As I was looking forward to the late night tonight and the first kisses and hugs of the year from family, I got a phone call from my aunt saying that not only my favorite great-uncle, but also my granddaddy are in the hospital.

The great-uncle is marking time. Big Daddy gave a big scare last night, but is doing a little better this morning.

"What you do on the New Year's Day is what you'll be doing the rest of the year". That's what Nanny used to say and my mama. I've found over the years that it is only partially true. The sucky New Year ends on a much brighter note and vice versa. I dislike the notion that I might be spending a big part of my year grieving. Not my favorite way to spend time.

So I will now be sitting on pins and needles most of the day by the phone waiting to hear updates and dreading the call that I pick up the phone and hear my mama or aunt crying. I'll know then. Thankfully, my boys are grown or next thing to it and my baby girl is old enough to understand. They all know about, have been through, and mostly understand the grieving process. That's usually the hardest part with kids in my experience.

Crocodile Stitch!

I was looking at some project photos on the Crochet Partners YahooGroup and found something that looked like scales! How fabulous! So I read descriptions and found out that it's called the crocodile stitch. I turned to YouTube, of course (it's usually the first thing I do when looking to learn a new stitch) and lo and behold, several videos were there. There was even one for left-handers! Groovy! So, I got out some yarn and a hook and in about half an hour, I had a uber groovy swatch of "dragon" scales:These were made with worsted weight yarn (CYCA's size 4) and a size I hook. They were very fabulous, but not quite what I was looking for. So I grabbed some Vanna's Glamour Yarn (in red) and a size E hook and tried another hook. The resulting swatch was much more like what I had in mind.

How fantastic would a tabard made with this look for cosplay! Oh my gosh! I am so excited. One of the videos on YouTube even suggested making leg warmers. That would also be fantastic :D Oh, and here's the 2 side by side:

New Definitions for Ugly Words

Someone used the work "pimpin' " in a conversation with me a while back in describing some jewelry. I didn't say anything at the time, but now as I've let it stew on the back burner for a while, I must speak out.

I cannot believe that parents do not either pay attention to what their kids are saying or don't care. Words like pimp and 'ho and tramp are not words that should ever be glamorized. As parents we spend all this time and energy in teaching our kids to be independent and empowered. By using these ugly words in this seemingly innocent manner, those who use them are degrading themselves and giving away their personal power. This is equally true for girls and boys. It has more visible effects on the girls. I found a link to an article that puts into words what I have felt for years.

Now, go read that article and I will get off my soapbox :)

FO's and UFO's

I found some sock yarn I couldn't resist. I got a swatch made up and Dorinda decided that it was the perfect yarn for her a pair of socks! So much for me a pair of socks. She picked out an eyelet pattern! There's nothing like just diving in and trying a new technique to help you learn fast. So I got them done in about 4 days! I was so excited. I figured it would take me a couple of weeks.

Now I'm on to get that baby layette set done. I'm hoping to have that confounded afghan done by the end of next week. I dislike round afghans. They start out really great, but by the time you even get halfway through, it takes forever to get one round done.

Baby Stuff

Well, a friend of mine is having a baby! I don't think it's been officially announced yet, so I can't name names. However, I can crochet the layette! I've had this kit from Mary Maxim, I think, for a couple of years. I've been bored with my stitches for a while so haven't made anything since Christmas! So when I came across this kit I decided to finally get it made.

The set includes an afghan (of course), a sweater, and a bonnet. It's all a ripple pattern in white with a row of mint green now and then and a lovely little ch-loop edging. It also came with pink yarn to make little rosettes to sew on to finished items, but I decided to wait until I know if the baby is a girl or boy before I do that. If it's a boy I can just leave everything as is. If it's a girl I'll make the roses, but probably in yellow instead of pink. The pink is nice, but I yellow roses better :D

I've got the bonnet and the sweater done and the afghan is about halfway there. I had forgotten how absolutely adorable baby sweaters are! I am so looking forward to being able to present this set to the happy parents.

From Hooks to Needles Part 2

So, I have slipped (or slipp-ered) to the dark side. I finally finished the mate to my sock.

I love knitting socks! The double point needles were tricky at first, but I got the hang of it. Turning the heel was kind of touch and go. Like the first sock, the mate required lots of frogging and multiple starts. I finished around midnight last night and am so thrilled that I have a complete pair.

