Bamboo vs. Birch...

So... I started working with the 4mm/G birch hook that I got in the mail yesterday afternoon, and I HOPE I'm not going to regret my purchase. As you can see in the picture below, the hooks are beautiful with the turned ends, and I like that they're extra long.

However, check out the picture below. The hook in the front is the bamboo hook and the one in the rear is the birch one. Notice how deep the throat is on the bamboo hook; it's twice as deep as the birch one. As a result, I've been having a hard time because I keep splitting the yarn when I'm using the birch hook. Maybe this is something I'll get better at with more use, but right now, that's incredibly frustrating, and I hope it's something I can work around.

72-square quilt block for twinfibers

Yesterday, I finished up the quilt block I made for Jessica/twinfibers for the SewConnected block swap. She sent out vintage sheets and pillowcases. Here's what I made for her:

Oh yeah: birch crochet hooks!

Oh yeah! My new Britany birch crochet hooks arrived yesterday afternoon! I am SO happy to get them. I was going to empty the hook roll I made for my metal hooks and house these birch ones in it, but the birch hooks are 9" long and that hook roll only fits 6" long hooks. So, I'll have to make another roll (which is fine--I'm getting good at making them).

Did you know dogs can smile?

Iggy and Stuart regularly "grin" at us, but here's Iggy smiling (hee hee!):

Iggy Pop's face

I dug through my "My Pictures" folder and found a bunch of pictures of the dogs and cats that I'd forgotten about. I need to get some of these pictures blown up and matted and framed because they're really good pictures.

Here's an interesting couple of Iggy Pop. The first picture is when she was about 6 months old. That is the very best picture I've ever taken in my whole life--it's not cropped or anything; it's just the perfect shot. The second picture is when she was around a year old and she'd started going gray already. The last picture is from December of last year. She's seven years old now and is mostly white in the face (which is why that pastel painting with the white-faced dog looks so much like her!).

Guess what we DIDN'T do yesterday afternoon...?

Loan closing... 2:00 yesterday afternoon... ha! ha! Can you believe it was canceled AGAIN! And get a load of this: we were confirmed for 2:00 yesterday afternoon and had a notary (Becky) assigned to us. We were supposed to be at the bank branch right down the street from us. Well, at 11:00, I got a phone call from another notary and she was waiting at the bank for us. Huh? Turns out the 2:00 appointment was canceled and rescheduled for 11:00 (but nobody bothered to call and tell me this, which wouldn't have mattered because BGR couldn't make it at 11:00 anyway--which is why we wanted to do it at 2:00).

So... everybody got back on the same page, and we were on for 2:00 yesterday afternoon. Then 1:45 rolls around and the phone rings, and guess what? The paperwork never has arrived from the corporate office, and we can't close at 2:00 so the loan officer will have to call us back just as soon as it arrives.

And 5:00 rolls around... phone call comes in: paperwork never arrived, can we do it at 8:00 this morning if he can get the paperwork? He'll have to call us back and let us know if he got it or not. Currently, it's 8:10, and we haven't heard a word from him. The bank branch doesn't open until 9:00 this morning anyway so I'm not sure how he planned on us signing at 8:00.

BGR's p.o.'d. He just left (which made ME p.o.'d because he leaves me here to make excuses for him--granted he'll only be five or ten minutes away, but it still aggraves me).

Dogs in Pastel Painting

Mary Detwiler from http://www.dogsinpastel.com/ got back to me, and it's okay that I post a picture of the wonderful original pastel of an Italian Greyhound that I bought from her last week. Here's her Etsy Store and here's a picture of the painting I bought:



This little sweetie looks just like Iggy Pop.

The painting came in an 8x10 mat, but I'm going to have it matted bigger so I can put it in a bigger frame.

Iggy Pop's Portrait and Mylo's Big Nose!

I found this picture of Iggy Pop while digging through the "My Pictures" folder. I LOVE this picture of her, but I'd forgotten about it.

Here's another favorite; this time of Mylo's big honking nose:

dreamdog artwork

Lisa Ballard from dreamdog got back to me yesterday! She re-posted several of her prints in her Etsy store so I could buy them. This is what I bought:

• "Sweet Iggy" looks like Annie. It's one of 100, is 9x7 and will need a custom-cut mat.
• "Hound Bug" is an hilarious painting of 3 IGs in a VW bug. It's 8x6, will need a custom-cut mat and is one of 200.
• "Come Float With Me" looks like Annie and a friend. It's one of 200 and is 8x10.

She told me she'll be posting some new prints within the next day or so. I checked out her website, and she has a painting called "Skinny Vinnie" which is an IG in a 3-piece suit and a fedora, smoking a cigar. She painted it for the publication, "Ig Times." I LOVE it, and I hope that's one of her new prints. I'll keep checking back.

Also, when the prints arrive I'll ask her if I can post pictures of them here.

Oh, yeah. And she also posted her print of the sphynx cat for me to look at. I'm on the fence about that one. The expression is dead on that of Moke, but all three of our cats are black and the painting is one of those pink ones that give me the willies because they look like little aliens.

The Scheduler Called Back...

So the scheduler (Tamika) just called back to confirm our closing tomorrow afternoon! Yay! I think everybody's on the same page now!

The loan closing saga continues...

So the loan officer guy calls me back again, and told me we were closing at 8:00 last night at our house. He scheduled that without asking us, and guess what--that WON'T WORK FOR US!

So he wants to know when I good day/time would be, and I told him I'd have to call him back because I needed to see when BGR could leave work again but he wasn't home for me to ask. I tried calling BGR, but he didn't answer the phone. So I called the guy back and told him BGR works a partial day on Friday and could we schedule it for 11:00 on Friday morning. Then BGR calls back, and GUESS WHAT? He has a meeting at 11:00 on Friday morning and can't make it then.

So I had to call the loan guy back and tell him to schedule it for later in the day on Friday.

