hmmm

It's really bad when you don't make an entry for almost a month! But...I DO have a good excuse.


Anyway -- I just got back from giving my annual gift of blankets to the Peabody House here in Portland, ME. It always thrills me to be able to do something that makes a difference even if I never meet the clients these blankets go to.

I wasn't able to get my usual six done, but they told me that was OK. I even felt bad that I had to 'substitute' complete yarn/crocheted blankets for two fleece blankets that I crocheted borders on. They told me that they were just fine and would be appreciated.

I don't know -- I hope so. I guess I just have a certain standard I try to live up to, especially when I'm giving a blanket, ya know?

Well, at least they will help someone stay warm and that can't be bad! :)

Merry Christmas!

blankets, yet again...

I found two nice, thick fleece throws at the Christmas Tree Shop (a place I don't usually like to frequent) for $3 each. I made sure they were nice and thick and thought I'd have something cozy to curl up in this winter. But...I realized that since I sold one of the blankets I intended for the Peabody House, I was short by two. Aack! So, I trimmed one and think that might work for a substitute. I hope they won't mind that these two are not full yarn/crocheted. I really try to make it so they are all from scratch for these lovely souls who need them. Here's a pic of the one I finished. I have a tan one that I think I'll edge with a cream color...still not sure about that, though.

ugh

I'm SO frustrated with AC Moore! They send out these fliers for sales and give you 2-3 different dates and you're always hit or miss. I went today because the flyer's front page had today's date -- all the while meaning that you had to wait until tomorrow, which is noted at the very bottom of the BACK page! AARGH! I just walked out. I haven't done that in a long time. I don't even know why I was upset...maybe because it happens to me often! Now, I have to wait for ANOTHER sale week before I can get started on a blanket that someone has commissioned me to make. I just didn't want to feel rushed throughout the project...SIGH...

Does this happen to anyone else?

yipee!

I sold a blanket! Well, actually, my sister sold it for me. She had a coworker ask about buying one after she saw the one I did for my sister. Even better is; she wants another one but bigger!! I'm really excited and glad. Don't get me wrong, I love making them for gifts (knowing they are appreciated) and donating them to charity but, it's nice to know that someone would want to buy one...does that make sense?

Anyway -- so, I've gotta get off my anty and get crackin'! Oh BOY! When I think of all I have to get done by December....shudder....

oh yeah -- this is the one I sold.

new yarn

I cannot WAIT to get to this yarn. My mother picked it up at the local dollar store (they're going out of business to retire) and it's beautiful. I don't know if I'd have picked it out, but I'm looking forward to making something -- anything -- with it. I wonder if I should try a throw or maybe something along the lines of a poncho. I would use the throw more, but -- Oh! I don't know!! The possibilities are endless and the mind boggles. :)

I would love to find more affordable kinds of yarn to experiment with, but yarn is just too doggone expensive nowadays. I mean, almost $7 for a skein, depending on what it is and who's it is??!!! Ridiculous. How on earth can a fabric other than chenille or angora...possibly...be so costly? Hmmmm....

No matter. This was on sale and it was a "too good to pass up" deal. I'm glad she didn't pass on it! :)

off to discover what this yarn will become....

This is pretty sad to say but, I haven't worked on ANYthing lately. I've got to get off my duff and get crocheting. They aren't going to make themselves and I still need two more blankets done before December. I do not want to get down to crunch time and have a million (okay -- exaggeration) to get done. (sigh) I guess I could blame the weather, but I do have AC and have no excuse.


OK...as my friend DeAnna would say. It's time to listen to Sister Mary Responsibility!

well

time to get off my duff and finish the bright blue blanket. After that, I only have one more to do for the Peabody House. I'd like to get it done before November so that I can focus on enjoying the holiday season this year. Hmm...I just counted the blankets I see. It looks like I have to make another one after this one. I better get crackin'....

new pattern

I saw this afghan on a Mary Maxim catalog cover and searched high and low for the pattern. So, since I can't seem to find it ANYwhere, I'm going to attempt to look at the picture and go from there. I'm not sure it'll come out anything at all like it, but I'm going to try. Maybe I'll create something even better, eh? hehehehe

If anyone DOES read this itty-bitty blog, the blanket's pattern is called "Color Burst Throw." Let me know if you find it somewhere, won't you?

stalling

I've been stalling and it's not good. I need to get back into the blankets so I can move on to other projects.

If I finish off the bright blue blanket soon, I'll have 4 complete for Peabody House and only have 2 more to do. You'd think, knowing that, I'd be chugging away on this one. I wonder if it's because it's July and it's hotter than Hades. I don't know of ANYone who likes a hot blanket on top of their already boiling legs.