I also have to admit that the one pair of crocheted socks I made was not anywhere near as comfortable to wear. It was kind of like walking on coarse grain sandpaper. The knitted ones felt just like store bought socks only softer. I'm going to look into comfortable crochet patterns though. Crochet is faster for me than knitting and the knitting just isn't as relaxing as crocheting and I must say that I would far rather work with 1 hook where I can frog just to my mistake rather than 4 needles where I have to frog the whole thing when I mess up :)

From Hooks to Needles

I decided to try my hand at sock knitting. I haven't been able to do anything with a crochet hook lately. I pick up some yarn and a hook and blah! I stitch, I frog. I stitch, I frog. So I decided to try out the sock yarn that I've been looking at for the last couple of months.

I found some purple (my favorite!) self-striping sock yarn that I liked a couple of months ago for my birthday and even bought a book called Learn to Knit Socks by Edie Eckman. It has a very basic ankle sock that I thought would be perfect for my first attempt. So last weekend I sat down with my needles--yes, double point needles-- and got started. It took me three evenings to do it, but last night I completed my first sock!

I should have made it about an inch longer and I think I should have reversed the decreases since I'm working left-handed, but overall I am tickled! I started the mate to it this morning and am getting ready to work on it some more. I hope to have it done by Monday!

I would like to dedicate this pair of socks to my Great-Aunt Jane. Who I grew up hearing stories about the tick, tick, tick of her needles to outfit her babies with plenty of warm winter wear :D I hope to learn some of the finer points of knitting from her.

2010 Winding Down

Well, this year is almost over. My Christmas shopping isn't done, but is planned. I know what I'm getting, when and where. I can move on to the whole resolution making part of the December doings.

My first resolution is to post more often here. I stumble upon it occassionally and realize that it's been 4 months or more since my last post. I have more than that going on usually. Of course that's also one of the reasons I don't post more often. So, anyhoo. I'm going to start blogging more often.

My second resolution is to find some way of getting into healthier habits. I never learned to ride a bike, but I know how to roller skate, love to dance and I have a great neighborhood to walk in. Surely I'll be able to work in something even in the winter! Maybe I'll be able to actually do something besides hand out cups of water at the Thin Mint Sprint in March.

I generally don't like resolutions, but I think that if I look at it as goal-setting instead of resolution making, it won't be so bad :)

New Project. Finally!

Whew! School is done. I finished my final course needed for my associates degree in accounting. It's been way too much homework and way not enough stitching!

I'll have to admit though. I was stuck. Every time I picked up a hook and yarn to do a few stitches, I would sit with it in my hands, start a chain or a chainless row of some sort and wind up pulling it all out again and winding the yarn back up. I had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand I would feel better initially because of the stitching. On the other hand I would be depressed because I didn't have anything accomplished. I'm a project-oriented kind of gal and the lack of progress on a concrete item would really get me down.

The last few weeks, however I've been working on a project that has a purpose. For our annual adult volunteer training weekend for Girl Scouts we have an auction during that weekend that raises money for financial aid for new leaders who need it to take trainings and such. Well, I had planned on putting together something to donate to that auction in addition to the bath set I had already planned on. It's a kid's wilderness kit: backpack, bottle holder (both crocheted) with things in the backpack like handwarmers, a space blanket, a bandana, etc. I also have 2 more bottle holders that will be offered as a pair separately from the wilderness kit. The designing of the backpack seemed to break through the block I had.

I now have a Red Heart Bikini backpack and a Red Heart Pumpkin bottle holder. I had all this orange left over since it doesn't take that much to make the bottle holder, and I was wondering what to do with the rest of it. Well, lo and behold I came across the pattern I had gotten last year from Herrschners for an afghan called "Candy Corn". It's a Halloween-themed afghan and I had planned to make it last year but didn't have the time with school and all. So now I have yet another project going and all is well.

I hope to have the orange squares done in a couple of days and the designs on at least some of them so I can get some pictures taken and posted.

Returning to Crochet

It always amazes me how long it's been since my last post. I have got to be better about that.

I did actually get those soda tab necklaces done! I got the last one done 2 days before I needed them :) They were a huge hit I am proud to announce. I have committee members this year that tell me they still have theirs. That makes me happy. I think the proudest I am of those little things is the trefoil I designed for them. I'll post a picture soon (I hope). I still have a huge baggie full of can tabs (I don't think they all came from soda) that were donated to me by a fellow committee member -- thanks Julie! I saw a purse online using soda tabs that made circles used as the sides of the bag. I tried to duplicate it, but I didn't write anything down and wound up with 2 very different looking circles. I plan on trying again with a notebook handy so I don't make that same mistake.

