Burnt Orange Hat

I made a hat for a co-worker to match a scarf she has. The scarf is tan with a burnt orange color as an accent. It was a difficult color to find, but I finally found a great matching yarn at Seaport Yarns (more later on that!). The yarn was Mission Falls, 1824. Its 100% wool and feels so nice. Its a bit pricier than what I usually spend on yarn, but the color was impossible to find in any other yarn.

This hat was made with the same pattern as the pink one I made earlier this month.

Here it is with flash on the camera, so you can get an idea of the color.





Here's a pic under lamplight without flash. You can see alot more of the texture of the hat in this one. I like hats with texture!





Under lamplight again with no flash. You can really see the flower here even though this pic is a little blurry.





Onto my adventures at Seaport Yarns! Though I work fairly close to Seaport Yarns, I'd never ventured over there before. Its more catered to knitters (in my humble crocheter opinion), but the place is crazy! Good crazy, not bad crazy.

Its located in an old office building that has no signs out front indicating the yarn store is in there. Totally nondescript. You go up to the fifth floor and are let out at what looks like a regular office. When I peeked into the door, I saw tubs of yarn thrown onto a sofa and knew I was in the right place.

The inside is still set up like an office...long narrow hallway and a bunch of rooms off of the hallway, that were obviously once personal offices. But that's where the office resemblence goes out the window.

The hallways are jammed packed, wall to wall with yarn. Each office has tubs, baskets, and shelves full of yarn. Its literally overwhelming to look at. Nothing is labeled very well, but the owner is really nice and helped me to find what I needed right away. She's very eccentric, but in a cool way. You can tell she loves yarn and knows her stuff!

There were FO's everywhere too, to show what the yarn looks like worked up. I thought that was awesome! The selection of books is huge, especially for such a small store. Its a little pricey for my everyday run of the mill projects, but I'll definitely go back for better yarn for bigger projects. I already bought some Plymouth wool to make my little monster a cardigan.

Overall, I say its defintely worth a visit to this store if you're in the area! I probably could have browsed there for hours.

I'm beginning to love Mondays!

Another Monday surprise for me, woohoo!

I signed up for the Random Act of Kindness exchange on Crochetville a few weeks back. This is where everyone posts a wishlist of things they'd like and someone will randomly gift you something on your list, without expecting something in return.

In today's mail, I got this from my Crochetville fairy godmother. It's a P hook, a Q hook, and 2 Christmas note pads.

Thank you so much! This totally made my day!



Now its my turn to send a ROAK. Who should I send to? Decisions, decisions!

Baby Sweater and Matching Headband

My cousin Steven and his girlfriend Emmi are due to have a baby girl this November. Her baby shower is next week. I decided to make a baby sweater in purple. Baby girls get SO much pink that I thought a sweater in purple would be a nice change.

I used this pattern from Bella Bambina.

The pattern was very straightforward and easy. I managed to finish this sweater in just a few hours while doing laundry and watching tv.

I didn't use a pattern for the matching headband. I just chained 5, sc in the 2nd ch from hook, ch. 2, sk next 2 chs, sc in the last ch, ch. 1, turn. Then I repeated the sc, ch.2, sk. 2 sc, sc in last sc, ch. 1, turn. until the headband was about 15 inches. Then I attached a bow that matched the sweater.



If I have time I'll make some matching booties.

Starting to feel like fall...

The past few days have been a little nuts, so I didn't get a chance to blog what I've been hooking. But I found some quiet time this morning and got the pics up here.

First, I've been working on snowflake ornaments for the Christmas tree...twenty in all. I got the pattern from CrochetSal. I left off the face from the pattern because I like the snowflakes all by themselves. I was debating between making a yarn loop to hang them or buying hooks. I decided on the hooks because that will make it easier for the kid to hang.



Next, I had a single ball of gray Patons Classic Merino Wool that I didn't know what to do with. I decided to hook up a simple double crochet scarf. I didn't use any particular pattern. I chained 163, then dc-ed for 10 rows, changing colors on the 3rd and 5th row. I really like the way this one turned out and it was so fast!



