Boxing Day CAL 2015 (charity items!)

[ddc]

I try to avoid patterns with a lot of counting. Since I listen to audiobooks, I either mess of up the count or loose the thread of the book if I have to pay too much attention to the pattern. I do try to do a quick count on the longer outer rows of round ripples though.

[babypoohsmom]

Wow, both of those projects look challenging. I think I make so many hats because I have certain patterns memorized. I don't mind counting but most times I don't have the concentration I need because my brain is pooped from work.

I finally made a hat to match one of the scarves I made a few weeks ago. I wish I could get a foam head that is more realistically sized. I was thinking of putting some hats on etsy so I could use the proceeds for the food and stuff I buy for my foster cats, but I can't get good pictures of hats with that scrawny foam head! If anyone knows where I can get a normal sized model, please let me know.

[darski]

I have been thinking of an old craft project that might work to get you a larger 'head' size.  Get a large, round balloon and blow it up to the size you need.  Use white glue and cheese cloth to completely cover the balloon.  when it is dry you can pop the balloon but the shape will stay.  an old yogurt container - or such - should form a base.  E6000 glue is the best for pasting them together.

[ddc]

I just checked ebay. I don't know what size head you would need, but there are some very cheap 20" circumference styrofoam heads. The ones I saw with free shipping were about $2-3. They ship from China or Hong Kong, but I have bought fountain pens coming from there and never had any problem. That is, unless you are totally opposed to getting anything at all from China. I know many people are.

 

I making some progress on the round ripple with ocean colors variegated yarn. I am making zero progress on the solid blue one. I think I need to rethink that project and do something more interesting.

[babypoohsmom]

The average adult head circumference is 22" so that is the size I would be looking for. I got my current one at Joann's for a few dollars. I am not opposed to all things from China, but of course there are things I would skip. Like pet food and things like that.

My Dad looked for garden gloves made in the US for about a year and finally found some. Last year before vacation we bought him shorts from J Crew (paid more to buy US made) just to find out that only "selected" clothing items were made in the US, so you have to be careful.

Darski, I had to laugh when I was reading your post. I could just see the mess I could make with glue and cheesecloth, although I know other people have had success with that. I rented a video from the library that had a woman demonstrating all kinds of amarigumi and character hat techniques. She was a bit crazy, but she used balloons a lot.

My husband wants to watch Guardians of the Galaxy tonight. I will either crochet or fall asleep.

[babypoohsmom]

Fail!!

I have been anxious to try this scarf pattern from one skein wonders. As you can tell, this is getting frogged. Mine looks nothing like the book...

[ddc]

Well, it sort of looks like the book. Has the one in the book been blocked to straighten it out? Would a smaller hook make it more book like?

 

I'm going to spend my days off this week playing copycat instead of actually crocheting, or at least some of it. I love Lucy's (Attic24) clothes pin color samples. I've always crocheted small disks of my yarns, but this is easier, and gives a better feel for what stripes will look like. I stopped by Walmart on the way home from work last night, always an ordeal, and bought a bunch of cheap clothes pins. I brought them to work today to label, and I'll be set to start playing with them tomorrow.

 

I'm still just plugging away at the ILTY round ripple. I made a discovery. In the skein the long runs in the lighter one, seaspray stripe, looked white. When I starting working it this morning, it looked like a very pale aqua. I'm wondering if it was the light or if it really does have that hint of aqua. Hmmmm. It doesn't matter. What it is, is what it is.

 

http://attic24.typepad.com/.a/6a00e551101c54883401b7c729dc60970b-popup

[babypoohsmom]

Donna, to be fair, yes the scarf in the book was blocked. But I could see that my base chain was never going to block wide enough to make the rest of the scarf straight. Sometimes when I make a mistake I will keep trying, on principle to get it right. Other times I give up without a backwards glance. I just decided to let that pattern rest a little and when it's had a nap and an attitude adjustment, i might try again!

Just prior to getting the wee bottle kittens, I made a hat. Need I say from another mill end pack I could not pass up? Here it is:

I realized that it was a sister yarn to one I already had. The colors compliment each other. I might try them in combination. Striped hat and scarf. The yarn is so supple.

