Monday, December 24, 2012

Merry Christmas!

So... the world DIDN'T end. The Doctor saved us!!!


Ah, I love this time of year; I'm such a dragon though - every year I want to sit and be bestowed with all my presents, mounds and mounds of them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not greedy, I just love my treasures!

This year is going to be quiet today and tomorrow, all of our kids are with their other parents; so we're postponing our Christmas & Birthday festivities until Friday & Saturday. Fortunately enough, this will give me the extra time needed to finish up some hurried crochet projects for the kids.

I do plan on posting pictures of these gifts later next week, but not just yet as I don't want the receivers to know what they're getting!

Tomorrow is my 35th birthday (again...) and not only do I have to wait until Saturday (usually waiting until after supper kills me!) but I have gleaned enough information (thank you, Riley) to believe Amazing Adam and I will venture forth to see the new Hobbit movie! YAY! Gettin' our geek on!

Then I received enough phone calls from Michael's the other day when Amazing Adam took the kids shopping to believe that I may receive some crochet tools for Christmas. Very sweet, can't wait to see what they came up with!

On Friday, Amazing Adam and Riley decorated the whole living room by themselves, I sequestered myself in the bedroom crocheting. They did a great job. I'll take/post pictures with a Christmas in Review post next week.

Amazing Adam and I essentially started and finished all our other shopping last week, mostly on Saturday; but my goodness are kids expensive! Because we did most of our shopping together he knows everything that he's getting from me, which is alright - at least this way he was able to get the right size and really decide if he liked it or not.

Every year I always wish it could be more and every year I realize it was just the right amount. Just enough to make everyone happy and to  remember that it's not all of the presents that make it wonderful, it truly is the time spent with the ones you love.

Happy Christmas and Merry Birthday to everyone!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Crochet for a Good Cause

I've always been interested in finding a charitable way to donate my time in a crochet format; unfortunately it's either too complicated, too time consuming or it asks for knitting (pfft!).

However, I've begun following Repeat Crafter Me mostly for the adorable and easy patterns she offers, but today I saw that over the weekend she made a post about Sandy Hook Elementary School. She shared a site that is gathering hats for the surviving children in the school that experienced that horror. Her blog post can be found here ; it contains a link to the preferred pattern and guidelines for the beanie hats; which can also be found here.

So, rather than getting caught up in the media hype and propaganda, remember the name of a victim, hug your kids, tell everyone that you love them; then put on a stupid holiday movie and start moving that hook. I think this is a brilliant idea, every child should feel that someone does care and not all people are out to hurt others.

Above all else, remember that a day should never go by without telling those that you love, that you do love them; and never let the last thing you say to someone be an angry word. You never know what is around that next corner.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

12/12/12

Here it is - December 12, 2012.

I don't really have anything interesting to post; I'm basically just trying to keep up with everything before the holidays. Shopping is no where near "started," I'm hoping to be able to make presents for the kids & family this year. I started a commissioned piece last night with a due date prior to Christmas.

So, how about a year in review? Well, not really, but maybe things I've found myself thankful for over the last year; the year of the Dragon, a time of good fortune. Within the past year I've discovered that this "good fortune" tends to come with mixed blessings or in a way that the "good" part of it aren't really discovered until some time later.

I'm thankful for a family I love and adore. My daily life is surrounded by an immediate family that is pure chaos and love. Amazing Adam and I have known each other since we were knee-high to a grasshopper, been friends forever, and have finally brought each other a relationship full of love and laughter. I've found someone to rely on and that I look forward to spending time with every day. I'm more spoiled than I realize and I can only hope I thank him enough.

Amazing Adam!

The kids we have between us are like sugar and spice and everything nice, but definitely are snips and snails and puppy dog tails, and all covered in a nutty crust. I can't remember a day where I haven't laughed or smiled over something they've done or said.

Aurora, Riley & Jacob - Summer 2009

As the oldest, my Riley (13), is growing up fast, has started middle school and is seeming to have only a few bumps as he's adjusting. Still playing trombone in band and doing really well. He's starting to show interest in things that Amazing Adam enjoys like Magic: The Gathering, he's even going with Amazing Adam to run errands and just spend time with him. I love watching them together, it warms my heart. However, he's also showing signs of becoming a teenager. Lord, help me! I told him a long time ago that it was my job as a parent to piss him off, so if I do things that make him angry or upset - that just means that I'm doing a good job. There's been a bit of that lately, nothing too horrible yet, then again he is only 13.

