FM 8/31/09

Hi! Aidan Benjamin arrived last Thursday (August 27) without waiting for his great-aunt to finish his afghan. I don't know what to say about that but I got to crochet faster. I'm only about a fifth of the way finished. Maybe if I stayed home from work tomorrow;)

Anyway, here's this weeks pickings for projects:

This is beautiful, a cherry blossom scarf and I got some pink yarn that would be just perfect for it. But who should get it?
http://www.craftbits.com/project/scarf-cherry-blossoms


You've read a lot about hyperbolic crochet, here's a chance for you to listen to an interesting podcast on hyperbolic crochet.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/breakfast/stories/2009/2669268.htm

This is really cool, a tutorial on brushed crochet.
http://littlegreen.typepad.com/romansock/brushed-crochet.html

I'm not so sure how I feel about this one - a crochet granny square skirt. I do like the cute blog.
http://grandmotherspatternbook.com/?p=1444


This is a lovely victorian rose baby sweater.
http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog.jsp?CATID=cat843899&PRODID=xprd1175283


This is a crochet 5 petal flower, but she adds some bling to it which really makes a difference.
http://www.craftpassion.com/2009/08/crochet-pattern-5-petal-flower.html


This is a cute gift idea - a crochet wine bottle cover. But not if your friends are like some of mine - they would expect me to refill it all the time;)
http://www.crochetspot.com/crochet-pattern-easy-wine-bottle-cover/

Caron has another wonderful pattern, a crochet cable scarf
http://www.naturallycaron.com/projects/aqua_blue/aqua_blue_1.html


I thought this was so cool - and for those of us with a large stash (guilty as charged) a different way to use it up - a "wooleater" blanket
http://sarahlondon.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/wool-eater-instructions/

Get in on this one quick because it ends September 2 - a crochet book giveaway
http://www.notmartha.org/archives/2009/08/26/giveaway-creature-crochet/

That's if for this time around. The usual disclaimers apply, of course.

_enjoy_

FM 8/24/09

Sorry, folks. I didn't intend to take off last week, but it happened. For some insane reason, I thought I could squeeze this out during the week, forgetting I just came back from vacation and had a ton of work to catch up on - as well as a ton of email to sift through. Has anyone else won the Irish Sweepstakes;) I've won 868,702 pounds which is $1,433,865.58 in US currency (as of right now). I don't even remember playing the Irish Sweepstakes. How strange. Do I have to go to Ireland and pick it up? And how many yarn shops do they have there? I think I would be doing some serious stash building with that kind of money.



Wheat Carr is doing a "yarnquest project" that will award a prize as well as discount coupons for her internet store. I intend to send some of my "vintage yarn" in, Check it out at
http://tinyurl.com/WWW-Project.


Rachel Choi does it again with a cute crocheted baby cocoon
http://www.crochetspot.com/crochet-pattern-basic-baby-cocoon/

and a cute bookmark
http://www.crochetspot.com/crochet-pattern-fish-in-ocean-bookmark/


Do you remember the late night ads for all those great K-Tel products? I never bought any of them new but I have picked up one or two in a thrift shop. Noreen Crone-Findlay has a review of the K-Tel Knitter, which I purchased in a thrift shop with a bag of sewing notions. Now I know what it is.

http://www.blisstree.com/hankeringforyarn/a-very-stupid-gadget-but-wait-theres-less/


as well as an interview with crochet designer arty Miller.
http://www.blisstree.com/hankeringforyarn/profile-crochet-designer-marty-miller/

Annie Modesitt is still looking for hats - so check it out, you still have a little bit of time.
http://www.anniemodesitt.com/newsletter/

How about a cowl vest by Caron?
http://www.caron.com/projects/ss/cowl_vest.html

Mary Sue's Crochet Newsletter is ready to read:
http://news809.suescrochet.com/


I love the Planet M Files blog. I love seeing all those cute crocheted guinea pigs lined up. Here's a free pattern for "Crochet Monkey Two" by Gayle of Plant M Files
http://planetmfiles.com/2008/09/03/crochet-monkey-two/


I thought this was cute, an angel pig, just perfect for my sister-in-law for Christmas
http://www.angelsezine.com/2009/08/14/crochet-an-angel-pig/">http://www.angelsezine.com/2009/08/14/crochet-an-angel-pig/



This is a really cool crochet bag pattern by Kathy Merrick
http://www.knittingdaily.com/media/p/31016.aspx


Free e-book of crochet patterns. Nope, don't know anything about it, but it looks interesting
http://www.bignews.biz/?id=810338&keys=crochet-patterns-ebook-aghans


Check this out - crochet using embroidery thread. I had a girlfriend that did that back in high school. I think it's lovely and that means I got a lot more stash for crocheting than I previously did.
http://www.purlbee.com/the-purl-bee/2009/8/17/wren-handmade-crocheted-bracelets.html


I've been looking for a pattern sort of like this - a crochet half moon bag
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=92096.0


The Crafty Chameleon is showing what she is crocheting to adorn her clothes - pretty cool.All her flowers have names
http://thecraftycameleon.blogspot.com/


"CrochetMe" and reading crochet diagrams
http://e1.interweave.com/dm?id=7F961284108FB5A81DFBB2454E5EF49F77AE180CF45FB311


As usual, I do not get any compensation for mentioning these sites. I would be willing to be bribed, but heck, with my big winnings, I don't need bribery;)

