Yarn Crazy Girl

Oops, more yarn

2011-05-11T11:27:00.001-05:00

Did I mention that along with the Green Line DK that I ordered for my sweater, a couple balls of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock fell into my cart too?

http://www.JimmyBeansWool.com/knitting/yarn/LornasLaces/ShepherdSock.asp?showLarge=true&specPCVID=22531

In colors Funky Stripe that will hopefully look good with this pattern:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/not-a-drop

Sweater saga: Begin!

2011-05-11T10:26:00.001-05:00

So I've been wanting to make a knitted sweater for... Well, a long time. And mostly I'm lazy and know that it will take me forever but I'm also partly scared of the difficulty level and the cost of the yarn. I don't really think the knitting will be hard, I pretty much have the hang of most knitting techniques except for colorwork, but I do know the construction will be difficult. I'm not a sewer, so the seaming and general putting together directions will be challenging for me. I find picking up stitches to be hard, trying to figure out how many stitches will cover without puckering, but also make them neat and even. But no excuses. I just have to try because I'll never get good at it if I only listen to podcasters talk about their sweater making but never so it myself.

So what got me going finally was a sale! The www.jimmybeanswool.com email showed that the Lorna's Laces Green Line DK http://www.JimmyBeansWool.com/knitting/yarn/LornasLaces/GreenLineDK.asp?showLarge=true&specPCVID=23576 was on sale for $7.50 and though there aren't many colors left, there were plenty in a great smokey violet color, Blackberry. I have a jacket in a similar color that I am wearing out. So that would make a sweaters worth around $83 and that sounded affordable. I know I could get Cascade 220 for less but I don't love the feel of 220 and reviews of Green Line said it was soft and nice to work with. They also said it bleeds badly so I may wash it before winding it, we'll see.

So knowing what yarn I was going to get I searched Ravelry for DK sweaters, I wanted something fairly popular so there were notes and reviews and people I could tap if I had trouble with mine and the one I liked the most was the Kingscot cardigan http://www.twistcollective.com/collection/index.php/component/content/article/60-winter-2008-patterns/135-kingscot-by-norah-gaughan- by Nora Gaughan on Twist Collective. It's worked in pieces and seamed, which will be good experience for me. I do want to do a top down raglan with minimal seaming but maybe for the next sweater I do. After picking out Kingscot, I realized the Green Line worsted was also on sale and would actually be a but cheaper but I couldn't find a worsted sweater pattern that I really loved. The Kingscot will be perfect because there is some cabling and patterning on the back for interest so it's not just miles of stockinette that might be a bit boring.

So the yarn is ordered and is on it's way, I'm crossing my fingers that the bleeding isn't too bad though some said it was literally rubbing off on their fingers while they worked with it.

Maybe I should finish my two shawls I'm working on before starting this sweater.

Yarrrrrrrrr!! N!!!!!

2010-07-27T22:40:00.000-05:00

So I made a recent trip to the Cleve to visit my good friend and guess what I found! Yep! Yar!N!

We stumbled across a street festival in an area of town called Tremont and while there, and while eating ice cream, we found yarn graffiti! How exciting! My first encounter!

Sock yarnage.

2010-06-26T14:56:00.002-05:00

So the socks I made for Elle turned out pretty cute, as evidenced by these very good shots that Steve got with his much better than mine camera, but I didn't finish them fast enough. I mailed them to my sister and she informed me that she loved them... but they were already too small for Elle! Boo.

So I started something else for Elle - some little leg warmers. I know she won't need them till the winter, hopefully they will still fit her once cold weather comes around. They are turning out cute. Great mindless knit, mostly just knit knit knit in the round. Using some more Premier sock yarn in Paprika and this baby leggings pattern. I will get on another pair of socks after I finish these leg warmers.

Tiny toes

2010-05-04T01:29:00.002-05:00

These tiny socks are so fast to make! I would be almost done with them except I wanted to be sure they wouldn't be way too big (or small) for Elle so I asked my sister to measure her foot and am waiting on her to email me back with measurements. I had some trouble at first with the increases and keeping the sides seams tight and had large holes at the side joins so I frogged after about 20 rounds and started over.

Perfectionism is painful.

Uh oh. More yarn. More projects.