Riley & Friend, Fall 2012

Darling Aurora (7) is next, and is a ball of bossy, crafty, crazy energy. She's definitely the type of child that if it doesn't fit - force it! She's in 1st grade and absolutely loves her teacher and has even shown interest in a little friend at school; declaring that she's going to marry him. Yeesh! She's doing quite well with her spelling and has become quite the little writer, claiming pages and pages upon pages of paper at school to write stories. This made Amazing Adam quite proud, as he too enjoys the written word.

Aurora, Fall 2012

Little Jacob (5) isn't quite as little as he was when I first met him; all curls and giggly baby; now he's all boy, burping and farting at his sister just to freak her out; construction vehicles and garbage trucks. He started Kindergarten this year and is going great! He also enjoys going to see his teacher, she was Aurora's Kindergarten teacher last year.

Jacob, Fall 2012

Our parents are amazing. Always willing to help us out if we need to stretch between paydays, watching the kids before and after school, being a wonderful sounding board for basic life drama. Then on top of it all - they get along! I can't express how wonderful it is to spend a holiday or birthday with both sides of the in-laws in a joyous and fun atmosphere. I can look forward to family gatherings with a lot of moral support and love. I thank my parents and Amazing Adam's parents for everything they do for us everyday.

Then with both Amazing Adam and I being gainfully employed enough to meet the family's daily needs, I am also thankful. We may not have much, but it seems to be just right for us right now. Beyond our daily work requirements Amazing Adam is officiating his second wedding ceremony tonight for two of our friends, it will be his first same-sex marriage and we're looking forward to it.

Likewise, I'm starting my crochet business. Sometimes, I feel as if I have no idea what I'm doing or what I'm supposed to do; so for now I'm winging it. I've sold some things in the past and have continued to sell things recently; with word-of-mouth, business cards and some casual networking, I'm hoping to build something I can enjoy and be proud of.

Looking back, I am surprised at how many positive things I am fortunate enough to have in my life. I'm looking forward to 2013 to see what the future will bring. Either way, as I'm surrounded by great family and friends, anything is possible.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Hooray, Productivity!

With the craft fair behind me, I've been selling off my remaining stock with 50% of the proceeds sold on this last Friday to benefit our office's Christmas Family. It was our best bake sale event for the year. Even my crafty cohorts of the jewelry persuasion did the same donation. 

There has been a lot of yarn flying around our department too, causing me to go through withdrawals. I picked up a hook at work for about 15 minutes last week and almost immediately found a calming force coming over me. It has become like a drug! Therefore, I entered into this weekend with a vicious craving to crochet. 

I started working on some hats. One I started earlier this last weekend and finished quite early Saturday – before 6:30am I do believe. I decided to give it to Aurora, as I have hopes to update her unicorn hat and I had to find a way to get her out of it!

 

Then I used a pattern I had on hand (originally for snowman hats) for baby hats with ear flaps, being that babies are wobbly & squirmy, I didn't really want to add strings or braids so I made corkscrew curls at the ends of the ear flaps. I was able to get 3 sizes done on Saturday as well! 
 
 
One weekend after Halloween Jacob came home wearing a red and white striped shirt – basically the perfect Waldo shirt. This gave me inspiration for a Waldo hat pattern I found; however with it being so close to Christmas I decided to invert the colors and make it a holiday hat. It is also quite cute, but a bit too tight for my kids to wear, although I was able to convince Aurora to model it for my blog.


The sixth and final hat made on Saturday was a variation of Aurora's pink hat, this time in blue with stripes and a pom-pom on top. For some reason Jacob doesn't always want to wear his Viking hat, so I thought this blue one would be great for him. He loves it and I was lucky enough to get him to almost be still enough for one picture.

 
The pattern I found that inspired the pink baby hats and the Waldo hat were found were on one of my new favorite blogs: Repeat Crafter Me. She has the most adorable patterns! There are a few more that I'm itching to try.

Last night we attended a family Christmas gathering in Seattle, although I brought my yarn with me I spent the time relaxing with family members that we see all too rarely. It was a year ago that I received my Yarn Drum from Amazing Adam's mom, it has literally gone EVERYWHERE with me since that day. I absolutely love that bag, and couldn't be more thankful for such a thoughtful present from her. 

In the meantime, my business cards are going out, items are being made, orders are still being taken; I mentioned it previously, but if someone needs something for Christmas delivery, this is the last week I'll take them - with fee for a rush job. Feel free to contact me to discuss the options. 

Next project to start immediately: a commissioned Cuddly Cthulhu and I need to find inspiration for baby boy items. I'll be the first one to admit that I've been working with too much pink lately; problem is that I want to get rid of some of the yarns I have in pink! There's soo much of it!

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Craft Fair - DONE!

