Rewarded

Last week was our local country fair. I entered a few items in the "Needlework" division: Juneberry Triangle, a Cow Hat, and the crochet Mom tattoo hat. I was very pleased to see that all of my entries won ribbons!

I have to admit, the competition in the Knitting and Crochet section of Needlework is not all that difficult. The knit and crochet categories are also a little outdated - my shawl was entered into the "Miscellaneous" category. The grand prize of the show went to a quilt.

Today is an overcast weekend day and my plans were limited to getting some house stuff done. I have been successful in that and was very excited when yarn goodies that I ordered mid-week arrived right as I finished putting the cleaning supplies away. This was my first order from Doodlebug Yarns - it came so quickly! Each item was wrapped in tissue paper and there were a few Tootsie Roll Pops. This felt like a swap package, not just something I ordered!

I now have a giraffe small Yarn Pop project bag, two skeins of The Wool Dispensary in Useful Poison: 13th Fairy & Sea Kelpie for a KAL on Ravelry. I am really looking forward to some totally selfish knitting!

Yarn Along - Sept 19 (and Winner!)

Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading?

It has been a week of light reading - mostly flipping through magazines while grabbing a quick bite to eat. In this pile you will find Everyday Food, Whole Living, and Crochet Today! (research!) I've also been reading the blog comments for the So Pretty! Crochet giveaway - I've gotten some good tips and a few good ideas! I'm still working on my for-hire projects. The Charleston Tea sweater for Good Karma Farm is so close! I have a few more rows to go on the hood, then I will seam it and then, on to the button band! I even have the buttons all set and ready to go. The other project is a bit of production knitting and it is just not going as fast as I would like. One stitch at a time, I'll get there. So, who won the So Pretty! Crochet book? True Random Number Generator Min:1 Max:17 Result: 7 Powered by RANDOM.ORG That would be YOU, Wife, Mom, Knitter! I will get the book to you ASAP! :)

Braids and Cakes and Stripes

A gentle reminder - there are a few more days until I draw a winner of the So Pretty! Crochet book! Leave your comment on that post for a chance to win!
I am having a bit of a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that we just had the last weekend of summer. I remember thinking in June that, at the time, it seemed like the summer was going to stretch on forever. All of sudden it seems a switch has been flipped. The weather is stunning. At night temperatures are just cool enough to have a window open and use a blanket. I'm wearing socks again. My oven is being used more for baking sweet treats. I look forward to having a hot cup of tea in the afternoon and after dinner. This weekend I also accomplished a baking a loaf of banana bread and I braided my hair!

That may be an odd thing to blog about it, but I am so proud! For my entire life I have wrestled with my lion's mane. Seriously. I have massively thick hair which is a blessing and a curse. For me, it doesn't work to just leave it down unless it has been cut / layered / thinned. I am well overdue for a cut. When I was a kid my mom or one of my aunts would frequently french braid my hair. I have never been able to do it on my own. I think I just gave up too quickly when my arms tired. I tried again yesterday and it worked! DH even noticed with the comment of "That looks intricate!" Bonus points for me as it stayed in ALL day - I did hairspray it quite a bit when finished, but that plus 4 bobby pins are the only things holding it up!
I've been busy knitting on two knit for hire sample knitting projects. They are going well, but I can feel my hands start to itch for something else to knit. I have two socks in progress that I would love to pick up again and the Rhinebeck hats. Within the last week I have queued three patterns on Ravelry, all variations of a stripey scarf / cowl, and I just can't stop thinking about them. Next to polka dots, I think bold stripes are my favorite. Did you happen to see Simple Sprinkle, Sen-Sen, or Shift? I am thinking about doing the Sen-Sen in two colors of Silky Wool (magenta and a dusty pink), but I need to check my stash to be sure I have the right amounts. For the Sprinkle or Shift, I am thinking about using up a mish-mosh of Manos that I scored in a destash. All the yarn came caked, so I have no idea of colorways, but I have been having fun putting them together. What do you think? Rainbows are always great:

I do love blues-with-a-hint-of-purple:

I also love purples-with-blues:

Or I could step out of my usual colorway zone, and go with purpley-pink:

What did your weekend hold?

So Pretty! Crochet: Review & Giveaway

Hello! Gracious, where does the time go? When I got in touch with Amy about her new book, So Pretty! Crochet, many many weeks ago (ouch!), I had the best intentions of getting this giveaway up and running. I appreciate her patience as life has taken over here. I love back to school time for the fresh-start feel and that is what I intend to do here with my blog.

In the last 3-4 years I have been working on my crochet skills. I have the basics down and have a few finished items under my belt. I do not consider myself a newbie, though I do still rely heavily on reference materials as I work a project. When I first flipped through So Pretty! Crochet, I found many projects that I wanted to try! The styling and photographs draw you in and you really will say "Oooh, that is so pretty!" Among the 24 projects, there is a nice mix of accessories, small wearables and home decor. The projects are all current and trendy. The projects are designed by indie designers, and each pattern in introduced by the designer with links of where to find them online at their etsy site, blog, or twitter. The materials used in the projects meet a range of price points. I decided to give the Windowpane Cuff, by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark, a try. This pattern has written and charted directions (awesome - for whatever reason, I am getting the hang of crochet charts much easier than the written directions! Knitting charts were not this easy for me!). I used some leftover Koigu sock yarn. I think it took me longer to decide on buttons than it did to actually work up the cuff! I am pleased with the results. I can see where I can still improve on my crochet skills, but that is expected! It fits Lorelai's lower leg quite well (the things we do for a good picture sometime!) and she kept it on for a while - fancy dress up, tah-dah!

This is a hardcover book and I love the sturdiness and beauty that adds, but I do wish it was spiral bound to help the pages lay flat. I also wish more projects from the book were up on Ravelry, certainly in time that will happen. You can look inside the book on amazon. This book does have basic instructions for crochet techniques which is handy for someone like me, but it is not a "Learn to crochet" book.
In the meantime, I am thinking about trying the I-cord bracelet (crochet i-cord! I never knew there was such a thing!), and I am wondering about the Pastelito Necklace (the bottom picture on the designer's blog) using some of my sock yarn leftovers.
Amy very kindly sent me this book and one to giveaway! Please leave a comment on this post (I have changed the comment settings, so everyone should be able to comment!) - Do you crochet? Do you have a crochet tip for me? Make sure I am able to get in touch with you if you win - an email or Ravelry id. I will draw a winner next Wednesday, Sept. 19.