I'm still here

Nope, I didn't fall off the edge of the earth. Just like most people in the U.S., I was getting ready for Thanksgiving. I was lucky enough to have what's left of my extended family come over last Saturday and that was good. I also had an opportunity to give my older neice the skinny scarf I made for her out of Bernat's "Disco" in purple and black (sorry, I don't remember the yarn names.) They are purple and black for the Baltimore Ravens - she's a football fan.

Than I made my older son a black wide scarf out of Caron's "Pounder" yarn. The temperature has dropped drastically and he was waiting for public transportation in the cold, so I thought that would be a good idea. It's fairly plain, just row upon row of double crochet. I probably would have made it in the "Harry Potter" colors, but I didn't have the particular colors on hand. Maybe next time.

Yesterday was Black Friday and I had to work. I don't think I would have been out at 5am at the Wal-Mart* (looks like that was a _good_thing, too). But I would have liked to have made it to A.C. Moore or Michael's or Jo-Anne Fabrics for their early bird sale. Of course, they have a discount for the early birds, but I bet it was _crowded_, too. I did visit Michael's today, as they had a coupon for 20% off of everything up until noon. I like Michael's but wasn't too fond of whatever fragrance they had going on there, a combination of pine and pumpkin pie and something else. At first I thought it was just the candles, but it still smelled strong where the yarn is kept. I can only guess they must be pumping the smell in. It's not for me.

I guess if anybody wanted the "traditional" Christmas yarn, they must have purchased it already. They certainly wouldn't find any of it at Michael's. Apparently, the yarnaholics that didn't have to work Friday hit their yarn department pretty hard. Oh well, hopefully that kept more money in my pocket;)

I only have one crochet project in mind to finish before Christmas. Since I haven't started it yet, it should make things a bit more challenging. But I do have the supplies and the pattern, so that's about 75% of the work there. I'm altering an existing pattern to reflect more of what I want to achieve. I don't know how well that plan will work out, but I'm willing to give it a try. Currently I am working on a scarf in the Caron "Rainbow Tones". Interesting effect, but I'm a little disappointed. I'm not really sure exactly what I expected, I guess for the yarn to be more red than rose. But it is working up nicely.

* I get no kickbacks from any of the stores I mentioned. However, if they want to give me a kickback, I'll be happy to take it and I'll tell you folks about it so maybe you can get in on that deal;)
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The sock earrings and other adventures

So far I haven't quite mastered the sock earrings - something about turning the heel isn't quite working for me, but I will keep on trying to get this right. My cat Spike has decided that the little socks are _his_ plaything, but I don't know why.

I've gotten some great ebay deals from arhett, who is selling lots of new Red Heart Supersaver yarn*. I also purchased Carolyn Christmas Savage's new booklet on amiragurami (I know I messed that up) animals. Pretty cool.

I've been working on scarves for "Crocet With Dee"'s challenge of 60 scarves in 60 days. SO far I have 5 done, working on my sixth.

Target has their yarn on sale for a quarter a skein. Look for it in the front of the store where their $1 section is, they also have Halloween stuff on sale if you're interested.

Wednesday I plan to get on a plane and see how security is. The plan is to crochet some preemie hats and maybe a Christmas stocking on the long flight to California. I'm not taking scissors, just one of those yarn cutting medalions. I haven't been on a plane for about 8 years, so I'm sure there have been a lot of changes in the check in process.








*If you don't like Red Heart, that's cool, just don't bother telling me about it. I don't like brussel sprouts but I don't email people about it.

I'm still standing

Okay, I have been away for a while. Between work and everything else going on, I haven't felt like posting or crocheting too much. But I'm starting to get some semblance of normalcy, at leat for a while.

I finished my friend's wrap. It was going to be a poncho, but my brain forgot how to make it work. I tried for 2 days and gave up because I just couldn't figure it out, even when I looked at a poncho I ahad already finished. It's like that sometimes - well, at least for me it is.

