I got a total surprise in the mail the other day. We were all outside, getting into the truck to go run some errands; when a UPS truck stopped in front of our driveway. I said, "Huh? I never get anything from the UPS..." But I did get something from the UPS... :-D A boxful of scrap yarn for my scrap afghans!!! I had posted it on my wishlist at Crochet Mania. And less than a WEEK later, someone sent me some! Thank you so much, LadyH... :-D

Among the bazillion other projects I have going, I just this morning finished some "pumpkin" scrubbies. I used the Spiral Scrubbie pattern, and an idea Heart posted a long time ago on Crochetville. (The link for the spiral scrubbie is in that link, too... lazy blogger...) They're much cuter in real life...

And, I just last night worked some more on my Central Park Hoodie. One inch away from the sleeve caps, and I realized, "I did the cable wrong"... :( I did the C chart when I was supposed to do the B chart (or vice-versa?). It was supposed to be a double cable. Woops. Oh well. I'm not re-knitting both of the whole sleeves!

We still do not have any boxes to start packing with. Somehow, I'm not really worried or stressed out about it. (Yet...) My husband has been painting over there. (Our bedroom was hideous!!-- an awful pink/purple with blue splotches underneath.) It's white now. :-D It looks so much better. I hope the smell (from the paint) goes away, it was giving me a horrible headache... We also are going to get the carpet steam cleaned. Maybe eventually replace it? I don't know, it's just a rental and we aren't planning on staying there too long. I just hate stained carpet... Well have a nice upcoming weekend everyone.

Snakes

I am so glad these are finally done. I didn't mind doing the first one. It was kind of fun, stuffing it as I went... By the second one, though; I got burnt out big time. I didn't even work on it for about a week. Then one day I said 'I am just going to finish this and get it over with.' Ugh. I found the pattern in the 2010 Crochet Calender. I didn't know it is also an online pattern. I found that out on Ravelry. (I saw someone else's snake that was the same name as the pattern I used...) Ayame the Snake. These snakes have different names, though.

The black one is a girl. "Her" name is Crusher. Nice name for a girl snake, no?... I guess any name for a *snake*.... would not be a cute, fluffy, adorable name, right?.... :P

The white (off-white) one is a boy. He does not have a name. I don't know if he will get one or not...

I have lots of other things (TOOOOO MANY!!) I have been working on. Two afghans; the starghan and the pressed flowers one, still... I have three potholders going. All at the same time. (Sigh). My Central Park Hoodie is still waiting to be worked on some more.

I got the nicest surprise in my email the other day: A gift eCard (?), to KnitPicks!!! I was (and still am) so shocked and surprised. I couldn't believe it. I have been wanting to knit the "Amused" sweater for some time. I kept dropping hints to my husband that I would like to get some yarn that wasn't (crappy) acrylic... (Well, don't get me wrong-- I think acrylic is good for *some* things. Toys, especially. I use it all the time for afghans. But, I want to knit a sweater with something really nice, and that I will like wearing...) Finally, I came right out and asked him. It actually wasn't as expensive as I thought. (But I still feel bad asking, since money is so terribly tight right now for us, with moving again and all.... [sigh]) But he said to go ahead and order the yarn for the sweater. Well, I wanted to get the Amethyst Heather but it was $2.19 a skein and would have been a lot more. So, I got Fairy Tale instead. Well when I went to check my email later on (I was cleaning all day), there was the email for the gift ecard!!!! Thank you so much again (if you read my blog at all), TX! I know I will want to cast on right away when I receive the yarn, too. Then I will have even more projects going... Which makes me want to hurry up and finish everything right now. But, I'm going as fast as I can with what time I have...

Well, I will try and post again soon. I got another surprise in the mail again today (I will save that for another time, though).

More Afghans...

