CaysCrafts

Cast Iron Skillets

2011-12-04T17:28:00.000-08:00

Between Penny and me, we have 6 various size cast iron skillets. Two were my mom's, two came from my grandma, and Penny just got two of her mother's from her brother. All of these have been abused and neglected for years. We'd love to use them, but not possible in the shape they're in now.
What to do?
I remember a friend's mom telling me that she would clean and season hers over the fire in the barbecue. Sounds like a fire just waiting to happen.
So--I decided to put them in the self-cleaning oven and see what happens.
Guess what? Worked great. Ran the first 2 thru the cycle, wiped all the residue out, oiled them real good, put them back in the oven for about half an hour @ 350. Absolutely wonderful!
The last two were really bad, so they are in now for a second go round.
If you try this, be sure to turn on the hood fan and open a window a little. Kinda stinky, but we were able to save some pieces of our family history.

Black Friday

2011-11-28T20:30:00.000-08:00

People are crazy! I avoid Black Friday like the plague. Shopping, unless yarn or books is involved, is not a favorite pastime of mine, anyway. There is nothing in the world I need or want badly enough to battle crazy people for it.
I only caught a snippet of news Friday night, so Saturday when I checked the news, I was appalled to see how folks were treating each other--over some stupid game that the kid doesn't need anyway. When I was much younger, I heard stories about ladies who would push each other and snatch things from other shoppers when the stores in downtown Los Angeles would have some really big sales, but I never personally saw any of that. A little crowding, cutting in line to pay is about as violent as it got.
But, to actually pepper spray other people to get a game, or steal from folks as they leave the store, or walk over a man having a heart attack. This behavior has to stop! Miss Manners is turning over in her grave..
I spent my Black Friday getting some packages ready to mail today. First, and most important, was the package to my granddaughter, Nic. She and her hubby are spending Christmas in Michigan with Josh's grandfather. Grandpa has been very ill recently, so the kids are looking forward to seeing him soon. Nic's birthday is right before Christmas, so I mailed both birthday and Xmas in the same box. All crocheted by me. But, being the very efficient person that I am, I forgot to take pics before I taped the box shut. Duh! What was I thinking? I have a pic of one item as I am writing the pattern, but I forgot 2 others, also original designs which I have the notes so I can write the patterns. Maybe after the holidays, Nic will take pics and send to me. I'll tell you more later about what I made with what yarn.
My next box went to my Crochet Partner, Dawn. Every year, Dawn puts together holiday gifts for our military persons who don't receive packages from home. I've been contributing scarves for several years now. This was my most productive year so far, with 18 scarves in total. Some of my new scarf designs, available on Ravelry, came from this project.
The final package went to my daughter, Heidi. When she was here about 4 or 5 years ago, she left some things behind when she went home. I decided it was finally time to get them sent to her. So, another package on its way.
I also worked on my Xmas cards. But it seems, some folks don't want one of my snowflakes in their card this year as I can't seem to get the addresses I need.
I am so far ahead of schedule this year that I am not quite sure what to do next.

No WIPS!

2011-10-24T20:50:00.000-07:00

That's right! I have no WIPS! I've have been working diligently trying to get them all done. I have had a couple of baby ghans sitting around here for a couple of years. There always seems to be something that has to be done, or some new pattern or method that catches my attention. So, after we moved last year, and I unearthed all these WIPS, I vowed I would get them all done. And I have! Feels kind of strange not to have a least one incomplete project sitting around.

Teddyghan is done. I used several different shades of pink to complete her. This little ghan will be donated to Project Linus.

During our garage sale the first of the month, I met a local member of Crochet Partners. Cheri showed me the Diagonal Fans stitch that she had seen online in one of her groups. I was fascinated. So Cheri shared her notes on how to do this stitch pattern. After I finished the above ghan, I gave this a try. So pretty! I started with WW yarn, but that was just too thick and heavy. So, I switched to some baby yarn that I had in my stash and an F hook. Much better. Of course, I had to turn it into an 8" square so it can go into the comfortghan project.

WIPs completed does not mean the project tub is empty-there are plenty more things to crochet here at Cayscrafts. And the list seems to get things added to it each week.

Other Stuff

2011-10-17T13:21:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of talk over at Crochet Partners abut the Crocodile Stitch. I finally sat down a few days ago and made this cap. I didn't have any idea what to do with it, I just wanted to make it. Does that sound familiar to anyone? When I finished it, my roommate got all excited and said she wanted it. OK! It's hers. It matches her pretty blue eyes. I did use a larger hook, so it took more than the called for amount of yarn. Which explains the solid color on the crown. This cap is also crocheted from the brim to the crown.

The other thing I have finally finished is the Turkey Bookmark. A few years ago when I belonged to the Bookmark Exchange at Crochet Partners, I was trying to find a bookmark for Thanksgiving, which is one of my fave holidays. I couldn't find anything, so I took parts of this fridgie, and another fridgie, and some basic bookmark ideas and made my own. Well, I took pretty good notes on what I did, but in my excitement, I mailed the bookmark before I took a picture. So, the pattern has been sitting in my folder for a long time.

When I got my notes out and was ready to test the pattern I didn't have any dark brown size 10 thread. What---! So, Crochet Partners came through again. Karen from Kansas sent me a whole ball of Fudge Brown. It is beautiful thread.

Anyway, here is the Turkey Bookmark.

New afghans

2011-10-16T14:19:00.000-07:00

I have been crocheting afghans! Really! I know you don't believe me cuz I haven't posted anything for a while. But, I'm about to make up for that. The only order of these is how I took the pictures.

The name of this afghan is Color Me. Thanks to Elaine, we now have the link to this pattern. This is the ghan I entered in the county fair this year. It took 2nd (red ribbon).

This is just a Catherine's Wheel stitch that I did using using Kraemer Yarns Tatamy Tweed. It's a small ghan but a little heavier as the yarn is 45% cotton and 55% acrylic. Does wash up beautifully.

This ghan is my Baby Bobbles Afghan. The free pattern is available on the Project Linus website. It was made with Red Heart Soft yarn and I think the color was called Garden (??) and then a green border.

I am currently writing the pattern for this little number. It is a variation on the Catherine's Wheel stitch. I'm thinking of calling it "Pocketful of Posies". What do you think of this name? It is made of 2 colors of Red Heart Soft Baby.

Mitered Squares afghan pattern is available on the Bernat yarn site. If you look closely, you can see variations in the colors from square to square. I was trying to use up what I have in my stash. The only constant is the variegated which is Red Heart Cherry Cola.

P.S. All of the above afghans will be donated to my local chapter of Project Linus.