My current project is to make something do donate to the Trainfest fundraising auction. They hold an auction every year to raise money for the adult learning scholarship fund. Anyway, I've seen an earmuff-type project that I could use my trefoil design for. I am going to do some bottle holders I designed last summer and I'm thinking about doing a day hike kit which would be a crocheted daypack, swap sash, bandana, etc. I haven't decided if I'll do one kit with how to put one together with patterns and all or if I'll do a set of 5 or 6 kits to be put to use immediately by a troop. Oo-oo-oo, maybe I'll do a pillowghan-type arrangement so if a girl (or grown-up for that matter) gets lost, she'll have a way to help stay warm. I'll have to think about it some more.

No Crochet!!!!

I can't believe that I still don't have those soda tab necklaces done yet! I haven't been doing my homework at school during my long break between classes, so I have to do it at home and that cuts into my crochet time. I don't do thread work really well at school. I have to pay to close attention when I work with thread and I can't do that at school. I do have a couple more bath sets to do. Maybe I'll take those instead of the soda tab necklaces.

Anyhoo, I've decided to get back to doing homework at school during my long breaks between classes and use the time I have been doing it at home for crocheting. That way, hopefully, I'll be able to get the soda tab necklaces done in the next couple of weeks. It would be great if I could get them done by the Trainfest committee meeting on Monday, but since I've got 8 more to do, I don't think that's going to happen. I do have the original necklace made with sport weight yarn. I'm going to cut those little dears right off of there and use them for thread necklace number 10. I hope to get one done every couple of days. That will put me getting number 17 done in time for me to get them to the council office at the first of the week of Trainfest. I plan on dropping them off when I go to drop off my handouts and stuff to get copies made for my classes. I'm also going to get the bath set done by then for the auction they'll be having at Trainfest.

Wish me luck! I have a feeling I'm going to need it. :)

Test Day

I dislike the fact that most of my instructors give tests on the same day. Today I had two- math and business finance. I think I did okay on the business finance test. I think I flubbed on the extra credit on it though. I was really hoping to get full credit on that extra credit too :(

My math test only had 4 problems! I was okay for the first 3, but that last problem I am worried about. Well, maybe not real worried. After all, it's a little late now. But I'm going to be antsy about it until Monday.

I got my Critical Thinking test done and then my Business Law test. Those I got done on Monday. I have a income tax test on Tuesday. Then I'll be done with tests for at least a couple of weeks.

Books Away, With Hooks I Can Play!!!

Wow, I was worried I would get behind in some of my classes since I missed so much school at the beginning of the month. So far, other than missing all of chapter 2's lectures in tax class, I think I'm okay. I got an A on my math lab and today at home I got a really great start on my finance take-home test, finished my federal and state tax forms for tax class and I'm going to try to do my online test for business law tomorrow at school during my really long break between math and tax class.

I'm trying to get into the schedule that I originally worked out at the beginning of the semester. Since I have those long breaks 3 days a week, there's no reason why I should have much homework to actually do at home. That way, when I do get home I'll have all kinds of crochet time. Not to mention time to help the kids with their homework.

Gideon is missing mama's cooking right about now. I talked to him yesterday and when I asked him if there was anything he needed, he started listing off all this food :D Bless his heart. Him and Isaac are still cleaning in that house. At this rate, I don't know if they'll be able to have their house warming party on the 10th or not. He's still plugging away at it though. I'm proud of him!

Empty Nest Blues

Well, it's official. Gideon came home today after the family reunion to get the rest of his clothes and his movies and video games. Apparently the house is ready and Gideon and Isaac are going to be able to spend their first night in their very own place tonight. It's been heartbreaking watching him go through the movies and packing up all his clothes. He'll be coming again to get his bed. He's going to borrow Stephen's sleeping bag while he's awaiting the availability of a truck to be able to haul his bed. I guess I'll have to get used to him not being around. Oh, well, kids have to grow up sometime.

Crochet Classes are almost ready!

