Yesterday: really good mail day!

I got the most wonderful things in the mail yesterday. Here's a picture:

The goodies: Ravelry Design Contest Project Bag, Selling Your Crafts Online by Michael Miller (which I'd been wanting for a long time after seeing it at the bookstore), The Knitter's Companion by Vicki Square (which I'd been wanting for a long time and just taking out of the library over and over and over again!), and a ceramic turtle business card holder from StrokesofMadness. All are things I ordered for myself, but it was so much fun to get them all at the same time! The business card holder looks great with my cards.  

Granny square baby hat!

Here's another FO from a few weeks ago. A good friend from college who lives pretty far away just had a baby girl, and I had some great colors of Caron Simply Soft yarn, so I decided to make a hat using the Granny Square Crochet Hat pattern by Kristin Spurkland. It's in the book Blankets, Hats, and Booties: to Knit and Crochet. First thing I've made from that book, and I'm happy with it--and the new mom loves it!

Here's the top view:



It's being modeled by Abbey, our very round stuffed piggy, who is the closest thing we have to a baby head around here! And here is the side view:



Simple hat to make, but lots of color changes (obviously) and ends to crochet over/weave in. I'm very, very satisfied with the finished project. I hope it proves to be durable.

My friend posted pictures of the baby in her hat to Facebook! I downloaded them and put one on my Ravelry project page, so if you're on Rav, you can see her here, in the first photo. Such a cutie pie!

I'm on a roll with the granny squares lately, but I've been making other things, too! More blog entries to come soon.

Sort of secret stuff

I'm working on some secret projects right now. I have one gift in the making that just needs an edging, and then it will be done (and I will post pics after it's been given to the recipient). I have a baby gift that I recently finished and sent out to a friend, which I don't want to post photos of until I know it's been received.

Mon urban hat, pic taken from the pattern website

Less secret: I will soon be making gifts for my niece, whose birthday is coming up too quickly! She'll be 6 on the 31st. I plan to make Mon urban hat and a Spring Bag for her, both from Lily Sugar 'N' Cream yarn in robin's egg blue (blue is her favorite color, or at least it was the last time I checked!). Hope to get started tonight if possible. If crises occur before her big day, we'll buy her a toy instead; but I really want to make her something.

Spring Bag, pic taken from the pattern website

Also, I will soon be making a hat for a friend of some friends who has a terminal illness. I don't know him--we've never even met--but any friend of theirs is a friend of mine, and I am glad to be able to give something to help out. I'm going to use Caron Simply Soft in Dark Sage (which is really more of a forest green).

I've re-started my little knitting swatch. I got sick of looking at the holes, and when I tried to fix them, things got even more screwed up...So I decided to start over from scratch and try my hand(s) at casting on. :) I did it! I am so proud of myself. My friend who is teaching me at S&B (which I unfortunately did not get to attend this week) uses the Continental Method. I've never used the English Method, so I don't know which is "better" (and my knitting friends tell me it's just a matter of personal preference). I think I like Continental, though. It seems like it might be slightly less complicated (?), and some say it's quicker. As an impatient person, I think the quickest method should suit me best!

I've gotten some books out of the library, including Stitch 'N Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook, which is what I used to figure out how to cast on. It seems pretty comprehensive; I think I may need to own it as soon as I have some money. For now, hooray for libraries!!!

Any other book suggestions for a very new knitter?

I picked up The Yarn Girls' Guide to Simple Knits at the bookstore the other day at a really low price. The projects in it are mainly made with chunky yarns and big needles, and I don't have big needles yet, but I'm sure I will at some point. For now, I just have the size 8 needles that my friend is letting me use.

Insert witty title here

Once again, "real life" has been interfering with my crocheting and beading adventures. *sigh* I keep planning to do more interesting crochet stuff, but I'm still just making that one darn scarf for the children's hospital. If you're on Ravelry, you can check out the pattern here. It's called "Skinny Cabled Scarf." Lots of front and back post double crochet, making a reversible cabled pattern. It's pretty cool, but it takes a while. I've also pretty much only been working on it at Stitch & Bitch. The other ladies have been stitching up a storm, so we may actually make our goal of two dozen scarf and hat sets by Valentine's Day, despite my delinquency. :P

Don't know when I'm ever going to start that baby hat for my family friend's grandson. Maybe when he's about 2 years old? OK, now I'm just being mean to myself. I'll get to it eventually--and I'll make it big-ish, and he'll grow into it. I hope that's a good plan. Anyway, a baby hat shouldn't take me too long to make. (I hope I'm not jinxing myself by saying that.)

