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.

I'm back!

I've finally picked up my crochet habit again. Had to stop for a while (about a year!) due to chronic pain in my neck and shoulders. The pain is still there, but I finally got really sick of not having a creative outlet, and one day last week I found myself on Ravelry again and realized that I wanted to make Martha Stewart "Coming Home" ponchos for my little nieces out of all the Lion Homespun I still have... :)

I'm taking it easy this time around, only crocheting for an hour or less at a time. The first poncho is still coming along quickly, though. My little nieces are ages 3, 4, and 6; the ponchos are sized 2-4, 4-6, and 6-8. I started with a poncho for my 4-year-old niece, and I thought the size 4-6 one would work since, duh, kids grow. However, it seems to be turning out too big for her (and my gauge seems to be right on). I don't know if I should give it to her anyway (she'll grow into it), or give it to her 6-year-old sister instead...My little nieces (I keep calling them "little" because I also have another niece who's quite a bit older than they are) are, well, little. Not so big for their age groups.

If anyone's reading this, what would you do? Give it to the 4-year-old, or the 6-year-old? I'm going to see how the finished product turns out before I make a final decision on this, but any input would be much appreciated!

I've just spent a lot of time updating my queue on Ravelry. I've had to move all the clothing to the back of the line for now, because I've been doing Weight Watchers Online and losing weight! Hooray! I plan to lose about 13 more pounds, and I don't know exactly what size I'll be at that point, so I've got to hold off on making garments for myself.

I have to keep reminding myself to focus on GIFTS. Like, things that aren't for me! I'm such a selfish crocheter most of the time.

On top of the kids' ponchos, I'm hoping to make a shawl for my grandma, a poncho or shawl for my mom, and a bag for my sister. Whether I can get all of this done by Chanukah remains to be seen. I'd like to make some things for my friends, too, but I can get away with giving most of them belated gifts, and they'll still love me (I hope).

Old crochet project news: I am wearing my Abydos vest today for the first time in a while. It fits me again! I'd gained quite a bit of weight since making it, but now I've lost it and then some. It looks good, but the rayon chenille is shedding all over my black outfit. D'oh.

The Java Jammie gets A LOT of use. Here it is in its final form (sorry for the crappy cell phone photo):

Aaaand I still haven't blocked my Queen Anne's Lace scarf. It's difficult to find time and space to block things. I'm hoping to do it this Saturday morning before we go out, because that way it'll have all day to dry.

And that's it for now. If you've read this far, please leave a comment and let me know that you're reading! It means a lot to me.

QAL scarf - pre-blocking

QAL scarf - pre-blocking 003
Originally uploaded by saintlex

It's done! Except for weaving in the ends and blocking, that is. :) Hope I will get to block it this weekend. What a wonderful thing to be able to wear this Fall! I should call it my Back-to-School Scarf, since I'm about to start grad school after having been out of school for a long time.

I still have a decent amount of yarn left even after making the scarf...not sure what I'll do with that yet.

Still wanting a Java Jammie. I think I will try it with round 1 as sc instead of sl st, since I can't seem to get it right with a row of slip stitch.

Queen Anne's Lace Scarf

Queen Anne's Lace Scarf, just started
Originally uploaded by saintlex

I had a little trouble getting this started the other day--I messed up joining the first and second motifs, and wound up having to frog. After re-starting, though, it's coming out well. Hooray!!

I love working with this yarn. It's the Handmaiden Double Sea Silk I got in Toronto. I guess I'd better enjoy it, because it was so @#$% expensive! The most I'd ever paid for one skein of yarn, but I think it was worth it. It's so beautiful and soft. I love the colors--this pic really doesn't do them justice. Different shades of purple, and some brown.

The pattern is so easy once figured out. I should be able to work on it in front of the TV...I'm about to go test that theory now. ;)

Hello! It's been quite a while...

I took some time away from crochet again, and now I'm back. Or trying to be, anyway. I've had some seriously frustrating crochet "issues" lately.

First, there was the lovely Java Jammie. I've been wanting to make one of these for years now. Literally. I had the yarn, so I finally gave it a shot. The first few rows looked weird, but I kept going...and it was coming out really cute! Then, I realized I'd screwed up around the flowers and hadn't increased where I was supposed to. So much for that ever fitting a coffee cup. I frogged it...and haven't been able to get it started the right way since!!! :(

The problem: Rnd 1: Work 1 sl st in each ch around.

A row of slip stitch? How's that work, exactly? Seems like, in my case, it doesn't. Did the designer really mean sc instead? Or am I just missing something? HELP! (Please?!)

Next, I tried to work on the Zen Scarf I'd started and left to hibernate for a while. I got it started up again, or so I thought; but it kept coming out wrong, with really strange edges. I ended up frogging it because I just couldn't figure out how to continue the pattern the right way. I also didn't like working with the pattern very much. It was incredibly difficult to keep track of which row I was on (I suppose I should've been writing it down, or checking the rows off, or something; but I hadn't when I'd started out, and maybe that was the entire problem). Maybe I'll try it again sometime, but for now, it's in the frog pond.

Then, I tried to make a Tunisian Lace Ascot. That didn't work out, either. I think maybe Tunisian crochet is not my thing. I eventually got the first row done, was all excited, and messed up the second row and couldn't figure out how to correct it without starting over. Then I couldn't even get the correct number of loops on the hook again.

GRRRRRRAAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHH.

I have finally decided to try out a Queen Anne's Lace Scarf. I hope that turns out to be easier; it certainly is pretty. (No working pics with the pattern, but there are a ton of projects with pictures on Ravelry.) I want to make it using some beautiful Handmaiden Double Sea Silk yarn that I bought last week in Toronto at Lettuce Knit, while my husband and I were on our (delayed) honeymoon. :) (Honeymoon was fabulous, by the way!!)

I hope the QAL Scarf is a quick project, too, because I will soon be starting graduate school and probably won't have much time for the yarny goodness. *sigh* We'll see, though; I may still be able to fit in my crochet habit somewhere, now that I've picked up my hooks again.