Bad, Suzi, BAD!!

I bet some of you are wondering why I haven’t updated this in a week.

It’s a good answer.

I finally got re-started on my sister’s blanket!!!! I was going to do a pillowghan, but I started out wrong, so rather than have to frog it AGAIN, I've decided it’s just a regular afghan. But I completely changed the way I was combining the colors, and I like it a LOT better. I really think she’s going to like it.

I’m not going to show pics, because I gave said sister the URL for this blog, and I don’t want to ruin the surprise, should she be checking up on me.

But I’ve decided that I absolutely HAVE to work on this thing at least a little bit every day (even if it's only 5 or 10 minutes), and this way I’ll be sure to have it done by November, which is when I plan on sending it. I’m also putting in a few goodies, which I haven’t actually GOT yet, so it gives me time to get that done as well.

My swap partner’s items are on hold right now… I skipped over beading (I might still do that, but wanted to get this other thing done first) to make something I’ve never done before. But it seemed easier than beading, so it was a better choice for me. But I’ve temporarily run out of supplies. I haven’t been able to get into town to get any more this week, because I’ve had one kid home sick all week.

That’s WHY I’ve re-started on my sister’s afghan. I already have the yarn for it – I’m just frogging my first attempt and using the yarn again.

Oh yeah, and I’m doing something with said afghan which is another thing I’ve never done before. I don’t know WHY I’ve never done it before, because it’s usually one of the first things people learning crochet actually DO. But somehow I just skipped right over that part of learning. And since I’ve got so much experience with all of these stitches already, it was a breeze. I was even amazed to find out that my gauge is RIGHT ON!! I’ve NEVER had that happen before... well… the times I’ve checked, anyway. A lot of times I do projects where I don’t really care if my gauge is off – things like blankets and washcloths and such.

I’m glad I finally GOT it re-started, though. Redoing it the way I AM redoing it has actually inspired me! I’ve got a mental list of the other things I’m sending, along with full-color Panavision mental pictures.

I should have done this a long time ago. I think it was just the disappointment I felt when I realized I’d made a mistake that put me in a funk about the whole thing. For a long time, every time I looked at it, I just turned my nose up at it, seeing nothing but that mistake.

But now I’m back where I started. With enough yarn, a hook, and renewed inspiration.

It’s a lovely feeling.

Sanity Questionable

I’m in possession of questionable sanity.

I sat here, browsing through patterns on Thursday night, and I get it in my head to make something to wear to Daniel’s birthday party (my neighbor’s only son, it’s his 18th tomorrow). At first I thought “poncho.” See… I’ve always liked ponchos, even in the 80’s when they were “so yesterday.” And I’ve been meaning to make myself a poncho for the last year.

But on the other hand, I’m really liking some of these shrug patterns, too. Especially the ones that are written with the bigger people in mind. Or those that can be adapted to any size.

So I went over to the ‘ville, and asked for some opinions. Poncho or shrug? It’s pretty much unanimous, they all think I should make a shrug. Somebody mentioned shrug-a-licious, but when I looked at the pattern, it looked too difficult to figure out how to adapt it to MY size. Not that the pattern itself is difficult, but it would take a lot of figuring, a lot of math, in order to adapt it. But the Mrs. Who/Fluffy Pink Shrug… now that I could do! Especially since it’s pretty much done in one piece!

So I’m working on that now. I’ve had to frog it once, because even though I measured like the directions say, when I put it over my arm to check how far I had left to go, I realized that it wasn’t going to fit around my fat chicken wing arms. Not to mention the fact that my daughter walked off with the piece I’d had done so far, and ended up accidentally frogging about 1/3 of it on her own!

So now I’ve got about the same amount done as I’d had done the first time, but this time I KNOW it’s going to fit me. I just did the same thing again, checking to make sure.

I’m going to make it a little shorter in the arms than the pattern says, because I decided I want to put some bell-type cuffs on the sleeves.

Cross your fingers for me that I get it done in time. Of course, if I absolutely have to, I can work on it all day tomorrow. But I’m really hoping that, now that I seem to be on a roll, I can get it done faster than I’ve done so far.

I can HOPE, anyway!

First swap item finished.

Well, a certain someone's first swap item is finished. I think it'll look a lot better with blocking, but it's done.

Just for the heck of it, I wore it today, just to see if it would get any attention, and if so, what KIND. Well... so far, it's gotten only rave reviews. One person said they couldn't believe I made it myself, and another said that it didn't "look homemade." Shall I take that as a compliment? Methinks I shall.

