Friday, August 29, 2008

back to school crochet

What else am I up to? Getting ready for school comes to mind:) I have 2 dd's getting ready to go back. One is going into grade 1 and the other is going into grade 5! The difference this year will be 2 different schools. Why? you ask? Well, my 9yr old is going to a different school this yr in order to start Extended French classes! They took core French in grade 4 and now they get to take it further, only problem is, her old school doesn't offer extended French. This means my 6yr old will be in school and on the bus by herself this year. Fun and exciting for them both, but a bit scary too, I'm sure. (even scarier for Mom, because the 9yr old has to go to the High school and transfer buses! Yikes!) Needless to say, the last 2 days have been spent last minute shopping for the last few school supplies, clothing, etc! They officially start back on Tues, Sept 2nd.

As part of my 6yr old's back to school wardrobe, I got her to pick out yarn to make her the Flower Girl Shrug designed by Jennifer Cirka in the June 2008 issue of Crochet World. She picked Bernat Baby Sport in Caribbean Sea which is a dark turquoise color and is also slightly thicker than the recommended TLC Baby, so I may have to adjust my gauge accordingly. Oh well :) The color should match the new skirt and top she picked out for the first day of school.

Home, safe and sound!

My afghan is finally home!! The poor thing went on a very long journey and is probably tired :0)

It started off in Brighton, Ontario, Canada and was shipped via UPS to Waxhaw, NC. From there it was sent to Manchester, NH to be entered in the CGOA 2008 Design Contest at the Knit and Crochet Show. It was there that it won the hearts of the conference goers and won the very prestigious "People's Choice Award". (I can just imagine the wide smile on it's face that day! :0)

After all the excitement it made the long journey back to Treva McCain in NC again to be packaged for it's long and winding journey home. After lovingly boxing it up :), Treva sent it on it's exciting journey on Aug 21, 2008! It was picked up in Rock Hill, SC, and delivered to Greensboro, NC, only to be picked up and delivered back to SC, at West Columbia! After a very brief stay, it journeyed to Buffalo, NY where it had a rest before going on to Ft. Erie, Ontario, Canada. It then made the last bit of it's journey to Concord, Ontario and finally Belleville, Ontario, where it was sent "out for delivery"! I welcomed it home on August 26, 2008! (if only it could tell me all about it's exciting journey and all it saw!)

Here it is, in all it's glory with it's corresponding winning ribbon! (notice the proud blush on it's face? :0)
I took the pictures outside on a sunny day this time so the colors are much more vibrant!

The picture had an unexpected special effect in it. Notice the top of the afghan? The blue blanket under it is almost the same color as the light blue in the afghan, so it looks like there are darker blue bits "floating" above the water!

And here's a close up of the ribbon.

Here are a few close ups. I had forgotten how rich the colors were!





My 9yr old dd thinks it should be hung on the wall with it's ribbon in a frame next to it. :)

I can't wait to try my next free form project!

Monday, August 25, 2008

I spent most of yesterday cleaning the basement. Yuck! I say Yuck because it is a partially finished basement and has lots of dust, bugs, and spiders hiding in the dark corners. The walls are framed and most of them drywalled. Only the spare room and laundry room to finish. Then the painting begins!

The reason I was cleaning it out was to get rid of the clutter that was driving me insane. OK, real reason, was to make more room for my stash! (yarn, books, patterns, magazines, etc:) I now have all of my downstairs yarn in the spare room, which will some day be my Design Studio (/ spare room)! It's the yarn I don't need right now, or projects I will finish at a later date. Once the girls are back in school, I will organize my upstairs yarn. That's the yarn I am a)using, b)want to use soon, c) like to take out and look at, pet, fondle, play with, etc, d) ALL of the above :0). It's all in 4 rolling bins with 3 large drawers and 2 small drawers in each one. As well as piled on top :0) along with books, magazines, patterns, tools, etc! (no wonder I can never find anything! :0)

Back to school is fast approaching for my 2 dd's. I found the cutest little girls Flower Girl Shrug designed by Jennifer Cirka in the June 2008 Crochet World I think I'll make for my 6yr old. It will make a nice addition to her school wardrobe for the days when she wants to be a little dressier.