On Thursday night, little monster's girl scout troop had an early Halloween party. We were only required to bring a bag of candy, but I thought it would be fun to do some baking together.

As much as I like baking, I'm no good at decorating cakes or cupcakes, so we just used food coloring to make orange and green frosting and used Halloween themed Peeps to put on top of the cupcakes (I love that Peeps are available all year round, haha).

Also, I used silicone baking pans for the first time and I LOVE them. The cupcakes came out spongy and springy...perfect texture and none of them burned. It was really easy to get them out the of the pans too.



Last but not least, my little Super Girl!! Thanks to Ellen for letting us borrow the costume! Its always great not to have to spend a ton of money on a costume that will be only be worn once. Thanks for sharing!!



I'm going to be taking a break from Christmas crochet today. My cosuin is having a baby shower next week, so I need to get cracking on a baby sweater and hat. Fun stuff!

Have a great weekend everyone!

More Hot Pads...

I'm not sure if I like the Christmas colors in this pattern. Opinions?

Scarf and Pumpkin

Check out the pumpkin we carved last night. Not too shabby, eh?

I made another scarf for one of my co-workers. She wanted me to find a coordinating yarn for a maroon cap she brought in. We picked Patons Classic Merino Wool in this beautiful chocolate brown, maroon, tan, and pink color.

I used a pattern from crochet pattern central (I can't seem to find the page...I'll post the link when I find it). Its alternating rows of double crochet and shells. I really like the way the colors self striped into this diamond pattern.

The scarf measures 60" long and 5" wide without the fringe.

Hope everyone's having a good Wednesday so far!

Hot pads

Thanks Angela for saying little monster is precious. She really is a great kid...just a moody one! Thanks Lesa for the comment on my new pic. Figured it was time to put something up where I didn't have a tie on my head, haha!

Yesterday I worked on a few hot pads. Here's the pattern. Sorry for the super bright flash...I haven't mastered taking pictures yet.

I can't think of anything clever to say today. I'm too sleepy. Someone rang my doorbell at 1:30 in the morning. Hubby got up but there was no one there. I was thoroughly creeped out and didn't sleep well for the rest of the night. I could use some more zzzzzzzz's.

It was quite the domestic weekend.

I was feeling really domestic this weekend. In addition to being crafty, I felt the need to cook and bake for my family. Alot. Weird, huh?

First, here's my craftiness for this weekend. Scarves galore! It was a little strange working on scarves when it was nearly 80 degrees outside, but I'm glad they're done! I'm still on point with my timeline, heehee.

The scarf on the left is another one skein scarf in a navy blue. I used some stash RHSS yarn I found. The rest are all children's fleece scarves made with the edgerydoo (I swear Marleen from edgerydoo is not paying me, LOL).



I also managed to finish a 12" granny square that is for my grandmother's Christmas gift. I need 24 squares and have 7 so far. I need to get crackin on that.

On Sunday night, I decided I was going to try my hand at an apple pie. I like to bake but haven't really delved into pie-making before.



Here are the apples after they've been coated in the cinnamon and sugary goodness.

The crust and I didn't particularly get along. You can see that the crust cracked on top. I also had a hard time making pretty scallops on the edge of the crust.

Christina vs. Crust, Round 1. Crust wins.

Oh, but I have my revenge! Though there is the cracked part, the crust browned so nicely!

Christina vs. Crust, Round 2. I win! Wooo!

I also baked this cake on Saturday night. I got the idea from Jeanie's blog. My cake wasn't as pretty as the one in the picture either, but it was really good, especially when chilled. Definitely a recipe we will be having again.

Little Monster was a bit of a crab this weekend. Just so you get an idea of what being a crab looks like for little monster....

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Freebie Friday at Jen's blog!