2010-05-01T18:31:00.001-05:00

So after I bought all that great sock yarn at Stitches South and told my sister how I was so excited about making socks, she requested that I make some socks for my niece, Elle. I like to be able to make things people actually ask for, though I don't always come through, as evidence by my half done hat that Suzy asked me to make since Sydney had outgrown her other gay baby devil hat.

So anyhow, I didn't want to use my super expensive super awesome new sock yarn for baby sock since, well, it's for meeeeeeee! Well also it's just not economical, they will take so little yarn and then the rest of the ball will be useless for other projects! So obviously, I need more yarn. To Hobby Lobby I went! Premier Yarns Serenity Sock Weight. Superwash merino, bamboo and nylon. Feels pretty nice and decent colorways. Totally don't need another project started but have cast on Preemie Socks.

Also bought a bunch of scrapbooking stuff to make a book for my mom for mother's day. As if I need another hobby/project.

Yay Stitches South!

2010-04-30T19:04:00.004-05:00

See the awesomely beautiful yarn I got at Stitches?? I was so excited to learn about Stitches South in Atlanta, since my recent knitting podcast obsession had made me super jealous of people going to festivals full of fiber such as Stitches West, Oregon Flock and Fiber, etc. When I discovered one in the south and not too far from me, super pumped!

And I was able to combine the trip with a visit and shopping since it was in Atlanta and my niece (oh and my sister too I guess) lives there and ATL has my fav store, H&M. I didn't take any classes since they are a bit pricey and I was unable to convince my only crafty friend to go with me but really the thing I was most excited about anyway was the yarn market because I never have a chance to look at and fondle real awesome yarns such as my fav podcasters talk about constantly. I work therefore never manage to get to the couple of small LYSs that are in my area. I don't want to order things from the Internet that I have never felt or seen so I was really hoping to see some of the fab yarn I hear others use, such as Malabrigo Sock, Cascade 220, Socks That Rock, and Dream In Color Smooshy - as well as seeing other cool random yarns from small independent companies. I really didn't see as much familiar stuff as I had hoped but the independent stuff did not disappoint!

I ended up with a lot of Malabrigo Sock, well with a lot of sock, period. In fact I only got one laceweight skein and the rest was sock yarn. You see where my focus is. I fell in love with the Malabrigo sock, as expected - I already love the worsted. And the colorway are just to dye for! I really wanted so much more... I got natural, Rayon Vert and Archangel. So yummy.

Also got some Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock Stripe in Flamingo Stripe

and Socks That Rock medium in Deck the Halls, all from the Webs booth.

With those all in my arms, a lady commented it was obvious what colors I liked, and that my choices even matched my clothes!

I proceeded to not break the color palatte and bought some Ivy Brambles Romantica Merino Lace in Petunias, 1000 yards, so gorgeous!

And then found the Sanguine Gryphon booth with the medeival dressed staff and delicious colorways. I got Bugga! in Nightcrawler

and Little Traveller in Costa Rica.

I wanted so much more and everyone took credit cards so even though that was the end of my cash.... I totally would have carried on digging a huge yarny hole for myself except it was 12 o'clock, time for me to leave because I was going to babysit my niece while my sister got her hair cut. Oh well. It's for the best.

Now up, time to knit socks and shawls!!

Cool join technique

2010-04-10T13:54:00.001-05:00

I heard about this joining technique on a podcast, I think it was DoubleKnit and think it's very cool but I'm not sure how functional it will be for some patterns. It's a technique to stop the uneven stripe problem when you are working in the round. The way it turns out, you have to move the join one stitch to the left every time you go around and so it will affect the spots where you would otherwise be decreasing or other things. I wanted to use it for a little knit baby jumper but don't think I'll be able to. Maybe for something else.

It's called Meg Swansen's jogless join or jogless jog.
http://jlyarnworks.blogspot.com/2009/02/tutorial-jogless-join_22.html

The New Busy is not the too busy. Combine all your e-mail accounts with Hotmail. Get busy.

Awesome elastic cast on

2010-01-20T20:32:00.000-06:00

I wanted to save this link somewhere I can find it - it claims that it is a really sturdy elastic cast on, which I am going to be needing soon as I begin the next phase of knitting - socks! I bought a kit from Knit Picks that has 7 balls of yarn and 7 patterns for anklet socks. I'm excited.

