Sunday, April 15, 2007

Grandma needs a snuggly scarf

My 91-year-old grandmother visited last weekend. When I picked her up from the train station, I gave her my snuggly scarf to hang onto, since I was too warm wearing it in the car. She put it on.

It looked so pretty on her. That particular yarn combines all of the colors that look best on her! I never would have realized it if she hadn't put it on.

I would've given it to her then and there, but I didn't want to have a cold neck. ;) So I've ordered more Lion Homespun in "Candy Apple," and am going to make her the same scarf. Yes, my grandma and I will be "scarf twins." Heehee! :)

The "snuggly scarf" pattern comes from Deneen S., by the way. LOVE that pattern. Will be making many more of those as gifts.

a good day to crochet

It's raining out, and there's supposed to be flooding (or maybe there already is--it's hard to tell from inside, and I'm not trying too hard to find out). I spent all day yesterday doing crochet-related stuff and watching TV; I think today I will do the same, and try to do some laundry and the dishes, too.

Yesterday, I had the bright idea of trying to wind some skeins of yarn I'd bought into balls. Now I am stuck with various yarn "muppets" that I am trying to untangle. :P ARGH! I followed the instructions and everything; I don't know how this happened! I even wound them around a chair and all that. *sigh* I'm not going to attempt this again until I know for sure that I won't wind up with this kind of tangling.

I picked up a good amount of Lion Suede at a local dollar store recently (many, many thanks to Maven for the tip!). I am now working on this silly eyeglass case and this beautiful shawl. Not sure what's possessed me to make the eyeglass case except that I have a skein of Lion Suede and a skein of Fun Fur in similar colors (not the rose color that's shown; mine is a rust color). I'd like to make something more interesting with it, but I just couldn't wait to use the yarn. D'oh.

The shawl is my first project in hdc (half double crochet). It's an easy stitch, but I had to switch out of single and double crochet mode for it. I'm not incredibly pleased with the way the shawl is coming out, but I know it will look better when it's all (or mostly) done. I'm still a beginner, so the first part of a project always looks a little strange to me.

Still working on all the stuff from my last post. It's mostly getting neglected at the moment. I do want to finish the oven mitt soon, though.

I've been finding the most delicious shrug & bolero patterns lately. I can't wait to try my hand at those...but I want to finish the shawl first. :)

Sunday, April 1, 2007

WIPs (WsIP?)

This weekend's been very low-key, since I've been sick and want to make sure I get enough rest. I spent yesterday at home doing various things (nothing the least bit strenuous!), and today looks like it will be much the same.

Last night, I started working on an oven mitt (got the pattern for free from the Bernat web site). I messed it up a few times, but now it's coming along nicely.

Took a break from that today and decided to start working on a Pilloghan, since the "easy" ripple afghan I'd started earlier wasn't so easy! I ripped up the ripple 'ghan and started the Pilloghan. It took me a few hours just to master the basic granny square in the pattern. D'oh. I've got it now, though. :) (And now that I know what to do, it's really easy!) I'm excited about the Pilloghan--I need more pillows, and I need an afghan, so this works well! And I love the geometric pattern. I'm only doing it in 3 colors--light blue, orangey red, and mustard. (I have a great multicolored rug in my living room, and this will match nicely.)

I'm using Caron One Pound yarn for it, which is proving to be a little annoying. I had never worked with it before, but it was such a good deal that I figured I should use it for this afghan. Well, talk about a yarn with no give. I mean, I was working with cotton yarn all day yesterday for potholders and the oven mitt, and the Caron One Pound seems to be even less stretchy! Weird. I had to switch the Pilloghan pattern from a G hook to an I hook, but now I think it'll be fine.

I was all excited to watch the episode of "Bridezillas" that my DVR recorded for me early this morning...when I turned it on, it was the same ep I'd seen last weekend. :( I am addicted to that show. It makes me feel sane in the midst of my wedding-planning frenzy. If I think about it too much, the show offends my feminist sensibilities--so I try not to think about it and just laugh at the crazy ladies. ;)