coral reefer madness

green coral reef

all finished coral reef (1)

finished coral reef

blue reef

orange reef

 

brain coral reef

purple reef

close up pf one part of the bleached reef

bleached coral reef

oh deBBie

you got to be  out there somewhere, please email me so I can send your book...please

what I have been up to.....

Here's a few photos of what I have been up to....
okay, 1 photo, I think I need to resize my photos so they fit. Anyway, this is a turtle that one of my sons' ex-girlfriends asked me to make for her. She likes (obviously) the color purple.
I've been working on the coral reef project, but I think my photos are a little too big to load.
well, I got to go figure this out.....

Smithsonian Community Reef

Yesterday I had the fun of visiting Lovely Yarns, a yarn shop in Hampden (Baltimore). Lovely Yarns was holding a workshop for the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef project (www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/hreef/index.html) that will be displayed at the Natural History Museum from October 2010 to April 2011. You probably heard of the Coral Reef project traveling exhibit and this time it will be in Washington, D.C. They are asking local crocheters to contribute their own versions of the coral reef for the display. Much of the display will be from the Institute for Figuring, but they also use local crocheters. I had a great time and met people whose name I promptly forgot. I think there was a Jennifer, a Shannon, a Denise and maybe a Michelle. But I might be thinking "Michelle" because one of the participants reminded me of my cousin Michelle.
Anyway, Jennifer, (from the Smithsonian) came to do a talk on the history of coral reefs, the history of the hyperbolic crochet project and how the exhibit will be set up. You couldn't help being caught up in the love and enthusiasm she has for the project. I was already excited about it, but she definitely stoked the fire.
She recommend the Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes which I already have as a place to get a start. There are also patterns on the interweb that will help a crocheter craft a coral reef.
If you are interested in this project (you can mail your finished reefs), check out this web site http.crochetcoralreef.org for more information. I am currently working on a pink (wool) brain reef that has so far been a lot of fun. I intend to count the stitches when I finally finish it (I plan to use all 12 ounces of the pink yarn). I already have plans for more reefs to make. Yeah, I know I should be making that curtain I keep swearing I'm going to finish - especially after ripping so much out.  But really, how many chances does a person get to make something for display at the Smithsonian?
I'll keep you posted on my ongoing project.
_enjoy_

the Art of Crochet

I love the title "The Art of Crochet" but I didn't think of it, Teresa did. And much more importantly that that, Teresa has produced a large amount of tutorials that are available at YouTube so you can see how certain stitches are done.
I need to see how a stitch works to really "get" how it's supposed to be done. I can follow the directions from a book, but without a visual on how the stitch is supposed to look, I have a difficult time figuring it out.
I can't go to everybody's house and share my love of crochet. I wish I could, I think that would be great. And I haven't taught anyone to crochet in a very long time. But if I were to teach anyone, I would hope I would be as clear and concise as Teresa. Check out her tutorials on YouTube, they are great. Even an old dog like me can learn something new from the tutorials.
Here's the address: http://www.youtube.com/show/artofcrochet

Enjoy

oh deBBie

Oh deBBie, you need to contact me with your info so I can ship the book to you.......
you won

no, I didn't fall off the edge of the earth

I've just been working at my wreck a wrist job;) We've had a few changes in personnel at work and things have been a little on the screwy side. Nothing that unusual, but it adds up. And when my right wrist hurts that bad (arthritis? carpal tunnel? old age;)) I don't want to crochet.
I was working on the companion panel to the standing lion curtain. I got up to about row 30 and realized there was an error a few rows back. So I pulled it apart. Than, of course, there was another mistake and I ended up taking it back to row 14.  As you can guess, I wasn't too thrilled about that. I worked back up to row 19 and stopped there. Now I got to pick up the work and finish it.
Does anyone else get like that, too? I'll be excited to start a new project, get in the middle of it and think "oh, man, I want to be working on something else". It doesn't matter _what_ else, but it's usually a project I've been thinking about doing in that vague way I have - the "wouldn't it be cool if I took this yarn and that yarn and used this stitch and made whatever". I hadn't thought it out all the way, not even quite sure what I'm aiming for but of course, that's going to be really interesting - once I finish whatever it is I am working on.
A long time ago, BC (before children), I'd have a couple projects going on and would alternate between 2 or 3 of them.  I just alternate between 2 projects now. Currently, the lion panel and the ever easy, ever popular preemie hats. I can crochet them when I watch television and not make a mess of it...apparently I can't do the same with the lion curtain.
I shouldn't  blame my kids - they moved out about 4 years ago, so it's not like I'm doing any intensive mothering.  But it's easier to blame them than to blame myself for being a bit of a yarnoholic (okay, more than a bit) and disorganized. I am slowly trying to work on this, but it would be easier to do this with the antics of my cats. They think all the yarn is for them. If it's in a bag, it must be pulled out of the bag. It must be rolled across the floor. Disorganization and inquisitive cats don't make for a good combination.

But I have made a few toys along the way. I'm putting these two for sale in my Etsy shop to see how it goes. I doubt I will be one of those Etsy stories where I can quit my day job and crochet all the time, but that would be cool just to sell a few. I have sold a few turtles, they seem to be popular.
so until next time, _enjoy_