upcoming month! I have no idea how will I manage to keep posting in April and May and write my thesis and finish the dress but we will see. I will try to not break the one post in a week rule but only time will tell.

        Liked by 1 person

      • If you get behind don’t worry – we’ll still be here! That dress is going to be so beautiful I can’t wait to see it! And yeah your thesis is definitely the biggest priority! Good luck with that!:)

        Liked by 1 person

      • Thank you very much! 🙂 There will probably be some shorter posts about the things I have made in past and haven’t mentioned yet and also the dress updates and yeah, if things go very crazy, I can just post later, when all the busy time is over as after that there should be plenty of time.

        Liked by 1 person

  9. Love the recap and I really can’t wait to start seeing some of your patterns evolve. I envy your “crochet common sense”, I don’t think I’ve been at it long enough to have developed it yet, lol. I’m just starting to realize how increased and decreases change things. Can’t wait to see what April has in store for you!!

    Liked by 1 person

    • I’m excited to start on some original designs – I’m just hoping that how I see them in my head will turn out the same way off my hook! LOL I’ll find out how far my crochet common sense takes me. 😀

      Liked by 2 people

  10. Tami ~
    I’m glad I was one of the blogs you found this month. You inspire me. My list of March projects is not short, but mostly unfinished. And getting past completion to photos and writing is a whole nother story.
    Maybe if I put all those projects out there I’ll be “on the record” which should encourage me to finish them. I’m so easily distracted. So many pretty colors and patterns out there.
    Keep up the good work!
    Jan

    Liked by 1 person

    • Jan, thank you so much! I know exactly what you mean!! With smaller projects it can take longer to put a post together than it does to make something! 🙂 I’m glad I put my plans for April ‘out there’ so hopefully I will stay focused. What was really nice though was when I was fretting about whether or not I got much accomplished for March, putting it all down in this recap made me think hmmm, I did more than I thought! And honestly, it was nice to have at least one day where I wasn’t worried about what I was going to write about and need to take pictures and everything. I think everyone should do a recap every once in a while. I would love it! I’m glad I found your blog too!! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Tami, I am so impressed with your creative energy and inventive posts! I had never thought of doing a “summary of one month – preview of the next month.” I love reading the review as a reminder of what you’ve posted earlier. I might try it myself! Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hi Theresa! You should do a recap! Especially when you have a multi-post topic like you do with #beingthemoment! That way you can reflect on your progress, new readers can catch up, and people that have been following all along will be sure they didn’t miss anything. I would love to see a recap – for some reason I don’t get email notifications when you post so I need to keep an eye out for you while I’m adventuring in WP Reader! 🙂

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  12. You’ve been a creative lady this month! Such an inspiration. I’m so happy that I’ve also found your other blog. 😀 btw I’ve also been using the Pet Battle Bonus to level some more of my critters 😉

    Liked by 1 person

  13. I agree about finding cool crafty blogs! I’ve been swamped lately at my other jobs, so I’m taking some time this weekend to catch up on my favs and find some new ones. Can’t wait to see how your April projects go!

    Liked by 1 person

    • It’s really addictive!! I tell myself oh I’m just going to read some blogs for about fifteen minutes or so…….2 hours later, still reading blogs!!! 😀

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  14. Damn busy girl lol but such a good idea! Think I should plan but cba? 😅 agree with the following of more crafty blogs you can never have enough. Can’t wait to see all your projects 😀

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Wow love the Mandala, definitely looks like a flower blossoming! Also love you blog , you had so many lovely makes in March! Reading your blog reminded me I didn’t include half my March makes in my last post. (Thank you for following my blog too)I’m Fairly new to blogging but so pleased I found WordPress blogging , so many ideas and blogs to follow! Can’t wait to see your hair pin lace projects . One technique I’m in the process of learning.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you! I just started my blog 2 months ago and wish I had thought to start it sooner! There are so many incredibly creative people out there! And it’s such a wonderfully supportive community. I love finding blogs like yours and getting inspired by what everyone is making and doing to express themselves through their makes. I’m especially impressed with projects like the one you were involved in to introduce people to crochet and other crafts. It is so rewarding to create things. I love to crochet to relax and unwind. It’s awesome that you are helping to introduce people to all of the benefits of learning something new! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

      • Glad we found each others blog! Yes crochet is my stress buster and I love teaching my little class , they are so enthusiastic and keen to learn, they are certainly keeping me on my toes! I love other crafts too, sewing, painting, if only I had more hours in the day haha. Looking forward to your next post. !

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