Another Trainfest Done

I spent the weekend at our local (somewhat) Girl Scout volunteer training event. I had a good time as usual and being out in the woods did it's work, for the most part, helping me to relax. I didn't get fully recharged, but I did unload a heap of stress and am better for it.

My crocheting consisted of teaching 2 classes on crochet: 1 finger crocheting which didn't go all that well and 1 that was just a drop-in kind of stitch and talk session. I don't think I'll be teaching again next year, at least not crocheting. There just isn't any real interest or passion in that kind of setting. I hope to teach where there is a true love of the art.

Three, Four, Shut The Door

I discovered a skein of yarn left over from my contest afghan. It was the border color. It's a lovely dark teal color and I decided to use it to make scarves with for the scarf challenge I mentioned a few posts ago :)  I am happy to report I got 2 scarves and even a hat out of that skein of yarn! Both are stitch patterns I made up as I went. The hat is made of five 4-round granny squares. I love that pattern! I don't particularly care for the sewing together of the squares, but it is so easy to remember that I almost always make hats that way now. I'm still working on the sewing together part of the hat, but the scarves are ready to go! See:

 

The first one is alternating rows of hdc and hdc, ch 1 combo. the second one is a row of granny stitch patterns and dc clusters. It made the neatest diamond pattern. I think I'm going to be revising my goal for the scarf challenge. I think I'm going to halve it. 30 is just not going to happen. 10 though I think I can more reasonably do by the end of November. Especially since I have 4 already done!

 

 

 

 

 





Next Project Please!

Wow! I've gotten a lot done in the last few months :D Let's recap: 1) contest afghan, 2) family reunion afghan, 3) Ninja Guy10 doll, 4) gift afghan. Neat! I am sort of proud of that. I must say though that the gift afghan turned out way smaller than I thought. The picture seems to be a much bigger afghan. I crochet a little tight, but I've never had gauge problems before. I'm still stumped about that one.

My next item on the list is my tree skirt. It's the 12 Days of Christmas- 6 panels with 2 cross-stitched pictures on each pattern to represent the gifts given on each of the 12 days of Christmas. I've got the panels done and 2 of them are cross-stitched and joined. I've got 4 to go. I'll be starting on it after all the birthday bruhaha is over.

Along with the tree skirt are the tiny, sweet angel ornaments I'm doing for my Girl Scout troop for Christmas. I did a couple of test pieces with sport weight yarn and size 10 thread. I really love the wee little angel I that was the product of the size 10 thread! One of my wonderful neighbors is going to let me use her groovy card making equipment (as well as help me work out a custom design!) for a card to present the angels on.

Oh, and I actually knitted a shawl a couple of years ago and, boy did learn that knitting is not my thing. Anyhoo, it has been languishing in my house ever since completion waiting for the correct home. I happy to announce that the shawl has found a home! As soon as I get a confirmation on the address I'll be shipping it off :)

Happy hooking!

Scarf of two now is through!

Finally! The second scarf is done! I remember now why I dislike doing scraves from end-to-end. I much prefer the side-to-side method. Baby Girl took some pictures for me. The first one I did side-to-side.

This one was about 7 rows and done! Once around for the border and I was finished. Took no time at all. This one however

was only 23 stitches, but man did it linger! I didn't think I was ever going to get that thing done! Hallelujah!!

Both scarves are in Red Heart Baby Sport. It's got that little iridescent thread wrapped around the strand of yarn and looks so pretty. I've started a hat in the same yarn. We'll see if I've got enough yarn left to even make the whole hat :)

Ninja Guy10 Is Done!!!!!!!

It is done! I finally have Ninja Guy10 complete! See:

Ninja Guy10 was actually the first of a set of characters designed and drawn by my oldest (and super talented) son. Ninja Guy10 has an arch nemesis Marvin the Pirate which I made a couple or 3 years ago:

There will be a very cool comic before too much longer, I hope!

I Stink at Gardening :(

So this year, due to Baby Girl's interest in playing in the dirt and dawning interest on my part, I decided to try growin tomatoes this year. I had a couple of big pots that I thought would be the right size. I had been reading how easy tomatoes are for container gardening you see.

Well, that was such a bust! Maybe it was that my first tomato plant was a Cherokee Black (purple?) that maybe is a little more sensitive. Maybe my research was inadequate (as usual for this kind of stuff). Maybe my suspicions have been confirmed that I have a black thumb. Well, okay not that last one since the tomatoes were over at Dad's and he looked after them. I also had a cherry tomato plant (free) from a Girl Scout badge workshop Baby Girl went to. I figured I'd be sick of tomatoes before too much longer. Boy was I wrong. I got 3 tiny, tiny Cherokee Black tomatoes and only 2 cherry tomatoes and the cherry tomatoes just within the past couple of weeks!

