My Thread to Sanity

2009-04-01T16:20:00.003-05:00

I have finally moved into my new place. I still have stuff at the old place though. I have a bit of time before I have to get it all out. The new house looks so nice without all the clutter though. Heaven forbid I get RID of any of the clutter though. Actually, I am making a sort of possible garage sale pile in the garage. Once it is complete, perhaps then I will decide if anyone else will think it is worth buying and have a garage sale, or if it looks like a pile of junk, perhaps I call the "got junk" people and have them come pick it up.

I am still in the process of organizing my bedroom and doing all the stuff that comes with a move, so I haven't had as much time to knit or crochet as I would like. I do have an entire closet...yes an ENTIRE closet for my thread/yarn stash and thread-dyeing venture. I will have to take a picture of my treasure closet to post on here. I am quite proud of it. I am not so sure what my man will think when he finally moves in (whole other drama there *sigh*), but I did tell him I was claiming the extra closet as my hobby closet. I just don't think he realizes the scope of my hobby. LOL Mind you...this is not a small closet. I think it may actually be bigger than our clothes closet...but really, I don't know what point I am trying to make there...it's just delicious to open up and look at!!!

My Grandson turned 1 back on March 22nd. I can't believe a year has gone by already. He just started walking in the past week, and while he doesn't say actual words yet, he is quite sassy and opinionated and gets his point across quite well when he has something to "say".

I will try to take some pictures to make the next post more interesting. Since I am so *good* at posting on a regular basis. I really want to post more, I just get so involved reading everyone else's posts that by the time I am done, I have to go do something else and my posting goes out the window. I enjoy following everyones blogs though...truly a delight to see all the various crafts everyone does!

This week...

2009-01-18T17:54:00.006-05:00

I have been able to do a little knitting. I am just stuck on dishcloths. They are mindless, quick projects, so I do lots of them. Plus, I am in 2 KALs, one is weekly, one is bi-monthly, so I always have one going.

This is the one from 1/4/09 weekly KAL, the pattern is called Rose Trellis:

These 2 are the ones from the 1/11/09 weekly KAL, the one on the bottom is called 7 Ridges and I used P&C light blue and seamist, the one or the top is called Citizen Kane and I used P&C brick red:

I have the mid-month cloth for January on the needles still, so will post that next week. I am also working on the Absorba the Great bathmat from Mason-Dixon knitting...I work on that when I don't have a dishcloth going...Yes...it does happen
occassionally. LOL

Most of my weekend was spent preparing my thread to list on Etsy and eBay. Finally got that all done and it is even labeled. I get lazy sometimes, and save the labeling for later, but I told myself I could catch up on TiVo if I put the labels on, so that is what I did. Am I the only one who has to bribe myself to get stuff done? Hope not.

I hope everyone has a great week, and maybe (not promising) I will have something more exciting than dishcloths to post next time!

Where has the time gone?

2009-01-13T11:16:00.006-05:00

Soooo...it has been ages since I actually posted. I check in on everyone else's blog regularly, but never seem to find time to actually post to mine.

First, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, in whichever way celebrate, and that the New Year looks promising!

I have been knitting a lot in the past few months...have a doily on the hook that has been there for ages that I need to finish. I made about 30 dishcloths for a contest in Ravelry, but when there were a few people who were like 20 cloths ahead of me with a week to go, I gave up. No way I could knit 20 more cloths, I was doing good to get one a day done, plus, they weren't letting up, so decided to do other stuff, and attempted to catch up on some KAL's. In varying color combo', this is what they looked like:

I donated all of those cloths to a lady I met in my Etsy store. She bought some of my thread, and we continued to convo with one another. I found out that she and her son make food deliveries to the elderly, so I offered to send her my dishcloths to include in her next run. They were a huge hit, and she said everyone had stories about how they used to make them, or their mother, or their grandmother...she said it was wonderful. I wish I could have been there.

That has really been the extent of my crafting. Dishcloths. It hasn't kept me from ordering, I think I have enough cotton yarn to will to my great-great grandchildren. And as I type this...I have even more coming. It was on special. I had to. What if they quit making it? I need to make sure I supply future generations with plenty of cotton. Thats my story and I'm sticking to it.

My lack of crafting has more to do with a new man in my life. He kind of just happened...wasn't looking...had given up...then *blam-o* there he was. He lives down in Florida, and comes up to Georgia to work quite a bit. He is planning on moving here, so that is good. I have gone down to FL 3 times since I met him...kind of a your turn/my turn kind of thing. So...I have been spending a lot of time with him, and he has become such a positive part of my life...in a time when I really really needed it. Funny how that happens, when you least expect it.

I did some thread-dyeing over the past weekend (previews on my other blog). I am gonna try to get more inventory built up. Sales over the holidays were dismal, but that was somewhat expected this year. I anticipate that things will pick up again hopefully. If not...I will have lots of hand-dyed thread to pass on to future generations as well! (Sure do hope someone in this future generation I keep referencing likes to knit and/or crochet.) My daughter has tried to knit, but she is not as into as I am. She knitted a couple of small things, then kind of moved on. Maybe when she gets a little older. Heck...I didn't pick up a crochet hook until I was almost 40 again after I learned when I was younger, and have only learned to knit in the past year. So there is still hope.

I am going to be moving in the very near future. Not sure where yet, whether I will be staying in GA or going down to FL. I hate moving. And since I moved in to my townhome 4 years ago, which was a pain in the a$$ with the meager items I had, I now have accumulated 3x as much stuff to move. 2 looooong flights of stairs make it even more daunting. So packing is going to be taking up my weekends, with sporadic knit breaks. I did go through my yarn stash last weekend and put it in boxes and mark them. I have 4 boxes...so far. I know I have 2 plastic 3-drawer units in my closet that are also filled with yarn, but I not going to bother to box those up, I will just transport it as it is in the drawers. I believe when I get into going through my closets, I will find bags of yarn I bought on sale and just had to have laying in the back waiting to be rescued. So at least one more (big) box of yarn to pack up. It just doesn't matter if you are moving down the road, or out of state, moving is just not fun. I don't have a choice though, so I figure if I get started, I won't be running around at the last minute making rash decisions on what to throw out and what to keep. Which is why I am doing my yarn stash first. Priorities. For future generations, of course. LOL

Melanie

2008-09-08T21:20:00.004-05:00

I finally completed Melanie from Patricia Kristoffersen's Victorian Spiral Doilies. I had started it along with my fellow Raveler's for a group Doilympic CAL. I came in dead last which is probably the equivalent of an Aluminum Foil medal LOL! That's ok though, I am pleased with the results. I used size 10 thread in Natural and Sage Rose.

I have already started my next doily, Cappuccino from PK's Coffee n' Cream. I am sure it will probably be another month before I post again, I seem to be very slow lately. This may be the last doily I work on for awhile, because the holidays are going to be here before I know it, and I need to start working on my list of knitted and crocheted goodies for presents.

Vacation

2008-08-11T05:53:00.010-05:00

I just returned from Tucson, AZ and a wonderful visit with my Mom, Grandma, Aunt, Uncle and cousin. It is always so good to see them all! Mom's house is like visiting a private spa, she has a pool and each day we would go out and float around relaxing, talking and laughing. I got a perm while I was there, a pedicure and I finished (and started) some new projects. We went out for ice cream and got these huge sundaes! One is my Mom's, I promise I didn't eat them both!

I finally finished the Purple Prairie Star for my Grandma, and she loved it!

I also took a picture of Mom with her Prairie Star I made her last Christmas.

I started Melanie, a PK doily that we are doing in my Ravelry PK Doily group during the Olympics. I am using my own colorway, Sage Rose and another solid color that I have not determined yet. I did a few rounds with a cream color thread that upon closer inspection was too creamy, so I frogged back, and I am trying to find a better solid colored thread that I will be happy with.

It was a great vacation that went too fast! (Don't they always?) Now I am back into my daily routine of work. Have a bunch to catch up on I am sure. Next mini-vacation is at the end of this month for my daughter's 21st birthday! I can't believe she is already 21 and a Mom herself! Which makes me a Grandma...which I still have a hard time calling myself. Which is why I have dubbed myself G.B. for Grandma Brenda, without actually being called Grandma!

Bewitching

2008-07-02T09:12:00.003-05:00

I completed another PK doily this morning...Bewitching! I don't know what I am going to do with my pile of doilies and dishcloths I am accumulating, but it sure is good therapy! LOL

I did complete the Between Meals doily as well before I started this one, but I haven't been able to get a picture of it yet. The batteries in my regular camera died, and I need to buy some more rechargeable batteries for it. It goes through regular batteries like crazy! I used the camera on my phone to take this one, and it is not the best quality, but I can't get a good picture of the whole Between Meals doily on it. I have the batteries on my Wal-Mart list for when I go this weekend, because it is just a given that I will end up there at some point this weekend.

I have a long weekend, today is my Friday. I took a vacation day for tomorrow, and of course, Friday is the 4th of July. Looking forward to the time off. Of course, it always goes to fast, and as soon as I leave work today the "I only have 4 days until I have to be back!" sets in. So many things I want to do, and 4 days just won't cut it! I hate that about myself...always counting down the time.

Hope everyone has a safe & happy 4th of July!

Between Meals Doily Pic

2008-06-07T06:52:00.004-05:00

Just posting a pic real quick of this doily...it is 21" across right now, and I still have 11 rounds to complete. Completed size is going to be approx 30", maybe even bigger after it is blocked.

