Back at It

 

Finally getting the yarn needle moving.  I've had all the parts to this bag done for some time now, just waiting to be assembled.

If it wasn't for a boy, a puppy, or the heat, this would be ready for delivery.

The clouds are moving in, it's a great night to work.

Dos Babettes

Today, I finished the border on Little Man's Babette Blanket.

This is my favorite blanket patter ever!  It's fun, interesting and surprising.

It's also 'chair confining'.  This isn't a blanket you can take with you.  There are so many different colors and you rarely use the same color in more than two rounds, usually just one round.  I had three bags of yarn, so traveling with this wasn't an option.  I didn't even change seats in the house.  I tucked my yarn bags next to one chair and that's where I've been hooking.  And hooking.  And watching TV on my iPad (Shameless, House of Lies, Girls, Homeland..so good).



Little Man's Babette

I finished at about noon today.  Three times since, I've looked at the chair and wanted to get back to the yarn.

Both Babette's Together

My next task is getting into my luxury basement studio.  I have to dig a path into it first.  In the Christmas rush, it got icky.  Boxes and balls of yarn and garbage and receipts and just stuff all over the place.  There is even a double sink, faucet, crystal chandelier and air hockey table in there.  No wonder I can barely move in there!

Once I get into the studio, I have to run some yarn through the knitting machine.  I have a couple purses I need to get moving on...I've been very delinquent.  Note to anyone that asks for a custom bag, give me a deadline.  I don't do well with "When you have a chance".  I need to work on that.

If I'm lost, look in the basement, until then, thanks for reading!



53/366: Mystery Crochet Afghan

February and March are always so dull for me.  In an attempt to pump up the energy, I have joined a Crochet A Long.  I know, many of you will think of me as a nerd that gets more energy from yarn and crochet.

Nerds Unite!

Each Wednesday at 10:30 A.M., a new clue is released for this afghan.  The only thing we knew in the beginning was how much yarn to purchase.  The first week, was to make 12 squares in certain colors.

I believe the best part of this is the community that has grown to nearly 200 men and women (yes, men) on Facebook that chat about the clue, yarn, addiction to knitting and crochet. 

I have one other color in my group that is a dark brown.  I'm hoping this fits nicely into my "eclectic" living room (mish mash is perhaps a better word).

Stay tuned for the weekly reveal of the new squares, hexagon, what ever shape they put forth.

Hook On!

49/366: Yarny Future

Remember this big ball of Alpaca?

I purchased it in 2007.

Wound it into a ball on Feb. 4, 2011.

Yesterday, I started a scarf with it.  It was the yarn I had planned for my black coat back in 2007.

My coat is now navy blue (different coat, not a color shifting coat).

I'm liking it.  I started it on the flight to Chicago yesterday morning, and worked on it on the way home while the girl next to me shifted every 42 seconds.

I perhaps had a few too many at our Anniversary work party...because I somehow turned my corner half the width of my scarf.  The worst part of that, I didn't realize it until I had completed two ADDITIONAL rows. 

Yup.  Drinking and Hooking don't mix.

If I were still drunk, I'd think drinking and hooking do mix.  Just not THAT kind of hooking.  The kind with the yarn and a crochet hook.

Can you hear me better when I type in CAPS?

I fixed the scarf on the flight, shifted myself a dozen times just to mess with my neighbor, then turned the reading light out for a bit of shut eye before landing.

It was a great day, despite my feet having an all out civil war with my shoes.  The feet are still healing and the shoes are laughing their heels off.

I'm punchy tired, can you tell?

Thing A Day: 25 - 26

Yesterday started with lots and lots of snow.

It was pretty on the trees.  Not so pretty on the driveway.

My mother in law traipsed through the 6 inches or so on my driveway to get the boys.  Feeling guilty, I shoveled a path from the door to the street so the boys and mom didn't get all snowy.  Nothing worse than wet socks on a cold day.

After they left, I continued to shovel, knowing Tom would be coming home at some point and need to get into the driveway.  Halfway through, I chatted with my neighbor, brought her into my house for some of this bread.  Then went out and finished the driveway, cleaned off the car, did the sidewalk, told my neighbor not to shovel and make sure he used his snow blower.

Then I came in, feeling energized and ready to work now that the boys were gone.  I sat at my computer and did some work for 10 minutes or so.  Got a little mug of ice cream (our new favorite, small portion way of serving) and continued to work at my desk.

And then the pain came.  Bricks on my chest.  Squeezing of my ribs on the sides.  Pain in my back.  Hard to sit.  Hard to lay.  Hard to stand.  Dizzy.  Sweats.  Chills.

Then I called my mommy.  She could take care of it.  But by the time she got here, I truly believed I was having a heart attack.  The pain was so immense, not subsiding for 45 minutes.  Better safe than sorry.

Twenty hours in the ER.  Blood tests, vitals every hour, EKG's, and a stress test.  My ticker is fine.  The doctor thinks the shoveling mixed with the eating of the ice cream caused my non-cardiac pain.  Feeling slightly silly, yet glad I know for sure that it isn't anything to worry about.