Upon pulling up the sad, wilted Cherokee Black plant, Dad discovered that it was severely root bound! "Nuthin' but a big ball of roots! Not a bit of dirt." were the words from Dad. That explains that one. The cherry tomato plant that eventually started growing at an amazing rate, finally has only 2 or 3 tomatoes on it. I think it is suffering from a similar lack of dirt. It has been very disappointing. Unlike previous unsuccessful tries at growing though, I am determined this is a skill I can learn. Hubby knows bunches about gardening (though he won't admit it) so I am determined to pick his brain and make him help me next year!

Baby Girl also planted some pumpkin seeds in little newspaper pots at a day camp program she went to this year. I put them in the ginormous pot I had here at the house and they too started out amazingly. I was so excited! Unfortunately, I found out at the first really long rain that there was no drainage in that pot. So they got waterlogged. Hubby drilled some drainage holes (plastic pot) but it was a couple of days later and I think that was too late. There are still leaves that are a healthy color of green and are not wilted or anything, but the vine has not grown anymore since the waterlogging. No pumpkins either :( 

I am so going to spend the winter months (you know that time that's after Christmas but before Valentine's Day?) reading everything I can get my hands on and aggravating the crap out of my mom (who grew up gardening) and Hubby (ditto) and anyone else I can get to stand still long enough as well as haunting the library (like I need to do more of that). Next year will be different!

As Bob as my witless, I will be a gardner! (I just love the Rugrats!)

Scarf of one, it has begun!

I made my first scarf for the 60 Scarves in 60 Days challenge! It's on Ravelry now, but I remember when it was 30 scarves in 30 days and it was on Dee's blog. This is the ninth year! I can't believe it! I've only been able to participate a couple of years but it is so much fun! The first year I did it, I only got 1 or 2 scarves done and the other year I got 8. I'm going for at least 30 this year! It's the perfect way for me to practice a new stitch pattern or technique or even play with some new yarn :D

Anyhoo, I grabbed a skein of Red Heart Baby that has been hanging out in my stash forever and decided to try a scarf with it. I made a little bitty scarf, maybe toddler sized, but it is very pretty. It's a shell/dc pattern that was pictured on the label fo the Lionbrand Pound of Love that I used for the reunion afghan. I started a filet/sc one last night, but since I'm working from top-to-bottom instead of sid-to-side it's taking longer. I plan on making it longer than the shell one.

I hope to use up a slew of my stash in the process of this challenge. That way I'll be able to cut down on the amount of yarn crawling all over my house and, if I use up enought, maybe be able to shop for some more!

Tarheel Pineapple!

This is it! The family reunion afghan is done! I am very happy with the way it turned out.

I had a little trouble getting going on this one, but it really helped me get back into stitching after the contest afghan rush :)

I'm on to the action figure (no doll) for another one of Gideon's characters. I have one done from a few years ago and I'm looking forward to seeing them together.

Oh Those Lovely Chains & Loops!

The family reunion afghan is almost done! I only have one more round :D I'll get a pic up tomorrow.

I had stalled with the stitching after the contest rush. I just couldn't get going. I had the family reunion afghan that just wasn't clicking with me and I just couldn't get the level of energy going. I'm glad it was a "have-to" project. It has really gotten me going.

After the family reunion afghan is finished I'll be moving on to Ninja Guy10 for Gideon. I need to get a remake of Marvin, but that will have to wait until Spring. Ninja Guy10 will be followed by a Christmas present, then finishing my tree skirt. There will be a sprinkling of bookmarks, scarves and maybe even a hat or two during the stitching of my official projects. I've got a lot of yarn left over yarn from the family reunion ghan so I may even be able to squeeze in a baby set or two!

Scarves!!!

I just found out via Ravelry that this year is the 9th year for 60 Scarves in 60 Days!! (I remember when it was just 30 in 30).

So that means that as a break in between crocheting sessions for the projects that are scheduled for this fall, I'll be thinning down my yarn stash and making scarves (and maybe matching hats if I have the yarn for it). I don't have a place for the scarves to go yet, but I'm going to start locally and expand beyond city limits if I need to. It's a lot of fun. It would be great if I can get 1 a day done, but most likely I'll be doing good to get 1 a week :)

Scarves are a great way to try out new stitch patterns and play with new yarns. The fun begins on September 1st. Join in if you can!

