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. :)

Plum Gulf Shores hat

Plum Gulf Shores hat
Originally uploaded by saintlex

Here's my latest creation, in Caron Simply Soft Brites yarn in Rose Violet. This one looks pretty good on me, though maybe I should've gone up a hook size.

Also, this hat goes with my fall-weight and winter coats, and with my Snuggly Scarf. Yay! I will definitely be wearing it when the weather gets chilly.

I am not even going to show this one to my mother. :P Not unless she sees me wearing it in the fall, anyway. And by then, it will be too late for her to discourage me. Muahahahaa.

Still workin' on the Moldy Cupcake. ;) It's coming along slowly, since I have been distracted by the hat and by other things I've had to do.

I've ordered some Caron Spa yarn, which is 25% bamboo, with the intention of crocheting myself a Somnambulista (the cute little nightie in Doris Chan's "Everyday Crochet"). That will be a big project for me. The pattern is done in some very expensive 100% bamboo yarn...I don't have that kind of a budget. In fact, I am pretty firm with myself about not spending more to make a crocheted garment than I would spend to buy that article of clothing, and I buy pretty inexpensive clothing. I spent roughly $25 on the yarn (ordered from Joann.com), and that was about right for me.

The other plus about Caron Spa is that it's machine washable. Much as I would love 100% bamboo yarn, I'd probably have to hand wash it, or at least not throw it in the drier.

Gulf Shores take 2, and a Cupcake (yum!)

After some discussion with friends, I've decided that perhaps my Gulf Shores hat would indeed be better off as a child's hat, so I'm going to frog some of it and make it the right size for one of my nieces. (Of course, then I will have to make hats for the other 2 nieces and my nephew--good thing these are fall-weight hats! I'm not the world's fastest crocheter!) ;D

I'm still offended by my mother's complete lack of tact, but...not much I can do about that. I did tell her how I felt, though.

Thanks to all who replied to my last post. :)

I have started making a Cupcake top from Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker. I'm making it with a 40.5" bust. This is another one that's sized oddly for me. The bust measurement is a teensy bit too big for me, but the next size down (either 36" or 37", can't remember which) would have WAY too much negative ease, especially for a "holey" top. I'm hoping my finished top won't look baggy. I definitely don't want it too tight, though.

Anyway, I'm only a few rows in, and hope to get some more done at tonight's KUTI meeting. There should be at least 1 other person there this time--hooray!! I am looking forward to it. I'm using Reynolds Saucy Sport in a really pretty green for my Cupcake (which I've nicknamed "Wheat-free Cupcake of Doom" on Ravelry). I mean, of course it's wheat-free, or I wouldn't be able to eat it! Uhhh...yeah. ;P

I also considered calling it the Moldy Cupcake, but the green is just too pretty for that!

Had a really nice picnic lunch with a friend today. It is gorgeous outside, and Wednesday is the farmers market here, so we got some good fruit and other goodies.

Gulf Shores hat - finished 7-12-08

gulf shores hat - finished 7-12-08
Originally uploaded by saintlex

Here's my Gulf Shores. I was very happy with it, until I showed it to my mother. She was like, "That's beautiful! Is it a baby hat?" When I said "No, it's for me," she said "For YOU?!" She looked totally appalled. Then I put it on, and she just sat there looking stunned and couldn't find anything nice to say.

I showed her the Abydos, too, and she didn't really say anything nice about it either!

I must add that this took place in front of some friends of the family, who also couldn't muster up anything nice to say.

I usually feel that my mom has very good taste, so I am feeling really hurt by this, especially on top of the fact that I got NO compliments (apart from the one I had to fish for) when I wore my Abydos the other day. I feel like I must suck at this. I mean, I know my crocheting skills are OK, but now that I've branched out into things other than scarves and potholders, no one seems to like any of it except my Ravelry peeps--and as much as I trust their judgment and feel flattered by their compliments, the lack of in-person compliments makes me feel like crap. :*(

Has anyone else had something like this happen? Please tell me I'm not the only one...