Old Norwegian cast on

May through July projects

2009-10-29T22:23:00.000-05:00

Or, I should say, some of them. I'm only picking the pictures that I can find in the little tiny icons that are in the download window. If I miss a project, oh well. I've done so many this year, I can't imagine anyone really wants to see all of them. Especially since I'm not a great photographer and the pics are less than stellar usually. I need to take some photographing tips from my new favorite podcaster, Nevernotknitting.

A bib. Supposed to look like a vampire, it really looks like random hearts and dots. Oh well. Then I gave it to my sister and I forgot to put anything on it to fasten it, like a button or snaps or velcro... so it's really not anything but a pile of cotton now.

My favorite blanket pattern. I made this blankie for a friend of Claire's who was having a baby shower. Baby was a boy, if you couldn't tell by the color.

A blanket that I made for Agnes, who I used to work with in Bessemer. She called and said she wanted a baby blanket for someone... I can't remember who. I stopped the blanket a few rounds short because I ran out of the yarn -- I got some more but it was a fairly different color, darker, so I just did one round after the last bobbles and it's not really that noticeable. Unless I tell you and then you can notice. And it's been done for months and I haven't called to get together with her and give her the blanket. I'm a bad person.

I made this cute little dress for my older sister who is having a baby. I hadn't made her much of anything because I was waiting to find out what the baby was. When I saw these Belle dress patterns from Crochet Garden, I knew these were for Amy, if she was going to have a girl. So I made one in pink and a brown cabled vest for a boy and brought them both to Atlanta the day she had the ultrasound to sex the baby. I had them both ready and was fully prepared to give her the vest, we were all convinced it would be a boy since my other sister had had a girl. But it was a girl! So I happily gave her the cute girly dress. She was ecstatic about it being a girl, but her husband was sad. He asked me if they could have the vest too just in case it did turn out to be a boy or he could at least put the vest on his little girl and mourn the fact that his firstborn wasn't a boy.

This is a photo of me wearing a shrug that is not mine but looks a lot like mine. I mean, I have one that looks nearly like that but then I made two more for my boss' two girls. I like the pattern but I wish I had made mine like theirs. I widened the rib edge for theirs which made it fold over at the collar better. And I tacked down the collar so it was obvious which way was up. I finished her two shrugs in a couple weeks. The one I made for myself took more than a year. And is only the second thing I have ever made for myself. But I actually wear this shrug, the sweater I made for myself doesn't really fit so is never worn.

I wanted to make something homey for my fellow SLP coworker who had just gotten married but would work up quickly 'cause I was trying to make it while she was on her honeymoon. So I purchased this casserole cozy pattern and churned the thing out in a weekend. I had to change it up since my pot was obviously bigger or I crochet tighter. The flower is supposed to be attached to the pot and open in the middle but it wasn't going to connect up and I liked it better as a top that would come all the way off.

This is the Pembroke vest that I made when I thought that my sister was going to have a boy. I never got a good picture of it after finishing it and my sister hasn't sent me one yet. She has other things on her mind, like growing baby toes and lungs. This is my coworker modeling the thing, obviously not the right way. The pattern was just one that I found online and liked but recently my podcast listening connected me to it. Nevernotknitting has contributed patterns to the Petite Purls online mag and was talking about the Pembroke vest pattern on there. Funny connection.

A couple of blankets I've edged. I have probably done about a dozen of these in the past year. The blue blanket was for Jennifer who does PRN for me and had a boy back in January. The pink I ended up giving my sister Amy at her shower but I made it initially for a former coworker who had a girl. I created the edging for the pink so that it looked like little hearts.

I love these darn blankets. I get them from Hemstitcher and love their selection but hate their webmaster who has the website all jacked up most of the time. I fell in love with some patterns and when I tried to order them, they weren't there. Come to find out several days later of trying to get in contact with someone that they were patterns of cotton on their new cotton website. But the webmaster still hasn't taken them off the flannel site, even after I alerted them that they were falsely on the flannel site. Oh well. I used to love this company because they have a great product for a great price and they were fast fast and great with repsonses. The first two are still true but now when I order, it takes as much as a week or more before they even ship and then the shipping takes another week and is darn expensive for how light the boxes are. They used to cut and ship the next day and it would arrive in 2-3 days. Also now they never respond to emails I send. I can leave up to 3 messages on their phone before they bother to call me back and often I have to get sort of nasty before they will call me. Problem is that they still have the best selection and the best price of any site, and I've looked at a lot of others. I also love how they can make the blankets be only one layer, instead of two, which no one else does. In the south, one layer is more than enough.

