Happy Easter

Time for my bi-monthly check in here on the blog! Ha, seriously...there has been knitting, and even some quilting. A simple little baby quilt (sorry for the fuzzy picture, these are the only ones I took before sending it off).

Jaywalkers - my first pair. It's a fun pattern.

Slowly proceeding on the lace stole...it ought to be ready by fall!

I've even been crocheting a few more of these guys.

Happy Easter! He is Risen!

Morning Glory

This morning the first flower unfurled...just beautiful!

On the crafty side, I've made a couple of these crocheted washcloths. They are very fast to make and feel great on your skin. It's the washcloth from the Summer 2008 Interweave Crochet by Kim Werker. I know I'll be making many more of these...

Knit Knit

I got my Ravelry invite yesterday (! ..I thought it'd be weeks) and spent a little time familiarizing myself with the goodies it has to offer. I can understand now why so many people say they could spend hours and hours there. It's very...big. I've already added a few projects to my queue (am I spelling that right?)

I've been in a knitterly mood since before our trip to DC. I needed a good travel project and so I cast on for this:

It's a simple 4x4 rib scarf for Jimmy. I'm making it out of some Caron Simply Soft I had lying around. Blue is his favorite color. Great plane knitting.

I also have been back at it with the sock knitting:

I'm on the home stretch now, just about to the toe decreases. I *understand* socks so much better than I thought I would after just one. It really does just take going through the process to understand what it is you're trying to do.

Lot of blue there.... here's a "not blue" thing. I whipped up one of these for Shepherd last year, and he just loved it. So I made this one for him this Christmas. A brown bone....single crocheted with 2 strands of good ol' red heart super saver. I just kinda make it up as I go along.

Crochet Today, Crochet Tomorrow

The Sweet Scallops shawl is growing, if a little slowly. I've got about 25 inches so far. You're supposed to make two sides, each 45 inches long, then join in the middle. So I'll be at it for a while now. I'm definitely not a speed crocheter!

But I am enjoying it. I'm managing to do a little on it at least 4 or 5 days a week. And with the granny squares (which are slowly growing as well) I seem to be crocheting a little bit every day, which is great.

Fall Friday

We're really enjoying cool (cold!) weather right now...we've been wearing hats and gloves to walk Shepherd in the evening. This is so great! Usually, in Arkansas, October is back and forth, back and forth, cool day then warm day, cool day then really warm day, cool day then plain ol' hot day! But it's been very cool for about a week straight. It feels so...fallish.

I'm hooking away on the granny squares...up to 18 so far. I'm loosely planning on an afghan of at least 8 squares across by 7 squares down. So I need a minimum of 56 (yes! I can still multiply in my head) and I may go for 9 x 8 squares....we'll see when I get into the 40's!

I'm working on some new scissorkeeps, pincushions and such for my etsy shop. It's been rather neglected for several months now. But I'd like to get a good selection in there for the holiday season. I love this fabric with the teacups..brown, orange, and aqua...serious love. Sorry it's a fuzzy picture, the perfectly overcast fall day does not make for great pictures inside. But it sure is cozy.

Crochet Everyday

Crocheting has the hot spot around here right now. I've been crocheting everyday, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. And reading about crochet. And looking at crochet on the internet. And dreaming up what to crochet next.

I started this shawl over the weekend, and I'm really enjoying it. You have to pay attention to the pattern, so it's a good switch off between the granny squares. I love the granny squares for just zipping along or taking in the car, because they are so easy and fast. I'm up to 16 squares over in the sidebar counter. Sometimes I get a whole square done in a day, sometimes not quite a full square.

The shawl is a free pattern I found on Lion Brand Yarn's website. It's called "Sweet Scallops" and the yarn it uses is Vanna's Choice in honey. I'd planned to buy that very yarn, because it looked great in the photo. But when I got to the yarn section in Hobby Lobby, this yarn was right next to the Vanna's Choice yarn, and this "Autumn Stripe" called out to me. It's a very soft acrylic and I'm pleased with how it's crocheting up.

Granny grows

Um, no one told me granny squares were this much fun! I love 'em!

I make myself weave in the ends of each square after it's completed to avoid the dreaded "I have 40 million ends to weave in!" syndrome.

I'm having so much fun with these, I've even put a little counter over in my sidebar to keep a tally for me. I'm not sure how many I'm going to make just yet, but it'll be at least 64 squares.

One More Time!

I've got granny square fever! These are the work (so far) of my own two hands...many more squares to go! In case you're desperate for more pictures of granny squares, go here. It's addicting.

More Granny Love

I've been enjoying the Grannysquares pool at Flickr. These are some of my favorites. Love all the happy color!

Hooked on Granny

I've been seeing lots of Granny squares around blogland and it's starting to give me the itch. To stitch, that is. I've been wanting to do a granny square afghan since last fall and just haven't gotten started.

But now, I'm seeing this, and this, and this...plus others here and there...that have me running for my crochet hook.

We're planning a trip in a little bit and I've been thinking about my travel projects to take with me. Crochet is great for a road trip. So, methinks I'll be purchasing a wee bit more yarn and head off to granny-land!

September

I love September. I love how the light changes and the temperatures cool and the air gets drier. Course, around here, "cool" means 80's. But that's still better than 100's.

September is also our anniversary month. We were married on September 8. And we're usually gearing up for a vacation this month or in October, so there's lots to look forward to.

The picture above is a recently completed washcloth, using my favorite crocheted washcloth pattern. It's just a simple half-double crochet in the back loop, with a scalloped edge. Simple but pretty. Jimmy said the colors looked just like the cup of tea I was drinking. Tea and milk, good stuff.

Happy September!

