Tuesday, March 27, 2007

The Great Granny Ghan Race of 2007!

So John and I are engaged in a race..... he's a relative newbie to crochet altogether, and I'm a newbie to granny squares. We started about a week apart on a granny ghan - an afghan made of one large granny square. Neither of us are doing any color changes. I think John's doing a babyghan, meaning his end size is going to be about 36"x36", whereas mine's going to be a couch throw..... so I'm thinking about 50"x50".



Here's a pic of progress thus far, side by side. John's is blue, mine gray. We'll do another progress check this weekend!


Monday, March 19, 2007

Hey, John!

Game on! Get Tra to take and post some pics of your grannyghan progress!

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Pictures

Okay, yet again my pictures are a couple of days after my initial post. So enjoy!





Baby Granny Ghan:









Gray Granny Ghan:






Fit To Be Tied purse:


Friday, March 16, 2007

I'm a Simple (wo)Man!

It takes so very, very, VERY little to amuse and excite me! I just got an email saying that my Venus Breeze is on its way. I had signed up, through Vocalpoint, to test the new Venus Breeze, but not everyone that signs up is chosen - as in all marketing, you have to meet various demographic criteria. When I read the email saying that I had, in fact, met the aforementioned criteria, I literally (and yes, this is pathetic - I have no life!) said WooHoo! out loud!

So I had extra kids today, as I mentioned either in this blog or in KA&TN, so I had an excuse to be a little lazier than normal. It was wonderful for me because it meant I got to work on my crochet projects a bit more. As Tracie has pointed out, though, I have CADD (crochet attention deficit disorder), so I worked some on the gray granny ghan, some on the baby granny ghan, and then I started on a bobble baby ghan. Purse is sitting waiting. So is the bag. The purse is wool, and the bag is cotton, and my hands are swollen, so worsted acrylic working into spaces is just so much easier on me right now. Of course, Hans thinks that all I do is sit here at home crocheting as it is - having 3 4 projects on the hooks really doesn't help my case any!

Now, since I'm a s l o w blogger, it's St. Patty's Day! Ahhh! Top o' the mornin' to ya! I baked my leprechaun cakes last night they're just plain yellow cupcakes that I mixed green food coloring with and am cleaning the kitchen so I can go ahead and bake my herbed Irish Soda Bread. we're having a few friends over for some Guinness, corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots and, of course, leprechaun cakes. Damned leprechauns forgot to leave me my pot of gold this morning, though.

Well, the family is waking, so I'd better start looking busy! Adieu!

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Yarnapy....

Okay, so I had this looooong, informative, witty and link filled post 9/10ths of the way complete when Netscape decided to crap out on me and shut down, so I lost it. I know, I know - I'm an irresponsible blogger to count on Blogger to hold on to my post, and that I should have been (should be?) doing it in Word, since it has that handy dandy recovery option thingy. Here's the thing, though - it's 12:39am, I can't sleep becaue my husband is snoring like the world is about to end, and the only time I have had to get online without two children climbng on me this week is, oh, um, now. Yeah, so screw off, Blogger! And while you're at it, since you're connected to Google, why don't we have that handy little autosave action that we have in Gmail? Seriously - it would be the cat's meow if we did, no joke.


Okay, so here's the deal. Yarnapy. The act of using yarn, in one form or another, as therapy. Indugled in a little more than usual on Tuesday. Went to lunch with a friend, then hit AC Moore to pet the yarns and marvel at all the yarn paraphernalia. Seriously, my eyes were glazing over - I looked like a junkie who had scored a major hit when we left. And since it's spring break, I had to take both kids with me. Now, they're grounded from yarn. Yep, you heard me right. Grounded from yarn. Haven't decided how long yet, but it's in response to the dress destruction that I last blogged. So anyway, my daughters, who love yarn and are grounded from it, were forced to walk with hands in pockets while mommy petted, rubbed and otherwise molested the yarn. For well over an hour. I have to say, though, that they were perfect angels through it all, and for their wonderful behavior, they earned bubbles and a piece of candy each. See, I'm not all evil as a mommy!

Anyway, I spent that time in AC Moore wishing that I had more money in the bank. I think it was as hard for me not to buy as it was for the girls not to touch. All yarn was 25% off, and their prices on many yarns is great to begin with. Still, I for the most part got out scot free. I was very proud of myself, very proud indeed.