So THEN... a woman called and said she was confirming the closing at 8:00 last night, and I told her NO that time was arranged without asking us, and it just wouldn't work for us and that I'd spoken with the loan guy about rescheduling for Friday afternoon. So SHE was the scheduler and she could put us down for that time.

Meanwhile, the Notary lady called and said she was confirming for 8:00 last night and I told her NO THAT HAS BEEN CANCELLED; that we were rescheduled for Friday afternoon.

So, guess what? The scheduler (the SAME lady!) called AGAIN to confirm the closing at 8:00 last night because we were "already in the computer and she couldn't reschedule it for Friday afternoon." So I told her everybody could be here at 8:00, but we wouldn't open the door to sign. Well... she said she'd already spoken with the notary lady and confirmed it with her. So I said I'd also spoken with the notary lady about 5 minutes ago, and she now knows it's NOT at 8:00 last night and that it's Friday afternoon. So the scheduler asked me to call her (the notary lady) back "because I lost her phone number" (yeah, right). I didn't call her back, though, because I'd spoken with her 5 minutes earlier.

What a fiasco!

When to say "that's okay" and when not to...

So... we refinanced the house (or at least we're TRYING to refinance the house). We were supposed to close on Monday at 3:00. Well, we got a phone call that the documents never arrived and we'd have to reschedule for today at 3:00. So, I called this morning to verify we were still on and have been waiting on a return call all day long. Then at 2:24, I got a phone call from the notary saying that the closing had been canceled. So, I called our loan guy and left him a pissy little voice mail that I wasn't very happy finding out at 2:24 BY THE NOTARY that the closing had been canceled and not from him.

So then he calls me back and is trying to reschedule, and he finally said "sorry for the inconvenience"--at which point I know he wanted me to say "that's okay," but doggoneit it's NOT okay.

twinfibers' block pattern

I recieved twinfibers/Jessica's March SewConnected fabrics last week. I think I've figured out what to do with it:

It's 72 1-7/8" squares with a micro-bordered 4-1/2 square in the center. I'll have to measure her fabric and make sure I have enough, but I think I do.

Does this look okay, though? I don't particularly care for the block in my fabrics, but maybe it'll look better in her vintage sheets?

Just got back from Michael's and Joann's

Okay... I hit Michael's first thing this morning to return that stinking yarn and buy a couple more frames while they're on sale. Boy! Was that lady LIVID that I returned that yarn. First off, she didn't even greet me (if she could have spit on me without getting slapped, she probably would have tried) and second off, the receipt bar code wouldn't scan so she had to type it in and that made her even madder. Next, she BANGED on her keypad REALLY HARD when she was punching in the numbers and then she SLICED my credit card through the register and SLAMMED her pen on the counter for me to sign the slip! Then when it was all over with she didn't say "thank you", "kiss my ass" or ANYTHING. She just started scanning the next customer's stuff before I could get my purse zipped up (I hate it when they do that!).

So... (and I should have left right then, but I didn't), I went back to the frames and picked up the ones I wanted (and I still managed to not get an 8x10 frame I need for the new pastel painting). And, I then rolled them back to the register where the same lady is still unhappily waiting on people, and when it was my turn, I said "hello again" and do you know what she said to me? "Huh?" And I said "hello again" and she says back "Huh?" So I said "I was just up here returning yarn." And her stupid response: "Yeah?" So I just said "Nevermind."

Her name tag said Floor Shift Supervisor.

Next I went to Joann's. I was in pursuit of TLC Essentials Butter, but they didn't have it. I bought Medium Thyme instead, and I think that will look just fine with the other colors I've already bought. At least the lady there was a little nicer, BUT she couldn't get the plastic bag opened so she licked her fingers a couple of times to see if that helped. I just said, "Whoa! I don't even need a bag!" I have one of their reusable totes, but I forgot it in the car, and all I had to carry out was two skeins of yarn so I didn't really need a bag anyway.

New Medium Thyme yarn:

I found that Iggy Artist on Etsy!

I was kicking myself for not having bought some Iggy Prints from an artist on Etsy. I searched for "Italian Greyhound" on Etsy, and couldn't find her that way. I also searched Ebay and I even googled "Iggy Bus" which is what I thought the title of one of her prints was. Well... this morning in the shower, I had an Ah-Ha! moment when I remembered that I may have saved her shop in my favorites! And I did! Her shop name is dreamdog, and she has a couple of really cute pastel iggy prints that I want: Iggybug (not Iggy Bus like I thought), Sweet Iggy and Come Float with Me. I hope there are any left because it says they're of limited editions of 100, and she's been selling them on Etsy since 2006. Anyway... her shop is down right now, but she said she'd re-post stuff starting on February 15... she's a little bit late so I hope that doesn't mean she's out of the selling business.

I sent her a convo and let her know how excited I am to have found her again, and that I'm anxiously awaiting her store to reopen!

Etsy: ElleJW Dog Prints

ElleJW from Etsy got back to me and let me know it's okay to post pictures of the prints I bought from her! Here's here Etsy store. She has all kinds of watercolor and ink prints of various breeds of dogs. They are just lovely. Here are the three I bought:

The first one (a 5x7 print) looks like Annie. The middle one (a notecard) doesn't have the right coloring for Iggy Pop, but it perfectly depicts her expression and body size. The third one (also a 5x7 print) is Mylo to a "T"! Poor Stuart. I think he's a strange coloring for an IG so I haven't found anything to buy that looks like him.

The prints already came mounted in 8x10 mats which was really nice. I just had to plop them in 8x10 frames and they were ready to go.

Love, love, love them!

