Cute Tawashi Designs

I received the Cute Tawashi Designs pattern by Mimi. They're adorable! Mimi's pattern calls for rug yarn to use the Tawashi designs as scrubbies. I thought they would make great baby washcloths if made in cotton. The flower design is really clever because it allows you to use a contrasting color for the core of the petals.



These were made with a single strand of Sugar and Creme cotton with an F hook. They're just the right size for a baby washcloth. I'm going to be including these in a small baby shower gift I need to give a co-worker later this week. I'm hoping to have that finished and posted by tomorrow or Tuesday.

When I was cleaning out closets and organizing stash last week, I found a small baggie with more scrap yarn. Perfect opportunity to make some charity squares for the August charity at Crochetville.

I love the funky color combos that come together when using scrap yarn that I wouldn't otherwise think to throw together.

A couple more

I found a few more I wanted to share. . The amusement park looks awesome at night when its all lit up.



Read the slogan underneath the shop sign. It says "If you had a store...he would buy something from you." hahahahaha!

Seaside Heights

Pictures as promised!

It was a little cloudy on Monday, so the beach was pretty empty. We spent most of Monday doing games and arcade type stuff. Hubby took this cool looking picture. If not for the bright orange trash bins, this could be a postcard.



I've got to keep my eye on Piper. She got hammered our first night there!



Fun mirror me has a better tan than real life me.



We went to the water park on Day 2. This is the super tall water slide that you throw yourself down on a mat. Pi loved this and went on at least 7 times. I did it once and screamed all the way down.

This is by far my favorite picture. This is the last leg of the water slide. Look at that big smile!

Pi and I went on the double tube ride. I actually liked this one!

Until Pi tipped the tube to the side, knocking me out of it. That's me as I landed in the water, while Pi is cracking up.

Goodbye water park!

Day 3 was spent at the amusement park. There was a special for Wednesday where you buy a wristband and ride all the rides you want for $15. That was a steal! I kept track of how many tickets each ride was and how much it would have cost at a normal rate. Both my and Pi's wristbands paid themselves off in less than an hour. We were there all day so we definitely got our money's worth.

Pi belly laughed all through the Tilt a Whirl ride.

This is right before we went on the swings ride.

Bumper cars! Now this is a ride I can stomach...no slips, turns, or heights, haha! The kid drove every time we went on this ride and she was hell bent to slam every person she could!

Neither of us went on this ride because it looked way too scary! Pi nicknamed it the "sickness ride."

We walked to the other side of the park and there was a ride just letting people on. Without knowing what the ride did, Pi jumped on.

When it flipped everyone around upside down like this, I had to close my eyes. The kid is a freakin' daredevil! When she got off, she didn't realize that it had flipped her upside down. She watched the next set of kids get on and when she saw what it did, her mouth dropped open. Haha!

She rock climbed and rocked at it! Get it? Rock climb....rocked. Never mind, I haven't had my liquid crack coffee yet.



The last ride we went on was the log flume. That's us before getting tossed down a steep drop with no restraints at all. Not. A. Fan. But the kid loved it, so we did it.

Last, but not least, we picked up 2 hermit crabs on the way home. We're not allowed to have pets, but I don't think these guys count. They're just crabs.

The weather was gorgeous the entire time we were gone. Sunny and warm with a breeze. We couldn't have asked for anything better!

I'm home!

Did you miss me? ;)

We got home late last night. We had so much fun and didn't want to leave.

We came home to Mickey #7 and Mickey #8 using my dining room as their last resting place. Lovely thing to come home to.

I spent today getting Pi's uniform for school and some doc appointments out of the way. Had bloodwork done and a transvaginal sonogram. The sonogram doc said everything looks good...no cysts, tumors or aliens. Yay for no aliens! ;)

Anyhoo, I have a ton of pics that I'll update with tomorrow!

Daisy Square #2 all finished!

Yesterday was the perfect example of how wanting to do one small thing can snowball into an entire day's worth of stuff.

When I woke up, I decided that I was going to sit down and finish weaving in all those ends. So I popped my earphones in and for the next 3 hours, wove ends like nobodies business.

Here's the finished blanket! Its exactly the same size as the first one. The only difference is that the squares are arranged differently and I used an orange border. Two different borders will let the girls differentiate between their blankets. I can't tell you how relieved I am that this project is over. I feel free!



Here's a view of the back



The two blankets together.



