She's back

Yes, I am actually back.

I have been ridiculously swamped with work and other personal items. But the holidays are around the corner and I can finally get back to the real stuff. I wanted to get my gifts done. I have some jewelry to make as well as scarves. I am not doing a lot of buying this year. Imagine that??? I think I sound like the rest of America. I still haven't finished my special Olympics scarf.

Well the good thing is that I am making some time for me. exercising and such will really help my health. I am too young to feel this bad.

The picture is another one of the items from the contest. This one is a purse with a fall theme. It has a tree with leaves turning. It came out nice. And the person lined this like a professional. I am showing the front and back of the purse. I could definitely use this in my wardrobe. The idea came from the book, "201 crochet motifs". She improvised on one of the squares and made

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Fall Festival

So recently I decided to host a small motivational activity with my local crochet and knit group. The idea of course is to help motivate individuals to create more handmade items and it will also spur creativity for all. I have 4 entries so far. (Including my own). Let me tell you, they are magnificent. I am so proud of all the ladies (we unfortunately don't have any men currently active in the group). They have really come far. So I wanted to share a picture of the first entry. I am also creating a calendar that will be copied for everyone with winning items featured. It will be a blast.

The first item was made by my friend Marilyn. It is a gorgeous shawl that she made for herself with what she calls "Tuesday Morning" yarn. She will probably wear it with Jeans and a blue shirt but it has already been a lovely accessory for some dressier pieces as well.

Kudos to Marilyn and all you other Chains and Purls, "Pick up your hooks and needles".

Daniel's Birthday

Well, today is my son's 17th birthday. It was a momentous occasion as he chose this day to cut his hair into a mohawk. He hasn't had a hair cut in 3 months and all of a sudden he wants to look like Mr. T. Go figure??????

I did not crochet very much in the last couple of days. Work has been crazy but I am working on a new afghan I found from a Ravelry site. I cool bright colored baby blanket. It is called the ABC blanket. I actually had all the yarn for this project.

I am beginning to have YAS again. Yarn Acquisition Syndrome. I have bought so much yarn in the last week. I think it is from going a month without. I should probably just buy one skein a day and I will come out cheaper than the 50 skeins I buy in one week from depriving myself. I think I need a program or support group for this. My bank account really shows it. Well above is the picture of the ABC blanket in bright colors. This is not mine. I am actually changing up a couple of colors so I can use what I already have. This will be another blanket for Baby Dilyan. (Girl of course)

Take care and happy hooking!!!

Traveling Yarn Show

Hey everybody,

Well you can tell from the title I was able to go on walkabout again. I hit some pretty nice shops in the NE. The first stop was a store called "Downtown yarns" in NYC. It was pretty small compared to what I am use to but the still the traditional independent yarn shop. It is located in the Lower East Village (next to a housing project) but I didn't let that deter me. It was on Avenue A between 3rd and 4th. The shop had some really cool samples. The yarn selection was a little small but since I am so fond of cotton yarn I had to pick up a couple of contrasting skeins to make a scarf. i was thinking of making one in the block pattern I am so fond of. From there I had to get some coffee at this little shop called "The Coffee Bean" (Or at least that is what I thought it said. It was on the corner of 3rd and 1st Ave. An easy one block walk. It had the great bohemian look to it with very little space but a great coffee smell. I could tell it was pretty good by the number of people that were occupying valuable space. : )

The next day as I was leaving I had to take the time to stop by the couple of yarn shops that are open on Monday. The first one was 'the Loop". It is in the historic district where the culture is plenty and the parking is few. I can tell you it was worth the drive. I loved it. I bought a few skeins of sale yarn for a baby outfit I am making in pink, light sage and ivory. I can't wait to see how it comes out.

After that I drove (6 blocks) over to Rosie's yarn cellar. Talk about a great selection and the ambiance of the place is just awesome. I got some Debbie Bliss alpaca silk on sale for a couple of scarves. Let me tell you that while I liked Rosie's I really liked The Loop. They have this great area to sit and relax. They are very comfortable with new shoppers. They are actually trying to get more items in for crocheters. So, enough of my all around the NE yarn canvassing. It is back to the sunny south and more work.

until next blog.

