I love me some Ellen Gormley!

Red Heart is one of my favorite websites. I love to go there and browse the patterns. They add new ones all the time, and even though I will never make all the things I have saved, I keep saving more! LOL

Today, among other things, I found this cool Ellen Gormley design, called the Slouchy Beret. Cute, isn't it. Looks soft and very touchable. I love me some Ellen Gormley. Her designs are just great, so textural, and I don't know, we just must have the same taste, because I love just about everything she designs. Among other running WIP's I have going is her Sunny Spread, which I'm making in a beautiful gold yarn. Another of her designs I want to make is the Brocade Throw. Man, that thing is gorgeous! Frankly, I like to just do a search of her designs, because she adds things on that site a lot. She also has a wonderful book out that I want, called Go Crochet Afghan Design Workbook that I want so badly! I should just order it online, but I've been hunting for it in the bookstores and craftstores, and I soon as I order it, there it will be on a shelf, and I'll have to wait.... you know how that goes. I'll probably order it anyway...... Eventually. Ha!

One thing I am discovering lately, as well, is that Red Heart has some wonderful yarns. I do like their SS for a lot of projects, though it's not one I like for snuggling up into a soft afghan. I do like it for its durability, washability, color choices, and ability to hold a shape. I like anything molded with SS, and if I'm making a blanket I'm going to take outside, yep, it's Red Heart SS. But go to Michael's or JoAnn's, and they have Red Heart Soft, and Red Heart Shimmer, Red Heart Super Tweed (I've got a couple of skeins of red that I know will make a gorgeous pillow), and all different kinds of Red Heart yarns that I just love to run my hands over. So much more than I ever thought of when I thought of Red Heart in the past. I have several skeins of different Red Heart yarn that I am just looking for the perfect project for, notably some Red Heart Soft in 'Embers' that is just gorgeous, and feels soooooooo goooooood in my hands. I want to find just the right pattern for it, because I want to make an afghan that I will reach for every day with it.


Okay, my little love fest is over, hope y'all don't mind. I'd better run, today my plan is to go to the Southern Living idea house here locally. Y'all wanna see pictures of that?



Have a wonderful day.

Missing the hat! Dang it!

See this hat? Man, that is a cool hat, isn't it? I so want to make that hat. By the way, I live in Texas, and I used to live in Nashville, and I plan to return to Nashville. So the hat fits, y'all....... I wanna make that hat!

Look! See? It's on the back of this magazine. The Crochet Collection. From the UK. And yes, I bought the magazine. And all those other patterns on the back of that magazine? They're in the magazine. But the hat's not. Now, y'all............ come on! Seriously. I wanna make that hat.

I did think, well, maybe the picture is about the collar trim on the top. That would be a total bummer, you know, to tease me that way.......... but you know what? The collar trim? Not in the book either. I have looked through this book. A lot.

I wrote the editor of this book. Sent her (him?) an e-mail. I've gotten no response. ...sigh....

Look, y'all, it's not a big thing. I wanna make that hat. I seriously do. I will pay for that pattern, of course I will.......... but I cannot find it. I have searched, I have googled. Found some crocheted cowboy hats. But not that one, and not not even another one that would do. The others were (sorry if y'all have made them, or designed them....) well, I was gonna say ugly, but they weren't really ugly. Just they weren't really cool. They weren't hats I wanted to make is all.

Can anybody help me? Do y'all know where I can get the pattern for that hat? Or another cool cowboy hat? If you do, could you leave the the link, or something?

Y'all have an awesome day.

Thirty minutes a day......

So I totally got written up at work, and they gave it to me this morning. (When I was staying late to help someone out... how's that for a 'thank you'! LMHO You gotta appreciate the irony there.) I don't care, they always rush to assure me they love me and my job is not in danger, and Julie, we had to write everybody up for this one, they said this morning.

See, we nurses on the night shift were all under the impression that we could not leave the building, so we were not clocking out for a lunch break. If you can't leave the building, if you have be accessible at all times, I say you gotta pay me for it. Ha. Anyway, we were mistaken. Sure, you can leave the building, they say. Go at a quiet time, and have the nurse from the other floor cover any emergencies that might occur. Yeah, you know, that actually makes sense. Whatever.

Anyway, the way I see it, I have thirty minutes a day in the middle of my shift to devote to my craft. Ha, like how I say that? My craft. All hoity toity and everything. LMHO But seriously, I am going to take that thirty minutes every day and work on my crochet. (Because, you know, who really needs to eat?) I'm gonna pack me a little bag with one of my smaller projects (I don't think I need to haul an afghan in there....) and work on it for thirty minutes. Let's see if this helps my productivity. Because, like I say, you can actually do a lot more crochet than you think in a half hour.

