Dang It!

I just discovered the crappiest thing. The really cute patterns that I bought for pj pants for the girls are the wrong size. One of them will fit Laynie, but one is still too small for her and neither pattern is big enough for Kassi. It's my own fault, really. I guess I was caught up in the giant sale craze at Jo-Ann's, and in a hurry, and just not paying very good attention, all which are normal for me, but dang it! I was so looking forward to getting started on those pj's! So I guess I now have two options. Option 1: Try to return the completely wrong size pattern and keep the pattern that will fit one child. Or, Option 2: I can attempt to "resize" the pattern to fit my girls. It seems to me that for every 1/2 inch that the size increases, the pattern piece also gets 1/2 bigger, with the exception of the fold for the waist elastic and the hems. These also increase proportionally. So, is it possible? Could I just measure out the required 1/2 inch (or whatever) and follow the line of the smaller pattern? Can I actually resize the pattern? I don't know. Feedback would be greatly appreciated here, I really like the pattern itself and I am itching to start these pants. I would hate to have to wait two weeks until I can get back to Jo-Ann's to find out if they will even let me exchange the pattern. Help!

A Little Quickie

I had a little spare time yesterday between work and making supper, so I decided to try out a couple of my new toys from Jo-Ann's, namely my new cutting mat and pinking shears. Here are the results:


A cute little pillow to adorn my bed! Pretty simple, really. I cut out two 16x16 squares of anti-pill fleece and sewed them together, right sides out, leaving a 2 and 1/2 inch border all the way around. I sewed around it twice for durability, leaving about a 3 inch opening for the stuffing. After I stuffed it I pushed the filling down and pinned it that way so that I could fit the pillow back under the foot of the sewing machine, and closed it up. I cut the border into fringe with my fancy-schmancy pinking shears and tied them into little knots. Voila! Pretty little pillow for my bed. My only complaint is that I didn't have enough fleece to make a bigger pillow. Oh well, when I'm ready to make the huge version of this pillow, I'll know exactly what to do!

Project Specs for Hat, Socks, and Afghan

First off: Congratulations to Diana and Chris on the birth of their baby Wednesday afternoon, a healthy 8 pound boy. Chris called to let me know earlier that the baby has been wearing his new hand-crocheted hat at the hospital, and it's a hit with all the nurses. So, I'll give you the specifics.


Project Specs

Black and White Baby Set
Pattern: For the socks, I used an old standby, the Granny's Garret baby sock pattern that I love. I made the hat off the top of my head, no pattern, just a hook and the leftover sock yarn.
Yarn: The yarn didn't have a label anymore, but it is a self-striping sock yarn, I think either Bernat Hot Sox or Moda Dea Sassy Stripes.
Impressions: I've made this sock pattern several times. It's very quick, can give very different results with a different yarn or hook, and the socks are always a hit. I'm proud of the hat because it's my own design, I guess, and I'm so glad that it fit right off the bat!

And now for the granny afghan:

Project Specs

Artful Granny Square Afghan
Pattern: No pattern, just standard granny squares, with a larger granny in the middle.
Yarn: Scrap yarn. I needed to use some up, and these colors spoke to me. They also match my bedroom color scheme. It's all worsted weight acrylic, mostly RH Super Saver and TLC Essentials.
Impressions: I love my blanket. It's been a long time since I set out to make something on this scale all for myself, so I was excited from the beginning. Now that it's done, I'm enamored with it, but I'm not going to use it, per say. I'm going to hang it from my wall-mounted quilt rack/shelf thing and display it as a piece of art.

Strike a Pose!

Aaahhh, the camera, she is back. Yay! I finally was able to take pictures yesterday, and it was beautiful outside, and all the neighborhood kids were running around enjoying the cool fall weather. So we had a little photo shoot.















There's Kassity on top, holding Curious George. George is modeling the hat and booties I made for the neighbor's baby, who is due tomorrow. We can't wait for him to come out of Di's belly so we can all see him. And that's Trenton and Shane on the bottom. They had to have their turn with the monkey too.