All about me

So, recently I have taken a stance that I will now begin to crochet some items for myself. Considering that I normally give away 95% of what I make, I thought it would be a good time to make a change. How could I know that my charity group has some awesome items coming up in the next few months? So now I have the dilemma of manging charity and "charity at home". Luckily I have the yarn stash to do both!!!!

My 2nd garment is now finished and I am really impressed with it. I used the Patons Bohemian, which crochets up really fast. It sheds a little but it is soft enough I don't really care. It also looks great on my skin.

Our group has agreed to participate in the Motivation template. I think it will be very exciting. We have some really cool little prizes and great topics to get our group started on producing more.

Here is what I have for today so far. Another one skein scarf project. I am trying to use a few of the orphaned skeins I have lying around. (That will take me until 2010) : )

I also started working on my Brilliant Tunic but I don't have a picture as it is only 5 rows. ( I said I started, I didn't say I crocheted a marathon)

Well I finally finished my 2nd garment made with the handicrafter cotton. Remind me never to use that for a top again. Perhaps something loose or a bag but not a top. It was so heavy. I hate to see what happens if I get caught in the rain. I might have to have someone carry me inside to take the shirt off because I will be weighed down.

However I am really into Garments now. I am 1/2 complete with my Patons Bohemian jacket. It looks really cute in the book. Let's hope I have the same success. I have ripped this yarn out at least 5 times. Every time I do it, it sheds. I have to remember not to wear white under this thing. I will look like Elmo gone wild with all of the pieces. : )

Well, have to go now. I need to actually do my day job.

Loving gifts

Sorry it has taken me so long to update but I have been traveling for work. (Yes, I do have a job.) Luckily since I had to do several hours of traveling, I spent it on my favorite past time. Yeah, drinking Bloody Mary's. OK, just joking. But I definitely had at least one. I did crochet a lot. I managed to get some small projects knocked out. I also transported the gift I made for my employee's ill wife 1200 miles. I made a prayer shawl that was filet but small wool yarn so it would still be warm. I also crocheted a hat to go along with it. I believe she really liked it. I certainly hope so. Here is a picture of the finished product. The color is actually a blue gray.

I am starting a friendly contest for my knit and crochet buddies that I go out with locally. We will have 30 or 60 day contests that revolve around ideas to help some of us that need inspiration. I am coming up with the small prizes but I think it will be a great time.

Well I am off to go pick up wine club of the month. And then I think it is time to get drugged up a little on Claritin D. I can feel the sinus draining.

Until next time.

Marathon

I finished the marathon scarf for charity. Which gave me an idea. I have joined the 60 scarves in 60 days charity marathon. I can only hope I make 30 scarves but perhaps. I can definitely get some done while I am traveling which I am getting ready to start back up.

Tonight is my charity group meet night. Considering I will miss them for Wednesday and Friday I have to make the most of tonight.

I have to finish my Carebear and get started on my crochet top.

Choices

I never thought it would be so hard to decide on eyes for a bear. Since this is my first crochet stuffed animal I wanted to make it special. I spent about 10 hours total on the project. I could now mass produce them if need be. I am making them for a great charity so it was worth putting the time in.

As you can see I am having some difficulty deciding so if you want to sent me a quick note on suggestions that would be great. The bear is not due until 9/8 but I would like to finish this up quick so I can start another project. I am into production at this point. : )

Traffic Tunes

So, I made the mistake of boasting about my drive into work yesterday. I managed to save 10 minutes on my commute by having all green lights. Either the traffic gods were smiling on me or I have an in with the DOT guy. (Not telling you what I did to get into his good graces) : )

Well today, the traffic gods threw down a force to be reckoned with. I don't think in my 3.5 years of commuting to work I have ever caught ALL of the red lights. But I did today. So my commute took 15 minutes longer than normal. Alas, this is the lesson I have learned about bragging. Karma I tell you.

I did get some crocheting done yesterday. One baby washcloth. I now have one bib left for this project and then I can go onto something else. Yeah for me. I think I will focus on these from now on. I can do the 4 hour projects for a baby gift as opposed to the 20 hour blanket project.

