Tiff Crochets

Andy and Maddie spent Father’s Day playing on the Wii, while I was able to sneak off to finish picking up a few items for dinner tonight. I cooked a citrus-glazed pork tenderloin, parmesan risotto and green beans for the dad in the house. Maddie helped out by setting the table and then cleaning off the table after dinner. Laura is gallivanting around Montana at the moment and has not called yet for her daily check-in. She is enjoying her two weeks of one-on-one time with her grandma.

I finished picking up the last few items for my tawashi swap at Ravelry today and found a never-before-seen (by me) magazine. Have you seen Living Crafts ? It was full of many craft options that are budget-conscious and rather eco-friendly.

I’m starting to work on a new handbag tonight while the Wii play continues (it’s their day - non-stop Zelda and tennis would drive me mad). I’m making Jennifer Fletcher’s Meadow Handbag . I’m looking forward to seeing more patterns, both crochet and sewing-related on her site Fable Handmade Goods in the future. I tried to use something from my stash, but all of my good yarn is set aside for projects-in-progress, so I picked up the new Vanna’s Choice Baby in Berrylicious while at Michaels today. I wanted to go with a green because it seems to be my new favorite color, but went with the pink after finding a perfect set of wooden buttons in the clearance aisle. I think I have the handles already, but if not, I’ll head to Hobby Lobby tomorrow before driving to Houston for the week.

The dishes are done, the kitchen semi-clean before the pecan pie gets taken out of the fridge, the family is beating their virtual opponents at tennis, and I am going to sneak off to take a bath (hot temps in Houston mean lots of swimming to be done!) while all is quiet.

Introduction (Look at the length of this post! You need section titles!)

Just as a side note before I begin because my brain never stays on one topic for too long. It’s noon and I’m feeling green from not eating! What am I doing instead of eating? Let’s show you a screen shot of what’s on my “screen plate”.

As of 12:09 pm, CST, I have four tabs open in Firefox. That may change at any time, should I suddenly receive note of a new mail message or be struck by a whim to search for Lord of the Rings fanfic (related to watching Doom the other night when bored, following links to IMDB and YouTube, and other general nonsense related to the strange progression of my brain). First, I have Ravelry open, which typically remains open any time that I am sitting at the computer. Today, I acted on a whim to remove myself from a few groups that I’ve never posted in, not really interested in at this time, or just felt a whim to remove myself from. Now, I’m browsing groups sorted by number of members for new groups to join. It’s an addiction. There are 177 pages of groups. This could take me awhile.

Second, I have open a tab for my Google Reader subscriptions. I love handy dandy “next..” bookmarklet. I was a loyal Bloglines subscriber since I first heard of RSS feeds and the like, but I love my bookmarklet more, so it’s with Google Reader I stay. Should Bloglines ever gain such a handy bookmarklet, I may return. Right now, I think I’m on one of Kari’s posts.

In the third tab, we have instructions from Lily on how to make their String Bag. I planned on starting it this afternoon while browsing through Ravelry and my feeds, but had to deal with the distraction of feeling the need to post to my own blog. I will probably start this after lunch, posting, and finishing up item number five (not on a tab!).

In the fourth tab, we have this window in which I’m posting to my wonderful Wordpress blog. I’ve come to love WP 2.5. Anyone else feel the same way? Thanks to the upgrade, I’ve finally discovered how to incorporate the Wordpress stats plugin to work for my non-wordpress.com blog. Whew. Feeling like a techie while I know whole-heartedly that I am not a tech in any sense of the word.

And finally, I will briefly mention the fifth thing I am currently working on. You will learn more about this in the true post that will begin below my amazingly long tangent. Influenced by the Crochet Biffer Shrug (Rav link), and this knit version (Rav link), I made the Swiffer Cardi last night and am working on the pattern in Word at the moment. Please see my note at the end of this post if you would like to test this pattern for me before I upload it to Ravelry.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming after I eat lunch. If you are so inclined and suddenly think I’m nutty (if you’ve ever met me, you know that I am very inclined to be this nutty and wordy if given the time and opportunity to be myself), you can blame this pre-post entirely on a small bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats (with almonds!), one cup of coffee with some kind of hazelnut sugary syrup, and a large glass of sugar-laced iced tea.

Ah, one tasty Lean Cuisine, one load of laundry, one load of dishes, and 40 minutes later….

Continue Reading »

I’m too excited to go to bed to catch up on the hours I missed this week because of my other obsession (yay!  The ‘Stros beat the Cubs today!).  Tomorrow I am heading to the DFW Fiber Fest, held in some place called Addison.  I know approximately where it is and recognize the main highways, but it’s not in my lovely new home of Ft. Worth but somewhere in between here and that other city known as Dallas so I know the chances of me getting lost are rather high.  It is, thankfully, in the opposite direction of Texas Motor Speedway, which is on my major road of choice (and most familiar) in the Westoplex, and hosting some crazy race this weekend.  I am so giving away the fact that the only car racing I know involves Tom Cruise driving in a Chevy Lumina.  I am hopelessly tempted to drive north a few miles and at least see if I could hear Big & Rich playing tonight at the Speedway.

I have much more exciting links to share with you:

Did you see the CRAFT video podcast with Jess and Casey from Ravelry??  I am definitely wearing my Rav button tomorrow and Saturday at the Fest.

My sewing skills are limited (but growing!  I’m trying!), but I definitely want to make a few of Elizabeth’s bags in the future.

I thought I could find more exciting links to share, but I was distracted by thoughts of what the heck to bring with me tomorrow to work on!  I think I’ll bring Something Red and the Seija blanket so that I can show off my wicked multi-fiber craftiness while doing some volunteer work at the yarn/raffle table.  I’ve packed my camera so hopefully I will remember to take photos.

We went to the zoo on Saturday with the girls’ Girl Scout troop, so I have a few pictures to share of our favorite animals. It was too cold for me, but it was an experience seeing the big cats frisky.

First off, we had an amazing view of the rhinoceros. It looked so delicate standing on the rocks while eating, but it was so massive.

So, we walked up to this random herd of antelopes and asked if they would pose for a photo. They were very obliging.

Finally, just a cute fox. Poor thing had to live with the prairie dogs after losing his friend, the hound, thus the sad look.

Ah ha! Now that I’ve bored you with photos of the zoo, I share with you one completed project and one in progress. I finished my Hybrid Hat and wore it Saturday, which was a good thing because it was bristly outside.

Details:

Very easy, wonderfully quick pattern. I would definitely make more!

I used one ball of Bernat Felting Natural Wool in English Rose

“J” Hook

Set of Size 8 DPN’s

I visited my LYS the other day for a crochet meet up and couldn’t resist picking up Berroco’s Comfort #269 pamphlet. I’m making the Party Girl for Laura is Size 10. It’s my first knit garment, maybe my last, but I’m breezing through the back without any problems so far.

Yes, I know what I said. I picked up yarn for a knit garment while at a crochet meet up. I saw several crocheted things that I would love to make one day, but this top had Laura written all over it. I’m hoping that after making this I can work on a crochet equivalent.