Wingspan progress, secret and not-so-secret crochet

Well, here I am again. Hello! :) Since my last entry, I've started making that Wingspan scarf/shawlette. I've finished 2 "triangles" so far and am starting on the 3rd (they are all knitted as one piece, but look like separate triangles, and for each one you have to cast on some new stitches). It's a really fun project. Here's a pic I took when I was still working on the first triangle (note the handmade stitch markers! I love my coffee bean and butterfly):



Sorry it gets cut off at the edge there. Please click on the picture if you'd like to get the full effect. I tried to do the cable cast-on after the first triangle, when the pattern says to cast on 16 st. I did it wrong, but it still worked! Anyway, yesterday at S&B, another member very kindly taught me the correct way to do it. I am really glad, and I really hope I remember how to do it when it gets to be time to cast on new stitches for the next triangle!

I caved and bought my own set of interchangeable circular needles. I wound up getting the Trends Acrylic Deluxe Set by Knitter's Pride. I actually got it from an ebay seller so I could get free shipping. I got a really good deal. I am not in love with the needles--I find the acrylic to be a bit "sticky"--but they are fine for my first set. I'll get wooden ones when I can, but for now, these will do.

I lined my Spring Bag with the scarf, as planned. Here it is:



I've been using it as a project bag, and I absolutely love it! The lining is not strong at all, so I have to take care that my needles don't punch through it (I'm using it to hold Wingspan for now).

I have a few secret crochet projects to work on at the moment. I'm itching to blog about them, but won't be able to till...probably June. Shhhh.

The one not-secret crochet project I need to start is a Seraphina's Shawl for my mother, whose birthday is May 30 (!!!). Gotta get going on that. She requested it, hence the not-secretness. ;) I've had the yarn for it for a while (Lion Brand Homespun in Windsor, a pretty blue colorway). I should probably be working on it now, but instead I am blogging. Oy vey.

I bought a lovely sleeveless lavender dress for a friend's rehearsal dinner later this month. I am so excited about it. I really, really want to make a shrug to go with it, but I have neither the time nor the right yarn. I've actually bought 2 black boleros, but one is too big and the other seems a little too informal. I don't know. I'd rather return those and make my own. I wish I had much more time!

I leave you with this photo of gorgeous lilacs blooming in the courtyard of our apartment complex:

Gifties for my 6-year-old niece

My niece's 6th birthday was last Saturday, and her party, which was supposed to be that day, got cancelled because her sister got sick. Poor kiddo. The up-side of this, though, is that I get a little more time to work on her presents. This is the hat I wound up making for her:



It's the Shell Brimmed Cloche by Cathy Phillips (free pattern), made with Lily Sugar 'N Cream cotton yarn in Robin's Egg. I did the crown through Rnd 6, then the straight rows (Rnds 9-14), then through Rnd 19 (2nd row of 7 dc shells), skipping Rnds 20 and 21. I didn’t want the hat getting too long for her. I also did the sc edging with the G hook (Rnd 22). It looks great. I hope it fits well.

By the time her actual birthday rolled around, it looked like she was going to be getting this hat and a few other things we picked up for her. However, when the party got cancelled, I decided the hat needed a flower. I made it a barrette, so it can clip onto the hat or she can put it in her hair.





I'm still working on the Spring Bag I wrote about in this post. It's caused me a lot of frustration, but I think I've finally got it. I was going to give it to my niece, but it's taken too long, and I want to send her gifts out right away. Also, if I give her a bag and a hat, I will have to do both (or the equivalent) for my other nieces' birthdays, and I'm not sure I'll have time what with all the other projects I plan to make.

I've decided to keep it for myself as a project bag, and line it with an old scarf. (I've never lined anything in my entire life, so this will be a new experience.) :)

Valentine's Day

Tomorrow, my Stitch & Bitch group's Valentine's Day hat and scarf project for the children's hospital comes to a close. I am very ashamed to admit that I still haven't finished that one scarf. I'm maybe almost about halfway done. The pattern is really slow going, at least for me; and the Red Heart Super Saver yarn is driving me crazy. It's so coarse and splitty. I think it has its purpose, and I might use that kind of yarn for other things someday (at least I hope I will, since I have some in my stash!); but it does not inspire me to make pretty things, or at least not this particular pretty thing.

Maybe I should've used some of my Caron Simply Soft instead? Doesn't matter now, but maybe if we undertake another charity project in the future, I should pick my own yarn.

I have had very little time to crochet lately, anyway. I am going to try to find some crochet time in the mornings before work.

