Bargains

So I was on a yarn buying ban in March. Ok, that's not true. I was on a spending money on yarn ban in March. I actually brought home a lot of yarn in March. Mostly sock yarn. I mean, sock yarn is sensible, right?
But April started and my temporary ban was over.
How foolish of me.

Then I was much more foolish.
I went to Romni.

These are all from Romni. 10 balls of the Cantata. I love the colour, it's going to make the perfect summer top. The bright blue cotton thread is what I really went for- I'm making a little shrug out of it and I knew they had the perfect colour on clearance.


I realized that I hadn't gotten the right weight of cotton with the Cantata, though. Here I was thinking my project was DK, and it was sport! But not to worry, I have DK projects too. I just needed to get some sport weight, too. I couldn't decide on a colour, so I pulled both of these out of our clearance section. Stripes!


And then last week I went in and they told me we had a washable merino and silk blend on for 1.97$ a ball. So I bought a dozen. Enough to make a sweater! A beautiful cabled sweater!
The pattern I started with this failed, so I'm just going to use the cabled panel and make up the rest of the pattern. I think it'll be nicer, anyway.

And then I went away this weekend, and we happened to pop into Goodwill to buy a corkscrew for my Uncle (Protip- in a pinch, a screw and vicegrip will open a wine bottle).
This yarn was so cheap. The crochet cotton was 1$ a ball. The three balls of Bernat Alpaca were 3$ total. And then the black Verdi cotton. It's a cotton/viscose acrylic blend. Each bag was 1$. So that's 2$ of yarn and it's more than enough for a big summery cotton cardigan. I am so excited for that project!
So that's 7$ of yarn. Oh, and no tax on that, I guess because it's Goodwill. Score.

I also got a bunch of flour sack dishtowels and embroidery supplies from work. That's right, I'm learning to embroider! Not that I really actually did anything properly here. I'm sure someone who knows what they're doing with embroidery would cringe at this, but I think he's cute! I'm going to make a set of nerd-themed dishtowels for our new apartment. We don't move for awhile yet, indeed we haven't even started looking. I'm hoping that will mean I can actually get a few of these done before we move.


I also finished this project, my Sailor Blues Shawl. Isn't it cute? I think it's going to be perfect for the summer. Just enough density and weight to protect you from cool evenings and A/C. Also, I love the colour combo. This laceweight is hanging where I can see it from the counter at work, and I am always sitting there looking at colour combos in my mind.
I stared at this one a bit too long, and I had to bring it home!

Back Home with Big FOs

I've returned from my amazing week in gorgeous sunny Cuba. Me and the hook spent some quality time together, but I also just relaxed and snorkled and played tennis. My poor boyfriend got sick (again- 3 trips, twice he's gotten sick) but otherwise it was a great time.


I spent most of this day working to get my dress finished for dinner that night...

I did! My mom liked it so much she made me go pose for a picture which I promptly grabbed when I got home to show off.
I love the dress. Cozy and soft but not so warm I can't wear it somewhere tropical (as the one woman who saw it partway suggested- oh, she said, that must be only for Canada!). It's snuggly and comfy and I'm already wearing it like crazy.


Before I went away I finished this sweater. It had 3/4 length sleeves, but I decided that was silly and went full length for them. It's really snuggly and great for layering. I definitely need a long sleeve shirt under it to keep my arms properly warm.


This is what I finished yesterday. It is the most dreamy, soft lovely shawl. It's Debbie Bliss Angel and Party Angel, striped in a simple feather and fan pattern. It's huge and super cozy and so touchable. I may be cuddled up in it right now.

I really am doing a lot of cozy and snuggly kinda projects right now. Winter is settling in. We have Cascade Pastaza on sale at work and I have some sitting in my cubby that's going to be a cardigan (once I can afford some more yarn!). Also some mohair we have for a fantastic price- I have no idea what it's going to be, but I love it.

I'm working on a cardigan for my nephew right now. It's all fuzzy yarn and it's going to have little bear ears on the hood. Bear ears! So cute!
I was also making a pair of socks for me via a tutorial with no gauge. I knew it was risky but I thought it would be fine. Well, I wore the first one for awhile and realized that I couldn't lie, it was way too big. I made Andrew try it on... and it's perfect on him. And he said it was comfy. So... I'm making the second one now for him. Sigh. Next ones will be mine!