Oops, forgot these.

2009-10-29T20:42:00.000-05:00

Here's some pictures of babies actually wearing dresses I made for them. The dresses are in the last post but didn't get the pic of the babies in them. So now here they are. It's too much trouble trying to get the photos into the middle of an already started post.

The Morning Glory dress I made for my niece for Easter. I don't know if she actually wore it on easter though.

This is the Gabi dress that I made for Courtney's baby, Maddie. She texted me this picture when she was wearing the dress to church.

Continuation of a years worth of non blogging...

2009-10-28T22:51:00.000-05:00

It gets cumbersome to post so much in one thing, so I thought it would help to break it up...

This was a FAILed attempt to make a cute Lazy Daisy cardigan from my favorite book, Beautiful Baby Boutique, but I was making it in yarn instead of thread so it would fit a toddler and it was just looking horrible. So I instead finished the bottom with the pattern from Bubble Berry and the sleeves from Springtime. My friend's daughter, Edenanne loved it though.

Another Boutique dress, this one I made a bit bigger for my niece to wear for easter.

A cute dress I made for a former co-worker who's baby was born in February? I think? Like I said before, too many babies at once! I have a pic of her wearing the dress later, but I'm too lazy to go find it. The Gabi Dress pattern was pretty easy to make but took a long time because the skirt is worked long ways. I think I had to decrease a bit more too, to get it to really cinch up at the waist.

I made a trip to Cleveland to visit my friend Sam and her new baby, Autumn and got the chance to photograph her in some things I made her, the nightmare blanket and the hat that I made up the pattern to.

Also, here is Autumn in the bamboo jacket I love so much! The pattern works up so fast!

Here is the tea cozy that I made for Sam and then forgot to photograph. Great pattern, a little hard to follow the instructions. Would have liked to use more colors, but Sam wasn't into pink.

Another of my favorite patterns, here is version 1, 2, and 3 of this little kimono cardigan. I recently finished number 4 which I'll post later, when I get to recent stuff. These were all done early this year.

Former co-worker's baby Madeline wearing the fuzzy hat I made her. Didn't like the way the pattern turned out that much, but gave it to her anyway and it looked adorable on her!

And a shot of the gay baby devil hat. It was a supposedly Peruvian pattern which had cute little ears but when I made it, the hat looked more like it had horns and my rainbow yarn made it just look like it was an advertisement for the gay coalition. It looked freakin' adorable on my niece though.

So I'm a slacker.

2009-10-28T21:36:00.001-05:00

A major slacker. It's been a year and two days since I posted last. Geez. So what have I been working on since last year? ....

This little dress I made for a co-worker who had just had a baby girl, Madeline. I curse her for using the baby name that I liked, cause now I can't use it. The pattern came from an Annie's Attic booklet Beautiful Baby Boutique. I've made every dress in the book and mangled two of the cardigans.

These were some decorative yarn scarves that I made for a co-worker who wanted some scarves to give to her family and friends for Xmas. I just found some yarns that went together in color and made some dc skinny scarves with chunks of the different yarns. Fun and fast and profitable!

This was a scarf set that I just fell in love with (pattern here)- it was knit and used Red Heart Zoomy but I couldn't find any Zoomy locally. I used Caron Quick, which seemed to be about as thick and it turned out ok. I gave it to a girl at work for her little girl. Just randomly.

This cardigan (pattern here) I made for my friend Sam who had a baby girl in November and I wanted to make her something that wasn't pink, since I had given her several pink things already. It looks cuter than the picture.

Another of the dresses from Beautiful Baby Boutique. This one for my friends Matt and Mary who had a baby girl in January. Yes, I knew way too many people having babies all at once.

This little number turned out super cute, also for Matt and Mary's baby Harper Elizabeth. I used a Baby Bee camo and thought it turned out super chic. I hated seaming it though. The pattern came from a booklet called Sunny Day Dresses for Babies & Toddlers. I haven't made any of the other patterns yet.

Yet another bamboo jacket. I think this was the fourth or fifth one I've made? I can't even remember who it was for. Matt and Mary I think. I just love the pattern and love the Bernat Bamboo yarn even more.

My second attempt at this pattern from Candi Jensen's Candy Blankies book ended up as a gift for my uncle for Xmas. The first one was a pink nightmare that I had to knit because the yarn was way too darn fuzzy. This worked much better crocheted but still difficult to put together. He liked it though.