What an Easy Fix

2011-10-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

Absolutely amazing what one little change on the old computer can do! I have been having problems for weeks, things not loading, slow, slow, slower. When I finally got to the point I could not open my own PDF files, I knew I had a serious problem. Oh, Please! I can't afford a new computer right row. I can't even afford to get my car fixed and I need my car more than my computer (I'm trying to convince myself).
Can't be my Adobe reader: I just installed the newest version recently (Adobe Reader x (10.1.1).
OMG! Maybe it is Adobe. I talked to Peter and he told me to try to download it again. Sometimes that takes care of the problems. Tried that, still doesn't work. Hmmm-OK-let's try uninstalling the whole thing and starting over. Sh---! now I'm getting a message that tells me "The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable". So, I tried to install an older version, but it won't let me because I already have the newer version on my computer. Catch 22
Holy smokes! Now what? Common sense tells me that Adobe cannot be the only free reader out there, so I start searching. It is amazing how many different readers there are! And some of the features are way beyond my level of experience. They do things I have no clue what they are talking about. OK, need to slim this down some. Finally settled on PDF Xchange Lite. It appears it will do all I need done, plus some, without overloading me or my computer. So far, so good. I'm back up to speed and enjoying my computer again. Even Facebook is moving along smoothly. Yea!
Maybe I'll try to finish loading my patterns on my blog now. Should be a lot easier.

Take a good look around this blog

2011-09-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

The picture at the top and the color scheme aren't the only things that have changed.
Did you find it yet? Look right under the picture at the top. See them? TABS! Yes, tabs to my patterns.
How exciting is that? My friend, Andy, helped me to navigate Blogger to add the pattern pages. Right now there are only a couple, but there will be more, and as I have new designs, I will post them here as well as in my Ravelry store.
Just another step in my learning to navigate in cyber-space.

Letting Go

2011-09-11T23:39:00.000-07:00

At some point in time, I have tried just about every craft out there. So, consequently, I have supplies for all those things. I have 2 or 3 different bow makers; punch embroidery needles and thread, cross stitch supplies, beads galore including beading looms, candy molds. We found 6 different glue guns. Lots of stuff. And we won't even get into the yarn and crochet patterns that live here.
I have moved some of this stuff around for 4 or 5 times. Time to Let Go!
We are having a garage sale the first of October, so I have been going thru all this stuff and am letting a lot of it go away. I've even let some of the crochet patterns go. My yarn stash is actually pretty small at this point. But I have purged it a couple of times before.
So, if you're in Modesto on 10/1 or 10/2 and need a gas dryer, small freezer, 19" TV or a Bedazzler, come on by.

Facebook Frustration

2011-08-28T07:30:00.000-07:00

I delayed joining Facebook for a really long time! After about the hundredth time of my granddaughter saying to me that I could see pics of this or that on her Facebook page, I finally joined. And in the large scheme of FB, I am a very small clog with only about 100 friends, mostly crochet related and some family. I don't play games, or collect roses, etc. I do try to keep up with birthdays, because I believe every birthday is a blessing from God and the older we get the more in your face that reality becomes.
But, Facebook has never been the pleasure that everyone else seems to enjoy. It takes forever to move around; when I try to look at pics, it frequently freezes up. I get this constant security warning about using secure access. I am constantly cleaning out my browser to try to make things faster, to no avail.
Is it just me? My computer is a couple of years old, but it has a Pentium processor and runs on Windows XP, so I don't think that is the problem.
Oh well. I may just give up FB and go back to crocheting and reading.

More than one way to skin a cat

2011-08-13T14:30:00.000-07:00

You may remember my obsession 2 or 3 years ago with the Diamond Patch Sweater. I fell in love with this pattern. Problem--I don't knit!! I contacted the designer, Jill Vosberg, who is also a crocheter, but she had not done anything similar in crochet. OK--maybe I can replicate this look in crochet. Not--
So, after a long time, a lot of frustration, numerous swatches that looked nothing like the pattern, I was about to give up on ever having this sweater.
I still really want this sweater--but I really hate knitting so my skills are not very good. As my granddaughter would say, I put on my big girl pants and asked Kitty if she would do it for me. She said yes, so I got the yarn last year at the Oakland Fiber Festival. It is a beautiful mercerized cotton from Crystal Palace yarns. OK! Now we're cooking with gas.
Kitty delivered it to me about a month ago. It has crochet trim so she left the finishing for me to do. A lot of yarn left. I was surprised, hoping that I was going to have enough. When I tried it on, I knew why. The pattern had an option for a cropped length or a tunic length. I was thinking tunic and actually got cropped. If I were in my 20's, this might be OK. In my 60"s, not so much. I did not care for the ribbing called for around the neck and sleeves so I crocheted several rows of blo around the neck, and then repeated that on the sleeves. Using my ripple afghan skills, I used this same method to increase the length to cover my little pot belly.

What do you think? I have my sweater, I'm very happy. I wore it to a doctors appointment this week and a woman stopped me in the lobby of the medical building to ask me if I had made it. She told me she thought it was spectacular. I do, too.

Crochet Partners First Comfortghan

2011-08-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

In February, 2008, one of the members of Crochet Partners, lost her son in a school shooting here on the central coast of California. I knew her from another project we had worked on, so I collected squares and we sent a comfortghan to her. We knew it would never replace her son, but hoped it would help ease her pain.
From this incident, the comfortghan project was born. We make our squares, mail them off to an assembler, who puts them together. She then mails it to a person who is hurting.
How many of us ever give any thought to that person after we do our small part?
Sometimes the hurting goes on for years, as in Dawn's case. The young man who killed her son in now on trial. It took 3 and 1/2 years to get to this point. Now, she has to relive the nightmare again every day of the trial. I am asking you, my friends, to send out a request to your higher power, to hold and protect Dawn and her family at this time. Let's not forget the pain doesn't stop with the mailing of an afghan!
The Ventura County Star has covered every day of the trial for over 6 weeks now. To learn more, search Larry King.

Look who lives at our house!

2011-08-02T16:31:00.000-07:00

Penny was gifted a kit for Winnie the Pooh a couple of years ago. She asked me to crochet it for her as she didn't think her skills were up to the challenge. I'm sure she could have done it, but I agreed. Well, Pooh sat around for a while as I finished other works in progress. Finally, ready to start. Get it all out of the bag it came in. No pattern! It is only the yarn. No pattern! Did I mention? no pattern! Well, it's a Mary Maxim kit, so I get on the phone to Mary Maxim. They no longer carry it, but one of their wonderful customer service reps helped me find a source. Got it ordered. Yea! Well, by the time it arrived, I'm knee deep in another project, so the pattern is put in a Ziploc bag with the yarn. All ready to go when I'm finished.
Last fall, we decided to move. And when we were packing, we used yarn and future projects to fill in all kinds of boxes. Sounded like a good idea at the time. Actually, if you don't need the yarn right away, it's a great idea. Fills in all the nooks and crannies in boxes. But, after we get moved, I decide to start on Pooh, cuz I need a break from all the moving.
You guessed it! We can't find him. He is still in some box in our garage. Penny is beginning to wonder if she will ever get this bear to add to her collection. She never said so, but I'm sure the thought crossed her mind that maybe she should have tried to do it herself.
Well, we finally found Winnie. He had some very interesting construction techniques. Instead of sewing on the arms, legs, muzzle and ears, They are all crocheted in. No matter what a kid did to this bear, he will not loose an arm or leg. Using this method, you have to stuff as you go so the bigger he gets, the more awkward he is to work on. But all's well that ends well. . And here he is, sitting in our living room.