Back at Square One

I am back at square one with this stinking yarn that I bought yesterday. And here's why:


First off, I couldn't find the end of the yarn in the middle of the skein so I had to pull out quite a chunk of yarn before I found it--which is why I decided to start winding it into a ball. Then, after happily winding for awhile, I couldn't pull out anymore because it appeared to be knotted up. So, I tugged on it again, and this HUGE plug of yarn fell out of the center of the skein (in the picture is my ball, the big plug and the shell of the skein). Well, that huge plug is one gigantic knot. I spent a l-o-n-g time trying to unknot it before getting up, throwing all of the other stupid skeins I bought yesterday back in two Michael's bags and toting them out the car. I'll be pitching that pile of knots in the trash and returning the rest of it tomorrow morning. There's definitely a reason that stuff is $2 a skein: because it sucks.


So now I'm back to trying to figure out what to do with the yarns I have and if I need to buy more???

[Later... I'm back to a blue and green afghan: the denim Pound of Love yarn and the lt. celery TLC Essentials yarn. I just checked a couple of websites, this is what I found about the denim yarn: "Weight Category: 4 - Medium: Worsted-weight, Afghan, Aran Yarn" I also found that TLC Essentials is a weight category of 4 (which I already knew), but on KnittingWarehouse.com, it says that its "hand is creamy and soft." I don't know where they got that because every skein I have feels plastic-y and scratchy--like if you lit it on fire it would melt rather than burn. So, anyway... I'm back to the original plan: blue and green 12" squares and TLC Essentials for the smaller sized squares (who knows what size those are going to be...?)]

More Iggy Artwork!

So much for not buying anymore iggy artwork! This morning, I found an original 7x5 pastel in an 8x10 black mat for $24 on Etsy. The artist is Mary from http://www.dogsinpastel.com/. The dog dipicted looks JUST LIKE like Iggy Pop! I can't wait for it to get here.

Also, I convo'd ElleJW and asked her if I can post pictures here on my blog of the prints I got from her, but I haven't heard back from her yet. When the pastel gets here, I'll ask Mary, too, if that's okay. I can't imagine that they'll mind, but I want to make sure first.

In the meantime, these are the mini posters I already bought from CaféPress

Okay, doggoneit! Here are two more mini posters I just bought from CaféPress. I found these two when I was searching for the pictures above:

They were $7.99 each. I really like both of these posters, but the ones I found at first had big phrases printed beneath them. The one on the left said "Goofball" and the one on the right said "Caught in the Act." I didn't like them with the words on them so I was so happy when I found them without the words. I think I have a picture of Iggy Pop with a tennis ball hanging out of her mouth. My dogs also destuff toys like MAD so I thought the second poster was quite fitting. The artist is Stewart Allison.

I need to hit Michael's one more time while their frames are on sale. I think I got the 11x17 frames for $9.99 yesterday (or was it $14.99?).

Sick of yarn talk? Too bad! Here's another one!

We went out for Chinese last night, and while we were there, I came up with a brilliant idea for my yarn issues (whether to use the new Designer Sport yarn I bought yesterday or keep using the TLC Essentials yarn I've been using).

This is what I decided and why: #1. I LIKE the TLC Essentials colors I've bought (Winter White, Sandstone, Robin Egg and Lt. Celery). #2. I also really like the colors of Designer Sport yarn I bought (Terra Cotta, Blush Rose, Dutch Blue, Celadon and Aqua Ice). #3. I REALLY wanted a blue and green afghan, BUT the Denim yarn is a worsted 10-ply/9wpi weight yarn and the green TLC Essentials yarn is a #4/medium/10-ply/8wpi weight. They're slightly different which is why when I join the two together, it looks kind of gnarly, I think. [You know, I got all that yarn weight info from the Ravelry website. I could have SWORN the Denim label said it was 4-ply?]

So (and I hate to do this, but...) I'm going to retire the Denim Pound of Love yarn I bought and go with TLC Essentials colors for the 12" crochet-along. Then, I'll use the Designer Sport colors for the 200 Crochet Blocks crochet-along. I've already made several 6-inch-ish blocks with TLC Essentials, but what I'll do with those is add rows until I get them up to 12". That way those blocks won't go to waste.

That means I'm going to have to remake the January and February Craftster.org and Ravelry blocks (and the March 2008 Craftster one), but it's still early in the year, and re-making them won't be that difficult.

MORE New Yarn (but it was on sale!)

All this talk about the correct weight yarn to use for the book 200 Crochet Blocks spurred me to go out and buy some DK weight yarn. BUT... I still can't tell by looking at the label that what I bought is DK weight. I kind of guessed by looking at the label of some TLC Essentials, and it's listed as a "4" (Medium). What I bought is listed as a "3" (Light). I still wasn't postive until I added the yarn to my stash on Ravelry, and found out it IS a DK weight.

Anyway, it's Red Heart Designer Sport. It was on sale for $2 a skein and I bought 5 colors (Terra Cotta, Blush Rose, Dutch Blue, Celadon and Aqua Ice). Now I have to decide if I'm going to give up on the TLC Essentials because #1. it feels kind of plastic--it's more scratchy than soft; and #2. I REALLY like the colors that I bought today, and it feels much softer to the touch.

New Frames!

I happily took myself to Michael's first thing this morning to see what kind of frames they had on sale this week, and I left with 5.

Before I left home, I measured what I had:
2 8x10
2 8.5 x 11
2 11 x 14
1 4.25 x 5.75
1 3.75 x 4.75

My two 5x7 caricatures were already matted to 8x10 so frames for those were easy enough to find.

Next, I checked out 11x14" frames, and got a funny feeling... I hadn't REALLY measured those ones, I just thought I remembered them being 11x14, but when I saw that size, I didn't think it was right. Then I happened on 11x17, and thought THAT looked like the right size... So, I threw two of those in the cart thinking I could take them back if they weren't right.