I started two more afghans. I may or may not have already posted that. But, here are pictures of them... This one is 'Pressed Flowers', from a scrap afghan book I have. Can't think of the name of it right now. This pattern is also called Catherine's Wheel. I think I made a 12" square with this same pattern stitch a few years ago. I started this one for some friends of ours who are my parents age (just about, a couple years older). They have kind of 'adopted' our 17 year old as their 'unofficial grandson'. They have taken him to their cabin a couple of times to help out (and they pay him). He gets to ride their four wheelers; (they ride with him) and have fun, too. I wanted to make them something to say thank you. I thought 'How about an afghan to take to their cabin with them?' It's turning out so ugly, no one would want it for anything but a cabin! lol

I also started another Granny Star Afghan. I kind of stalled out on working on both of them. My hand is hurting. Today I tried working on the pressed flowers one, and had to rip out a row because I did something wrong (couldn't figure it out), then re-did the row completely. Then realized, 'DUH!!!' I crocheted only one blue strip, and finished the 'flower' with brown. (You do two rows of one color...) I knew that something wasn't right, but couldn't figure out *what* it was... I'm such a ditz sometimes. Too much going on in my brain right now, I can't concentrate... :(

We are moving (AGAIN).... :( I am really, really, really getting sick of moving!!!! I should just say no! I can understand we need to find a cheaper place to live. But, it's only $100 cheaper a month. Is it worth all the hassle to move? Ugh... Technically, I guess it is. If you look at it this way: That's $1,200 a year we will be saving. But... Ugh. The house we are moving to is on the other side of town. It's on two and a half acres, and has 4 bedrooms. I am really hoping this will help alleviate some of the bickering between the 12 year old and the 7 year old.... Although, I can kind of see it already: "Get out of my room' 'Can you tell him to stop coming in my room?'.... So, I don't know... One of the bedrooms is technically an 'office', but the only thing that makes it an office is that it doesn't have a closet. So, they will have to share closets. Not a huge deal. Maybe I can use it to my advantage with the 'fights'.... =^^= (Catty, no?...) Well, that's about all the news. I hope everyone is having a great 'hump day'. :P TTYS or L.... :P

It's Been a While...

I'm still here, though... My husband bought me the Bearista Bear! Isn't he adorable? I just love him. I haven't thought of a name for him, yet. Don't know if I will. I still kind of want to crochet a pumpkin bear. I need more time to make everything I want to. (Sigh...)

I finished one thing, though. The Chakra Purse. Yay.

Stuffed with a couple of skeins of yarn. :P

And the lining. (Sorry, blurry, pre-coffee picture this morning...) ;) Trust me, you wouldn't want a good picture of it. It looks like a seven year old sewed it in. I am not good at sewing. I will still use this purse, though; that's for sure.

I started a new (big) project. An afghan. :0 Can you believe it? (I can.) We only have to pack and clean this house to move in three weeks, but I am starting an afghan. That's me all right. Why do I do it? I don't know. To distract my mind from what is really going on? Who knows. :) This is Sami Jo Fitzgeralds Granny Star Afghan, it works up super fast. I'm just using colors I had in my stash. I looked through star afghans at Ravelry to see if I could find any good color scheme ideas (since I am brain dead that way). I saw a really cute one Vashongirl made; in the exact colors I am using. I am going to try doing mine that way. I will probably have to go get some more yarn before this is done, but... I have a good amount to start with, anyway. :)

Well that's about all the news. I have had some kind of a bug the last two days, I think. My husband was home sick Monday and Tuesday. Then Tuesday I started feeling kind of sick. Sneezed about a hundred times, my nose would not stop running all morning. My ears hurt. Kinda sore throat. A little bit head achey. Then today it was my stomach. :( I feel a little better now. But not well. Anyway~~ I hope you are staying well where you are. No flu allowed! Anywhere! :P

Pumpkin Bears and Pumpkin Muffins...

Well.... I couldn't find any 'Pumpkin Bears' to post a picture of... But I want one! Yesterday we went to Starbucks, and I got a Pumpkin Spice Frappucino. Yummy... While we were waiting, I was looking around and saw the cutest Pumpkin Bears. Well, more accurately Bearista Bears. With the cutest little pumpkin sweater on. I want one! My husband said he will buy me one. We'll see. :) But now I am on a mission to crochet one or knit one, too. Not that I don't have a gazillion other projects to do right now. (Sigh...) I know what I want, but don't know if I will be able to come up with a cute enough real life version...