Hey peeps, check out Jen's blog for Freebie Friday! I know its Sunday but you have until tomorrow at noon to enter for a free beaded bracelet! Check it out, its really pretty!

Goodbye Joe Torre!

I'm not a Yankees fan in the least (Go Mets!), but I've got to say hats off to Joe Torre. After 4 World Series Titles and 12 seasons in the playoff, I have to say that's pretty impressive. I wish him luck in his future career.

Onto craftiness...I made another one skein scarf with Homespun. Boring I know, since I did the same exact thing a month ago, but I really love the way this yarn works up.

I think I may have glazed over when I made the chain, because this scarf is waaaay longer than the last one I made and took a little more than a skein (good thing I had some left over from the last scarf). Seriously, when I tried it on, it reached my knees without being wrapped around my neck. Scarf for a giant!!

Say it ain't so!!!!

Yesterday, I received another surprise, though this one is not so pleasant.

My first WHITE hair!

That's right people, its not even gray, its pure WHITE!

This was my general thought process last night.

me: white hair, go away!
white hair: sorry, no can do.
me: why the heck not?
white hair: you're aging.
me: am not!
white hair: am so.
me: am not!
white hair: give it up. I'm not so bad in comparison to what's coming. Wait another year or two when things start to sag and wrinkle
me: i hate you!
white hair: i love you too.
me: *head desk*

I give my husband permission to make fun of me. He's waited for this moment...he's earned it.

So I guess all I can say is Welcome White Hair! Hey, maybe if it grows in just right, I can look like Rogue from X-Men. That'd be ok! :)

Unannounced visitor...

This little chica decided that she was going to hang out with my family last night. She landed on a note from Pi's school that was sitting on my hubby's desk. Maybe she wants to go to Catholic school? Little monster was really intrigued by the ladybug. She's never seen one up close before and this ladybug was very cooperative. She didn't move for quite some time, giving us a chance to take a picture of her and look at her up close. You're probably laughing at my intrigue over a ladybug, but hey, if you live in a big city, these things are rare!



Next onto the promised pictures of weekend craftiness. Lesa said she was going to sue me if I didn't show the pics, so I got moving! :)~ Thanks for the motivation Lesa!

Here are the hats I made. 3 are newborn size, 1 is preemie size, and 1 is toddler sized. I used a variety of free patterns I found off the web and Caron Simply Soft in pink and blue.



I also made 5 fleece scarves with crochet edging (thanks to my edgerydoo!). I've got 5 more to do this weekend in different fabrics and colors. These are really easy, though time consuming because I used such a small hook. The yarn I used is Red Heart Baby Soft in Tangerine and TLC Essentials in black. They are so so soft!



I had a teensy ball of yarn left over from the poncho in the last post. It wasn't enough for a hat, so I whipped up a matching headband instead. It ties in the back and looks much prettier in person than in this picture. I didn't use a pattern...just sort of made it up as I went along. I wanted it to have some texture, so I bunched up some shells and it gave the headband a really nice feel.



Last but not least, I decided to make this cupcake pincushion. This pattern rocks because the stitches used makes the bottom of the cupcake ridged, like real cupcake paper! How cool is that? The sprinkles are just pins with colored heads. I think this is a really cute stocking stuffer idea! Here's the pattern.

So there you have it...my craftiness so far this week. Enjoy!

Lacy Shells Poncho

Ok, so I still haven't taken pics of my weekend craftiness. I'm a scrub...sue me!

But I do have a pic of the lacy shells poncho I was making for my co-worker's 4 year old daughter. I used the Lacy Shells pattern from Luv2Crochet. This pattern was beyond simple and fast! I absolutely LOVE the patterns on this site. Chelle really knows how to design pretty but functional little girls patterns.

I used 2 strands of TLC Cotton Plus in lavendar with a K hook. This is seriously the softest garment I've ever made.

I love surprises!!!

Today started off like any other bleh Monday but it sure got better in a hurry! The co-worker who I made the poncho for bought me One skein by Leigh Radford as a thank you! Score! That was so sweet of her! I love surprises!