The two 8.5 x 11 ones aren't standard frame sizes. I picked up an 11x14 frame with an 8x10 mat, and I'm going to see if that will work for either of them. It's a cream mat, though, and I think maybe I should have bought a black mat instead. I *know* they'll both fit in 11x14" frames, but if I have to have custom-cut mats I AM going to buy myself that mat cutter and do it myself since I'm going to have to have custom mats cut for the note card and for the tobacco trading card anyway (I'm trying to justify the cost...).

So, anyway, I got home, and tried out my frames. I'm SOOOO glad I talked myself out of the 11x14 frames for the two mini posters because, sure enough, they were 11x17. One is the Igs playing poker from BGR's office (one of those dogs looks just like his dear Annie). The other mini poster is a geisha girl print with Iggy Pop's head. TOO FUNNY! I have no idea what will do with that one (a bathroom, maybe?). But the frames look really nice, and I'm glad I bought them.

The frames for the 8x10-matted watercolor caricatures are just plain black wooden frames, but they look so nice!

I still haven't tried the 11x14 frame on one of the 8.5x11 prints, but I'll do that this afternoon and see if that will work or not? I'm just not sure. I'm afraid that opening size will cut off the signatures.

Oh, fun, fun, fun!

March SewConnected Fabric

OH YEAH! Yesterday I recieved my March fabric from twinfibers/Jessica for the SewConnected quilt block swap. She sent plenty of fabric; it's all vintage sheets and pillowcases! That's kind of cool. She also sent a piece of yellow linen that will be used to sash between the blocks. Here's the kicker: she sent a piece of fussy-cut fabric with a floral design in the center and asked each of us to use that "as is" in our blocks. It's only 3.75" square.

I already have a great idea. I want to do the square in the center of a 9-patch block, then make the other 8 pieces either 4-patches or 9-patches. On a 12" 9-patch block the pieces are all 4.5" so I'm going to have to do some manuevering with her "use as is" square of fabric since it's too small. I can add a little micro-border around it, and that will fix it, I think.

I need to get a move-on before somebody else makes this same block!

DK yarn vs. "Regular" acrylic yarn

So I'm still not good at understanding/knowing what weights yarns are. I just read a review on Amazon.com that said the blocks in 200 Crochet Blocks were designed with DK weight yarn (I don't have a clue what that is!). The same reviewer says that "regular" acrylic weight yarn is bigger and will make an 8" square. Oh, yay! I'm going to start all over again and make them with a 4mm hook and see what size they come out.

Big Round Crochet Square...

Craftster.org crochetalong

Hmmm... I finished the Big Round crochet square out of 200 Crochet Blocks and I don't like it. Well... it's not that I don't like it; it's that I don't like that every single stinking block I'm making is a different size--all TOO DING-DANG BIG despite how small of a hook I use. The book SAYS they're supposed to be 6" blocks, but so far, I've only gotten ONE to come out to that size. The rest, I'm having to eliminate rounds to keep them at 6". That exhausts me for some reason--well if not "exhausts" than surely disappoints the snot out of me!



So... I think I'm going to just re-make all of them with one size hook (and make them all the way through ALL of the rounds; I've been stopping a couple of rounds short, and the blocks just don't look finished). Then I'll take the biggest block and try to match all of the rest of the squares to that size by stretching or by adding extra rows around the edges. Sounds like a real pain in the rear, but I don't know what else to do.


Anyway, here's Big Round minus 2 rounds. I used Robin Egg and Winter White. (The photo is kind of dark because I took the picture at 6:00 this morning).

Oh, yeah...

I checked eBay for more Italian Greyhound stuff, and found 3 postage stamps from New Guinea from hauteobjetsdart. I bought them!

Other Iggy Prints Got Here Yesterday

Oh, YAAAAAYYY!!! My other Iggy prints got here yesterday! I LOVE them! The watercolor and ink caricatures are just wonderful. They're 7x5 and came already matted. They're from a series of 50 each and I got some really low numbers (less than 25, but I have a cat in my lap and can't see exactly what the numbers are). I also bought a notecard for $4, and I was surprised to see that it is also signed and numbered. I'll definitely be matting and framing it as well.

I also received the pencil drawing by David J. Rogers. It is BEAUTIFUL and I couldn't be happier. I thought it was from just some place selling prints by him, but it actually came from his studio. It's also a signed and numbered print (#?/500--Murray's still in my lap so I can't see what number it is, but it's also less than 25, I think).

Okay... Murray got tired of me.

• The pencil drawing is 23/500.
• The notecard (named "Unsurely") is 11/50
• The profile caricature (named "A Little Uncomplicated") is 12/50
• The straight-on caricature (named "Eternally Yours") is 5/50

Love, Love, Love what I bought!

[Later...] Just got the Michael's ad for this week in my inbox. Guess what? A ton of their frames are on sale for 40-50% off so I'm making a little trip there this morning to see what they've got. Most of the prints I got are standard sizes that will fit in 8x10 or 11x14 frames. The notecard will need a special sized mat, I think (I'll have to measure; it may fit a 5x7 frame???).

Iggy Prints

I'm so excited that my new Iggy prints have started to arrive. I received five of them yesterday:

• an awesome lineoleum block print on Etsy by Nydam Press. It's signed, but the signature is the size of a pinhead! I wish she'd signed it MUCH bigger so I could see it! Not sure how long that link will be good.
• a wonderful 7x24 watercolor print of several Italian Greyhounds frolicking. It's a signed print (146/900) by the artist (Enid Grooves). I got this print from dogstuff.com, but I guess it was the only one they had because I can't find it on their website anymore. I really like that each day's sales from dogstuff.com goes to various dog rescue programs across the US.
• a really cute 1950-ish Austrian tabacco trading card. It was $4.99 on Ebay with free shipping, and it's in perfect condition.
• and two mini-posters from cafépress. One is a geisha girl that has an ig head on it (that looks EXACTLY like Iggy Pop); the other is "Igs Playing Poker" which I bought for Brian's office.

