Happy First Communion Piper!

Today was Pi's First Holy Communion and it was beautiful! Pi did a reading in front of the whole church and she rocked! We weren't allowed to take pics inside the church, so here are a few shots from after the ceremony and brunch.

Pi and her grandpa (my dad)



The beading on Pi's veil.



Pi and her grandmother (Pi's dad's mom)



Pi + steak = love



Happy Communion....Great Grandpa! The doll he's holding is a Precious Moments communion doll. Pi's name and today's date is embroidered on the skirt of the doll.

This cake was so good! It's chocolate with cheesecake filling and buttercream frosting. It was so sweet, I felt my face tingling from the sugar. Mmmm!

Mimi inspired me to get a "Four Generation" picture, so here are four generations of women in my family.

Pi, mom, Grandma, and me! I hope Pi will treasure this picture when she's older.

The weather was perfect today. I was so worried it would rain, but it was sunny and warm. I couldn't have asked for anything better. Pi was pretty happy too...I didn't cry my head off at the ceremony! ;)

P.S. - Janet (auntbubbels from c-ville) and I are going to the Smiley's yarn sale tomorrow. Nothing over $1.99! One of my co-workers went today and said there was a line around the block just to get in! Let's hope there's still yarn tomorrow!

First time mommies

Two of my friends, Kiki and Ozlem, celebrated their first Mother's Day this year. Kiki's baby Andreanna is almost 8 months old and Ozlem's baby Antalya is 10 months old. I wanted to do a little something special for them to celebrate.

I used the Simply Sweet Halter Top by Chelle of Luv2Crochet. These were made with Lion Brand Cottonease in the color Berry and an I hook. I LOVE the Cottonease colorway. So pretty!



Andreanna's halter is made in size 12 months. Kiki said she's growing like a weed and is already almost wearing a size 12 months!

Here's the back, showing the ribbon bow.

Antalya's halter is made in a size 18 months. Big babies around here! You can tell its wider because there are more shells across the top. I also weaved the ribbon in differently for a slightly different look. Believe it or not, this is the same color, but the lighting was different when I took this picture.

Man, I remember my first Mother's Day. I was proud that I was getting the hang of the mother thing! At 19, I was petrified that I was going to do something wrong. I'd babysat bunches of times, but its different when you've got your own munchkin. Even though I made first timer mistakes like all parents, the kid is loved, safe, healthy, and happy (except when she's moaning about how unfair life is of course because a bedtime is SO uncool). I gotta say...being a mom is the coolest job ever!

Happy Early Mother's Day!

My family celebrated an early Mother's Day today, so that we can all use tomorrow as a low key, relaxing day.

I actually finished the shawl for Mom on time. Its the Alleghany Moon Mobius shawl from Amazing Crochet Lace by Doris Chan. Here's what it looked like on Thursday night. I don't have proper blocking materials, so I used my trusty ironing board.



I was really worried that my acrylic "blocking" wouldn't work, but as you can see, it did!



Here's Mom with the shawl on. Its a perfect fit!



Why couldn't I have been born with her hair?



My mother's day gift to dirty Grandma was to treat her to some pampering and a haircut. She was feeling pretty good after her haircut. She told the stylist that she was ready to look for a man with.... alot of "meat." Yeah, she actually said meat!



My uncle and his baby were in town, so we also got to visit with the cutest baby on earth, Jaylianna.



After visiting with my Uncle's family, we headed over to my cousin Jeannie's house for a Pre-Mother's Day bbq. It was small and cozy, with only about 20 people there. Pi loved the old fashioned wooden swing attached to a tree in the yard.



A bird made a nest in my cousin's window. She's not sure what kind of bird layed these eggs, but she's guessing a Robin. Its pretty neat that she can watch the progession of these egga right out of her window!



I get along best with animals and munchkins. I've been surrounded! The non-Christina-spawn children in this pic are my cousins. The three of them decided to have a sleepover, so Pi isn't home with me now. She's a mother's day flatleaver! The dog is a pug named Ally, who fell asleep in my lap.

As Ally was sleeping on my lap, she threw a loaded fart. Oh yeah, the dog took a small crap on me! Go Ally! I had to clean off my pants and pray I didn't smell too bad until I could get home, shower, and change clothes. Its not a Mother's Day celebration without someone crapping a pair of pants. Usually, its a baby, but not today. Lucky me! haha! :)

Happy Mother's Day my friends!

Meme fun

I've been tagged and also promised Lesa I'd answer some questions for her. If you're not a fan of meme's, feel free to skip this.

I was tagged by Amanda and 2Kute from Crochetville with the same meme.

Here are the rules:

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.3.
Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So, here are seven facts about me:
1. I'm double jointed in my feet and wrists.
2. I get fainting spells on the subway if it is too crowded, so I take an early, local train to make sure its fairly empty.
3. I dreamed of owning a crayon factory when I was a kid.
4. I sometimes talk in my sleep.
5. I have a flower tattoo on my right shoulder blade. The petals spell Piper. I designed it myself while I was doodling in a college class.
6. I used to pluck my hairy sideburns. I've given it up, since I realize they're not too bad.
7. I've also got nose hair. Hubby and I share a nose hair trimmer. (can't believe I admitted that, hahaha!)

