Did you miss me? ;p I'll bet you didn't even know I was gone. We went back to Michigan to get the rest of our stuff out of storage. My husbands' Great Aunt died the day before we were leaving, so we were able to go to the funeral while we were there. She was 93 years old. Although it is sad, everyone is somewhat relieved as she is not suffering anymore. She was the last sibling of my husband's grandma. (They lived together.) I will be worried about his grandma now. One good thing is that she lives in an assisted living home, so she will see a lot of her friends there every day. If she was living on her own, I would worry a lot more. Well... above is a lapghan I finished. For the Charity Blitz.
And, now that my toy swap partner has recieved the toys, I can post pictures of them!! Hello Kitty is above. I actually added the ears and it looked different. But I had already boxed it up when I thought to take another picture. I am so happy with how this turned out!! This Hello Kitty was the one toy that gave me the most anxiety. I don't think I will ever make another one. But I feel like I accomplished something in finishing this one.
And here we have a checker board. It's from the Crochet-Pattern-A-Day 2006 Calendar. This one was relatively easy. Just color changing. I like how it turned out.
And, you can roll it up and put it in your backpack to take with you. Or purse...
And here is a Bunting Doll. I love this doll. I want to make one for myself. I must have either 1.Not have had many toys when I was little (actually, I don't think I did have many. I had a couple dolls though.) Or 2. I'm still a kid at heart. I'm really happy with how all the toys turned out. I still don't have the toys from my swap partner, but, that is because I told her not to send them yet. (Since we were gone.) The kids will be excited when they get them. (So will I!) I got a lot of crocheting done on the trip out there. I actually didn't finish the shrug I am working on, but I got a LOT done on it! I am done with the first sleeve. I will post pictures of that when I get some batteries for my camera. I also finished three twelve inch comfortghan squares for Karla. (They are for a comfortghan for someone she knows, not for her.) Well have a nice week everyone!
This is how far I am! I'm sooo excited! I love how this is working up. I actually was done with the whole right front, but it looked like it was too small. Even though I had gone so far, I didn't want to finish it and have done all that work and it be too small. There is no way I am giving this to anyone. So I frogged it this morning and redid it. THE hardest part is Row 1 of the body. I had to figure out how many stitches per section and still had 43 left.... But, I finally figured it out and am almost back to this point now. I tried it around me and it fits much better now. Perfect, in fact. I also think I may make it a little longer than the pattern suggests. I'll keep you posted. ;) I finished a lapghan. I *was* going to make it for the Charity Blitz, but.... I have issues with it. I am not the kind of person who drops out of things. I've finished all my CALs and swaps I joined, but... I can't quite put my finger on it, but.... 1. The person hosting this thing is not the *friendliest* person there is. 2. I didn't know she was going to be including her *missionary* work in it. I just don't feel right crocheting things for her to take down to Mexico or wherever she takes them, to try to convert people to her church. Something about it just doesn't sit right with me. So. I am thinking about dropping out of it. Last month was her charity, and she has another month she has something different (last month was things for kids: marble bags, hair scrunchies...) I think the next one for her charity is squares or something. So I will probably save this lapghan for Pine Ridge. I kind of like it. It's just a ripple stitch. I haven't taken a picture of it yet. Well I'm off to work some more on my shrug. Did I say?... I am going to make a matching shrug for my Mom. I remember when I was little my Mom had matching dresses for her and I. I don't know if someone she knew sewed them for us, or if she bought them... I know we didn't have much money though. (We did know someone who sewed a lot, and actually made my flowergirls' dress when I was in their wedding- My Mom and Stepdads') Anyway, I remember saying, 'I don't want to wear that!' and I wasn't going to. I told my mom about that and she said, 'You wore it'. So I must have felt guilty. I remember the look on her face, (I think I hurt her feelings.) So I probably felt bad and wore it anyway. I wish we had a picture of it now. Well anyway, I told her 'I'll make you and I matching shrugs'. She said 'You're gonna make up for that, huh?' ;p
I ordered some threads from Mimi recently, and they came in the mail yesterday! Yay! I love them. I also ordered a cell phone tote from her, that I absolutely just love!!