Meanwhile, since I last posted, I've made a bracelet to match that cool green ceramic bead necklace. Here's a pic:

I plan to list it and the necklace soon. I also made a bracelet to match the unakite necklace. It's a little long, since I wanted it to have a clasp to match the one on the necklace, and I didn't want to make it too short. After all, I can always shorten it for a customer; I can't lengthen it without re-stringing it. But I'd be willing to do that for a customer as well, of course.

I've also made a whole bunch of stitch markers. I made a set with a Valentine's Day theme, a set with Czech flower beads in 3 different colors, and some purple butterflies, among others. They'll all be listed in my Etsy store soon. Here's a photo of those Czech flower bead markers:

These can also be 3 pairs of earrings, if you'd prefer! I actually had a customer order 6 coffee bean stitch markers because she wanted 3 pairs of coffee bean earrings. The lever back earring hooks are great. These stitch markers/earrings are much cheaper than what I usually make, because the head pins are base metal and the lever back hooks are silver plated. I am a little bit of a snob when it comes to my jewelry-making materials, and will usually use sterling silver or gold filled for jewelry before I'll use "base metal" (confession: I don't even know exactly what that means, besides inexpensive!) or metal plated. (Though I've been thinking about branching out into copper and brass.)

I've also been doing a lot of soul searching when it comes to the jewelry business and how I want to run it and what my goals are. I've been reading loads of books and websites. I bought a book called The Handmade Marketplace the other day, because I'd been reading it in the bookstore and thought it was helpful enough that I wanted to own it. Thanks to the book, I finally understand the concept of "branding," which I really didn't before.

I also need to contact my accountant (she doesn't even know I've started a business!) and make an appointment with a SCORE representative.

Also, I bought a really cute little Sony Vaio laptop for the purpose of watching beading and wire work tutorial videos while I'm actually working on said beading or wire work. I got a very good deal on the computer. Because of the layout of our apartment, my desktop computer is not anywhere near my jewelry/stitch marker workspace, so watching tutorials on that would be useless unless I had a really good memory--which I don't. ;)

And now I must bid you adieu so I can go do "real life," non-crafty things. Boooo.

New adventures in necklace-making, other business goings on, and a little crochet

Thought I'd start out this entry with a nice big pic of my smiling face. (Yeah, I probably should've put on some make-up, but my husband didn't give me much warning before he took this!) And what's that around my neck? Could it be...a brand new handmade necklace using fabulous green Israeli ceramic beads? Why, yes, indeed it is!

(If you look closely, you'll notice that I'm also wearing my own personal pair of Bali sterling silver puff bead dangle earrings.)

The ceramic beads are handmade and hand-painted by needy elderly people in Jerusalem, and I buy straight from the organization that employs them--it's a total win/win scenario, because they get the support they need and I get really interesting and completely unique beads to work with. I have a lot of these beads to play with right now, in a variety of different colors. It's very exciting.

I absolutely love this new necklace, which I finished last night. The larger round beads have silver glitter on them, and the smaller beads don't; the smaller ones are a slightly different shade and are textured. I've put fair trade greenish pearls (I say "greenish" because some look pretty green and others look more like peacock pearls) on either side of each of the ceramic beads. In between the ceramic bead and pearl combinations are Japanese seed beads in black, dark rainbow and silver. The seed beads make a nice asymmetrically colored design, which I think is spectacular, not that I'm biased. ;)

I finished the necklace off with sterling silver round beads, sterling crimp ends and a plain sterling silver toggle clasp.

It will be for sale in my Etsy store once I've taken good pictures and figured out what the price should be. Pricing is always a little tricky. It's very mathematical--I don't just pull my prices out of thin air. I have to figure out the costs of all the supplies involved and other expenses incurred in making each piece and listing it on Etsy, and then I have to multiply that amount by a certain number and hope that will make me a profit. Definitely lots of hope involved.