I am off to clean my car inside and out before the sun comes around the front of my house and makes that task unbearable (more so than it already is). Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Monster Doily & Long Lost (WIP) Star

2008-06-02T13:57:00.004-05:00

I will have to post pictures later, once I figure out how to get the whole dang thing in the picture, but my Between Meals doily is going to be HUGE!

I picked it up over the weekend after a little hiatus from crocheting to learn to knit, and forgot how big it already was, and I was only 50% through with it! I have about 17 more rounds to go, and I would say it is already at least 20-22" in diameter already. Huge. My daughter looked at it and asked if I was making a bedspread. Huge.

I think it will turn out very nice, and I am glad I tackled this doily. I have drooled over other Between Meals doilies, so had it on my alphabetized Ravelry queue list. Blazed through the "A" doilies (mostly Patricia Kristoffersen) early on, and between knitting and the size of this one, it is taking a while.

I ran out of the solid color I was using, and Hobby Lobby was closed Saturday before I realized I was going to run out and I didn't have another ball of Frosty Green in my stash. (HOW in the world did that happen? Luckily, I made it through the round (barely) before I was at the point where I switched to the variegated colorway I was using on the next couple of rounds. So, I have to remember to go pick that up after work so when I need to pick the solid up again, I have it.

I also was put on alert that my grandmother would really like a Prairie Star afghan to show off to her friends while she is at her summer getaway up in Showlow, AZ. She tried to snag my Mom's to take up there saying that it might get cold (she did have snow last week!), but Mom wouldn't go for it. So, Mom asks if I can "whip one up for GG?" Whip one up???? There is no whipping that puppy up. My solution is to finally finish the one I started for myself, I only have half diamond motifs left to put on it and then the border, so I could feasibly have it done in a week or two. I can make another one for myself another time. No, I can't "whip it up", but during the colder months, it is a good crochet project that is warm to work on and easy to memorize...a good T.V. project, and easy enough to pick up at a (much) later date and not be lost as to where you were in the pattern.

I have missed crocheting. I like knitting, but I have to say the crocheting is my first love.

Long Weekend

2008-05-27T08:51:00.002-05:00

I just love 3-day weekends! Of course, there is never enough time to do everything I want to do, but I usually pick one big project that I have been saying I will do, and put my mind to it. I have started a list of projects to do when I have a few days off, and this time I chose a fun one one, instead of something icky like steamcleaning the carpets. I spent the weekend dyeing!

I recruited help by telling them that if they prepped some thread, they could dye some thread, free reign, anything goes. That seemed to work (this time)! Both my son and daughter dyed a colorway, and true to my word, I didn't stand over them. I laid it out, made sure they had plenty of color choices, and left the room. Both had great ideas, and it freed me up to do others stages of the process.

Last night, I was happily labeling all of our hard work and had most of it listed on the venues I use. I still have a few I need to put finishing touches on and to take pictures of, but I can do that during the week.

Other than that, we had a cookout yesterday with spare ribs, potato salad, and corn on the cob. I just love using the grill during the summer. It helps keep the temp down in the house, and nothing beats a grilled piece of meat. Naps for everyone afterwards, with full stomaches and traces of bbq sauce smudges on noses or cheeks and smiles of contentment. All in all it was a great weekend, with great weather and some really nice family time.

Now it is back to the grindstone, and looking at the calendar to take some time off from work. A few days off does so much to energize me, I need to plan more instead of just taking the usual holiday days off. Hope everyone else had a great weekend, and hey...short work-week! Bonus!

Dishcloth mania

2008-05-10T09:47:00.002-05:00

Since learning to knit back in February, I have accumulated a LOT of dishcloths. I had joined 2 dishcloth KAL's, one is weekly, one is bi-monthly. I have learned a ton about knitting over the past few months by knitting these little beauties. Some I was not so thrilled about, some I made a few of. I have given a few away, but as you can see by the pictures, I still have plenty for myself.

I like the quick satisfaction from knitting dishcloths. One or two nights watching TV and knitting and I have a finished project.

I also knitted one mitt, and need to do the other one. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. So that is what I have been up to the past few months. (Please excuse the wayward shoe and the box in the background)

I haven't crocheted at all since taking up knitting, but I am going to start spreading it out and working on both types of projects now that I am comfortable enough with knitting.

Bon Jovi II

2008-05-01T18:44:00.002-05:00

The concert was awesome! I had never been to one of their shows before, and they really put on a good one. A couple of observances...I didn't realize Jon was so short. And...I wouldn't dance with him at a club. The man is awkward. Just stand there Jon, smile your killer smile, and shake your booty occassionally, but PLEASE don't dance. My friend Michelle and I just looked at each other the first time he did some moves with a look of "REALLY???" All in all the show was so good, we forgave his dancing abilities.

It has been a long time since I have been to a concert, and if it wouldn't have been free...holy moly...I woulda had to take out a 2nd mortgage. The cost of everything is outrageous, or I am amazingly cheap. Probably a combo of both.

I have the rest of the week off from work, so today I pretty much did nothing. Tomorrow I have a list of things I want to get done around the house before I can reward myself with catching up on TiVo offerings and knitting. Does anyone else have to reward themselves this way in order to get housework done? Just curious. Because if I don't do it this way, I would never get any housework done.

Bon Jovi

2008-04-29T10:34:00.004-05:00

I am going to the Bon Jovi/Daughtry concert tomorrow night! A couple of weeks ago a radio station was at the bowling center on league night for an hour doing a drawing for the concert. My daughter and I both entered hoping we would win. I had to twist my daughter's boyrfriend's arm to enter...

b/f: I don't like Bon Jovi. I never win anything.
me: Enter! if you win, Alyssa and I will go and you can stay home and babysit!

and my friend Michelle's arm to enter...

Michelle: I would like to enter, but I never win anything, plus, I don't want them giving my name away to everyone and have a bunch of sales calls. I just don't know...
me: Enter! You'll at least get a free pen out of it (she loves pens), and if you win, we can go and have a girls night out. It will be fine!

So they both reluctantly enter the drawing. Notice how I made sure that if either of them won, I got to go. :-D

The next day...I get a call from my daughter, about the same time I get a text from Michelle. You guessed it! Both Jerry (b/f) and Michelle won tickets! So we are all going to the concert tomorrow night! I know there were a few others who won tickets as well, so it must have been a small turnout for the radio station. These are pretty good seats, on the floor, one section back from the stage. Yay!

Now...to find something to wear...!

Spring Fever

2008-04-14T09:04:00.003-05:00

I have a pretty bad case of it! I was going to take last week off from work, as it was Spring Break for my son, I was going to spend some time with my daughter and new grandson as well. My son ended up going to see his Uncle in Brunswick to try out the charter fishing business, to see if it is something he wants to do over the summer. I was cool with that, and since my daughter and grandson live with me, it wasn't like I never see them. I decided to save the time off for another time. Last week it was absolutely beautiful here. If you don't take into account the pine pollen that was dusting everything it was very nice.

What happened over the weekend? Well, Friday...it was beautiful, until around the time I got off work. Then severe thunderstorms hit around 9pm. Saturday was rainy, and Sunday was sunny, but very windy and not as warm as it looked. So, now I am kicking myself for not taking last week off, since the weekends don't seem to want to cooperate! I am going to ask my boss today if there is a week in the next month or so that would be more convenient for me to take off than another. (Of course in his mind, no week is convenient...but oh well.) I think I just need to get out in the yard, plant some flowers, go to the park, crochet/knit outside on my deck, and do some of the not-so-fun stuff like clean out the garage and the car, but still be outside enjoying the weather.

I have done some dyeing, and again, I thought I would be able to take advantage of nice weather to hang it outside to dry, but that wasn't meant to be. I have become completely obsessed with knitting, so haven't done any crocheting since early February. I feel guilty about that...like all my crochet hooks and thread are peeking over the top of my work basket saying "what about us?" I know they aren't, but still...

I am going to start dividing up my knitting and crocheting time a little more now that I have the hang of knitting. I was afraid to put it down for any length of time, since I was still learning, I didn't want to forget. I seem to have a short memory span until I am really comfortable with something. I have a Between Meals doily that is about 50% done that I want to finish crocheting, and a Prairie Star quiltghan that I want to give to my Grandma. She was so impressed with the one I made for my Mom, that I decided the one I was making for myself, I would finish up and give to her instead, for her birthday. Guess I better hurry, her birthday is in a couple of weeks!

I am off to find out when I can take some time off...then I am going to write a note to Mother Nature to let her know when my week off is, so she can work on nice weather for that week. Maybe if I give her plenty of warning, she will be able to accomodate me? LOL!

Shameless Plug

2008-04-03T11:12:00.002-05:00

I am having an auction blitz in my eBay store this weekend. I am having 1-day auctions, that will begin listing @ noon eastern standard time. So far I have 8 listings planned, but once I actually start bundling the auction items up, I may have a few more. Auctions will be spaced out, so they won't all end on the same time on Sunday. I am still deciding on 15 or 30 minute increments between auctions.

Stop in and check it out if you get a chance! Bre-Aly Threads

I had quite a bit of success on the one I ran in February, to make room for new inventory, so hoping that it goes well again.

I can't figure out how I used to work part-time on the weekends. I don't have time to get everything done now that I am not working...how did I get it done before? I do have to admit though, I get more sleep and don't feel as tired, so I guess I was giving up sleep to get everything done before.

Yes...even with a new baby in the house, I am getting plenty of sleep. Now my daughter on the other hand...she may not be. This is the reward for me not trading (or killing) her when she was growing up and tested my limits, or is it revenge?...I get to roll over and cover my head when Aiden wakes up at night while she has to get up. *evil laugh* He and I have lots of bonding time in the evening and on weekends though, he is so much fun!

