Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Projects Galore

I've been so busy working on projects!

I finally took the few minutes required and ran the ribbon though Sweet E's pink dress. I tacked it to the dress with hidden stitches, so the ribbon will stay in place. She wore her bloomers with it, but they were a little big, so I had to run a string through the waist and tie them. It worked out, and she was able to wear them, but I'd like to make her a smaller pair. I have a lot of projects now, so I'm not sure when/if the bloomers will be completed. Here's her finished dress.

I'm very happy with the dress, and love it on her. It fits very nicely.

I also took a few minutes and sewed the buttons on the white baby poncho, so now it is ready to wear.

I have also started working on Sweet E's 3-D Teddy Bear afghan again, and realizing how much work I have ahead of me, actually considered for a day or two just throwing away what I've done (or just making a tiny afghan of just the flower motifs) and being down with it all, so I can move on to projects that interest me more. However, I really want to finish this afghan, and hate to get rid of the work I've done thus far. I've pretty much decided to make it smaller than the pattern calls for, but that's still a lot of work.

I added several projects to my queue today - a knit dress for Sweet E, a crochet cardigan for me, and a baby afghan that has been commissioned. All of these on top of all the projects I'm making for Christmas. I'm to the point I'm so overwhelmed I don't know where to start, and I'm losing valuable time just thinking of all the work I have to do.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Real vs Fake

Since we went on vacation Labor Day weekend, I've been knitting and crocheting a lot! Yay for progress! I'll share my projects in a little while, but for now, I must share two funnies.

I've been trying to knit a preemie hat in the round (seamless). I've started, and frogged, the project approximately 10 times. No joke. I've tried Magic Loop using circular needles, and I've tried double pointed needles. I got so frustrated with the dpns at first, I wanted to use their bamboo loveliness as kindling for a campfire. I then planned to roast marshmallows and have smores to drown out my failure. Then, my toddler, Sweet E finds the dpns, and yarn, and decides she'll take a shot. Please excuse the after-nap hair, but we all know you must be well-rested in order to concentrate.

Now seriously, why does it seem she get them, and I don't?! I had to laugh and take a picture. It's priceless. Since then, I have cast on yet another preemie hat, and am actually halfway done with it. Seems I learned a thing or two from my daughter.

Second funny of the day. I saw this on a Ravelry discussion board last night, so this is not an original 'me' thought. However, I'm still laughing about it, so I thought I'd share it.

This picture was in a craft magazine, advertising the handy-dandy yarn holder for those projects that require multiple colors. The holder helps you keep up with your yarn, and helps it not to tangle. Nifty, right? Take a look at the picture.
At first glance, you may not think anything of it. However, look again, and ponder the following points.
-This is a crocheted, granny squares, afghan. If it's crocheted, then why is she holding knitting needles? You can't crochet with knitting needles, and you can't knit with crochet hooks (unless you're quite MacGyver-ish). Hmm.
-Why is she holding her knitting needles in the same hand, chopstick fashion? That doesn't work either.
-Why does she have her knitting needles stabbed randomly into the afghan? That's not how you knit either. With knitting, you carry individual stitches on your needles.
-Have you noticed yet that the afghan is completed, and not in progress?
-There are only 4 colors or yarn used in the afghan. There are 6 colors of yarn coming of of the yarn holder. Yellow is the mystery color I'm really caught up on. Where is she putting the yellow strand? Is she eating it, or using it to knit more blonde hair?
-Very rarely do you either knit, or crochet, with 6 strands of yarn at one time.
Anyway, please, if you work for a publication, and want readers to take your advertisements seriously, know your audience, and at least a little about the crafts your product pertains to. Maybe the blonde model explains it all! :) Ok, ok, just kidding about the blonde thing. Kinda.
I think Sweet E is doing much better with the dpns than the model is doing knitting her crocheted afghan. Just a thought.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Peaches & Creme

Back in August, we traveled through Old Fort, NC and I begged (ahead of time) to stop. Why stop in a tiny town nestled near the base of a mountain? To visit Pisgah Yarn and Dyeing Company, home of Peaches & Creme yarn! P&C, for short, is 100% cotton yarn that is spun and dyed in NC, and is made of all USA manufactured materials. Talk about stimulating the economy - I tried to do my share!




P&C can be confused with Sugar 'n Cream, which is also 100% cotton yarn. Sugar 'n Cream is manufactured in and imported from Canada. SnC seems to be in the big chain craft stores, while P&C is a little more challenging to find. A few limited colors can be found at Wal-Mart, but for their most delicious colors, you have to search a little. When I found this out, and learned that we'd be driving right past the mill and outlet store, the begging, pleading, and good behavior began :)

YammaDaddy didn't really make me beg, and we stopped by the mill. I only had 30 minutes to decide what I wanted to 'adopt', make my list, ask the guys to go pull my order, and pay. Whew! I wasn't prepared for this, and now know what to expect next time. Oh yes, and there will be a next time! Here are my treasures from this expedition, and believe it or not, I got home, and realized I'd forgotten a few things. Along with first quality yarns, I also picked up some seconds, which is why some cones don't have ballbands, and why some is just wadded up looking. I can't wait to get into this, which I plan to do this afternoon!

Yes, this will take me a while to work up, but all the pretty colors make me so happy!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Trick or Treat!

For Halloween 2008 I made Sweet E a candy corn Trick-or-Treat bag. My niece and nephew saw it, and loved it, so of course, I made them one. This year, I've already received, and filled, on order for two of the bags! The requester saw the bags I made last year, remembered them, and specifically requested them! Wow! Here are the two I made on special request:
Want one? Email me!