I'm A Little Teapot....

 

Ridiculousness knows no bounds. I started to crochet a miniature tea set and lost interest after the teapot. Now I'm too much of a hoarder to throw it away. Anyone want a crocheted miniature teapot?

One friend who saw the photo on Facebook inquired whether it would be suitable for her fairy house.  I offer the following two photos for purposes of scale:

Emma's blankie

 

I saw Baby Emma for the first time live last Friday.  She's so tiny, I hope they use this blanket as a stroller cover until she grows into it, or else she may get lost in it.

Orion's blankie

 

This is the longest baby gift I have ever created.  The "baby" in question is about 2 now, I think.  Orion's mom and dad are scientists.  I mean real scientists.  His dad worked on a project involving dust that came from Saturn.  I mean, really!  How many people can say that?

Anyway, way back when his mother was expecting, I heard rumors that the baby's name, although they were keeping it a secret, had something to do with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and I got this great idea to applique symbols from the book onto the blanket I was making.  I planned a goldfish and a porpoise and that funny little face with the skinny little arms and the tongue hanging out and a "Don't Panic" button and some mice with a teapot and....

It got so complicated I knew I'd never finish it.  So when the baby was born and they announced his name was Orion, I got another great idea!  I'd applique stars on the blanket in the shape of the constellation Orion.

That was a great idea until I found out how many stars are actually in the constellation Orion!  I had no idea!  It's not at all what you see on the Orion Pictures film headers.

Then I got to thinking.  Of course, that's when all great ideas stall, when someone gets to thinking.

These guys are scientists.  They're going to know if the stars are out of alignment.  I was so obsessed with my artistic license, I couldn't finish the blanket.

Other babies and baby gifts came and went and I thought sure the parents thought I was snubbing them or something.

Finally, I spoke to a mutual friend who told me to get over it and just finish the blanket already!

So I did.  I took a lot of artistic license and the constellation is probably only recognizable to me, but at least I finished it before he grew out of it completely.  I think.  I'm going to give it to them this Sunday.  If they are at all offended by the poorly crafted constellation, they're polite enough to keep it to themselves, I'm sure.

Radio Silence

So sorry I've been lax in posting on the blog.  The latest project is taking up a lot of time.

It's a joint afghan by a set of international contributors to a message board that I frequent.  We are making an afghan for one amongst us who lost her dear husband suddenly and after only a couple of years of marriage.  It's a small way for us all to comfort her, a virtual hug turned real.

I am the one putting the squares together, so my time to post on the blog is quite limited.

But I had to share this bonus I received with the square sent to me by PipneyJane.  She knows about my penguin fixation and whenever she has cause to send me something, she includes one of these:

Nearly There

I am so sorry about my absence for so long.

I have been working frantically to finish a christening gown that I started when the mom was 3 months pregnant.  The baby was born on July 31st.  The christening is in November.

Crochet projects have all been on hold while I concentrate on this and I'm so happy to say I'm almost finished.  I expect to wrap up by the first or second weekend in October.

Here are some really bad photos of the work in progress ....

...AND two of the more important COMPLETED project (for which I cannot take any credit):

More photos of the baby (and a fantastic photographer if you're looking for one in the Bay Area) at The Jess Page.

Meet Nellie Nester

This was the handmade item for my Warm Ewe Up swap on Ravelry. It took so long to make, I had to send it separately from the last package.

I completed Nellie weekend before last and didn't post her pic because I wanted Mo to get a chance to see her first. Turns out, the timing was perfect. Check out Mo's post on her own blog.

Mo's photos are much better than mine, but you can get a peek into my apartment in mine. That's my favorite piano there in the background. If you look really closely on the right-hand side in the background, you can see my penguin bathrobe draped over my balance ball. As a housekeeper, I make a lousy photographer. (Or is it as a photographer, I make a lousy housekeeper?)

Mo collects nesting chickens and what better gift for a winter swap than a cozy?

Warm Ewe Up Final Reveal

I am happy finally to have some time to devote to the ol' blog.  This public thank-you is long overdue.

My poor swap partner had quite a challenge in me because I have so much stuff, I have no business participating in a swap.  Yarn has become my screen monster that threatens to eat our home.  So when someone says, "What do you need?  What colors do you want?  What kind of yarn," yada yada yada, I put my hands up in a defensive gesture and scream "Noooooooooooooo!"

In spite of all that, she uncannily chose absolutely perfect gifts for me!  I'm not going to build up the suspense here because I am so excited about these fingerless gloves, I simply can't put off mentioning them:

She designed and knit them up herself and every detail was a thoughtful gesture for Yours Truly.  She tells the story of their creation better on her own blog, where I am proud that my gloves share space with Pavarotti.

