Baby Set

I created this set for Crystal at work. It was fun to make it. This is the first time I ever attempted the sacque (sweater). The hat was from a different group. The hat that was with this set was too girlie for a baby boy. The set also had ribbon around the blanket and sweater. As you can see I choose NOT to do that either! She seemed pleased when she opened it and that is all you can really ask for with a gift.

Another Smilebox

Make a Smilebox greeting

Totally Excited about Inauguration Day!

I watched the Inauguration Concert yesterday, I watched Oprah from Washington D.C. this afternoon, she actually had Will.i.am and others to write a new song! It was pretty good! This is a link to YouTube...



I am so glad I took tomorrow off so I can watch all of it -- without feeling guilty about not doing any work!

I don't know if I have ever felt so hopeful as a president was taking office. It was thrilling to go downtown to see Bill Clinton in 1991 when he was first running. It was pretty amazing at how many people filled Westlake Center.

I can understand why so many people are going to Washington D.C. to be a part of this inauguration.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A New Year -- do I set resolutions NO!

But I do have some goals. I would like to learn how to crochet: socks (I have some great sock yarn), gloves (at least fingerless!) and mobious scarf.

How about you?

It always feels like I time to set goals. However, September still feels more like a time to start something new. I am sure it is from all the years of starting school in September!

Stay tuned!

Happy New Year!

December Snow

Same view, 2 different days. It looks much prettier when it is not snowing at the time of the picture. The second picture reminds me of pictures from my childhood where the colors are starting to fade.

I have felt very lucky that I can work from home today. Probably tomorrow too, since the temperature is not planned to go above freezing so the snow will turn to ice. If I worked closer to home --

like I used to! -- I would be more willing to driving in but it seems silly to risk my life to drive 23 miles with those idiots who don't think they need to slow down when it is icy out.

Caitlin Likes her Afghan

Finally got to give Caitlin her afghan. She seemed to really like it. Of course, she is spending the winter -- their summer in Australia so it is folded up on the end of her bed here in Seattle. If she was home today, I suspect she would be using it! It is cold out and has been cold for several days now.

Does it look familiar? Yep, it is the background for my Blog heading!

Hooded Scarf

I createad 2 scarves for the NW Family Holiday campaign. The first one I made I did not like the pattern or the yarn that well. This one turned out well. I used yarn I received at the Knit & Crochet Show. On the last day of the show, they had a number of hooks, needles and yarn free for the taking.

I took this yarn and created this scarf. I have 2 balls left which I plan to create a scarf for the Warm for Winter project. However, since the blessing is tomorrow morning, I suspect it will have to be the first scarf I make for next year.

You Light Up My Life...

Lighted crochet hooks! I thought they were hocky until I started riding in a carpool. It is very dark in the morning when we head off to work (6:20 am) and especially in the back seat, I could not see my crocheting! What is the point of riding in a carpool if I can't listen to my book on mp3 and crochet while we ride. These solved my problem! I can really see my crocheting AND I can even use it to count my stitches.

I have been working on the Lion Brand Yarn Crochet Along project. It is surprising how often I miss a stitch on the simple blocks I have been making!

Herrschners had a great sale on them! They were only $3.99 a piece. That is pretty reasonable even for un-lit hooks. Since I was placing an order, I also ordered the afghan kit which has a pattern I have been searching for over the past several years. I haven't started it yet but it looks so lacy and I wanted to see how then made look like it is in layers -- my fear is that i have to sew them together!

Pet Sweater and Blanket

I found a new favorite site -- crochetkitten.com! It has many pet items but also other free patterns. As you can see by the picture, Baby was NOT the model for the sweater. I knew I would never get her in it and I didn't want to cover it in cat fur -- any more than it is just by my working on it!

I used Sensations Multi-Brite for the center of the sweater and blanket and trimmed it with Lion Brand Jiffy Wine.

I bought the Wine colored yarn to help fill out the second Linus project blanket I made. I bought a second skein of the Sensations yarn when I realized I did not have enough for the blanket and learned my lesson about buying enough at the same time because the dye lots were VERY different.

So, I tore out the additional rows. So then it was too small, so I edged

it with the Jiffy yarn. It was not very easy to find a color that went with the yarn, Jiffy was the best match.I double-crocheted onthe short ends and singled across the sides that were ok.

Towel and WashCloth Set

Well, I finally finished the towel and washcloth set. I found the pattern on the Coats & Clark site. I even bought the eco-cotton blend yarn. It feels so soft! However, I found a cotton yarn at A New Yarn that matched the Mary Kay containers I planned to combine with the towel and cloth for the Workplace Giving Auction.

The first time I made the towel. I did not make the 8 sqaures (4 for each end of the towel)

at the same time. So, when I went to make the 4 for the end of the towel, I grabbed the wrong hook -- the downside of the Clover Ergo hooks, they are all the same color -- they were too big. Which I did not notice at first. The second error I made was slip stitching the 4 squares to the center of the towel instead of sewing them. This made it real puffy which may have been why I didn't catch the size error.

I didn't see the error until I brought it to the Seattle Crochet Guild meeting! Fortunately, I only showed it to a few people before I realized the errors.

So, today, I finished the towel for the second time. It came out MUCH better. While I was at our meeting, I bought the last 2 skeins of the same cotton (we have our meetings at A New Yarn). This time I made all 8 squares at once and I even sewed the 2 groups of 4 together at the same time so I used the same process.

I had to take apart the old towel to used some of the yarn for the new towel. It took me a while to find the ends I had woven in -- that is a good thing! I always feel like my ends are so obvious.