I also have a really gorgeous unakite and sterling silver necklace that I will be listing soon. It also needs to be priced first, but at least I already have the photos. I had never worked with unakite before. The more I looked at it, the more enamored I became with the gemstone's color combination of moss green and coral.

Here's a picture of it:


In other Smiling Turtle news, today I shipped off 2 sets of stitch markers to Chile (a woman ordered them for her aunt who lives there), and I will soon be sending a set to Minnesota. I've also had items featured in 2 treasuries (links below):

I'd Rather Make My Own Gift, Thank You Anyway! by PlainJane4 (A cool DIY-themed treasury! Right up my alley!)

and

My hearts a flutter by glamourpusscouture (Hearts and butterflies! Um, also sorta right up my alley.)


As far as my crochet goes, not much to report. OK, nothing to report. *sigh* Most of my creative energy and time is going toward beading at this point. I have yet to start that baby hat I wrote about. My Stitch & Bitch group is working on hats and scarves for a local children's hospital. I started a scarf at our last group, but got really bored with just a simple single crochet pattern, so I'm trying to figure out a good stitch or pattern for a kid's scarf (gotta be unisex for this).

I looked on Ravelry for kids' scarf patterns, but couldn't find anything that fit the bill. (I wouldn't know how to modify an adult pattern to fit a kid--I don't know kids' sizes that well, and I don't really know how to modify patterns.) I should check Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Crochet, which I have at home.

Any suggestions from my stitchy friends? (Crochet only, please!)

Poncho=done, and a birthday full of yarn and beads (and food)!

Well, my last poncho is done. OK, not really, I still have to weave in the ends. But it's 99.9% done. ;) I am worried that my littlest niece will be totally swimming in it, since it seems to be almost as long as she is tall! *gulp* I'll find out on December 11. Here's a picture of it without the collar, since I hadn't done the collar yet when I took this pic:



My birthday was on Saturday. I had a wonderful day, thanks to amazing friends and family and my incredible hubby. I got lots of phone calls, e-mails, and Facebook wall wishes.

My husband got me yarn for my b-day, and lots of it! It's all cotton bamboo from Yarntopia Treasures. Here is a picture of the various colorways:



The one on the left is called Electric Blue, the middle one is Posiedon (their spelling mistake, not mine--sorry, part of my job is editing, I can't help it!), and the one on the right is Dreamcatcher. He got me 5 skeins of Electric Blue, and 1 each of the others. The yardage is pretty good. About 420 yards per skein, fingering weight. Not sure what to do with them yet, but I will figure that out when I'm not so tied up with Chanukah projects. :) Love, love, love the yarn!

My in-laws got me a subscription to Stringing magazine, which I like to use for beading inspiration. One of my friends got me a rice cooker, which we desperately needed (and are, in fact, using right now!), and a book called "Crafting Jewish." My sister made me 2 gorgeous pairs of earrings. Lots of loot for me.

And then there are the presents I bought for myself! My husband and I went bead shopping on my birthday. First, we went to Beads of Westchester. I hadn't been there for a while. I bought some nice things--a bunch of Swarovski bicones in cool colors I hadn't seen before, a strand of green magnesite nugget beads, some pretty blue fossilized something-or-other beads (I had them write down the name of it and then I lost the card they wrote it on, of course!), some faceted onyx rounds. The ladies there were very nice, and it was an enjoyable shopping experience.

Then we went to Michaels. Not such an enjoyable shopping experience. I bought some more Swarovski bicones (at slightly better prices) and some Swarovski flower beads that were on clearance...or so I thought. They were with the clearance beads. There were many of them with the clearance beads, carefully organized. There were many other beads on clearance as well, and almost none of them were marked. My Swarovski flowers were also unmarked. When we checked out, the saleswoman insisted on charging us full price, without so much as sending another employee over to look at the clearance section. Grrrr. I bought them anyway, because I am a sucker for little Swarovski crystal flowers, and because I am not so good at being frugal.

After that, we went out for dinner to a local Argentinian/Italian restaurant. The food was amazing. My husband had fettuccine bolognese, and I had paella. The paella had lots of lobster in it. I was so happy! Then came dessert: a big cappuccino, and tartufo. Ohmygoodness it was heavenly.