Aiden Bryce is here!

2008-03-28T09:03:00.003-05:00

My grandson Aiden Bryce arrived at 11:31 on March 22nd weighing in at 6lbs 2oz. He is doing very well, and we are VERY excited he is here.

He decided he would arrive 3 1/2 weeks early, so he caught us off guard. My daughter's baby shower was scheduled for 3/24, so we had to put that on hold, and I didn't have a thing crocheted or knit for him yet! Of course, I am the biggest procrastinator in the world anyway, so this wasn't a great shock. I am sure he will have plenty of blankets and socks over the next several years. We had been busy getting the house ready for him though, by dusting and shampooing carpets and such, so at least that was done.

Having said all that, I haven't been checking blogs much in the past month or so. In addition to getting the house "baby" ready, I have also been busy trying to paint my bedroom, and move the furniture around to be more craft friendly. I knit or crochet while I wind down and catch up on whatever TiVo records for me each evening, but even that has been minimal.

No thread dyeing either. Hoping to get back on the dyeing wagon soon, and even give 4-ply dishcloth cotton a try. Still want to dye some smaller thread sizes as well. I found an awesome kitchen hutch on craigslist that is perfect for all of my thread inventory and dyeing supplies. So instead of having it strewn all over the house and bags of dyed thread waiting to be shipped sitting on my bedroom floor, I have plastic bins and shelves to put it all on and actually be *gasp* organized!

So now that things are settling down into a routine, I am hoping to get back to my hobbies. Nice thing about being a grandma, is that I get to cuddle and love on him, but I don't have to get up in the middle of the night, I can roll over and put the pillow over my head. Side note: I am going by GeeBee (G.B. - Grandma Brenda), because I am just not ready to be called "Grandma"...it was bad enough I turned 40 in November...I don't need to be called Grandma too!!! LOL

I haven't forgotten about my Pay It Forward gals either...good thing I have a year! But I should have some things ready to go out in the very near future.

Knitting

2008-02-16T12:01:00.007-05:00

Last Friday, I decided that my right hand WAS going to cooperate, and I WAS going to learn to knit. Efforts to learn over the Christmas holiday break had left me frustrated because after crocheting, knitting just made me feel like I had 20 fingers, and my right hand had a mind of it's own (I'm a leftie).

I joined a dishcloth KAL on Yahoo, picked a pattern, and jumped in using some helpful knitting videos I found online. Much easier than trying to learn it from a book. I had to make the decision to learn to knit English or Continental, because to learn the left-handed message would mean that I would have to continually make modify patterns (from what I gathered)to allow for knitting left-handed. That didn't sound fun. (I have never had to modify a pattern to crochet left-handed.) I decided to go with the English version, although from what I have read, Continental is easier. I may try that at another time. Start with the difficult, then move to the easy...right? So...I jumped in...

Here is my first completed dishcloth...

It is far from perfect, but I started over more times than I care to count, and frogged back several times as well. It's not as easy to frog back in knitting as crocheting, I discovered. So I was pretty much ready to be done, and tired of going back, so I just pressed on until I was finished.

And my second...

If you look closely, you can see a butterfly pattern. I probably should have used a solid color to do this in, but it is what I had in my stash from a previous CAL in the 'Ville that I never finished. I didn't have to start over but once, but still had to frog back quite a few times, but it went better.

I sent both of these to my Mom for her birthday, cuz what Mom doesn't like to get handmade things from their kids? I felt like I was back in kindergarten and did my first fingerpainting...LOL! I have a couple more in progress, and with each one I get better. I like it more and more, and my right hand has become quite cooperative now that it has figured out what the heck is going on. I'm stubborn that way.

Gone in 30 minutes!

2008-01-18T17:01:00.001-05:00

When I started dyeing thread, and then decided to try selling it on eBay, I didn't have high expectations of amazing sales until I built up some regular customers and had been on for awhile (6 months of selling or longer). I didn't actively use eBay until last year, even though I have had an account for years. My feedback stars are low, but I have 100% positive feedback, but those were all for buying, not selling.
I tried Etsy...thinking it was more crafty-based, and I didn't even get any hits on it at all. So, I went back to eBay.

My first couple of auctions went for the starting bid of .99. Alright...gotta start somewhere right? AND...I got my first seller feedback. Still going on 100%. Next round had a couple of new bidders, but the same bidder that won my first auction won this one. Which is alright too, repeat business doesn't hurt. Then I put up a few threads at Buy it Now pricing, and those went alright. My first auction winner has been a regular customer, buying threads each time I have some available. She was also very helpful with suggestions, (pastels, Buy it Now, keywords for title, etc.) After my first couple of offerings, I decided it would be much easier to have a store. At this point, I am not really making a profit, but what I am making is paying for more thread to dye, new dye colors and my seller fees on eBay.

So...I opened my store on December 20th. Put up my first inventory, sprinkled with some auctions to draw in new customers. It went steadily. I was pleased. The batch I dyed last weekend, was going to be ready for listing on Wednesday, so I put a note in my header that new colorways would arrive on date/time. I had them scheduled, so @ 8pm on the dot, there they were all pretty and shining in my store. So, being satisfied everything was listed as scheduled, I go get something to eat, watch a little TV, trying to stay away from my computer and hitting refresh every 2 seconds. Something about a watched pot doesn't boil...

I couldn't stand it anymore, and had to go check to see if I had any interest what-so-ever...imagine my suprise when I refresh my store, and all of my new inventory is missing!!!...with the exception of 1 colorway I had just added, they were gone. What did eBay do with them? What the heck? I am going to have to figure out what I did wrong! Lo and behold I open my Selling Manager page (which I should have done to start with)...and I had sold all those missing balls in the first 30 minutes!!! OH MY!!! Mystery of the disappearing inventory solved!

I don't know if it will go that way all the time, but it sure was exciting and fun! I am going to dye some more this weekend, and hopefully up the production quantity. I have been being careful so as not to mess up a whole bunch, but I think I have the process down now, so feel comfortable doing bigger lots.

Just had to share!

Thank You Christina!

2008-01-12T08:06:00.000-05:00

Thank you Christina! I received my first Pay It Forward item! It came at a time where a smile and a warm fuzzy feeling were needed and much apprciated.

Now I have to get busy on the items for my PIF. I know I have a year, but I am a notorious procrastinator, and if I don't get on it now, then I will be scrambling later, and I don't want to do that. I am a big thread crocheter, so more than likely it will be something done in thread.

While I wait for my camera batteries to charge, I am off to start another batch of my dyed threads. My last batch did pretty well, and if I don't get on the stick then I am going to run out of inventory.

Thanks for the kind words and support for my blahs. They are getting better. I guess blahs are kind of like gaining weight, building up gradually, and you can't git rid you can't get rid of it overnight. I know everyone has to deal with both the blahs and weight occassionally, so it is good to know there are others who understand. One day at a time!

New Year Blahs

2008-01-07T11:05:00.000-05:00

I don't know what it is, but I thought with the holidays over, I would get out of my gritchy holiday mood I always fall into. Not so. Everything feels overwhelming. It didn't help that Yahoo had an article on their homepage one day last week about how an unorganized/cluttered home (like mine, can be a sign of everything from ADHD, depression, all the way up to a brain disorder. In fact, there weren't many mental conditions left out of the list. So, not only am I an unorganized clutterbug, I am a mental-case too! LOL Soooo...I pondered that over some crocheting.

After such a productive week off, I have not been able to crochet much. I get about 30 minutes in before I go to bed. My 'Ashley' doily is coming along slowly. I am to the spirals though, and once I get past those little buggers, I think it will go pretty quick. Last nights efforts however were lost, as I discovered a mistake and had to frog back to where I had started when I sat down. Better there than after I was done with all of them right? I have to do some counting, but I may be off even further back than that. I am hoping not, but I was tired last night, so when I counted the spirals I did have, and what I need to have, I seem to have some extras on one side. I am going to recount tonight and I hope I am wrong. I should have some photos for the next blog to show the progress. Right now, it just looks a little funny with all these spirals (I have to do 80) hanging around the edge.

Happy Crocheting everyone!

End of the Year

2007-12-30T18:13:00.000-05:00

It has been a pretty productive week off craft-wise, and I still have a couple of days left.

I went through all of my doily books and filled my queue up on Ravely, started and finished a doily (shown in previous post), and started another. I got my huge thread order of 10 big 1-lb balls of thread, got about 6 of them ready to dye (12 hanks), and dyed 5 of the hanks. I should be able to dye another 4, but the other 3 will have to wait for my soda ash/dye order to arrive (maybe tomorrow?), otherwise they have to wait until next weekend. I can always get the other 4 balls wound into hanks while I wait too. I won't run out of soda ash for a while, as I ordered 5 lbs of it, so I can just keep on dyeing as long as I have thread.

I haven't done all of the housework/deep cleaning stuff I wanted to do, but hey, that is not nearly as much fun as the other stuff I have done!

Happy New Year!

Amaretto

2007-12-28T15:33:00.000-05:00

Amaretto from PK's Coffee 'n' Cream Doilies. I used Aunt Lydia's light peach and my hand-dyed colorway 'Salena'. The image is clickable and shows the detail of the entire doily nicely.

I've got Ashley on the hook from PK's Victorian Spiral Doilies, book 1. Not too sure how I feel about it yet, but it was next in my Ravelry queue, and I decided I was going to work through the list alphabetically. Never know until you try...right? I decided to do it in Aunt Lydia's Dusty Rose. Not sure yet if I will use any of my hand-dyed stash yet, we'll see how it goes.