I really need to get a move on my angora mittens, though. Once it gets really cold my thin mitts just won't cut it... Ah, life is hard. Ha.

Next post I will share my craft related Christmas gifts. People knit for me! And got me yarn!

On The Mend

Finally I'm just about back to normal. I'm on my last day of amoxicillin and my tooth-holes appear to be healing well.
While I've been getting better, I've been doing a lot of sitting around and crocheting, mostly while watching MASH. I'll admit, it's been kinda awesome that way. Anyway, the project I've been working on is the River Walk Wrap from the latest Interweave Crochet.


It's beautiful. I love the pattern and I'm really pleased with how it's working up- I'm more than halfway now. It is also an incredibly non portable project. As you can see I'm working from 3 cones of cobweb weight, which together make up almost laceweight. The two smaller cones are 100% silk that's basically sewing thread, but really gorgeous. The huge cone is cotton/acrylic, and it's very soft and nice to work with. I love Value Village- they were all about 1.99-2.99. Yummers.

I have other plans for this yarn, too. The cotton/acrylic blend is gonna get mixed with another cone I have of laceweight acrylic in light blue and I'm gonna make some socks out of it. Just to see how it feels, really- with this much yarn to play with, I definitely feel free to experiment.

Just for fun, here's the bigger version of my new ravatar. I decided my old one wasn't crochet themed enough. Inked with a sakura graphic marker and coloured with various art markers.

Maia Shawl and What I'm up to

I finished my Maia shawl yesterday and blocked it. I felt like I'd been working on it forever... but it's done! All those stinkin' trs are done!

It seems like everyone else likes it too! One day on Rav and it's already my most favorited piece with 13 faves. That's so cool! My next most faved piece is my Imitation Hawaiian Diamonds pullover- it only has 9 after months of being up. Eee!

Speaking of being noticed, I got contacted by Inside Crochet asking to put pictures of my beret in an upcoming issue! It's so cool- it feels like people are recognizing what I'm doing and that's definitely making me feel good. Crocheting has been keeping me sane while I'm job hunting and unemployed, so hearing someone say I'm good at it is a real boost.

(The yarn I used for the beret. Ain't she pretty?)

I really have to start publishing/writing patterns. I have a few things that I could put out patterns for- it would probably be a good idea to test my pattern writing skills before I put out any paid patterns. We'll see.

I'm working on something now that could eventually be a pattern I put up for sale. I ripped out a tube top I'd made last summer. It took me forever the first time- I kept getting things wrong and it was fitting funny and finally I got it right. I wore it once. The stitch pattern made it way too hot and a tube top? Seriously, tube tops are not flattering on me, and I feel like I'm getting too old for them.Look at it. Yuckers. This time I'm making the rather obvious dye lot changes horizontal, so they'll be more subtle stripes if anything.

So now I'm working on a plain stockinette tank, and if I like the final product it will be my first crochet stockinette garment (other than socks!). The other wrap cardigan I was working on is still in time out. I'm still mad that I messed up the back.

New Shawl

Yesterday I made a shawl! Today- picture taking time!


I made it with kitten-soft acrylic mohair. I say kitten soft, because my boyfriend touched it and asked me why I skinned a cat. He calls the shawl my cat-net.

The shawl itself was really fast. It's the Solomon's Knot Shawl. I started it late Monday/early Tuesday and had most of it done by the time I went to bed. Then I woke up and realized that I'd just missed a bunch of stitches so my triangle was off to one side. Yeah, I was really tired.
So I finished it. Wrapped it around myself and sat it down. Later I pranced up to my mirror to see how it looked.
It was good but... the triangle at the back was way too long and just so not me. Of course, I'd already woven in the end. So snip I went, found the end, pulled it back a bunch of rows to get a flat bottom instead of a triangle. It's still a bit long, but I can live with that. It means that I can bundle it up as a scarf in the winter.


So having been inspired by a fantastic shawl I saw in this pattern on Rav with flowers on the border, I decided I had to do that too. I found some pretty gold faux-pearls in my beads and started. Of course, it's thick furry mohair, so trying to pull it through beads with a .6 mm hook was making me rip my hair out. Finally, I started trimming the mohair where I was pulling the beads through.
Still, it was at least 10 minutes a flower from making to sewing them on. And there are 50 of the buggers on there. Two big, the rest small and one that I ran out of yarn on- a 4 leaf clover!
But the gold bead against the green looks great and they add a nice heft to the shawl.
I'm quite pleased with it!