I made another afghan at Xmas time, this one for Steve's mom who had asked for one this year. It turned out nice and she loves it. It was from a book called Warm and Fuzzy Crochet which was full of crap. There were only a couple of patterns in it that didn't look like a muppet threw up on it. Sorry to the publisher, but seriously. Fun fur yarn wasn't meant for anything but the occasional scarf embellishment.

Trip to Asheville and getting to see my niece again!

2008-10-26T20:40:00.003-05:00

Not so happy to be wearing the gay devil hat! Shocked at the prospect of being a candy corn.
Me and Amy with Sydney.

These are the wire candle cozies I made for Amanda's engagement gift.

Sydney wearing her Brunhilde hat.

I love my niece!

2008-10-19T22:09:00.003-05:00

I went to visit my niece today and so here are a hundred pictures of her and me with one of the hats that I knit for her. (Pattern here.) Isn't she cute?

A few things finished

2008-10-05T17:03:00.003-05:00

This is the knit shrug that I made for Helena for her birthday from this pattern at Lincraft. It took a lot longer than I wanted it to and the sleeves turned out a bit wider than planned, but I think in the end, it helped because it made the back longer.
Here's Helena wearing said shrug.

This is the baby cardigan that I finished a few days after Suzy's baby was born. It's about a 6 month size, so she won't be able to wear it for a little while.
The pattern is from Allegra Wermuth.

What should I make now?

2008-10-01T23:05:00.003-05:00

Now that my cute niece is born, I don't know what to make ... I don't feel motivated to start a hundred new projects anymore, just post pictures of her on various websites!

Here she is wearing the bonnet I made for her and lying on the baby blanket I made.

This is a vest that I finished a few days after she was born. It was knit, so it took longer to make. I really liked it, it turned out really cute other than the rolling on the edges.

And here Sydney is wearing the candy corn hat ... Suz says they're going to dress her in her Auburn Tiger outfit for Halloween but with the candy corn hat instead of the tiger hood.

I'm an aunt!

2008-09-23T23:35:00.003-05:00

Notice how scared Sydney looks to be held by me. Oh well.

Sydney Lynn was born September 22, at 5:53 PM, 7 lbs 11 oz, 20 inches long by c-section.

We tried her Brunhilde hat on her and it was just too freakin' cute. Not that anything much could make her cuter. Frickin' adorable baby. And no, I'm not biased at all. Doesn't she look just like me??

BTW, no, I am NOT next.

Braxton Hicks?

2008-09-15T21:32:00.003-05:00

So my little sister thought she had gone into labor this weekend. Again. Second time she's made a false trip to the hospital. And she's still not dilated. Not one bit. This baby isn't going to come out!

But while she was false laboring, I labored to finish up some half done projects for the baby who apparently doesn't care about coming out to see what I've made her.

Finally sewed together all the pieces of the girl baby viking hat (which you can buy here)that I had finished making while I was on jury duty August 18th and 19th. It turned out super cute and Pikachu was thrilled to model it for me, as you can tell.

Booties to match the yellow dress. Not the same booties that were in the pattern, because they were the exact same pattern as the booties for the pink dress....

These, which turned out super cute even though the pattern is a little funky. The sole is oval ad the top is rectangular. But somehow it all works out?

And a wormy hat, which I made months and months ago when Suzy first found out she was pregnant and promptly lost. I found it in my nightstand drawer. Who looks in their nightstand drawer? Obviously not me.

The worms in the grass hat pattern is free here. The dresses and booties are in Beautiful Baby Boutique from Annies Attic and the Viking hat is on Bella knitting.

Finishing things up...

2008-09-10T22:53:00.003-05:00

So my little sister isn't so little anymore. She's two weeks away from her due date but not dilated one bit... which has given me time to finish some of the baby projects I've been putting off embellishing.

A baby grab ball that went horribly awry. Maybe no one will notice.

A pink and yellow dress. I'm working on a red and white one for a Christmas dress too.

Baby booties to go with the pink dress.

And also some way too fuzzy hats for Sam's baby girl to match the nightmare fuzzy blanket I made her.

How many people can have babies really?

2008-08-28T22:49:00.003-05:00

So Stephanie at work is having a baby and this is what I gave her...
Yet another diaper cake in pink and more pink. Used size Newborn, 1 and 2 diapers.