Did I mention that I HATE the heat? I'm best at 65 degrees and a slight breeze. No such luck here in the good old state of Maine.....you either freeze your buns off or you roast. Oh well, it could always be worse.

So, until I get motivated with these, it might be a long time before I post here. Why? Because I will still be stuck on the same blanket!!! (sigh) ;)

well...time to eat...

heh heh

well, here I am with another granny square! I'm whipping up a few 12-13" squares for my neighbor's ferret. Apparently, they like to burrow into blankets about that size. Some, I connect the ends to -- that make a kind of sleeping bad and others, I leave as is. They whip up in no time and are a wonderful way to use up extra yarn that is left over from other projects. But, then, there is always something that can be made with left over yarn....
:)

..which brings me to AC Moore...again! LOVE that place. Lots of yarn for such an addict as I.

patterns

Too bad no one will read this. I really need some new crochet patterns, especially for blankets/afghans. I like to experiment with new things and all I have are the same hum drum patterns. Of course, as I usually change the pattern as I go, I should probably just create one entirely of my own and stop hemming and hawing...

but, if someone DOES read this...let me know where to go, won't you?

summer

OK, so it's time to probably get more projects going, but I'm in a bit of a funk. I haven't progressed on the wild and crazy blue medley and I want to be done with it before the summer really takes of, weather wise. It's a hot and muggy day here today and it does not induce me to work on a warm winter-type blanket, that's for sure.

I should also be working on some 12" squares for the afghan project in Oklahoma, but I haven't the gumption to even do that. (sigh) I must get out of this cloud. I just feel tired all the time and I'm really hoping it IS just the weather. It brings on headaches for me too and, for those who know me, I don't need any more than I usually get.

So...this doesn't have much to do with crocheting, but moods do affect our projects...or, at least mine. Once I get going on them, I'll be all right. Now, to get jump-started!!!!

Or, maybe it's time for an iced coffee.... :)

something new

I've just started working on this new pattern. I know it's not 'new' to others and the style has been around for ages, but it's new to me. I've never attempted this before, thinking that I probably wouldn't get the hang of it. Alas, I have and I am really surprised at the ease of it.

It's been raining for weeks (literally) here in Maine and I had to have colors that were bright and cheery. So, imagine my delight when I saw the A.C. Moore flyer which highlighted a yarn sale!! I went right down with my mother and scooped up two of the brightest colors I could find. Of course, now with the sun peeking out more, they seem extra bright. The photo doesn't do them justice. They're two new colors: #0512 Turqua and #0784 Bon Bon Print. As you can see, I'm using the P hook and working the two colors together. I think it's a nice blend and am glad I did it this way. I don't think I could keep my eyes from crossing from their individual brightness....

I haven't given the baby blanket to the new mom yet, but am hoping to this weekend. Oh...I hope she likes it!!!

There's a threat of thundershowers today...I'm REALLY hoping they'll hold off for one more day. It would be nice to see the sun two days in a row. (sigh)

I've got to voice students stopping lessons after today for the summer. It'll be a knock to the wallet, but it's only for the summer and I have a new student starting tomorrow. All is not lost. :)

rag rug

This is my second attempt at making a rug from rags (cut up old t-shirts and felt pieces). I tried once before and it came out great. It looks braided, but I actually crochet it with a huge hook -- can't remember what size. I think it's Q or something like that.

It takes longer to cut up the t-shirts into strips and sew the ends together than it does to crochet it. I've even cajoled my dear mum into sewing some strips together too. I hate sewing. It is not my forte and not something I do with any amount of pleasure. So, when she offered a while back, I took her up on it. :) She's a whiz at sewing. She used to make all sorts of dresses and blouses for my sister and I growing up. She does the quilting and I crochet the blankets. Not a bad trade off, huh?!

baby blanket finished!

Yes! I finally got the baby blanket finished and I'm much happier with it now that I re-did it. I still got to get the popcorn effect in the middle of double and single crochets. I'm not sure I'll do the pattern again, but for this baby blanket, it fits. It seems funny to word it that way, but there it is. I just hope they like it.

do over

Much to my dismay, I have to take out the baby blanket. I really was hoping it would all work out OK, but it didn't. I'll probably use the same pattern, but make it shorter. It's far too long and not wide enough. If I had more yarn, it probably wouldn't be a big deal, but it IS rather chunky and would be more cumbersome if made wider. Hmmmm...oh well, it could be worse. I could be taking out an entire full-sized blanket. (who else has 'been there, done that'???)