I received the Bernat's free "Disco" yarn - it's a rich turquoise color. Some folks have complained, but I am willing to pay a reasonable postage to take it off their hands;) It definitely brightened up my week. My skein came from Mary Maxim's, which really confused me. I didn't remember ordering anything from them for a while. They also include a $5 off certificate for their catalog, which was thoughtfully provided.
I took 2 different skeins (black and purple, for my neice who likes the Ravens football team) and made a skinny long scarf. It worked up very quickly and it doesn't shed as some "fur" yarns tend to do.

Paton's has a contest for $500 worth of Paton's Yarns. You can only enter once a day per household. I, of course, have been entering each day (when I remember) in hopes that I'll get more yarn because I so _need_ yarn . Okay, I don't need it but I want it. But maybe _you_ really need it - here's the site:

Click here: Patons Yarns: Just Crochet it!

I am also working on making little sock earrings. I think I almost have it sussed out, this third sock looks more sock like than the first two. If I figure this out (and I hope to in the next few days, barring any disasters such as overtime from work) I'll post it. I was thinking of making a set baby colors for my sister-in-law because she works in the NICU where I donate my preemie hats. It would be cute to make them in Christmas colors, too. I'll see how it works out.

getting better

Slowly but surely I am starting to crochet again. I made 2 preemie caps this week, not a big deal, but a start. And I finished half the poncho I am working on, so that's a plus for me. I skipped A.C.Moore's "Moonlight Madness" sale tonight because I really don't need any more yarn and I'd just buy more if I was there. I could probably insulate the house with the yarn I've got everywhere. It might be a good idea with the price of gas these days.

I looked at a lot of crochet blogs as part of my "rehab" - *wow* those people are so talented. It's almost intimidating to see what has been created, but it's also inspiring, too. The photos are great and lots of people post their patterns, which seems very generous of them. I have to tell you, tho, some of the color schemes I don't "get" but I've never been a slave to fashion. Actually, more of a fashion victim;)

Outside of that, nothing to really report. Just the usual go to work, come home routine. SOme days are better than others. I may have more time to crochet this weekend, I'm having a d&c on Thursday and am supposed to "take it easy" the rest of the weekend. That depends on whether the weather is nice. I have a lot of yard work to do before it gets too cold. But one day of crocheting...., well that would be pretty cool.





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crocheter's block & scraps

I've been quiet of late, as has been my crochet hooks. The last thing I crocheted, the lion for my nephew, was cremated with him and the ashes were scattered at a special place. I haven't even made any preemie caps. And the poncho I was working on is just sort of sitting there, waiting for me to pick it up again. There is no doubt about the fact that I have crocheter's block, but given all that has happened in the last few weeks, it's a wonder I even think about crochet.

I've had some very bright moments - Beatriz Medina sent me some gorgeous doilies. She does such great work and to know she was thinking of me really brightened up my whole day. I plan to take photos of them (really this time....I _got_ to learn how to use the camera - the last time I ended up taking a dark movie of my bunny - and I don't mean "dark" as in subject matter, I mean you could barely see it) and post them. They are absolutely gorgeous. My wrist gives me a fit sometimes working with baby yarn, I can't imagine working in thread.

And some kind souls from this site (and a few others) sent me notes of sympathy. I really aprreciate that, it helps to know other people are thinking of me and my family. Other kind souls sent some baby yarn (it was a swap thing), which of course I haven't started using yet.

But since I have a day off from work, I intend to surf the internet and hopefully find some sites to inspire me. If you ever get a chance to look at other folks' blogs, take it. People are doing some amazing crocheting, technique as well as what they are creating. I have a feeling once I start poking around, I may pick a short project just to give myself a jump start.

Did anyone else enter the Lion Brand Yarn slogan contest? I did but I didn't win, so you got to take the next statement with the knowledge that I would have loved to win $100 worht of Lion products. I wasn't too terribly impressed with the slogans - "I crochet, therefore I am" (there's also a knitting variation). "Just one more row". Certainly good slogans, but nothing that really jumps out. But maybe that's just me, too. I am in a funk. It was even easy to go to A.C. Moore and limit the amount of yarn I bought. If that's not a tipoff that I'm not entirely with it, I don't know what is.

