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Tuesday, April 25, 2006

S'n'B, "The Happy Hooker" error site

There were some errors in the first printing of the Debbie Stoller book (I have a hard time with the title because if I am stitching, I'm not complaining, but that's me) - here's the link

Click here: http://www.bust.com/knithappens/snbhh-errata.pdf

I have the first edition, but I have no idea how many editions it's up to, but it's likely if you purchased it when it first came out, you also have the first edition.
I haven't attempted a project from the book yet, but I'm thinking about printing out the errors and putting it with the book so when the time comes, I'll be ready.




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Tuesday, April 18, 2006

correction & thrift shop yarns

It was Lord & Taylor that had the crochet earrings. I have never shopped at a Lord & Taylor, wonder what that's like?
They must not have yarn, because if they did, I would have been there already.

For those who are wondering what happened with at least some of the Target yarn that wasn't sold on clearance, Big Lots has it for 79 cents a skein (at least in my area, which in Baltimore County). I have also seen it at a upscale Goodwill, they were selling it for a dollar a skein.
You have to be careful buying thrift shop yarn because you might get something disgusting like bugs ore it could be dry rot. Check the feel of the yarn as best as you can through the plastic bag. If you see stuff moving around in the yarn, do _not_ buy it. If the yarn seems too fragile (breaks as you try to feel it or separates easily), again, don't buy it. You can get some pretty good deals in thrift shops, but you have to carefully examine what you're buying. But you should be doing it wherever you buy yarn. Some yarn feels good to the touch, but it seaparates while you are touching it. If it seaparates easily at a touch, think of how bad it's going to be to work up - splitting the yarn is not my idea of a fun crochet session and probably not yours, either.

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Sunday, April 16, 2006

Happy Easter & stuff

I told you I didn't want to _buy_ any new yarn. Okay, I really _do_ but I got more stash than the store does, plus it's already colors I like and it _is_ paid for, which is an important consideration. This past week I got a prize box from the Needlecraft Shop (http://www.needlecraftshop.com/ )
because apparently I was one of the first 50 people to respond to their bill. I got 12 skeins of pastel Red Heart yarn, good for a baby blanket (hmm, did they read this blog?), a pair of bright pink knitting needles, 2 afghan hooks, 1 steel crochet hook and a package of taprestry needles. That was _really_ cool and totally unexpected. I did email them a thank you note because I was impressed - and thankful.

As to the baby afghan, I decided not to go with stripes. I thought that might send me over the edge plus I was debating over using various raised stitches to make it look better. Instead, I found this little gem http://project-angel-kisses.150m.com/roundripple.html.
This works up very fast and is very easy to do. I decided to use the blue and white yarn I had already found in my stash. Plus you can make it any size, you could even make an adult sized afghan by following the directions. I am quite happy with this. It appears to be very similiar to the kit in the Mary Maxim's catalog (nope, I don't get a kickback from them), so if you were interested in that, you may want to check out this pattern.

In case you are wondering why (all of the sudden) I am trying to watch my yarn spending, I have 4 words for you - Sheep and Wool Festival (http://www.sheepandwool.org/) . This is coming up very fast and I enjoy wandering around the festival grounds, wondering what I want to buy. Some years I spend a _lot_. Last year, because of the situation with my younger sister, I spend very little money and very little time there. My younger son is taking me this year as my beloved will be taking a class out of state. It won't be much fun for my son, but what the heck. I'll have fun (but not as much as if my beloved was with me). They do have some of the most amazing yarn I have ever seen, some of it hand spun and hand painted. They even have the rovings so you can spin it yourself. I don't buy that because I know it would just pile up because I'd never get around to spinning it. But I still like to look at it.

If you live in the Washington DC area, the "Washington Post" has an ad featuring crochet earrings. They are _gorgeous_, made with cottin thread. I can't remember the name of the store, whether it was Lord & Taylor or Neiman-Marcus, but they were great looking.

That's it for today.

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Monday, April 10, 2006

loose ends

I haven't been crocheting much because my oldest cat, Houdini, was very ill. He died last Monday. Houdini required a lot of care and I just couldn't think straight enough to crochet.

Today I decided I needed to get back to crocheting. I found the Jaimie yarn and the hook I use to make the preemie caps and began to crochet one on the way to work.

And that reminded me that I have another great nephew showing up in about 7 weeks and I should make something for the new baby. I fought (very hard, lol) the urge to go to the store and buy yarn. I probably have more yarn here than A.C. Moore & Michael's combined, but that didn't stop me from wanting to buy more.

I decided to search through some totes of yarn. Perhaps I'd have something suitable;). I found 2 of Lion Brand's "Pound of Love" skeins, one blue, one white. I think I will make a striped afghan, I really am not in the mood to assemble a bunch of motifs. But I might change my mind or maybe do some sort of raised stitches to make it more interesting. I'll just have to see how I feel about the whole project.

Saturday, April 01, 2006

More "Stitch 'n' Bitch"


Here's something Workman Publishing put together as a promotion of the crochet book: