Some Updates

Well, I still can't make my computer do what I want it to. One main thing I can't get to happen? Pictures. I have a huge backlog of pictures! No worries - I WILL figure it out!


Like I said, I haven't been idle. So, here's what I've been up to, photo free.


* beanies!
- - They're so simple and such a crowd pleaser. Really, if I'm antsy and just need to make something, I'll make a beanie. Casey dropped off some yarn... oh, forever ago... and I've finally finished with it. She requested some hats for her nephew, so I whipped up a few basics. I also had another friend ask for a gray beanie, so naturally I had to make four in three different shades. :)


* skirts!
- - What a monstrous pain. Ugh. I don't know if it was because the pattern was a little wonky (I went with the "White Russian" pattern on Ravelry. I'd link it, but I'm afraid it'd lock up my computer like pictures do). The end result is pretty and well worth the effort, but let me give you a couple of pointers if you try the item. One, the count is 14 (plus 1 for base). That means chain in multiples of 14. When you have your desired length, add one chain so when you single crochet that first row you keep your multiple. Two, she doesn't give you a number when starting the second row of motif work. "Find the center" is just too vague and weird. Would it really have taken too much time to count? As a result, mine was staggered rather than offset. Three, know that this is NOT worked in one piece. You will have to break off and reattach. It gave me fits for two full days. I wound up with at least five should've-been-waistbands-turned-headbands because I would get angry, pull it back to the third row, and cut it.
- - In any event, it was a great learning experience. When/if I get my mojo back in full, I will explain how I managed to get this pattern to work for me. If you try it and are fairly proficient at modifying patterns on your own, I suggest beginning with the single crochets rather than the chains.


*bags!
- - I don't know why, but I've come back to purses, bags, and totes. I think I'm trying to get my courage up to figure out lining and sewing and such. I have some experience in sewing, but I'm not as good as I'd like to be. Plus, I just really like crocheted bags and playing with the possibilities. I can be a little more experimental since it doesn't have to sit right or fit right. It doesn't matter if a certain stitch feels funny against skin because it won't be. And, of course, I'm still trying to prove my handle technique works.


*granny squares!
- - In an attempt to use up and get rid of the neon Amanda bought, I tossed it all together in a random-like granny square. It kept my hands busy, ate up the yarn, and even wound up looking better than I thought it would. Yay for successful experiments!


*different yarns!
- - I buy Red Heart, Caron One Pounder, and clearance. Really, that's it. My reasoning is this: it began as my hobby. While I'm hoping that one day soon I might be able to make some money with it, I saw no reason in the early days to splurge on a hobby. In a previous life, I was well known for my hobby hopping, so buying yarn at $8 a skein and needing 4 skeins wouldn't have worked. These days, it's what I'm used to. I'm also one of those few people who genuinely prefers acrylic. It's soft, it's flexible, it's warm. It doesn't pick up colors. It doesn't absorb odors quite so badly. I don't have to worry about allergies. It's easily washed - just toss it in a standard washing machine. I know other materials have other benefits, but why change what works?
- - Well, Casey brought me some Homespun, some Hometown, and something that was really super chunky. After all the griping I'd heard about Homespun, I was really dreading working with it. Turns out, I didn't have a problem with it. To be fair, I used a large hook and worked into the spaces as opposed to the stitches. Yeah, it has it's stretches of oddity. Sometimes, it's very uniform and tiny. Sometimes it looks like set off tiny TNT into it and blew it up. Sometimes it's not wavy like it's supposed to be. For me, it just adds visual texture. In fact, my brother saw the Homespun scarf and immediately asked for one.


*ideas!
- - I want to try my hand at my own skirt patterns. Now that I understand a bit about how Irish crochet works, I'm anxious to try it.
- - I want to make a couple of tops. I especially want to make a loose poncho/shawl type thing. It sounds ridiculous, but hopefully my execution will come out a bit better.
- - Ruffled diaper covers. I know, those are kind of everywhere. I don't even have a baby girl in my life right now. It's just that every time we shop, my mother will find a girl's outfit and the butt will ALWAYS have ruffles. So now the idea has crawled into my head.
- - A buffalo? This isn't very high on my list, but Mom likes buffalo. I need to figure out how to make this happen because those things have weirdly shaped heads.
- - A March of Dimes afghan. I'm thinking to either find a pattern that incorporates footprints... or... and I do so hate to say this... I might revisit the Purple Blankie. As much as I hate the piecework in it, it looks really nice. I would then auction/sell/fundraise it. I'm not sure if I would do a silent auction type thing or sell raffle tickets. If anyone has ever done both, please let me know which you think worked better.
- - I'm trying to clear out my mental cache at the moment (hence the completion of Casey's items, Tina's headbands, Ryan's beanies, Amanda's neon) so that I can finally work on something I've been DYING to try since I found the wonderful world of online crochet - the TARDIS bag. It's on Crochet Dynamite. I caught a Caron One Pounder sale at JoAnn's. I immediately grabbed the Royalty. It's been patiently waiting in my yarn basket for a month now. I want a week where I can put everything aside and FOCUS on getting the details of this particular project juuuuuuuuuuuust right.


So, that's what I've been up to. I wish I could prove my industriousness to you, but maybe tomorrow I'll have that power. For today, thanks for stopping by!

Still Alive

I did not, contrary to all evidence, drop off the face of the planet and decide this whole blogging thing was stupid. I could do my usual list of excuses, but it's not important.


I am going to go back and standardize my patterns so that they make sense. I quite like the routine I've found of story, title, particulars, special stitches, pattern, notes, and mods.


Blogger doesn't seem to like my browser, so I'm going to have to look into that soon. I don't know anything at all about computers and web things and how those connect and work and whatever. I'm probably the least tech-savvy twentysomething who grew up around computers. It's sad. But here I am anyway.


Don't think that my lack of online activity has translated into an idle hook. No, no, no, no, no. I'm on a hat kick at the moment. I'm sure one day I'll switch back over into baby blankets or purses or those random trays I kept making. I just like hats right now. It's such a versatile medium!




Since I can't seem to even get pictures to load at the moment, I will focus primarily on the standardization of my patterns and probably even changing the whole look of the page. Looking back on my own posts, I am irked by the rambling style of the pattern presentation. So please know, if anyone is out there, that I am not one of those people who just up and quit. I just can't get technology to work with me. Trust me, I have such a backlog of patterns it's ridiculous.


Thanks for checking up on me! I will do my best to get things back on track soon. Have a lovely day!