I'm really glad I went for the skein of yarn that was £0.50 more than the other one. They were the same TYPE of yarn, but different brands. One was £2.49 for 25 grams, and the other was £2.99 for 50 grams. Well, the Polish in me said "only 50 pence more for twice the weight? Oh YEAH, baby!" If I'd gone with the original yarn I was going to go for, I wouldn't have had nearly enough to finish what I'd made... and it would have meant a mad dash back into town, hoping against hope that they still had the same color I'd originally bought!!!

NOW... on to the other item. I'm see-saw-ing back and forth between two different things. Both very similar, but I'm just having a hard time deciding which to do. If I knew for sure I had enough materials, I'd just do both, call 'em a "set," and count them as one "item." But I DON'T know for sure, and I don't really know where I can get more of what I have... so I've GOT to choose. But which one????

God, this is so hard.

But ya know what? I'm having fun with it, too. Sure, there's a lot of anxiety attached to all this, but knowing that I'm going to be surprising somebody with something I've made, and that she'll be surprising me as well... hell, it's downright exciting!!

I'll definitely join another swap sometime in the future. But hopefully, next time it'll be something I'm a little more familiar with, something I have more confidence in. If not... well, there'll be another "swap anxiety" post in my future.

Swap Anxiety

I'm probably not the only one who's ever felt this, but right now I'm suffering from a severe case of swap anxiety.

This is my first swap - EVER. And although I HAVE been crocheting for over 20 years, I would have to say that my skill level is still at "intermediate" at BEST.

I'm not sure exactly what level my swap partner is at, but I'm working on some of her swap items and I'm sitting here second-guessing everything. Will this be good enough? Will she like this yarn? Will she see the colors I've chosen the same way I do? (Because a lot of this stuff IS subjective, after all.)

And that's not even going into the other item I'm planning. I haven't started it yet, but it's got me in some serious heebie-jeebies. It's something I've never done before, and I can't find a pattern I really like, so I've decided to just "wing it."

On a slightly more upbeat note, however, I've come to really like this yarn I'm working with (no pics just yet, because I don't want to give anything away, just in case my swap partner happens to read this). I have decided that as soon as I can afford it (sometime in the next 2 weeks), I'm going to get myself another skein of this stuff - probably in a different color, something a little bolder - and I'm going to make myself a summer top. I was looking at this pattern, and decided I'm going to use that as a "starting point" and add my own touch to it. I'll be more specific when I get it done, because it'll take me so long that I'm SURE my swap partner will have received her items by then, so I won't have to worry about "giving anything away."

Celia, I've done it!!!!!

Okay, so I'm talking to someone who's been dead for nearly 3 years, but hey... if I can meet my future husband in cyberspace, I can talk to dead people in cyberspace too!!!!

Back when I was like 17 or so, my cousin Celia tried to teach me how to crochet doilies. She took me shopping (okay, so grandma took us shopping really, but that's only because Celia didn't know how to drive at the time), bought me the thread and the hook, came over to our house, and sat me down and tried to teach me. But I thought I just couldn't get it right, so I gave up on it.

Now that I've done this, I realize what the problem was. It wasn't that I couldn't get it right, it's that I expected what I was working on to look like what the finished product should look like. I didn't realize that it could buckle and bow and still be okay. I didn't know there was such a thing as "blocking," and that any "imperfections" in the doily would be "fixed" after doing it.

But after seeing some absolutely gorgeous doilies on Crochetville, I got it in my head that maybe... just maybe... I could actually do it now. And I couldn't get the thought OUT of my head. After all, I've only been able to read a pattern for a year. (They always confused me before, but a year ago something "clicked" in my brain and they suddenly made sense! ) And I STILL had the same thread and hook that Celia bought me oh so many moons ago, stashed away in my yarn box.

So I went searching for a pattern that called for the same size hook I have (a Boye size 6), and that didn't look too difficult. I finally found one, and got to work on it. I could have gotten it done in one night, but I've got so many WIP's right now it's not even funny. And I'm not used to working with thread, so I could only do a little bit at a time.

But I finished it last night, and blocked it this morning. And it looks okay, even if I do say so myself!

So Celia, if you can see me... I finally got it! Aren't you proud of me?



In progress, but nearly done.


Same level of progress, but a different view.


All done, all blocked, and all better!!!

An Oldie but a Goodie

I made this blanket 6 years ago (God, it doesn't seem like that long ago!!!) when I was pregnant with my 3rd child, who's now 5 1/2.

I didn't know for sure what I was going to have - boy or girl. We'd had several scans (lots of health scares with this one!), but never, not once in any of them, was she in a position where we could tell definitively whether she was a boy or a girl. I had a feeling it was a girl, but I didn't want to put all my faith in that feeling. So I opted to make a blanket with neutral coloring, so that no matter what I had, it would be appropriate.