I did find this bottle of wine I have been looking for. I had it 1/2 a dozen times when I go to Jacksonville but can't find it in Texas. Well, lo and behold I am walking through Central Market and what to I see. It was like the sky opened up, the gods smiled on me and all it life was good. My bottle of CigarZin was looking up at me. I of course bought 2 bottles (don't want to take the chance of running out) : )

Well I got to get back to work now. Yeah, I actually have to do a job.

Rough Day

I had a very busy day at work today. But somehow I managed to finish most of the crochet project I need to get done for a baby shower on Friday. While I would love to give the child a blanket it just won't get done by Friday lunch time. So I had to settle for a bib and matching booties. I am also including some washclothes in the same yarn. I bought some onesies and we should be set. Still hand made but it took me 4 hours to complete instead of 20. (which I don't have of course)

I missed my Wednesday night crochet session with the girls. Now I am going through withdrawal because I had already missed Monday. Ask me how did I compensate? I went yarn shopping at Hobby Lobby and WalMart. 40% of coupon and more cotton yarn was calling my name. I truly have an addiction. I need to get into a 12 step program or something.

Well, I need to get to bed now. I still have another bib and washcloth to finish for this gift tomorrow. Not to mention I promised to make peach cobbler for the office in the morning. : )

Sweet dreams

Day 1

I moved into my new office today. It was, to say the least, an eventful day. It took me 15 minutes to get myself setup but it took me 3 hours to get everyone else on line. I guess that is my fault for having a little bit of IT knowledge.

I did work on my next baby blanket on Sunday. Not quite finished but I am more than 1/2 way there.

This is the beginning of the bunny blanket. I have a 14 inch blanket started now. Only 22 inches and the hood to go. I am doing this in I Love this Yarn (Baby Pink)

Well I better get started. So many babies, so little time. : )

A Day of Relaxation

Or at least that was the plan. I was going to veg out, top of a great bottle of wine, order a gourmet pizza, watch an old movie (Fred Astaire maybe) and crochet.

The day did not exactly go to plan.

I did finish the Green, White & Pink Granny Square blanket. I am trying to upload the picture now.

I decided to pull the digital camera out of the closet, maybe brush off the dust. After looking for an hour I realized it didn't have dust because my 16 year old had confiscated it. So after I went on a search through the wilderness he calls his room I found the camera. Beat up but still functional.

Next my significant other called me on my cell. Not even 2 minutes into the conversation my phone dies for no apparent reason. Next comes my 3 hour jaunt to the Sprint store. Only to find out that they have to replace the phone but none are in stock. So now I have to deal with talking with people as I hang up on them (not purposeful of course) until Wednesday.

So, onto the crocheting. As I said, I finished the blanket and started a new one. All for charity. But this will be the last one for at least a couple of months. I am starting to get a little selfish. I want to make clothes for myself. I have got the fever now. I made a brown sweater in Red Heart Soft and I can't wait to do more. Just the thought of wearing my own creations gives me a rush. It is like in the Lion King when they say Mufasa's name around the hyenas. ( I just get shivers)

Well, I hope that you like the blanket. The wine is calling my name.

Granny Square Mania

I am currently working on 3 (yes THREE) charity baby afghans. Somehow I decided to help with the biggest baby shower guiness book of world records project. I am an afghan maker. (love them)

I have some Red Heart (yes I know it is not the most pleasant yarn for a baby) that I desperately need to use. However I dug deep into the yarn closet and that is what came out. So I have finished 1- 36 inch square and have 2 more to go. Both are 50% complete. Will I finish? Only the weekend will tell. I will curl up in front of the TV with a good bottle of wine, grapes and cheese. And then it is marathon time.

Wish me luck.

Starting out

Ok, This is my start at blogging for Crochet. Not that I don't have more in my life to do. But lets be real. What is really more important that having yarn and a needle?? ?????

I am coming up blank.

My son helped me decide the spot. (Thank you for doing this and not doing the dishes)

He thought that not only do I crochet a lot but that I have very little to show for it because I give away most to charity and other people. (Not a bad thing but I would really like some memories)

So, here goes.