Here is a close-up of the cell phone tote, with my cell phone already tucked inside. ;p Isn't it cute!!? Mimi you do beautiful work. It looks very professional. Thank you, Mimi! :)) You can purchase her threads here. (Also see the Monaco button in the sidebar.) I have also started on my shrug. It is turning out soooo cool! Even though I am just on the edging. I love the way it is working out. Maybe I should buy the more expensive yarns more often, eh?
I finally broke down and bought this booklet. I kind of wanted it for a while, but kept saying 'I'll never make any of those...' But, recently I have been wanting to try more challenging projects. And actually make something for myself to wear. Although I have to say, it won't be saving me any money. I could probably buy a shrug at the store for what I pay in yarn. Fortunately, I have some yarn that my secret pal from the Autumn Secret Pals swap sent me. I don't think it will be enough, though. I think I need three more. So, it will still be a lot less expensive though! Than if I had to buy it all. Unless I bought baby yarn. (There aren't any good colors though unless you order it from a catalog.)
This is the color. It's 'Coral'. And, I think it goes perfectly with this skirt:
I looked at every single store around to try to find yarn to make one for another skirt I have. (It's greens and pinks...) But, I couldn't find any the right color (without going broke, that is!) to go with that skirt. So I got out my other skirt and said 'Hmm, this goes pretty good together...' Now, if I can just find the same dye lot!! This may be a wild goose chase...
This weekend we did a lot of tourist-y things. We are still exploring our new home. (Even though it was my husbands' home for a while when he was young.) Here is a waterfall.
And a little stone bridge. I just love these. There were a couple of them.
Look what my husband brought home for me last night!! It wasn't even a special occasion or anything. (Unless you count me getting really irritated with him the night before...) Hmmm... Well it was nice anyway. The flowers are beautiful. And the chocolate was delicious. Yes, was... I didn't eat it all. Three little candy vultures kept buzzing around, 'Can I have another one?' And before long you couldn't even go by the little diagram any more, they were all so messed up. I thought about Forrest Gump, when he said 'Momma always said "Life is like a box of chocolates... You never know what you're going to get...' " ;p
Here's a close up of the flowers. Red roses, and a couple red carnations. And, I don't know what the purple ones are, but they are pretty.
Here are some things I have had done. Well the turtle I have had done for about a month. I just never took a picture of him yet. He's cute.
Side view. He's Reecie's Turtle. Maybe I did post about him before... Well sorry if I did. He's cute enough, I guess I could post about him twice...
And, here are two 'Computer Bugs' I just finished. The bee one I just finished tonight. The other one was finished yesterday. I tested them for Kristen via Crochetville. I don't know if we're 'supposed' to do all three, or what. I may end up doing another one anyway. The other one is a bigger bee. I think he is the biggest one. The 'bee' I made isn't really supposed to be a bee at all, but that's what my son wanted. (We went to a Nature Center today and they had a live bee hive... You can guess the rest...) ;p So, I may be making a 'Queen Bee' after all...
This is the post I tried to do yesterday but it disappeared... Here is the Pride Square I started for the family on Pine Ridge who lost their little boy from a tornado that ripped through there. Right after they got blasted with two feet of snow. :( I don't know any more than that, but that's sad enough. Well the stupid square is 16", not twelve. So now I don't know what I'll do with it. Probably make an afghan out of it or a lapghan. (Which now adds to my pile of UFO's....) Sigh.... Or, I could donate it to someone who collects all sizes of squares, if I wanted.