The holiday sales are over in my Etsy store, unless I decide to come up with another one sometime soon. Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale was relatively successful. Not bad, really, for a shop that doesn't have a heck of a lot of items in it yet. The stitch markers have definitely been the biggest sellers. I made some new ones yesterday, but I don't have pictures of them yet, so I'll just have to keep you in suspense.

I ordered some beads from an organization in Israel, and they shipped out today! They are ceramic beads made by needy elderly people in Jerusalem. I am happy to support this wonderful charity, and I hope to make some really nice things.

I have so much jewelry that I've made, and so little time to get it all listed! It won't happen before the holidays, for the most part. D'oh. I will do what I can, though.

CPAD and iGive, and yay for Barnes & Noble

Today, I caved and ordered the CPAD 2009 Calendar. I've had the CPAD Calendars for the past 2 years, and I'm not sure I've used a single pattern from them; I just like to have them. I enjoy the surprise of what the next pattern will be, and I guess in some way I am drawing inspiration from the different projects. And it helps that it was on sale for $7.49 on the web site for Barnes & Noble, where I have a membership (so an extra 10% off for me!). :)

Totally unrelated to crochet: I also ordered the complete Firefly box set from B&N, and yesterday, I bought Coldplay's latest CD at their store. I swear, I am addicted to that place.

In case you are wondering why I chose to order online from B&N and not Amazon, I do most of my online shopping through iGive.com (which I highly, highly recommend) so a percentage of the proceeds will be given to a charity of my choice (in my case, the ALS Association of Greater NY). B&N is currently giving double their usual percentage through iGive, so I think it was something like 3.2% instead of Amazon's 0.8%. Pretty good, eh? I do what I can.

New yarn and other goodies from the LYS!

I was having a crummy day yesterday--the weather was bad, I was exhausted, and I found out during my lunch break that my favorite clothing store is going out of business. I needed a pick-me-up and had a little money to spend, so I took myself out to Flying Fingers after work.

What a good idea! :) I'd never been there before, and they were having a BIG sale. 50% off all yarn in the store, 75% off books, and old magazines for $2. I spent an hour and a half there, trying to figure out what I should get! It was a total kid-in-a-candy-store experience. So much gorgeous yarn that I otherwise wouldn't have been able to afford, and books that I could actually get for prices comparable to the ones on Amazon!

My haul:
*1 skein Colinette Chrysalis (so yummy! I think I'll make a hat out of it)
*1 skein Colinette Giotto (needs to be made into a scarf)
*6 skeins Wool in the Woods 100% rayon DK yarn (will probably become a sweater)
*Tahki Stacy Charles Crochet booklet with adorable Doris Chan bolero on the cover, and many other patterns for things I like (here's a pic of the cover--thanks, Doris, for letting me steal your Flickr photo!):
*Easy Beaded Crochet by Carol Meldrum
*Cool Crochet by Melissa Leapman
*Crochet Today! magazine, a back-issue from this year (May/June?)

I spent about as much money as I wanted to, but I am so tempted to go back. When the heck else will I ever be able to afford handpainted Colinette yarn and other such goodies? (I mean, there's always ebay, but then I can't really see the gorgeousness of the yarn and I definitely can't touch it! And I'd have to pay shipping. Boo.) Sales like that don't come along too often. Then again, I don't want to get myself into toooo much financial trouble. Dilemmas, dilemmas!

There's also this gorgeous pima cotton yarn that I fell somewhat in love with--so tempting. *sigh*


I am still working away on my Cupcake. It's hard for me to get myself to do much at a time, though--it is such a boring pattern!! I'm sure it will come out looking cute as hell, but so many rows of plain ol' hdc. Yawwwn.

I think I will start on my Giotto scarf later. :)

"Everyday Crochet" by Doris Chan, and keeping track of my stash

Yesterday, I picked up a copy of Everyday Crochet by Doris Chan. I'm a big fan of Chan's designs, and this book had been calling me since before it was released, but I had been trying to restrain myself due to lack of funds. Yesterday, my will power gave out. (D'oh!)