It's done in pastel shades of purple, green, and yellow, and done all in single crochet. I wanted it as warm as possible, because I was due at the end of September and it can get VERY cold in the Chicago area at the end of September! You never know what the weather's going to be like. It can be 90 degrees one day, and 30 degrees the next.

The border is a mix of single crochet and shells. Shells at the top and bottom, single crochet on the sides.

I'm quite proud of this one, because it was done long before I ever learned to read a pattern, so it was all off the top of my head. And because of the fact that I obviously did a good enough job that it's stood up to countless washings, 3 moves, and the kids dragging it around all over the place.

I wouldn't exactly call it my BEST work, but it ain't too shabby, either!







Closeup view of the stitches.

Teddy Bear Poncho

I just whipped this up in an hour for one of the kids' teddy bears. It was looking kinda nekkid, and I had my craft basket next to me, so I just grabbed the end of a yarn and a hook and got to working on it.

It's one of the easiest things to make in the entire freaking world, if you ask me.

You just chain any multiple of 4 (check to make sure it's going to fit over the head of the toy you're making it for) +1, turn. Hdc in every ch across, and join with a sl st to form a ring (you might want to use something to mark that stitch, as it is the ONLY join you're going to do). Now comes the "tricky" part - although it's really not all that tricky. Divide your beginning ch by 4 (mine was 32 ch, so 32 divided by 4 = 8), and that gives you the number of stitches to do before you increase. Using my example, I hdc 7 sts, and on the 8th st I increased, by putting 3 hdc in the 8th st. Continue around until you reach the last stitch.

Keep going in this pattern, increasing in the middle stitch of every 3 hdc increase. This will increase your stitches between increases by 1 stitch on every row. (Again, using my example, it was 8 stitches on row 1, 9 stitches on row 2, 10 stitches on row 3, etc.) Continue until the piece is the desired size (I kept trying it on the bear to make sure it wasn't getting too big or too small). Join with a sl st and fasten off, weaving in ends.

You can finish it off any way you want. Some like fun fur, some like fringe (in which case you don't need to weave in the end, just trim it to match the rest of the fringe). I used tassles for this one.

That's it. Easy peasy, lemon squeazy, as Lexi (my 5 yo) likes to say.

It's Kid Approved!

I finished my "Jimbo Washcloth" set :)

I just couldn't help myself. I think it was the excitement over my Jimbo Hook, combined with the feel of this cotton yarn. It's just as soft as the other skein, but in a different way. It doesn't feel like suede, like the other one did. It just feels... soft. It's hard to explain, but I'd be willing to bet that the other yarn addicts out there will know exactly what I'm talking about.

Not only that, but I do have a habit of single-mindedly going at something until it's finished. I think that's most definitely my grandmother's perfectionism rearing it's ugly head. What can I say? Being brainwashed for a lifetime has a tendency to get to ya.

But... now that my washcloths are done, and I can get to working on my shawl. I have no idea how long it's going to take me, but if I keep working like I've been... NOT VERY! *LOL*

I got my JIMBO HOOK!! I got my JIMBO HOOK!!!

My hubby woke me up this morning by giving me my mail. There was a box, and a postcard from my fairy godmother in Wisconsin.

I looked at the box, and before I even saw what the address label said, I just KNEW it was my Jimbo Hook. I just KNEW it.

It took me for-freaking-ever to get the darned thing open, though. MAN, that man uses a lot of tape! *lol* I ended up having to ask hubby for his pocket knife, because otherwise, there was no way in hell I was going to get the thing open!

But finally, I got it open, and out comes this absolutely beautiful hook.


And of course... what does one DO when one recieves a piece of art that is a Jimbo Hook? One USES it, of course!

I immediately whipped out my last ball of cotton yarn and got to work on another washcloth. I'd read another pattern I wanted to try last night, so I figured why not try it with my brand-spankin'-new Jimbo Hook?

:)

I'm planning on making another one shortly, again with my Jimbo Hook and my cotton yarn, but I think I'm going to try a different pattern. I haven't decided what yet, but I'm definitely gonna do it.

And then, when I'm done, I'll get to work on my shawl. I wanted to make something for me with this hook - yes, I'm going to be selfish, just this once - and I've got this pretty blue and purple yarn that would make a lovely shawl. And considering that even though it's nearly summer here, it gets pretty darned chilly in the evenings, I figured that would be something I could use... like NOW! :)

I'm one happy hooker today, that's fer sho'!

Washcloths!