[ddc]

I finished the yellow variegated round ripple, so I owe the thread three photos now. If we ever have anything but gray gloomy skies, I'll try to get them. However, looking at the 10 day forecast, that won't be soon. We edging up toward 40 days and 40 nights - at least it feels like it.

[babypoohsmom]

Hi Donna,

Well we had a rainy day yesterday here in Phx which is very out of character for May, but we needed the rain and need more!

I might have told this story before, but my husband and I were in Plymouth, MA for a wedding and went to one of those cheesy period reenactment places for tourists. When it started raining, everyone ran inside. My husband and I ran outside because we have so few chances to run around in the rain!!

I have a picture or two to get posted too, but I have been busy with the kittens and forgot that one of my quilt customers needs a quilt done for a wedding next month. Oops, so I will work on that most of the day tomorrow.

I hope you get a bit of sun.

[ddc]

Friday we had a couple of downpours during the steadier rain that were the heaviest I have seen in ages. Both were of short duration, but while they lasted it was like driving through a car wash - think imported monsoon. We are way above

average for the year. I love rain and would generally be very glad of it, but since the first of the year it's been unrelenting and it plays hob with my arthritis.

 

I have a start on two more lapghans, a solid blue and one in three shades of green, but right now I'm focusing on getting a start on the Dk weight one I'm going to make for my bed. I decided on three more colors I wanted to add to the patchwork, so I've just ordered those. I actually thought they were on the last order, but at the last minute I apparently dropped them off. That penny-wise pound-foolish stunt is costing me extra postage and more for the yarn itself. I had a discount at Deramore's in the UK for the big order, but I'm picking up these three skeins from Texas Yarn Farm. Its good to find a place or two  in the US that stocks it. Once that one is really rolling, I'll be doing the little squares at work, and I'll get back to the donation lapghans when I'm at home.

 

Can we see a picture of the kittens too? It will just make me want a cat though.

[babypoohsmom]

Hello all. I jumped over to Darski's shawl CAL and bombed out on two attempts at pretty, frilly shawls. So I asked for something easy peasy. She gave me the Wheelchair Shawl. Lo and behold, I am 10 rows in! Woot woot. My dad volunteers at the Veteren's home, so I picked a color that guys might tolerate.

I am using this Joann's house brand. They are usually $9.99 a skein, but for some reason, these two colors are always (at my store) in a different area from the others and are only $4.99 a skein. On Friday, the Memorial Day sale starts, these will be half off, so $2.49, but then there is a 20% off all sale items coupon, taking another 48cents off the price. $2.01 per skein. And they are the same size balls as the other colors. I might stock up (shhhh)

[babypoohsmom]

And for those who tolerate off topic items, here is one of my cutie fosters.

And here is the giant quilt I am trying to get done for my friend for her daughter's wedding.

I started having some odd pain in my elbow last week. Now I can't shift gears or pick up a diet coke or use a staple puller without horrid pain. Found out I have some small tears and a lot of swelling in my elbow. I don't have time for this. So I wil be getting a shot as soon as possible!

[darski]

Denise... will keep you in my prayers.  I love your little one

[yarnscrapper]

Denise, Beautiful quilt!!!  And a long arm to boot!!.

I always wanted one but I have never had the space to have one.

[babypoohsmom]

Yarnscrapper, my mom and I bought the machine in 1999 and it lived in my mom's garage. In 2012 I asked my husband "do we really need a room with pretty furniture that we never use"? So she finally moved inside. No more quilting in 110 degrees. Hubby was worried about the noise, but he can watch tv in the next room no problem.

[darski]

I admit to a pang of envy when I saw your long arm machine.  I used to watch all the quilting shows on TV and just drool over them.

[pineknott]

I always like to hear the stories of your fosters,and pictures are great too

I'm around,but not getting much crocheting done,the birdnests will get to them well after June 1st.

We had a hit and run of my car parked at the curb on Mother's day,an old gentleman had a stroke and seizure.

the car was old ( 19ish ) was a total loss,so I get the hand-me -down 3rd car

[babypoohsmom]

Wow Linda, I guess you can be thankful that nobody got hurt. Well, in your family that is. Sounds like the other guy wasn't having a great day. Hope he's ok.

