Tuesday, January 27, 2009

My daughter, the Gold Medalist!!

I just thought I'd brag a bit and let everyone know that my dd earned 4 gold medals and a silver in her figure skating competition on Saturday!! Yay!! (yes, I'm the proud Mom!)

Today has been getting paperwork and emails caught up and trying to clean off the desk :( I'm still hoping to get some crocheting in today. Tomorrow is another write off as I have to get groceries and get some shopping done. Although...that is ok too. I mean, what if a stray ball of yarn just happened to follow me home :0) I can't tell it to leave now can I? That would be rude! teehee:) I'm hoping to get to Micheal's this weekend. I haven't checked out their yarns lately.

We're trying to get a few things sorted out this month, then hopefully, soon, we can finish the spare room in the basement. That is going to be my design studio! (when we don't have company staying over, of course:) I'll finally have shelves to put bins on with my yarn neatly organized. (I can dream can't I? lol).

It's been so brutally cold here lately, so I've been crocheting hats to donate. I sent several in with my dd to her school for anyone who forgot theirs or don't have one. My daughter said the ladies in the office acted like it was Christmas! lol.

Well, I guess it's back to emails, cleaning the desk and catching up on paperwork!



Friday, January 23, 2009

I'm back in action!

I haven't updated in "quite" some time and I apologize. Sometimes things get a bit crazy and unfortunately you end up taking a break whether you want to or not :)

I'm back in action and ready to go!

Has anyone noticed that Bernat has redesigned their ball bands on the Bernat Baby Sport yarns? Well, they have AND they've changed their yarn...for the better! Yay! I bought a ball of their Bernat Baby sport in the color Caribbean Sea. It's definitely a lot softer feeling and a teensy bit thinner. I like the new feel. Yay Bernat! (aka Spinrite)

I've discovered a new favorite stitch...a linked dc! It's really cool. You insert the hook into the vertical bar on the front of the last dc made, yo, pull up a loop, insert hook into next stitch, yo, pull up a loop. You now have 3 loops on the hook. Yo, pull through 2 loops, twice and voila! 2 dc sts linked together! It makes for a more solid stitch than regular dc, but with a bit of elasticity. It also gives a slighty different look to the finished product. You can also alter the look further by going into only one vertical bar on the front of the stitch or by going through 2 bars (front and back) of stitch.

Knight (our 1 yr old pup) chewed a small hole in a crocheted cable stitch scarf I made for my daughter. :( I think my friend Ellen's (gocrochet.com) blog post about repairing crocheted items might just help me fix it. Thanks Ellen! (Now I just have to study her post closely:)

I found some old dark blue valour material in my sewing box. Sewn into a "U" shape, it will make a nice liner for a free form purse! :0) I plan on just scrumbling and using the liner as my template. (the template idea is a suggestion Myra Wood makes in her book "Creative Crochet Lace"). I happen to have some odds and ends of yarn that I picked up (1 ball here and 1 there :) because "it was so pretty!" They are in shades of blues, greens and purples, with bits of other colors mixed in, but all in more natural colors and not neons or brights. I think the finished effect will be quite stunning! I may even leave a bit of the top of the folded over velour showing for an elegant touch. Hmmmmmmm....

Well, I should dash for now :0) My youngest dd will be home soon. I need to get her fed and get ready to take my other dd to figure skating practice as soon as SHE gets home. She has a competition tomorrow! We have to be there bright and early at 8:15 am or so.