Great Title, Catchy Subtitle!

Dressy scarf in Patons Brilliant

2007-04-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

This is a very late post. I made this for my mother-in-law for Christmas, with some Brilliant that I got on a big smileysyarns.com binge. It's not a warm scarf but she lives in Houston so she doesn't really need a warm one. The pattern is the same as the body of the pineapple-edged baby blanket, mirrored on the other side of the foundation chain as well, which gives it a completely different look. It was very simple but I thought it turned out well enough.

Here's my mother-in-law actually wearing the scarf. It is unfortunate that her eyes are closed. Luckily, chances are good that she'll never see this picture.

Blue Bear and Baby Torchic

2007-04-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

Well, I wouldn't say that I'm getting better at stuffed toys but I'm getting more forgiving of my own mistakes. The blue bear is for my daughter who was jealous of my husband's Totoro and requested a bear. What we learn from this project is that Simply Soft is a rotten yarn for amigirumi-style crochet, even if it's the only yarn in the house. He's from Dina's pattern at Crochetville. His feet aren't as misshapen as they are in the picture. Pretend he's strolling with his little avian friend.

The Baby Torchic is from Bizzy Crochet's great pattern. It's a Baby Torchic because the only orange yarn in the house is a really pale tangerine color. The body and feet are directly from the pattern, the neck feathers are slightly different (another row to make them stick out further), and the head feathers and beak are a completely different pattern because the kid wanted them to look more like this one; I still didn't get the spread on the beak right. The eyes are a no-yarn-in-the-house disaster: I have no worsted-weight black yarn, just thread (didn't work) and Shetland Chunky (didn't work) and I ended up making them in Patons Brilliant and they're just not right but they're for my kid's Youtube video and I am working on just letting this stuff go because I'm not trying to sell it and I have an idea what fate awaits this poor Torchic when he has to go into battle.

Little Maiden sundress, at last

2007-04-06T13:29:00.000-07:00

I finished this Little Maiden sundress (from Crochet Garden) last fall, but it was too chilly for the kid to wear it. It's made in Aunt Lydia's Baby Denim, which is 100% cotton worsted, which seemed like a good idea at the time but turns out to be really heavy. Oh, well; at least it's really soft. I have it tied with a ribbon through the shells part of the skirt instead of in the upper bodice like the pattern calls for because it looked better when the skirt was gathered up. Overall, though, I'm happy with the way it turned out and the kid willingly wears it without being prompted, so I guess it's a success. After reading a Crochetville discussion of Cotton-Ease (50/50 cotton-acrylic), I may try that next time.

I believe that I ordered the yarn from knitting-warehouse.com and it was the only time I've had a dye lot problem--I got five balls of the blue, and the order was split among two different dye lots which I didn't notice until after I'd finished the bodice of my first attempt. Now I've got the top and a few rows of the shell-pattern skirt to use as a tank top for the kid and I had to start again from scratch. Another rookie mistake to not check the dye lot. I'd like to say it won't happen again, but I don't tend to learn from my mistakes.

My Deformed Neighbor Totoro -- first amigurumi

2007-03-22T20:44:00.000-07:00

So this is my first 3D item, and boy, was it a learning experience. I learned why people use stitch markers. I learned that I still don't like sewing. And I learned that darn, Totoros are cute. This guy has a lot of beginner mistakes -- the eyes aren't quite aligned (they're not as bad as they look in the first picture, though -- the kid isn't holding it up straight) and the ears aren't stuffed right so they kinda look like rejected parsnips. But my kid says it still looks pretty good, and I'm inclined to agree -- I'm just stupid proud of the way he turned out. Unfortunately, now I've got both kids begging me to make stuffed animals for them -- one wants complicated Pokemon and one wants unicorns. It is an exercise to the reader to match the gender of the child to the requested item.

From this great pattern.

