practice makes... something, right?

The other day, after getting my hair cut, I went to Porter Square books and got a couple of crochet motif books to use in addition to my tiny collection of Japanese crochet books in finding the perfect motif for a potholder. I am nearly overwhelmed by the possibilities now! The Beyond the Square book in and of itself is amazing, and I highly recommend it. The Interweave book rounds it out nicely, though, presenting a plethora of motifs not included in Beyond the Square. I decided to start with motif #49 from Beyond the Square:


The end result is this:

Yep, I've got a fluffy coaster! Or a pretty little star-shaped wall ornament. Either way, I've got a lot of learning and practicing to do, and thankfully my yarn is here (at last) so I can get right into it:

I am starting out with some Cascade 220 in Coral, Pear, Anis (hehheh), Ruby, Charcoal, and Black, but depending on how that works out I may end up using cotton. I am still kinda up in the air about that. The deadline for the swap is May 31, so I've got a little bit of time to work with here (as long as I use it right). Right now, however, I feel the urgent need to finish this sock. There's a whole story with this one, but I will get to that in my next post:

idling... happily

pattern: a super simple basic sock in stockinette with a k2p2 cuff knit over 64 stitches with a standard flap heel and round toe
designer: anyone who has ever knit a sock
yarn: Madeline Tosh Sock in Beach Towel
needles: Addi Turbos US size#1

While I (im)patiently wait for the yarn I ordered for the crocheted potholder swap to get here, I feel the need to finish off a few projects that have been languishing on the needles for a bit now so that once it gets here, it will be a crochet-partay 24/7. (Whew! That said....) These totally basic socks were a joy to knit in this super-sweet colorway. It was just the jolt of color that I've needed for a while now! I think I have fallen deeply in love with Madeline Tosh yarns. The base is so squishy and fabulous, and the colors are so very pretty - my favorite qualities in a yarn.

I think these might be my favorite pair of socks right now. I could have made them a little bit longer in the cuff, though. I wasn't quite sure how much I could get out of the yardage, but I had quite a bit of yarn leftover. 395 yards is more than enough for 9 inch cuffs. I'm used to working with Koigu, which means less yarn and shorter cuffs, but this is good to know for the future. Especially since I may have acquired a few more skeins of MadTosh Sock. Yeah, told ya I was smitten. I went into a frenzy at The Purl Diva and The Backwards Loop. It's as dense as the Koigu, comes in a gorgeous array of colors, and is less expensive. I'm in lurve - big time.

By the way, I think I have coined a more fanciful term for a Round Toe. From now on, I am calling it the "Kitchener-Free Kitteh Sphincter." Catchy, no?

say hello to my little friend!

pattern: turtle 19.20
designer: from a Japanese amigurumi book, ISBN4-8347-2487-5
yarn: scraps of pigeonroof handspun in "Millefiore", knitterly things handspun in an unnamed colorway, and Sock Hop in "Sunshine of Your Love"
hook: size G
modifications: none, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I can now read crochet charts

If I had known that it was this easy to crochet, I would have totally tried this amigurumi thing a lot sooner. Seriously, I could not believe how easy this was to make. It's funny that I couldn't wrap my head around crocheting softies, yet sewing little itty-bitty felt parts and button-jointing them all together was such a breeze to me. Hmmm, this might just change everything - because I am so inspired by this medium and see the potential for immense cuteness.

hot pads! and potholders - the swap

Photo by Adrian of hello yarn, 2009, used with permission.

Like several other folks, I have been bitten by the crochet bug - and BAD! I have become a little obsessed, in fact, and my mini-muffler continues to grow, as well as my collection of crochet books and patterns on ravelry. When Maryse linked to this amazing collection of potholders, what we all had to do became crystal clear, and so Adrian and I present to you the hot pads! and potholders swap. If you'd like to join us in the swap, email us at potholderswap2009@gmail.com. The deadline to enter the swap is this Saturday, March 21, 2009. All the rules and info, as well as links to free potholder and hot pad patterns, can be found over at the swap blog. Hope you can join us!

Oh, and please grab an adorable button designed by Adrian!

catching up

I hate staying away from the blog like I hate not talking to good friends for too long. When you come back to each other after losing touch somewhere along the way and they ask, "So what's up? What have you been up to?" no matter how busy you have been or where you've been and what you've done and seen and heard, the answer is almost always, "Eh, nothing much, man...." because how do you condense weeks of activity and thoughts and whatnot into 140 characters or less? You can say, "I've been busy," which hello! Aren't we all? You can try to summarize without sounding too dry - "I'm learning to use Illustrator. I had to take one of the cats in to the vet a few times. Yeah, they're doing alright. I'm working on that sooper-sekrit project still and it's going better than I thought it would. I'm planning a trip to Chicago in June and a trip to New Orleans next month. Blah blah blah." It sounds as if you're reading from a bulleted list. All that stuff in between has been boiled down to a flat answer, and your friend walks away thinking that you are the most boring person in the world. And maybe I am totally boring. It doesn't feel that way when I am working on something or laughing with friends over coffee or beers or hanging out with Matt and his friends. Putting it down on paper is another story, though, especially when we lack the dramatic characters and insane "I can't believe this is happening" situations that we constantly found ourselves in when living in as colorful as place as LIC. No oddball neighbors making bizarre requests from us, no hilarious yet creepy subway stories, no upsetting but zany stories from work. My life in Cambridge is pretty sanitized compared to the life I once knew. I like that and loathe it simultaneously.

But good stuff does happen. I think I may have forgotten how to properly transcribe it, however. Like going to NETA's SPA weekend a couple of weeks ago. I could tell you the million and one stories shared and jokes told, but I don't even know where to begin. Instead, I will just summarize it and say that it was an AWESOME time and that I got to spend time with some fantastic ladies who made me weep with laughter. And that I wish The Purl Diva was my local yarn shop because a) she has a fabulous selection of yarn and b) I love her dog Loki. And that lately, my respect for Jess as a person and a businesswoman knows no bounds. Every day, I admire her even more. At this point my respect and admiration for her is off the charts. She is beyond awesome.

What's been going on knit-wise? Well, there's been some of this:

And a little of that:

More knitting and crochet soon, folks. Very soon. Because I have something up my sleeve, and believe me, it's gonna be good.