I was crafty this weekend too, but I just haven't taken pics of anything. Since Piper wasn't home this weekend, I kicked my butt into high gear (in between naps of course). I've been working on some winter projects for the upcoming sale at Pi's school. I've managed to get 3 baby hats, 1 toddler hat, and 5 fleece children's scarves done over the last few days. I'm also about 75% done with a poncho for a co-workers 4 year old.

I've made a list of projects I want to get finished for the sale and a timeline to go with it. I think making the timeline was a bad idea. I am such a Type A personality that if I fall behind on the timeline, it drives me insane.

Case in point: On Friday, I was supposed to have finished one of the baby hats but was so tired when I got home that I took a nap instead. I woke up in the middle of the night and stayed up until 6am to finish the hat before allowing myself to go back to sleep. Also, last night I had 4 of the fleece scarves completed, but my timeline said I was supposed to have 5 done this weekend. So instead of relaxing and winding down for bed, I was up until 11pm (I need to wake up at 5)finishing the scarf.

So while I may be tired this morning, I have a sick sense of accomplishment that only a Type A can understand. :)

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Did you know that more than 40,000 people (including men!) will die this year of breast cancer? That figure is staggering. My godmother (only in her 40's) died of breast cancer in 1990, so breast cancer awareness is a big deal to me.

Please do a self-breast exam at least once a month! In honor of this month, here's a pink hat. It was made from a baby hat pattern that I adjusted to fit my large noggin.

Here's the pattern: Oh Baby hat

Can't tell I pencil in my eyebrows, can ya? :)~

Poncho revealed!

My yarn needle was waiting for me when I got home yesterday.

Woohoo! I whipstitched the poncho together this morning on the train. My co-worker wanted fringe but fringing is tedious to me, so I refused to do it alone, ha! Between me and 2 other co-workers, we got the fringe cut and attached in no time.

The poncho is thick and warm! Great for a cold day. My co-worker really likes it! She showed it to a few people and now I've got orders for 2 more ponchos (different pattern though)! Again, woohoo!

Here's a quick pic of the poncho. Please excuse the cell phone quality pic.. It doesn't show the true colors. The colors are represented well in one of my previous post from 10/04 showing the shells.

Let's go puddle skating!

Does anyone else see a problem with the Rockefeller Ice Skating rink opening today when it is 82 degrees outside? Umm, yeah!

It was 87 yesterday. Quite a fall we're having! Hopefully by tomorrow, it will cool down (70's I think) and I can get into a Halloween mood. I can't be bothered with Halloween when its this hot outside!

On another note, I have plucked my eyebrows into practical nonexistance. Ok, not the whole eyebrow...just the ends. My dear husband mentioned how my brows were growing in funny, so I decided it was time for a pluck. Everytime I try just plucking a little, I end up missing alot. I discovered an eyebrow pencil that's a lifesaver. It matches perfectly and when I'm all done, you can't even tell where I've filled my brows in and I no longer look like an afro headed, brow-less alien from the caribbean. :)

On a sad note, I saw a woman on the subway who had a "save roe: planned parenthood" t-shirt on while (get this!) talking to another woman about how wonderful her child is. Umm, hello? Does she not see the irony in this? Children are a gift. If you don't want them, then abstain! That is my rant for today.

I'm seeing stars!

Since my new yarn needle hasn't arrived yet, I spent the weekend working on a baby starghan. It was a super simple pattern from http://yarn-diva.blogspot.com/2006/03/free-star-shaped-afghan-pattern.html and worked up very quickly. The white/variegated yarn is Lion Baby Soft and the mint green is Caron Simply Soft. The patterns calls for an F hook, but since I crochet so tightly, I used an H and it worked perfectly. The starghan measures 38" from point to point.



Since I don't have a real baby to show the starghan with, I borrowed one of the little monster's dolls. The doll is about newborn size (from what I remember anyhow).