Warm, Fuzzy, Feeling

2011-08-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

I popped into Ravelry today after not having been there for a while. After I answered a message from a lady about a blanket I made for Project Linus without a pattern, for whatever reason, I looked at my blanket I designed for Project Linus and is available for free on their website, http://www.projectlinus.org/. Anyway, I have been collecting pictures that other people have made of my patterns and when I took a look at the ones made from the PL pattern, 3 of 4 were made and donated to Project Linus! How great is that? Just gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling that people are using my pattern and donating to Project Linus. My take along project right now is that very pattern. Very easy repeat, so can talk and crochet at the same time.

New Fair-Last Fair

2011-07-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

As anyone who knows me will attest, I'm a big fan and supporter of local county fairs. I've been involved one way or another for around 30 years. I started entering things in the Orange County, CA fair back in the 80's, lots of crochet, some other things as well. In fact, for a couple of years I actually did crochet demos in the Home Arts Building. When I moved to No Calif in 2000, the first year I just went to the fair. After that I started entering in the Alameda County Fair. A couple of years I actually entered in Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Mateo counties. Our crochet guild chapter has had a table at San Mateo for the last 2 years.
So, when we moved inland, one of the first things I did was find out about the local fair. I was really excited to see there were about 20 categories for crochet and only about 8 for knit. So used to it being the other way around. Well, I entered 6 items in the fair.
On the day of delivery, I met the lady in charge of the Home Arts area. She was not very friendly or talkative, did not seem at all interested in who I am or my experience. Told me if I wanted to work for the fair to fill out an application and that I could not enter in the area where I work. Huh? Julie in San Mateo was so excited that I wanted to volunteer to set up the crochet and knit displays. And I was allowed to enter my stuff. I wasn't there to set up until after the judging was done, so I surely don't see any conflict. Oh well! Different strokes for different folks, as the old song goes.
Fair day- first thing we did (Penny, Kitty, & me) is find the exhibit building so we can see how I did. I was very disappointed to see so few handcrafted items. Very few afghans, quilts, even sewn items were scarce. Penny only found one very tiny cross stitch item. There was an over abundance of fresh produce and photographs.
This is where I kinda lost it. The items had obviously been displayed by the guys from the tractor pull! There were some very attractive pieces there in addition to my own very lovely items, but you sure wouldn't know that by looking at the displays. Looked like so much laundry hanging out to dry. Then the doilies are all folded and piled up.
My Dots N Dashes afghan was hung upside down and inside out. ( Yes, I did turn it over!) There was no way you could tell that each color in the Color Me afghan is in the shape of a crayon. The thing that makes the Crazy Eights Vest so special is the shape, but it is just thrown over a rail. And tell me you recognize the doily as being the same as the one in the header for my blog. Anyway, here are the pics I took at this fair.
In case you couldn't tell, I was very disappointed in my fair experience this year. I'm only a couple of hours from the CA State Fair, so I may follow my friends Kathy's lead and put my energy there next year.

Don't Pay the Ransom-I escaped!

2011-07-20T08:31:00.000-07:00

I know! I know! It's been months since I've been here. Well, they have been very interesting months at that.
I went on a very well deserved vacation last fall. Almost as soon as I got back, Penny and I decided to move to Modesto.
Since we moved it has been one thing after another, Move from hell (stolen and broken) Cars won't seem to stay fixed Penny in the hospital New doctors, etc.
We just don't seem to recoup as fast as we did when we were younger.
On a positive note, we do love Modesto. Still adjusting to the different climate (colder in winter, hotter in summer). Some of our plants are having some trouble acclimating also. But, so far, we have only lost a couple.
I have been crocheting right along, for Project Linus, myself, Penny, and some things for the house.
I do miss my friends in the Bay area- hi Peter, Laurie, and the others.
I have to go for now, but will be back to tell you all about the fair. Probably my last county fair.

Hang on! Here we Go!

2010-09-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

It's official. I'm the Chapter Coordinator for the SF-East Bay chapter of Project Linus. I sent in my application and I was approved. Penny is my assistant. She says her job is to "make pretty." Alice did bring us all the paperwork we need, and then of course, the Coordinators handbook has lots more great info in it.
So we've been busy making sure all of the blankies from the last meeting have labels and hang-tags, sorting them by size, and then delivery location. Had to go get a couple of big plastic tubs to store them so they don't get dirty while going thru this process of ours.
Ordered my business cards. I think they are really cute! Have new hang-tags on order with my contact info: I know Alice will just send anyone my way that may get some info with her contact on it.
Have received a couple of phone calls already from people who found the website wanting to contribute or get more info on Project Linus.
I just finished crocheting hats for my kids for my trip next month. I have been semi-planning this for several months and it is now less than 3 weeks away. I will be so glad to see all my kids again. Since they all live so far away, it's been a while since I've seen them. And then to see a couple of friends along the way will just top the whole thing with a cherry!

Project Linus

2010-08-11T09:39:00.000-07:00

As anyone who has read my blog knows, Penny and I have been very active with the local chapter of Project Linus. Alice, the coordinator for SF/East Bay, is a wonderful lady. She is always so calm and together. Guess that comes from many years of being a nurse.
We went to our monthly meeting yesterday evening, with our large bag of goodies. Penny had four ghans made from squares and I had 5 fleece blankies with crocheted borders. We also had 2 large granny squares from Mattie and a large ghan done by Anita.
Imagine our surprise when Alice told us that she and her husband are selling their house and moving down to San Jose to a retirement community. They want to live closer to their kids and grand babies and are ready to give up the house they have lived in for 40 years! Too big! Too many stairs!
The biggest shock was still to come! She is giving up the Project Linus chapter. This is a group of about a dozen ladies who show up every month with their quilts and afghans. There are several others who come from time to time when schedules permit. Always willing to share what they know. And very proud that they have donated over 2700 quilts/ghans to children in our area in 3 or 4 years. What in the world will happen to the group without Alice?
Well, we can't let the group die! That would be just sinful! Everyone is just sitting there stunned. No one knows what to do. We don't want to lose the group or Project Linus.
Well, maybe you have guessed by now that Penny and I volunteered to take over the chapter. Hope we have not bitten off more than we can chew. We came home last nite with all the quilts and ghans in the back of my poor, dirty Volvo. We are meeting with Alice next week to learn the ropes of where to go, what to take, and how to report what we are doing to headquarters. Denise of Sisters and Stitches, the quilt shop where we have been meeting, says we can continue on there with same schedule we have been using. Thank you, Denise. All the ladies have said they will help in any way they can.
Kris, who lives in Oakland, says she can deliver to Children's Hospital. My friend, Laurie, said, not to worry, she's here to help. Thank you all!
I know the next couple of months will be a little confused until we work out the kinks, but we can do this!