After I'd finished the blankets, I realized they needed to be stored until Christmas. I have a wicker chest that I keep some of my stash in and it wasn't completely full, so I decided to store the blankets on the bottom and pile the stash back on top. After emptying that out completely and storing the blankets away, there was still some space, so I went into my closet where I keep some more stash and put some of that away in the wicker chest too.

Pulling stash out of the closet required pulling out some storage bins (non-stash) and a bunch of general craft supplies stuffed into plastic bags. As I was doing this, I found an empty craft organizer tote that my dad had given me about 8 years ago. Organizing my small craft stuff seemed like a good idea at the time, until my entire closet was spilled out onto the floor, bed, desk, and sleeping husband. Oops!

When I finally had the craft stuff under control, I started cleaning out the clothes that no longer fit, or had stains, or were ripped. Might as well while the rest of the closet was empty. Unfortunately, this meant organizing a second closet I have that has winter clothes and coats too. After doing the clothes in the second closet, I just couldn't leave the shelves, so I organized those too.

The simple desire to store my blankets turned into a 5 hour closet organizing spree. So while my first day of vacation was entirely relaxing, I'm feeling pretty good about the neat closets and making my self-imposed deadline to finish the afghans before we leave for the shore.

P.S. - Like the momo I am, I only just discovered the spell check feature on blogger. Love it!

Looky what I can do!!

I don't do it well, but I'm getting the mechanics down. I learned how to cast on, knit, and purl yesterday. My friend sharkmeat showed me the basics. This practice swatch is just the knit stitch, which is apparently also called a garter stitch I think?



I'm slow as hell, my stitches are definitely uneven and I'm having trouble with tension, but I figure its not too bad since I only started practicing yesterday. Sorry this pic is blurry, but I included it so you can see my stitches. Knit socks here I come (umm, and I've already bookmarked Knitty, haha)!





You know, now that I'm learning to knit, I want to say that I've never understood the whole knit/crochet war thing. Why are some people so passionate that you can only do one or the other or you're a "traitor?" Give it up homies! Both are awesome fiber arts...can't we all just get along??

I'm a peacemaker....I've already combated racism by having a bi-racial kid (puerto rican and austrian). Now I'm going to combat fiber art prejudices by learning both! Does anyone have the urge to sing koom-ba-ya all of a sudden?

In the midst of all this practicing, I was looking through pics on my phone and realized I hadn't posted this awesome square. Its the Winter Rose 12" square by CroJulee. I was gifted this pattern by a sweet lady over at Crochetville during the Holiday in July swaps.

The square took a bit of time to make, but it was totally worth it. This is one of the prettiest squares I've seen. I think it'd make a great rectangular shawl. I used some left over Caron Simply Soft...can't remember the color.



Oh yeah...did I mention I'M ON VACATION!!!!!!! WOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't have to step foot back in the office for a whole lovely, splendid WEEK!! Monday we leave for the shore...can't wait!!!

Daisy Square Afghan #1

I threw myself into putting the first Daisy square afghan together over the weekend before I could lose my gumption.

About half of the squares went from this:



To this! Its colorful...very colorful. It measure approximately 45" by 72" I debated putting a border on it and eventually decided on a simple shell border in bright red.



This is what the back of the squares look like. Even the back looks kinda funky. By the way, weaving in all the ends took 3 hours!!



My goal is to work on the second one little by little this week and have it done before we go to the shore on Monday. Cross your fingers!

Tomato Mozarella Sandwiches - Yum!

Open tomato mozarella sandwiches are one of my favorite summer meals! Its tasty, cheap, and fast. Its so simple, it doesn't really need a recipe, but I'll share what we do for anyone who's never had one of these.



Ingredients (to make 6 halves):

3 kaiser rolls (we got 4 rolls for a buck)
1-2 tomatoes, sliced thin (we used a big one from our pot garden)
Mozarella cheese (shredded or sliced thin)
Extra virgin olive oil
Italian seasoning

First slice each roll in half. Then sprinkle a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil on each slice. Place sliced tomatoes on rolls. Top with mozarella cheese and sprinkle with italian seasoning. Place in oven for 10 minutes at 325 degrees. Super simple! You can also makes these panini style if you've got a double sided grill.

This meal only cost us 4 bucks. I'm not counting the oil and seasoning though because those are staples I always have on hand. If you use low fat cheese and low fat bread, it can be a healthy meal too.

We had these for dinner tonight and I had to share the food love. :)

Yo Adrian!

Victory is mine, my friends!!!



Tonight, I finished the last 4 of the 80 squares! I'd do the cabbage patch dance if you all weren't looking. :) Now I just have to weave in ends, sew the squares together, and border the blankets. No biggie, LOL!