Here is a twelve inch 'square' that really is twelve inches. Hmmm... it's not really a 'pattern.' It is a pattern stitch, called the Catherine Wheel IV. I made a similar 'square' with 'Catherine Wheel'; it's just a little different. I made it 8" to go with a square (scroll down, second to last picture) my secret pal sent me to donate. The only difference I can see, is; there are more stitches in each 'wheel' for this one. And it doesn't lay as flat. I like the first one better. Well now I am working on my toys for the toy swap and nothing else until I am finished with them. GRRR! I think the hardest one is this Hello Kitty doll. I'm sure once I'm done with it it will be smooth sailing from there. I'm on the embroidery part of the face. This has got to be the hardest part for me. I always mess up embroidery on toys... I'll post a picture after I mail them out and know the recipient recieved them... :)
I got a postcard from my brother and his new wife from Waikiki, Hawaii. They went on their honeymoon there. I have never ever been to Hawaii. Probably because I don't like to fly. Maybe some day when the kids are grown and moved out we can travel...
Here's a square I'm working on. It's called the Pride Square. I'm making it for a family who lost their son when a tornado ripped through Pine Ridge. (Right after they got blasted with two feet of snow.) I think I may have to make another one, this one is already 9 inches wide at row 7. It's 'supposed' to be 6". Guess a size I hook is too big. I think that's the most irritating part about making 12" squares. (Or any size square for that matter.) They never turn out to be the right size. At least for me, anyway. I should be working on toys for the toy swap. I don't even want to think about it, though. I am almost done with the Hello Kitty body. I just need the motivation to pick it up and finish it. I hope the other toys aren't this bad.... Well I should go get dinner going.
Is there such a word?..... Here are some coasters I recently finished. I broke down and bought some variegated thread before my order came, Mimi. ;) I made four of them. I should have taken a better picture, but oh well... This is the only picture I have, though, and they are gone. I sent them to someone in the mail. I used the shells coaster pattern. I am moving on to more challenging projects. I have wanted the Crochet Shrugs pattern for a long time, but have been fighting it. Well last night I went and ordered one from Annie's Attic. I looked at WalMart (they don't have anything... I didn't think they would have it, but since we were there I thought I'd look.) And we were right by Hobby Lobby last night, but it was late and as we drove past it I noticed they looked closed anyway. (It was 8:41 pm. They must close early.) Anyway, it should be coming in the mail soon. And meanwhile I am going to work on finishing the toys for the toy swap. I am getting close to being done on the Hello Kitty toy. It isn't *as* hard as I thought it would be. It's just not a 'real' pattern. And was confusing me. Anyway. I will feel like I have accomplished something when it is done. Then I will only have two toys left. Well that's about all for today. I think I might go over to the new place today, and hang the new shower curtain. And take a few things over.
Yesterday my husband called me on the way home from work, and we were talking about (nothing...) 'What are you making for dinner?' 'Food' 'What kind?' 'The kind you eat...' ;p Then he got around to telling me he was at the new house and I had a package there. :) It was from my secret pal! (The one who I was sending things to..) So, after dinner we went back over there and I got it. Inside were all these goodies. The dishcloth, above. She said it was from 'tail ends'. I think it is so cool! I love the two different colors, and the triangles. It reminds me of the knitted 'Idiot's dishcloth'. And, she said it was one of the 200 Crochet Blocks in the book, so I have this pattern! And, look at all the other goodies she sent:
A Moser-Roth package of premium milk chocolate bars! My husband said he doesn't like it. (Yay! I thought...) She also sent a baggy full of little chocolates for the kids. (Which you can see is almost gone.) An adorable little square box tape measure. It's so cute! And, a beautiful pendant bookmark! It's so pretty. I didn't have a chance to really look at it until this morning, and then I noticed....
It is a locket, too! I love it! It is so cool!! Thank you Lene for everything!!!
She also sent a bunny pin but it has been confiscated by the nine year old. (He's the middle child you know...) Don't get me started on that... ;p Thanks so much Lene!!