Baby Nevaya wanted to model everything, so here she is with Kaylee, George and his ensemble, and the recently finished granny square afghan. Aren't they beautiful? (I meant the kids, of course.)

Another gratuitous baby and blankie shot and the full view of the afghan:

I'm just too tired to give project specs for these two tonight, so I'll leave that for tomorrow. For now, I'm off to feed the girls dinner and give them baths. Maybe I can squeeze in some more crocheting before the night is over. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed, but I won't be holding my breath for it!

Shopping Trip!

I spent a lovely afternoon at the JoAnn Fabrics giant sale today, and I spent a lot of money, too. I had planned on buying yarn for Christmas presents, but I mostly bought fabric and sewing supplies instead. I brought home a ton of fleece, some cozy flannel to make the girls pj pants, new scissors, a new self-healing cutting mat, pinking shears (I've always wanted a pair), patterns, thread, and of course, some yarn. Whew! I'm exhausted just from all the buying, now I just have to make something with all this new stuff. Yay!

Stupid Camera

I have been doing much, much more crocheting than blogging this week. I guess that isn't say much, cuz I haven't wrote a thing this week until now. But my hooks have been flying! I finished my granny afghan, but my camera is an ass and won't let me take pictures. So I can't show off, not even a little. MCP #1 is almost done, the afghan is done, and I started a new scarf and a pair of baby socks. So much progress, no pics. Can you tell that my camera and I are having some severe issues? I'm going to ask for a new one for Christmas (and a vacuum!)

What I've Been Up To

I have been crocheting, I really have. I just can't show you. (Oooh, don't you hate it when someone tells you they have a secret but they can't tell you what it is?) I've been working on the secretive Christmas project that I talked about before. A lot. In fact, it's almost done. And since I know y'all are curious (the suspense would be killing me by now, ha ha!) I will give you one small hint:



That's it. That's all you get until Christmas. I will be making lots of things to be Christmas presents this year, and some of my family and friends read this blog, so many of them will probably be Mystery Christmas projects. I will reveal MCP #1 and all the rest after Christmas.
I've also been stitching away at my granny square afghan, little by little. Have I mentioned that I hate the sewing-together, finishing part of things? Well, I do. So I force myself to sew the pieces together a tiny bit at a time, and it doesn't seem so bad. It takes forever to finish things this way, though.

I think my stitches could look better, they are a tad bit sloppy. I apologize for the picture quality, my camera cannot take pictures at night (not and come out the right color, anyway).

The little hats for the hospital have been riding around in my project bag, and I take them out and work on them sometimes while I'm on the go. The finished hats are starting to pile up in my closet.

I think that's about it. From the looks of it, I'll be starting something new soon.

Remembrance

Everybody knows that today is the 5 year anniversary of September 11th. I wanted to write something here to commemorate that, and to express my sorrow and sympathy for those who lost their lives, and those who loved them. I am not very good with words, especially when it comes to a touchy subject that has left a mark on the life of every American, and more. So I lead you to this post at Nerd Knits. I found it very thought-inducing. Take a look at it, and take a moment to remember those that our country lost 5 years ago today, and those we have lost since because they are fighting for our freedom.

Monday Movie Review

The boyfriend and I decided to get out and do something last night, so we drove down to C-dale to hit the movie theater. We just barely made it in time to see Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. It was so funny! I love Will Ferrell. There were a couple of slow spots, but I found myself laughing out loud along with everyone else in the theater through the majority of the movie.
For me, the thing about Talladega Nights that really suckered me in was the soundtrack. Audioslave, AC/DC, Monster Magnet, Saliva, and more that I can't remember right now. Awesome. I love hard rock, and I especially love funny movies with great hard rock soundtracks. :)

Promised Pics! (and a Bonus)

Ok, so I've been done with the Blue Beauty sweater for a couple days now, but I'm just getting around to posting the finished pics. Camera problems, motivation problems, etc, etc. Please ignore my weird expression.


