Remember When? - NaBloPoMo#11

Remember when you could go out to eat and nothing fell on the floor?

Remember when you had the time and money to go to rock concerts? And stilled liked loud music?

I had forgotten until I came across a new up and coming band, Sick Puppies. If I had money, if I had time I would go see them in concert. They awakened in me that deep teenage angst. I liked the music and the lyrics. I did find their videos with the exception of the free hug one, somewhat disturbing. I still like the music and will pull enough change together to at least get a CD someday. Then I'll put it in the CD player, crank up the volume and dance on a my crumby, lego strewn floor.

Freeform Purse - NaBloPoMo#10

Whenever I get the chance I make something freeform. During the summer secret pal swap my partner said she wouldn't mind a freeform purse or tote.

Her favorite colors were pinks and blues. I hope I didn't take the color scheme too far as it came out quite bold. She did say thank you but you never know.

Almost done just need to sew it together, weave in those pesky ends and make a strap, and sew in a lining. (Doing my best to look at the work that was ahead of me with glass half full kind of attitude.)

I enjoy the freeform process except for weaving in the end. That's the biggest trouble with freeform so many yarn changes so many ends to weave in, so much sewing to put the scrumbles together. Since, I love the process so much and the end result most of the time I keep at it.

The back (left) and the front of the purse(right)

Before I sent it off to her I steam blocked the shoulder strap with an iron. I used a pink lining with fabric I had on hand that I dyed myself. Dang it! I didn't get a post of the lining.

The front flap open

Thursday Thirteen - NaBloPoMo#9

Join me in Thursday Thirteen iffin' you want.

13 things I've been doing:

1. on my hook: hemp tote, doily, and an ornament
   
2. going to the laundromat every other day to wash the clothes - washer broke - Yuck!
3. watched The Lake House - Keanu Reeves - Yum!
4. Did our weekly house blessing Sunday
   
5. Blogging
6. chatting it up on the Kansas unschooling list
7. eat lots of left over Halloween candy
8. listen to a recorded book - Stephanie Plum series - Hot Six
9. Went to the library to get more books for the kids and for me
   
10. took in the recycle
11. currently reading Parent-Teen Breakthrough
12. made a beaded spider
13. mailed a package to India

13 things Jade's been doing:

1. listening to recorded books
2. doing things in Puzzlemania
   
3. reading Astroboy manga with her dad
   
4. practicing her Japanese
5. playing with friends
6. planning for her birthday
7. cooking with dad and mom
8. baking
9. playing with her brother
   
10. made up her own bean dip recipe
11. shopping with dad
12. meal planning with mom and dad
13. reading reviews on amazon about toys

13 things Corbin's been up to:

1. playing on the gamecube
   
2. playing with his sister
3. playing violin
4. violin lesson
5. watching movies with mom and dad
6. playing with friends
7. skate boarding
   
8. riding his bike
9. beading with mom
10. building things with legos
11. reading with mom and dad
12. playing ball and throwing the monster disk with mom
    
13. card games
    

Crazy Squirrels - NaBloPoMo#8

Wordless Wednesday

Crazy Squirrels


Have a Wordless Wednesday Post?
Make a comment on my blog and I will come visit yours.

It's a flower scarf - NaBloPoMo#7

I couldn't sleep so I'm sneaking today's post in very early this morning. Enjoy.

It's a flower scarf but I didn't get to keep it. I made it for my swap partner on Crochetville.



I use knit picks merino wool which is fairly soft. I like how it turned out but was disappointed in the color selections. I didn't use more colors in the scarf because there other choices weren't in the right hue. I also think this would have looked really good using a mercerize cotton yarn to give it more drape and shine. Cotton would be cooler to wear for a fun scarf in the summer.



I saw some cotton merino mix in some colors I really like at my LYS and I wish I could have made it out of that. It was silky soft too.

Spiral Baby Sweater - NaBloPoMo#6

I had quite a bit yarn of the Plymouth Encore Yarn left over from my Bohemian Jacket so I decided to make a friend of mines little one a sweater. Encore is a perfect yarn for babies and kids because it's warm and most importantly washable. Encore also has so many color choices. My interest in freeform crochet inspired me to make a spiral motif for the back.

I used the instructions I found here to make the spiral. I did tweak the increass a bit to prevent wavyness. After I got it to a size that seemed about right I added dc, tr, and dtrs to make it more square. After that I felt it needed a bit more length and added some to the bottom of the back.

I took a look at some of my old patterns to see how big the sleeves and fronts should be for a toddler size sweater. I used fpdc, dc alternating for the sleeves and front. I think it would be fun to add small spiral pockets to the front as well.

It was a bit big for her son at 6 months but worked with the sleeves rolled up. It fits him well now at one year. I want to make another one soon and write up the pattern. I'm not sure if I will make it free or to sell though. The trick will be to make it in enough sizes and that's a new thing for me.

Bohemian Jacket - NaBloPoMo#5

I made this Bohemian Jacket from Hip to Crochet at the beginning of the year and I never blogged about it. I LOVE IT. I was worried the motif on the back would make it less warm but it quite cozy. I used it for the rest of the winter as my coat.

It's my first and only wearable. Except for the motif which took me several tries to figure out what I was supposed to do, it was fairly easy to complete but I enjoy an challenge. If I started it today it would make more sense because I was still new to crochet when I made it. There were few errors that I caught. In one instance it said to ch5 where usually you would ch3 so that's what I did. I needed to add an extra chain to the starting chain for the tunisian crochet lapel and for the cuffs to get the correct number of tunisian stitches for the pattern grid shown in the book. Hey, maybe I'm the one who is all wrong.

Here it is almost ready to sew together:



a close up of the sleeve


Speaking of tunisian crochet, this was a new technique for me and I learned how to do it to complete the jacket. The lapel and the cuffs use. Then the flower design is cross stitched using the grid of the tunisain stitch.

Here's a close up of the tunisian crochet:


The motif on the back:


It took me about 2 weeks to make, working every moment I could and staying up late nights. (Kids? what kids?Husband? what's that? ) The yarn for it cost me about $60-70 or so. I had lots left over. I used Plymouth Encore instead of the MUCH more expensive yarn suggested. The jacket has pilled some but still looks good to me. So far it's the only thing I have made from Hip to Crochet. I do have a few other things I would like to make: the tapestry bag(s), the caplet looks cute, and the linen baskets.

I need a better picture of me in the jacket.
I look a uncomfortable with the sun shining in my eyes.


Can you tell purple is my favorite color?