Strawberry Summer Blanket

Well, the swatching is over. I've found a pattern I really love, and I'm sticking to it (even if I have to buy more yarn...) My handy dandy Harmony guide had a Strawberry stitch pattern that just looks so pretty in the SWTC Twize "Twink" color. It's an open, lacy and feminine pattern in a silky, cool and slippery yarn that should be just right for showing off a beautiful new baby girl. The washing instructions for this yarn are hand-wash, dry flat, which would make any experienced mother cringe. But my nephew and his lovely wife are giddy with the prospects of the new girl in their lives, and are planning only the best for her. So they get a wonderful bamboo heirloom and I get to play with some yummy yarn.

The baby shower is early in May, so I decided I should really give this one a kick into overdrive. The pattern is a pleasure. It moves fast, is easy to remember and changes enough that it never really gets too boring. It is busy enough that the edging will be kept simple. I plan to just go round and round with a single crochet, maybe with a little picot edging on the last round. Then washing, blocking, photos, wrapping... As much as I procratinate, I'll be lucky to finish in time.

Crazy Rabbid on the loose!

BAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

No sooner than I had released this crazy Rabbid from the crochet hooks did it begin juming and flailing and grabbing the paintbrush to splatter paint on any egg it could find! We did our best to contain him, but he chewed his way right out of the pet kennel. It was only with some serious "negotiating" with a plunger that he finally agreed to calm down and have some Peeps with the rest of the family.

Now that he understands the house rules, he has proven himself quite helpful. With his diminutive stature, our under-bed areas have been monster free since Easter Eve. I think he takes a bit of insane pleasure from flushing them out. His only request has been that we find him a plunger of his very own.

Going Rabbid for Easter

This is what the Little Damsel asked for, so this is what she'll get! Recognize him? He's a Rabbid from the game "Rayman Raving Rabbids." We all play the game. We all giggle like idiots. So when the challenge was given, well how could I resist? An insane Amigurumi bunny for Easter? Sure!

So, real work has been in a holding pattern for a bit, while I go round and round on his pudgy bunny belly. I think he'll be done in time, but I'll really need to get going if I want to make his plunger, too. I mean really, what Rabbid would be caught dead without his plunger?

Etsy Shop :: the first photo shoot

brown_pearl_1
Originally uploaded by g_stat

My little etsy shop is empty, but anxiously awaiting entries. I've been taking my time, building a collection of products, researching setting up my small business, and most importantly, building a good set of photos for my items. I'll be posting the results on my Flickr photo page under the etsy set. Consider it a tase of things to come. I hope to open the doors to mydamsel.etsy.com by April 1, 2008. Stay tuned and please feel free to critique.

Swatching for a summer baby blanket.

A new baby is on the way, and so the hooks go flashing, trying out pretty patterns to make a summer blanket for a pretty new little girl. I have until June to finish the task, but my fingers were itching to try out the beautiful bamboo yarn that was chosen. The yarn is Twize by The Southwest Trading Company, in the colorway Twink and is made of 100% bamboo. I know it isn't the most practical for washability, but the parents are pulling out all the stops for organic bedding, bamboo sheets, bleach free diapers... So, I get to play with some yummy yarn. Yay!

Unfortunately, I had forgotten how heavy bamboo yarn can be, so I've been swatching, swatching, swatching to find the right balance of lacyness and substance to make an heirloom that doesn't break the bank.


This was my first swatch. I love it. I started it. I put it on the scale, and it would take about 8 skeins to do it properly. NO way! I've got 5 skeins, and I'm sticking to it. But I do love the pattern, and I'm sure I'll find a place for it some day...



This is the second chioce so far, and on the scale it fits the bill. Plus, I like getting the chance to try out a strawberry pattern. But I need to take it to the drawing board and make the starting side and the finishing side balance. The pattern ends with half a strawberry, which just kills me. Plus, I'll need to figure out how to finish off the top to square it off, or I'll need to start in the middle, and work to opposite ends.
Alas, it's back to the hooks for me, so I don't stumble blindly into this project like I have so many before.

Clementine goes home.

We've had a wonderful time getting to know Clementine, but now it's time for her to go to her new home. But first, we had to get in a photo shoot on Little Damsel's playground.

Clementine is a project I started at the beginning of the year for two main purposes. I had been itching to try out one of Beth Doherty's Amigurumi! patterns. And, bonus! it was almost Little Damsel's best friend's birthday.

When the two girls get together, they love to play Cat and Mommy. Little D's name is always Clementine, so it seemed most fitting that the gift kitty should be given the same name. We know she will continue to be good at chasing off scary ghosts, but hopefully she won't have to go to any extreme measures. Enjoy your new Little River home, good friend.

Influenza A holiday

Thanks to the wonders of the virus world, my family and I just took a week-long Influenza A vacation, and are just beginning to feel productive again. The Little Damsel got a wonderful prescription of Tamiflu, and was bouncing off the walls long before the Dragon and I felt like peeling her off of them.

Now I'm just excited to feel like being productive again, and can't wait to get back to work. Projects are waiting...

Thick Warm Crocheted Winter Hat

Thick Warm Crocheted Winter Hat
Originally uploaded by g_stat

This is my version of the Crochetgarden.com Thick Warm Crocheted Winter Hat. I wasn't sure if I liked it at first, because it seemed so bulky. But the ever-wise Little Damsel says it makes me look tough... in the good way. And, it really has grown on me in the past month. I'll be sad to see it on the shelf, as our North Carolina winter slips into a 70+ degree February Spring. It took one ball and some change of Caron Simply Soft's Shadows. I have more, so I can see making up a matching scarf as a future project.

I hope to take the skills gained in this project and apply them to the Stone Path pattern from Interweave Crochet's Winter Issue.

This pattern is available for free at crochet garden. Thank you for sharing such a lovely pattern...

Skinnys for the Teachers

Skinnys for the Teachers
Originally uploaded by g_stat

The little damsel saw these Bernat Bamboo "Get the Skinny" scarves that I was making for my sisters, and decided they would be better for her teachers. I had to agree. (She's always right.) Plus, this gave me the excuse to go out and buy some yummy Misti Cotton/Silk yarn to do three more.
Christmas was so crazy that this was all I was able to photograph for all my efforts. My friend at Little River Fiber Arts said she lost her mojo this Christmas. Well, I hope mine is slowly coming back...

Just getting set up

Odie just told me it's getting waaaaay too late for me do be doing this, but what can I say...I'm obsessed. I really want to get it set up tonight. Forget that the little damsel has school tomorrow, and I have to be coherent for the monthly baby hat meeting. Just a few more minutes...