Baby blankets, at last

2007-03-16T17:39:00.000-07:00

I finally finished these blankets for a friend who is adopting twins this month. One boy, one girl. Both blankets are Bernat Baby Coordinates but different dye lots so one is yellower while the other is wheatier. Both patterns from Leisure Arts Heirloom Afghans for Baby; the pineapple pattern is Exquisite and the square one Enchanting, but with two extra border pattern sections and no frilly edging on it.

I couldn't figure out why it took me so long to make them since I've done both these patterns a million times, then I realized that since I've started working again, I don't crochet during the day, and the kids are older with later bedtimes, so my nighttime crocheting starts an hour later than it used to. Anyway, these are finally done and I can start working on more interesting projects again. Am about 2/3 done with a blue Totoro -- my first stuffed toy -- and it's frustrating to be doing something for the first time because it's just not perfect. Augh.

Unbelievably fast baby sweater set

2006-11-07T12:50:00.000-08:00

Below is a baby sweater and hat set called "Aunt Jen's," available at http://www.sandiangels.com/pattern-page.html. It's super-fast -- I started this at 3:30 yesterday afternoon, and had all but one sleeve done by 7:00 last night, with time out to ferry kids around, make dinner, and clean the kitchen. Used a G hook and some Caron Cuddle Soft from a stash donated by my mother-in-law. (The worsted-weight acrylic became shelter pet blankets but I didn't know what else to do with baby yarn except make baby stuff.)

In a strange stroke of serendipity (and this story will eventually be related to this sweater), my third-grade kid joined a Lego robotics team from another elementary school because the parent sponsors at our own school want to limit participation to the grades that their kids are in. (Last year, only fourth and fifth could join; this year, only fifth.) So we're competing on behalf of a school that we don't go to with kids we barely know, and when I picked him up last week, it turns out that a woman who I was passing friends with in the parking lot of our mutual preschool has a kid on the same team (I couldn't have picked her kid out of a lineup because I hadn't seen him since he was four), AND she's pregnant with a girl, so even though she'll be baffled that someone she barely knows anymore has made 2/3 of a layette for her, she's getting this today.

2006-10-31T16:19:00.000-08:00

It's not that I haven't been crocheting for the past six months; it's just that I haven't been taking pictures of it. Made several things and gave them away. Turned 15 skeins of itchy acrylic into many, many pet blankets for shelters. Etc. But I either need to take link out my .sig or actually update it, so here goes.

Here's a recent poncho and hat set for the kid:

The poncho stitch is from "63 squares combine to make an heirloom afghan" pamphlet (I know, that's not the exact name, but it's not in front of me), which is currently the only thing like a stitch dictionary that I have. Unfortunately, I made the rectangles too long, so it fell off her shoulders and I had to fill in with a lot of ruffles and edging. The hat is one of luv2crochet's free patterns, with a ruffle on it. The flowers are..well, they're flowers.

The yarn is from a big acrylic stash donated by one of my landscapers, who'd inherited a pile of stuff from one of her other clients, who does not work with yarn at all. (I made hats for her and her partner out of some of the nicer yarn in the stash.)

Nylon purse. I really, really like it.

2006-04-04T11:44:00.000-07:00

One of the many things I've learned in the past months as I've started reading about crochet online is that I am, at best, an advanced beginner whose limited skill set is mitigated somewhat by weird speed. I think this has to do with my weird ham-handed fisty grip which isn't all dainty and means I can use my whole arm instead of fine motor skills. I have to decide how much I'm willing to work to get better or whether I'm happy to stay in simple scarf/shawl/layette land.

Anyway, I made this purse out of Espiga Omega crochet nylon. I really don't care for the color but I was in a Hobby Lobby in Houston several weeks ago and this was the only color for which there was enough stock to buy three rolls. I'd never worked with nylon before, and WOW! The stitch definition is really beautiful, and it's easy to maintain perfect regularity. I just love the stuff. Unfortunately, it is really heavy--much heavier than it would be if purchased commercially.