I am positive she has ESP.  I was eyeing sock monkey patterns at the lys while she was choosing these pattern book to send me.  All of them are perfect for me and thoughtfully take into consideration my taste and the type of projects I do.

She is a very good photographer, too, and sent me a photo taken in her home, upstate New York, near where my own DH was born and raised.  I love it up there, and her photo captured the autumn leaves that I recall so well from the only time I ever visited there.  (A portion of the photo is barely visible under my fingers above.)

The little lamb has already found a home with the Baby in the Seafoam Booties.  The two are very good and fast friends now.

Now I have officially sworn off swaps until I have finished all my UFOs and made a dent in the yarn that threatens to push us out of house and home.

Brooch Contest: First Prize

It's been a while, hasn't it?

I think enough time has passed that I can safely show you first prize in the brooch contest that I sent off to Norway a while back.  Hopefully it has made its way across the ocean by now.  (See Vote on a Brooch herein.)

Congratulations to Sølvi (aka xGvJx,) who asked for a Gryffindor scarf bookmark.

This is crocheted using embroidery floss instead of yarn.

I got the idea for this bookmark last year when I scored a huge lot of embroidery floss on eBay for the Best of Hats/Worst of Hats hat.  I recognized the colors and made a bookmark similar to the one above for my daughter.

I didn't have the colors anymore, so I went to my lys to purchase more floss.  What lot of colors there are from which to choose!  I did not trust my color memory.  Luckily, as I was trying to decide whether I'd chosen the right colors, a very Aloof Young Woman (aged 13? 14?) strolled past me.

Me:  I said, "Excuse me?"

AYW:  (eyeroll)

Me:  "Um, are you a Harry Potter fan?"

AYW: *(eyeroll)  Yes.  (with an implied, almost audible "Duh!")*

Me:  (showing her the colors)  "Gryffindor?"

AYW:  (Repeat response between the asterisks above.)

When I'm ready to make the other three houses' scarf bookmarks, I think I'll take my daughter, or at least one of my younger friendly-type friends, with me.

Warm You Up Winter Swap Blog Question #5

The question is what pattern would you make again and again?

In all honesty, I can't say there is one pattern I enjoy that much.  My attention is always on the next project and the next and the next and the next.  I often think "This is a good pattern to make again for so-and-so," but I never get a round tuit.

If it ever did happen, among the running would be:

• some gorgeous glass cozies made from thread that I don't even have a picture of to show you;
• the Love Knot dress for babies (I'll add the photo later if I can find it....);
• cotton shopping bags;
• zombie Amigurumi;
• the bridal purse (search "weddings" herein); and
• baby shoes

Now, to celebrate spring, here is what my Christmas cactus looked like this morning.  Its second blossom to come to full term is showing, plus another one aborning:

Woot! Loot!

I apologize for my infrequent blogging these days. Demands on my time and all. I won't bore you with the details.

Crocheting time has become dear, as well. I am very far behind on promised projects, including the prize for the brooch contest, but I hope to have that completed by the end of next weekend.

Meanwhile, I received this fantastic package from my Falling for Ewe secret swap pal. Dear, dear, Pal. You and I have far more in common than you may have realized. I cannot wait to "meet" you for real and exchange private emails.

Just opening the outer package gave me a lift. Just look at all the pretty packages!

Inside was the most luscious, soft, heavenly yarn imaginable. And the color! I wish the photo could do it justice. It's a bit on the watermelon side of true red, and looking at it just makes me sigh. I'm not sure what I'll do with it, but I'm looking for scarf and hat patterns right now that will suit it. I would love feeling this yarn caressing my face in the San Francisco fog.

I am afraid I have given my spoiler a bit of a hard time because I mentioned that I don't really need any more yarn. Add to that the fact that I can't have scents and shouldn't eat sweets and it's kind of hard to spoil me, isn't it?

Well, she manages quite well, I must say. These Dove sugar-free chocolates are fabulous! My candy jar at work was in need of replenishing, judging by the "innocent" comments of passersby who have been looking in there. I shared a few of the sweets with the jar, but most of them are stashed in a drawer where only I can sneak them out!

I love the sage green cotton thread. I have so many projects in mind requiring cotton thread, I don't know which all I'll choose for this thread ultimately, but I'm definitely going to be making glass cozies and beaded evening bags and sachets for a start!