Enchanting

2007-12-26T12:08:00.000-05:00

I have completed 'Enchanting' from Patricia Kristoffersen's 'Doilies with Charm'. I am pleased with how this one turned out.

I have already started on my next Doily, 'Amaretto' from PK's Coffee 'n' Cream book. First one in my queue in Ravelry, and have time off from work, so I am going to take advantage of it, and crochet to my little hearts content!

2007-12-25T21:05:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, or whichever holiday you celebrate this time of year. :-) I had a very mild, laid-back day, spent with my kids, and visiting with my ex-inlaws (which was enjoyable, btw), and then working on finishing off my current WIP, Enchanting, a PK doily. I am on my last round, so should finish up tonight. I am anticipating the advancing New Year, and I plan on facing it with a positive outlook. I have my first grandchild due in May, and as time goes on, I get more and more excited about this change in both my daughter's and my own life. We have a close relationship anyway, but I know when I had her, it brought me and my Mom closer, so I look forward to that for her and I, and sharing this amazing and wonderful time with her.

I spent the spare time I had yesterday entering my doily books in Ravely, and queueing up projects. It ended up being a whole lot more than I thought, but I have some projects set up, with no particular timeline set when to get them done. They are mostly PK doilies with a few Mary Werst designs mixed in. I don't know if anyone else who has used patterns these two ladies have designed will agree with me or not, but any other designs look almost...too easy, if that makes sense? I love the intricacy and beauty they both capture. Anyway, I have about 80+ designs queued up, and that doesn't count any other creations I embark upon. I have to partially credit Lori ("The Shrone" on the 'Ville, and a link for her website Home Burrough: Residence of the Unknowabale Shrone) for inspiring me to have a goal, and something to work towards. I decided that instead of going through books and finding the next doily to inspire me, I would alphabetize them, and progress that way. I will add to the list, more than likely, as I find other challenging patterns that intrigue me as time goes on.

I have also started learning to knit. I bought a kit last year, same time as I bought a learn to crochet kit, but decided to wait to learn to knit. Not so sure how it will go. I have decided to learn how to knit right-handed (I am left-handed), simply because from what I have gleaned from reading various forums on Ravelry, it seems that it is not the same as crocheting left-handed. I don't have a problem crocheting or reading patterns left-handed and it never occured to me that patterns can be right- or left-hand oriented in crochet. But it seems that is not true in knitting. Maybe it would be better if I didn't know any better in knitting either? Too late now...ahhhh the joys of the internet. Anyway, I have decided to learn to knit right-handed to avoid any problems. If I find it too frustrating, I may wait. No need to frustrate myself when I so love my crochet right now. I find myself jealous of those that can do both, but if it is not a stress-buster, rather a stress-creater, then it can wait.

Happy New Year everyone! Thanks to everyone who has visited my blog this past year, and has provided kind words for my rambling thoghts and completed projects. I look forward to seeing your new creations in the new year, and wish you many happy hours of hooking!

Weekly update

2007-12-17T08:56:00.000-05:00

It finally got cold here over the weekend here in Georgia. We went from having a week mostly in the 70's to the 30-40's. I still won't complain, even though I don't like the cold. Who knows...by next week we might be back up in the warmer temps...that's just how it goes here.

I worked my last weekend of birthday parties. I have handed it off to another lady so I can spend time with my son on the weekend. I am relieved, yet sad, as it was a program I helped create and has done well. I could have still helped out booking parties, but after working with the new lady, I decided it would be best if I stepped out completely. I just think there would be too much head-butting going on. I am going to do some marketing for the bowling center still though, but I can do that from home, and still have time to spend with my son. It will be nice to have my weekends back after working there for a little over 3 years (ie. more time to work on my crochet...dyeing threads...learning to knit!).

As for my Christmas list...it was a bust. It's gift card city for everyone but Mom. The unfinished (ahem...unstarted...)projects will have to be allocated to birthdays. My brother and his family live in Colorado, so since they can have snow anywhere from September through ohhhhhh...May (*evi laugh*)...I can send them scarves/hats/mittens after Christmas, and they will still get use out of them. I STILL have to put up my tree. I just haven't had time to get all the stuff done that I wanted, and now I have reached the panic point. Of course, I have to keep up with what everyone else is doing, so I am sure that the time I spend surfing around looking at everyone else's goodies could be better spent...naaaaaaaa! Who am I kidding! LOL

December?

2007-12-10T09:45:00.000-05:00

We are having unseasonably warm weather here in Georgia! It is supposed to get up to 75 today...which would beat a record set back in 1973 (I think that is the year they said). My company had our Christmas party on Saturday night, and we were all standing out on the deck because it was so pleasant. It's amazing. This is one of the reasons I looooooove the South! I grew up in Colorado, and I DO NOT miss the snow or the cold at all. I get just enough cold and winter weather here in Georgia to remind me how nice it is, and how nice it is when it is gone. LOL!

I have not been getting anything done as far as crocheting goes. I have been busy at both jobs and working weekends. By the time I get home during the week, usually around 9p.m., I am just beat. Same for the weekend...doing childrens birthday parties wears you out. Not so much the kids, but the parents! Of course, everyone is stressed, getting ready for the holidays, so some of the party moms are not so...shall we say...pleasant. Any other time of the year is just fine, but come December, whew! Being a Mom myself though, I do understand, and I try to get them to relax and have a good time and let us take care of things for the couple of hours they are there. Usually by the time they leave, they are smiling, and in a much better mood than when they got there. Usually. :-)

I have Christmas projects to finish, I have dyed thread waiting to be wound, I still have to put up my Christmas decorations...I have definately over-extended myself timewise this year. Still, when I do find the time to sit and relax, once that crochet hook gets in my hand I feel so much better. It's just not getting in my hand often enough! My crochet time vs. my other time ratio is waaaaaaaaaaay off.

First Item on Etsy

2007-12-05T08:40:00.000-05:00

I put my first item on Etsy this morning. I will add more on a daily basis as it finishes drying, gets photographed and wound into balls. I have about 9 colorways to add over the next few days.

My camera is great for taking pics of people, but not so much of close-ups that I need of thread. I have tried all sorts of settings, but nothing seems to work for as close up as I need to get. And of course, the colors never look quite right either. I crocheted up a couple of samples and took pictures of them so folks could get an idea of how the colors look "in action", and the pics came out so washed out, they may as well have been done with white thread! LOL

Etsy Shop

2007-12-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

After looking into it more, I decided I am going to try out Etsy to sell some of my hand-dyed thread. I have posted a link over on the right-hand side, but here is a direct link to my Etsy store as well. I don't have any items listed yet, I am waiting for my recent batch of thread to dry so I can take pictures and wind it up into cakes...hopefully in the next day or two.

If anyone else has an Etsy shop, and you would like me to put a link on my blog, let me know and I will add you! I would also love to hear any advice or experiences you have had as a buyer and/or a seller.

At this point, I am thinking I will use Etsy to sell my thread for a set price, and if I have remnants, or a cake with a knot in it or something, use eBay to auction them. I'm not sure yet though. Since Etsy is like a huge online craft fair, it is a lot more specialized than eBay with folks understanding the value of handmade items. Once I get the hang of it, and get used to how Etsy works, I may be able to just have sales for my remnants and stuff there and not use eBay at all to sell.

If you haven't checked out Etsy yet, you should! So many talented people over there! I get side-tracked and just drool over all the crafty things people do. It is free to sign up, or you can browse the shops before actually signing up. If you don't already have an account, and you check them out after reading my blog, be sure to mention that when/if you register. I don't know what it does, other than let track know where someone heard about and/or who referred you to the site.

I'm off to check out everyones recent blog updates...I love love love seeing what other people are working on!

PS Progress

2007-11-30T15:30:00.000-05:00

EEEEK!!!!

2007-11-26T09:42:00.000-05:00

So there is officially less than a month left until Christmas. Take off time for shipping any gifts that need to be shipped...and there is only 3 weeks left!

I had last week off from work. I got snowflakes done. That's it. Snowflakes. Now granted, those are on my list of gifts, but that only covers my co-workers for the Christmas party on Dec. 8th. I thought I would have all sorts of time to crochet last week. But no. I ended up having to work a half-day on Monday, because my boss "forgot" I was going to be off, and needed me to schedule appointments for him for this week for our next big project. So I did that. Then I took my car in for repairs that were needed due to a traffic altercation my daughter was in (ggrrrrr...she is ok...but I didn't need this right now...guess that is why they are called accidents and not on-purposes). By the time I got done with all of that...it was 5:00 and I had to go work at my second job. I didn't take time off from that, it's part-time, a couple of hours here and there, how bad could it be? So...I was home at 9:00. One day of vacation chalked up. Tuesday wasn't much better. Wednesday was spent cleaning the house getting ready for any guests that decided to come to dinner. Thursday was cooking and eating and cleaning up again and football. Lots of foottball. I hate football. What happened to Sunday being football day? Now it is on every freakin' night of the week it seems. But I digress...Friday was running around doing errands, battling shopping crowds, etc. You get the idea. A week off just isn't enough time. My To-Do list...hardly a thing got done on it...and I'm not talking my crochet list, just my general list.

On a brighter note, I no longer have more people in ahead of me than I do behind me in line on the Ravelry wait list:
You are #56419 on the list.
3713 people are ahead of you in line.
5748 people are behind you in line.
84% of the list has been invited so far
I am hoping I get the invite when I am off for the Christmas break so I have time to get acquainted with the site. I'm excited to see what it's all about.