Little monster calls her dolls her children. Yes, little monster says that baby doll is my grandchild. Sheesh, when did I get so old? :)~



I like this pattern so much, that I plan on making another in pinks and purples. But first, little monster insists I make one of her children a new shirt. LOL

Shells Poncho

The poncho I frogged last week is finally coming together. I finished both pieces of the body. The only thing holding me back from actually finishing it is that I can't find a yarn needle.

I had a metal one for years that was the perfect size...I loved it...it loved me. It was the only yarn needle I ever needed and we were great together. Alas, we are no more. I have no idea where my yarn needle is.

I ordered new ones (plastic) from Joanns. They arrived and looked great. They promptly disappeared the very next day! GAH! I don't have a pet who could have swiped them. They are not in the couch cushions because we don't own a couch.

Little monster's teacher always says the paper fairy came and took her papers when she can't find them. So I'm just going to roll with it and say the crochet fairy took my needles. Yeah, that's the ticket.

I tried posting a pic of both body pieces but it won't load to blogger for some reason. But the up-close shot of the shells loaded, so that's what you get. This poncho was made with Red Heart Super Saver in Desert variegated yarn (my co-worker picked out the yarn).

As soon as my newly ordered (metal) yarn needles arrive, I'll whipstitch this together and post a pic of the FO.

Apple Bookmark

Here's the apple bookmark I made for the kid. Its made out of scrap WW yarn...probably red heart super saver. I think its pretty cute and surprisngly sturdy. I got the pattern from crochetpatterncentral.com if you're interested.




I'm borrowing this meme from a friend's journal...

1. I've come to realize that my ex is: never going to go away
2. I am listening to: my co-worker sighing. She sighs alot, but doesn't seem to realize it.
3. I talk: alot. My husband often gets a glazed look in his eye when I start to babble.
4. I love: my husband, kiddo, and friends.
5. Yesterday was: nice. It wasn't an overly stressful day which makes me happy.
6. My life: is on the right track.
7. I lost: my mind!
8. I hate it when: people try to sabatoge your happiness.
9. Love is: wonderful
10. Marriage is: an incredible combination of love, trust, partnership, fun, shared faith and very hard work.
11. Somewhere: is my cousin Kenneth. I miss him!
12. I'll always be: overly-emotional and overly-goofy.
13. I have a crush on: my hubby. :) He would say Corbin Bleu, but that's a stinkin' lie!
14. The last time I cried was: last week.
15. My cell phone: is awesome! I have the new LG chocolate and I highly recommend it.
16. When I wake up in the morning: I grumble about getting up, then thank God He gave me another day.
17. Before I go to sleep at night: I set my alarm clock and kiss my husband goodnight.
18. Right now: I should be working.
19. Babies are: amazing. I want 12!
20. I get on myspace: never. Don't have a myspace page.
21. Today I: started a starghan on the subway.
22. Tonight I will: go to a PTA meeting.
23. Tomorrow I will: go to Girl Scouts.
24. I really want to: buy a house.
25. The person who is most likely to repost this: I dunno. sharkmeat, riohnna, or lesa maybe?

hahahaha

This site is really funny...

what not to crochet

Not so bad...

High School Musical on ice wasn't too bad. Who would have thought I'd say that? The music was all pre-recorded (obviously) but the skaters were really entertaining. I spent most of the show watching my little monster. She was *so* excited, singing and dancing in her seat, that I couldn't help but laugh. After the show, she told me she had a "blast." She's starting to sound like a teenager.

At the end of the show, she waved at the skaters and screamed "bye Zac Efron, bye" with a very sing-songy, lovey voice. It wasn't Zac Efron, but she thought it was. Can my little girl be old enough for a crush already? ALREADY? **checks mirror for gray hair**

She's reading chapter books now, so I made her an apple shaped bookmark last night. My camera is dead, so I didn't get a pic of it last night, but I promise to charge the camera and get it posted tomorrow.