I also decided to take some pictures of my petal pullover with my new crinoline.


I think I may have had too much fun! I ended up with 9 shots of me being silly. It was really fun!

Some FOs

I have been busy doing something I'd been putting off. I'm making my demo reel and preparing to start applying for jobs later this week. I need to do it, and I need to get a job, but that doesn't make it any more fun. I'm waiting on an email from a former employer right now, hoping to get some old work.
I don't like applying for jobs. I know it's not how it works, but I want to just be given a day or two to show them how hard a worker I am! They can call my references, they'll tell them I'm a good employee. I don't mind working really hard at a job- but I'm intimidated by the work that goes into applying for jobs. Walking into a place and handing over my work is scary!
But it needs to be done. Hopefully I'll have done all my applying by the end of the week. Even better would be having a job in the next two weeks. Fingers crossed.

I have been crocheting still. I need something to relax me- and while I'm waiting to hear from my old job, there's not much else I can do. My resume is in order, my reel is just waiting to have the work dropped in.
I finished these socks last week. The first one was a pain, the second was relatively easy. I made changes between them- the second one, on the right, has a nicer heel because I figured out crochet stockinette worked flat. The heel uppers on both need to get changed next time- I worked sc for height, but it would have been much nicer in stockinette. Next time! I also need to remember that ankles will stretch and I should work them tighter than I think I need to. They're still really comfy and cute though!
Once I finish my current project (the stockinette one) I will be starting in on a pair of knee-highs. They'll have this plain foot base, then I'll start in on a pattern from a different pair on the ankle. I'm excited!

I made this shawl mostly while my nephew was here in the mornings when he and my sister in law were sleeping off the jet lag (by the way, I have the cutest nephew in the world, just thought you should know!).(the sweetest guy in the world wearing a hat and booties made by his auntie!)

Finished it in a week and have been really loving it. I will definitely make another in just one solid yarn- I don't totally love the combination of the two yarns here, and it really doesn't help that one is lace and the other is fingering weight!
Speaking of shawls, my Nana seemed to like hers. She wore it all weekend and thanked me for it, which is about all I needed! I'm happy.

This was what I finished the day after I finished the socks. I'm loving this shirt! It's a mysterious cotton blend- I'm thinking cotton/acrylic. It feels nice and soft and drapey and has a great sheen to it that I need to get a picture of. It's like a thin band of mercerized cotton twisted with something matte, and the yarn is almost ribbon like.
The shirt is great. I want to add more to the bottom band, but otherwise I'm pleased. It has a tendency to slide off my shoulder, but it ends up looking really cute. It's just really comfy and a nice addition to a simple tank top.

Alright, back to my stockinette top- almost finished the back. Then it'll be just the sleeves left. Yay!

Some Pretties and a Lull

Look, I made some more yarn! I'm starting to get more even. I turned that one into a ball of heavy worsted. Now I'm working on more- this time I'm getting somewhere between lace and fingering/sport on the single. More even- not perfect, but a definite improvement.
I've also finally been able to draft and spin at the same time- no more park 'n' draft for me! I feel like a wizard. Tonight Andrew was just sitting and watching me work. I'm starting to kinda look like I know what I'm doing.

I finally finished the shawl for my Nana. Isn't it just gorgeous?
I think I'm gonna make one for myself- but I'll make it out of my own yarn once I can spin well enough. Pink, definitely. I need more floaty soft dreamy pink shawls.
I'm really pleased with how it turned out. It felt like it took forever, and I cut it close with the yarn. I had maybe 20 yards left- and I was guessing from a whole repeat of leaves how much I would need. Phew. I would never have pulled it all out and it looks much nicer with the full edging.
When I pinned it out to block, Andrew looked at it. His first comment was that it looked like a bird- he's right! It did look like it could take off. Then he said "Wow, no wonder it took you so long! That pattern is so intricate- it looks great. You did a really good job."
Talk about the right thing to say!

I will probably be away from blog for the next few weeks. I'll be staying with my brother and his wife and my little nephew at the hotel this week. They've asked me since he'll be working long hours and they will be really jet lagged. I get to help with the baby! I can't wait to meet him. Then it's Pop's 90th birthday weekend with a lot of great relatives and after that, more different relatives- everyone wants to meet the baby. I'm excited, I really love my family.

So, I will be away from the computer awhile! Don't cry too much without me...