Inside it was this beautiful!!! tote messenger bag that my secret pal (who is now revealed- it is Claire!) crocheted. It is a work of art. This picture does not do this bag justice AT all. I hate my camera. It's acting tempermental again. I think it is just a piece of junk. Anyway, there is so much detail on this purse. It is the Bobbling-Along Tote from someone, somewhere in Crochetville. I remember printing the pattern out, a while ago. I have just never gotten around to actually making one. Thank you so much, Claire. It is a beautiful tote. And, inside it was all these goodies!:
A Necco 'Skybar'. I have never had one of these. I don't think I've ever even seen one of these. It was delicious. And, an Almond Joy bar. Boston Baked Beans (I love these!) And Lindt Lindor Truffles!! YUUMMY! Claire also sent a roll of Necco wafers, which the three year old immediately picked up and said, 'These are mine'. I had to take them away after a couple, though. (He hadn't even eaten any breakfast yet..) :) A box of Moroccan Pomegranate Red by Celestial Seasonings!! I have been wanting to try this tea for a long time, but always keep buying the same old tea that I *know* I like. (I also order the same food at the restaurant every time, too. In case you were wondering.) Well I have to break out and try something different don't I? Thank you for helping me to do this. ;p It smells delicious. I am going to make a cup later and sit on the deck and read the 'Yankee' magazine with my tea.
Claire must have read my wish list at Crochetville, because a lot of the things she sent were on my wish list. ;) Like these candy molds! I have never tried making truffles, but Wilton makes it easy. And I love the popsicle molds. Those are my favorite. I think I better go edit my wish list, I think now I have more than enough candy molds. :)
And, last but not least, a skein of Lion 'Baby Soft' yarn. Once again, my camera has messed up. This is not the color of this yarn. It is actually 'Bubble Gum'. Like a hot pink. Just yesterday I almost bought this, for a Hello Kitty doll I am making. But decided to go with the soft pink. Then, you know how it goes, 'Maybe I should have bought the other one...' Well now I have both colors. Even if I don't use it for the Hello Kitty doll, I can use it for something! Thank you so much for everything and for all the hard work you put into the beautiful tote bag. Everything you have sent had a lot of thought put into it, and I love it all. Thank you, Claire! :)
April is 'Preemie Protectors' month for the Charity Blitz at Crochetville. So I have been working on things for preemie babies. So far I have finished this preemie afghan. I looked and looked for a soft, simple pattern I could use. Then I remembered one I saw in a magazine I had in Michigan. (Which is still in Michigan.) I tried to remember how to do it. I think I got pretty close. It is a simple sc, ch 1, sc. It turned out 13 inches wide. It used just a little bit of the second skein of yarn.
Then there are these two hats. I can't lie, I've had these done for a while. I just have never sent them in yet. I think I'll do some booties and maybe another afghan. I don't know. I am also working on toys for the small toys swap. Right now I am working on Reecie's turtle. It's amigurumi. But it's little. For some reason crocheting tight like that really hurts my fingers. I'm probably going to end up with arthiritis. Anyway, I'm still kinda just waiting to see who I'll get paired up with so I'll know what to make. I swear I am not joining another swap after this. I don't know why I keep doing it. It's like an addiction with me or something. Speaking of swaps.... I mailed off my last package, my 'Reveal' package, to my secret pal. Even though she knows who I am since about the first week. So it's not really a 'reveal' package. And, I have one more package to mail to one of my elders this month then I will be done. (For April, anyway...) :p
Remember Paloma's Poncho? Well I have made up a matching Barbie poncho. You can find the pattern here. Since the poncho pattern was free, the matching Barbie poncho will be free, too. It is not to be sold on ebay or any other way. I am sending this poncho and matching Barbie poncho to the grand daughter of one of my elders on Pine Ridge. She is raising her and another grandson. And the grand daughter likes Barbies, so I thought this would be cute.