Y'all have a wonderful day!

Just biding my time.....

I hate that time of the month right before the new issues of the magazines come out, when I'm just waiting to see what's new. Ha! Don't get me wrong, I have waaaaayyyyy too many things I am currently working on, but you know, I love me some magazines, and can't wait to get them. This is the cover of the new Crochet Today, didja guess? Ha ha. There's a cute little issue out, a special issue, that has a gingerbread house on the cover, too. I saw it, and didn't buy it. I'll probably regret that, because I'm now on a scavenger hunt for the fall issue of Crochet! I'm thinking I'd better subscribe, maybe it's not too late for them to send it to me if I subscribe right on payday, using my debit card.............. yeesh. When will I learn not to put things back on the shelf? They're not always there when you go back for them!

Y'all have a great day.

Look what came in the mail today!

Did y'all follow the blog tour for Heady Affairs? They gave away several copies of this, and bless God, I was the excited winner of the one Ellen Gormley gave away. That was exciting right there, because I love me some Ellen Gormley!

Look at all those cute hats! Want a closer look?

Well, looka there, Shannon Mullett-Bowlsby is a guy! Who knew? Not I, said the fly. Rob, did you know this?

This is called Cables. Very nice.

I'm sure David will be needing one of these, it just looks too fun, doesn't it? It's called Origami.

I'm sure each of my boys will need one of these, in different colors, of course, to differentiate. Just for warmth. It's a classic hat, called Boyfriend.

On a personal note, the only problem I have with this book is this boy. He's just too flippin' pretty. Young man, if you're one of my readers, sorry. LOL (Like he's one of my readers.......... not!) Maybe if he grew some stubble or something, I don't know.....

At first look, this hat seemed silly, but the more I look at it, the more I like it, and yes, I think David needs one........ imagine the fun he could have with that! Ha ha! Chinese Acrobat is what they're calling it.

Again, very cute. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, David needs one. Y'all laugh, but David loves hats, and David loves what I crochet for him. And yes, he does love crocheted hats. This one is called Side-by-Side.

Is this one classy or what! It's called Aviator/Steampunk. I think I like Steampunk better, but Aviator sounds nicer, I guess.......... David........... well, you get the idea. LOL

Slouchy

Right, now I think I'm ready to get started on one or all of these. Right after I finish David's pumpkin bucket. LOL

Interweave Crochet Fall 2011

Oh, the sneak peaks of the Fall Interweave Crochet have got me drooling. That cover is the shawl I want to make out of the black sparkly yarn I have. I want to make my black sparkly shawl for New Year's Eve, so it has to be able to provide some warmth, so the right shawl has been hard to find for me, but I think this is it. And the design is so pretty. Now the interesting thing is, it's more than a shawl. The picture is below. But if I want to make it as a shawl, you know I can do that, just use the flat part of the pattern and stretch it out. Of course, with warmth being the idea, I don't know, I may want it made as the pattern has it. We shall see, I guess. It hits newsstand September 20.

If you want to see a proper preview of the issue, it's here. Of course there are lots of other gorgeous patterns in it. I like the little Turtle Tracks Blanket, and the Trailblazine Tote as well.

Ho hum.....

If I said what I am thinking today, y'all would have three letters for me..... T. M. I. Ha!

The hat, the hat.............

Well, I guess we all know by now that I am in love with this Drew Emborsky hat. I made another one, but this was an experiment to see how it came out using Red Heart Super Saver yarn. I don't like it. The Red Heart SS doesn't have the softness and give of the ILTY, which we knew, but I guess I didn't realize just how different it truly is. To me, this hat is not nearly as enjoyable, in fact, like I said, I don't care for it at all. Don't get me wrong, the SS is a good yarn for many projects, just not this hat. LOL I'll stick with the softer yarns.

It's terrible.

This is terrible, what is going on. This drought has left us so dry and parched, that now we are fighting fires. Lots and lots of fires. Everywhere we turn, there are fires all around us. It is heartbreaking. So many homes lost, people evacuated.............. at least there are not many lives lost. I heard of two, a mother and little guy, 18 mos old........... so sad.

Y'all keep Texas in your prayers.

This is just so wrong to me.

So I'm out shopping the other day, and this is what I see. At Michael's. Now y'all, this upsets me. Firstly, because selling crochet, at these prices totally demeans my work as a craftswoman, and an artist. (I hear you laughing, and cut it out............. LOL) Beyond that, I have this mental picture of some lady, or some girl, in some underdeveloped country, being exploited, doing all this crochet for a pittance, and starving while she's doing it.

