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!

Before I forget...

Two groups on Flickr I wanted to post about.

Free Knit and Crochet Patterns - pictures of people's FOs made from free patterns, with links to the patterns! What a great idea.

Yarn Bouquet - pictures of how people have decorated their living spaces with yarn! Lots of fun. I'm still trying to think of something clever to do and post. It would have to be some kind of wall hanging, since it's not like I have any free surface space in my li'l studio. (Though I do have some ideas for temporary yarny decorations that I could post. Heheh...)

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!

Meez, take 2.

My meez got the knitting needles! YAY!!! :) Now she is happily knitting away on the sidebar of this blog. I gave her a starry background to celebrate.

She's dressed just like I am today, except for the necklace--which is just like one I've been intending to make for a while. I have the beads (they're made out of turquoise-colored shell) and everything.

Meet my Meez.

She is sad because she cannot have knitting needles like Deneen's. (They don't have a crochet hook option, so knitting will have to do.) She's just hangin' out in her messy living room (much like myself!), with nothing to do (unlike myself). ;)

You can help her, though! Just go create your own Meez. When you go to save it and create an account, put in "yarrrrrn" where it asks if another user referred you. I will then get points, which I can spend on knitting needles! Yay! C'mon, you know you wanna. :D

UPDATE: I am now supposed to have "coinz" with which to buy stuff, and the web site says I don't. I'm working on getting this fixed. Meanwhile, my Meez is VERY upset, as you can probably tell. (She is also upset because all her shirts appear to have a hole in the right underarm...)

A cool link

These folks are crocheting a coral reef.