Well, one down - finally! Thank you to all friends and family that came by to support us. Both my co-workers had beautiful jewelry that looked dazzling on their displays. Also, a huge thanks to my son, Riley, who actually was a big help as I frantically tried to make sure we had everything, arrived 90 minutes late, then tried to figure out the spastic layout of that school. He was pretty awesome during the day.
As I'm sure more seasoned vendors could tell me - I didn't make as much profit as I had hoped. Oh, well, I received a lesson on pricing. I had a few cozy/coaster sets that sold at the original pricing, however as soon as I dropped the price to $1 in the last hour they went much faster, a lot of lookie-loos that first came by earlier in the day did end up returning to get them as well. That was a nice surprise.
Business cards were taken. Received a lot of compliments on the photo slide show I had running on my tablet on the table. I talked with everyone I could, offered to take special orders... I hope that some of these people will come visit this blog or e-mail me.
On another note... I felt pretty good for most of the day! No frantic racing for the bathroom, no icky tummy; which was an incredible improvement over the last 3 days.
Mom was adorable! She hurt her knee the other day, but she still showed up limping all over the place doing not only her shopping but networking for me! She was able to make contact with another vendor that's involved in a craft fair vendor group that does 4 shows a year (seems reasonable - but could drive family crazy!). However, to have the opportunity to learn from more seasoned vendors could be a grand education. That will definately be something worth looking into. Then when that was all done and her shopping finished, she bought a platter of cookies for all of us working at our space. So sweet!
Mom also gave us the best comment of the day. As she arrived, she became the first customer for Riley and I. She bought a cozy/coaster from me and a game of Magic: The Gathering from Riley. As she finished her transaction with me she turned towards Riley and said, "Ok, Ri, show me one of your magic tricks." I died - it was so cute and sweet! However, she quickly learned what she got herself into as she turned to me about 5 minutes later asking if I have ever played it. I know better, not my speed, I just like the artwork on some of the cards.
So, for roughly 8 hours of "sales", a little cash in my pocket, I now plan on taking the rest of my stock to work where I'll set it up there to sell, 50% of the proceeds will benefit our office Christmas Family.  I still need to get rid of some extra yarn that I have so here come more hats!
Thank you again to everyone that stopped by yesterday, I had a great time meeting everyone.

Friday, November 30, 2012

Impending Craft Show!

Oi vey!!! I'm mere hours away from this River Ridge Holiday Happening Craft Fair - and I am NO WHERE near ready!

I have regained my technology - I have my tablet back and am loving it. Not a single problem with this one - YAY!

Then the cold that I had must have dropped my immune system or something because I have missed work the last two days to a form of a stomach flu... lucky me! yuck! This work includes any crocheting, so come the fair tomorrow, I'm going to end up finishing a lot of the last few projects I was working on.

I have a small bin full already with the various sundries that I could need: table covers, business cards, price tags, display frames, ... My Amazing Adam and son will be picking up tables and chairs from my parents tonight; which until probably a scarce few hours ago were being used to hold all their belongings as their carpet and tile were being installed.

As I'm not completely well after the flu bit, i'm bringing my son, Riley, with me. At this very moment My Amazing Adam and Riley are at the comic books store stocking up on Magic: The Gathering cards. Riley has an idea of charging people $1.00 to play a game of Magic with an extra buck if he has to teach you how. Too funny. That will after I finish using him as my bitch - helping me set up and get things together since Amazing Adam unfortunately has to work and won't be available to help us.

Couple changes - I will be taking orders, but with a minimum delivery time of 4-6 weeks. I'm even hoping to bring all my available & lovely hat yarns with me to customize orders.
Ok, should get back to it, I hope to see people there.
Wish me luck, I think I may need it!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

17 Days, 2 Deliveries, a Cold & Tech Issues

Coming out the surviving end of a stupid cold, coughing and snotting for 4 days now is NOT my idea of fun, let alone is it conducive to crocheting! I spent 2 days in the throws of a NyQuil coma. 2 days wasted, thank you. Not fun at all. I blame the grimey little vermin called children bringing mysterious illnesses home. Sheesh! Love them, I do, but dang, is they only thing they share germs???

17 Days until the River Ridge Craft Fair ... I'm quickly running out of time! I've purchased nice soft hat yarns, haven't really started them though. But, I completed a single hat in general sizes from Newborn to Adult for people who may be interested in placing an order at the Craft Fair. That's a good idea I thought. I swear any orders I take will not be able to be delivered by Christmas due to the fact that I have family to craft for before then; then what do I do? Take an order for a cuddly cthulhu! I'm insane!

