R.I.P.

WARNING: The following image may be disturbing to some as it deals with death. Proceed at your own risk.



I will not buy any more plants. I will not buy any more plants.

Lion Brand Studio

Today was the first preview day of the Lion Brand Studio in NYC (close to Union Square for those who care).

In the window is a huge lion whose mane is made up of various types of yarn. Yes, I did indeed press my nose up against the glass for a closer inspection.



Mr. Lion was surrounded by huge balls of yarn. Janet and I couldn't help but lament what a waste it was. Why be decorative when we could take it home and put it to better use!



We couldn't help but pose with the yarn.



Does anyone know what this is? Anyone? Bueller?



There were displays of FO's all over.



Does the top afghan remind anyone else of that 80's game Q-Bert? Its all I could think of when I saw it!



Yarn!



More yarn!

Check out that awesome shawl on the left. Janet liked it so much she bought the exact same shade of yarn and took home a printout of the pattern.

Vanna display.

This was one of the coolest things in there. There are huge cones of all their various yarn. You can cut off a piece, tape it to a small cardboard rectangle, and label what kind of yarn it is. This way you can take home a small sample of what each yarn feels like, its texture, and its thickness. Makes online shopping a lot easier.

This wall display isn't made of yarn, but it was too neat not to post. Its made of felt and is really squishy (no, I didn't touch it...ummm...shhhh).

More gratuitous pictures of yarn!

Overall, I thought the store was great! Its a bit smaller than I expected. You'll pay full prices here too...no craft store discounts, but it is NYC which tends to be pricier anyway. Its really convenient to have a store that I don't need to drive too. They're going to be offering classes starting in December as well. Maybe I'll drop by and really work on those knitting skills.

Also, my job is moving in the spring...within walking distance of the Lion Brand studio. I will not bring my wallet with me when I go on walks! Yeah, ok, who am I kidding?

Drive By Blogging

I'm actually supposed to be ironing right now, and don't have much time to blog, so I'm just going to do the drive by thing.

I made this Bath Puff from Priscilla's Crochet and this Soap Saver from JFP Crochet Club. The puff worked up in about an hour and I used an I hook and Sugar and Creme confectionery colors cotton. The soap saver took about 20 minutes, using the same hook and yarn.




It would make a great addition to a gift basket all wrapped up in tulle. I've decided that tulle can make everything look good. I want to go buy lots of it and wrap everything in it. Be prepared...you might see pictures of Piper wrapped in tulle soon. ;)



Tomorrow, Janet and I are going to the preview of the Lion Brand studio in Union Square. I'll bring my camera and hopefully they'll allow me to get some pics.

Gotta iron!

Z's Slouch Hat

Thanks for the political sympathy everyone. I've had my day of mourning and now I'm ready to move on to bigger and better things....

Like Zuleika's slouch hat! Friggin awesome pattern!




Most beanies look like crap on me because my hair is too big and curly. Hubby likes to tell me how large and alien-like my head looks in beanies. Sweet guy. But this slouch hat has enough room to balance out my curls and not give me the dreaded triangle hair. Its hubby approved.




I experimented with different hook sizes to get different size hats. This blue one fits me best. I used an I hook and less than a skein of TLC Heathers (ww). I started it on the subway going to work and finished it the same night.

The cabling pattern is easier to see with this tan hat. I'm petrified of crochet cables but these were really easy to understand. I felt like a doofus for not trying before.

This is the smallest of the three I made since it was made with an H hook. Fits great as a beanie or a perfectly Piper sized slouch hat.

This black one is the biggest I made, using a J hook. This one is way too big for my head. My friend Desiree really liked this one best for herself though, because she's got a massive amount of hair that she could easily tuck into the hat.

Its nearly impossible to see the cabling pattern with this one, sorry. Getting home after dark means a lot less natural light for me to work with when taking pics.

And just because I can't think of a proper or funny way to end this post, I'll leave you with this gem:

Good Grief

I won't lie. I'm incredibly disappointed in last night's presidential election results. But one side had to lose, so chin up and out. I'll just keep praying till 2012 rolls around.

Nikki, if our friendship could survive the 2004 election, we can survive anything, LOL!

Rock the Vote!

Just a friendly, neighborly reminder to vote tomorrow (if you haven't already voted early). Voting is a freedom that we often take for granted.

I haven't really discussed politics on the blog, but since the election is tomorrow, might as well share who I'm voting for.



Oh yeah, I'm the rare Republican living in New York City.

Run Forrest, Run!

Today was the NYC Marathon and the weather was perfect for it. The path through Brooklyn is just 2 blocks from where we live and only one block from my mom's place, so my family went to cheer the runners on.

There were so many awesome runners dressed in funky wigs and costumes. One guy was even juggling three balls as he ran! The Blues Brothers runners were one of my favs.

Pi was a little shy about giving high 5's at first. Once she did it a few times, you couldn't get her away from the sidelines to give high 5's. You can see that my twin sisters and Pi kept creeping into the runner's path because they were so excited. We had to keep herding them back.

When I was in high school and a band geek, we would dress up in our band costume (cowgirls dressed in traditional Irish green and gold) and play music for the runners along this same avenue. This one time, in band camp.... heehee.

I finished a few crochet projects too. My coworker Rosanna is having a baby in January. She's not sure what she's having yet, so she asked if I could make some baby sweaters and hats in white.

These hats were really simple. The pompom one is just working dc in the round for a few rows. The ribbed hat is just sc in blo for 10 inches and then weaving the top together. They were about as simple as you can get.

The sweaters are the Kelly Sweater by Bella Bambina. I used an H hook to make a 3-6 months size and an I hook to make a 6-9 month size. Rosanna's hubby is really tall, so she asked that I didn't make anything newborn size since the baby will probably outgrow it in 3.5 seconds.

There aren't any buttons. Since the sex of the baby is unknown, Rosanna will buy buttons after the baby is born and add them. I used Lion Brand Pound of Love for everything.

Speaking of Lion Brand, their NYC studio will be opening this month in the Union Square area. I printed a pass to the preview this coming Sunday. I'm crossing my fingers I'll be able to go. Any of you local peeps want to go?