christmas in august

today was the craziest day, which is why the round-up photo on my latest project is a pretty lame one. i was running around like mad trying to make it to the bridal shower at which these were to be presented. so.. um... pardon my leopard print.

"I Do" Snowflakes
designed by various
living together at Crochet Pattern Central

crocheted in DMC Cebelia (1 ball bleach white #10 crochet thread, 100% cotton) on a 2.75mm steel crochet hook.

started: January 2007
-hiatus-
finished: august 17, 2007

these babies were a labor of love. i love my friend so i am willing to kill my hands on tough crochet thread, pointy hooks, and yanking snowflakes into pinned-down blocking submission. hopefully these will give her years of enjoyment at the holidays with her sweetheart--even more love!

i have a feeling they will be loved in their new home. J's favourite holiday is christmas. she is even getting married in december with a holiday theme to her wedding, so i think these are appropriate. to augment my shower gift i bought her a "useful" item as well: a white enamel wrought iron cookbook holder and the Taste of Home Backyard Grilling cook book. after all, her future husband needs to handle his share of the cooking!

now, to address a recent comment by Miss Mar. ahem.

you are truly taking this knitting thing seriously - and here i was thinking that you were a crocheter!

i'm bi-craft-ual.
i love and respect crochet and knitting equally. i value them separately for what they each are and don't try to make one be the other. i know that is strange because many knitters "can crochet some" and many crocheters don't bother with knitting, but i really and truly like to do both. if i do one for too long without the other, i get twitchy.

now, if you judge by the sidebar, i am slightly ahead on knit projects versus crochet projects for 2007. but some of my crochet projects have been doozeys! a crocheted a hip-length, long sleeve cardigan, thread snowflakes and an afghan. all of them took much more time and effort than say... knit hand warmers.

take some comfort knowing my "to do list" (yes, i have one) has about twice as many crochet projects on it compared to knit ones. then again i did order sock yarn last week, so when that arrives, my numbers may skew slightly. hehehe.

pretty threads

just a quickie here.

these are some of the newest snowflakes i have finished. they have not made an appearance since january or february because i have been a slacker. yeah... right. at least a slacker on this project because there are other fun things to do!

as my friend penguingirl said of me when we were in grad school... "huh. i guess you are procrastinating, but at least you are doing it productively."

i have 9 of these beauties, and i am trying to get to 12-20 by saturday. wish me luck!

can you believe it?

i have neither knit nor crocheted in 4 whole days. this is what happens when work takes over. those who also work in my field get it--if you spend all day generating creative objects, going home to another project (even of your own choice) can be difficult.

as you can see, i have spent most of my mojo on things like marijuana print bras and the angels featured in a post last week.

2 days until costume fittings.
5 days until dress parade.

i purposely took that photo in front of my sewing machine so i could show her off. the bra didn't need the machine at all, but i like my little Genie. she's a Singer from the 1970s.

sadly, Genie has a belt that is going, i think. i have to demand the bobbins wind when i use that feature and i can feel the belt not catching inside when it won't turn. sigh. oh, well. i know i got the machine in the mid-1990s, and it hasn't been serviced since Mum and I took it home from my grandmother then. and i can honestly say i don't know when my grandmother had it serviced before that.

so she is probably due, but i don't really have the $100 to get it done. will find a way.

i'll probably crochet while working at the store today. i may also bring pics of the great reorganization i did in our cottons and our kids yarn sections.

Cotton Chronicles II: Let It Snow

sunday night it started to snow. this is the view out one of my windows. i knew snow would happen eventually, but i was happy for it to hold off this long; i could have gone longer. i come from a land of bitter freezing winters and sweltering 100% humidity summers, so the relatively mild climate of our nation's capital is appealing.

fittingly, i was crocheting a snowflake when it all began. these flakes are part of a gift for a close friend who will currently remain nameless. (they are a surprise.) i have a while to get them done, but i want to make a lot of them, so i am getting started. i plan to put them on either colored threads or hangers so they can be used as holiday ornaments.

this set is being made in DMC Cebelia #10 crochet cotton with a 2.75mm hook. aren't they pretty? they look sort of wonky while they are being made, but they come out fantastic once they are blocked. i think that's my favourite part, the blocking. they start as small crumpled bits of thread and with a little starch and pulling, they become pretty snowflakes.

i found all of these patterns for free online. the cutie in the upper left of the picture was designed by Chloe Nightingale and can be found over at crochet me. the two larger flakes were designed by Aly Hymel. they can be found on dainty crochet. the other little guy is an orphan--i lost his mama.


this is my first jaunt into thread crochet, and so far so good. have no fear: i don't see doilies in my future. i can't rule out a tasteful vintage pattern table runner or lace edgings on a camisole, however. if i were more ambitious i would aim for the same goal my mother has set for herself: a table cloth. i'm a little too instant gratification oriented, however.