I think I am going to stop showing my mother any of my crochet projects.

wearing the Abydos, and working on a hat

I wore my Abydos to work today, and the only compliment I got was one I had to totally fish for (which wound up being along the lines of, "It's nice"). Not even a peep from the friend I had lunch with. And here I thought my Abydos was pretty striking. People confuse me.

I have a ton of projects on the back burner right now. I've had a frustrating week, so tonight, I decided to start on a Gulf Shores hat. It was a good choice for instant gratification! It's coming along quite nicely. I'm using Lily Sugar 'N Cream, in the Shaded Denim colorway. I will take a pic of my progress tomorrow if I get a chance.

ARGHHHH crochet frustration

When I last left off, I'd had to frog my Sweetie Pie cami and couldn't work on the Farpoint Topper because I was waiting to find out how I could make it fit me right. Well, I must add to that my night of further crochet mishaps:

1) I tried to start a crochet vest (pattern from Lion Brand) with purple Lion Chenille yarn, of which I had only the 2 skeins necessary for the pattern. I started it, but then decided to make a gauge swatch using the other skein, just to check to see if I was on the mark. I'm lucky I did, because I could not find the end of the second skein. No idea what's going on there, but it seems to be un-usable. :( So, no purple chenille vest.

2) I started the Light and Lacy, another one by Doris Chan, from the July/August '08 issue of Crochet Today magazine. I got to the 8th row, where the instructions said "sk in next ch-1 space and hdc." Whoa. Double-take. Does this mean to skip the ch-1 space and hdc? Is it a typo, and am I supposed to sc instead of sk? Is there some other hidden meaning there?

ARGHHHHHHH!

I give up. (It's bedtime, anyway. Maybe it'll all make sense in the morning...or something...) ;)

Abydos pic

Abydos - DONE
Originally uploaded by saintlex

Here it is! :) I plan to get my fiance to take a pic of me wearing it soon. A few more pictures can be found here, but since I took them myself, I couldn't get the whole thing into the picture while I was wearing it. Still, they'll give you some idea of what it looks like on, if you're curious.

I am frustrated with the Sweetie Pie cami. I did the first 2 or 3 rows, only to discover that it was twisted and that I didn't count right for my starting chain. It took an awfully long time to get even that far along. I'm not sure I'm up for starting over yet. I think I'll work on something else for a bit. I really want to make a Farpoint Topper. Here's the Farpoint, modeled by Doris Chan:



Hope she doesn't mind my using her image here! She is the designer, after all. (The Farpoint is also in "Amazing Crochet Lace.") I want to use Lion Incredible in Autumn Leaves, which is the way the one in the book (not the one pictured here, which is Doris's own) was made.

I can't get started on it just yet, though. I am waiting to hear from Ms. Chan on the Ravelry forums, to find out if I can make it a little bigger somehow. My bust measurement is almost exactly the finished bust measurement of the Topper, which would make it too snug for my taste. I was going to just make it and pray that it would fit right, but then someone else on Ravelry asked a similar question, so I jumped right in. :) It is SO COOL to be able to ask Doris questions about her patterns. She rocks.

Abydos=DONE! :)

The Abydos has been blocked and is drying as I type this. YAY! My first finished garment! I feel so good about that. I can't wait to wear it. The pattern was so easy once I got the hang of it, that now I feel like making them for a few more people. Hmmm.

I started the Sweetie Pie cami. I decided not to use the G hook, but to try the E after all, since the yarn is stretchy. I am a little curious about it, since I am only on row 2 and it appears to be HUGE. I think it must shrink somehow (maybe with the post stitches in the next row?)--if it doesn't, I will be really confused.

I am mildly annoyed that the knitting/crochet Meetup group I belong to, which is called "The (Insert Name of City Where I Live) Knitting Meetup Group," meets in my city every other week and in another town on the alternate weeks. The alternate location in the other town is a good 20-30 minutes away from where I live. Convenient? No. On its own, that wouldn't make it inconvenient enough for me not to go; but when you add the fact that I don't get off work until 6 PM and would have to go home and eat dinner first since I have a gazillion dietary restrictions, I'd wind up getting there too late. I don't like to stay at these things past 8 or 9, and I'm not about to drive for 20-30 minutes to stay at a place for an hour, then drive home, then walk back from my car in the dark. (There's no available, affordable parking at my apartment building, so my car "lives" at a municipal garage 10 minutes away.)