2 Deliveries ... Delivery #1: I ordered primary and secondary colors from Red Heart last week and received it on Saturday. Loved it! They're the brightest most awesome rainbow colors - I'm hoping to make a few rainbow scarves inspired by the one done on Crafty is Cool website. I have the main scarf done on the first one and one of 10 circles for the clouds done. MUST FIND MORE TIME!

Delivery #2: I received my order from Vista Print with my new business cards, vehicle magnet, banner for the display area at the Craft Fair (went with a non-holiday-y theme so I can keep using it) and a few other things. I'm so excited, I was beside myself waiting for the UPS guy to get here today.

I keep saying I'll post pictures as soon as I can - well I'm having tech issues with my beloved tablet. My original one decided to stop charging correctly so that when I took it in to BestBuy to figure out what was going on, they decided it was the prongs in the tablet - not the charger. Poop! They confiscated my tablet and ordered me a brand spanking new one. I'm in to it for about a week and a half now, getting my games back up and running -ish and now there's issues with this one where the screen scrambles and makes a horrible noise. *Sigh*

Rather than continuing using this tablet and risking the loss of updated information, I'm wanting to wait until I can take the pictures and make sure they're not lost. Now I'm planning on heading back to BestBuy to take care of this issue - again. Don't get me wrong, they've treated me really well over there; I was able to prorate another Geek Squad warranty for the new tablet, the new tablet was free because I followed through with the warranty registration. Hopefully, I'll be able to get this screen issue fixed without losing my baby again for a week.

Friday, November 2, 2012

29 Days and Counting!

Meep!

Here it is, November 2nd and the River Ridge Craft Fair is fast approaching on December 1st. I have completed a TON of coffee cozies and coasters. I've priced my order forms and receipts and I've bought some baskets and containers to work on the table display to create height and lean towards a "geeky" theme. I'm even thinking of using some NES systems as display stands too! I have an idea of the floor plan and where we'll be located. Things seem to be going well enough at this point, except...

I haven't started any hats! I have two made and a lot of yarn to make more. I think I just need to stop on the cozies and coasters and start full speed ahead on the hats.

So here we go! 4 weekends and counting, wish me luck!

PS: I'm hoping to have the boyfriend help me take pictures to update into the Coffee Cozy & Coaster Pattern that I posted previously so stay tuned!

Friday, October 12, 2012

FREE PATTERN: Cup Cozy & Coaster Set

Materials:
Yarn of choice, I prefer Sugar & Cream 100% cotton yarn because it is absorbent and easy to clean.
I Crochet Hook
Stitch Markers

ABBREVIATIONS
ch - chain
sl st - slip stitch
st - stitch
sc - single crochet stitch
dc - double crochet stitch

COASTER (both loops throughout)
1. Ch 4 sc, insert hook into the 1st st, sl st together to form a loop (you can also use a magic circle instead of chaining four together).
2. Ch 2 (do not count this st), crochet 16 dc into the loop, sl st into the 1st st to close the round. (16)
3. Ch 2 (do not count this st), crochet 2 dc into the same st you joined the round in, then in each dc from the first round, sl st to the 1st st to close the round. (32)
4. Ch 2 (do not count this st), crochet 1 dc into the same st you joined the round in, 2 dc in the next st, *1dc in the next st, 2 dc in the next st* until you reach the beginning of the round, sl st to the 1st st to close the round. (48)
5. Ch 1 (do not count this st), sc in each dc from the previous round, sl st to close the round.
6. Tie off and hide your ends!

COZY (both loops throughout)
1. Rows 1 & 2: Chain 11, sc in each st, ch 1, turn
2. Rows 3 - 30: sc in each st, ch 1, turn.
3. At the end of Row 30, turn the rectangle sideways so the long side is towards your left hand, you're now going to sc along the edge. Ch 1, then start in the 10th st of Row 30, push the hook through both loops & pull the yarn over the end, pulling it over the side. Sc 29 more sts along the long side of the rectangle until you reach st 1 of Row 1, completing the sc.
4. Ch 1, slip hook into the first st of Row 1, pull the tail over the hook, then push the hook into the 10th st of Row 30, yarn over into a sc. Continue joining Row 30 to Row 1 with sc until you reach stitch 10 of Row 1. If you keep pulling the tail into your stitches at this point, it will line it up better to finish off your ends later.
5. Ch 1, now finish off the other end of the sleeve with 30 sc st (do not join any further or it will seal off the sleeve making a pocket). Once you reach the end of the last long side, sl st to the 1st st of the row.
6. Tie off, finish off your ends. I usually turn the sleeve wrong side out, pull the last tail through to the back and using the back of the joining stitches pull the tails under the joining stitches midway and tie off in the middle. Turn it right side out.