Oh my goodness. This book is a work of genius. I'd been a little bit worried because others had complained about a lack of variety in the patterns, since they all use shells. I need not have doubted Ms. Chan--she explains exactly why that is in the Introduction! The gist of it is that she has created patterns that build off one another. They are similar in order to make it easy for the crocheter to adjust the patterns to her liking. YAY! Designing my own clothing patterns would be far out of my reach at this point, but with these patterns, I can learn to adjust sleeves, add ribbing, change necklines, etc. Also, she mentions that she's chosen to use shells specifically because they are a very forgiving stitch. They can stretch horizontally or drape nicely, making them pretty much universally flattering.

I've been somewhat afraid to take on larger projects because I've worried that what I make won't fit me (the waist could be too tight, the hips could be too tight, etc.--it's not easy to tell from bust measurement alone). I can make the clothing in Everyday Crochet without worrying, as long as I've gotten the gauge right. No clingy waistlines, and she's made it very clear how to adjust patterns for your own proportions; plus, I can rest assured that the shell patterns will be flattering.

My only complaint is that a lot of the yarns used are wool, which I can't use due to allergies. However, in the Introduction, the author encourages the reader to substitute yarn; and if the "Eve's Rib Tunic" is any indication, some of these patterns will still be fabulous in acrylic (it's made with Simply Soft Shadows!).

My favorite patterns:

-"Mei-Mei," the little jacket on the front cover, which I wasn't sure I liked at first. It totally grew on me. Cropped vests tend to look nice on me because they elongate my torso a little (and my torso needs it!). ;) The more I try to picture it on me, the more I like it.

-"Somnambulista," a beautiful little nightgown made with bamboo yarn. I plan to ask for that particular yarn for my birthday, so I can make myself one. I love the texture of bamboo yarns, but I can't afford them.

-"Jewel," a little sweater that's shown with 3/4 sleeves, which I plan to make long-sleeved if I have enough yarn.

-"Insight," a beautiful long vest.

There are also some belt patterns toward the end of the book. I may wind up making one or two of those -- they would look great with the longer sweaters, or with some of my other Fall tops.


OK, that's the end of my little book review. I've been up since some crazy hour of the morning because I couldn't get back to sleep, so I've been entering info about my stash on Ravelry. I've realized that it's a good way for me to keep track of all my yarrrrrn! I am pretty disorganized, but now I can keep track of the yarns I have without having to make my own spreadsheet or do anything equally dreary. Hooray for Ravelry! :)

Ravelry, WsIP

I got my invitation to Ravelry!

*bounce bounce bounce*

Now seems like a good time to stop slacking on the blog front. ;) Sorry I vanished for a while. I have been having health problems, and just haven't felt much like blogging these days. I have been crocheting, though.

Lately, I've made some more baby booties and some scarves that will probably be gifts. Nothing exciting enough for picture-taking. I've started some slightly more ambitious things in the past week or so, though.

I started working on the "Anisette Vest" from Amazing Crochet Lace by Doris Chan. Haven't gotten too far on it just yet, since it takes too much concentration for me to be able to watch TV while I'm doing it. ;P I am making it so I can wear it to my cousin's wedding in late October--I've got an adorable sleeveless black dress that just cries out for something like this. I'm making the vest in Mystical Creation Yarns rayon boucle in Domino, which is a black and white colorway (probably stating the obvious there!). I only have one skein, so I am praying I won't run out of yarn before I'm done!

I've also started up a pair of Fireside Slouch Socks. Don't know who I'm going to give them to yet, but I'm pretty sure they'll be a gift. I plan on making a few pairs to give to some friends and family.

And, last but not least, I've started making a little something for my sweetie. It's a surprise, and I know he checks this blog every once in a while, so I can't say what it is until after I've given it to him for his birthday on 10/19. :D I'm very pleased with the way it's coming out so far, though.

I still haven't finished my first pair of socks. Looks like the Fireside socks may become my first finished pair, instead. I'm not feeling so motivated to finish that first pair--I was never really wild about them. I hope I will do it eventually, though. Even if I don't want them, I'm sure someone will!

I picked up a copy of The Weekend Crafter: Crochet on sale a week or two ago. There's a really cute bag in there that I'd like to make, and a few other projects that look good.