So anyway, shopping. Great. Therapeutic, and I was in need of therapy. Then to continue the yarnapy, it was home to play with stash. I got it out, untangled, sorted and organized it all most of it. Then it was time to work on projects. I started on my first ever granny square, which will become a lovely gray ghan for my couch, and a messenger bag (I know this isn't a crocheted bag - it's just the style, plus, I love the bag - maybe for John, Tra??) to sling across my body and carry my project du jour to, from and at the bus stop (or any other place I deem hook-worthy.) Hooking and talking carried on late into the evening, interrupted by the need for food, which necessitated a trip to Winter Garden Pizza for stromboli, garlic knots and salad. I also decided, finally, on a use for the Patons SWS in natural pink that Dani gave me for Christmas. I'm going to make the Fit To Be Tied purse out of Stitch 'n Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker. Of course, I started on that yesterday, despite being told not to start another project until either the ghan or the bag were completed. We all know, though, that that wouldn't happen. I won't even mention that fact that tonight I made a flower and started on another granny ghan. Hey, it's for Project Linus, so don't give me too hard of a time!!

Okay, I know there was more I wanted to blog about on here, but I think I am finally tired enough that I can pass out despite the log sawing coming from the other side of my bed. I'll leave you with this link, though - turn on your speakers :D

Skein

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Dress Disaster

Remember that lovely little dress I was posting about? The one for Heather? The one that was half way done? Yeah, well, it no longer exists.


Yesterday, while I was in bed nursing the mother of all hangovers, my loving, darling daughters snuck the dress out of my room. Then they frogged it. All the way to the bodice. And tangled the yarn.



Yeah. One of those moments when you send your kids to their room so that you don't end up doing something rash that you will later regret.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

More of the dress!

So it's not done yet, but I think I'm about half way now. I'm on the round-n-round bit of the skirt right now, and I think that after this is just the plackets, sleeves and trim. Oh, and I have to figure out a flower. Neither Heather nor I like the one with the pattern, so we're going to come up with something different...

Here's a few shots I got of the dress thus far. Tomorrow I'll have Heather model the WIP.




Front




Back



Close-up of stitches




Front hanging (to better show shape and drape)




Back of dress hanging

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Pictures

Okay, here are the pics to go with yesterday's blog! I *JUST* found my camera cord!



The bodice to Heather's dress:



The bookmark I designed and made for a friend:


Monday, March 05, 2007

Playing catch up

Okay, so I haven't been crocheting very much lately, mostly because I haven't been physically able to. I did finish the funeral scarf on the plane to Connecticut, and everyone really liked the set. It's at my mom's house now so that my sister can pick it up when she visits them next. I'll have to get them to take a pic when she gets it.

I did create a bookmark pattern last week, and gave my prototype to a good friend. I took pictures, but for some reason I can't find my cord to my camera, so I'll have to amend my entry when I find it to include a picture. She really seemed to like it, though.

Last Thursday, Heather and I had to go to Wal-Mart to get my oil changed, and while there we (of course) walked through the fabric department to look at yarn. Amazingly, at 3 years old, she went through the yarns and picked a favorite. At first, she picked a crochet thread, then, when we got to the Simply Soft, she decided that a light blue was more to her liking. Now, I didn't know then what I was going to make, but she wanted me to maker her something with that yarn. Last weekend, Brandee loaned me a pattern that, when she used it with a beautiful, soft pink angora, won her a blue ribbon at the Florida State Fair. Even though the pattern is written for 3-6 month size, it's written using fingering weight yarn and a D hook. Being me, and not wanting to work a pattern as written, I decided to see how it would work with the Simply Soft, which is worsted weight, and an I hook. Well, so far, the pattern as written for the 3 month size, with the change in yarn and hook, seems to be working up to a nice 3T for Heather.


We went to the Plant City Strawberry Festival on Saturday, where I (literally) ran into Dani from my crochet group. I hadn't seen her since the beginning of December, when we worked the Safety Harbor Craft Show. I also got to see some beautiful angora rabbits in the rabbit and poultry exhibit. I had never seen an English Angora rabbit before, but I'm in love now. One of these days, I will have a few of them. I'll just have to make sure Tracie has her wheel by then, though, so she can spin the yarn for us!

So that's all for now... I need to get back to the dress - I would love to have it ready for Easter! We'll see, though - this is my first fitted project :D