I sold my most recent batch of threads on eBay. Still not what I was hoping for, so next batch is at "Buy it Now" pricing. I had some new bidders though, so I am generating some interest, and the feedback I have received so far has been good, with requests to keep dyeing. I have a batch soaking now, so might be able to dye it tonight if I get home at a decent time. Hoping to have about 4 of each colorway to put up, so about 40 balls. Not bad, if I can get it done! I might miss bowling tomorrow just to get it done.

Between Meals Centerpiece doily

2007-11-21T13:25:00.001-05:00

I didn't even realize this is the doily that is my background! When I set up my blog page, I was looking for something crochet related, liked this one, and snapped it up...don't even know from where now. Then, today on the 'Ville, rascalsmom posted a pic of her finished one, and I recognized it immediately. The one on my background looks like it had some extra work done on it by putting some scallop-y looking things between the points though, that I would love to figure out. I was so excited, and then to find out that it is a FREE pattern...I was in doily pattern heaven! I found it, and saved it to my pattern folder on my computer to work on after the holidays. If I start on it now, then everyone will get gift certificates for Christmas for sure!!!

Not sure how much crocheting I will get done today and tomorrow, but hoping to get a bunch done after Thursday. I have been working on snowflakes each night while I watch tv, but I am not going to get nearly as many finished as I had hoped.

I am off to go do more cleaning before tomorrow. I had to take a break. I just feel so overwhelmed and like I will not have everything done in time. Of course, getting online doesn't help.

Up on the auction block

2007-11-13T06:41:00.000-05:00

Update: I did better this time around as far as the bidding went! All 3 sets were sent off to Ohio this morning. I also received my first feedback as a seller for the first group I sold! Now...if I get some housework done, I can dye another batch of thread!

Since I like to use colorways combined with solids in my doilies, and it is not always easy to match the colors with stuff in the stores, I thought it would be a good idea to make coordinating solids using the same colors of dye. For a first run, I thought they turned out pretty good. Still some fine tuning to do, but if there is a good response I will do more that way.

Off to hit the shower and head into work. Only 4 more days left, then I am off for a week...YIPPPEEEEEEEE!!!!

Busy Weekend

2007-11-11T22:16:00.000-05:00

I had a very productive 4-day weekend. I dyed my thread, I finished Mom's present, I learned more about blogging, worked on Ebay descriptions for my new listings I hope to put up in the next couple of days, I spent time with my kids, I made home cooked meals...I am beat, but in a good way!

I didn't get my house cleaned. Not expecting anyone, so not gonna worry too much about that. If I should have any drop-in visitors (not likely), they are just gonna have to overlook the dust. They came to see me, not my housekeeping abilities...right?

So now I have a week of work to "look forward to", then a week off. I'm loving it! I'm already starting my mental list of things I want to do during my week off. Need to transfer it to paper soon or I am going to forget stuff, or put it on here, since I seem to be hanging out on Blogger so much lately.

PAY IT FORWARD

2007-11-10T16:04:00.000-05:00

I participated in the PAY IT FORWARD on Crafty Christina's Blog.

The way it works: I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog for this post. You don't have to be a regular commenter or even a blogger member, as long as you can get me your address by e-mail.

I don't know what you will be getting yet, LOL, but as the rules state, you will receive it within 365 days. Most likely it will be sooner than that...like after the Christmas rush.

The only thing you have to do in return is PAY IT FORWARD by making the same promise on your blog/site. Come on and join. This will be fun if you love getting nice things in the mail.

smartsmiley.com

Preliminary Results Are In!

2007-11-10T14:24:00.000-05:00

<=====Front Drying

Back Drying==========v

I finished washing and rinsing the thread I dyed. So far so good. I'm not sure if the ones that I made to coordinate will do so, need to wait until it dries completely before I can tell for sure. Overall, I am pleased with the results. The colors are more vibrant than I expected. In my mind I was hoping for lighter shades. I will have to keep experimenting. I have so much fun doing this!

I also sold my first 4 colorways on Ebay. I have now made my first Ebay transaction as a seller! One person bid on all 4, and while they went for much less than I had hoped, I have to start somewhere. The buyer is doing the Happy Dance I am sure! She got each cake of thread for .99! I know I'd be doing the Happy Dance if I were her! I am still doing the Happy Dance for selling them. I was starting to think no one wanted them, so I was pleased. Hopefully when I list the next batch they will do a little better, and I will build from there. My little threads will be on their way to Anchorage, Alaska first thing Monday morning!

Dyeing!

2007-11-09T12:49:00.000-05:00

So I dyed 5 colorways last night. Didn't take but a couple of hours this time. Will be able to rinse those Saturday night. We had fun mixing the primary color kit that I bought and ended up with blue, peach, purple, green, yellow, red, orange and pink to dye with. Can't wait to see how they turn out.

This morning I was up bright and early to dye the second batch I had soaked in soda ash overnight with a different process. I used some of my new colors from the kit I bought on Ebay. Gonna see how it turns out. I made a large colorway using 4 colors, then made 3 coordinating solid colors to match it from the same batch of dye. I'm excited to see how it comes together. I want to do more now, but I have to prep some more before I can by winding it on my swift. Since that takes a bit of time, I probably won't get any more actual dyeing done until next weekend. I do have the week of Thanksgiving off, so if I prep enough, I can be a dyeing fool!

No work?

2007-11-08T06:11:00.000-05:00

I have today and tomorrow off from my "real" job. At first, I was thinking

...oooOOO(Lots of time to crochet!) <====sad attempt at thought bubble

but now it has turned into

...oooOOO(after I clean out my car, get my emissions and the tags for my car, go to the store, clean the kitchen up a bit so I can do some dyeing, swift some thread, I can crochet!)

Not nearly as exciting. All those things you think you will do on days off that are leisurely somehow get trumped by necessary things that need to be done so you can enjoy the fun things. Vicious cycle.

Tomorrow I am hoping that DD and I can go to a craft fair for a little while and see all the creativeness of others. I enjoy that so much. It's always nice to see what others enjoy doing and the ingenuity some have. I have to refrain from thinking "I can do that!" because my list of crocheting is long enough that I shouldn't (yes, I said shouldn't) add to it with other stuff.

I won't be working on my lunch afghan, obvioulsy, since I am not at work. And my list of things to do on my weekend off is growing so much that I'm not sure 4 days is enough time to do everything on my list. I do have to work at some point at my second job for a couple hours each day, but I have let whoever is listening know that I will NOT be there Saturday or Sunday. After this weekend, I have a week of work, then I have the WHOLE week of Thanksgiving off! Yippeeeee!!! I was going to bring lunch afghan home with me during this week to work on, but if I do that, then the list of gifts I need to work on won't get done, so it will have to stay at work that week too.

But I know, know matter how long my list of things to do gets, I always manage to get crocheting in.

No dyeing after all

2007-11-05T09:25:00.000-05:00

We didn't get to dye. I ran out of time to get it ready to soak, so I am going to finish that over the next couple of nights, and soak it Wednesday, so we can try on Thursday.

I did put some of the thread I dyed back in July up for auction on Ebay to see how it will go. I did that on Saturday, but as of right now, I still don't have any hits. I've been told to be patient. I'm trying.
smartsmiley.com

On a good note, I am on the edging for Mom's Christmas present! I had to stop last night because my hand was getting tired. I figured if I kept pushing on, then I would probably pay for it later by either being in too much pain to crochet for a couple of days, or making a mistake that I would have to go back and fix. Once I get the edging done, I can move on to the smaller projects and hopefully get some of that list taken care of.

Dyeing Thread on Sunday

2007-11-01T07:57:00.000-05:00

smartsmiley.com

My daughter and I are going to do some thread dyeing on Sunday. We are going to experiment some and have a lot of fun with color mixing. We are hoping it goes well and we will be able to put it up for auction on ebay to see what the response is. We are excited and hope it goes well. She is hoping to find something to do from home that will allow her to be at home during the last months of her pregnancy as well as after the baby is born. Hopefully we can generate some excitement over the next few months over our dyed thread that it can support her better than being a server at a local restaurant.

Of course, this will cut into crocheting time, and Christmas just keeps on getting closer and closer. I'll have to work on my other projects over the next few nights so I don't feel to bad about neglecting them come Sunday.

Christmas, Projects and Ideas...OH MY!

2007-10-30T15:32:00.000-05:00

Christmas is coming way too fast. What seemed like plenty of time, is slowly but surely turning into not enough time. I will have my Mom's gift done, possibly by this coming weekend. So her, I am not worried about. Other folks on my list to receive crocheted goodies may not get what I have listed for them. At least they don't know. I need to make a better plan of action for making stuff throughout the year for Christmas next year.

My lunch quiltghan is coming along nicely. I haven' worked on it during lunch this week simply because I have been working on "ideas" instead. I haven't done any other crocheting other than these two projects for a few weeks. My snowflake-a-day plan flew out the window about 3 weeks ago when I began working on completing Moms gift.

smartsmiley.com

A small idea that started as "hey...I can do that..." has turned into something bigger that I am going to try. I've mentioned one of my favorite ebay sellers many times and have her store listed on my blogger links...Sara's Colorwave Yarns. She has become quite the popular lady in the past couple of months! If you don't hit her store the moment she posts new items, you may have to wait until her next "feeding of the store" as she calls it. I have missed some incredible colorways she has posted because I have to think about it and how I can use it and for what...and by the time I make up my mind...*poof*...it's gone. As shown in my previous posts I have experimented with my own dyeing, initially just so I could see how it works, and I had fun with it. Sara also provided some good feedback when I asked and gave me safety precautions when taking on dyes, which I have found invaluable. My daughter, who is expecting in early May '08, is looking for a way to be able to work from home, and get away from being a server. When I told her I am going to have to start dyeing my own thread in order to get the unique colors I have come to enjoy working with, she said we should start doing that and selling on ebay. It was also suggested on the 'Ville that if I ever decided to sell my thread, there would probably be buyers for it. So it planted the seed, and I am seriously considering it. I've made lists of supplies, costs involved, ideas that would make it different than Sara's ebay store, but in the end is still a similar product. I am going to experiment some more, maybe put up the colors I have made to see how they go, and then move forward from there.