I am so excited about teaching the crochet classes at Trainfest. I'm just about all set. I have a lesson plan and I'm now thinking of someone to practice on. I think it would be a good idea to practice. I'm going to be hunting out some balls of yarn and making sure that I have enough of the right colors (solid colors, light but not white) and the right weight. I'm also going to hunt out all of my hooks and pack up my extras with the yarn and stuff I intend to take. I want to have extra hooks in case I have some that didn't get or forgot to bring their own hooks

I read a post to my CrochetPartners group that asked for crochet instructions to use for teaching a beginner class. The answer than I read pointed out the Craft Yarn Council of America's "Each One Teach Two" program. Not only are there really good diagrams and instructions to use for a beginner crochet class, there is also a certificate to print out to give to the students. I am so excited about that. So not only will my beginning crochet students get a Ghoul Scout SWAP to take home with them, they will also get a certificate saying they successfully learned to crochet! Groovy :D

For my advanced beginner crochet class I'll need to do more prep. I've got a lesson plan and I want to practice it too. However, the project for that class is using plarn (cutting plastic grocery bags into strips to use as yarn) to make a water bottle holder. I thought about using different colors of bags for each ball of plarn I make, but Mama suggested using the different colors in each ball to make variegated, maybe even striping patterns. I need to hurry up and finish those necklaces so I can play around with that idea and see what I like.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to make the plarn-making a family affair. I know I can get Dorinda and Stephen to help with the folding and cutting. I might even be able to get Steve amd Stephen to help with the joining and then Steve, Gideon and Stephen to help with the winding.

Planning Crochet Classes

I volunteered to teach a couple of crochet classes at the training weekend for our Girl Scout council in October. Now, I've really never taught crochet before, so this is all new territory for me. I'm going to be looking for some good graphics for my handouts. I know I've seen some I just don't remember where.

For my beginning crochet class, I'm going to have some crocheted stuff set out so people can see that crochet is not just afghans and doilies. I have a sweater, a bath set, a water bottle holder, and a table runner all ready to be admired and I hope to have a baby set (afghan, sweater, hat) ready, too. I'm also going to be wearing a necklace made with soda can tabs (although I suspect that some of my donated tabs didn't come from just soda cans ). This is also going to be my stash buster class. I'm going to use up a bunch of my yarn stash for the students to use. The class is only an hour and a half long, so I'm going to be concetrating on the slip knot and the chain stitch. If we have time, I'll move into the single crochet stitch. The project for the class is going to be a simple chain stitch (or single crochet stitch) SWAPs holder. I'm going to make myself one to be wearing with some SWAPs already pinned to it. The Ghoul Scouts I made a couple of years ago are what I'm using for the SWAPs. I'll be giving one to each of my students as a memento.

I'm also teaching an advance beginning crochet class. For that one, I'm going to have the same projects out as well as my Masters in Basic Stitches portfolio from the Crochet Guild of America. I'm also hoping to get some brochures for the Guild ready to set out for anyone who is interested. For that class, I'll be doing crocheting in the round. I'm going to have different granny squares to show off. I'm hoping that everyone who signs up for that class will already know how to do the double crochet stitch. The project for that class is going to be a water bottle holder made of plastic grocery bags. I'm also planning on going over some pattern reading and stitch anatomy.

For both classes I want to have a pattern or two for my students to take home and try out. I'm looking forward to teaching. I'll be a new experience for everyone involved.

Meet Bone-ita!

In order to advertise our Girl Scout leader training weekend event that's happening in October, I volunteered to make a milk jug skeleton that will be the end product of one of the classes. My own little Girl Scout Brownie contributed hands and feet as well as helped pick out the name. Her escort is my oldest son. He hates having his picture taken (in case you couldn't tell ).

She is wearing a SWAPs sash made with a Boye size I hook and Red Heart Super Saver "Pretty in Pink". My sweet Girl Scout Brownie also donated a SWAP and also made another one just for Bone-ita.

Long Time No See

I didn't realize that it had been so long since I had posted. My goodness!

Well, I have been busy with school-mine and the kids'. Steve helps with a lot, but I'm too much of a control freak to hand everything over to him. He has pretty much taken over cooking supper and making sure the kids do their homework and Gideon does a lot of the house work since he's not working or going to school. It has been great to have so much help. My baby girl is so proud of me going to college and likes to do her homework with me while I'm doing mine. I'm taking the summer off, however. I was getting burned out. I started out with straight As and had every intention of keeping my grades up as high as I possibly could. This last sememster I found myself not really doing my best and when it came down to cases, I found that I didn't really care as long as I passed. Not the attitude I want to have. So, I decided to take the semester off. It may put me a couple semesters behind in graduating, but at least I'll still have a happy marriage and children who feel loved instead of feeling like their playing second fiddle to my school work.