Still left to arrive are two 7x5 caricature watercolor prints (from a limited edition of 50--I wonder what numbers I'll get?) and a note card from ElleJW for Etsy (here and here and here) (not sure how long those links will be good). Anyway, these are coming from London.

Also outstanding is a pencil drawing by David J. Rogers being sold by k9artgallery on Etsy (it's also a limited edition. Can't wait to see what number I'll get!).

I am VERY happy with everything I've received so far!

I'm such a dork!

My bamboo hooks are marked with the mm size on them and not the letter. So, I used the laser and engraved the letters on them. To MAKE SURE I wouldn't engrave on top of the mm marking, I engraved at the very end of the hook. A minor inconvenience, but I've been having to pull the entire hook out of its pocket to see what the mm and letter size are. Duh! I just realized I can put them in the pockets hooks down so the ends are visible! Why didn't I think of that before?

Birch Crochet Hooks

Okay, okay! I totally didn't need them, but I ordered an 11-piece ultimate set of Brittany Birch Hooks from Jimmy Beans Wool. I only need a 3.75mm/F because I don't have that size in bamboo, and I want/need one because I don't like the blunt-nosed metal Boyle's hook that I have. This set is D, E, F, G, G+, H, I, J, K, L and M. I'm getting used to mm sizes so the letter sizes are starting to feel foreign.

The set I bought doesn't come with a silk holder like the $101 sets have, but I'm getting good at making crochet hook rolls so I'll just make another one for this set (or I may just use the roll I made for my metal hooks instead--I'll banish those back to the zippered case I had them in).

The only reason I fell in love with these hooks is because I like the cool turned decoration at the ends! I'm really not sure why I couldn't find these hooks when I was buying the bamboo ones because I would have bought this set instead. I searched for "wood crochet hooks" and I guess I was stuck on bamboo, and ignored the birch ones. I also found several very expensive hooks (like $25+ each). I LOVE those, but I'm not buying them for myself.

6" Lacy Cross Crochet Square

Yesterday, I made a 6" Lacy Cross square from the 200 Crochet Blocks book that I'm loving right now. Nobody on the Craftster.org crochetalong wants to make this block (yet), but I thought I'd go ahead and try it. It's a 1-hook pattern, and it's on the same page as "Traditional Granny." I had no problems at all making the pattern EXCEPT that I'm still crocheting too big, and I had to do sc around the edges to get it to 6" instead of dc like I should have. I used a 3.75mm/F hook and Robin Egg TLC Essentials yarn (isn't it a pretty blue-green?!). I guess I can try a 3mm hook, but that seems awfully small, and I wonder if I'll have a problem splitting the yarn. I guess I'll just have to try and see. I really need to figure out how to loosen up.

200 Crochet Blocks Question...

Hmmm... When I started making the 6" blocks in the 200 Crochet Blocks book by Jan Eaton, I had no idea what size hook to use to get the patterns to come out to 6" so I scoured the book, and found a hook recommendation for the projects that are shown in the very beginning pages. BUT... it says to use a "Crochet hook size F (4mm)" and I can't figure that part out. According to my little chart and the metal hooks and the plastic hooks I have, it says that 4mm is a G and an F is 3.75. I would think that that's a typo, but the same thing is listed on 11 projects.

So... my question is: do I use an F hook or a G hook to get 6"? I'm so new at this I need explicit help! I've tried both 4mm and 4.5mm hooks and one came out at 6" with all the rounds; one came out at 6" minus one round; one came out 6" minus two rounds; and one came out 6.5" minus two rounds. I'm trying an F/3.75mm hook now (on the Lacy Cross square). On one hand I hope that works, but on the other hand, it's a blunt-tipped metal hook that I don't like so I hope it's too small! Hmmm... I wonder if I have a 3.75 plastic hook that has a sharper point? I'll have to check.

Ravelry Projects

Wow! I'm loving Ravelry. It takes alot of time to enter information about projects, books, yarn, etc., but it is very thorough and that way I can't forget, exactly, how I made a particular project or what kinds of yarn I have.

For example on the Projects page, I had to enter the following:

• project name
• pattern used
• the pattern author
• the size hook used
• who it's made for
• the yarns used
• notes/coments
• when started
• when finished
• a progress scale
• a smiley face
• how difficult the project is (on a scale from "piece of cake" to "impossible")
• and finally, a picture of the project

Whew! As I said: very, very thorough, but so worth it because I wouldn't keep up with this information in any other way.

Craftster March 2008 Cygnus Square

I can't believe it, but it looks like I haven't written about the 12" Cygnus square I made the other day! I was soooooo disappointed in this one when I finished with Round 12 because it was SUPPOSED to be finished and 12". Well, mine was only 9"!! HA! HA! I used the recommended hook size, but I wonder what weight yarn I was supposed to use??? (Like I understand enough about yarn weights anyway--and besides, I want to use the yarn colors I've picked out so it doesn't matter what weight yarn was suggested). Anyway, I had to add an extra row of TC and one of SC to get it to come out to 12"


This pattern is from the March 2008 Craftster CAL, and is a Chris Simon pattern called Cygnus (which is a male swan and a constellation).


Here are the lyrics to a Rush song (my brother LOVES Rush, and he's the one who wrote all of this out for me:)

Rush, "Cygnus X-1 book II Hemispheres"

In the constellation of Cygnus there lurks a mysterious and invisible force - The Black hole of Cygnus X-1. Six stars of the the Northern cross, in mourning of their sister's loss. In a final flash of glory, nevermore to grace the night.