Blue lagoon tote

I'm really pleased with how this tote turned out. Especially since I just dove in and did no planning at all! I think the only change I might have made is to make the straps a little bit longer, but we'll see how these do in actual use. I lined the straps so they would be sturdier and wouldn't stretch, since I have a definite tendency to overload my totes.

(these pictures aren't the greatest, it's been pouring rain for 3 days here)

I also added something new that I think I'm going to really enjoy. I always carry around a couple of magazines (or six or eight) with me. So I made a separate panel with super sturdy interfacing and sewed it into the lining to hold a few magazines without having them fold over or sink down...I hate that! Kind of a divider idea.

Also added a few pockets for assorted stuff, some matboard to keep the bottom nice and sturdy and I think she's ready to go.

Crochet me a blue lagoon

I meant to post about this sooner, but it went so fast I was almost done before I knew it! I got this yarn at Hobby Lobby on sale (Yarn Bee Mosaic Twist). And had some kind of tote or bag in mind for it when I bought it. The color name is "blue lagoon."

So I just kinda winged-it with the construction. I made a front and back panel, a bottom panel, two side panels and two straps. I single-crocheted it all together (except for the straps, which still need to be attached) and now I'm ready to put a lining in it.


I had thought about the Girlfriends print (which is the white, green and blue print) before I stitched it up. But now, I'm leaning toward the blue dot (background fabric). It seems calmer, and a little better match at this point. It's been laying on my sewing table for a couple of weeks now, and I need to just finish it up. And it's for me!

Have a Pink Christmas

Pink seems to be everywhere this year. We were in Pier 1 on Saturday, during our marathon shopping spree, and the red and pink -ness was everywhere. I couldn't resist. I bought a gift bag for $3.00 because it looks like my blog header! It looks like my blog header...how cool is that? I had no idea I was so "up" on things. Truth be told, I'm not...I just like red and pink together.

And pink and cream....like this:

(I took this standing at the foot of it...it's not quite that big-footed looking)

A close-up of the cuff. It's from a thrifted wool/angora sweater. And the stocking is from the pink wool blanket, same as these and this.

I whipped this up one night last week in nothing flat. Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. Maybe sell it...maybe not. Hmmm...don't know.

And then there's these: (pardon the yucky picture...it's a rainy day)

Parts. Parts of soon-to-be felted crocheted bookmarks from this magazine.

I thought this was a terrific idea for a small gift or favor. I made a couple to see how my yarn felts. Then I'll make about a half dozen, they make up in no time. And one to keep for myself!

The gift list

We collect lantern and 'lamplight' ornaments for our trees. Can you guess why? Actually, I'm also a big lover of 'little lamps.' We have quite a few small lamps, electric and non-electric. I need to take some pictures and post them...maybe in January!

Actually, I can't believe how calm I feel about Christmas gifts this year. We have bought almost nothing so far. But then again, we don't have a ton of stuff to buy. It's a short list of people we exchange gifts with, other than passing on cookies and baked goods, which I love, love, love doing. It truly would not be Christmas without cookies! (Well, okay it would be Christmas...I mean it comes no matter what mood you're in...but you know what I mean.)

But back to gifts. I've made a couple of things already, and right now I'm working on this, which Katie kindly offered. It's going well (very well, considering this is my 2nd official knitting project and my first working in the round!), and I should have it done and pictures of it by the weekend. When I saw it I knew it was perfect for our little nephew. His mom loves to put him in hats!

Then there's the washcloths, one is done, the other is over half done. Pictures coming when they are finished, too. There is this scarf, for another relative. And maybe one more hat before time falls too short. And plenty of cookies for everyone!

Washcloth factory

I've been meaning to post a picture of the second washcloth I finished...it's been done over a week! I just keep forgetting to post a picture of it...so, here it is.

As a matter of fact, I'm enjoying making these so much I'm making a couple to give as a Christmas gift to someone (can't say who...they may be reading!). They are very quick and fun to do.

Also of note...my weekend kicked off on a great note. I made my first sales on Etsy! 2 on the same day...what a terrific way to kick off December. A big, big thank you to the ladies who purchased my scissorkeeps...Thank you!

Needlework aplenty

Lots of different kinds of needlework going on around here these days! I've got several scarves I'm crocheting for Christmas gifts. I've got one done...

Two or three more to go.

I'm knitting (yes, an actual project!) what I hope will be a very luxurious pouch that I plan to line with some decadent fabric and tie with silk ribbon as a gift. Here's what it looks like so far...

Um, yes, that is knitting. I promise. Between the fuzzy yarn and the fuzzy picture, it doesn't look like much at the moment. But I'm actually moving right along...I hope. This will force me to learn how to seam up my knitting, because this will need a seam. And by the way, purling hurts! Yeow...my left hand that holds the yarn gets sore as it can be. Anybody else have that problem?

I promise I'll post a picture of the yarn bag as soon as I can get a good picture of it. It's so big, it's kinda hard.

Lastly, we hit the flea market this past weekend. And I got these goodies - another box of patterns including a great robe pattern I will just have to make (very Mary Tyler Moore-ish), a box of wool (cool box), a sewing book and some great fabric. I've noticed my eye just seems to gravitate toward sewing and needlework stuff these days. Wonder why?!

Goodies to be...

Here's a peek at the yarn bag...still some finishing details to be done before the big unveiling.
And here's the dishcloth...not blocked yet, but mighty pretty I think anyway. I'm going to do another one and reverse the colors, blue body and white border.

Stacks of fabric for things to be made. I adore the sampler fabric from Blackbird Designs, and I haven't had the heart to cut into yet, but.I.must..really! It needs to be made into many adorable things.

And these are going to be made into a gift...soon.