I have made sure to make time for crocheting. I decided to make matching bath sets for Dorinda and all her friends for Christmas and I officially finished the last one today. I used Pricilla Hewitt's pattern: Five Piece Bath Set and added a bath mitt of my own design. I used Peaches and Cream yarn with each set being in a different variegated color. Here's the face scrubbers in all the other colors I used:

I'll try to look up color names if you're really that interested, but I can't guarantee anything.

I also made afghans for the kids of a friend of mine that is going through a really ugly separation and I'm afraid it might turn into a bad custody battle. I did a crochet version of a knit afghan I found called Gotta Touch It Baby Blanket for the 6 year-old and the 2 year-old. I used a double strand of Lion Brand's Homespun instead of the Wool Ease. Unfortunately I haven't got pics of those. I did those a couple of months ago and the kids absolutely love them. The older one said she loves stuff like that because it was made just for her and nobody else has one like it. The baby won't take his nap without his, I'm told. My friend also has a 16 year-old girl from his first wife and I made her afghan with a plainer yarn, but a more of a pattern. I used the Adoring Hearts pattern that I used to make my cousin's baby afghan when his son was born, but it is in worsted weight yarn and in colors a teenage girl would like. I wish I could have had this afghan when I was a teenager :D

It turned out so great. She hasn't been to her daddy's yet to get it, but she knows she's getting one. Before the break-up, my friend had been married for 12 or 13 years. It's been hard on everyone involved.

Since I have a bath set for the little girl, I'm working on a Learn Your Colors Fish Counting Toy for the little boy.

I'm not sure about the teenager yet. I would like to do an afghan for my friend too, but I've promised my younger son an afghan and I need to do it first. He's been patient for over a year and has even changed his mind now about what he wants it to be. He did want keyblades from a video game called Kingdom Hearts and I even looked up his favorite ones and graphed them out, but lost the graphs before I could make the afghan. Bless his little heart. He's decided now though that he's moved on. Kingdom Hearts was a phase and he wants something different. He wants now pictures of symbols from horror movies: Freddy's glove, Jason's hockey mask, Pinhead's puzzle box. I just don't know if I'll be able to graph those. That's always assuming I can find good enough pictures of those things for me to graph from. Wish me luck!

From hook to needles

No, I'm not talking about the book. I'm talking about switching from crocheting to knitting, at least temporarily. All the leaders in DD's Girl Scout Brownie troop & the sister Junior troop want to give the girls an ornament for their tree this year at the Christmas party. Now, it just so happens that I have that wonderful pattern from Aunt Kay for those marvelous stockings that I make last year and gave to Dorinda's class at their holiday party. So, at the next leaders' meeting that is at the end of this month, I'm going to offer to make stockings for everyone. They would be similar in coloring as the "Ghoul" Scouts I made last year. The Brownies would have brown stripes and the Juniors would have teal stripes. The leaders will have stripes of blue with the heel, toe, and cuff being the color that corresponds to the troop that they lead. Lisa's and Angela's, of course, will have to have some way of having green and brown on their's since they serve both troops equally. I'm going to have to practice with it and see what I can do.

So many afghans, so little time.

I have got to put the hook to yarn and get my 2 afghans on the move. One is a comfortghan that I'm doing for a friend of DH's who is fighting breast cancer. The other one is a request for a Christmas gift that I promised to do for a friend of mine at school. I've gotten stalled on both of them.

The comfortghan wasn't all that much to do since most of the squares were mailed to me, but I got my square done, all the squares edged and ready to go and I got bogged down with school and haven't gotten it put together. I'm going to get that done this week and get it delivered.

The gift afghan is a Star Wars afghan and I just can't seem to get going on it. I mean I've gotten started on it, but I can't seem to get going on it. I'm giving myself until the end of November to get it done, so I'm figuring that as soon as I get the comfortghan done and mailed off, that I'll be able to get going and stay going on that one. This is my absolute last one. I'll not be doing another one unless one of my little cousins decide to catch the Star Wars bug ;)

I can't take the Star Wars afghan squares to school to work on, because I really need to be uninterrupted when I'm working on the cross-stitch part. So, in order to achieve my scarf goal of one dozen for Dee's "60 Scarves in 60 Days", I'm going to dig out some scraps out of my scrap bag and work on scarves at school. I'm figuring that at 2 days a week that I have to wait almost 3 hours for DS to get out of class, I ought to get at least 2 scarves done each week. I should even have time to squeeze in some study time :D