Well here is some of the things I am still working on, but will take forever, I think. This is the 'Between Meals Centerpiece' doily I am working on for February. (Still) I am on round 38 now.
And this is the scrap granny ghan I was talking about a while back. What do you think? I'm not very good at getting colors that 'go' together. I just try to do colors that don't clash. If the row I'm working on is green, the next color I'll try to 'coordinate'. Here is a poncho I started a couple of days ago. I made a couple of these about a year ago. Then I couldn't find the pattern on my computer (it was from a blog that is no longer active, I guess...) We have since then gotten a new computer, so it might be on the old one. And all of my patterns I printed out are in Michigan in storage, so.... I have been trying to find it on Crochetville hoping someone might still have it from the post about a year ago... Well someone (not anyone from a year ago, someone else) found it for me on 'Way Back Machine'. I tried to find it on there but I must not know what I'm doing.... Yay! Well meanwhile I tried doing one figuring it out from pictures I had. Well I was way off on the starting chain. The original is like ch 45. I chained 78. So, this one turned out to be about a size 8 I'm thinking. I'm trying to get my son to try it on for size for me. ;p If it is about an 8, I'll send it to the grand daughter of one of my elders on Pine Ridge. (She's raising two of her grand children.) I also want to make a matching Barbie poncho. I need to get a Barbie though to see how big to make one. Sigh... I have barbies in Michigan.... Anyway! If you are interested in making one of these, the original pattern is called Paloma's Poncho. It is super easy and fast to make. I also did a tie. With I don't know how many chains. Then used a flower on the end which can be found here. I also did a sc, ch 3, skip next st, around the neck edge for the ties to go through. Oh, also continued with the pattern until I thought it was wide enough. (About three extra 'panels' of the three pattern rows.) I haven't figured out how to do a size 4, or 6 yet... :)
And a little doily! Look what someone sent me in the mail yesterday. It wasn't a secret pal, it was someone from Crafting for a Cause! And a totally unexpected surprise! (Aren't those the best surprises? Well sometimes...) It's a beautiful little doily. I love it! And thank you!!
Here is what I have been working on lately... squares! They're fast, they're fun, and easy. All of these squares (it's only five, but...) are for Crafting for a Cause. The two granny squares above, and the Blue Columbine Square below, are all 6 inches. The Blue Columbine square is actually supposed to be 6.5 inches, but I had been making 6" grannies with a G hook, and the basic square is just a granny square so I continued with a G hook, skipped row 5, and did dc's with the darker blue for the last row. (I changed it a little, to make it equal 6 inches.) I still haven't done the 'stamen' part in the middle. I still haven't sewn the flower on, either, but.... I thought this would be a neat square to send in since Blue Columbine is the Colorado State Flower.
And, here are two 8 inch squares I am sending in as well. The rose one on the right was sent to me by my secret pal at Crochetville. Thank you again, secret pal! I said I would 'match' her 8 inch square with one of my own to send in. And so here it is. I couldn't really find any 8 inch squares I liked online, and since I don't own the 63 squares book (that's what she made hers from)... I just whipped out the old crochet encyclopedia and found a pattern stitch I liked. So that's my square. Not a big deal but it will go into an afghan and make someone warm on Pine Ridge.
Oh and here is a 13" oddball square. I meant it to be 12 inches, but it turned out a tad big. But, someone from CFAC collects all kinds of squares, so I will send her this one. It's the Bobby's Square. I like it. Next time I'll use one size smaller hook. Hopefully it will turn out twelve inches then.
I am also working on a scrap granny afghan pattern I got from Annie's Scrap Crochet Club (or something like that.) I'm all for scraps (that's about all I have.) :) So far I like it. I would like to get some more 'scraps', though. I think I am going to go shopping tonight (by myself-Woo Hoo!). So I'll be able to get more colors. I'll post a picture of that afghan later. Have A Nice Day!
