Snapshot

Got three rows done this week. Just wanted to post a quick pic of the "download" in progress.



Also, I started a new pair of house socks for my hubby last night. A part of his Valentine's present.

Hope all is well, have a super week, ya'll!

I'll have a post later today or tomorrow on the sister swap stuff for this year!

Rollin', rollin', rollin'....

I am plowing right along with Yoshi. I actually got three rows done this week. It is starting to look like a head, yay!



I also did get the first piece for this year's sister swap done and mailed, so I should have pictures and an explanation for you next week.

I got the yarn and kit for my Jayne hat yesterday, yay! Now I just need to get back on the knitting horse. I think I actually figured out that I wasn't doing it wrong, I was just expecting a stockinette stitch to happen when I was just doing the knit stitch both ways, which I guess isn't how it works? Anyhoo, I want to get back to trying to knit again this week.

I don't really have much else. Took my daughter to the zoo (twice) this week, that was oodles of fun. Though yesterday we ended up getting rained out, but we did still get to see the penguins, yay!

Here's a photo of the family:



Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Download in progress...

I am making some pretty decent progress on Yoshi, I think. Especially when you consider we got the new Super Mario Brothers game for Wii this week, so I've been distracted by actually being able to play with Yoshi...

But here's how it's coming:


I was super excited about this blanket until I started it, and then I kind of stalled out. Then I got to the part where I started mixing it up with other colors besides blue and I got excited about it again. It is much easier to work on and be excited about a project when you can actually see the progress you are making, I think.

I can do a row in one day, I've learned, but I would kill myself trying to do that, so I am splitting them up to two days a row, and taking a day off here and there so I don't get too burnt out. I'll probably aim for three rows most weeks unless I am working on another project. For example, this week I am planning on getting only two rows done because I will also be working on...

Sister Swap 2010!! That's right, it's started. I got the yarn this week, and I want to get the January installment done and mailed off this week. I'll have more info for you once my sis receives her first piece, but until then I'm maintaining a radio silence.

Anyhoo, that's all I've got for you today. I hope you all have a fantabulous week!

Until next time,
C

A week in which progress occurred.

Man, I actually feel like I got some crafting accomplished this week, huzzah! I hope you all had a wonderful week as well.

First up, I got my sister swap blanket from my sister assembled. Here is a shot of the finished project:


She is aiming to have her set of squares assembled this month, so once I get a picture of her finished project, I'll post it as well. We also talked about doing another swap this year and decided to go for it. We are going to do it a little differently this time though. Instead of doing the same pattern each month, we are each going to pick out our own set of patterns and surprise each other. I have the color scheme picked out for the squares I want to make her this year, but I need to choose the patterns. I plan to get that going this week, I think.

Next up, I got the first two rows of my Yoshi blanket completed, yay! This is seriously going to be a long-term project, because otherwise I think I will drive myself crazy with all of the teeny squares, but my goal is to get at least six rows done each month.

Here's a shot of the first two rows:

It doesn't look like much, I know, but I do think it is going to turn out really well. As an added bonus, I mentioned to my husband, as I take pictures of each chunk of progress, it is going to look like a picture that is downloading. Considering that the whole idea is I am taking a pixelated computer graphic and translating it into crochet, I thought that was pretty nifty.

Here is a closer shot of the squares:


Oodles and oodles (1000+) of teeny tiny squares. Yeah, I am definitely going to take my time on this one.

I'll close up with some news on the knitting front. I got my "starter kit" and my copy of The Knitting Answer Book this week, so I've started trying to work that out. I've got casting on down, but the knit stitch (you know, the building block basic stitch of knitting) is giving me some trouble. It keeps coming out as a purl. I think I know why it is doing this, I just don't know how to fix it. I have discussed with my mother a little and looked in the books some more, and I think my next step up is to hit the internet for some video tutorial help. So keep your fingers crossed for me!

Until next week, I hope you all have a groovy time!

Hey, look at that.

I actually managed to finish those socks last night, yay! I am, in fact, wearing them right now.

Here are some photos for you:



Sorry the picture quality isn't that great--I think my husband made some adjustments to the camera settings when I wasn't looking, so I need to go back and try to fix that.

Here are the details for any of the folks interested.

Pattern: Classic Ribbed Cable from Crocheted Socks! 16 Fun-to-Stitch Patterns by Janet Rehfeldt and Mary Jane Wood.

Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns Wool Bam Boo in Treasure.

I absolutely loved this yarn by the way. I think it may end up being one of my preferred sock yarns going forward. We shall have to see how it wears, but it is an absolute delight to work with and feels lovely.

And that's all I've got for you. Hope you have a fantastic week!

Holy Hannah, it's the future already!

Wow, 2010, can you believe it? Happy New Year, folks! I hope you had a fantastic holiday season and are rearing and ready to get back into normality.

I know I have been a little AWOL lately, but I have been sadly slacking in the crochet department since the last post. I am *still* not finished with that poor pair of cabled socks--though I am almost done with the gusset of the second sock so I should have a new post soon to show off the finished project.

After that I want to assemble my sister swap blanket, and I'll have photos of that--I need to check with my sister to see if, a) we're doing a swap this year (we'd better get on it if we are, huh?), and b) if she's had a chance to assemble her blanket yet. But I'll have finished photos of both up once they're completed.

Next up, I need to really dig into the Yoshi blanket. I haven't made any further progress on it, sadly, beyond the first five squares. But my goal for this month is to get the top three and bottom three rows completed (they are the only rows in the blanket that are all blue).

In other news, I have officially decided to branch out and teach myself to knit. I've been dithering about it for a while, but I have finally decided to give it a go. That is actually one of my New Year's not-resolutions (more of a goal, really). I primarily want to be able to knit socks. As far as blankets go, crochet is the undisputed ruler with me, but I have realized I definitely prefer the look and feel of knitted socks. In addition to socks in general, I want to learn how to make four other things:

1: The house slippers my mom always made for us growing up.

This will, in fact, be my first actual knitting project to tackle. I've got the pattern from my mom and some yarn I think will work. I go to buy my starter kit this week, so maybe I can get a pair done by the end of the month. We shall see.

2: The teddy bears my mom always made for us growing up.

I don't have any photos, but Mom always made these super cute little teddy bears, and I want to make some for my daughter (and the progeny of all of my friends, who seem to be spawning like crazy).

3: The Jayne hat. (see photo)


For those of you not in the know, this is the hat worn in the Firefly episode "The Body" and is a huge symbol of the Browncoats and of geekery in general. In fact, I actually want to make 2--one for myself and one for my husband--so that we can wear them to this year's Can't Stop the Serenity event. So that gives me until about mid-June or so to make them.

4: The Doctor's scarf. (see photo)


Tom Baker immortalized this scarf and it is also a huge symbol of geekery. I know, I know, you're saying, wait a minute, didn't you try this last year? Didn't it crash and burn horribly? Well, yes, but there are a few reasons for that. First, I was trying to convert from knit to crochet, which just wasn't having a look I was digging. Second, and more importantly, I was just kind of winging it with the colors and not trying to make the actual scarf. This time around I am going to go by the actual pattern, colors and all. So I am hoping it will be a much more successful attempt. My secret hope for this scarf is that my daughter will one day steal it for her very own, whether or not she realizes the nerd cred attached to such an item.

So there you go, that's what I've got working thus far into the new year. Even with the baby, I am definitely starting this year off much more refreshed than the last--where I was coming off a seven and a half year stretch of purgatory known as my job at the cable company.

I hope you and yours are all doing well so far this year. Let's make it a magnificent one, folks!

Peace,
C