packing...

is not one of my favorite activities. I'm always paranoid: "Am I packing the right clothing? Will I need this? Or this? Or this?" Plus with the new baggage charges, I can only take one bag or Hubby might pop a vein. Luckily, this is only a one bag trip, but inevitably I have to smash everything down to make it fit and I ALWAYS come back with more than I go with, even if I don't buy anything or get any gifts. That math puzzles my brain.

a crafty extravaganza!

I have been crocheting up a storm! This hat and booties set (plus a couple of bibs that J made) are going to a friend who just had her second child, a little girl.

I made this business card holder for J, for her brand new business cards! She loved it and has already stuffed it full.

And finally, I made this... it started out for someone else, but I may keep him for myself! He's supposed to be an amigurumi lion, but the colors aren't right for lions. That's okay, I love him anyway!

booties

I finished these booties this morning. They are for a friend's brother who is having his third child and first girl. They are done in Bernat pink and green camo yarn. I modified the pattern from Simple Crochet for Cherished Babies.

home sweet home

We went to Maryland for a friend's wedding last weekend. Hubby was Best Man, and he did a great job! We went into DC for a bit and I took some fun pictures. It was my first time in our nation's Capital. I didn't get to see nearly as much as I'd like, but hopefully we can go back in the next couple of years.

A friend and I have begun making handcrafted baby bibs and other accessories. We've posted them on Ebay... go take a look! Our name for right now is rhoanscloset. It's been fun... she does the sewing and I do the embellishing with crochet. This is the newest bib we've created and posted for sale:

My brain has turned to mush since school ended. I'm scattered and disorganized. But, oh boy do I love summer vacation! I just hope my brain will firm back up before school starts...

feeling stressed? try this!

I LOVE THIS SITE!!!! If you need to let off some steam, this is the site for you! :)

voila!

Antarctica

I have always been a very literal thinker. I am very much a "think INside the box" person. I can't help it. I try, I really do! Oh well... since emboidery isn't my forte, I decided to use crochet in my expression of Antarctica for A Collaboration. In doing so, I adapted a square from 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton (it's a neat book; check it out!).

So, hopefully these pictures are pretty self-explanatory, but just in case, the little popcorn stitch bumps are icebergs and the blue trim is the water. I TOLD you I was a literal thinker!

I actually really like how it turned out. This was my first usage of the popcorn stitch, and it was easy and fun, and I love the effect.

why?

Why is it that I see the Summer 08 issue of Interweave Crochet EVERYWHERE on the net but I can't get it til June 24th? I'm seeing lots of fun patterns that I can't look at in detail because I CAN'T BUY IT YET!! Argh.

J and I started making bibs today. Actually, she started. She's the sewer and I'm the embellisher. Which reminds me, I need to do some of that tonight...

I also abandoned my Tunisian attempt at A Collaboration. It was driving me nuts because Tunisian crochet curls really badly and I hate blocking. So, I found another idea! No peekies this time. :)

in the beginning...

... there was yarn, an afghan hook, and Tunisian crochet. This is my contribution to a collaboration. What will come next?

musings on a collaboration

I am loving what I see happening with futuregirl and ruby-crowned kinglette in their "A Collaboration". I'm so excited, I want to join in too! I'm not going to embroider on a linen square, though... I have wondrous ideas! The word I'm going to begin with is 'Antarctica'. I know they started with 'entangled', but I've already seen what they've done and I'm biased. I want to come up with my own idea. Stay tuned!

long time gone

It's been way too long since my last post. Since then, I've finished the school year, cleaned out my classroom, been to four days of training, babysat, cleaned (a little bit of) my house, driven to Denver once, refilled my gas tank innumerable times, and not once been to the gym, even though I should have been at least six times by now.

On the upside, my friend has come up with a genius idea to make bibs and sell them... we'll make scads of money and never have to work again! :)