Friday, October 31, 2008

self imposed dead line...met!

Well, I've done it again! I hummed and hawed about my youngest dd's Halloween costume (plus, she kept changing her mind:) and ended up slipping in under the wire again!

She finally decided on a black cat. I had all day yesterday to go shopping for a costume, but didn't go, thinking I'd make one instead. (riiiight...) Well, other things got in the way (yes, I know, I procrastinated:) and she got home from school complaining that she'd have no costume to trick or treat in. I told her I'd make sure she had one and finally after supper I started! With a very vague idea of what I was going to do, I started with a black yarn and made a beanie style hat to which I crocheted on 2 ears (this morning). I made the tail as a long tube and stuffed it (this morning), making a band across the top to go through her belt loops (this morning). (did I mention I started at 6:30 this morning?? :0) Well I managed to get her costume made and on her, made sure she ate and get her lunch made before she had to get on the bus! Oh and made sure she was dressed! :)

10 minutes before they had to get coats and boots on, I was cutting the seam in the middle of my other dd's vamire cape to make it into bat wings! Yes, they both managed to get on the bus on time and yes I still have my sanity! (barely :0) (shhhh... don't tell anyone. They might think that I do well under pressure and that I'm good at meeting short deadlines! :0)

In all the rush I forgot to get pictures! I'll take some tonight and post later today (if I get time) or tomorrow.

Happy Hallowe'en and Happy Haunting......!!!

Monday, October 27, 2008

The party went really well! 6 of the 7 girls invited made it and fun was had by all:) I did manage to finish all 8 of the Webkinz witch's hats, just in time! Actually, the 7th one was finished when I got a few quiet moments during the party and the 8th was finished before the last 2 left (they stayed later)! I even managed to buy a chocolate cake mix at 8:30 the morning of the party and get it baked and decorated before the party started at 11 am!! Lol! Here's a picture of the cake. (yes, I know, it looks more like an owl. Shhh... don't tell my daughter. They all thought it was a bat:)



I now have another project on the go. I decided it was time to destash a bit, so I am making hats for the "needy" again. By this I mean that I take them to my daughter's schools and give them to them with the instructions that "any one needing a hat, gets one". This can mean a child from a low income family that can't afford one, or with parents that just don't care that their child doesn't have one, or even someone that just forgot their hat that day. It can get very cold here in Ontario in the winter (-20 - -30 celcius ! -4 - -22 Farenheit!) so some days a hat can be a life saver. (2 yrs ago I made over 3 dozen hats for my daughters school. Even some of the Teachers used them when they forgot theirs and had yard duty that day! Then last year I added to the pile)

I might see about scarves as well. hmmm... My older daughter's school also does a lot of charity work in the community as well as globally, so I will see if they know of any place else that could use them. This will all be done in between getting submissions ready, making Christmas gifts and stuff like that, of course:)





Friday, October 24, 2008

Hallowe'en crochet

I had every intention of updating yesterday, then had a sleepless night and was so tired I couldn't think straight! So today is much better, or so I thought. I sent both dd's off on the school bus with youngest dd complaining of her tummy hurting. She was going to stay home then decided maybe she felt better and would go after all. I should have listened to my instincts! She no sooner got to school then she got sick! Ugh! Up to the school I went to go get her. She has the flu, so needless to say, I've been busy today. She is finally on the couch watching a movie so have a few minutes to update.

I am supposed to be decorating the basement with cobwebs and spiders and the like as my older dd is having her 10th Birthday party tomorrow! I still have to figure out how to make a "Bat" cake as well. I figured a square cake, cut the corners off (2 bigger and 2 smaller) and round out the left over bit. An oval shape with 2 large triangles and 2 smaller triangles should resemble a bat, don't you think? I told her it would be a brown chocolate bat instead of a black bat and she was ok with it. I also made the daft suggestion of crocheting witch's hats for the kids Webkinz (it's a Webkinz party)! I have a special one for her and 3 others made. I only have 3 more to make.

Here's a picture. Shhhhh, don't tell my daughter! :0)

Her's is the one complete with spider web!

Here's one of Houdini modeling it. Isn't he handsome? :)


This is an unusual picture. I had a small glass dish sitting in the sink and a few drops of water must have gotten under it. It must have made it happy! :0) (no, this is NOT staged! This is how I found it.)


Well, I should get back to seeing to my sick daughter, decorating, crocheting witch's hats and trying to get my submissions ready to send! Thank goodness it's the weekend! :0)

Friday, October 17, 2008

I've been profiled!

YAY! I finally get time to update my blog!
The past few days have been hectic to say the least. This past weekend was Thanksgiving in Canada, so it was turkey with the in laws on Monday. Being a long weekend and sunny, we tried to get yard work done, etc.

Wednesday was errand day. I had to go into town and get a loooong list of errands done. Whew! Good news is, I managed to accomplish what I need to get done and, hey, can I help it if 2 balls of yarn just jumped into my cart? hehehe. Actually, my dd's 10th birthday is coming up and we are having her party next weekend. It's to be a "dress as your favorite Webkin" party. I thought with Halloween coming up, I needed to whip up some witch's hats and maybe bat wings for the Webkinz. :0) Will try to take pics when done.

Yesterday, my (almost) 10 yr old had her Harrier
(Cross country) Race. She came in 7th for grade 5 girls. YAYYYY!! There were approx. 30 or more girls in the race. It was between a dozen or so schools. I'm so proud of her! :)

Today is going to be my "catch up" day. I haven't even had time to blog about my exciting news.... My good friend Ellen at http://www.gocrochet.com/ did a designer's profile on me! How exciting! I love reading Ellen's blog. She always comes up with such interesting topics to talk about. And I LOVE her sneek peeks!

Right now in our area Fall has arrived! The trees are the most wonderful reds, yellows, oranges and rusts. The hillsides look like a multicolored quilt! It would make the most wonderful inspiration for a free form purse, don't you think? I'll have to peruse my yarns later. :)

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

walking the dog crochet meditation and designing garments

I had a lady coming over later this morning so decided to walk Knight early. (if I don't walk him, he drives me crazy:) While walking I was thinking about crocheting (what else would I be thinking about? :)

Anyhoo, I was thinking about the recession that seems to be hitting these days and was wondering what it would mean for crocheting? We all know that we can use relatively inexpensive yarns and make gorgeous expensive looking gifts that were really inexpensive to make. Does that mean more people will be buying crochet patterns to make gifts and clothing for themselves and others? Could that mean this could be good for designers, yarn manufacturers and crochet book / magazine publishers? Do any other designers out there have any ideas on this? What do other seasoned designers say? Do things like crochet do better in a recession or worse? Hmmmmmm.....?

I know I plan to make a lot more of my Christmas gifts this year. My wardrobe is in dire need of replenishing and updating and I've been searching for eye catching designs to make for myself. (Although my good friend Ellen at GoCrochet.com brought up a good point about being a designer; you feel like you are cheating if you make something someone else designed! (Thanks Ellen! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one:0) I may have to rethink this and design my OWN clothes:0)

Actually, Dora from Crochet Insider has started a thread in the group Crochet Designers about designing crocheted garments. She is offering to set something up to help designers learn about grading garments, sizing, fit, shaping, etc. The thread was "Are you comfortable designing garments". She is talking about having a maybe 6 wk or so tutorial on designing garments. It would either be free or for a fee to cover her time and efforts. I'm definitely keeping tabs on this thread!

Someone on Crochet Partners mentioned this morning that Lion Brand had new colors in their cotton yarn. Yay! I have some designs in cotton that I couldn't find the right colors for. I'll have to have a browse to see if they have the colors I need now.