What I did on my Summer Vacation

2010-08-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

July has not been quite as hectic as June, but I have still been pretty busy.
I started the Swellegant Elegance sweater designed by Peter Franzi. Peter gifted me the yarn for my birthday in April and it finally came in. Saucon Sock yarn by Kraemer Yarns. It is fingering wt, 44% cotton, 43% acrylic, and 13% nylon. The color is Loganberry, so kinda a purple color. I know, not my usual earth tones, but I decided to try something a little different. As of right now, the sweater only has 1/2 sleeve, assembly and ribbing left to do. I plan to wear it to the next guild meeting on 8/21.
I have taken a couple of breaks from the sweater. I learned 2 new dc stitches this month, so had to make a scarf in each stitch. The first is the linked dc and the other was the herringbone dc. I learned the linked while I was reviewing my first portfolio for the Masters Program and the herringbone dc was used in a border from Edie Eckman's book Around the Corner Crocheted Borders. I will be teaching both of these stitches at the next guild meeting. Come join us.
The scarves will be going to Dawn for her annual holiday packages for the troops.
I crocheted borders on 5 small fleece blankies for Project Linus, using Edie's book. Some beautiful borders in there!
Our friend, Anne, brought a bag of crocheted flower motifs to Penny last week. So I sat down and worked out how to turn them into squares. Penny loves squares and makes several ghans a month for Project Linus.
And, speaking of Project Linus, Laurie and I went with Alice to San Francisco this month. KPMG was having their semi-annual meeting at the Palace Hotel (wow! is the only word that applies here). Part of their meeting is a charity or community project in the city where they are meeting. Vicky, from New York, is part of Project Linus in her area. She and Debbie, from Dallas contacted Alice. We went to help them put together tied fleece blankets. They ordered the fabric, a nice weight and some really cool designs, to be paired with some bright colored solids. Before we even got there, they had done all the cutting and had them ready to cut the strips on the sides and tie. There were about 30 people cutting and tying for an hour and a half.
They completed 21 out of 35. We brought 14 with us to be tied at the next PL meeting. Or maybe we will crochet borders on them. When the meeting was over, we checked our push-pushes at the hotel and went to dinner. We sure looked like a trio of bag ladies trying to get back to the BART station! But I was surprised at how many people offered to help us carry the rolling carts down the stairs. It was great fun, and I would be honored if Alice requested my help again.

Defining Moments

2010-07-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

If you ever watch the Dr Phil show, you will know that he talks a lot about defining moments in your life. I gave that a lot of thought and could think of none. Oh well, not to worry. Too busy crocheting.
Peter and I were talking at the fair a few days ago (wow, seems longer ago than that) about how far the chapter has come since he organized it 3 years ago.
That got me thinking about how I got to where I am now.
It all started with the click of my computer mouse! If I had not made that click, the things I'm doing now would not be.
I was reading the Talking Crochet newsletter that I subscribe to online. At the bottom are a list of links to other places. Hmm, Crochet Partners looked like something I might be interested in. The folks I used to crochet with have scattered, and my roommate is marginally interested in trying new things.
Click! And a new life begins. I joined Crochet Partners, a huge on-line discussion group owned and moderated by Jean Leinhauser. Jean has edited and published crochet booklets and books forever. I have several with her name on them from the 80's. For the first several weeks I just lurked (said nothing but read everything). I followed every link posted. I have crocheted for more years than I want to admit, but I saw things I had never seen, learned about techniques that I didn't know had names. I had done most of them, just didn't know they had names. But I also learned about a few that I hadn't tried. I got brave and started making some comments of my own.
One of the ladies was trying to organize sending scarfs to some of our troops at the holidays because so many do not receive packages from home. Well, I try to send her several each year. A couple of years ago, her son was killed in a school shooting, and at about the same time, another ladies future daughter-in-law was killed in another school shooting. And so, the Comfortghan Project began. I didn't want to coordinate it but I collect squares, assemble and mail ghans to those who need a hug. I met my friend Laurie and her friends as a direct result of the Comfortghan Project. We meet every week at Starbucks for coffee and crochet.
I was also looking for a place to donate some small fleece blankies that I crocheted edgings on. Peter Franzi suggested the Oakland Children's Hospital. Someone else suggested Project Linus.
I checked out Project Linus, they took my little blankies, and I have become more involved with them as time goes by. In fact, I designed a babyghan which is on their website.
Peter put out an invite to anyone in the Bay Area to come to his house for a Crochet Soiree. We had a great time, good food and nice people. Peter did this about 3 times before he moved it to the community center where he volunteered for the food bank. And out little chapter of the CGOA was born. Since inception, Peter is president and treasurer and I am v.p. and secretary. Before that little mouse click, I didn't even know the CGOA existed.
With all the inspiration and encouragement, I have become more creative and proficient at recording my original ideas. I am now selling a few patterns on my Ravelry page.
The biggest boom I have gotten from that little click was an email from Jean Leinhauser asking if I would be interested in being a reviewer for her new CGOA Masters in Advanced Crochet Stitches and Techniques. Holy cow! Me?? I'm reviewing my first portfolio now.
Oh, yea! I knew nothing about blogs. Even my computer skills have quadrupled.
And all from one click of the mouse.

What a month!

2010-06-28T20:55:00.000-07:00

I started this month feeling pretty puny. But there was way too much happening to keep me down for long. First was the San Mateo county fair. I think everyone should get involved in their county fair in one way or another. Of course, my way is all about crochet! But, they have a category for everything: flowers, homemade beer, woodworking, and all the different needle arts. And don't forget the livestock. Pig races and all!
I'll let you pop over to the chapter's blog to catch up on what we did there.
The Sunday after the closing of the fair, we were involved in the 1st annual Oakland Fiber Fest. What a great day! So many nice people came by our booth. and it was fun to check out the other booths at the fest. I spent some time with Gracie of the Lace Knitters Guild. She is going to teach me to tat. I have my grandmother's tatting shuttle, but have never learned how to use it. She showed me a quick stitch and I am going to try to practice it a little between now and then. You can read more about the fest at the chapter blog.
Probably the most exciting thing that happened to me this month is I was contacted about being one of the reviewers for the CGOA Masters of Stitches program. I am so honored to be on such a team of highly skilled crocheters. My first portfolio arrived over the weekend, and is the first thing on my agenda tomorrow to work on.
Been a busy month. And I feel so much better at the end of it than I did at the beginning.
BTW, I am working on Peter Franzi's Swellegant Elegance Sweater in Saucon Sock Yarn, color Loganberry, for moi`.

I'm so excited!

2010-06-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

The San Mateo county fair opens tomorrow. My CGOA chapter will have a table at the fair for 5 days where we will be demoing some different stitch patterns. We have a couple of take and make projects for people to do at the table. We will have a daily raffle for kits for patterns and yarn to crochet. We will be handing out info on our chapter, on CGOA, Project Linus, and Warm up America and the Oakland Fiber Festival. Should be a full and busy 5 days. I think I have everything together that we need to take. I sure hope so!
I spent 2 days this week setting up the displays for the knit and crochet entries. That is the first time I have ever done this kind of volunteer work. Very fun, but also very tiring! I pretty much had free reign in how to display the items. The folks in charge were very helpful in providing supplies I needed, dress forms, styrofoam heads, etc. I am very anxious to see what people think of the way the displays are done this year. I found out that they have not had a knitter or crocheter volunteer before to help. No wonder we find an afghan inside out or a hooded scarf upside down.
If you are in the Bay Area this next week, come by our booth on Sat, Sun, Tues, Sat or Sun, and say Hi.