Project Specs

Blue Beauty Sweater
Pattern: Bronze Beauty sweater from Lion Brand Yarns. Search the pattern finder for Bronze Beauty (sorry, my link is messed up!)
Yarn: TLC Heathers in Teal
Impressions: I love the way this sweater turned out. The TLC Heathers I used is nothing like the Lion Brand Glitterspun that is recommended, but I hit guage easily and it worked out well. I think it might stretch a little over time and washing, but it will be so soft and comfy to wear. I've already tested it out once and got several compliments.

Here's a glimpse at the back. Same as the front, really. You can see the pattern in this picture a little better, I think, it's a little closer.



And the bonus pic: Kassity in the scarf I made this week. (Doesn't she look cute? She concentrated very hard on posing just right.) I knitted this one up real quick, using two balls of the clearance Wal-Mart yarn I bought over the weekend, and size 15 needles. The majority was done during an hour or so long chat session with one of my best friends. So easy, and so soft. Kassi liked this scarf so she may end up getting it for Christmas. If not, someone else will.

She Is Done

The sweater is done. Finally. And I have to say, I love it. I wish I had a picture to show off, but my camera has gone wonky and lost the pics! Maybe the new memory card I put in has something to do with that. Anyway, I finished up the Blue Beauty sweater this afternoon. It took 20 rows for the body, even though the pattern called for 14 rows. Maybe I just like the sweater longer than it was intended to be. I will take more pics tomorrow when I have light again, and maybe I'll even give her a run through the washing machine first!

Labor Day Weekend Picture Fun

Boyfriend and I went to the City Lake to run our dog for a little while this afternoon, it's a beautiful day on a lazy, long weekend. While we were there I took some pictures of all the stuff that was in my project bag, just for fun.

Here's some clearance yarn I got at Wal-Mart this morning for $1 a ball. They had tons more on sale, but alas, I have a very tight budget for the time being. The label says it is No Boundaries brand, which I think is a Wal-Mart brand, but that's all except for the color (Stella) and a lot number. I plan on knitting a scarf with it to use for a Christmas present, recipient currently unknown. (Yes, I said knit a scarf. I know I don't knit very well, but I can knit plain garter stitch scarves well, and I think the yarn will drape better as a knit rather than crocheted.)

Of course I broke down and started something new before the Bronze (well, Blue) Beauty sweater was completely finished. As far as the pattern goes, I'm done, but I want to add more length. I think it will look better on me that way, it's sort of a crop top right now. Here is the old blue project and the new:

The new project, down there in the corner, is the start of a preemie hat for charity. I dug the two skeins of old Red Heart Soft I'm using out of the stash bin this morning and started the hat on the drive to take my sister to work. I was inspired by Sue to make some hats and stuff to donate to the hospital I gave birth in, and this post of hers was what did it. Check it out, there are links for how you can donate hats, too. The link to the pattern I'm using is there, also.

The Blue Beauty against the water:


I wish you could see the tinges of green that run throughout the heathered yarn, it looked perfect against the backdrop of the City Lake. The colors of the sweater show up better in the previous picture, but this last one is my favorite pic of the sweater thus far. I love the way the shadows fall on the platform, and how you can see the hills and trees across the lake. Beautiful.

Notice the boaters in the background? They need not think that I didn't catch their snarky comments about some crazy girl hanging some kind of sweater thingie from the fishing platform. I distinctly heard "Only in Southern Illinois!", followed by a crappy rendition of some sort of imitation banjo-playing. Oh well, it just made me laugh, cuz I know y'all will understand.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I've been so busy, and so stressed out, and so BUSY. I haven't been getting much crocheting done. Or anything else, for that matter. I am almost finished with the Bronze Beauty sweater. Still going around and around. I'm going to try to finish it up this weekend if time allows. I'll post pics when I'm done.