Speaking of which, this book -- which came from my spoiler's personal stash, by the way -- is actually a book I once checked out of the library! I love most of the patterns in it and it's especially wonderful because it has cat toys in it! My cats were gifted by a previous spoiler with knitted cat toy mice and they have abandoned all their other toys for those three mice. One of them goes hunting every night at around 3:00 a.m. and carries those mice around the apartment, dropping them and yowling about her conquest. (Luckily, DH and I are relatively sound sleepers.) I had always hoped to have crochet patterns of cat toys.

But there are more patterns in there I love -- and plenty for cotton thread, like sachets and purses and wash cloths. It will definitely get use.

Spoiler, thank you so much! I'll get a proper thank you in the mail this week.

The Winners

I'll make this short and sweet because I know you're eager to know before the Super Bowl starts.

Third Prize Winner:
Anna
Second Prize Winner:
funlovingal
FIRST PRIZE WINNER:
xGvJx
Please send me your snail mail addresses via Ravelry and, xGvJx, please send me your email address as well so we can discuss what your prize will be.
Congratulations everyone!  Talk at y'all later.

An Act of Swapper Love

Today I got my first package from my swap partner in the Warm Ewe Up Winter Swap:

• Look past the yummy yarns (Burgundy cotton and Tofutsies in a lovely lavendar ombre).
• Look past the portable crochet pattern booklets (with the adorable ducky and dinosaur baby toys inside that only I know about....  Wait a minute.  I just told you about them.  Well, only I have seen them.)
• Look past the pretty notes...
• Look past the bottle of natural, unscented Eucalan no rinse, delicate wash laundry concentrate (which I've never seen before and which I can't wait to try!)
• Look past the Dove chocolates -- Yes!  I said look past Dove Chocolates!  Me!  MOI!  I SAID THAT! (Yeah, I don't believe it either.)

See that card at the top of the photo?  The one with the picture of the knitwitch with her sweet cat riding a knitting needle to the stars?

That is a loving work of art from my swap partner.  What a warm and loving letter she sent to me -- a virtual stranger!

And get this line she wrote about the laundry concentrate:  "Please forgive the dented bottle.  I fell down the stairs this morning on my way out to work and dropped the bag."

Wow.  The mind boggles.

First of all, I do hope she's okay.  Those soft tissue injuries can sneak up on you later.

But get this.  She's told me -- her secret pal -- that she fell down the stairs.  She has given up her rights to post on Ravelry about her injuries and thus garner sympathy from all of us loving knitters and crocheters or else risk outing herself to me.

Now that's an Act of Love.

Warm Ewe Up Question #2

If you could only knit or crochet with one brand of yarn for the rest of the year, what would it be and why?

If I could only crochet with one brand of yarn for the rest of the year, it would be the brand that I have the most of in my stash, whatever that is. I suspect it's cotton, either Pisgah Yarn & Dyeing Co. or Lion Brand.

In fact, Lion Brand would be a good choice because then if I used up all the cotton I have in that brand, I would have a wide range of fibres to choose from when I had to buy yarn.

But then, choosing Pisgah Yarn & Dyeing Company is kind of a cheat because it would include Peaches & Creme and crochet thread, so I'd have a broader choice of projects to make.

The reason I would rather choose the one that I have the most of is because I'm a bit -- well, let's say thrifty, and I could kill two proverbial birds with one proverbial stone: I could reduce my stash considerably and I would be forced to focus, so I would catch up on all the gifts I had planned with that yarn.

Not exactly what you were thinking when you asked the question, eh, moderator?

Why Did I Learn To Crochet?

OK, in all fairness to the Warm Ewe Up Winter Swap moderator, I'll answer the question that she meant to ask me.

I was born to crochet.  It is my destiny.

Seriously.

My maternal grandmother crocheted.  She was a 4'8" spitfire of Irish heritage and she was left-handed.  In fact, she had several (I'm thinking maybe 8? but I can't recall how many) siblings, and they were all left-handed.

Sadly for her, both her children -- my mother and my aunt -- were right-handed.  They longed to crochet like their mom but they couldn't quite learn from a left-hander.

When I was born and showed a preference for the left hand, there was much rejoicing because now Gramma (she was still just Gramma then.  Later she would be known as "Little Gramma" by her great-grandchildren to distinguish her from their grandmothers) would have someone she could teach to crochet.

I learned to make a chain when I was 4 or 5.  I would have gone on merrily making chains until Kingdom Come but for a pivotal and rather traumatic moment in my tender childhood.

One day a lady came to our house to do business with my mother.  I am not quite certain what the business was -- my mother was an Avon lady at the time and probably it had something to do with that -- but for some reason, it was important that manners and protocol prevail that day.