Some super soft booties and hat in Red Heart Hunny.

Yet another bamboo Baby It's Cold Outside jacket. Love 'em and they work up so fast!

An edged flannel blanket that I made up the pattern for which you can find here: http://yarncrazygirlpatterns.blogspot.com/2008/08/puffy-lace-edging.html The thread is hand dyed from Sara's Colorwave which I bought on E-bay.

And a fuzzy tri-corner hat knit from a Crystal Palace pattern http://www.straw.com/cpy/patterns/iceland_babyhat.html in Baby Bee Soft Illusion.

Baby showers and more baby showers

2008-08-22T23:09:00.007-05:00

A cute winter dress for Sam's baby. I knit it so that it would be warmer.

The last stocking for the 4th Taylor. When I bought the stocking kits, I bought 4 even though Sam said Trey would be the one and only Taylor baby. I knew better though!

This dress I made with larger hooks and looser gauge so it wouldn't be so tiny like the other dresses I've made so far. I wanted it to be closer to a 12 month size so it could be worn for at least a year. It turned out 12 month size but I wasn't super happy about the way it looked, mostly because I was so used to how the smaller sizes looked. It still turned out cute though.

Another bamboo jacket which works up so fast and feels soo soft.

The debacle of a blanket which I had to knit since the yarn was way too freakin' fuzzy to crochet with and then it took for freakin' ever to cut the squares, sew them together, edge and put in the argyle stitching. And it still was funky shaped and uneven and the only good thing about it was it was freakin' warm, which is what Sam wanted for her freezing winter home in Cleveland.

I made a diaper cake too, but forgot to take a pic of it! =(

More diaper madness and other stuff

2008-08-03T22:14:00.002-05:00

I made another diaper cake, this one for my sister who is having a girl. I didn't have enough of the large ribbon to go around each layer so I doubled up on smaller ribbon.

So here are a few other things I've been working on....

Yarn bonnet that is ridiculously fluffy for my sister's baby.

Size 3 thread bonnet that is going to be uber-girly.

Edged flannel baby blanket. Edged in size 30 thread, which is not my usual size.

My favorite baby blanket pattern done in Bernat Baby Coordinates Sassy Stripes. For my sister's baby.

A nice warm little dress for my friend Sam who is having a baby girl in November and lives in cold Cleveland.

I know it's been a really long time...

2008-05-07T20:44:00.003-05:00

But here is my latest creation that I want to show off.... a new talent I discovered....

A diaper cake!!

Cute, right?

Blog slacker!

2006-03-11T10:16:00.000-06:00

I wasn't posting because there were just too many crochet products to finish for Christmas! So here's what all I've been working on in the past few months...

This is a baby blanket I made for Jillanne's baby, Jordan back in March of 2005.

In April, I made a couple of hair barrettes for Momma Goddard.

This was actually the first thing I started working on when I began crocheting, but it took me forever to finish. Agnes was bugging me all the time, saying I was putting her last... I finally gave it to her for her birthday in August.

So here is the finally finished hat, boots and jacket set I made for Trey.

I made this blanket for my Grandma Hazel's birthday last year, it perfectly matches the stripes on her couch.

For the Crochetville Fall Purse Swap. The pattern is a Lion Brand pattern.

This is the purse I received from my partner, Sue. Isn't it awesome? I love it!!

Scarves all around for Christmas gifts last year... This one was for Cousin Lauren.

This scarf was for Cousin Alex.

Mom's scarf

Mom wearing her scarf

Sister Mary wearing her scarf, and Mom's too.

Sister Amy wearing her scarf

Scarf for Suzy - I didn't get a pic of her wearing it!

Scarf/belt for Sam

Scarf for Tina

Squares for the pastel swap

January square for the 12 inch Crochetville 2006 Square Swap.

This was the alternate square I made for January

This is the square that I received in January.

I made these slippers for Grandma Hazel's birthday this year.

February's square

February square received.

The purse I made for the Spring Purse Swap, from Moda Dea Tickertape. It was so much fun to make!

The purse Melissa made for me in the purse swap. Isn't it the most adorable thing ever??

So of course I'm working on a hundred more things, the flower swap, my March square, baby blankets, slippers for my other Grandma, a blanket for myself, scarves for Amy and Daniel that they requested, etc, etc, etc!