Enchanted Tarheel

So I got started on the gift afghan. I now have 3 squares done. I'm putting them together as I go along. I'm going rows of 4 and when I get 3 rows, I'll put them together and I'll be ready to do the border. I am so happy with the way it's looking already!

Tarheel Pineapples

Thanks to Hubby, I was able to reclaim possession of my pattern leaflet for the family reunion door prize afghan! I now have the pattern to hand, all the yarn needed and I am ready to go. I using a leaflet from Leisure Arts called Absolutely Gorgeous Pineapple Afghans. The pattern "Enchanted" was the one from this leaflet that was chosen for the gift certificate that was given as a door prize at last year's family reunion.

This year I'll have a ticket stub or something for me to get contact info from the winner. I didn't find out colors until May or June this year (right in the middle of my contest afghan). Of course, it didn't help that I wasn't able to be there last year.

I'm starting with a couple of practice squares to get the color changes worked out the way I want it. I've got one finished and the second halfway (finishing tonight). Once I get the colors in the order I want, I'll able to knock this puppy out in a couple of weeks.

The colors are Tarheel blue & white with black accents. It looks great so far. I'm very excited to see it completed!

Snipes & Pineapples

Baby Girl had her first snipe hunt last night! She went to a sleepover birthday party and the birthday parents decided to take the kids snipe hunting! Baby Girl has been so excited all week about this weekend. She was told that it would be a hunting party. I had told her that I couldn't think of what they would hunt unless it was snipes and the second she saw the birthday mom, she asked about what snipes were :D  I got a phone call last night from the birthday mom telling me about right after it happened. I can't wait until Baby Girl get home so I can here it first hand!

The family reunion afghan is still not started. AHHHHH! I am completely unloading every single box and stack of booklets and books to find my pattern book. I am almost certain it's in the closet, but you never know. I do know that I'll be starting on it no later than Friday. With 12-inch squares it'll only take me a couple or 3 weeks to get it done and ready to go. I'm using the pattern called "Enchanted" from the Leisure Arts leaflet Absolutely Gorgeous Pineapple Afghans. I have only made the square once in red and gold and it turned out lovely. This one will be Tarheel blue and white. I can't wait to see it finished! The only thing I haven't decided yet is whether or not to alternate the main colors on the squares. It's a little tough to decide.

Afghan Entered!

After months of not working on it when I should and then rushing at the last minute, I have finally completed my afghan for entry in the Herrschner's afghan contest!

My Chain Ghan was named by my daughter and my husband's hobby of chain maille was the inspiration. It took me months of working with Hubby to get the pattern set up and written the right way and getting stuff turned around.

May and June were a flurry of crochet stitching as I rushed to complete the afghan in time to be shipped off by the July 15 deadline. I not only made the deadline, I shipped a week early! So now the wait begins. I hope to hear contest results by mid-August. 

Finally! Progress

I stalled out on the afghan. I bought all the yarn I'm going to need (I think) for it and then hit a wall. I just couldn't get going on it. Well, yesterday I sat down and really got to work.

I had the beginning done. I had to get through the next step. That's the part I've been having trouble with. Well, I now have it done!!! I am finally ready to plough full steam ahead on this thing :D

I've used a lot more of this first skein of yarn than I thought I would. I only hope that I've bought enough of the main color. I did buy extra figuring it would be easy to find something to do with leftovers, but now I'm not so sure there's going to be leftovers.

Herrschners Afghan Contest

I have decided to enter Herrschner's annual afghan contest. I'm re-trying a pattern I first came up with 5 or 6 years ago. I couldn't get it the way I wanted it then. I wasn't at the skill level I am now and I didn't know the first thing about pattern design on that kind of scale. I'm ready now, I think.

I've been using yarn from my scrap stash to work out the pattern and get it the way I want it. Hubby's been a huge help! He's the one that inspired the design and he's been helping me tweak it. I've done 2 practice swatches and gotten the pattern right and the border the way I want it. I also found that the yarn and hook I was using is the right choice for the job :)

So, all I had left was to choose the final colors and get to work. I chose Red Heart Super Saver worsted weight yarn in Aruba Sea and Real Teal. This yarn has enough body to keep my ghan from being too floppy. I'm using my CGOA 2009 commorative hook. It's a size H. That size hook makes a firm enough fabric to hold the pattern properly and loose enough to give the afghan the drape I want.

I'm looking forward to making this afghan. Working on it is going to be fun. I always love to watch a pattern transform what is essentially a single strand of yarn (albeit a very long strand) in to a beautiful and useful item that will provide comfort and add beauty to someone's life.

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.