Can you believe that after over 20 years of crocheting, I've never made dishcloths before today? Or... well... yesterday, to be technical.

I bought this yarn a while ago. I was shopping at a place called E. Kemp's, just about 3/4 of a mile or so away from my house, and they had this stuff on clearance sale. It didn't have a label, so I didn't know what it was, but for only £0.30 a skein, it was a deal I just could NOT pass up. And the colors are beautiful. These pictures just don't do it justice. It's a variegated, in pink, light lavendar, and dark lavendar. Very spring/summer-ish.

But yesterday, I was looking in my yarn box for something else, and I came across this ball of yarn. And I remembered a thread I'd read on Crochetville about how you could figure out what a yarn was made from by how it acts when it's burned. And that's one of the reasons I'd never used this yarn, because I didn't know what it was made from. So I snipped off a small piece and burned it, and sho 'nuff, this stuff is cotton yarn.

The first one I made is a simple one. It's all single crochet. That's it.


The second one was a little more difficult, but once I got going, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It's a combination of hdc and cross-stitch, with a border of sc.

I found the pattern on Crochet Pattern Central. If I could remember PRECISELY which pattern it was, I'd give y'all the link. But for the life of me, I can't remember which one. I've looked at so many (I've got Christmas gift lists going in my head right now because this has inspired me) in the last two days that I just can't remember which one it was.

The last one I made, which I just finished about an hour or so ago, I would have to say is my favorite. This is the first one I think I'll use when I do get to use them. It's all hdc, but in the back loops only.

To me, it not only looks neater, but with the ridges created by going through the back loop, it should give a scrubbing/exfoliating action. And this yarn is so SOFT! It feels - and even looks vaguely like - SUEDE! I'm only sorry that I only had the one ball. I could easily see this yarn made up into some sort of wearable. A shawl or a shrug, for example. But hey... I've got me some brand spankin' new, absolutely divine washcloths to use the next time I need a wash.

And best of all, I've got some practice in, so when it comes time to start planning and making Christmas gifts this year, I won't be making myself crazy.

Edited to add: I actually did use that last one in the shower, and I was right. The ridges made by crocheting into the back loops only made for a GREAT scrubbing action, while at the same time it felt REALLY soft. I am DEFINITELY making some of these for Christmas gifts this year!!

Tiffany's Kioko

Here it is, the amigurumi I made for my neighbor's daughter, who turned 15 today.

I named it Kioko, which means "Happy Child" in Japanese - because I was hoping it would make Tiffany happy. :)

I actually did have her 99% finished last night - the only thing I had to do to her this morning was finish her hair. Because I gave her straight hair, I had to attach each strand separately, and it took a looooooooong time!

She's made with 100% acrylic, DK pink yarn. Pink because that's her favorite color (I asked her mom). Her face is embroidered on using DMC embroidery floss (I liked the shine it made, and thought it would look better than just using yarn). Her hair is a mixture of DK acrylic and WW yarn that I had in my stash. I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture, but the pink in her hair and the pink skirt is made from the same yarn. The edging on her skirt and her top are both made from white DK yarn.

Not only does Tiffany already have her, but while trying to type up this entry, she came to the door, wanting help with binding off a knitted top she'd made for the doll! :D I'm just so glad she liked it. I know that at 15, girls aren't very likely to play with dolls, but I was hoping she'd see it as what *I* saw it - a very cute, very unique thing to decorate her room with.

I'm just so glad she likes it!

Tiffany's Pillow

I just finished this pillow for my neighbor's youngest daughter, Tiffany, for her birthday on Monday. I don't have a lot of money (talk about an understatement!), but I wanted to do something for her, since she's always helping me and the kids out. When it's nice out, she recruits a bunch of her friends and takes all 3 of my younger children out to the park and to the beach. I found this pattern here. I did change up the pattern just a little bit - instead of doing both sides of the top of the T from the outside edges, I did the FIRST side from the outside edge, and did the SECOND one from the 15th stitch in and crocheted outwards. It made the stitches look more uniform. I also noticed that there's an error in the pattern. On Row 14, where it says "you should have 3 skipped stitches on either side of this row," there's actually 3 stitches on one side and 4 on the other. In order to not confuse myself with the rest of the pattern, on the side that had 4 stitches, I did a decrease stitch (single crocheted 2 stitches together) to make 3 stitches. I'm sure I could have just adjusted the rest of the pattern to the extra stitch, but I was too tired when I started that part of the pillow and frankly, just couldn't be bothered.

I'm also going to make her an amigurumi dudette, so keep an eye on this... I'm hoping to have it done by tomorrow night at the latest (since her birthday's the very next day!).