Invisible to telescopic eye
Infinity, the star that would not die
All that dare to cross her course
Are swallowed by a fearsome force
Through the void to be destroyed
Or is there something more?
Atomized at the core
Or through the astral door - to soar

I set a course just East of Lyra
Northwest of Pegasus
Flew into the light of Deneb
Sailed across the Milkyway
On my ship the Rocinante
Wheeling through the galaxies
Headed for the heart of Cygnus
Head long into mystery

The Xray is her siren song
My ship cannot resist her long
Nearer to my deadly goal
Until the black hole gains control

Spinning whirling still descending like a spiral sea unending
Sound and fury drown my heart - every nerve is torn apart

I have memory and awareness
But I have no shape or form
As a disembodied spirit
I am dead and yet unborn
I have passed into Olympus
As was told in tales of old
To the city of Immortals
Marble white and purest gold

I see the Gods in battle range on high
Thunderbolts across the sky
I cannot move I cannot hide
I feel a silent scream begin inside -----

Next two squares

So, I know what blocks the next two people have picked for the 200 Crochet Blocks crochet-along on Craftster.org so I thought I'd get a head start and make them. My Sunshine Lace block was exactly 6" with a 4.5mm hook so I thought I'd use that size again for the "Willow" block (which is the first picture below).

Well... That pattern has 9 rounds. On the first block, I stopped because I thought it looked too big--and it is; it's 6.5" square after round 7. So, I dropped down to a 4mm hook and tried again. Once again, I stopped after round 7; it's exactly 6". It's supposed to have two other rounds, but oh, well... I think it looks just fine without them. (It's hard to see in the picture, but the top square IS bigger than the bottom square).


Next is "Traditional Granny." I stuck with a 4mm hook for this one, too, and guess what? I had to stop a round short on this one, too, because it was at exactly 6" already.

Maybe the yarn I'm using is thicker than what she recommends...? I just don't know. I don't understand why the Sunshine Lace square would be 6" exactly, and I'm using the same yarn and a smaller hook and my other blocks are STILL TOO BIG (and it's not like I'm crocheting too loosely because I crochet so tightly I sometimes can't even pull the loops through)!!! AAAhhhhh!!! Explain that to me!??? Ha! Ha! I'll just have to keep measuring the blocks and stop with they're 6". I don't think that's a big deal at all.

Big box of crochet books arrived yesterday!

A 7lb. box of books from Amazon.com arrived yesterday! Oh, how fun!

This time I got:
Crochet Me: Designs to Fuel the Crochet Revolution by Kim Werker
Double Stitch: Designs for the Crochet Fashionista by Erika and Monika Simmons
Sensual Crochet: Luxurious Yarns, Alluring Designs by Amy Swenson
Cool Crochet: 30 Hot, Fun Designs to Crochet and Wear by Melissa Leapman

First off, the first two books are Interweave Press books, and I LOVE anything by Interweave Press. The photographs are beautiful, and so far, all of the IWP books I have are the same 10" square size (so they all "match"). Plus, they list corrections to their books on their website.

Second off, there are a number of patterns out of all 4 books that I'd love to try. But, there are several I think are just hideous or flat out stupid. For example, in Double Stitch there's a one-armed shrug. I guess that's supposed to be very hip, but I think it looks stupid. In that same book, though, are some FABULOUS designs that I can't wait to try!

Third off, I haven't tried any of the patterns yet, but this is what I like/dislike about each book:

I really like the difficulty scale in Crochet Me. Well, actually rather than difficulty, it lists the concentration level required (from "Crochet at a party" to "Defcon 5: crochet in a very quiet room with the telephone off." This book, though, has the fewest designs I'd want to try. The silliest one is a felted, crocheted basket. Why would I make that??????

Sensual Crochet has some GREAT patterns, but it doesn't list the skill level or the time it takes to make the project. I like that it gives a little blurb about the author of the pattern.

Cool Crochet has some wonderful designs. It has a pictorial table of contents that lists the skill level of each project. There's even a sweater that has cables (probably out of my league right now, but it's an awfully cool sweater). I'll never crochet a bikini, though. And I don't like that alot of the patterns are exposed-belly-length. That makes the designs seem rather dated to me as that was the rage a couple of years ago, but now covered-bellys are the "in" thing.

Finally, Double Stitch! This book was written by twins, and has some very cool, very hip designs. Like I said before, I'd NEVER waste my time on a one-armed shrug; I would NEVER in a million years make crocheted boot covers (what the heck is THAT?); and the corset top looks like the tube dresses I used to make my Barbie with my KnitMagic machine). But... there are other designs that I would LOVE to make (like the FABULOUS deep-V halter and the t-neck top which has a zipper in the back rather than laces which I hate). I also like that most of the models are women of color which there needs to be more of.

Oh, fun, fun, fun! Now let's see if there's any room left on my bookshelf to put them!

Yarn Inventory

Yesterday, I photographed and inventoried all my yarn so I could post it in my stash on Ravelry.com. That took alot of time, but kept me occupied for awhile.

#1. I only have cheap yarn that can be bought at a chain store (Michael's or Joann's). #2. I only have one or two skeins of each one (except for Lt. Celery which I have 5.5 skeins of!).

BUT... the reason for both of those points is that I'm new to crochet and I'm not willing to spend alot of money on yarn (yet) if I'm not going to stick with it or if I find it too difficult to do. I'm not a yarn snob anyway, and even if I do get better at it and want to make say a wearable item, I'll still probably buy my yarn at Michael's or Joann's.

I'm Cheating!

I already know which blocks the next two people have chosen for the Craftster crochet-along that I started. They chose #189 Willow and #18 Traditional Granny. I'm going to go ahead and make those today! Will post pictures when I'm finished!

P.S. BGR says my yellow block is really a funny color of tan--it's called "Sandstone" so that makes sense; it just looks more yellow to me than tan. Regardless, I think it looks nice with the other colors I've picked out (Robin Egg, Off White and Light Celery).

New Craftster Crochet-along

So, Saturday, I posted an idea for another Craftster.org crochetalong. This time it's for people who have the book 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton. We'll be making 24 blocks total--one every two weeks. Everyone is encouraged to participate, but the first 23 people who pm'd me would help me choose which patterns we'd be making for the rest of the year! Well... a BUNCH of people looked at the thread (like 173), but only 7 people responded. However, that's still I nice number; since we can each pick three blocks.