I need to get some plastic canvas to help the bottom hold its shape but I'm not allowing myself to go into any craft stores at all for any reason for a while. But, this really is the first thing I've ever made that looks as if it could be sold in a store. I'm really pleased with it. Except for the color. I gotta get some nylon in nice neutral color. Nonetheless, I will probably actually use this if it ever stops raining out here in the Bay Area.

Pattern is from Hobby Lobby's Web site but with a shoulder strap instead of a twisted-cord handle. Somewhat amused that the seed-like stitch in the middle (a puff stitch with two sets of loops, followed by SC; on the next row, the SC is on the puff and vice versa) is referred to as the "fancy stitch"--they just made up their own nomenclature. If I could do that, I'd rename the bullion stitch "insane and unnecessary stitch," just for starters.

The New Dr. Who...not that bad at all.

2006-03-18T13:05:00.000-08:00

Not much crochet to report; started a bunch of things and then ripped them out. Turned a pile of Baby Clouds that I won in the Fastest Crocheter at my Local Michael's contest into snuggles for homeless pets (my neighbor runs a rescue group) because they gave me two skeins that DIDN'T MATCH, meaning that they weren't good for more than a baby hat at best. But they'll make some kitties very happy.

Am working through stash because I ordered *way* too much stuff from Herrschner's and I have to make room for it (by which I mean, hide it so my husband doesn't see it). Am making Jessi's Sherbert Tank Top out of four skeins of Sirdar Tango I got in a swap with Crochet Smartcat; I think that I will have enough. I can't tell you how much that spelling of "sherbet" bugs me but it's a really nice pattern that follows my favorite approach to fit -- "Crochet a starting chain that fits YOU and then work it out," not "Crochet XX chains and hope for the best re. fit."

And the new Dr Who? Never watched the old ones. Lots of my friends did because I gravitate toward that group, but I never got involved in it. However, the new one has pop culture references and a cute doctor and a very Buffy kinda vibe for parts of it, and it's neatly wrapped up at the end of each episode (so far, I've only seen the American premiere of two), and I think it's FINALLY a sci-fi show that my kid and I can both enjoy since I won't let him watch Battlestar Galactica.

Finished my mom's iPod case!

2006-03-09T21:25:00.000-08:00

So, this has been hanging around since mid-November, when I finished the main part of it but failed to sew it up because I freaking hate sewing things up. I always mess up and it ends up not straight or not the same on both sides, or the buttons aren't even, or something. I just don't have the patience for hand-sewing. (And yet, I don't mind embroidery; go figure.)

The material is this cotton/viscose shiny cord of indeterminate age and origin that I got in a bag of yarn that used to be my grandmother's. It's nice and shiny and pretty and I have a little blue and a little lavender and about 600 yards of white. I will probably make a purse for myself out of the white now that I've had the aha! moment and realized that I can crochet a purse. It's great stuff. Fantacia textured yarn from Italy. You can get some Fantacia stuff on eBay but it's not common so I think it might be from a defunct company. Anyway, it looks like crochet nylon because it's shiny and this but it's actually soft and shiny.

The shank button is probably not the best choice with its pointy sides but it was the prettiest button I could find. I just ripped it off of an Old Navy blazer the night before. It's a very cute shrunken fitted blazer but the rhinestone buttons were just de trop for casual daytime wear.

I hope she likes it. Mom just learned how to use her iPod, and boy, does she love it. Yay, Mom!

(Oh, this picture makes me sad. It makes it look like there's a hole in the middle, which there's not, and like the bottom corner is hinky and puffy, which I don't think it is. Did I mention how much I hate sewing things up? I can destroy a perfectly good piece of work that way.)