I know, if you scroll down, you look at some of the smaller pieces, that's not really crochet. I honestly don't know how I feel about that, because it says 'crocheted applique' on the packaging. So that's false advertising, but ............. you know, what do you do........ but some of them, they are really crochet. For $6.99. $7.99. $1.99! Seriously, how can someone not be being exploited. To sell even an hour or so's work for that little bit of money, and if it's at a big box like Michael's, with that kind of packaging, that kind of bulk, for that kind of price..............

Now, maybe I'm just displaying my ignorance here, and if I am, feel free to correct me, I can take it. But it seems wrong to me. I hate to see real crochet sold cheap. It just reeks to me, creates those ugly pictures.

Call me crazy. I just don't get how this can be right....................

Just piddling.........

I crocheted pretty much all day yesterday, and did not work on a single WIP, how terrible is that. Ha ha.

I was looking through Robin Chachula's Baby Blueprint Crochet, and noticed the stitch pattern above. It's a very simple stitch, just a single crochet, chain two, single crochet pattern, but it works up so cute! And it's very stretchy, even in cotton yarn, that really has not a lot of give normally. I made this panel of it, fell in love, and made another to match. Think eventually I'll work those up into a little clutch. Then I made a little dishcloth out of it. I made half of it, then finished off, turned it around, and made the other half. I like it, and there's no need for a border, because it creates a nice edge. I'm trying to decide if the center stands out too much..........

After I made that, I made a red washcloth, using that Sedge stitch. I like that a lot, just the single and double crochet in the same stitch repeat. It makes such a nice texture. I finished that off with a row of white, then a row of gold in that nice stitch that I just discovered, the single crochet, chain two, single crochet repeat. I like how it turned out, too. I'm thinking this would be a pretty placemat for Christmas. I'm thinking about Christmas projects a lot these days, time to get them going so they're done in time, you know.

Y'all have a great day.

You blink.......

............ and your babies are all grown up. Look at that little guy. Why I was bending down to put my arm around him. What a little sweetie. He's not all grown up now, no, he has a ways to go yet, but tonight, that fifteen-year-old teenager picked me up and carried me across the room, just because he could, I guess. Yeesh, where did the time go? It hasn't been long since my little man was coming up and measuring to see if he was as tall as me yet. And of course, before that, he was this little guy, so tiny. He's always been such a sweet, considerate little boy, and he is still a sweet young man. The other night, I put some chicken on to cook, and he got so excited, he ran to the convenience store and bought drinks, his treat! Poor thing, I guess I should cook more..... I guess I'd better stop and enjoy more, because the past fifteen years has gone so quickly, it won't be a breath and he'll be bringing some pretty little girl home, telling me they're getting married. Oh, my goodness, time flies as you're getting old.................

Little Phone Purse

I made this little purse for my phone out of Vanna's Glamour in Garnet. It's cute, simply by virtue of the yarn, and will serve the purpose. Now I wanna figure out what stitch I want to use to make it even more beautiful, because I think this yarn is so gorgeous, and will make a beautiful purse.

From across the pond.....

Look what arrived last week! All the goodies I ordered from Alison. I just love them. My favorite is, by far, this wonderful nativity. Isn't it great? I just love it. All the work that went into it, that's just awesome.

Of course, this is beautiful, too. William and Kate. I have in mind to maybe display this in a little cloche.

What a sweet friend Alison is. She threw in two cute little ornaments for my tree. Are they sweet or what? Alison knows how much I love my Christmas tree, and this is just so sweet of her.

Y'all have a wonderful day.

The Christmas Afghan

Well, I have started work on this year's Christmas afghan. (Work......... hmmmmm, funny I call it work, when it's fun.... but I digress.) This is being made in ILTY in Cranberry, Dark Olive, and Linen. I love the color combination, kinda country and rustic. And warm. These colors really make me think Christmas this year. I also think this round ripple is a great Christmas afghan, you know, star-like. Kinda apt. Every year, when it comes Christmas time, or time to start with the Christmas afghan, I know what I want to make. Usually have the idea way ahead of time, in fact.

It's funny, isn't it, how our tastes differ from year to year. I wish I had my Christmas afghans from previous years. One year I made one out of Red Heart, in Cranberry, a gold, and a color called eggnog. Ater that year, I think Red Heart quit making that color called eggnog, and that is a shame, because I loved that color. It was a warm cream, not a cool cream.

Next I need to figure what I'm gonna make for Christmas presents. You know, in case I actually send them out this year............. yeesh.