The woman sat in a chair in the living room and waited for my mother, who went off somewhere else in the house to fetch something for her.  While she waited, the lady pulled out of her handbag two needles and began knitting something.  I was fascinated and nosy, of course.  I asked her questions about what she was doing and she answered sweetly.  We were having a delightful conversation when my mother re-entered the room just in time to hear me tell the lady, "I crochet."

"Do you?" she crooned.  "What do you crochet?"

"Oh, chains," I answered proudly.

The two women dispatched their business and the lady left.  My mother had no sooner closed the door on her than she whirled around and berated me soundly.  "Don't tell people you crochet!  All you can do is make chains!  That's not real crocheting!  If you tell people you crochet, then they expect that you can actually make something."

Looking back from an adult perspective, I realized that that lady and what she thought about me and my mother was of Very Great Importance to my mom or she wouldn't have been so harsh with me.  But at the time, I was devastated that I'd made an awful faux pas (even though I wouldn't have understood the term if someone had told me then that I'd made a faux pas.)

As soon as Gramma visited again, I went to her and demanded that she show me something else.  Something more than a chain.  Something like what she was doing.

Thus I learned my first stitch.  And my second.  And lo and behold, a Granny Square!

Every year someone gave my grandmother a gift subscription to Workbasket.  She kept them in a trunk in her living room and used the trunk as a footstool.  She let me read them and I taught myself how to read a pattern and began making Barbie clothes and toilet paper covers, the usual Workbasket variety of FOs.  My grandmother was envious of my "talent" because, she said, she didn't know how to read a pattern.  I guess the person who gave her the Workbasket never knew that because she kept getting them every year.  By the time I was grown up, they filled the entire trunk.  I'd grab a few of them every time I visited her but by the time I was in college, I had no time for crocheting.  I didn't pick it up again until recent years.

But nowadays, every time I make an FO that I'm proud of and I post a picture of it on Ravelry or on this blog, I think, "See Mom, I really can crochet!"

Question #1: Why Do I Knit?

Ahem

(I don't knit.)

A Bootie Story

At the baby shower (Baby Booties of Past):

Three months later (Baby Booties of Present):

And for this baby, Baby Booties (and more) of Future:

Ravelry Swap on a Budget Great Reveal

I got my package yesterday and my spoiler was no less than Beth Bowles of Needle Bling fame!

She started out by wrapping almost everything in this gorgeous rose patterned tissue paper. Very pretty.

And what goodies were inside! Of course, you can see the wasabi cashews have been almost all eaten up in the photo and I can't for the life of me find that square of Ghiradelli chocolate....

Those are Pilot gel pens on the left, my favorites. And those two gorgeous chunks of chocolate in the center? Those are bars of SOAP! What a guilt-free way to indulge myself. There is a luxurious wooden crochet hook that I can't wait to try. And handmade stitch markers from her shop.  I'm drinking some of that moroccan mint tea right now.

The thread and navy cotton yarn she included only add to that "stalked" feeling -- the one that makes you feel loved and not eery -- and that skein of variegated blue-greens? That's soy yarn that she dyed especially for me!

I never really thought I had a "favorite" color but seeing myself through Beth's eyes has made me realize that I really do. In fact, when I got to the yarny goodness, my coworker gasped and said, "Look! It matches what you're wearing! Put it on!" So I put on the shawl (sorry, it doesn't show up very well in my photo. Hopefully Beth will have it in her projects section) and felt so taken care of! It's perfect for me. And, no, Beth, I'm not going to add fringe with that extra skein of yarn you send. I love it just the way it is. In fact, my coworker said, "You should put a pretty pin right *there*" and emphasized it by showing me how to close it, and suddenly I realized that I had bought the exact *perfect* pin for this shawl at a craft show over the weekend.

This was one loving swapper! I am very, very pleased. And warm.

Thank you, Beth!  Give my love to the ferrets!

Warm Ewe Up Winter Yarn Swap Questionnaire

Do you knit or crochet, or both? How long have you been at the craft?

• Crochet. I learned when I was 5 or 6 and I am now over a half-century old, but there are decades-long gaps when I haven't been "at the craft," so I don't know how to answer. But I can do most anything I want to do with it. Most.

Do you spin?

• Not that way you mean when you ask.

What yarns/fibers are your favorites?

•  Soft ones like alpaca and cotton and soy.
• Colorful crochet threads (no. 10 or 20).

 What yarns/fibers do you not like?

•  Mohair. Too hard to crochet with it.

What yarns/fibers would you like to try but haven’t?

• Hmmm. Surprise me.

 What are your favorite colors? Colors that you don’t like?