And the winner is:

2010-05-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

drum roll please- JD from St Louis

I liked the Tabard part of JD's suggestion, so kept looking for the other part. Finally, after studying the history of this garment, decided this is a classic timeless piece. So, please welcome to my pattern line, Timeless Tabard.
I will have the pattern in my Ravelry store within the next day or two. Thanks to all who helped me find a name.

I spent

2010-05-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

Way too much money on this afghan. But I fell in love with the yarn,. I can't find the label right now, but I think it was Ella Rae baby cotton, which is 80% cotton and 20% nylon. Then I edged it with Knit One Crochet too Ty-Dy socks yarn. Both are very nice, but I sure can't afford to do this very often.

So, I'm saving this for my first great grandchild, someday far, far in the future.
This is an original design using one of my stitch books. I first did it in some very fine baby yarn that I had laying around then I saw this cotton and fell in love. I have written the pattern, but it is a little different for each of them because the first one was probably category 1 yarn and this one in more of a category 2. This one is just a little larger than the first.
I now need to wash my swatch (I know, should have done that first) to see how it will hold up. Put it in the bucket for the fair.

I hope he knew

2010-04-26T21:24:00.000-07:00

how much I loved him.
I met Peter (Penguin) at an Indy car race at Monterey about 15 years ago. At that time I lived in So Cal and had no idea how important to my life he would become. We saw each other at the occasional race over the next few years because of mutual friends. When I finally moved north about 10 years ago, he opened his heart and his home and his friends to me. He was always there if I needed to move my whole house or just a big pot in the yard.
He drank and smoked too much, but he didn't have a mean bone in his body. In fact, he really didn't know how to say no to anyone. He took great pride in his beautiful yard. Was always puttering and planting, mowing and weeding. Putting in a walkway or building a gate. And Christmas! OMG, at Christmas, he did love his lights! The house had more lights than an airport landing strip.
He started getting sick a couple of years ago. They tested & tested. Couldn't find anything wrong, but managed to puncture his bowel doing a colonoscopy. It has been all downhill from there. He never really recovered from that and then was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer not all that long ago.
I regret we didn't make the Giants game or the Reba concert that we always talked about. I regret that I didn't make the effort to spend more time with him this last few months. I talked to him on the phone, but that is not the same as sitting in the back yard sharing a beer.
And I'm angry that a disease like cancer can take such a good person from his friends and family and leave perverts walking the streets. It's not fair and I don't like it.
Peter's leaving this world has left a huge hole in my heart.

Amigurumi Class a lot of fun!

2010-04-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

I had 2 ladies sign up for my amigurumi class at PYA on Sunday. They were both in Peter's Intro to Crochet class on Saturday. When I found out what their skill set was, I had to kinda rethink how to teach them. I created this lovely lady for the class project, hoping they would be able to complete her in the allotted 3 hours. Not quite, but with their limited crochet knowledge, I was so impressed with how much they really did. They have the sc down pat. Also very good at increasing. They had done a couple of rows of dec before we had to leave, so hope they are doing OK. The thing I was the most impressed with was they both caught onto the pattern reading in a snap! Deena is a knitter, so does have pattern reading skills, just learning a new language. Mona is a new knitter, so is learning both languages at the same time. I've always said the hardest thing about learning to crochet is learning to read patterns. I heard from Deena and she still seems enthusiastic, even tho she hadn't had any time to work on Hilary. Haven't heard from Mona, so hope she has finished her project. BTW, this pattern is called Bad Hair Hilary and she will be available for purchase in my Ravelry pattern store.

Amigurumi, anyone?

2010-04-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

Amigurumi is the Japanese name for toy making that a lot of us have been doing for years. I was asked to do a class at Piedmont Yarn this month, so decided I should brush up. I also wasn't 100% positive that there wasn't some new thing going on that I didn't know. So I borrowed from the store the book "Tiny Yarn Animals" by Tamie Snow. If you are afraid to make creative decisions on your own, this is not the book for you. The pictures are very good, but there are no assembly instructions.
Well, I did 2 that I thought were cute. I did the owl as instructed, but made a couple of changes to the turtle. With all her feet, the turtle is front heavy and falls over, so I eliminated the back feet. Now she stands up just fine.
I will not be doing anymore of these. You need to crochet very tightly, and my poor old hands just couldn't take the pressure. Cramps! and more cramps.

Going to take them in to the store on Tues when I go so they can be displayed and hopefully inspire some folks to sign up for my class.

A kitty with good taste!

2010-04-01T13:18:00.000-07:00

We have 3 cats, all with their own unique personalities. Nakoma is old, about 17. I rescued her from a drunk in a bar when she was about a month old. She follows me around like a dog.
Mango is an orange tabby that we adopted from a pet drive at PetSmart. She is lovable and quiet.
Then there is Annie, our white tornado. She and Mango are about the same age, but Annie is a real pistol. She will play with anyone or by herself. Makes no difference.
Most of the time, the cats show very little interest in our yarn, except to try to lay on our projects while we are working on them. Once in awhile, they get a little excited when I am winding yarn.
About a year ago, I was using alpaca for 2 different projects. I got up one morning to discover Annie sleeping with a ball of the alpaca that she stole out of my tote. The second time this happened, the project got put into lidded container that I could close when I wasn't working on the project. I haven't worked with any alpaca recently, so had forgotten this incident.
We have a large dresser in the den where I keep my better yarns or things already designated for projects. A couple of evenings ago, I pulled a ball of wool out of a drawer and went in the kitchen to show Penny. All of a sudden, she looked up and said to me to look in the den.
There was little miss Annie in the drawer that I had left open. Of course, couldn't find the camera that quickly. It then dawned on me that that is the drawer where I keep the alpaca.
Not only does she really like alpaca, but she likes the natural colors more than the dyed. A girl after my own heart.

Remember when

2010-03-31T12:16:00.000-07:00

On my way home from PT this morning, I was noticing gas prices on my route. Anywhere from $2.93 to $3.05. And if you need water in your radiator or air in your tires, they have the nerve to charge 3 quarters for that privilege. With pay-at-the pump, you don't even see the guy who is taking your money unless you go inside to purchase coffee, donuts, sandwiches, milk, diapers---
I know it's been a long time since I started driving, but I remember when---
for 25 cents a gallon, the guy came out and not only pumped your gas, but checked your water and oil, put air in the old tires if they needed it and cleaned your windshield. The only extras the station offered were a restroom on the side, a cigarette machine and a cold drink machine.
It feel likes the more I pay, the less I get. What's wrong with this picture?

I need a name, please

2010-03-28T17:54:00.000-07:00

Here is my latest work of art.. But she needs a name. And a pattern tester. Can you help? I will give a copy of the pattern to winner of the name contest. And of course, if you are testing the pattern, you will have a copy. What do you think of this creation?

Spring has sprung!

2010-03-28T16:59:00.000-07:00

We have had so much rain this year that we haven't spent much time in the yard the last couple of months. A couple of years ago I bought 5 orchids from some neighbors who were moving. Only a couple bloomed last year. This year, they are all blooming and incredibly gorgeous! Take a look.

In like a Lion, Out like a Lamb

2010-03-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

Where to start?

The last month has been insane for me! Penny went into the hospital for her hip replacement surgery about 6 weeks earlier than anticipated. She had some minor complications in recovery that had me running back and forth some. But, she is home and doing well.