Oct 23-24

2007-10-25T10:18:00.000-05:00

smartsmiley.comI didn't work on Mom's gift at all. Tuesday night I bowled (like crap, but that is another story), and Wednesday I went out to a movie. I would have been better off in both instances had I not gone and stayed home and crocheted instead. I did get some more done on my "side" project, but no pictures to post. Maybe I will have more to report on tomorrow.

I did get my vacation days nailed down, so I am hoping to get a bunch of crocheting and maybe even some thread dyeing done in November! Errrrr...after I clean my house. Ick.

Oct. 17-22 update

2007-10-23T08:52:00.000-05:00

So much for "daily" updates...

I have completed a bunch of motifs on Moms present in the past week. In fact, I only have one corner left to do, then I have to do edging. I might even finish it this weekend if I keep at it! Of course, I have not worked on anything else for Christmas, so my list is not getting shorter.

WHAT IS THAT?!?!=================>

*cough cough* I don't know what you are talking about...what afghan that I am working on at lunch? Oh...that is just a project to keep here at work so that I don't have to transport back and forth each day. Not a Christmas project at all. Although, I should have brought in a bunch of scarf yarn and been doing that instead. But no...what fun is that? That would mean I wouldn't have anything to complain about in my crochet world if I was actually doing what I was supposed to be doing and whittling down my Christmas To-Do list.

I may have been a bit ambitious in thinking I could get that much done. So, I probably need to sit down and come up with an alternate list. Maybe I can start on stuff for next Christmas? Yeah...right...as soon as Christmas is over, I will probably not look at it until this time next year, who am I kidding? Well...I am off to my Procrastinators Anonymous meeting...more later!!!

Oct. 16 - No crocheting done but...

2007-10-17T05:30:00.001-05:00

I did get my Svanhild doily blocked finally. Here it is still on the board...

I used Aunt Lydia for the purple and the colorway "Ocean" from Sara's Colorwave on ebay. When I started this I was looking for a pattern that would have a peacock affect, and one of the first comments I got when I posted the pic on Crochetville was that it reminded her of a peacock...so mission accomplished!

Oct. 15 Progress

2007-10-16T11:03:00.000-05:00

Five more motifs done. I cheated though and didn't weave in ends on 4 of the 5. So I have to weave-in before I can do anymore. It goes a lot faster when I don't weave, but I HATE weaving in ends (I believe I have mentioned that before), and the only thing worse than weaving them in as I go, would be to have a whole bunch to weave in when I am done. I was trying to get 6 done to complete an area last night, but I had taken some nighttime cold medicine to try to help with the nagging cough that just won't go away, and I had a hard time keeping my eyes open on the 5th one. This is also why I allowed myself to not weave ends. So I could get as much done as I could before I got drowsy. I think I have about 50 more motifs to go, and 8 half-motifs, then the main part will be done, and all I will have to do is the edging. The project uses 208 whole motifs and 18 half motifs...damn...why did I go and figure that out? Because 158 motifs just doesn't sound like all that much. Still, it is about 75% done...I guess that sounds better.

Oct. 14 progress

2007-10-15T11:48:00.001-05:00

I lost count of how many motifs I got done yesterday. I worked on cleaning my house most of the day, then around 5:00 I decided I was done and sat down to watch TV and crochet. I would say that I have completed about 75% of this project. Once I picked it back up, it has gone really fast. I would say it was maybe a little over half-way finished when I started on it again, so I feel pretty good about the progress I made over the past week. Of course, I haven't worked on anything else, but thats ok. I think this was the one "big" project I had. The other stuff is fairly small and can be completed (in theory) fairly quick.

We shall see...

Long time no see

2007-10-14T05:54:00.000-05:00

I hand-dyed some thread back in July and worked up bookmarks for each color. I have already given away 2 of the bookmarks but here are the results of 4 of my custom threads...

Oct. 11-13 progress

2007-10-14T05:42:00.000-05:00

I completed 13 motifs over the past 3 days on my Mom's gift. It is coming along slowly but surely. Not sure how much I will get done today, as I have promised myself that since I do not have to work, I am going to clean my house. It needs it. I didn't work on any snowflakes this week, at all, and if I plan on fulfilling my list, I need to try to do 1 a day. I need to find more hours in the day.

Snowflake Pics

2007-10-14T05:39:00.000-05:00

Finally got around to taking some pictures of my snowflakes I have completed. Twelve so far. My camera doesn't like taking close-ups, so they aren't as clear as I would like, but you get the idea...

Oct. 10th progress

2007-10-11T07:58:00.000-05:00

Three more motifs done. I don't know why these are taking so long. Probably because I am watching TV while doing it. I am also weaving through ends as I go. I hate weaving in ends, and this is a HUGE project, and the idea of having a whole bunch of ends to weave in after I am through is not at all appealing to me. I have to weave in at the beginning of each motif and the end, because of the way I am doing the starting round. It gets way too loose if I leave it while I work. I also have a bad habit of admiring my work after each motif is done. So it is taking me about 30 minutes a motif, and I know when I had timed it when I worked on it in the beginning that I had them down to about 10-12 minutes per motif. I have the motif memorized now, so I don't have to keep refering back to the pattern, but I do watch TV as well, so that distracts me. At least I am getting it done slowly but surely!

I did not get my crinoline girl put together last night. I need to get some fabric glue or see if Hobby Lobby has an inexpensive hot glue gun. So, she may not get completely finished until this weekend. I have to weave in all then ends too. Ick.

Oct. 9th Progress

2007-10-10T14:04:00.000-05:00

I was able to get 3 motifs done last night, which is better than nothing. I haven't worked on any snowflakes this week. Need to do that.

I have all the pieces done on the Halloween crinoline. I just need to press it and attach the hat and mask. I did end up using embroidery thread. Since it was such a small amount it worked well. I used 3 strands. Will have to remember that for future needs when there is just a small amount of thread needed in a certain color. This turned out smaller than I thought it would, but I am pleased with the results of my first crinoline girl. *sigh* Another thing to add to the growing projects that need to be photographed!

Daily Progress - Oct. 8th

2007-10-09T14:20:00.000-05:00

Didn't get home until 9:30pm...but I did get 3 pieces of Mom's present done.

Worked on a Halloween Crinoline Girl during lunch. Once I figured out I made a mistake very early on, and ripped the whole thing out and started over, it went really fast. Something about only repeating 3 times instead of the ohhhhhh...12 repeats I was doing. I guess it helps to actually read the pattern and see what you should end up with at the end of each row. It's not quite finished, and I need to find some orange thread, which does not seem to be a popular color. I'm thinking I might have to resort to embroidery floss since I only need only a little bit, should work just fine. What? Halloween Crinoline wasn't on the Christmas list?!? How did that happen? I don't know. Ummmmm...I have to practice on one before I decide which one I am going to make for GG for Christmas? Yeah! That's it! Whew...it almost looked like I was side-tracked for a moment.

Not sure how much progress I'll make today since I bowl tonight and don't get home until late.

Making progress

2007-10-08T08:22:00.000-05:00

Ever since I realized that Christmas was "sneaking" up on me again, I have been a busy girl. I pulled together all my Christmas crochet books, so I have them handy. I made a list of what I want to make for who. I ordered and received 4 books from an ebay store ('Tis the Season, All Wrapped Up, Simple & Fun Footwear, and Welcome to Winter Wonderful Wearables)to help make what I want for who. Hobby Lobby fed my addiction by having a WONDERFUL .99 sale on their Yarn Bee yarn. I got some beautiful yarn to make scarves/gloves/hats with. I love when they have these sales...the yarn is normally anywhere from $5-$8 and to get it for .99, well I just can't pass that up. They tempt me, I can't resist. But...but...no...I can't resist...leave me alone....it was a good deal, I don't care if you give a lick about crochet, or yarn or not...a good sale is a good sale...that's my defense, and I'm sticking to it! LOL! So now I am ready to tackle my list...

I finally finished my sons afghan (ok, I need to add the fringe...but finished... mostly) which was his Christmas present last year. He was very pleased. And now I can crochet other stuff without feeling guilty that his present isn't finished. He isn't sure he wants the fringe on it, I am waiting for him to let me know. Of course, he might be worried that if he gives it back for me to put fringe on it, he won't see it for another year. He might be right.

I have stitched and starched 11 snowflakes. I have a list of people I want to give these to which is still growing, but is at 50 right now. I may have to modify this, but I am still going with the idea that if I can get 5 or 6 done a week, then I might just make it. Maybe. They take about an hour to make, so in theory, if I set aside a couple of "crochet days", where all I do is crochet, then I could really churn some out.

I got out my Mom's Christmas present, which I have not put any "in progress" pics on here in case she decides to check out my blog. I was further along than I remembered being, so this was a good thing. After working on it for a little while last night, I got back into the groove of the pattern again, so I didn't have to keep looking at it. Took me a little while to pick the pattern back up, since I haven't worked on it all summer. Also, after working with thread for the past several months, since yarn is just way too heavy and hot to work with when it is 90-100 degrees outside, it was strange working with a "thick" medium again. That took a little getting used to as well, but it's all good now. I should have this done and ready to ship in plenty of time for Christmas.