•  Almost any color appearing in nature.
• earth tones
• heathery blues and greens and greys
• jewel tones
• coral and peach
• not maroon
• not so much the black and white.

What are your favorite types of projects to knit/crochet?

• Anything for babies or children.
• Anything gift-y for friends that they really appreciate, such as:
• hats
• scarves
• market bags
• Amigurumi
• threadwork like beaded bags or
• snowflake ornaments.

 What are you currently working on?

• I'm finish up a christening outfit that should be done next week.
• Then I've got an alpaca throw for a wedding gift
• I must get started on and some stuffed toys for gifts: a monkey and a bear and a set of penguin bowling pins.

What is your favorite FO? (Please post a picture if you have one.)

• I'd still have to go with the beaded bridal purse. See my blog entry on it entitled "What Is It About Weddings?" 

Are there any techniques that you want to learn?

Eventually, but I have plenty to work on before then.

• Hairpin lace
• broomstick lace
• Bruges lace
• Irish crochet
• And I intend to learn to felt without a washing machine, like with a little washboard or felting washboard that I've seen at my lys.

Do you have a yarn winder and/or swift?

• Nope. Don't want one either.

How do you store your needles/hooks?

• I have rolls that serve the purpose, one of them made by someone in an earlier swap which I will keep forever.

 Do you collect anything?

• Egg cups. (I own only one but I would like it to turn into a collection.)
• I have a collection of comb-bound grass roots type of cookbooks, like from church bazaars, but that is sort of accidental. See my blog post about it.

Do you like sweets?

•  Oh, dear. That's Pandora's box for this borderline diabetic! Sugar free chocolates for me or the occasional bite of dark chocolate for me.

What are your favorite scents?

• Allergic. Can tolerate some natural scents, but not vanilla -- it's usually not really natural when you get it in candles and the like.

 Are you having a birthday during this swap?

• Nope.

Do you have any online wish lists? (Amazon, Loopy Ewe, etc.) Please include a link for your pal.

• Also see my earlier questionnaire for these swaps, August 12, 2008, Question 20.

What is your living situation (Are you married? Do you have kids, pets, or both?)

• Living situation:  chaotic
• Married.
• Pet kids (two cats)
• Grown, married daughter lives 700 miles away

Are you allergic to anything?

• Wool, most likely, but I kind of ignore that.
• Molds, so don't send any bleu or Gorgonzola cheese or penicillin.

Is there anything else that you would like your pal to know?

• This is probably not a welcome admission, but I really don't need anything at all. (Well, actually, I don't own a pair of fingerless gloves which I understand are good for typing.) I have more yarn than I can make into something in the next three years.  I join the swaps because I like giving. I guess if you want to send me something handmade, if you send something suitable for giving to my favorite charities, that would be welcome.  Just be sure to tell me that you're giving it to me for that purpose. For instance, lilybugs or Children and Family Services.

Breaking Virtual Silence At Last!

Falling for Ewe Question of the Week #7

Question:  What foods do you like to bake this time of year? Are there any that are traditional to you?


Answer:   For holiday gifts, I often make an old family recipe for Scottish shortbread.  In fact I made it recently for a swap -- not this one (sorry, spoilee).  I put the finished shortbread on a red plate and cover it with plastic and add a plaid bow and Voila!  Instant gift.  Well, I guess it's not instant if it takes an hour or two to make, right?  Whatever.
 
At home, I love comfort foods at this time of year.  One that comes to mind I learned from a TV cook who has gone on to the Great Kitchen of the Beyond.  It was called cranberry toast and consists of buttered toasted bread (we use rye or whole wheat) with canned whole cranberry sauce spread on it, topped with sharp Cheddar cheese and broiled until it's bubbly and brown on top.  Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.  Now I want to go to the grocery store and buy the ingredients and make it for dinner.
 
I guess that last one doesn't count as baking, but I cheated.  At least I use my oven for it.
 
Update on Me:
 
In other news, I have a job!
 
I started on Wednesday and I love it there -- except for the part about zero tolerance on personal computing.  I'll try not to let the blog suffer.
 
Latest Creation:
 
Snowflake ornaments.
 

Until next week...

Virtual Silence

If I don't blog for a bit, it's for good reason.  Now that I'm officially terminated from my job, my occupation has become The Hunt.

On top of that, I've come down with a ghastly bug.  I've had to postpone all my interviews this week save one and take to my bed.

But one good thing about this is having discovered photos on the old laptop that I thought I'd lost.  The slippers above are called Slam Dunk Slippers.  I made them for a ginger-haired boy in Washington who has outgrown them by now and has probably passed them along to his baby brother.

I'll be back with good  news in a jiffy!

Take care!