No sooner got her in the hospital than Stitches West started. Crazy busy 4 days, but a ton of fun for all involved. Can't wait to do that again next year.
We had been given a lot of baby yarn, so I sat down with my stitch pattern book, a hook, and some yarn. This is what I came up with. It is intended for Project Linus. All PL blankies are put thru the washer and dryer before they are donated. Well, this one had a slight problem when it came out of the wash. I have used other yarn that had to be at least 20 years old, with never a problem, so don't know what happened here. Am thinking of throwing it on the floor for the kitties. They want to sit on it while I'm working on it. But now I wonder if I should try use more of this donated yarn. Decisions, decisions!
My other ghan for PL turned out great! Found this yarn at the Joann's super store in Fremont one day and loved the color. Then added a couple more colors from the old stash. Used the stitch pattern books again.

Disallusioned

2010-03-06T18:46:00.000-08:00

I am no longer a crocheter, but a fiber artist. Today I am totally ashamed of crocheters. Maybe I will get over this, maybe not.
Crocheters have been bellyaching about not getting the proper respect, classes, etc. That they are being overlooked for what knitters want.
Well, guess what? Crocheters aren't willing to pay for what they want and knitters are!
Bente at PYA has bent over backward to make her store a crochet friendly place. She has a Crochet Circle every Tuesday. Just bring in your project and work with like minded people. She pays Peter to be available to help anyone who needs it. She has offered her classroom to our crochet guild for free to hold our monthly meetings. She schedules almost as many crochet classes as knit. In fact, for March, National Crochet Month, she scheduled additional crochet classes based upon things people had indicated to her that they would like to learn.
I was scheduled to teach a class the next 2 sundays on making flowers for embellishment. As of 6 p.m. today, no one had signed up for this class. The price for the class was quite reasonable. You could bring your own yarn and hook to the class. She doesn't require you to purchase supplies in the store.
I'm having a hard time believing that we could not find 3 people who were willing to put their money where their mouth is. I want to hear no more about how badly crocheters are treated.

It's All Yarn

2010-03-01T15:06:00.000-08:00

I love the folks on my discussion groups, but sometimes I get so frustrated with the level of ignorance that I about burst! Stitches West has been a huge topic of discussion in recent days as it was in town this weekend.
Stitches is a knitters expo! Always has been. Crocheters attend to buy yarn from places that are not easily obtainable.. Great opportunity to pet yarns so the next time we want to order from cyberspace, we know what we are getting. There are a few vendors that feature some crochet. There were a few crochet books. There were some absolutely gorgeous hooks. There were only a couple of classes for crochet. Stitches is a knitters expo!
I found there to be more crochet this time than in other years that I've attended. CGOA shared a booth with TKGA and my guild chapter, Men Who Crochet, manned the Warm Up America booth.
People who own yarn stores and think crocheters are beneath them find themselves out of business! If you are in the East Bay of Northern CA, visit Piedmont Yarn & Apparel. This is a very crochet friendly store. Bente bends over backwards to stock the things we want. She is helping us celebrate National Crochet month with special displays and additional classes in crochet. You will not be disappointed in this store.
My own distorted point of view is crocheters do more for charity than knitters, so we do have a tendancy to buy lots of inexpensive acrylic yarns for that purpose. That is what the charities want to receive. We don't make the rules, we just try to follow them.
At Stitches West this weekend I purchased some superwash merino for a vest I want to design and make for myself. I also bought a lovely wooden shawl pin and some "happy hands" hand creme made especially for handling yarn. I was gifted 3 hanks of handpainted Koigu yarn by Merilyn of Foxyknits. I think this will become a shrug type thing for moi.
I didn't buy too much this time as my circumstances have changed in the last year, and I have yarn from last year still in hanks. MMM! Might be time to get busy and do something with it.
Anyway, if you go to an event like this, remember who the target audience is and remember you are a guest. A paying one, yes, but still a guest.

Skill Levels

2010-02-23T11:08:00.000-08:00

Over on the CGOA discussion board, they have been chatting about skill levels on patterns. I personally don't like them. I think that most people underestimate their abilities and skills and may pass up a pattern that they really want to do because someone who does not know them tells them this pattern is hard.
The only hard thing about the pattern is reading it. If you've crocheted for very long, you know the basic stitches. The designer will have notes on special stitches. You might want to practice them before you start if you are not familiar with that particular sequence of yarn overs. It is just a matter of putting them together to make something useful, or pretty, or just plain silly!
So, in my NSHO, the difficulty in a pattern is the reading. And like any skill, it only gets better with practice.

Slow down: you need to really read and follow each word of the directions.

Don't anticipate: the repeats are not as easy as in other patterns. There are usually more than one per row or round. I've been known to use hi-lighters so I can quickly see what my next instruction is.

Create something wonderful.
Then slap yourself on the back for stretching your skills.
And go to Crochet Partners, or CGOA and brag about your accomplishments.

Heart Shaped Afghan

2010-02-01T20:44:00.000-08:00

Periodically someone on CP is looking for a heart shaped baby ghan. Hard to believe that no one has ever designed one. So, I decided to be a hero and do one. Unh! I have looked for and printed every rendition of crocheted heart shapes I can find, as a starting point for an afghan; bookmarks, pillows, sachets, potholders, dishcloths, whatever I could find.
These all work great to a point, then as it gets bigger, it morphs into something that only vaguely resembles a heart. I have been playing with this for a couple of weeks, and am no closer now than when I started.
But--don't give up! I'm not. I'm sure I can't get anything done before Valentine's this year, but I'm going to keep trying. Nothing like a challenge. Right?

Why Is It?

2010-01-31T10:16:00.000-08:00

I have all this yarn and a cupboard full of patterns, and I can not find anything to go together. I have been collecting patterns since the 1970's, so you would think between what I have and what's on the internet, I should be able to find a pattern to go with my yarn. I'll even pay for patterns if I find what I want! But it seems most sweaters are still designed for ww yarn. I personally don't like the look and feel of ww in crochet for sweaters, and I live in CA, so I don't need all the bulky warmth. I want something pretty that doesn't add to the Pillsbury Dough Boy shape I already have.
Case in point: I have 10 hanks of fw baby alpaca/silk (pistachio green) that I bought a couple of years ago with the idea of making myself a sweater from it. In total, there is almost 2200 yds, which sounds like a lot of yarn until you realize that I have a bustline to rival Dolly Parton. Wish my waist were a little closer to hers. Anyway, I digress. I spent an entire evening looking for a pattern that I could use. I can't find one! So I guess I'll have to design my own, but I really wanted something that I could just make in time to wear to Stitches West next month.
I was given a basket full of baby yarn for Project Linus blankies, but the color combos are erratic, at best. Could not find a pattern to work with the yarn on hand, so got out my handy book Crochet 101 Stitches for Afghans by Jean Leinhauser. Coming together quite nicely. A few more days and I'll be reaching for 50 Crocheted Afghan Borders, also by Jean. And a few days after that, you can check my Ravelry page for a new pattern.