Addendum: Pattern for baby blanket

2006-03-08T20:51:00.000-08:00

For those who asked about the baby blanket pattern...it's from a Leisure Arts pattern booklet called "Heirloom Afghans for Baby." Every single pattern in it is just plain beautiful; CrochetDude posted his progress on one called "Exquisite" a few months ago, which is my usual go-to baby blanket with lots of 19th century fans and pineapples; I've made it something like 15 times in the preblogging days and never thought to keep a picture. You can see his at http://thecrochetdude.blogspot.com/2005/10/exquisite-baby-ghan-completed.html

My favorite thing about the patterns in the book is that they are all worked as a single piece -- no squares and no strips.

First article of clothing! Well, first sweater.

2006-03-08T20:16:00.000-08:00

I guess that the skirt I made Amanda is the real first piece of clothing I made, but this is the first thing that actually had to be put together. And I didn't even really have to put it together too much; it's the "Baby, It's Cold Outside" sweater from Crochet Me Magazine, and it's all kinda one piece. I made an incredible number of mistakes in this, which are apparent when I look at it, but WTH, it's done. I had the Sirdar Snuggly Chunky in baby blue from a swap, and it was *just* enough to make this, and the color wasn't good for much else, and it was chunky so I couldn't really DO anything else with it but make a soft baby thing.

So, I can't give away this sweater. It's not perfect, even though it's really nice yarn. I think I'll just keep it and look at it. Hey, it's easier to fold and store a sweater than to store those four skeins of yarn, and no one can get after me for hoarding yarn.

Had a little breakdown at a new physical therapy joint yesterday. At the time, I was upset because it HURT and I'm so tired of being in pain all the time. But then I had a massive pain problem all night in an area that's never actually hurt much before and then I realized that the reason I was crying is because this jackass physical therapist actually HURT me. Like, potentially did me some damage, and I don't have a lot of back left to GET damaged. So today I'm just tired and pissed off. At least the joint pain has let up. Dang, it made me mad. Don't really want to go back to that PT.

Next project...oh, who the hell knows. I should replace the obnoxious rhinestone buttons on my Old Navy shrunken velvet blazers with the more subtle ones so I can wear them with jeans. Now THAT'S exciting, no?

2006-03-05T10:46:00.001-08:00

Gee, I completely forgot to blog for a month. Uh, whoops. February was mostly the month of aborted projects. I didn't make a mobius shawl from the mohair for my mother because I never got it to look right; instead, I made a very small openwork triangle shawl for her, which I think is better, for a number of reasons. First, the color pattern on the mohair was odd. No transition between colors, and very small blocks of color so you never get a run of more than five or six chains without a change. Second, shawls can look ridiculous on petite women. So, I made a very small triangle in a net pattern (started with a long chain that was a multiple of five, chain-5ed all the way back, slip stitched in to the previous net to decrease, chain-5ed in the middle of each ch-5 all the way across, etc.) It turned out quite nice; I've never seen a shawl that dainty before -- it's about the size of a nice square scarf, really -- and I think my mom can actually wear it around her shoulders without getting lost. I'll need to get a picture.

Spent a week in Houston, staying with in-laws for four nights and my parents for the rest. Went through my mother-in-law's stash, and boy, does she LOVE acrylic: tons of Red Heart Super Saver in Aran. Scored something like 40 afghan patterns, but I don't really care for any of them -- they're all old-fashioned, homey, or cute -- except for a single-color ripple, which I started to make in the aran, but then got discouraged three skeins into it because it's heavy and itchy and I don't like acrylic and I don't even feel like finishing it for charity. I've never given up on a project like this before and I really have to do SOMETHING about it because it's huge and undone and taking up space in the corner.

I think that I will buy purse handles and make one of those cute cable-style purses out of the aran, which takes care of maybe 5 percent or less of the stash. Need to go to Beverly's or Michael's with the coupon and see what they've got, handle-wise.

Made it into Hobby Lobby, which I wish would open on this side of the country. Bought a lot of Moda Dea Dream at half-price and made a soft fluffy scarf in openwork V-stitches for Bob's Aunt Edith, who is 84 and susceptible to drafts. I don't know if she'll like the fluffiness but it keeps the scarf warm even though it's lacy, and I made it lacy so it would drape nicely and be comfortable indoors as well as out. Oh, well; that side of the family really appreciates handmade stuff in any case.