I love this pattern, and cannot for the life of me remember where I found the ideas for it. I learned circles from a crochet book from the 70's that my mom gave me a few years back. Another benefit to this pattern is that it is endlessly customisable. Use different yarns, change colors on rounds/rows or on the last round of single crochet on the coaster or joining the cozy, I've even used fun fur yarns on the edging on both the cozy and coaster.

I Love Yarn Day!!!

I found out about I Love Yarn Day a few weeks ago through a craft blog that had this link posted for their website: I Love Yarn Day.

I was excited to see that they had October 12th planned for this year's events. It seems that there are a lot of events going on all throughout the interwebs and various locations. Super cool!

So, this year, now that I have this blog, I've decided that instead of just one day, I'm going to celebrate all weekend - goodness knows I can use the time dedicated to my preparation for December's craft fair!

That is why I plan to post my first free pattern on this blog over the weekend! Now, just to get it from my head to the screen in a way that will make sense to everyone.

Wish me luck and stay tuned!

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Longest Weeks Ever?

After a few long weeks both at home and at work, I'm happy to say that it's not even noon on Saturday yet and I'm going to take a nap!

R started middle school this last week. Such a change! He'll be 13 this month and I can't even believe it! I remember cuddling his little self going to sleep as a baby - time has gone so fast!

A started first grade this last week. She's such a whirlwind of excitement and independence. I fixed the braids on her unicorn hat (see previous post) and she wore it both Wednesday & Thursday, then her Viking hat on Friday.

J started kindergarten this last week. He's on the PM schedule so his grams puts him on the bus for us - scared at first but then handled it just fine. Making new friends & he was even singing a little brown bear song on the way home last night. 

I'm such a proud mama for all my little kiddos, but I think that may have even made every thing more stressful; trying to recreate the appearingly seamless and perfect start of the year they way I remember my mom doing. Although, I bet if I asked her she'd have a completely different tale of those events.

I wish I could say that I straped myself into my soccer-mom mini-van and handled all these new changes with the calm and grace befit british royalty. pfft! i was a stressed out mess! I swear we were still shopping for school supplies within 24 hours of their open house! ugh, between working and trying to keep up with the kids - the only thing that held me together was my amazing boyfriend!

I must of emotionally downloaded on him for about 2 hours the other night, just because i needed to, what did he do? he listened. that's all, just listened. I'm seriously so lucky that he's mine. 

On the crochet front, I went from a 3-day weekend full of calm crocheting, finding a super score of 5 different fun-furs at a local thrift store for $2.50, ice cream date with bf, and a nice wobbly buzz supplied by Mr. Cuervo into a week of stress and anxiety. However, I did manage to put pen to paper and jot down the crochet cozy/coaster sets that I've been working on. Which means that I am quickly approaching the first free crochet pattern posting! 

This is what I've been wanting to do on this blog! I will post it in the rather near future I hope. I've only read patterns, never written them so please help me if you find issues with it. On the other hand they're super easy and incredibly interchangeable. I've started using fun-fur yarn on the last rounds so they're fuzzy. I've used tons of different colors and they could both be a super easy segue into trying new stitches.

I've also been searching for inspiration to try my own patterns at amigurumi, I have a few super secret ideas - and a super encouraging bf - that I do believe that I'll get there sooner rather than later.

Stay tuned for that pattern!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

MY Crochet History

Ok, my plan with this post is to put the creations that I've made out there. I love to crochet, although the entire family forgets - the kids more so than the BF - that they need to wait until the hook has stopped moving before they speak to me!

I learned how to crochet from my mom a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but all she had me doing was potholders and that was boring, so I gave it up until the last few years. I made a blanket for my BF's mom for Christmas about 3 years ago - she loved it and I found the whole process soothing, except being on a deadline!

From there I just tinkered around with it until I had surgery in 2011. During my stay in the hospital (apparently I was a special case and had to stay for 4 days) I asked my mom if I could use her book (from the 70's) and her tools to pass the time; and when I say "pass the time" it was those special times of being awake just before fading into another medicated sleeping phase. She did bring things for me and I started playing around with the different shapes and stitches in the book and with her advice. I do remember passing out with hook in hand and waking up who knows how many hours later on the same stitch, but the movie over!