Still Struggling

2010-01-30T12:04:00.000-08:00

I have not had a cigarette since Sept 14, 2009. But--- I want one every minute of every day! I keep thinking it should be getting easier as time goes on. Stop smoking commercials on TV are making me crazy. I know that they are trying to promote a non-smoking environment, but it sure is hard to see those ads, on TV, the internet, or magazines. Every time I see an ad for Chantix, Nicorette or Nicoderm, I desperately want a cig. Not bad enough to get dressed and go buy a pack, but enough it stays on my mind. And those commercials are everywhere! I do not want to become a smoker again, but I'm feeling very vulnerable today.

This & That

2010-01-23T09:20:00.000-08:00

Nothing huge happening here, but a little bit of this and that. Our guild chapter is hosting the Warm Up America booth at Stitches West next month, so have been busy coordinating with their person, Mary Colucci. She has been great to work with. Trying to get all our crew on the schedule for the weekend, so Mary will have their badges available when they get there.
Our guild has started a blog to get our presence known and to be able to communicate with members who aren't able to attend a meeting. It's also a great way to keep folks informed of upcoming events. Check it out. www.menwhocrochet.blogspot.com
With both of us sick starting before Christmas, we are a little slow getting our decorations down this year. I'm also tracing around the base of each of the village buildings and making notes on where the lights go, how tall, etc. My goal is to make a better platform for display before next year.. So it is taking even longer to put this stuff away.
The rain has been horrendous this last week, and we have water in the den. One corner of the den is the low point on our lot and the water pools there. So we went and got sandbags the other day. It does seem to be helping move the water away from that corner. I got up on the ladder yesterday and pulled some leaves out of the gutters which let the water move along. The landlord came a little later in the day and did some more. His handyman is here now to finish up the gutters and do some cleanup. We are so lucky to have such a good landlord.
I finally finished the stadium robe in 3 colors. Haven't taken a pic yet as the batteries are dead in my camera. Yuk! I have everything I need for a couple of afghans for the fairs this year. Just trying to finish a couple of UFO's before I start anything new. I also have 3 or 4 sketches in my notebook for new designs.
We are turning our "guest" room into a sewing/craft room. Penny wants to get back into quilting and it would be good to just be able to get up and close the door at the end of the day. Way too cold/hot in the garage. And when was the last time we had a guest stay over nite? Better use of the real estate to sew in there. Need to get rid of the double bed. Penny has already filled the dresser with fabric and notions. This little room has the best light in the house, so it will make a great sewing room. But we need to finish putting away Xmas before we start that room.
I'm sure there is other stuff going on, but I'm not sure what. So when I think of it, I'll report in.

Ravelry and Facebook

2010-01-15T11:26:00.000-08:00

I joined Rav probably a year ago, maybe longer but hadn't used it much until this fall. Of course, the fact I had patterns I wanted to get out there had a lot to do with that. And I love, love, love Ravelry. It is amazing to me how much I have crocheted since I'm keeping track of my projects there. And I still let a couple get out the door at the holidays without being recorded. Oh, well! Can't win them all.
I just this week broke down and joined Facebook. I had resisted for several reasons, but the number 1 reason is my granddaughter was really upset when her father wanted to be her friend and she didn't know how to tell him no. She is a young lady, not a kid so I think she deserves some privacy. But, when my girlfriend from high school's grandson asked me to be his friend on FB, I finally broke down. But, I won't look for Nic unless the invite comes from her. I'm getting hearts, I see folks are in groups and I have no idea what farmworld is. But, I'm there if you need me.
It took me about 20 seconds to post a badge/link from Facebook to this blog. I have been trying to do that from Ravelry for weeks. I got the button once, but the link didn't work. Now I can't even do that. Can not figure it out. So if anyone can help, let me know.

Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn

2010-01-14T21:02:00.000-08:00

I very rarely comment on the yarn I use, but I just have to tell you how much I do not like this yarn. I will never use it again. I do not know what the hype is all about. When I think sock yarn, I think very even yarn, soft with a touch of stretch. Noro is none of these. In places there are lumps and in other places it is as thin as #20 thread. I found it stiff and scratchy to crochet. Not what I want to walk on. Fortunately, I did not use it to make socks, but a vest, so these issues are more aesthetic than anything else. When I pay almost $20 for a ball of yarn, I do not expect to find knots in it. And if you have to knot in some more yarn, at least follow the color sequence, and only one knot per skein, thank you. Can you tell I am not very happy with this yarn? The colors are gorgeous, but that will not overcome the other problems I had with this yarn. The vest is beautiful and I will post a pic as soon as it is dry. I was curious what others thoought of this yarn so I went to Ravelry. This yarn is not even listed in the database. Anyone else have a problem with this yarn?

It is a New Year!

2010-01-11T16:08:00.000-08:00

Wow! It has been ages since my last post. Made it thru the holidays alive. For a few days that was debatable. Penny and I both caught colds (actually, the Dr says its a viral infection). Penny came down with that early in the week of Christmas and I woke up Christmas morning with a sore throat and stuffy head. On the phone to postpone dinner at our house on the 27th. Just moved it into the New Year, but we lost some of our guests. Peter had to teach, Matt had to go back to school, Kelly went to Canada with some friends, Steve was in CO with his girlfriend. Their loss, just that much more food for the rest of us. And it was outstanding, if I do say so myself. We figured everyone was tired of turkey, so we changed it up a bit.
roast pork, mash potatoes and gravy, glazed carrots, green beans with water chestnuts and sour cream, baked apples, spinach salad with cranberries, rolls and a f aux trifle made with lemon loaf and raspberries. Yum! It was all delicious, attested to by the fact there were only enuf leftovers for a couple of meals.
I am not big on resolutions so I have not made any for this year. But, I am still not smoking, and we are trying to eat better and get more exercise than we have. I am going to physical therapy 2 times a week for my frozen shoulder and Penny is to start some pt for her hip before they do surgery on it.
I was doing a lot of crocheting before the holidays, designed a couple of patterns that I need to finish writing before I forget what all those notes mean.
I will try to be better this year in posting more regularly.

The Holidays are Coming!

2009-11-18T15:21:00.000-08:00

What brings it into focus for me is that next week is Thanksgiving and I have to get
my scarves in the mail to Dawn for this years shipment to military personnel. Each year for the last several, Dawn has coordinated with military personnal in her hometown to see that folks who do not get packages at the holidays get something. Her crochet family has done a great job of providing scarves, and other businesses in her community provide extras, like toothpaste, candy, shampoo, etc. About a year ago, my local Hancock fabrics went out of biz, and I bought several skeins of Lion Brand Wool-Ease at closeout prices. I have been trying to make scarves out of 1 skein, using all kinds of methods. I have used stitch pattern books, patterns, elements from afghans, etc. Whatever I found interesting at the time. So here are this years scarves.

2009-11-03T11:16:00.000-08:00

Good News, Bad News sorta day

Only 11 a.m. and already one of those days.
I got up to the news that Diane has finished the pattern testing on Butterfly Kisses and it is ready to publish to my pattern store in Ravelry. Got that done. She is still working on the Pinwheels pattern. Hopefully, it will be approved later this week. Good stuff! And, by looking at her Ravelry profile, I discovered we have the same birthday. How cool is that? I have had friends with b-days all around me, but never right on mine.
And just to keep me from getting too full of myself, reality checked in.
My friend, Peter Penguin (not Franzi) went in to the hospital yesterday to have surgery on his pancreas. Never did understand exactly what the problem is, but he has been waiting months for this surgery. When they opened him up, they found cancer in a lymph node, so instead of doing what they went there for, they are trying to find the source of the cancer. Damn!
It has been 7 weeks since my last cigarette! Now, that is good news.