Returned to thread to make doilies for Phyllis (mother-in-law) and Althea (her sister, who lives in Houston and with whom I have always gotten on famously). This is the one I made Phyllis. It was a new challenge for me because of the oval shape. I really need to learn to trust patterns and do what they say before I start winging it on my own.

Since I've been back, I made the scarf for Edith which doesn't photograph worth a darn, and spent a lot of time on the not-to-be-finished Super Saver afghan. Made a hat for Amanda last night from Chelle Grissom's free pattern (www.luv2crochet.com) in Lion Brand Cotton that was leftover from my knitting lessons. (The DVD has you making a dishcloth as the first project, with increases and decreases and a pattern border, which is a GREAT project because you learn a lot but I really don't like handmade dishcloths.) Anyway, she looks like a little flapper. For some reason her face keeps looking weird in the photos -- sometimes she looks gorgeous and sometimes just plain odd -- but the hat looks about right. Sure wish she'd stop doing that "angel face" thing with her hands all the time. If I make the at again, it'll be with fewer rows -- this one is so long that it looks like a little cloche helmet on her.

So, where am I? Current list of things that I want to do:

* A white Moda Dea Dream scarf for me because all my scarves are weird colors that clash with my tan coat. This is a fast project.

* A cable purse out of the Super Saver aran. I think that'll be a fine use of it.

* Got three spools of Omega Espiga crochet nylon at Hobby Lobby in Houston (Amanda's suitcase was jammed full of yarn on the way home). Will make a purse out of this. It's not the color I wanted -- they were out of stock on the neutrals -- but it should still be pretty nice.

* Eventually, Amanda's pink tank top but she's growing so fast that I don't want to start it until we're closer to summer.

* Still want to make myself a sweater as a personal challenge but still don't like most of the patterns I've seen. Almost everything in the book "Crocheted Sweaters" sucks except the Surf and Turf sleeveless hoodie, which I think I'd make in Sugar N Cream cotton instead of expensive Takhi.

* Liz has two nephews coming on each side of the family (her brother and Scott's brother) and she may commission some hooded baby blankets in bright colors. I spent the BSG hour on Friday knocking out swatches in tan Simply Soft to indicate the variety of possibilities (bad color but it's in the house). I think I'll go with Simply Soft because it's soft and washable. Interested to hear what she thinks.

Non-crochet stuff so that I don't lose track of it. Zeum in San Francisco is completely awesome as long as you go on a weekday when the kids are all in school. There are not enough workstations to support normal weekend traffic. But, we went on a SJUSD staff development day so most kids were in school, and we had enough time to do what we wanted without being rushed. The kids made a great claymation which I hope to be able to link to, and Amanda did a music video for which Alex was the "special fx" guy -- he changed the background a million times while she danced.

The Silliman Family Aquatic Center in Newark, about 20 miles from San Jose, is amazing and worth the drive. Three separate indoor pools and a big hot tub. The first pool is zero-depth entry with a great play structure. Second pool is a "lazy river" and two decent water slides. Third pool is just a regular pool that's about 4-5 feet deep. All nonstop kid happiness and fun, and it's INDOORS so you can go year-round and not worry about sunscreen.

I woke up with a miserable cold, unrelated to the above, but it was still a great weekend. Also, saw a new kind of pain guy -- a physiatrist -- who's sending me to a new PT who might have something useful for me to do, and -- most important -- who started me on a new medication (Lyrica) which, despite being similar to Neurontin which didn't help me at all, actually SEEMS TO HELP! I didn't wear the Lidoderm patches at all yesterday and I didn't have the horrible muscle aches that I usually do in such a case, and the twisting pain in my hips was barely noticeable. So I'm crossing my fingers that the effects of this new med will actually last.

