I Made Something for Me!

Yep, that’s right. I totally made myself a hat. It’s for me and only me! I’m a little unhappy with it because the yarn called for a J hook, so I used a J hook, and the stitches ended up super loose. You can see through it a bit and that makes me sad, but not sad enough to make it all over again.

I like the way the top of the hat looks.

I used Red Heart Boutique Midnight, and the colorway is called Shadow. It’s got some shimmery bits and it changes from dark gray, to light gray, to pink. I don’t usually go for something so… feminine. The shimmer and the pink are both new to me, and I might not wear it very often, but I still like it because it’s mine. This is one of the very few things I’ve made for myself, so it makes me extra happy.

Here I am, being so happy that I can’t contain my tongue.

Man, what a frightening picture.

So. Anyway… I’ve been sick for the past few days. It’s a horrible cold and pretty much everyone in the world seems to have it too. I could be using all this boring sick time to crochet, but I feel so awful that I don’t want to do anything. I’ve spent hours staring at the ceiling. Or the wall. It was nice to get back into it today, even if it was only for a couple hours.

Today was also the first day I left the house in a while (because of the sick). I went to Michaels and signed up for a cake decorating class! Yay! It’s the basic course, and it only cost $11.25 for all four classes. I got the basic kit for Christmas and I tried to sign up for the class in January, but it was full. So I promised myself I’d sign up for the February class ASAP, and of course I got too sick to leave the house and couldn’t sign up until today (only a week before the class begins). I was worried it’d be full and I’d have to wait another month, but there was only one other person on the sign-up sheet. I wonder if the class will be canceled if there aren’t enough students. I still have to buy some supplies for the first lesson, which shouldn’t be too bad, but I found a list of what I’ll have to bring to the second, third, and fourth lessons, and I’m feeling a little worried. I have no idea how much all that stuff costs, but… I don’t know, it’s such a long, scary list.

Best Picture Ever (and some other stuff)

I was browsing the Ravelry forums and found a post about frogging knit or crocheted items bought from a thrift store and using the yarn for a new project. Yesterday, I decided to go to Goodwill to see if I could find anything to pull apart. There were a lot of obviously handmade items I could have easily pulled apart, but just the thought of destroying any of them made me feel awful. I just kept thinking about all the hard work that goes into so many of my crocheted objects and imagining someone ripping them apart. I think I have too much respect for my fellow hookers (and the knitters as well!) to undo their hard work. So, instead of buying something to pull apart, I ended up buying something to keep and use.

I didn’t have the heart to move Andy to take a pic of the whole thing. He LOVES it.

I paid $3.99 for this throw, which is definitely way less than I’d pay for yarn if I was going to make one myself. It’s very cozy and I can tell it’s old. It’s not quite big enough to cover my whole body (which  is a bummer because I’m pretty short and most throws cover me completely), so I’m thinking about adding to it. That way, it’s like a collaboration, and I can make it my own without taking it apart. There’s a shell stitch border, and I haven’t decided if I want to keep going with shell stitches, keep going with another stitch, or take out just the shell stitches and continue the granny square. Whichever I choose, I won’t be doing it for a while because I have so many other things to do first, but this throw will be back, and next time it’ll be bigger!

While we were out, Nate and I stopped at the mall so I could get some boots. Sears was having a crazy shoe sale, so we stopped in to check it out. They also had a bunch of other crap on sale, including hats and gloves. He found a ribbed knit beanie that he really liked and he kept going back to it and trying it on or looking at it longingly, but even after the 50% off, it was $13, which is ridiculous. I promised I’d make him a hat, and he got all excited about it and asked me to make one with cables. So when we got home, I found a nice pattern that was manly enough for him and got to work.

Unfortunately, my cables looked like complete crap. I’d never tried them before and I need some practice, that’s for sure. Instead, I found a great tutorial on youtube for a ribbed hat that looks a lot like the hat Nate was drooling over at Sears, except the ribs are thicker. I really like the way the hat is made. Rather than work in the round, you just make a rectangle and sew it together. It’s awesome.

I used the same super soft mill end yarn I used for his slippers.

He really likes it and says it’s very warm and fits perfectly. I tried it on and it was way too big for me but definitely warm and comfy. Because the ribbing makes it so stretchy, I made it a bit smaller around than his head (actually, it’s even smaller around than the woman who made the video said to make it), so it’s nice and snug. I didn’t sew the cuff into place, so he can make it bigger or smaller depending on how much of his ears he wants to cover. I don’t know if it looks like it in the picture, but I think it looks store-bought, especially when he’s wearing it, which is really exciting for me. I wanted to take a million pictures of him wearing it, but he’s sick with a pretty bad cold, so I had to take just one and leave him alone. Heh.

So now I want to make myself a hat. I’m going to make it the same way – with the rectangle sewn together – but I think I’ll do a different stitch in place of the ribbing. If It works out the way I want it to, it’s going to be something I make on my own with no pattern. I love when that happens.