Then the internet investigation began! Mom gave me her crochet stuff because she wasn't doing anything with it any more so I was ready to go. Now for the inspiration... here area few pictures of my earlier works:

This is a Brain Slug hat inspired by Futurama. I found brain slug patterns on wonderful interwebs, however I didn't want to attach them to a headband, the BF wanted an actual hat. So one night I sat down and began with trial and error, double stitches, triple stitches, increases - I have no idea how it really came together, but he loves it! My son R even requested one on the spot. The only thing i can say is stick to 2 rows of double crochet stitches on the ruffle... 3 makes it look like ma's kerchief from the Night Before Christmas!

A granny square scarf for a co-worker, she bought the yarn and I made it work. I didn't really understand how granny squares were supposed to work or look so they ended up more like rectangles, but she loves it and still wears it.

 My first purse! This was all single stitches, and man I thought I messed up a nerve in my right-hand ring finger, it tingled for days! Eventually, it went away and I remember to let the hook down once in a while. the pattern was completely imaginary, I probably couldn't tell you how I made it except - start stitching and stop when you think it's enough.

My second purse! Well, it ended up being a really long cross-body bag. I liked it a lot however the open work in the granny square didn't bode well for all the little things I end up carrying around in my purse. So I sold both purses to my scarfed co-worker and her daughters love them! (note to self: learn sewing to figure out how to line things!)






My Neighbor Totoro... I think. This was my first attempt at amigurumi and it was a freakin' doozie! I found the pattern by Heaven's Hellcat on LiveJournal, but she's posted all the Totoro patterns on Crafster here. I showed the pattern to another co-worker and she completely squeed herself, asked me to make it for her. At the time we didn't realize that it was the pattern for the blue totoro and not the gray one, but I made it work. When it was finished ... her daughter stole it from her!


When I started this project, I had no idea how small stitches could be! The tips of the ears were a nightmare and I ended up buying stitch markers so I could keep track of which row I was on. Yeesh! I may end up trying this pattern again now that all 3 totoro patterns are posted. It would probably make a pretty nice present for her.


At one point, I told my amazing BF that I wanted to go on a date, we've know each other forever and never really dated - had a long distance relationship for about a year and it just worked itself into a relationship from there. However, he decided that we'd take the train from Olympia to Portland for a day trip. He had only 2 things planned out: we were going to visit the downtown Portland location of Voodoo Donuts and Powell's Books. Unfortunately, Voodoo Donuts was under renovation and not open, so we went to Powell's Books and had an amazing time. We found some books that we wanted and just before we left (hours and hours after arriving (seriously, it's one of the best places to get lost among the stacks) I found a section about crochet! I bought some books about amigurumi, including a signed copy of a Twinkie Chan book! We left before we spent waaay too much money. However, those books lead me in the direction of how to crochet a ball and gave me more familiarity with increasing and decreasing stitches. So when another co-worker asked me to make these next creations, I winged it well enough! I also firmly believe that if you can't have a sense of humor with your passion, then what's the use?



Yes, those are crocheted testicles - with veining! I don't know who she gave them to, well, yeah, I know a male co-worker received the first (they were purple) pair after I added a strap on the top to hang from the rear-view mirror in his truck. These were a trip to make and were definitely all free-hand.






Those amazing books also lead me to make a few other items; this was a request from yet another co-worker. Pretty cute even if I do say so myself.

Now that I had books for inspiration not all of it was working for me. There was a lot of fiddly follow-up work after you'd finish the actual project, like adding felt and other small details. That's when I turned to the internet again.

 


I found inspiration for a Death Star for my son R: (pattern can be found here). This was a really quick and easy pattern. I took it to work to show it off and all the guys wanted either to steal it, or one for them selves; one even asked for me to make it as a hacky-sack!










Then I found a pattern for a donut pillow here, but since this was for my son, frilly pink frosting with sprinkles wasn't going to work. I found a sage green yarn and using popcorn stitches I gave the frosting "boils" of all kinds of sizes. Original rows were single crochet, so by using half-double, double and triple crochet stitches, I achieved the appearance of different sized boils. For the eye, I found inspiration/pattern on the internet ... somewhere.


Darling little cthulhu - how I do love thee! I found this pattern here and it was so much fun to make. The totoro co-worker asked me to make him so she could give it to a friend for Christmas, and I did. Everyone at work loved it too. I enjoyed making it so much that I plan on getting back around to making another - I've even thought of making them in different shades, but we'll see what happens.





I also found inspiration for hats on Etsy; I purchased the pattern for this unicorn ear-flap hat here, this is not an exact replica of the pattern. I for the life of me could not figure out how the ears or the horn worked, so I made them work for me. I also purchased the pattern for the mohawk ear-flap hats which I mostly made without the mohawks and with a super soft bulky yarn for the rest of my family and co-workers.