Then I started craving pumpkin desserts. I wanted a pumpkin streusel coffee cake. But I couldn't find any. I found some pumpkin streusel muffin recipes. I might try one (of the recipes).

I Got My Calender, and I Got My Orders...

I got my Crochet Pattern a Day Calender (although it isn't a 'pattern a day', anymore. I guess it is the 2010 Crochet Calender. I don't know... There was a mix-up with my address (even though I sent my new address several times...) Anyway~~ I got it, finally. It wasn't any hurry. My 12 year old son, just a few days prior to getting the calender; had said to me, 'Can you crochet me another snake? Really long?' They had one I had crocheted years ago. But I think it got thrown away since the stuffing was all coming out of it, and it was ratty looking. It was the 'Guard Dawg and Sentry Snake' pattern. I don't know if it is an archived pattern now or what... Well when I got the calender, I said 'Hey!'... and showed him the snake pattern. Well, you can guess the rest... And, little brother wants one, too (of course). ;) I haven't crocheted a toy in a while and it's fun for me, so... I don't mind. :P Here is the 12 yr olds':

He wanted a 'white snake' with yellow and black eyes (he drew me a picture). So I have been googling white snakes. They're kinda creepy looking. (Well, aren't all snakes? But..) I think it's funny, my big 200+ 6'1" dad, and my tatoo artist brother are deathly afraid of snakes. Here I am, crocheting them... :P When my brother came to our house for my Grandma's funeral (we flew out together), there was one of the kids plastic snakes laying in the garage, and my brother thought it was real and jumped. It was kinda funny. I was just standing there, going 'What?...' :P

I am also making progress on my Chakra Purse. I finished the front. I had the whole back and front flap all done, but my heart was slanting so I ripped it all out and am going to re-do it. I am on the strap and gussett part, now. I bought some fabric to line it with. I could only find one teal colored fabric that I liked at all. So I guess I'll use that. I also bought a bling-y button but I don't know if I'll put it on there, or not...

I'm also making progress on my CPH sleeves, too. I'm almost to the last increase on the sleeves then I just have to work straight til they are long enough. I have so many sweaters in my que (sp?) at Ravelry. (Among other things!) It took me a while to figure out, but I think that is supposed to be things you are actually working on? I have been using it to keep patterns that I *want* to work on, somewhere where I know where they are... Oh well. :P

Well that's about all folks. I hope everyone had a nice weekend. We didn't do much, my husband worked Saturday. Just hung out around the house... :) Til next time~~~

I had forgotten to take a picture of the potholder I crocheted for a recent swap on CrochetMania.... This is it. She said her kitchen was a 'rainbow' of colors. I thought of this variegated for some reason. It's got bright cheery colors... Then when I was crocheting it, it was turning out way too big. So I frogged what I did and chained only 45 or 40. It started turning out like a rainbow! I thought that was so cool. :P

I recently joined the Chakra Purse CAL in the Crochet in the Philippines Group I am in on Ravelry. I don't live in the Philippines at all, but Mimi invited me to join the group (and the CAL :P), so I did! This is what I have so far on the purse. It was all going well til I did the flap. :( I think it is the pattern. I followed it exactly, and it is all wonky and lopsided. It is also 'pulling'... I noticed someone else's Chakra purse on Ravelry did the same thing (I searched for other ones people might have made...) There was another one someone else did that looked perfect, though. Sigh... Maybe once I get it all finished, it will work out. Maybe if I try blocking it.

I started the front last night. I think I need to slow down. In between my shoulder blades has been aching. My wrists and hands have been aching... I thought it was from knitting, since I have been working on my Central Park Hoodie recently. (Knitting too much hurts my hands..) Who knows. I should start slowing down, though..

Here is a picture of Baby E, in his Fishy Sweater I knitted for him before he was born. :) I was really into knitting sweaters back then for the kids. I don't know why I got away from it. Probably because they never wore them, and the ones I knitted for other people I felt were never appreciated (or worn) either... Now, it's too hot where we live to wear sweaters! I guess I'll stick to knitting them for just me. :D (CPH...)