Anyway, I declared myself the first person to pick a pattern, and I chose #64: Sunshine Lace. It's an easy/1-hook pattern.

I initially thought I'd keep up with the blue and green theme I'm doing on the 12" blocks, but I went to Joann's today and found some nice lt. blue, lt. yellow, lt. green and off white that was on sale, and that will make a nice blanket.

My goal is to make FOUR 6" blocks every two weeks and sew them together (somehow--I'll have to figure out how to do that part later) to make a 12" block.

Here's what my two Sunshine Lace blocks look like. I made two of them in blue before I hit Joann's today. And that other one DOES look yellow, doesn't it? The color is called "sandstone" which I think of as a brown-ish color.

Anway, I made the yellow one with TLC Essentials yarn and a 4.5mm hook; it turned out exactly 6" square. The blue ones I made with 4.0mm hook and Lion Brand Pound of Love yarn. It's a little shy of 6" and I had to strecth it out some and block it to get it to size.

Iggy Prints

When we had the appraiser in the other day to re-appraise the house for our mortgage refinance, the first words out of his mouth were: "it looks like you guys just moved in!" Which is true because we don't even have living room furniture and we have NOTHING hanging on the walls.

So, anyway, today I decided to buy little Iggy art prints that I can have matted and framed for our walls. I got three watercolor prints from ElleJW on Etsy and another long skinny one (7.5" x 24") from a website called dogstuff.com. I also got an Austrian tobacco trading card with Italian Greyhounds on it on an eBay auction. Oh, yeah, and I got an "Italian Greyhounds Playing Poker" mini poster for $10 to put in BGR's office.

Last year, I found a really cute Italian Greyhound watercolor print on Etsy, that for some silly reason I didn't buy. Now that I want to buy it, I can't find it. I believe it was called "Iggy Bus."

I'll post photos when I get them and have them matted and framed.

Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs by Edie Eckman: a review

I forgot to write that the other day, Edie Eckman, author of Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs found my blog and wrote a comment that she hoped I liked her book! How cool is that?!

The book got here a couple of weeks ago, and I love it! First thing I love is the spiral binding. This is especially helpful since both hands will be busy (attempting crochet) and I can't hold the book open. Second of all, I really liked the tips and tricks in the introduction pages. There are sections on sizing and gauge, how to follow instructions, reading charts, making starting loops, beginning and ending rounds, and "tidy joins"--all stuff that a more advanced crocheter would skip through, but that a beginner like me appreciates.

Next up are the motifs. I have to admit that I haven't made a single one of them, yet, but I've repeatedly flipped through the pages and oooohhhh'd and aaaahhhh'd over each them. I can't wait to try out a few. I really like that there's written directions and then an accompanying chart. I'm still learning how to read charts, but I like that I can look at the chart if I don't understand the written directions, and can usually figure out what I'm supposed to do.

Overall, this is a great little book, and I'm glad I bought it!

Batik Crochet Hook Roll

Here's the batik crochet hook roll I made to house my new bamboo crochet hooks. Pretty cool, huh?

February 2009 Two Tone Crochet Square

Oh, yay! I finished my "Two Tone Square" this afternoon. It's by Dayna Audirsch, and I really like how it turned out. This is the February 2009 Ravelry square. This is the first time I've used the recommended hook (an "I") and been able to make the square turn out 12" like it's supposed to! Good for me! I guess I'm getting better at crocheting, huh?!

The only problem I see with this square is that the two colors are SUPPOSED to be the same weight, but they really may not be because where they join is kind of gnarly looking. Maybe when I block it, that will calm down some??? I hope so.

Fostering Puppies

Writing about the dog rescue lady reminded me of our time fostering puppies for the Humane Society.

Our house in Paris, with the enclosed sun room out back, was just perfect for fostering puppies. We had 16 little mutt puppies over the summer of 2006, and placed all of them with no problems. They were ALL so cute and sweet.

I learned a special secret to placing the puppies we had. All we had to do was have a pretty collar on ONE puppy when people were looking at them. The people ALWAYS picked the puppy with the pretty collar! Isn't that funny!?

Here are some of the puppies we had:

Taffy's home!

Yesterday, Judy and I drove to Yakima, WA and picked up their new puppy. And it IS Taffy! Abby and Sassy were also there as was their momma, Mercy. Mercy is the ugliest little mutt you ever saw, and her face looks slightly deformed because of the horrible overbite she has. She looks like the monkeys from Wizard of Oz. I would take her in a flat second if we didn't already have four dogs and three cats! The uglier the better! There are other reasons I would take her: 1. She's full grown and small. 2. She's already housebroken. 3. She's out of that puppy chewing stage. 4. She's only a year old. And 5. She's not a very pretty dog, and I know she's going to be hard to place, and that pulls at my heartstrings. Poor Mercy. Here's her picture:



Anyway, Taffy is a cute little puppy. She has wire-y AND curly hair, and she's NOT a very active puppy at all. She sat in my lap and didn't move pretty much the whole trip home. She kept her head tucked under my arm and hid. I hope she's not going to be afraid of everything. She also had gas the whole way back. I was mortified and kept telling Judy, "I swear that's not me!" HaHa!!!

Oh, yeah, and the dog rescue lady had about 20 dogs (no exaggeration) in her house. Her house was a wreck and it smelled yucky (like a bunch of dogs lived there!). She has some beautiful dogs that were hers. I fell in love with a Chihuahua/Italian Greyhound-looking dog. She was BEAUTIFUL and oh so sweet. BUT... the dog who fell in love with me was a HUGE pit bull mix that was one of the sweetest dogs I've ever seen. She called him her "gentle giant." Oh, yeah, and there was one beautiful black male dog that she said she had to keep because he was so afraid of people that she couldn't even show him. I got him to stand next to me by sweet talking to him softly, but he wouldn't let me pet him.