This hat was a birthday present for my daughter, A. She'd just started kindergarten earlier that season and she probably wore it every, single day after that. there were so many compliments on it which resulted in a lot of amazed looks and "you made that?!?!"s. Soak it up people, if you get that kind of a response you have every right to take the opportunity and bask in the glow of your awesome talent. I have to do some repair on it this year as she figits and has pulled the braid out about half way; and as the "arteest" that made it, any repair other than mine would be unacceptable. One note of advice - if you do braids on a hat, before you wrap the ends of yarn to tie them off, put a rubber band around the end. It will end up holding better and if the yarn comes undone, it will stay tied off.

This was inspired by a pattern I found here. I couldn't get the ear flaps to the same point so I ended up squaring them off and adding pom-poms instead. I made three of these in with the same colors, different rows. Apparently, one girl that received one of these hats even wanted to sleep in it and wouldn't let any of her friends even think about touching it!





One of my favorite attempts were coffee sleeves, I love my coffee from a major distributor every morning if I can afford it, however, their sleeves don't add much creativity. So I started with a super simple pattern and just a simple circle of double crochet stitches - I eventually I hope to get that pattern on paper and post it here for free & you can sell it all you want! Anyway, (tangent there) I decided that if i were to learn new stitches I could probably do them on a small scale, like a coffee sleeve/cozy. I found this one here on Ravelry - and it is one of my absolute favorites! I love this pattern so much I've had the thought of turning it into arm warmers or a sleeve for my tablet! Super easy and super fun once you get the hang of it.

I've also purchased patterns from Mamachee on Etsy (shop found here) from which I created the following Viking hats! I took liberties with the colors - personalizing each one for each child. J requested black horns, R likes red and black, and of course A loves her pink! I also added fun fur yarn around the base of the horns for a little added touch, light brown for J's, red and black eyelash yarn for R, and bright pink sparkly fun fur for A.

A and J have already been wearing their hats everywhere - especially to the car races in Grand Mound! If it weren't so freaking hot all the time lately I'm sure they'd be wearing them every time they leave the house.

R is entering 7th grade this year so he's not exactly wearing his all the time yet - it sits on the shelf with his brain slug hat - however, once he gets comfortable with his new school and friends I'm hoping that he'll start wearing it this winter.
I also purchased a couple other hat patterns, one of which was Mamachee's Top Hat pattern. I'm using that as a base and her pattern on the horns to make a top-hat with horns for BF, I added a row of the rivets and it may look a little steam-punky but I know he'll wear the hell out of it this winter.
 Now for the 2 largest and most freaking time consuming creations to date: Hello Kitty Blankets. I was inspired by this pattern, and since they were granny squares then they could dang near make anything, right? Little did I know that I'd end up with 2 requests for these blankets that would halt my ability to do my own creating for almost 9 months. I don't know if I'd be willing to make another one or not. However, they were loved by the ones that received them!


At the time I started these projects, I had never made a granny square blanket. I had no idea how to lay them out, how to piece them together, ... but I'll tell ya, I love what I did to make it work. They did turn out quite amazing.


The first picture was for a little girl and she love it - it turned out too narrow, so her mom - my totoro co-worker - keeps suggesting that I add something on the sides to make it wider and fit her bed better, but I taught her to crochet... I make walk her through that process!


The second picture was for a newborn baby (although it wasn't done until about 2 months after the birth). I was told that the mom cried when she saw it. Now that's appreciation!


I love being able to create with my hands - especially crochet. I get weighed down a lot lately because it's all about knitting out there - or it at least feels that way. I haven't learned enough about crochet vs knit to convert patterns, and if there's a program out there that converts or translates PLEASE let me know!


This history - MY history - entry should end here. I'm in the process of building up stock for a craft show on December 1st and attempting to figure out a Hello Kitty Rag Rug (I know I said I probably wouldn't do that pattern again, but since I know it and finally worked it out, we'll see what happens).


Wish me luck!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Crochet Update that I thought I Lost!!!

Things have been going pretty good on the crochetting front. Finished a couple of cabled coffee cozies and 1 viking hat to completion; still have 1 horn left on one for my oldest son and to complete the hat and both horns for my daughter's pink with pink version.



J decided to have gray with black horns, I decided to make black with red horns for R and A wanted pink with purple horns, but since i couldn't find an acceptable purple in my stash, they will now be pink too.

After these are finished I have to start building up stock. I've agreed to take part of a Christmas Craft show at one of our local high schools onn December 1st. Not only could this earn me some extra spending money for the holidays, it could commission some work for me and get my "geek" chrochet out there.

I've been reading some craft blogs lately and it's hard to find anything crochet related! it's all needle work, felting, sewing and knitting! There's even more clay art information than crochet. it kinda sucks.