But hopefully the next time I post, I will at least post some great photos. And maybe I will share some of the inspiring sites I intend to find. Things _will_ get better....

crushed

I guess I am kind of lucky I crochet, it keeps me from going totally insane. Tuesday was a bad day at work....too much work and not enough people. Wednesday was the most horrible day of all - my 29 year old nephew died for no apparent reason (as of right now - no drugs or foul play, the coroner claims everything is "normal"). And Thursday I decided to have a medical emergency that put me on bedrest all weekend.

I was trying to crochet a poncho for a friend of mine. I had to frog it because the stitches became _way_ too tight. I guess my tension level was up. It went from being about 23 inches long to about _17_. That is not a good thing.

Sadly, I turned to making something to put in my nephew's casket. He was my first nephew, the first baby I made a toy for that I was related to, the first grandchild, the whole bit. I had made him a lion and a baby afghan. (I also made him, much later, a circus train afghan, one you could take the animals out of the cages and play with them.) I made another lion, bright yellow with a white mane and a white tail. I embroidered the goofy smiley face I use for all my stuffed toys. Than I put it to the side. I was hoping by not looking at it anymore that I wouldn't realize the loss that was sustained.

But it became real for me tonight when I placed the lion in the casket. I remembered the little baby boy he was and just broke down. It felt so horribly wrong to be there, to be placing the lion there. I kept saying to my sisters "This is _wrong_, we shouldn't be doing this".

But it would be _wrong_ not to have done that for him. There's nothing more I can physically do for him, it's the only way I know how to show my love, and for that, I guess I am kind of lucky I crochet.

The Yarn Whisperer

Lots of people will buy the yarn winders that they sell on Ebay - they even have electric ones as well as "old fashioned" ones. They range in price (currently) from about $2.76 (American - that one is coming from the UK so the postage might be a bit much) to about $150, with most prices currently in the $30 range.

Herschners (as well as other needlework shops) sells them
http://herrschners.com/products/product.aspx?sku=011600

I was lucky because my brother picked up for me at a thrift shop. I've never used it yet. I keep saying "oh, next time I'll use it" but I don't. But my favorite yarn winder, the one that I could count on making sure the yarn was wound with just enough tension, was my dad.

Apparrently, my dad did not always live with his mom, but with friends/relatives of his mom. One couple he stayed with I only know as Aunt Lil and Uncle Herb. I never met them and I have no idea if they were related by blood to my father or that was just what he was taught to call them.

Aunt Lil must have done a lot of needlework. She taught my dad how to wind a ball of yarn _perfectly_. No knots, no frays, no tangles. He also enjoyed winding embroidery floss so it could be easily used. His goal was always to wind the yarn with no knots - that was a point of pride with him. He'd tease out the yarn slowly and methodically. If it wouldn't unravel from one end, he'd start at the other. He said it relaxed him to wind yarn.

Of course, I loved it. "Back in the day" there weren't too many pull skeins of yarn. Whoever came up with that great idea was, well, brillant. So before I would start a project, Dad would wind the yarn for me. He'd drink his coffee and I'd drink my tea and we would talk about anything and everything under the sun. I never realized how much we communicated over that simple act. We'd talk about anything from what the yarn was going to be used for to the feasibility of life on other planets. Sometimes he seemed disappointed if I bought the pull skeins. I was a_spoiled_brat_.

I thought of this recently when I came across some yarn that needed to be wound. It would need to be placed over a chair and carefully wound. My sons wind the yarn too tight. My hubby has _way_ too much to do. And my dad has been gone for over 24 years. (No, the yarn hasn't waited _that_ long to be wound;)) I'll get around to winding one day, when I'm tired and I want to do "something" but feel too tired to work on or begin a project. And when I do, I'll drink tea and think of those evenings spent with my dad. And that will relax me.


And by the way, no kickbacks from any of these folks to me.....