I also want to do some charity crocheting for various organizations that I have come across through the Crochetville website. I was part of a Charity a Month thread that I kind of fell out of after the May charity. All of the organizations they supported throughout the year are worthwhile, but I was just stressing myself out trying to get stuff done, so I decided to take a break. Of course, trying to work on this in between my other projects might be stressful too, but I would like to do a little something to give to those who are not as fortunate as I am to have family and friends around them. It may not be a huge contribution, but if I can make a difference, even if it is just to one person, then it is worth it.

So, my spare time is pretty much going to be spent working on Christmas presents over the next couple of months. I found a new fire over the weekend, and I am motivated and ready to jump in. I am trying to only have a couple of things going on at a time, do a snowflake each night, then work on completing something else before moving on to the next big project. As it gets to crunch time though, I'm sure I will be thinking "Who can I get a gift card for instead?"

I also have a bunch of pictures of completed projects I need to to take before I forget. I have fallen behind on those too. I have the snowflakes, 2 or 3 doilies, my son's afghan, some bookmarks made from my hand-dyed thred I did, and probably some other things too. I should have those for the next blog.

Yikes!

2007-09-21T09:17:00.000-05:00

I have been a little slow with my crocheting lately. Now, suddenly it is September and Christmas is just around the corner! I still have gifts from LAST YEAR I haven't completed. I had all these grand ideas of giving crocheted gifts this year, and now I am worried I won't get them done! I need to make a list of everything I need to get done, and get working on them. Now that it is cooling off, I can work with yarn again. Although, I still have plenty of snowflakes, doilies, bookmarks, etc. to make for gifts too. Where did the year go!?!

The results are in...

2007-07-25T19:58:00.000-05:00

It is kind of hard to tell, as the pics are a little on the blurry side, but the one on the left is when they were wrapped and set, and the one on the right is the finished product. All wound beautifully from the swift to the winder. I had a little trouble at the beginning with the one Kitty helped with, but after exercising a little patience, I got it worked out and on the swift and wound. I am very happy with the results. For the most part the colors were a lot more even. The violet color had some splotchiness to it, but it isn't extremely noticiable. I may try to work up some bookmarks with each one just to see a small sample of how they each look when worked up into something. This was fun...can't wait to do more. Hope thread goes on sale at Hobby Lobby soon!

Dyeing Weekend

2007-07-23T08:34:00.000-05:00

My swift arrived on Friday! I knew it wouldn't come with instructions, so I had spent some time surfing the web to figure out how to use it before it got there. It was really easy to set up, and is just as nice as all the reviews said it was on joann.com. I couldn't put my tangled mess on it of course (I still have one to de-tangle and tame...the other is headed for the trash I think), but I was able to make hanks for my next round of dyeing. It went faster than doing it on the back of my desk chair, and it was more consistent, so I am hoping that when it is all said and done, I will be able to put these back on here to wind into balls. I worked on these on and off Saturday afternoon/evening. I am going to have to wait for a thread sale at Hobby Lobby before being able to do more. I still have 2 white balls I can hank, so may do that just so they are ready, and while everything is set up still.

I made 5 hanks, 3 white, 2 ecru. I soaked them in soda ash overnight and part of the day (about 18 hours total), then I gently squeezed out the excess soda ash water and carefully hung each one up by the window to air/drip dry while I dyed. Of course, the slight breeze didn't care that I had been careful and blew one hanger down. So, I carefully rehung the thread, after mumbling under my breath for a minute (or two), and made sure the hanger was secure and could not be blown off again. The cat didn't care either apparently, or her curiosity just got the best of her, and I just about killed her when she messed with it and it got caught on the hanger and got pulled and...*sigh*. We've made up now, but she was shooed away the rest of the afternoon.

I laid out my saran wrap, and my first hank. I put on my gloves, mixed my dyes and I was off! I had some help, thank goodness, or else I would have been dyeing for much longer than the 3.5 hours it took. I was bound and determined (hopefully it will pay off) to make sure the colors were even, that the spots that didn't quite get as much color last time (around the folds of the hanks and around ties), weren't missed, and that I didn't use too much dye. We had a pretty good process going by the end, we shall see if it worked.

With each one I did, I added water to the dye. Two reasons, I wanted to make sure I had enough to do all 5 hanks, and I wanted to see the color variation that would result. I'm not sure how much the color will vary, but they certainly lasted. I probably could have done another 5 or 6. The colors were still very vibrant even after being watered down several times.

I was a little "done" and was probably a little less careful with the last one, maybe too much dye (had to blot before wrapping), so might have more bleeding than I want. Did some experimenting with color mixing for the last one, and I can't wait to see how it turns out! Next batch, I may do more color mixing, because that was fun! I wish I got pictures of all of them before they were wrapped, but I did get a few. By the time I remembered the camera, it wasn't worth it to unwrap it just to take a picture.

Then they were all wrapped, looking like colorful cinnimon rolls in a little tub on my kitchen counter, waiting for 48 hours to let the color set. I felt with my first experiment, the one that sat for 48 hours turned out the best, so I am went with that for all of them this time.

After they sat for 48 hours, I rinsed them in hot water until it looked like the water ran clear. Then I put a little bit of Dawn in a tub and let them soak in there while I rinsed each one. By the time I was done with that, I pulled the first one out of the soapy water, and rinsed it again, getting out the soapy water. There was some color that came out while they were soaking, but not too much. After rinsing in cold water this time, I put them back in a tub of cold water, no Dawn, and let them each sit for a few hours. Actually, I went out with a friend, and had run out of time, so that is what I decided to do. When I got home, I rinsed them all once again in cold water, then put them in the spin cycle in the washer to get most of the water out, then hung them up to finish drying.

Now, I'll just have to see if they go back on the swift to be wound into nice little thread cakes. I don't think they tangled very much, if at all. That will be another post!

Thread Mess!

2007-07-20T12:57:00.000-05:00

I broke down and bought a yarn ball winder. I had an online coupon for joann.com for 40% off, so that helped. It arrived. I grabbed my 3 newly dyed projects to sit down and wind them into nice little balls...and they are a mess. Either I didn't put enough ties in to keep it from tangling or the washer did it, I don't know. The little bit I was able to wind looks great...go ball winder!

Here is the finished product. It took me about 3 hours and a lot of patience to get it untangled, creating a regular ball as I went, then from that, I wound it onto the winder. That part took all of 2 minutes.

It did not go as smoothly as I thought it would. I went ahead and ordered the yarn swift too, with the 50% off coupon I found a couple of days later. I don't know if this will help with the tangles for future products or not. We'll see. I guess I need to get out the camera and take some pictures of my new toys, my recently finished projects, my dyeing experiment and my thread mess. By the time I figure out how to dye thread, I am going to have invested a whole lot of time and money, so I will have to keep doing it just to make sure I get my money's worth!

Finished!

2007-07-16T12:51:00.000-05:00

I finished Svenheld...finally! I really need to block it to get the full effect I'm thinking. It is not one that I feel I can just press and its ready. Still need to weave in the loose ends too. Will post photos when it is blocked!

I did another small doily. Love those...they go so fast.

Started another for a friend in Florida. 'Hazelnut' I think from Coffee n' Cream. It was supposed to be the first one in the book, but for some reason I started on this one instead, and did not feel like going back to start over, so it is what it is. Seems to be going pretty fast.

I bought some more thread to dye, but have to get it into hanks. I bought a yarn ball winder to wind it up when I am through. It should be here some time this week.

Oh yeah...I STILL need to finish my Sons Christmas present from last year. I just can't bring myself to work with a heavy afghan/yarn when it is pushing 100 degrees outside. That, and have I mentioned...it is mostly single crochet (*yawn*) with a row here and there of hdc/dc/tc. Still. I started this as my first project when I started crocheting again, and have started and finished several projects since then. He is giving me a hard time about it now. As he should.

Thread Dyeing

2007-07-05T20:36:00.000-05:00

I decided to figure out how to dye cotton thread. My favorite ebay store, Sara's Colorwave Yarns, has become very popular, and unless you catch her new inventory within the first few hours she puts it up, you are outta luck. So I asked myself...How hard can it be really? Try finding good instructions on dyeing cotton thread...not so easy to find. At least not with any great detail, or specific to thread. Can't use the cool Kool-Aid method, cuz it doesn't work with cotton. Last I checked, they don't make wool in size 10 thread.

I found a couple of websites that did explain it a little. I went with the easiest, but maybe not cheapest, version. I bought a couple of tie-dye kits and used one so far. My thread is wrapped and set. I have to wait 4-6 hours more before I know how they turned out. I didn't get very adventurous this first go-round. Just used the colors as they were, no mixing ... blue/violet/fuchsia. We shall see. I tried applying it in different combinations, double folded the thread on one, fuchsia/violet/blue on one, violet/blue/fuchsia on another. Here is a picture of one of them drying.

If they turn out well, I may try posting instructions with pictures next time. I did find a website that sells dyes for cotton in more colors, so again, if it goes well, I will expand. Looks like I can buy some of their kits for about the same as the tie-dye kits, but with the soda ash included (I had to buy that separate for my first try). It was easier than I thought it would be...so far.

If this becomes a new "hobby", then I will have invest in a yarn ball winder and possibly a spinner, because using a chair was kind of a pain. I will probably invest in the ball winder regardless, because I can use that for my ever-growing stash.

A couple finished...