I haven't done a whole heck of a lot of playing with the beads lately, either. I do have a picture of the Valentine's Day stitch markers I mentioned in my last post:

And they can be found in my Etsy store, here. Happy early Valentine's Day!

I really like Valentine's Day. I always have. I used to throw Valentine's Day parties when I was in college, whether I was single and bitter or happily (or unhappily) coupled. I always felt that it was a good time to let my friends know how much I appreciated them. (And to eat CHOCOLATE. Lots of chocolate!) I've been known to send out Valentine's Day cards to my friends, too, but I don't think I'll get to it this year. I hope I will at least send them out to my family. I have a card for my hubby already, and a little gift for him. Yes, I love the Hallmark hype. So sue me. ;)

Love is a good thing, and should be celebrated!

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.

Poncho (almost done!), Black Friday/Cyber Monday Etsy sale, my birthday, and more

Happy Black Friday, everyone! How was your Thanksgiving? We had a good time at my sister's. I ate too much, of course (that's the whole point of the holiday, right?). And yes, I did go shopping today, but only for about 45 minutes during my lunch break because I had to work. It was absolute mayhem (the shopping, not the work!), but I survived. :)

I'm almost finished with the poncho for my littlest niece! Here's a picture of how it looked a few days ago:


I'm now on the last row of the edging, and I still have to do the collar. Easy stuff. I should be done with it very soon. Then I get to start on my nephew's Chanukah gift, which is a surprise, so I won't be able to post it here! How sad. But hopefully, the payoff will be worth it!

I am really starting to worry that the ponchos will be extremely huge on my nieces. I'd forgotten just how small the girls are, until I saw them yesterday...I know they'll grow into them, but I want them to be able to wear their ponchos right away! I'm an impatient auntie. Well, I'll try to get a picture of them all poncho-ed up at our family Chanukah party on December 11, even if the ponchos are huge.

I have to make more stitch markers! I'm having a big sale over at The Smiling Turtle Etsy store for Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend, and I've already sold a few. I'm selling the stitch markers at such low prices right now that I'm not sure I'm making a profit at all, but...My loss, my customers' gain, right?! I'll figure it out eventually! ;)

Right now, I'm offering free shipping on everything, plus a 10% discount if you enter the code CYBERMON at checkout. (Please note: that's CYBERMON, short for Cyber Monday. Already had a little confusion over that today.)

Here are some of the newer stitch markers that I've made:


I also have some other new flower beads to play with, so there may be more flower stitch markers in the near future. There may be some flower earrings, too. Hmmm.

My birthday is tomorrow! I'm so excited! I get like a little kid about my birthday. I don't get very upset about that whole being a year older thing. I just go, "Ooooh! Presents! Cake! Yippeeeeee!!!"

When I went to Stitch & Bitch on Wednesday, my friend D had baked me a flourless chocolate cake for my birthday! (I can't eat wheat, so flourless chocolate cake is my favorite treat!) What a sweetheart. She also gave me a card from the whole gang. 2 of them weren't there, probably because of the holiday.

My mom and grandmother gave me presents yesterday: a renewal of my subscription to Interweave Crochet, and a big blocking board! I have been in need of a blocking board for some time. I know you can make your own, but that would've been a big project to undertake in our not-so-big apartment. Also, I really needed a folding one. Maybe now, I will actually block things like my Queen Anne's Lace Scarf? We'll see! I'm still feeling a little intimidated at the thought of all those pins...

I've recently had items featured in 3 great treasuries on Etsy. Here are the links if you'd like to see them:
Goth-a love it! Black Friday Sale Items in Black!
Red ripe berry colors found on Black Friday
Gifts for everyone on your list

And I guess that's it for now! Please stay tuned.

black crocheted flower brooch with Czech fire polish beads

black crocheted flower brooch with czech fire polish beads
Originally uploaded by saintlex

Here's the flower brooch I made to fasten the sash for my bridesmaid outfit for my friend's wedding, which was last Saturday. It was a big success (the flower, AND the wedding!). :D


I made the flower with Caron Simply Soft in black, using a pattern from the Lion Brand web site. I sewed the beads on afterward, since I had a limited amount of time to make the flower and didn't think it would be so great to experiment with bead crochet right then. I used Czech fire polish beads. At first, I thought they looked too much like little bugs; but the full effect wound up being very nice. I'm sure I'll get to wear it again, especially if there's any sash-fastening going on. ;)

Back to work, baby blankie, and a request for flower patterns

My Meez is knitting at the office. *giggle* I've been sick for a while, but I made it in to work yesterday afternoon and will be doing the same today. I won't actually be crocheting at work, but my Meez can get away with it. ;)

I am almost halfway done with the blanket for the new baby. It's a very easy pattern, but it takes a while. It will be a very warm blanket, which I guess will be more useful in the winter...though it would also make a good playmat. It's nice and thick. It's going to have a hood, but who cares if it's a hooded playmat? It's all good.