For baby

2005-10-15T14:02:00.000-05:00

So I have been crocheting, I just haven't been posting... I've been working on baby items. I just need to add buttons to Trey's jacket and then I'll post a photo of that. I have finished the shell baby blanket but need to add fringe to it. And I am working on a blanket out of boucle for baby Max.

But here's what I actually have finished and photographed. My cousin Beth's shower is tomorrow for baby Max and I edged a flannel baby blanket (because it's faster and I had the thread for it - I need to get more boucle to finish his other blanket), and did a soft hat and amigurumi bear. I'm almost sorry to give up the bear, it turned out so adorable. I had so much fun making my first amigurumi animal.

So aside from baby items, I am still working on pastel squares and trying to figure out what purse pattern to use for the purse swap. Crochet on!

Crunch time...

2005-09-20T16:08:00.000-05:00

Of course, it's not possible for me to actually get something done ahead of time so I'm now down to 4 days to complete the jacket for Baby Trey. As you can see here:

I have a bit to go before I finish. Not too much really, just a sleeve, then join everything and accent with the fun fur. Oh, and the zipper. I'm gonna need my mother-in-law's help for that. I can sew a straight line on a sewing machine, but zippers are out of my baliwick.

I also have been working on squares for the pastel swap I joined.

My other recent accomplishment was to dictate a pattern. I'm not sure how else to phrase that, because I didn't write it or originate it. I fell in love with this potholder I saw posted on Crochetville forum and since Cuddlefish did not know what the pattern stitches were in English, I set out to figure the pattern out. She gave me permission to post the pattern I came up with since it was not copyrighted in any way.

My version of the potholder

Post Double Crochet Potholder Pattern

So, now I need to finish the dreaded jacket...

Scarf frenzy!

2005-09-12T19:03:00.000-05:00

On Friday, I went to the Hobby Lobby for yarn. I know, it's bad, it's terrible, it's really not good for the budget but I was just going to get a few skeins of yarn to complete a scarf I started. I had piked up this really yummy chunky weight Lion Brand Landscapes in Summer Fields and needed another color to complete the scarf. And I found some to die for SO soft Yarn Bee Italia in Genoan that I thought would be perfect for another scarf. And I got a ball of Patons Katrina in Dusk to go with it. And a couple others. Turns out, there was a bunch of it on sale - although I think the cashier was discounting more than he was supposed to. Well, it was such a great deal that I went back for more after I finished pilates at the gym. All in all, I got all this for $50!

So I finished both the scarves this weekend. And I still have enough yarn left to make more! My plan to make a bunch of scarves to sell may actually come to fruition... or I just may end up making scarves and ponchos for friends and relatives.

My bright idea

2005-09-09T01:37:00.000-05:00

I thought it would be cheaper to make presents for people for Christmas this year. Hah! With the cool specialty yarns I like, no way. The yarn I bought to make the hat and jacket set for Trey - over $70. I actually am making progress with that - though I did learn his birthday isn't until the 24th, so I slowed down making it to work on other projects... bad me.

Had to get this book when I saw it...

buy me here!

Totally worth the buy - has a TON of great scarves in it. And not just because they're made of great yarn, the patterns are awesome and innovative too. Here's the one I just finished. Of kid mohair. Rowan Kidsilk Haze. Yummy!

Ignore the fact that I look like the village idiot - it's 1 o'clock in the morning and I photograph badly. So I figure that I'll give it to someone for Christmas. Helena or Sam, maybe. I've got about 5 other scarves marked in the book to whip up for presents. Can't wait!

I joined another swap - pastels and white. I can't help myself! And I've got my eye on a secret pals, a purse swap, and a yarn swap. I'd join more if there were more to join!

Crochet till your hand hurts!

2005-09-07T01:22:00.000-05:00

So the saga continues... still no jacket, though I now have about 2/3 of it done. I just need to get the sleeves done, then put them together and add the trimmings.

I _have_ managed to finish some other things though. Drat that multitasking tendency!

I'm working on an afghan for a Christmas present - every year all the adults in my family swap gifts with one other member, chosen by paper slips in a hat - the thought being money saving, though of course we still end up getting gifts for the immediate family, the grandmas, the favorite cousins... oh well, it's a good idea anyway. So though they haven't drawn names yet, I thought I'd make a blanket, liked this design and started on it. If it doesn't work with the relative who's name I get, I can always use this for another gift. So here's one of the squares, of which there will be twelve -they're about 16 inches across.