This was long, but it makes up for a month of not posting.

2006-02-04T11:05:00.000-08:00

A nice side effect of the current crochet psychosis is that I usually have stuff lying around the house when I desperately need a last-minute gift. Turns out that Donna turned 40 on Thursday, so she got the pineapple scarf. If I had played it right I could have made it look like I'd made it with her in mind, but at least I was able to pull a hand-made gift out of my hat.

Here's a baby blanket that I gave to my husband's boss and his wife last night for their four-month old son. (Had a devout Shabbat dinner at their house with our kids, both of whom behaved very well considering that it involved strangers and rituals to which they're not accustomed.) It's Simply Soft in Soft Blue; I don't normally go for the "blue blankets for boys" thing but I was destashing and had two full skeins of it that I had been planning to use to make a tank and skirt, or a dress, for Amanda until I got the cotton Skacel Ocean which I like much more in terms of texture, drape, and general effectiveness as a summer item. Anyway, I usually use Bernat Baby Coordinates in a pale cream color for baby blankets but ya use what ya have. Started Monday morning, finished Thursday night. In retrospect, the scallops aren't very boyish so maybe that makes up for the color. Actually, I really don't care that much, and it's gone, so no more overthinking it.

Getting read to work on...a hat for Amanda out of the Jo-Ann wool/cotton yarn that I frogged out of the scarf; fingerless gloves for me in a yarn I haven't chosen yet (I have a lot of dark gray Simply Soft but I think I want a natural fiber, at least in a blend; I have nearly a full skein of kitchen cotton that would be nice but it's periwinkle blue which is not exactly my taste). Also need to replace my pineapple scarf since it REALLY looked good on Donna -- better than I thought it would.

Cheating: Stuff I've already made, part II

2006-02-02T14:20:00.000-08:00

Not much extra to put in here but I might as well start wrapping this up:

Here's a scarf made from the Kauai Pineapple Lace pattern in the Crochet Pattern a Day calendar. I'm starting to have a great big beef about the editorial quality of this calendar, but that's not related to this scarf. The pattern is originally designed as an edging but I've been looking for a skinny thread-crochet scarf and this worked really well. I didn't use the bullions in the pattern, not because they're difficult but because I don't like the way they look. The goal is to use this as a light summer accessory with T-shirts, or as a sash/belt. I think it'll work. If I make it again, I'll make the first motif double-sided so the pineapples all appear to go in the same direction -- on this version, they're all pointing the same way so when you wear it, half point up and half point down. (This is the kind of concern that's eating up storage space in my head.)

Here's Amanda wearing a V-stitch scarf made from Caron Feathers in Sandpiper. She's definitely bonding with the kitten. I'd get mad at her for not taking better care of her scarf (dragging it on the floor like a tail isn't exactly careful) but it's been warm lately and she's really just too cute to get mad at her. She's NOT drinking out of the cat's bowl. She got her own bowl of water with her own opposable thumbs.

Cheating: Stuff I've already made, part I

2006-02-01T12:16:00.000-08:00

It's cheating to fill up space with stuff that I've already made, but WTF. I started crocheting again last fall when I noticed my stylist (the fabulous Carmen Okpattah at Velvet Waves -- this woman can do amazing things with textured hair, regardless of ethnicity) wearing a gorgeous crocheted hat. It turned out to be recycled sari silk, which sent me to eBay to buy some...and then I turned some of my mother's old cotton/viscose cord from the 1950s into an iPod case...then I made everything into an iPod case...then I started making skinny scarves for the holidays, and here we are.

<> Finally heard from L. on the scarf without any prompting on my part. She says: "First, let me properly thank you for the yummy and soft-as-a-bunny scarf. It reminds of a Milky Way candy bar. Which is weird but I loved those things as a kid so perhaps it's my Madeline."