but, before I go ahead with that chore, I think I'll start on crocheting another rag rug. It's amazing how close it looks to a braided rug! I experimented once and was quite pleased with the outcome. It adds a touch of 'home' to this apartment...

baby blanket

I think I may have messed up the baby blanket. It looked like I was starting to come in a little at one end and had to recount. Sure enough, I was two stitches short. I was, like, AARGH! I don't ever do that. I mean, it's not like I've never done it, it's just not the 'norm.' I also think I might have to take it out, because it looks longer than I intended -- double AARGH! Oh, it'll come out great in the end, but in the meantime, I've begun pulling my hair out...especially now that the baby I'm making it for arrived three weeks early! Chug-chug.

...now, if I can get the dog to stop trying to eat the yarn...life will be great!

I was just thinking that it would be great if there was a yarn warehouse around Maine. I mean, for folks like me who really cannot afford the ever growing yarn prices in the regular stores. It would be great! Sometimes, if I catch it, A.C.Moore has a wonderful yarn sale. I grab it when I can, but the reality of it is....yarn is getting more expensive and we're getting less in each skein. It used to be that you could get the variegated at 6 oz. Now, it's 5 oz! The regular Red Heart is now only giving you 7 oz. instead of 8 oz! Not good. grrrrr

project in progress 2

This is another I'm plugging diligently along with. It's a lovely combination of country blue and blue/rose/tan variegated. I wish you could see it in person because the photo does not do it justice. It's about half done and a nice simple pattern to work.

in progress 1

This is a the little mint/sage green baby blanket I'm working on. You can't really see the puffs, but I thought it broke up the other stitches nicely. I also added a bit of flare by crocheting in the front loops only on the single crochet (sc) rows.

The same thing happened with this pattern as a lot of others recently. I start with a pattern I find in a book or online and I make major changes, especially if I don't like the way the original pattern comes out. I suppose that makes it "all my own" at that point, huh?! ;)

unexpected trips

I'd just finished teaching when I got a call from my father telling me that my sister had mixed her dates up for departing to Ohio. For the last week or two, she's been telling us it was Wednesday (today) that she'd be leaving....instead....it was yesterday! She'd missed her bus and I had to drive her down to Boston. I'm just thankful that it only rained hard once during the trip down. We had NO traffic until we hit Boston, which is almost unheard of. But...she made it with time to spare and I've got the headache that reminds me to at least grab something with caffeine in it before I embark on road trips lasting more than and hour and a half.

This is a big granny square that I did out of leftover yarn scraps. The picture doesn't do it justice, really..but, I thought it was a nice color combination.

I'm now working on a sage and mint green baby afgahn for a friend who's due the end of June. I meant to get started on that a while ago...thankfully, baby blankets take a LOT less time to get done.

Just finished the increase/decrease afgahn and I hope that the photo isn't too big. It was the first time I'd used this particular color scheme with this pattern. I rather like it, though.

Projects

I decided to set up this blog because I noticed that there are many others out there who crochet! I've been doing it for years and to think that there's a whole network out there for just that is a little overwhelming yet exciting.

I've been working on blankets for the Peabody House here in Portland, ME that aren't "due" until December. This will be my third year donating these to their AIDS clients. It's not much, but I feel like I'm really contributing in a tangible way. One day, I'd love to meet them all! Knowing me, I'd get really attached!

Once I learn how to post a photo properly, I'll include some pix of the blankets.

I found this really easy pattern that ironically took me ages to get the hang of and laugh about now because it IS so easy. One of those "DUH!" moments. You work in a triangle increasing with each row and once you get to the size you think you'd like it to be, you start decreasing...closing in to complete a square. It really is a lovely looking pattern. Mostly all triple crochet.

working out the kinks

I tried to get a photo up in my profile and it looks like it ended up being a post. (sigh) Oh well...it's there if anyone's interested. Although, a few years old..friends say I haven't changed much. It was for a photo shoot for a CD I was trying to get out at the time.

I'll get the swing of things eventually, in the meantime, I'm going to get going on posting more...er...educational things. ;)

There's so many things that I'd love to do with this blog that I haven't done using LJ. It seems that LJ is a bit restricted and is harder to get more info and start discussions. I'm hoping I can do that here, besides just get out some things from ....this rusty mind!

I love to crochet (and knit when I feel so inclined, though to me, it seems more...um...'unchallenging'), sing, write poetry, read....oh, there's so many! I'll enjoy taking time to get thoughts out about them and see what others (hopefully, it's interesting enough for others to read) think!

time is short right now, but the day is not over.... :)