Random Geekery - 2012.08.08

I read a blog post at Epbot - one of the fabulously geeky blogs that I follow - about her response to apparently psudo-geek girls running around out there. The gist of her statement was basically to get over it and quit judging everyone else. I liked that.

If you're reading my blog, you're opening yourself up to read my opinion; so here it is: EVERYONE HAS A GEEK SIDE. If you're a jock - you get your geek on over athletic-type stuffs, games, gear, ... whatever. If you're a fashionista-type - you get your geek on over Channel's latest bag, or Gucci's latest lipstick color (and youcan probably tell that I'm not the fashionista-type geek from that statement alone).

Fo r example, I haven't really been into the whole sci-fi tv shows thing, I'd watch a few episodes of ST: NextGen but that was mainly because it was late and nothing else was really on; I would never sit around waiting for a new episode because I never paid that much attention.

Then this year I found my gateway drug: Doctor Who! I started with Rose and the 9th Doctor as any good nouveau-Whovian should do, and by the time the Doomsday episode made it across my tv or tablet (thank you Netfix!) I was bawling right along with Rose wondering about the what-ifs and horribly upset about how unfair it was (and wondering where I can find a crochet pattern for her arm warmers).

Now here we stand on the precipice of a brand new season of Doctor Who (I'm still not sold on this 11th Doctor - his jaw line is a bit odd to me) that I'll actually be able to watch as they air on BBC America, I can't wait! But unfortunately I have to...

Honestly, I finished what Netflix had to offer for the seasons of the Doctor sometime back, so since then I had been filling in my time with its spin-off: Torchwood. Loved it! There were some quirky things with some of the actors where I didn't love them as much as Doctors 9 and 10, but lordy, lordy that Captain Jack. I sqeed every time he got his flirt on! It was a good series too - but i finished what Netflix has to offer last weekend. In doing some research Starz picked it up and did 2 runs with some of the same actors... I have to find those somewhere...

This is where I come to my problem, I know that - rather I feel my sci-fi geek whimpering for more fodder... but where do I go from here? I tried the first episode of Firefly and I'm not to certain how that's gonna go, wasn't too impressed with it right off the bat.

So if you have any suggestions... or if you wanna chat Doctor Who... let me know in the comments below!

Friday, April 13, 2012

Yeesh!

I've done it already! It's been too long between posts, MUST ... TRY ... HARDER! Life caught up with me is all. Still trying to get the 2nd HK blanket ... started, and finished. I've given up on the arm warmers for the time being at least until the blanket is done. I've slowed down on the hooking due to some personal emotional issues - i can't concentrate enough to pick it up at nights, i just want to relax. Then it's the weekend and i'm either busy chasing kids around or too worn out to think about it.

So, again, MUST TRY HARDER!

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Quiet Sunday

Ok, I've unraveled the black arm warmer and I'm looking forward to starting over - this time in both loops.

I've decided to quit dreading this HK blanket and just get started with it. Granny squares I actually find quite enjoyable to make - however these "squares" are actually more rectangular then trying to fit all the squares into a blanket type formation is a little more irritating than I had first imagined.

Regardless, I have to get it going... so here goes nothing!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Crochet Updates

I promised info on my crochet projects. Well, I'm having a bit of a hooker's block I suppose. (Like writer's block, but for crocheters...) I have quite a few items that I'd love to get done, but it's pretty difficult to find a lot of time right now. I want to make cabled armwarmers and thought I was finally almost done with the first one. That was until I decided i wanted to try them working with both loops rather than the back loop only. *sigh* time too unravel it -  again!

Another project is one my mom has comissioned me to do, another HK blanket (pictures will be added later & can be found on my Facebook page). Ugh! The first one was so fiddly that I don't think I'll enjoy making the 2nd one, but we'll see. I have some slight modifications in mind that may make it better.

Then as always, there's:
* Sack-Boy for a co-worker
* Monster Hat for my DLB
* Repair Unicorn hat for my DLG
* Re-do on a Dr. Who Weeping Angel
* Cabled cover for my awesome Asus Eee Slider Tablet
* Dr. Who's Rose Tyler's arm warmers from the Doomsday episode
Not to mention TONS of other projects that I have just waiting for yarn manifestation!

So, wish me luck & I'll update again soon...

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Hello

So, it`s February 29th, only happens every 4 years, perfect day to start a blog. probably wondering what will  be here ... well, crochet stuff definately & I love fun links so I`ll probably do a lot of link dumps. Either way, I`m hoping there will be things to make your geek squee! (horrible, i know!)