Whatever...If it's convenient for others, that's fine. It just irks me that my city's NAME is in the title of the group, and yet we can't meet here every week. I am probably just being anal. Wouldn't be the first time. ;P

I should also add that I wouldn't be whining about this if not for the fact that I tried to go to the meetup last week, on a week when we were supposed to meet at the location in my city, and no one else showed. Nobody's fault, I know...but it sucked.

I am done complaining now, I promise! Sorry about the rant.

Abydos: almost done!

My Abydos is now down to my hips. I'm done with the length. I've done the edging on the neck and 1 arm hole; not sure if I'll do the other arm hole before going to bed, or if I'll leave it for tomorrow. After that, I'll just have to weave in the ends and block it.

I'm a little nervous about blocking, having never blocked anything before. Not exactly sure how I'll go about doing it. I had looked into that a while back, and decided that I'd pin the piece to be blocked to a towel on my bed and spray it with water; but now I'm not sure about that. I don't want to give my bed any chance to grow mold. Ick. Maybe if I use 2 towels, the bed won't actually get wet? :-/

Hey readers, any preferred blocking methods?

Got to correspond with some friends today on Ravelry. It was fun. :) Also, my Abydos-in-progress has been marked as a favorite by 2 people! I feel so flattered.

A friend (and bridesmaid) of mine has just returned from a long stay in Israel. Very, very happy she's home (although now she is thinking about moving, but not as far away as Israel, thank goodness!). ;)

Maybe tomorrow I will start working on that Sweetie Pie cami during my lunch break. The pattern calls for an E hook--knowing me, that means a G. Seriously, I think I could only ever use an E hook for fingering weight yarn. I don't ever feel like I'm crocheting that tightly, but I guess that's what I do. *shrug*

I am dying to start using that Bernat Cool Crochet yarn--the Amethyst colorway is so pretty!

Abydos vest (WIP), modeled by me

Abydos vest (WIP), modeled by me
Originally uploaded by saintlex

It's now the length of the "short version," before blocking. I'm making it longer, though (hopefully tunic-length). :)

So happy with it!!

happy Abydos-ing, Ravelry, and Patons Grace

I am now as far along with the Abydos as I was with the other one that I had to abandon due to too-small gauge (I haven't actually frogged it yet, though I will when I need the yarn). It's so funny to me that it took me almost two weeks to get to this point to begin with, but after starting over, it took me about 2 days to get back to the same point (with the right gauge)!

Anyway, so far, so good. I've tried it on, and the gauge is just right with the J hook. And so far, it looks adorable. :) I am very happy. I'm also very proud of myself for starting up again right away, before I had a chance to get too discouraged and abandon it.

Spent some time on Ravelry today, updating my library of books and magazines. It's so much fun to see what patterns others have used, and what the results have been. No, I'm not really having the most eventful 4th of July weekend, at least not where anything but crochet is concerned. ;) That's fine by me. I hope you're all having a good weekend!

I just got a great deal on 10 skeins of Patons Grace in Ruby on ebay. Under $20. I couldn't pass it up, even though my wallet may think I should have. ;) I keep seeing all these nice patterns in Patons Grace--although of course, now that I've ordered it, I can't remember what they are! Heehee. I'm sure Ravelry will help me figure that out when the time comes.

Abydos, take 3

OK, I started over again. This time, I had to use a J hook to get the gauge right--I'd been using an H hook before. Meep. Looks good so far, though. At least, it seems to look more like others' finished Abydos vests. Yay!

Abydos (WIP)

Abydos (WIP)
Originally uploaded by saintlex

I'm starting to think maybe I should've made the size Large after all. I know myself, and I generally don't wear things as tight as this is going to be.

*gulp*


On second thought...I think my gauge is off. Uh-oh. But I don't want to start over again! Arghhhh.