This is a scarf I made for Fabulous L. in New York. The pattern is the mohair ripple scarf from Vogue Knitting's Crocheted Scarves book. Because I find mohair itchy, I made it out of Moda Dea Cache, which is the only chenille I've worked with that doesn't end up stretching and looping like crazy a month after you make it. It's light and soft but I have no idea if she liked it. She's got very determined tastes and it's entirely possible that it's not to her liking but she appreciates the value of a handmade gift and will never tell me. Oh, well. I only see her in the summer so at least she has an excuse for not wearing it in my presence. It was kind of a bitch to makebecause I hate swapping yarns and weaving in ends, and there was something really odd about the way that they set up the shells in this pattern, but if I ever get ambitious, I'll make myself one, because I like fluffy, and I thought it was pretty.

Here's Amanda modeling a scarf and hat I made for myself. They're TLC Amore with recyled sari trim. I like it a lot in theory but it's before I learned how to actually make a hat that fits well. Oh, well -- it doesn't give me hat hair.

There's a lot of space to fill here...OK, things that bug me. Luke having a daughter on Gilmore Girls. People who have the right of way but stop in traffic to let people turn left in front of them, causing accidents behind them. People who think they have the solution to your children's emotional problems but have no clue how deep-seated the problems are; if it were as simple as "not indulging their anxiety," don't you think it would have been fixed by now? People who claim they're not racist but then get upset that high-achieving Asians are ruining the school for their kids, um, because it's OK to be prejudiced against a group as long as they're not socioeconomically disadvantaged?

This is my first piece of actual apparel: a skirt for Amanda made out of Caron Simply Soft in Dark Country Blue. It's important to note that the child ASKED me to make her a skirt. I am not inflicting my hobbies on her.

When I was a kid, my mother frequently made my clothes. They were all very well-made, but I went to snooty private schools or snooty public schools that might as well have been private schools, and I was a target and a laughingstock in my purple corduroy elastic-waistband pants when everyone else in sixth grade was wearing Levis. I am really trying to not turn Amanda into a crochet fashion victim. But she asked for the skirt, and I made it. It turned out OK. Next time, I'm doing it totally in the round without joins so there aren't any seams -- there's a hitch in the back seam that kinda bugs me, but Simply Soft is hardly heirloom yarn, and it only took me a day to make, so it ain't getting frogged.

My first ribbed/cabled item -- a hat from the Crochet Garden's free pattern, made of Lion Brand Wool-Ease worsted weight. This turned out so much better than I possibly imagined it would. Of course, my mom the knitter said of the pattern "Well, they're not real cables, it looks awfully open next to them," but hey-- it's made of WOOL (mostly) and it's plenty cozy and warm enough. Unfortunately, my spouse didn't feel like he was man enough to wear it with the big cables and ribs, so I gave it to a manly-cool leader at the YMCA who IS manly enough, and for whom the kids had been begging me to make a hat. I'm going to make it much smaller in the Jo-Ann's wool/cotton blend that's so soft and ply-free for Amanda.

Here's Bob's second scarf, knitted in random stripes out of charcoal and brown Wool-Ease Chunky. It's the second scarf because he lost the first one made strictly of charcoal, and I didn't have enough of either the brown (purchased for a kid craft project -- stupid second-grade book report art projects) or the charcoal to make a complete one. If he loses this one, I'm done. The flash has distorted the colors; the brown is more of a true brown, not a reddish brown, and the gray is charcoal, not silver. Stupid flashes. (Stupider not knowing how to adjust color but it's really easier and more fun to blame the technology.) This was even more of a bitch with all the stripes -- I ended up with something like 60 ends to weave in which is just too much.

2006-01-30T09:19:00.000-08:00

This is my first post. Let's make it a mission statement!

The goal of this blog, self-indulgent as it may be, is to track my progress with fiber arts and other crafts, with an emphasis on crochet. Other rantings and ravings such as why I hate school fundraisers, why I hate the current administration, why no one seems to care that the mayor of the tenth-largest city in the country is incompetent at best and corrupt at worst, etc. may also be included. But the real point is to track the crochet progress. Honest.