I also had my appointment with the new gyno today. She was all sorts of awesome....kind, patient, understanding, and on and on. I really felt like she gave a shit about how I was feeling. When I explained to her what my last gyno had said, she was shocked. The doc outlined a plan for various testing to see what's up. I had bloodwork done today to establish a baseline and then I'll have more done towards the end of the month, when my cycle should be close to starting over. She's also going to schedule me for an ultrasound to make sure I don't have any cysts or aliens inside me. I feel better just knowing that I'm not being dismissed!


I'm taking a personal day tomorrow. The kid is going to play an elephant in her summer camp play. That's way more important than my deadline!

Protests

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks" - William Shakespeare.

Oh yes, I've been protesting! Nothing quite as grand as in Hamlet, but a protest none-the-less. What am I talking about you ask? The daisy square afghans for the twins.

Back in May, I was happy to announce I'd finished 64 squares and only had 16 to go. I was wooting and doing happy dances and practically delirious with excitement that I was so close to the end.

So, I finished it quickly…of course, right? Umm, no. Nothing happened. That's right, nada, zippo, zilch! I'd gotten so sick of making these squares that I abandoned them completely. No one was aware of my silent protest against these squares except for the squares themselves and my friend Joyce (Hi Joyce!).

Joyce has been my conscience about these stupid squares. At least once a week, she asks me when I plan on finishing them. Finally about a week ago, Joyce says "Just sit down and DO them already!" I laughed it off and said "yeah yeah, soon soon." She told me I'm a momo*.

This weekend, as I was picking out yarn for a baby blanket, Joyce's voice popped into my head. "The squares Chris, the squares!" I tried to ignore it, but Joyce's voice wouldn't give up. I was tempted to bless myself with Holy water to get rid of the voice, but I knew that wouldn't work. Fine Joyce's voice, fine!

So I sat down this weekend and made 12 of the 16 squares I need to finish. Only 4 more to go. Are you proud of me Joyce? I wonder how many weeks it will take to convince me to make the last 4. *grin*



Oh yeah, I'm going to make an ami for my bloggiversary since the two of you who weighed in on it agreed. Now to decide which one!

*momo – A generic insult used to describe one who is irritating, annoying, or an idiot. Go HERE for more info. We use this one a lot in Brooklyn and Staten Island.

Goodies from Cami

Today I came home to a package from Cami! She had a blog give-away and her hubby randomly picked my name!

Look at these awesome goodies! Cami sent a gorgeous double sided receiving blanket, burp cloth, and handmade card. I know lots of people who are sperminated and I know that I could find a good home for it, but now that I've seen it in person, I want to keep it!! I guess we'll have to see what happens between now and all those impending births. :)

(Cami, I know the bow isn't as neat as when you sent it. I couldn't help but open up the blanket to admire it.)


She also sent this beautiful handmade card with a really sweet note.



I'm loving the look of the handmade cards. Do I smell a new hobby? I'd better not get ahead of myself...I still have a sewing machine and knitting needles that haven't been tried yet. But really, I love the cards!

My boss took my department out to lunch today (all 3 of us, haha) as a thank you for all the crazy work we've been doing. We went to Cabanas at the South Street Seaport. Yum. I'm so full from lunch that I can't even think about dinner. My job is also having a get-together at a nearby bar/restaurant place tonight. All the girls in my department decided not to go. We collectively decided that the last thing we wanted to do was drink with co-workers. Drinking + co-workers = no good. I'd rather hang with the kiddo and hubbster any day.

Sambuca Jacket

I started the Sambuca jacket about 2 weeks ago and its finally finished. It was actually finished last week except for the buttons. This jacket is by Doris Chan and is in the book Amazing Crochet Lace. Great pattern!

Please excuse the lack of makeup and 10 *cough20cough* pounds that have attached themselves to my body.



I decided to make buttonholes and add buttons instead of just using a sweater clasp. You can see that I didn't place them evenly. Oops! Ask me if I care.

Christina, do you care?

Why no, no I don't! I'm leaving it the way it is.



I used 10 balls of Jaeger Roma in the color Cloud. I added more repeats to the pattern to make the bottom and sleeves longer.



So, my one year bloggiversary is coming up in September. I want to have a give away but am stumped as to what to have for a prize? A purse? Ami? Yarn? Weigh in peeps and let me know what you'd like to see as a prize.

P.S. - I booked a mini vacation today! My family is going to go to the Jersey shore later this month for 3 days. Its the first time in years that I'll have gone away. Wooooo! Excited!