Happy New Year!

What a year it has been! Amazing Adam and I rang in the New Year as any couple without kids for the night would do... we slept! Amazing Adam was coming out from under a hangover from the night before when he met up with his coworkers for some holiday festivities. That may be the last time he goes out with the guys unsupervised! Not really - it was kind of nice being the only one home for a few hours.

We had a great Christmas - celebrated 12/28-29 for our family because of parenting plans. I finished my final crochet project in the wee hours of our Christmas morning. Luckily enough, the kids - all of them - slept in until about 8:30am.


This year, I tried to get as many projects done as presents for the entire family as I could. I was able to finish this bag for my mom (in white), a cousin (in mustard yellow), and my sister (in jewel tones). This pattern can be found here as a free Ravelry download.

This bag worked up quite quickly after I learned the stitch clusters necessary to get the flower motif on the bottom. Now, it's not so bad to do - there's a lot less unraveling!







Riley has been playing a lot of Magic: The Gathering lately and has discovered the Penny Cards at our local comic book/geekery store; which has resulted in not only his collection of cards increasing exponentially but Amazing Adam's collection as well. So for Christmas this year, I found a Dragon's Egg bag pattern as a free Ravelry download, here.

I even successfully lied to Riley as I crocheted the bag right in front of him. Told him it was for someone at work.




At more than one time this past year, darling little Aurora became increasingly annoying by sitting in the van or walking around the apartment and meowing rather than using her words, therefore she got a kitty hooded scarf, pattern was found here.

This picture does nothing to the color pink she was litterally covered in - she looks like a pink highlighter vomited all over her! I can't seem to get away from this color pink, but she doesn't seem to mind!

She owns a shirt stating that her favorite color is rainbow, so I'll have to start working with those in mind too. This was a fun pattern to make, it should definately keep her warm.





Jacob is our race car and super hero fan. So he got a Lightning McQueen hat. I did find a pattern for it here but since I was working with a serious deadline, I made the decision to work with hat patterns I have worked in the past.

Due to the differece in yarn weights, I ended up combining two of them... yes, I probably do have issues, but it worked out great. I used this pattern for the body and this pattern to work the ear flaps. No, everything did not come out perfect, but with a bunch of stitch markers and quiet time to count stitches I think it turned out great.

The front "eye" part of the hat was pretty easy, placing the eyes not so much, it's hard to see what it is going to look like with the ends in the way, then sewing it on, I had to unstitch a couple times because it was crooked.

Then I had an idea for a lightning bolt in the back, like "CAA-CHING" thing that he does, right? Have you ever tried to crochet a lightning bolt??? Well there is a serious lack of patterns for them on the interwebs out there! My attempts ended up looking like malformed yellow carrot noses!


So, I picked up a hook and some yarn and thought, what's the worst thing I could do? A single chain and put his numbers on there... well that turned into how can I make the yarn bend? A few tries later I ended up with two squirrley pieces of yarn that successfully made the "95" on the back of his hat!

It felt like a glorious breakthrough! I know they're crooked, but dangit, I don't care (too much anyway) even if I didn't write down the pattern. *sigh*

Jacob also got some Iron Man fingerless gloves. I had made some a few years ago of the most simple pattern and they've since been lost or misplaced. I saw the pattern for these and thought they were perfect for this little boy! I had a difficult time with these, the pattern I found here was confusing to read and not the best print out in black-and-white printing. The last straw was when everyone was up, we were supposed to be leaving for my parent's house to open Santa presents and I realized that the thumbs were both on the same side! I had to figure out how to make them match & get those blaster thingies on the same sides! I turned one inside out. I didn't have enough time to make another one, let alone WANT to make another one! No one's noticed and I don't really care. The most important thing was that he loved them.

 

Then on the night of the 29th, we celebrated my birthday:

 

I did get some great goodies for crochet... I received 3 rosewood crochet hooks, sizes G, H & I. I was using the G hook on a scarf for my mother-in-law and the hook snapped off! Sadness!! So, now I'm down to just the H & I. I loved using them, they're nice and long and very light weight. (GEEK TRIVIA: Fleur Delacour used a rosewood wand.) I also received like 5 pom-pom makers. Those will be so much easier than trying to figure out how to make different sizes and what I should make them with.

 

Overall, we all had a really nice Christmas and New Year.

 

Kids go back to school tomorrow, we'll have the same ol' full house tomorrow night - I've kind of missed it.

 

What would I like to see for this new year? I'd love to move, move into some where that we're not always under each other's feet, but not too far away from each other. I'd love to build up more stock for another craft fair or two. Another garage sale in the summer? More sales of crocheting things? Who knows... all that truly matters is the important things: health, happiness and love, and in the aspect of achieving those things, I'm truly thankful.

 

May you find your happiness, keep your healthfullness and feel loved in the New Year.

 

And because I can... a picture of my Mom's dog Chewie

 

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.