birthday scarf

Last night, I started working on a cute little mesh-y scarf for my mom's b-day. I'm using Zitron Polo yarn, which looks like this close up:



It's pretty lightweight (sport weight, I think), and I'm using an N hook and doing some single and some double crochet. I may post a pattern for it when I'm done, even though it's very simple. It would be my first pattern ever, and that would be exciting.

uh-oh

Today I went to Michael's and went on a total yarn binge. I mean, I am almost embarrassed about it. Almost. ;) I was in severe need of retail therapy.

Got a lot of Lily Sugar 'n' Cream cotton yarn. There are a few things I want to make out of it. Mostly bags. 3 in particular. Heehee. They actually had the 1-pound Sugar 'n' Cream skeins, which I'd never seen before (I bought 2); and they had the little balls of it on sale, 4 for $5. I love that stuff.

I bought a "Pound of Love" in yellow to make a shrug out of (the one from the "Happy Hooker" with the little ruffles). I bought some Patons Grace to try to make a pair of socks--I don't know how it works as sock yarn, but I've had such trouble finding affordable non-wool sock yarn that I just said "screw it" and bought the stuff. I got the color Rose, even though I'd been planning on making multicolored socks. The color was calling out to me for some reason. Probably because a) it's beautiful and b) it would match a lot of my spring clothing.

Got a ton of Red Heart Super Saver for various projects, one of them being the Seafoam Vest from the latest issue of Interweave Crochet. And I got a pillow form for either the Lion Suede pillow I've been planning to make for a while, or the Chenille Thick & Quick pillow I've been planning to make for even longer. ;) Also got some snaps and buttons and ribbon, all for specific projects.

So while I went wild, I didn't exactly--almost everything I bought, I bought with a specific project in mind. That is unusual for me. I think it's a step in the right direction, despite the fact that I spent way too much. :P (I did get a lot for my money!)

I am planning to make my mom a b-day present. I want to make her an open-weave spring scarf with the beautiful sport weight yarn I bought in Montclair. I only have 1 ball of it, so it'll be a fairly skinny & short scarf, which should be fine since it'll be a fashion accessory rather than a neck warmer.

I have been sick lately and have had far too much free time, so this was a much-needed yarn-buying spree. Gotta keep myself happy. Or at least, happy till I get my credit card bill. *groan*

Must make PRETTIES!

Lion Suede and more Lion Suede

Lion Suede shawl
Originally uploaded by saintlex.

I'm making this shawl from the pattern on the Lion Suede yarn label. It's very nice, but won't quite lie flat. Will have to look into blocking it when I'm done--I haven't had to block anything yet, so I know very little about the process, especially when it doesn't involve an iron (the label says not to iron the yarn). We'll see if I can actually get myself to wear a shawl. ;) I've always thought they were for old ladies, but I guess that's not so if one is into crochet? Anyway, it's pretty! And soft. Yum.

I also purchased some Lion Suede a while back that I'm going to use to make a pillow. It matches the rug in my living room perfectly. (I live in a studio, so it's really the only room...heheh...)

Check this out!




Not bad, eh?

furry eyeglass case

furry eyeglass case
Originally uploaded by saintlex.

Here it is: my Lion Suede and Lion Fun Fur eyeglass case. :) (Pattern is on the Lion web site.) This is definitely the silliest thing I've made. It was a little difficult to slip stitch together; the Lion Suede actually broke at least once because it was getting tangled up in the Fun Fur! But it came out fine. It's not terribly useful--it's not that easy to get my glasses in because they get stuck in the holes--but I don't care, 'cause it's fun.

My boss told me it looks like a porcupine. :D

I made a ruffle for the hat!

kristy hat - ruffle
Originally uploaded by saintlex.

I finally jumped in and made a ruffle for the sun hat for my 1-year-old niece. (No, I still haven't seen her since I made the hat. That's scheduled to be remedied next weekend at my nephew's 4th birthday party.)

It is so cute! I hope it fits her. I am concerned that it may be a little too big. We shall see.

My Montclair goodies!

Montclair purchases
Originally uploaded by saintlex.

Yarn, clockwise from top left:
Cherry Tree Hill Zebra Caribe yarn in Foxy Lady
Zitron Polo
Phildar Aviso cotton yarn (gift from Maven!)

These magazines have all sorts of patterns I want to use in them. I can't believe they were $1 each. Well, I mean, I can believe it, 'cause they're not current issues--but what good luck! :) The "Happy Hooker" also has plenty of patterns I want to try.

There's one particular pattern I'm dying to make in the Interweave Crochet mag on the top of the other magazines (it's the Fall 2006 issue). It's called "Wendy's Waistcoat," a cropped vest by Katie Himmelberg. It is lovely. (A picture of it can be found on this page, toward the middle.)

The tricky part about the pattern, though, is that it's made for 2 finished bust measurements: 28" and 36". I am just a bit more busty than 36", so I will have to do some math, I guess. (Scary!) Where there's a will, there's a way...I hope... ;D

I have A LOT of catching up to do.

It's been a while since I posted, so it's now time to bombard my readers with photos again. ;) Current WIP:
--Lion Suede shawl (pattern from yarn label)
--present for a friend (pics to come after gift is given)
--cotton face cloth made with Bernat Cottontots yarn

Yesterday, I took a trip out to Montclair, NJ with 3 other ladies from KUTI-Westchester. (I suppose I should call us KUTI cuties? Kuties? Heehee...OK, I'll stop now.) We had a fabulous time. Montclair has 3 (yes, 3) yarn stores within walking distance of each other. We hit all of them, ate at a Japanese restaurant (my chirashi was excellent, but of the 4 of us, only 2 of us liked our food!), and drank tea and talked at a lovely tea cafe. There are also 2 bead stores in Montclair in that same area, and I stopped at one of them to get a needle for crocheting with beads. I would love to go back and explore the bead stores, too.

Got some great loot, of course. More to come in another post!