_enjoy_

FM 8/10/09

The picture above was taken at the Toy Museum at Natural Bridge, Virginia. They have a lot of modern toys (South Park, Teenage Mutant Turtles, Barbies) but these are the only two toys that appear to be hand made from yarn. I don't know if the stitching in the larger doll shows up well but it looked like a combination of knit and crochet. The little yarn doll is similar to the thread dolls Noreen Crone-Findlay makes.http://www.blisstree.com/hankeringforyarn/busting-stress-with-old-time-thread-dolls/


I'm back. I went to Virginia for a couple of days, got a picture of me and my honey with a tiger cub. I have to post it sometime, got to figure out to work ii in;)
The weather is great, the avocado pit is growing and all is right with the world. Okay, with my world. I plan to go shopping (in my stash) a little later to get the yarn I want for a project. I think I have more yarn than A.C. Moore and Michaels combined. The last few times I was at either place, I didn't buy any yarn at all. That's how you know the economy is in the toilet. I'd like to lie and say "oh no, I was not going to buy yarn at all" but why lie? I just couldn't find anything I liked in either store. I know, that's _weird_. Anyway....


How much yarn do you need for a project? I can't ever figure it out. And don't even try to go back and get the same lot number. But Lion Brand has figured it out:
http://www.lionbrand.com/faq/96.html?language=-En

Not a pattern, but an article about the stress reducing benefit of crocheting (and knitting). I know I always feel better after I crochet.
http://www.favecrafts.com/Crochet/Knitting-and-Crochet-Tote-Releases-Stress

This is a very cute blog and video - check it out.
Fridge Critters: Where the Wild Things GO
http://woowork.blogspot.com/2009/08/fridge-critter-chelsea-chicken.html


There is a lot of tutorials on this site for almost anything you could need.
http://www.crochetsoiree.com/objects/view/30832/

How about a really cute granny square by SmoothFox?
http://smoothfoxlover.blogspot.com/2009/08/smoothfoxs-cute-as-button-12-x-12.html

The "snuggie" is a bit deal though it probably won't be at the fall fashion shows;) They have even had a "Snuggie Pub Crawl" in Fells Point. (Of course I didn't go - I would have tripped over the snuggie;)) Here's an adult snuggle pattern and you can make it any color you want.
http://www.coatsandclark.com/cgi-bin/MsmGo.exe?grab_id=34&page_id=9439232&query=adult+snuggle&hiword=ADULTES+ADULTS+SNUGGLING+SNUGGLY+adult+snuggle+


Yeah, it's August and in my part of the world, summer is drawing to a close. But you can always use a summertime tote
http://www.coatsandclark.com/Crafts/Crochet/Projects/Magazines/CTJune0892+Summertime+Tote.htm


I thought this was really an amazing afghan - a personalized baby afghan Kim Guzman
http://www.crochetkim.com/patterns/perbaby.htm

But honestly, this is my pick for my great-nephew's afghan. I have looked thru books and online to find something I wanted to do that would be different than what I did for his two older brothers. So (drum roll please), a fish motif by by Eboni A. Francis and it looks fun and challenging. I will be sure to post a photo of it when I finish it (first I have to begin....). It's a fish motif.
http://in-a-pear-tree.blogspot.com/2008/08/crochet-fish-motif-finally.html


And just in case you want to know more about tessellations, here's a website for you
http://www.tessellations.org/

That wraps it up for this week. Of course, no economic stimulus passed my way for listing the sites. I'd take it but no one is offering anything - not even used Popsicle sticks.

_enjoy_

FM August 3, 2009

Well, hello again. We just turned our air conditioner on for the first time this week. It wasn't so much the heat, but of course the humidity. (I do live in Baltimore.) Not too much going on in my end of the world, but here's a tip for you - if you join Facebook, you can become a "fan" of Lion Brand Yarn. The advantage of that is you can get free shipping this weekend from Lion Brand.



Apparently, this free baby bib pattern looks a lot like a Ralph Lauren baby bib that is going for $85. I can't imagine paying $85 for a baby bib, but that's me.
http://www.craftown.com/baby/pat8.htm



And now for something completely different, a teddy bear hat
http://kierakrafts.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/teddy-bears-attack/


Maybe you want to try crocheting a portrait - Todd Paschall has 3 celebrities for you to crochet (Walter Cronkite, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson)
http://crochetbynumbers.com/FREE-PATTERNS.html

I thought this crochet trivet was pretty neat and there are some other nice patterns, too. http://www.craftleftovers.com/blog/archives/1565

Or how about a crochet ice dragon
http://crochetme.com/patterns/baby-snow-dragon

got goldfish? Well, you can have gold or any other color fish you want with this quick goldfish pattern
http://www.crochetspot.com/crochet-pattern-goldfish-applique/


That's about it for today. I considered making an afghan for someone at work that I sort of knew, but not well. Than I took a look around and saw all the pregnant young women at work and realized "hey, I don't want to make a lot of baby afghans". After all, if I did it for one person, I'm sure I'd have a lot more friendly co-workers, most people like baby afghans. So I decided instead to do a turtle, Quicker, easier and not a huge problem if I had to make 4 or 5 more.

As usual, I don't get any special considerations for posting these links. Who can afford anything special? (and yes, the list is getting smaller - harder for me to find free patterns)....

_enjoy_