Our Friends' New Puppy

Friends of ours, Judy and Gerry, had to put their little Shih Tzu (Caper) to sleep a couple of weeks ago. Well... they're in pursuit of another dog now, and little did they know that I'm the QUEEN of puppy hunting! I turned Judy on to pefinder.com the other day, but she said she couldn't find any dogs that she really liked! So, I got online and found several little dogs and puppies that I thought she might like. I walked her and Gerry through how to find the ones I found for them, and they immediately fell in love with two that are in Yakima, WA named Taffy and Mandy. They are Shih Tzu/pug/terrier/bichon/poodle mix. So, they filled out the application. Unfortunately... those two already have adoptions pending.

So... back to the drawing board... And, guess what? Taffy and Mandy have a little sister named Sassy. BUT... she's black, and Gerry doesn't really want a black dog.

So... then, yesterday, they get an e-mail from the lady who's fostering them, and wait a minute, but the white one IS still available... But, I checked. And, NOOOOOOO.... the white one that's still available is Abby. Abby IS CUTE! (I'd take her in a heart beat), but she's more terrier looking then Shih Tzu looking, and Judy and Gerry are definitely cute-and-fluffy-looking-dog-lovers rather than ugly-but-cute-wire-haired-terrier-dog lovers.

So, anyway... Here are pictures of the two puppies that are available. Sassy is the black one and Abby is the little white one. They were born on December 6.

Judy and I are going to go pick up one of them tomorrow. Not sure who we'll bring home... I'll keep you posted.

Newest Crochet Books! (YES! MORE BOOKS!)

Okay... yes, I ordered more books, but this is nothing new--I do this every time I have a new obsession. Anyway, three of them got here today:

101 Stitches to Crochet (a card deck by Interweave Press, edited by Erika Knight)
The Complete Book of Crochet Stitch Designs (Linda P. Schapper)
Crochet in No Time (Melody Griffiths)

The card deck is absolutely fabulous. Of course, I love anything by Interweave Press. The set includes a card for each of 62 basic crochet stitches and 39 crochet motifs. The front of the card is a big, very clear picture of what the stitch fabric looks like and then the back of the card has the written pattern and a very clearly drawn diagram. The cards are numbered so they're easy to keep in order--which is nice because there's another card that has a list of all of the stitches and the corresponding card number. Very neat little set. I'm glad I bought it.

The Complete Book of Crochet Stitch Designs: 500 Classic & Original Patterns, Revised Edition is a hard-back book that's about 2.5" thick! Wow! This is a hefty tome of crochet stitches. The inside jacket says the book was first published twenty years ago, and unfortunately, the photos LOOK that old--they really date the book. I guess I'm comparing the book pictures to the beautiful card deck I just bought, and there is no comparison (the card deck is soooooo much better). That said, though, there are 5 times as many stitches in the book as there are in the card deck, and I think the book will be a wonderful reference.

And, last: Crochet in No Time by Melody Griffiths! I bought this book because I also have her other book: 201 Crochet Motifs which is my FAVORITE of all the crochet books I've bought so far. This second book has some BEAUTIFUL crochet pieces in it. I like that each project tells how long it takes to make it. One tank top says it takes 12 hours (which would probably mean about twice as long for me!).

Amugurumi Eyes

I ordered some 6mm and 9mm amigurumi eyes from an Etsy store called "6060". All they sell are plastic safety-backed eyeballs. So... expain that to me: why would they pick "6060" instead of "20/20" (unless that's what his/her vision actually is...???).

Anyway, Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet recommends this specific type of eye for all of the projects, and I couldn't find them locally--thus the internet search. I can't wait for them to get here because my next amigurmi project is an egg carton-full of eggs and chicks in eggshells!

Crocheted Mandala Square

Here's my Mandala square--the January square on Ravelry. It turned out alright. I wish the center medallion was more prominent--it looks kind of like a big blob in the center of the square. I also wish I'd made this square in blue instead of green (or at least blue AND green instead of just solid green). Oh, well... it's finished, and I'm not going to do another one in this pattern.

I don't like the February block on Craftster.org so I need to make the February block on Ravelry. That block is called "Two Tone" and I'll (obviously) do it in blue and green.

Oh, yeah, and I finished sewing on the pink tampon legs on my Amigurumi octopus. Hmmm... that was nowhere near as satisfying as I'd hoped! The silly thing is finished now, and I have no idea what to do with it (except send it to my grandmother and hope she'll appreciate all the hard work that went into making it!).

Crochet Day

Yesterday was a crochet day. That's all I did all day long. I started and finished the Ravelry January square (it's called "Mandala"). I also printed off the pattern for the February square from Ravelry since I don't like the February one on Craftster.org (it's a heart, and I just don't like it for some reason).

The other project I worked on was my little pink octopus. I finally got her head/body finished last night. It looks so cute--just like an octopus head should look! I started on her arms/legs this morning. I have two finished and they look like little pink tampons. I wonder how I'm supposed to sew the legs onto the body? I think don't think the directions are very helpful. They just say "sew the legs onto the body" or something similiarly vague like that. Oh well... I'm sure I'll figure it out.

artsymomma's block

Well! I finished artsymomma's quilt block! I used templates and did a crazy nine-patch. I had a little bit of waste from the angled cuts, but I used almost every last shred of fabric she sent me. The block is 11.5" square.

I don't feel it's a GREAT block, but it's definitely better than I expected considering how little fabric I had to work with.


I was also a little disappointed because I couldn't get one of the seams to align. I picked it out three or four times before I gave up on it. I don't know what the problem is with it (it's the top left seam below).


I kind of like the inner border. I wanted to do a solid green inner border, but I didn't have enough fabric (even a skinny stip like that) to make a solid green border. So, I miter-joined the green with a strip of tan. It's different, but I like it.