Here are the answers to Lesa's questions:

1) What crochet hook size do you find yourself working with the most without even thinking about it you find yourself picking up the most?
An "I" hook. That's what I learned with and feel most comfortable with.

2) What is your favorite thing to crochet the most?
Baby stuff! Its fast and always cute.

3) What would you like to crochet that you never crochet before?
I'd like to make myself a sweater or cardigan. I've only made a sweater in kid sizes.

4) Do you think you will pass down your love of crocheting down to your kids/nieces or sisters?
I hope so! Pi shows some interest already. She can chain and do single crochet. Her interest comes and goes, so I'm not pushing it. I hope she decided she likes it enough to continue.

5) What is the craziest thing you ever heard someone say to you about you crocheting?
My dad tells me that crocheting makes me a "grandma."

I received my swap swap gals swap!

I received my Swap Swap Gals package from Caroline yesterday! Its an awesome swap package! Me encanta!!!

She sent me a large fat bottom bag in one of my favorite colors - pink! Its a cool coincidence because my maiden name means "pink" in Spanish! The size rocks because as anyone who's ever seen me carry a purse knows the bigger the better!



She also sent a change purse (Pi keeps eyeing it) and the cutest little bird. My husband assumed the bird was a chicken or a rooster since I'm Puerto Rican. He's such a cracker!

Check out the lining...pink camoflouge! With pockets! I can't sew a lick, so the pockets really impressed me!



Here's the flower with a brooch in the middle. I love purse bling.



Speaking of purse bling, Caroline also attached a cute heart keychain (Pi is also eyeing that).



Thank you so much Caroline! The package is wonderful!!!

If anyone was curious what shawl I mentioned to Joyce in yesterday's post, its this one from Amazing Crochet Lace by Doris Chan. Anony Joyce and I e-mail each other back and forth a few times a week about our crochet projects and things we have in mind. I mentioned that I wanted to try this one for my mom for Mother's Day.



Time is short, but I think I can do it. I'm going to use Caron Simply Soft in dark pink instead of what's recommended. 1. Because that's what I have on hand with enough yardage and 2. Mom wears alot of black, so I think a pink shawl will pop with her all black outfits and 3. She's always complaining how cold her office is, even in the summer.

There are 20 pattern repeats, so I figure if I do 5 a day starting today, I can be done by Friday and let it lay flat on Saturday for minimal blocking. I say minimal because acrylic doesn't always block well, but it doesn't hurt to try.

What are you peeps up to for Mother's Day?

Traveling Hook III

The Traveling Hook III arrived at my house last week all the way from Canada, eh! I first gave it to my friend Desiree, who made 4 squares and then I had it for 5 days and made 10 more.

I think the hook enjoyed its visit to NY. Here's the hook gazing at the view from work. The cloesest bridge is the Brooklyn Bridge, the second one is the Manhattan Bridge, and the third one is the Williamsburg Bridge.



I originally tried to put in a slideshow or some kind of collage here to make this more compact, but it didn't work. Its my figgy brain I'm sure. See what happens when I don't have coffee? So I apologize, but you'll have to suffer through the 14 separate pictures.

These 4 were made by Desi

All of the patterns were found at crochetpatterncentral. This was alot of fun for a great cause!

Some personal notes:

Joyce, I forgot to bring the book home to get a pic of the shawl I want to make. I'll post it soon, I promise!

Caroline, I received your package today and its wonderful! I'll post pics in the next day or two! Thank you!

Swap Swap Gals Purse Swap

My Swap partner, Lesa, confirmed that she got the swap package I sent her in the mail, so its safe to show now.

The theme was purses. I really enjoyed this swap, as I tried a few things I might not have otherwise given a go.

Here's a pic of what I sent...in addition to the 2 purses I sent a bag of chocolate candy (not pictured here), 2 crochet dolls with stickers for Nellie and Nesa, a set of purse handles, a skein of Lion Brandy Lofty, and a tear off of purse patterns.



The purse done in Patons Classic Merino Wool in the color rosewood is the Chic on the Halfshell purse by The Crochet Dude. Its the perfect size for a set of keys, cell phone, and small wallet.

This green purse is the Honeycomb purse from Joanns.com. Although you can't really tell in the picture, the handles are white with a marble finish.



The downside is that its the most poorly written pattern ever! If not for some serious help from AmyS over at Crochetville, it might not have been finished. My honeycomb pattern isn't as neat as the picture in the pattern, but I'm proud that I managed to get through it!



Here's the lining of the Chic on the Halfshell purse. Definitely a challenge due to the shape but I'm very glad I lined it!



If anyone's interested, the pattern to the small dolls are here.

Other than that, not much else is going on. Its still raining here in bklyn, so no sign of bees. Work has been nuts and tomorrow will be no exception.

A cool thing for you Law and Order fans...they're filming at my job tomorrow. They've been filming there a few times a year and this is the second time they're back this month. We've had various films crews in and out, like the Nanny Diaries. I'm pretty sure its because the view of Manhattan from the bosses office is sweet. While I'm babbling about movies and famous people, I should mention that Erin Brokovich came to our Christmas party. Due to one of the things we sue for, she sometimes flies in and gives assistance.

Ok, I'm babbling now and I'm sure its due to being over-tired. Time for me to crash.