I hope everyone is having a good week so far... I suppose I should get busy here and start the day. :)

Catching Up...

I have been neglecting my blog for a while... Sorry. I have been crocheting some, though. I'm trying to get caught up and finish some of my projects I should have finished a long time ago. (Sigh.)

I did finish my Simply Striped Shrug, finally! I was worried I would run out of thread (which I did, in the end...). I had a second (less than half ball--well, they were both not full) ball, and no wrapper inside so I wasn't sure if they were the same red or not. But then when I started crocheting with it, it looked like it was. But then I started getting close to the end of the ball and knew I was going to have to finish it. It was a little tight (I tried it on that night with a bulky shirt all bunched up underneath it, though). It fits good without a shirt on under it. :)

Sorry for the blurriness in this one. My husband was taking the pictures.

You can find the Simply Striped Shrug pattern on Mimi's mycrochetstuff page, or on Mimi's Ravelry page! It is a fast simple pattern (fast for anyone on earth other than me!) ;)

Here is an old, old project I did. (The picture I just took.) :P I crocheted this Clint Eastwood Poncho for our now 12 year old. He NEVER wore it, maybe three to five times total. :( Well a couple nights ago, the 7 year old (he's not 6 anymore...) said, 'Can I have the ??? poncho?' (I couldn't understand what he was saying...) I said 'Do you know where it is?' He did, and then we had to go through a huge long process of reasoning with his brother, to let his little brother have it. I finally just said, 'You never even wore it, and it doesn't even fit you anymore, anyway. I made it, and I'm giving it to Eon'.... Why can't older brothers just be nice to their little brother once in a while?

Here he is, with his cowboy boots and hat...

I started a new CAL on Ravelry, and a new purse. The Chakra Purse. At first I wasn't sure I would really like the pattern stitch. But, I do. I'm making it in Red Heart Super Saver in Turqua. It is kind of curling up on the sides (I had to force it down for the picture). I hope that isn't going to be a problem later. I could not find out what kind of yarn Caron Spa is. I *think* it is a light worsted. Kind of like Caron Simply Soft? The pattern said to use a D hook, but I am using an F. I almost wanted to use a G. But maybe it is supposed to be a little stiffer. I don't know. It feels good, for a purse.

I have quite a few tops this purse will go with. I was going through my closet yesterday (trying to find a tank to wear with the SS Shrug), and so I started putting all my tank type tops in one spot on the rack. I have three or four of this type color. Plus a couple other tops, too... I am trying to wear more bright, cheery colors. Not so much black or grey...

And last, but not least, my Central Park Hoodie progress! I dug this out and started working on it again after only what, eight months?.... (sigh...) At first I couldn't find my notes and almost started getting angry. I guess that's one other reason why you shouldn't let so long go in between working on a project... But, I found them, and all was good. I just have the sleeves and hood. I was looking through Ravelry to see everyone else's CPHs. Some people did theirs with no hood. They looked nice, but I want the hood on mine. :P If I do another one, I will buy some nice yarn in a nice brighter color (maybe a bright green, or pink/purple?). I figured if I mess up on this one, I am only using Red Heart and didn't waste a fortune on yarn with it. This is the first adult sweater I have ever knitted. I used to knit baby/small child sweaters, and was getting pretty good at them. I found a picture yesterday of a baby sweater I knitted for Eon before he was even born, and I scanned it. I'll have to post a picture here of it. It's on my Ravelry page, though. If anyone can't wait. :P I also posted the Zip-Neck pullover I knitted (on Ravelry), too. (I didn't put a zipper in mine, though...)

Well I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Last night we went to a Going-Away party for two families who already left; that ended up getting turned into a 'Glad You're Not Going Away' party, for someone who's staying. :P LOL Our oldest son brought his guitar. It was really fun. We brought home cake we do not need. Ugh. If I can just keep away from it until it's gone. ;P It is "Italian Creme Cake", with coconut and walnuts (yuck, yuck...) but that didn't stop me from eating TWO pieces last night! :0