Another X-mas gift - my lil sister is in love with all things Irish and so I thought I'd give Celtic crochet a try. It's complicated! You make small designs that you weave through other designs, then add on to that... the front looks completely different from the back, check it out:

So I didn't actually work on much today, I scraped popcorn off the hall bathroom ceiling instead!

My cats love it

2005-09-04T00:02:00.000-05:00

Another project completed!

I'm so proud of myself. I start a dozen projects in a month, but it's not often that I can celebrate having completed three - four if you count completing all of my granny squares for the swap.

I managed to finish the afghan for my lil sis:

Now I just hope she likes it - I was halfway done with it when I learned she doesn't like the color purple! Maybe there's enough pink in it to make the purple fade into the background...

Here's the link where I got the pattern for the blanket - Ripple Afghan - though I added a row of double crochet around the outside and didn't do tassels because the yarn was bumpy/fuzzy and unraveled like a mother if it isn't knotted.

Now to see if I can finish the jacket on time...

Progress made?

2005-09-02T21:44:00.000-05:00

So my older sister never got her birthday present from me - I ran out of time and money around her birthday - I had just closed on my first house. I'm hoping to see her this weekend and I wracked my brain to find a good gift. I finally went to J. Crew and bought her this cute tie silk purse with a chain link handle... and I whipped up this little wristlet.

The link where I found the pattern is here:Crochet Wristband

So I finished this last night, but didn't make any progress with the other two imminent projects due soon - my lil sis's afghan, whose birthday I'm going home for on Sunday - can I finish it on time?? - and the jacket set for baby Trey, whose birthday is, I think, next weekend.

The yarn craze struck again, I bought this yarn to begin a Celtic style afghan for my third sister for a Christmas present, that is, if I can get it done by then...

Crochet - Interrupted

2005-09-01T21:39:00.000-05:00

Well, I haven't made any progress with the earring hanger. No surprise there. I'm not much of a serial person. I tend to read as many as 15 books at once. I have numerous home projects on the go. I crochet on multiple projects at any given time.

My current list of projects is a bracelet for my sister, a hat, boots and jacket set for a friend's baby, an afghan for another sister, a shawl, a whole load of granny squares to edge and put together into a blanket, a scarf, a flannel baby blanket edging, an afghan for an X-mas present, a baby blanket ... and an earring hanger.

Hurricane Katrina has put a bit of a crimp in my crocheting - our power has been out since Monday and hell if I can crochet by candlelight. I actually did finish my last granny square for a swap on Monday night, in the dark, but I didn't want to do that again. Now that the power is finally back on... it's crochet time! The first thing I started working on (after I threw away everything in the fridge and freezer) was to begin the bracelet for my sister. And I was hoping to try and get the jacket set and the afghan for my sister done, as those birthday occasions are coming up.

So maybe I'll get something done... but in the meantime, I'm going to attempt to post pics of some of my granny squares.

Getting started

2005-08-26T15:43:00.000-05:00

So here I am, blogging.

Didn't think I'd get into the whole blogging thing, but I didn't realize I'd be so yarn crazy either. And part of what fuels my craft craze is the internet and how many free patterns you can find there. I'm mostly into crocheting, so I should have named the site crochet something or other, but I do aspire to knit, I like cross stitch, I'd love to learn to spin, weave, quilt... anything involved with yarn or pretty colored fabrics. I'm sort of a crafty type, I'm not above scrapbooking, beading, card making, gardening, candle making, anything you can do with your hands.

And that's what led me to blog.

The actual catalyst was a need for something to hang my (too) many long dangly earrings on. I've seen an earring hanger or two before, but they're small, they wouldn't hold many earrings when most of your earrings are dangly. So since I've been crocheting (which has been less than a year), I've had the beginnings of an idea for a crocheted thing-a-ma-bob to hang my earrings. And last night, I finally couldn't handle it any more and started work on it. So here I am, blogging because when I figure out exactly what it is I've done, I'm going to write down the pattern and publish it here so that everyone else can share in my idea.

I hope this isn't the only pattern that I create on my own - I'd love to be able to expand my craftiness in this area - usually I'm a pattern follower, not a free hander.

So I'm back to work to finish the hanger and when I'm done, I'll post the pattern and a picture of it!