They called from the shelter today. The vet tech is going on vacation and wanted to get the paperwork filed for all of the kittens that would need surgery while she was gone, so she needed names. I usually wait until the personalities come out and pick names accordingly. But I had to rush, so my 3 little girls are Charlotte, Elizabeth, Diana after the new princess.

I am very blessed to have my long arm. Her name is Second Hand Rose because we bought her used. My mom was unable to use the machine in her last couple of years so when I moved it to my house, I kept one comfy chair so she could crochet while I quilted and we could spend time together. But the year we moved it was the year she passed so things did not go as planned. All of my customers have been strictly word of mouth, friend to friend, because I worry about strangers coming to my house. And of course, between me and mom, I probably have easily 20 quilt tops of my own on hangers! They say "the painter's house is never painted"!! So yeah, it is cruel that my husband (with zero hobbies) is already retired at 50 and I have 8 more years to go. But I am lucky to have a job with a pension, so I will stop complaining I guess. For now....

[babypoohsmom]

So I have been crocheting this week. I made another hat to match a scarf I did several weeks ago. I also made a cat mat while watching hockey. The ends are not weaved in yet.

 

[babypoohsmom]

Hello, what's going on all? I have been getting some stuff done but wow, busy with kittens and rescue-stuff and just didn't get time to post.

First, I found two skeins of "team spirit" yarn at Goodwill on sale day for $1.50. I washed it up and I was very excited to run it through the addi for fun hats. Well, the first was Bengals colors so orange and black. The striping is disappointing and it looks like another Halloween hat. Boo. It looks yellow in this picture because of course again it is the middle of the night and I am trying to take pictures.

I have also been working on cat mats agian while keeping an eye on the hockey game. But I have ends to weave... What are you all up to?

[darski]

I have been busy with bits and pieces - mostly shawls of course but I just had to make this ghan.

 

I have no real purpose for this as the nursing home will take them but they did say they prefer the individual shawls more.

 

I found the pattern for the square in a Julie Bolduc book I have on Kindle and for some reason I just had to make this  

 

I am a firm believer in the Crocheter's rule # 1:  when you make a mistake; put a flower on it. 

 

After I had work one whole long side in the white border stitch (Picot Clover from a pattern) , I discovered that I had missed two of the picots.  it was too much to go so far back so I added flowers all over the place.  Some cover mistakes and others are just for random pretty.  I also added some to one corner to make people think I actually knew what I was doing and added the flowers as a design feature.          

 

 

Have to go and add some pics to my shawl cal... I really have been busy... no, really

 

 

[babypoohsmom]

Darski, that is so cool. Very clever that you put the little flowers on the border. Most people charge extra for "design customization".

You can tell that you are experienced and didn't let a picot get the best of you!

[babypoohsmom]

Hello! Sorry I have been AWOL, but we had some kitten drama here. A week ago Thursday, I decided to take some kittens from my friend who fosters for the same rescue I do. She had too many at her house and my Princess Kittens had been adopted. So I picked up 3 of hers and settled them in the bathroom. Saturday morning I woke to a text that another kitten in her house had died from pan leukopenia. It is known as kitten parvovirus and is very contagious. She had all of her kittens running around together so mine had been exposed to the disease. One kitten got a little sick and we were worried, but he's fine now. In the meanwhile we had to be sure not to spend any contagion to our cats. So anything that touched the ground in the bathroom ahead to be bleached, socks, shorts (if we sat down to play with them) laundry, food bowls, etc. whew...

So anyway, in the laundry swoop...the cat mats that I made during the hockey playoffs got picked up with the ones we had been using for the kittens and I can't really tell which ones were the new ones. The two flat ones in this picture are new as are 3 of the ones in the clean laundry pile.

So, how about all of you?? What's going on?

[Gardener]

Denise, I like the striping on that hat. and that does sound like kitty drama. Thank goodness your cats are doing ok. Darski,, I think that's a clever way to hide a mistake...plus people are really into flowery embellishments these days. I will have to remember that.

 

I haven't been in the mood to craft much, which means that I will need to get going if I expect to reach my goal of 12 items for the pregnancy resource center. I'm have a couple of baby blankets in progress, but I got bored with them and started a couple of other projects.

 

We're going camping in a couple of weeks, and I always get a lot done then. Probably because I don't have Internet, phone, etc to distract me!