Women and Heart Disease is so prevalent in the news these days, I'm proud to say that so far, I'm just fine.

And the nurses loved me.  I suppose when you tend to see elderly that can't carry on a coherent conversation or the whack-job in restraints two cubes over, then a 39 yr old girl is a breath of fresh air.  And I am.

My Thing for the day, making sure I'm healthy.  And making the nurses smile.

When I got home today, Big Boy was at my Mom's house and so Little Man and I made pom poms.  It is an easy craft for little ones, you really can't mess it up.  We have pom poms all over the house.  It's totally fun.

Hanging with my men today, that's a Thing I can get used to.

Thing A Day: 22

It isn't much, but it is a Thing.

I used a $5 off coupon on the Pom Pom makers at Joann's.  I've always wanted these nifty little things, and yes, they work.  They are fast and fun.

I remember making my own pom pom templates out of two pieces of hard cardboard cut into donut like circles, with a radial slit in one side.  Let me tell you...those were great.  BUT these, are awesome.  My mind is racing with reasons why we need pom pom's in this house.  I'm sure there are many reasons.

Pom Pom's are fun.

This thing is fun.

The Lamb and the Hedgehog

Most of my pictures from the Christmas Pageant were blurry, but I almost enjoy the bit of mystery it leaves. Technically, for me, taking photos in church is against all rules. So, I took my camera and didn't use the flash, and in a dark church, this is what you get.

I'm on my way to Chicago tomorrow for work. I love it when I get there, but the preparation is difficult. Kind of makes me feel like the little lamb above. There is laundry, grocery shopping (which didn't really happen, at least there is milk and leftovers), child care coverage, writing out the child care coverage (looking for the lost child care coverage paper), and packing. Trying to get everything in a carry on and hoping that something will jump out of my closet that looks appropriate for a corporate function. This jersey and denim girl always struggles with that. Fortunately, that is the least of my struggles these days and I basically put everything that is free of stains in my bag and hope it matches.

I just purchased an audiobook from iTunes for the flight. I know, why not just read the book? Well, I can't read a book and crochet at the same time...

And this trip, I have no idea what I'll be making. Taking two fresh balls and a hook. I always love to see what happens when there are no ideas.

The book...The Elegance of the Hedgehog.

Ever seen a Hedgehog purse?

A Set of Sets

I love a challenge.
I love the creativity it sparks and the potential that comes with it.
There is also the ideas that come from the simplest color planning and yarn selections.
This was more of a request that turned into a challenge.

As if I were on Project Crochet:

• Create matching mother and daughter sets
• Hat and scarf
• Using only black and gray
• Not using wool, just cotton

Sounds simple enough. Wrong. I totally broke the rules.

Auf Wiedersehen

The hardest part was finding a black enough black that worked well with a nice gray. I would find a great gray cotton, then the black would be all washed out. This is when the rule breaking, detention receiving began.
I took my frustrated little self and my co-pilot to Daft Dames . My 'Happy Place'. I mixed fibers, through the rules in the toilet and did what I do best...wing it (read: wung it).

I am fairly happy with the way they turned out. I frogged the hats more times than I can count and did and re-did the trim on all four pieces a couple times.

They may not be cotton, they may not be wool-free, but they are not itchy. They are warm and cozy and in the right colors.

(now, lets hope the hats fit and I don't have to frog (rippit) again...)

Serious Boucle

Sometimes you win.

Sometimes you loose.
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My mom gave me this yarn a while back and it just sat in my drawer until last weekend. Every inch is a big puff ballI decided to give it a try. And I knew it would be hard, the wool content was only 73% with the rest being acrylic. I mixed it with a Blue English wool.

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I believe that it was the English wool that makes this so frizzy. It was the same type yarn I used on the orange purse and thought that was frizzy too. Two plus two makes frizzy.

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Although I like this better not felted, it feels right to be felted. It has a good 'hand' and is a great little pouch size.

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Side Note: While I was backing out of my mother-in-laws driveway with both boys in the car, O asked, "Mom, can you drive nuts?"

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Perhaps they really do hear everything I say.

Orangey Rose Potluck

My trips to my local yarn store, Daft Dames are always very fruitful. Last week, I may have bought the most cones of yarn to date. And yet, still less than buying half that amount at the big box craft store.

Sam was the lucky co-pilot on this trip. It takes about 40 minutes to get there (not all that local, huh), but once there, it is like being in your favorite place. Sandy beach with a cold beverage, skiing in Colorado, sipping wine by a roaring fire...nope, not me. Put me at Daft Dames with a helpful assistant to take all my purchases from my arms, allowing for even more purchases.

After 15 minutes of browsing and selecting the yarns for a project I am working on for a friend, I started browsing for me. I love their discontinued yarn shelves and found a very bright orange wool yarn with a twist of yellow (and confirmed it was in fact wool).

Handed that to the gal, to free my arms for one more cone of yarn. Not quite certain what I wanted, I asked Sam, who was across the shop playing Leapster like a true champ, to pick a color.

Any color.

"Orange and yellow."

Now that is a co-pilot!

Updates to follow on how this felted up.