My 10 yr old dd is more athletic. I might see if she likes the hooded zip up Cardi in the Back To School - Smart Set by Jane Snedden-Peever in the Fall 2007 issue of A Needle Pulling Thread magazine.

Well, back to work getting some submissions ready to send in :0) I promised myself that after I get that done, I can take Myra Wood's book Creative Crochet Lace and my yarn and go play!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Getting organized

I decided yesterday that I needed to get organized if I want to start submitting my designs. I proceeded to comb all of my files on the computer in order to make a list of all the designs I had. I figured I will list everything no matter what state of being finished they are in, that way I'll know what I have to work with. What I didn't realize was how many designs I actually had, especially ones with very little in the way of written instructions! *sigh..* I found a few in my projects bin as well, that I haven't found on the computer yet. (this could be harder than I thought!).

My next problem was finding a document with a design name, but no, or very little instructions and NO picture! Arrrgh! And, by the way, I seem to have a few of them. I think they multiply when my back is turned:0) Now to figure out exactly what they are, considering some of them I'd completely forgotten about. My next idea was to make thumbnail pictures of all the projects and put that beside the name on my list, that way at least I'll know what on earth the design is! I guess my camera will be busy for awhile. Once I have most of them recorded, I'll sit down and try to match up pictures and designs and put notes on each one as to what the status of the design is. (this could take a while! :0)

On a good note, it was just like Christmas! I never knew what surprise I'd find! LOL!!

Monday, August 18, 2008

I'm back, and we have a new addition to the family.

I've haven't blogged for the past couple of weeks, as hubby was on holidays and his cousin from England and her husband are out visiting so we have been busy. I'm just trying to get caught up on emails, blog entries, ravelry, etc!

I'd like to thank Dee at http://www.crochetingwithdee.com/ for her very nice blog entry about me and link to my blog. Thank you Dee! :0)

I'd also like to thank everyone who left me a comment for their nice comments:) It makes my day:)

PS. I bought Myra Wood's book "Creative Crochet Lace" from her website listed to the right of my posts.

With hubby and the girls home on holidays, I haven't had much time to crochet :(
I did manage a bit more on the new design I'm working on though. I can't say too much yet, as it is going to be submitted.

Well, we're at it again! Last time we went to the city for a new printer and came home with a puppy! lol! This time the girls and I were grocery shopping and came home with a kitten!!
Here's his sad story:
As we were going into the grocery store a cashier was coming out with a small cardboard box. She said someone found a fluffy black kitten in the parking lot and was anyone interested? As we have 1 cat and 1- 8mth old puppy, I kept walking. Well, it turns out I was in her checkout to pay for groceries. I asked about the kitten and she said it was at the Vet's getting examined and that she'd "probably end up with it. but with 4 cats already and 1 allergic to fleas...! She said it was available for adoption if anyone was interested. She said it was very fluffy, all black and very cute.
The girls and I decided to just "take a look". hmmm... Well, when we saw the poor little guy, he was adorable! And nothing but skin and bones, poor thing! I enquired what the Vet's clinic would do with him and was told that they usually check them out for health, then put them in a kennel in the clinic and put them up for adoption, but...they had 3 litters in there already and had been there for over a week and they were starting to sneeze, so....!! I didn't stand a chance. How could I leave the poor fellow to an unknown fate??!
I present to you....Houdini! (so named because we couldn't figure out how such a tiny frail looking thing could jump into the tub!)
He's: 1.4 lbs, all black except a small white spot on his tummy, approx 7 weeks old (by guestimate of the vet), is extremely friendly and purrs non-stop!! He is my youngest daughter's pet. He and Knight seem to get along well.