Yesterday I earned the title of "Fastest Crocheter Who Showed up at the Michael's on Snell Ave. in San Jose." Today the suburbs, tomorrow the world. The gift basket didn't contain much that I'd use except for a new set of hooks, but as my kid pointed out, "At least I got the bragging rights." Didn't want to tell him that beating three others is a dubious bragging right at best, but hey, it was pretty fun anyway.

Works in progress (WIP):

* Baby blanket out of Caron Simply Soft for spouse's employer, who's having us to dinner on Friday. The main body is about 1/3 done, but I noticed an error about halfway into the work so far, and if I frog it back to there, I should really frog it back to the third row where I started doing a puff stitch instead of a cluster like the pattern called for. Woe is me. But hey, I'm the Fastest Crocheter (argh) so I should be able to put it back together again in no time, right? Right? I started it last night (Sunday) and need it done by Friday.

* A garter-stitch scarf for my daughter out of Jo-Ann's house brand of 50 percent wool/50 percent cotton, two strands worked together on a size 8 needle to make it really thick and waffly. Unfortunately, I've misplaced one of the needles, and I don't have another one the right size, so it's in limbo until it turns up, since I don't want to buy another freakin' needle and I don't want to frog my work so far.

* An iPod case for my mother, out of some 50-year old viscose/cotton textured cord she sent me a few years ago. It's shiny and pretty and makes a nice case. The crochet is done; all I have to do is sew it up. But I hate sewing. Too many ways for someone who goes quickly to make a sloppy mistake, and it's hard to undo any errors.

Projects that haven't started yet:

* A tank top and maybe a skirt, or maybe the whole thing as a dress, for five-year-0ld clotheshorse out of Skacel Ocean in variegated pink. I'm holding off on starting until warmer weather since she's growing so fast that it might not fit during the summer if I make it now, but the yarn is taking up too much space. My first outrageously good Herrschner's weekly sale buy that's forcing me to stretch my repertoire to rationalize my purchases.

* A mobius shawl for my mother out of Skacel Fuego mohair in variegated deep reds. The yarn hasn't arrived yet but I have to do something great with it (another amazing Herrschner's closeout) and she'll probably like it, and I can only give her stuff made out of great fiber -- no craft-store stuff for her -- since the worst material she ever knits with is ebbie Bliss; we're in different leagues. Not sure how the yardage will work but I may make one for my mother-in-law as well if there's enough left over. I really need to stop buying yarn because it's an amazing deal without a goal for it.

* A lacy sweater to wear over a tank top for me. No clue what patter, no clue what yarn. Haven't found a pattern I like yet.

* This girl's poncho from Trish Lewis; I need to do more with changing yarn colors. I'm just lazy. I have the variegated yarn, and a matching lavendar for the trim instead of pink, because Amanda has enough pink to gag a Barbie.

* The woven alpaca scarf from the Crochet Pattern A Day calendar, except in Moda Dea Ticker Tape instead of alpaca, and for use as a belt with jeans or a lightweight accessory instead of as a warm scarf.

* Something with the yarn I won from Michael's -- one skein Red Heart Super Saver in multicolor brights (I look at it, and all I see are G-d's Eyes from camp), two skeins Red Heart Baby Clouds that aren't the same colors. Argh! In some stores, the winners got a $25 gift certificate, which would have been vastly preferable to the contents of the basket.

I also need to mail a huge pile of stuff for the Pine Ridge Reservation to "Crafting for a Cause" since it's ALL DONE but I'm lazy, lazy, lazy.

Next time: Things I've finished recently -- striped knit scarf for husband, crocheted cap with cables and ribs that looks knit and is terribly warm for Carlos (YMCA leader) if the cables aren't too girly for him (he's macho, he can pull it off), a thread-crochet pineapple scarf for a summer accessory or belt.