Tomorrow, my fiance and I are heading out to RI for the wedding of one of my best friends, in which I am a bridesmaid. Before we go, I need to have made a black flower brooch to fasten my sash (our bridesmaid outfits have cute sashes) and a pair of earrings to match the necklace I'm going to wear. The earrings will be easy--I already know what I'm going to do--but I don't know about the flower. *gulp* I've never tried one of those before. I'm not even sure which pattern I should use. I'll be using Caron Simply Soft, and I want a flower that will be about 3 inches in diameter.

Any suggestions for a pattern that would yield that result?

I'm gonna sew beads onto it afterward (I'd start crocheting with beads, but I don't want to do that with a first attempt, since I won't really know how it'll look till I'm done).

I had to miss last night's KUTI meeting. I'd had every intention of going, and then it turned out that the air conditioner repair guy could come fix my A/C sometime around 7 PM, and I had to go for it 'cause it's been HOT in my apartment. I stopped in at our meeting place at around 6:15 and didn't see anyone there yet, though evidently there was a group member in line buying her dinner. D'oh.

It's just as well that I didn't see her, though, 'cause I would have hung out and talked for a little while...and meanwhile, the A/C guy was already at my place! He'd forgotten to take my cell phone number with him, so he was there waiting when I got home at about 6:30. He did a great job with the A/C (and didn't charge much!). YAY!

And another update!

Now I'm not sure if the "mystery color" of Lion Homespun is indeed Mexicana, or if it was a skein of Corinthian that just came out looking different from the others. I've done a lot of Google-ing on this very important issue, and it appears that many items made out of Corinthian come out in colors very similar to my beloved snuggly scarf.

Hmmmmm.

In other crochet-related news, I've been working on a "Pound of Love" hooded baby blanket for my newest niece, who should be arriving any day now. I am not even halfway done! *gulp* Luckily, it's not my only gift for the baby. ;) I bought a really cute gift set with little short-sleeved bodysuits and socks to match. I'm also going to make some easy baby booties.

Yay!

I am still working on that present for a friend of mine...looks like it may not be done by the date I was aiming for. Arghhhh. She may just have to wait. That kind of sucks. But the gift is taking longer to work up than I'd expected.

And there is another friend for whom I'd really like to make a gift, but that one will definitely be late for it's intended occasion. Well, we'll see how all this works out. After all, I do still have that spiderweb cardi to make for myself, and my 2 bags to work on, and my socks!

I also really want to make a black crocheted flower brooch (I'm planning to sew some beads onto it, too) to fasten my sash with for my bridesmaid's outfit for my friend D's wedding. The outfits are so cute--long turquoise skirts, black sleeveless tops with sweetheart necklines, and turquoise sashes. And I'm making my own jewelry. I already have a necklace I made that goes perfectly; I'll just need some matching earrings and the brooch, and I'll be good to go.

Donnell bag

I just couldn't resist anymore...Tonight, I started working on the Donnell bag by Daphne Mah. (And yes, that's a link to a free pattern!) :) I have a pound of Lily Sugar 'n Cream yarn in "Lavender Ice" that I bought mostly for that purpose (the pattern didn't say how much cotton yarn I would need, so I got a pound to be safe, and because it's so darn pretty).

Well, so far, it's adorable! I'm almost halfway done already, so I guess you could say it works up quickly. I had to teach myself front post double crochet (fpdc) for the pattern. I did screw up on the math somewhere (or Daphne Mah did, but I'd bet more money on my messing up the numbers! d'oh), but the bag looks the way it's supposed to; I don't think anyone would be able to tell unless I pointed it out.

If this turns out as well as I think it will, I may have to start making them as little gifties for people. Heehee!

The super-talented Ms. Mah also has a whole bunch of other original free bag patterns at the bottom of this page, as well as a page of links to other free bag patterns on the Internet, many of which don't work. :-/

I bought some black Caron Simply Soft today so I can experiment with making a black flower brooch to fasten the sash that's part of my bridesmaid outfit for a friend's wedding. I've found some great crocheted flower patterns out there. I plan to sew some sparkly beads onto it (I'm still not feeling quite brave enough to try crocheting with beads).