Speaking of on my own with no pattern…

My cats go back and forth between not caring about the yarn I’m working with and being completely obsessed with it, so every once in a while, I cut off a piece to keep them busy while I work. The other day, I decided to make them a toy, but after looking through a few patterns on Ravelry, I decided to just make my own stupid cat toy. I’m not proud of it by any means, but I just remembered it because I was talking about crocheting without a pattern.

Just a little stuffed ball with strings hanging off of it. 

So yeah, just a piece of crap. I think my real reason for talking about it at all is so I can post this picture:

Yeah, it was definitely so I could post that picture. Best. Ever.

Scarves, Slippers, and… Puffs?

Well, despite taking a fall that left me bedridden for a couple days (the bruises I have are unbelievable!), I’ve had a busy week! Plus, it snowed yesterday, so I was happy to spend the day doing nothing but crocheting.

It looks funny, but I love how you can see the flakes – my old camera never captured flakes!

I started and finished Valentine’s Day-themed scarf.

I used Caron Simply Soft yarn in Raspberry and an F hook.

It’s a slightly modified version of a pattern I found online. I think the pattern was written wrong, or else I was reading it wrong, so I didn’t follow it. I’m really happy with it because I had the idea for it before I even found a pattern.

I also made Nate a pair of slippers.

I used mill end yarn I got on the cheap from A.C. Moore. Black, very soft.

He wants an orange border around the foot-hole spot, but he has been wearing them almost nonstop (see: hair and dirt all over the slippers). I made them the same way I made my own slippers last week, but held two strands together the whole time. They’re a lot less floppy than mine, so I want to make myself another pair with two strands held together throughout.

I started on my half of a blanket I’m working on with my mom, but couldn’t get good pictures of it. I took advantage of “Dollar Days” at Michaels and bought several balls of Lily Sugar’n Cream for use on a pattern for an owl purse I purchased. I never buy patterns, but this one really cool.

Last, but not least (well, maybe least), I made this little puff…

Made from sock yarn I got in a trade from Canada.

It’s a slightly lopsided hexipuff, or Apiary Puff. The pattern was originally a knit pattern for a Beekeeper’s Quilt. Knit a ton of these little hexagons, stuff them with fiberfill or yarn scraps, sew them together, and you have a rad honeycomb blanket. I’m so glad the pattern was adapted for crochet. The hexipuff was quick and fun to make, and I really like the way sock yarn patterns out. I always have a ton of projects going on so it’s going to take me a million years to make enough for anything, but I’m happy to have a little something to work on when I don’t feel like working on a big something.

I guess that’s about it. I did manage to start something with the blue and white mill end yarn I bought last Monday, but I didn’t get very far before I decided to work on something else (of course!). I’ll have a picture whenever I finish it though :]

Snow Fall

The other day, I was talking to my mom on the phone about how badly I want it to snow. She said she’d do a snow dance for me and started chanting (and I assume dancing). I laughed, but she said “watch, it’ll work!”

She was right. Last night, it snowed for the first time this year. I was super excited until I had to run downstairs to the car to get my phone and fell down a flight of stairs. I got down 3 or 4 stairs at what I thought was a careful pace, but apparently I was wrong because I slipped, my feet went flying out in front of me and I landed right on my tailbone. But I didn’t stop there! I continued sliding down the stairs on my back until I got to the bottom. I had to hobble to the car so I could call Nate, and he ran down to help me. I’ve been in bed since then. It hurts to do pretty much everything. I tried to crochet last night but it didn’t work out too well, which I’m pretty sad-faced about, especially since I got new yarn yesterday!

Before the fall, of course, I went to A.C. Moore and used a 50% off coupon to get a pound of mill end yarn. I’m going to say it now, and I know I’ll say it again: I love mill end yarn. A pound of Caron Simply Soft, normally $4+ per skein, for $3.50? Yes, please! A pound of some unknown yarn that is obviously better than RHSS or whatever junk I can usually afford? Yes, please! I love it. So much. Anyway, this is the yarn I got yesterday:

I really like the pattern in the yarn. It’s like different shades of blue wrapped around white. I have no idea what kind of yarn it is, but it’s really soft. Maybe it’s baby yarn. Also, look at my kitty boy Sinclair chillin in the background!

I wish more places sold mill end yarn. So far, I’ve only found it at A.C. Moore, and there’s only one in Connecticut (about 20 minutes away). Caron sells it on their website for $3.99/lb, but you don’t get to choose from the colors they have available and the shipping cost is stupid.

Back to this bag, though. I already know what I want to make with it and it’s killing me that I can’t start it yet! It’s been a while since I tried… I think I’ll go try again.

Sick Day

I’m sick and my feet are cold. Slipper Day!

Got the pattern here: http://zoomyummy.com/2011/01/21/how-to-make-simple-crochet-slippers/

Really quick and easy, didn’t take long at all. I love them. I was going to put a bow on each one, but the bows I made didn’t look like bows. Then I was going to put a flower on each one, but they looked stupid.