There's a Lion Homespun poncho from an old issue of Crochet Fantasy Magazine that I really want to make for my mom for Chanukah. I have a lot of Homespun Mill Ends, and I don't think the dye lot varies much (if at all) in the yarn I've got that I want to use for it. Also, I may make mittens for my sister's family from one of the patterns on the Lion Brand site, also using Lion Homespun. I have a TON of Homespun! Gotta use it! :)

slump-o-rama

I just read a friend's blog, and she mentioned being in a crochet slump. Well, I have been in one lately, too. I started my tunic, and I'm only about 5 rows in (though I spent plenty of time trying to start it and screwing up--wasn't sure about the gauge at first, or about what size I should be making). No other progress made on anything.

I haven't felt much like crocheting lately. Don't know why, though my neck and shoulders have been achey, which I guess doesn't help. Also, I've been distracted by Harry Potter. ;) After having seen all the movies, I finally caved and decided to read books 6 and 7. I'm in the middle of 7 now.

I managed to get The Michaels Book of Needlecrafts the other day at a bookstore for $5. I was really happy about that, since it was on my wish list anyway, but I would still have paid more if I've ordered it from Amazon--and this way I got to look through it. There isn't too much in there that I want to make (some of it's really silly), but there's an adorable kids' hat that looks like a fruit or vegetable top (Xmas/Chanukah present! Yay!) and a really pretty tote bag made from Lion Incredible. I'll skip the furry arm warmers, though. :P

Also, according to one of the customers on Amazon who reviewed the book, there's a good article on yarn substitution in the "Knitting" section of the book (which I otherwise might not have looked at, at all!). Hmmmm.

bookishness

Got 3 crochet books from the library today: "Crocheted Socks: 16 Fun-To-Stitch Patterns" by Janet Rehfeldt and Mary Jane Wood, "Cool Crochet" by Melissa Leapman, and "Easy Beaded Crochet" by Carol Meldrum. I am in big trouble now, because I want to buy all of them. :P I am especially enamored with "Cool Crochet," which I wasn't expecting myself to be. Most of the projects are either Intermediate or Advanced level, and I think I can do Intermediate at this point. They are just lovely. The patterns I would like to make are mostly for sweaters, and a few are for bags. *sighhh* :)

I am going to see how I feel when it comes time to return them all. If I can't live without 'em, I'll buy 'em. I'm a bit short on funds at the moment. Well, not exactly; but I've bought a lot of books lately, so I don't feel that the purchases would be justified!

The other day, I picked up "Amazing Crochet Lace: New Fashions Inspired by Old-Fashioned Lace" by Doris Chan. WOW. Beautiful patterns!

I can't wait to try the "Farpoint Topper" (top left) and "Abydos Vest" (both pics on the right side), among other things. I've even ordered the yarn for the "Farpoint Topper" already (Lion Incredible, purchased via ebay, of course! I got it in Copper Penny; the original was done in the Autumn Leaves colorway).

I also recently got "Crochet from the Heart: Quick Projects for Generous Giving" by Kristin Spurkland, which has a lot of really cute projects in it that promise to be quick to make (the hats are my favorites!). And I got "Stocking feet" from Annie's Attic, by Janet Rehfeldt, which I don't exactly recommend (but please click the link to see my scathing review! Muahahaaa).

Other than that, I am almost done with the cuff of my second sock (6.5" out of 8" finished). It's about frickin' time. ;P Sock progress has been soooo slooowww. I am looking forward to trying some patterns from the "Crocheted Socks" book. Socks seem to be harder on me than other crochet, though, perhaps because I need to concentrate harder due to the smaller hook size? I don't know. I'm only using a G hook, but the way I crochet, that's pretty darn small (yeah, I crochet pretty tightly). Especially with the back-loop-only cuff thing. That's annoying. My next pair of socks will not have this sort of cuff. Haven't decided yet if they'll be made from a book pattern, or an Internet freebie. :)

Sock yarrrrrn!

I now have a decent amount of sock yarn that is not Bernat Sox. :) Whee!