2007-07-02T08:40:00.000-05:00

I took a break from Svanhild to work on this doily. I just needed to put it down or a bit. I will finish it this week. This is another Patricia Kristoffersen doily, I don't have the name of it or the book I used in front of me, I will have to come back later to edit that bit. I used a size 7 hook, #10 Aunt Lydia's Frosty Green and Sara's Colorwave thread in Tea Rose. It is about 20" in diameter. I was quite pleased with the way the colors went together. The greens aren't an exact match, but they are close enough that they compliment each other just right (I think). The pink is kind of a peachy looking in the picture, and that may do to the little bits of yellow. All in all I am pleased with the way this one turned out. I feel like I accomplished something, and I am ready to go back and finish Svanhild now.

I received my signed PK books on Friday. 99 Little Doilies and Victorian Doilies book 1. I love the little doilies...I already made one and it went really fast. There are only 8-16 rounds to make on these. I'm not thrilled with the color choice I made, but I like the pattern and I like the thread, just maybe not together. I can live with it though, since it is only a small one, didn't take but a few hours, I don't feel like I have to love it. I do think I need to block this one for sure. Usually I just settle for ironing, but this one is small enough to block, and it may look better if I do. Maybe I'll like it more?
I have a couple of requests for me to make some doilies, I just have to find the right colors and pattern for it.

I finally got it!

2007-06-20T09:12:00.000-05:00

After trying and frogging and trying again (x 10), I finally figured out the twists on my most current doily project. I had actually given up and decided I was just not going to do them, and the doily could just survive without them in there.

Then, on one last attempt, I finally figured it out...I was going under 2 loops instead of the back looop only. It didn't say this specifically in the instructions however. I was just going by what I knew about crocheting, and since it didn't say it specifically I did what I knew. On a last ditch effort to try to get it, I tried just the back loop...and Eureka!!! Something so simple. I think I have a pretty good handle on crocheting, and this was frustrating me that I couldn't get it. Anyway...I didn't fancy going back and ripping out 5 rounds of work, so I decided I could live with ripping out two rounds, and would attach my spirals separately. It seems to have worked out.

Picture quality isn't the best, but phone cameras aren't the best for quality.

Twists

2007-06-07T15:16:00.000-05:00

I am working on one of the doilies from Doilies with a twist, Svenheld I think its called. Everything was going smoothly until the first spiral came up. I have spent over 2 hours working on this twist over the past couple of days and I just can't get it right. I am going to continue to work with it though. Eventually I will get it. Maybe.

Oval Doily

2007-06-03T19:51:00.000-05:00

A PK Oval doily from 'The Best of Patricia Kristoffersen' (#23), done in Wood Violet. I made this for my mantle. I thought it would be a little bigger, but over all I am pleased with it.

My Addiction - Thread/Yarn

2007-05-23T19:46:00.001-05:00

I suppose there are worse addictions to have. Mine is yarn, thread, and crochet books. When I started crocheting again back in late November of '06, I bought one skein of yarn, and an "I taught myself to crochet" kit. I had never really made anything when I crocheted before, just "mastered" the sc and attempted an afghan with that stitch. *yawn*

I have accumulated several crochet books as well...thanks ebay! I mean really...if it is a good deal...how can you pass that up?

So...since November this is what I have accumulated...Hobby Lobby doesn't help, they have had some incredible sales...$.099 yarn, $1.17 thread...I can't help it I can't pass up a deal. Did I mention...its an addiction? Keep in mind that the drawers you see are 2 deep in skeins. (Ah-hah! There is that dark purple thread I thought I had but couldn't find with my other thread!)

I'm an addict. I don't care. I'm off to go look for sales and see what is new on ebay!

2007-05-21T08:15:00.000-05:00

I didn't get much done over the weekend. I ended up working on Sunday, which I normally have off. I started a new PK oval doily in wood rose (I think) thread. I still haven't frogged the other one I was working on, I am still trying to decide. I think the colors are just too wild to do as a doily.

I noticed this morning that Sara has new colors ready to sell. Trying to avoid that temptation. Cuz really, it's not like I need it, I just want it. I am going to try to do better with controlling my addiction. Not sure how long that will last. The colors are so pretty.

I hope to have some time over the long weekend to crochet and chill. Hoping to get outside and do some yardwork too. We shall see.

to-frog or not-to-frog...

2007-05-18T11:17:00.000-05:00

***UPDATE***

I decided to frog it. I couldn't find a complimenting color to go back and try to neutralize it, so I decided to let it go. I'll have to find something wild and fun to use this thread for...it's definately not doily material!

******

So my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. I really did have to frog back to the previous round on my current doily. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be though. It just seemed like it when I first found it and I was tired. It only took me like 15 minutes to frog and re-do. However, I am seriously considering frogging the whole thing, because it is just not working for me. I think I can find something better suited for the thread I am using. It is too bright and varigated to work well with this doily and would be much prettier as something else. I am about 2/3 done, and that is a weeks worth of work gone down the drain, but if I never use it, or can't give it to anyone because it doesn't look right...then the time and thread was wasted wasted anyway. I took a picture of it as it is before I actually frog it, just so I remember WHY I frog it.

I went to Hobby Lobby. I bought thread. I couldn't help it. I'm an addict. Does it count that some of it is for my friend Heather who doesn't have a HL in VA? I didn't think so. Oh well.

2007-05-15T09:44:00.000-05:00

My Mom got her doily and loved it! She called me last night to tell me how pretty it was and she couldn't believe how "crafty" I had become. I love crocheting doilies because they look a lot more intricate than they really are, and there is quick turnaround time on them. She couldn't believe that I had done one in between my Grandmas and hers.

The one I am working on now, I realized has a mistake on the previous round. I am going to have to go back tonight and frog it back to that point and fix it. I found the mistake Sunday night, and decided I would wait until I was less tired to re-examine it. Maybe my eyes were just playing tricks on me. I was too tired last night to look at it, but I don't have to work my second job tonight, so should have time to work on it.

Hobby Lobby has DMC crochet thread on sale this week. Sara is about due for another round of hand-dyed thread. I really need to try to avoid temptation and not buy more thread. It's an addiction, I have plenty, but is there such a thing as too much? But its on sale! But I don't have that color combo! But...but...but...

Precious

2007-05-10T22:23:00.000-05:00

I just figured out that images are clickable! This really helps with seeing the detail in the stitches...if you are interested...

My first Patricia Kristoffersen! "Precious" doily from Simply Delightful doilies. I finished this just in time for Mother's Day and just have to get it off in the mail to her tomorrow so she will get it in time. I also made a bookmark for my Grandma with the leftover fractel thread I had from my nightstand doily. I got the pattern for the bookmark is from another Crochetville member via her blog. It is really quick and easy to do, and a good way to use up that last little bit of thread left over from other projects.

Now...I could do some work on the Prairie Star quiltghan, but it is finally deciding to have nice weather here in GA and the idea of working with warm yarn is not very tempting...so maybe I will have to work on some smaller charity items for the charity blitz I am in on the 'Ville...or find another thread project. I have some crinoline lady patterns I purchased a while ago, and some beautiful thread from Sara's Colorwave Yarns...I could work on snowflakes...did I mention...I have a yarn and thread addiction and my stash is overflowing? I just can't seem to pass up a good deal. That would be another post though!

Exciting

2007-05-10T22:08:00.000-05:00

"Exciting" doily from Extra-Special Doilies by Mary Werst. Done in size 10 hand-dyed thread (color is "fractel") purchased from Sara's Colorwave Yarns on ebay. If you ever want some unique varigated thread, I highly recommend this seller's store. This one I kept for my nightstand.

Pineapple Delight

2007-05-10T22:01:00.000-05:00

My first doily. I gave it to my Grandma for her birthday.

Snowflake

2007-05-10T09:23:00.000-05:00

They had a crochet-along on www.crochetville.org to introduce crocheting with thread to those that had not crocheted with thread before. So I tried it. The project was for size 3 thread with a D hook. This isn't what the project was...but it opened my eyes to thread crochet. I decided "hey, this isn't so hard", and bought some more thread (size 10) and some snowflake pattern books off of ebay.

This was my first attempt at making a snowflake. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. So now I have plans to make a bunch of snowflakes for my Christmas tree and to give as gifts this Christmas. Not sure where I think I will find the time for all the projects I want to do. I tend to work better under pressure and deadlines anyway. I'm sure I will be crocheting and blocking snowflakes like mad the week before Christmas. I'm not so excited about the blocking process, but it definately makes the finished project.

Prairie Star Progress

2007-05-10T09:06:00.000-05:00

This is an quiltghan I am working on for my Mom. Originally it was going to be for her birthday, errrrrr back in February. Obviously I didn't get it done in time. Then I was going to shoot for Mother's Day. OK...so it still looks like this, and Mother's Day is this coming Sunday. So, maybe I will finish it in time for Christmas 2007! I am now trying to feverishly finish a doily for Mother's Day for her instead.

The afghan under it was given to me by my Grandma 17 years ago as a wedding present. It has been well used, and is still in great condition. I have been looking for a pattern for it. I saw on www.crochetville.org that someone had recently made one and it was called a spiderweb afghan. Grandma doesn't have the pattern for it anymore, so I will have to just keep on looking. I would love to make one for my daughter when she gets married eventually. Maybe if I start working on it now...?

First Completed Project

2007-05-10T08:12:00.000-05:00

This was my first completed project after coming back to crocheting for the first time in almost 20 years. Actually, it is probably my first completed project ever, since I don't think I ever really followed a pattern, just learned stitches before. It is an afghan I did for my daughter (a GA Bulldog fan) for Christmas. As you can see, it has been kitty tested and approved.

I am also working on an afghan for my son, which I actually started before this one, but it is a lot of SC, and it is quite boring to work on. I only have about 10 rows left, plus the fringe, you'd think I would just do it. I don't have any pictures of that one in progress.