Here it is:



Mmmm...2 different colorways of Cascade Fixation (no actual color names on the labels), and Panda Cotton in "Picnic." I LOVE the Panda Cotton. I just got it yesterday. I stopped by a local fabric store that has yarn, and was very pleasantly surprised to see that they had it in stock! I had never seen it in person before. It's nice. Soft, too! (And expensive. *gulp*) ;)

They also had it in the colorway that I recently purchased from an ebay seller who'd put it on sale, "Chocolate Almonds." I was not disappointed with what I saw! It should be arriving soon.

Also, I don't know if this link will work, but I ordered the Annie's Attic "Stocking Feet" book on ebay. The patterns look really cute.


And no, I still have not finished my first pair of socks! LOL. I finished the cuff of the second sock the other day, only to find that I'd missed a stitch somewhere...it started out wide and got narrower, and looked really bad. D'OH! I tried to frog it, but Bernat Sox doesn't lend itself to frogging, so I had to just start over. That's OK--it'll go quickly once I actually get a chance to sit down for a while with it. :)

My sweetheart and I are going to a music festival today. I am so excited! I haven't been to a music festival in way too long. I am really big on folk festivals. This one's not all folk, but that doesn't bother me at all! The "biggest name" who will be there is Shawn Mullins, but we're mainly going to see Jonatha Brooke and to hear some musicians we've heard of but haven't heard before.

I am halfway considering bringing my sock to work on. Heheh...I doubt I'll get a chance, though. When I am listening to live music, I don't usually want to concentrate on much else!

Oh, also, I made it to KUTI on Tuesday night! There were so many people there I hadn't met before. It was nice to meet all of them, if a little overwhelming. :) At least 3 of us were working on socks, and if I remember correctly, I think 3 of us were working on our first pairs! How cool is that?! The others were knitting, but I won't hold that against them. ;)

I am such a happy swapper. :)

My first swap was completed today--I got my book in the mail (Encyclopedia of Crochet! Yeah baby!!), and she got her yarn in the mail today, too! :) What good luck. We both sent our packages out on Saturday.

I am verrrry happy with my new book, and can't wait to try out a whole bunch of new stitches. I hope my swap partner is happy with the yarn.

And I'm in the middle of a swap with someone else. I'm giving her a whole bunch of jewelry findings and beads in exchange for a knit & crochet book and (what else?) YARRRRRN. :D Some cotton sock yarn that sounds yummy, and violet Fun Fur! Whee!

I like this swapping stuff!!

We saw my sister's new baby the other day. She is beautiful. (As are all of my sister's children! I am not kidding--they have the most gorgeous kids. I may be biased, but wow, they are cuties.) My sister and brother-in-law loved the booties I'd made, and my sis says she'll take a picture of the little one wearing them. I can't wait to see those little feet in the little booties. Awwwww.

I will definitely be making more of those booties. I can't help myself.

Swap update! :)

I am swapping those 2 skeins of Araucania Nature Wool for Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Crochet. Yippeeeee!!!

It's not a yarn ball winder, but it is a book I knew I would buy eventually, and one I've been drooling over for a while now. ;)

No one seems to be jumping at the rest of the stuff I have to swap, so I guess I will probably try to sell most of it on ebay. *shrug* It gets tiring selling stuff on ebay, though. All that packing and shipping. Hopefully, I will make enough money for it to be worth the trouble.

I went out with my sweetheart tonight, and we happened upon a copy of Total Crochet Fashions by Gayle Bunn while at Wal-Mart (I had to pick up a few things, and of course I had to stop by the yarn section while we were there). ;) It looks like a good book. Have any of you read it/seen it/tried any of the patterns? It got good reviews on Amazon, and it has some nice-looking things in it. I put it on my wish list.

I had a crisis last night--I couldn't find my G hook! ARGHHHH! I got a new one today, but it's a plastic one and the one I can't find is aluminum. I don't really have a preference, but I'm afraid the plastic one will break--it's so thin! Well, hopefully I will find the other G hook soon, and then I'll have 2 of 'em. I should probably have a spare of every hook size. I am way too good at losing things.

Tomorrow, we finally get to see the baby! I am so excited. We were supposed to go last weekend, and then my fiance got sick, and I was worried that I might have what he had and that the baby might catch it if we visited. This weekend, neither of us has anything contagious. *knock wood*

Sorry I haven't been commenting lately. I need to catch up on my reading. :)