2009-10-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

Pattern Tester Needed

I finished the Butterfly Kisses scarf and I need a pattern tester. If you are interested, please email me at cayscrafts@gmail.com. I found this scarf fun to make but a little challenging to assemble. But once I got the hang of it, I think it worked up nicely.

2009-10-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

Better and Better

I am so excited! Several month ago, I designed a baby ghan that I donated to Project Linus. Very simple pattern but it makes a real cushy blankie. Anyway, I talked to Alice, my local PL coordinator, about submitting the pattern to Project Linus. She got the info for me, and I sent it in to them a couple of months ago. About a week ago I heard from them and they accepted the pattern. And, today it is posted on their site! Baby Bobbles Afghan So very exciting for me. I hope everyone who gives it a go donates one to Project Linus.
For more info on them, go here: http://www.projectlinus.org

2009-10-26T12:12:00.000-07:00

Fun, Fun, Fun

Friday I went to PYA with Peter so I could show Bente my newest creations and talk to her about the washable wool that I want. We found one wool that is perfect, but it comes in 50 g balls. So many ends! Bente is going to contact the manufacturer and see if that is the only option. She says sometimes it is available on cones, but they do not advertise that little fact. We shall see!
And, I sold a felted messenger bag that I had there on consignment. Yea!
I showed her the Pinwheels scarf and she set it aside for display as soon as the pattern is tested. No pressure, Diane! I also showed her the beginning of Butterfly Kisses made from sock yarn that she personally dyed. She handed me a ball of Noro sock yarn and said, can you make a scarf with various size flowers out of this. Oh, yea!
I also turned in 2 baby ghans and a lapghan for consignment. Then I sat myself down and joined the Fiber Artists Friday group and worked some more on Butterfly Kisses. Before the evening was over, we had a surprise trunk show from a local spinner and dyer. So much yummy yarn and not enuf money. There was one alpaca there that I really wanted. Maybe next time.
Here are a couple of pics of the baby ghans and the newest scarf, for your entertainment.

2009-10-22T12:46:00.000-07:00

UFOs

Recently I have been very good at starting projects but not finishing for one reason or another. So, I have decided to post them all as WIPs on Ravelry. Maybe that will shame me into finishing these.

I have an 3 color afghan that has gotten too big to carry around.

A mam that needed more green and I bought the wrong one.

Squares that I work on in my spare time.

A Teddy-ghan that needed more pink than I had. Thanks, Laurie. I think I can finish this one now.

Another ghan from squares in cotton-need more yarn

A diagonal box stitch ( I actually did not know what was in this tub).

And, this does not include the WIW bags and in a tub in the garage. I have no idea how many are there, patiently waiting their turn to come in the house.

2009-10-21T12:07:00.000-07:00

Patience

This is a lesson that I am still trying to learn! It has never been one of my strong suits, and right now it is being tested to the max. I have this fab idea in my head that I want to do. I have sketched, done some very rough estimates on the yarn yardage and it is a lot. Probably between 3 and 4 thousand yds of sport wt or maybe light DK wt yarn. That is a lot of yarn! But it is a substantial piece. And I really want to do it. But right this minute, that is cost prohibitive. But I can see it in my minds eye and I want to wear it! On top of that, I took pics of my latest project this morning, went to transfer to my computer, and the %$^^%$ batteries are dead. So now waiting for them to recharge. Patience, my child, patience.

So, to entertain myself a couple of evenings ago, I was flipping thru one of my Harmony guides and found some really cool motif patterns. I have never been real fond of motifs cuz you have to attach them somehow to each other to make anything. But a couple just kept drawing me back. So, I picked one and some really pretty wool fingering wt yarn that was gifted to me by a good friend and gave it a go. I was right. Attaching them to each other was the challenge. I tried sl st, sc, a faux braid and none of them gave the right look. Amazingly, the old stand-by, whipstitch, was just what this needed. The yarn I used made all the color variations seen in the scarf I think it turned out very pretty. Anyone want to test the pattern?

So, now I am playing with the other motif that was calling my name. I am also crocheting it in a beautiful hand dyed wool sock yarn gifted to me by the same friend. It has a different contruction than the first, so I am actually able to attach them in the crochet process, kind of a join as you go. Not sure where this is taking me yet, but it sure is a fun ride!

2009-10-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

PYA
My new fav place to buy yarn is Piedmont Yarn and Apparel in Oakland. It is on Piedmont Ave, which is a cute street and has just about anything you want there. I saw a used bookstore, my other fav place to spend money, but have not had a chance to stop in there, yet. There is also a Fentons Ice Cream Parlor, which I understand is sinful. Cute clothing stores, antiques, etc. You can spend the entire day and not see it all. And so many restaurants that making a choice is very hard.
Anyway, I digress.
Peter Franzi teaches classes at PYA and we had our guild meeting there last month. The owner, Bente, helped me find a coordinating yarn to go with the Musette from China, so I can crochet "MY" Musette Vest. Also picked up the yarn for our one skein challenge. I went week before last to the Crochet Circle on Tues. Saw more yarn that I wanted, always, but need to wait.
But, Bente is on the search for yarn for my next project. I really want it coned, sport weight, washable wool, in a red tweed. I mean, if you are going to dream, get what you want! I am sure there will be compromises in what I actually get because so far her search has not met all the criteria. So, they may have to change some.
One of the reasons for wanting coned yarn is the size of the project. I am guessing it will take approx 3,000 yds of yarn, but I am not sure that will be enuf. So, on cones, better yardage, fewer ends to tie in, and usually most cost effective. We will see.
Piedmont Yarn takes finished items on consignment, and I have several things there. They sell original patterns designed by their customers. Mine will be there soon, and Peter already has a portfolio in the store. They offer lessons in knit, crochet, spinning, maybe others. They have a nice clean store with such a variety of yarns. Prices are quite reasonable, compared to other LYS I have visited. So, if you are in the area, take a trip to the store. I am sure you will not be disappointed.

2009-10-07T12:46:00.000-07:00

Temptation!

Three weeks into the non-smoking, and I'm dying here! The last 3 or 4 days have been pure, unadulterated hell. Usually, the urge to have a cigarette will pass in just a few minutes, if I get myself busy. But the last couple of days, it has not been that easy. Even eating or crocheting isn't helping. But, I have gone this far, and I will not give in. The nicotine should be out of my system by now, so am not sure why the urge is so strong. I should be down to just breaking the cycles that are left over from years of having a cig in the car, after meals, etc. I AM HEALTHIER AND WEALTHIER WITHOUT CIGARETTES!

2009-10-02T12:19:00.000-07:00

Women's Health Awareness Month

Most folks think of October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month but there are other diseases out there that use October to bring awareness to their situations, also. I think it is wonderful that enough people have gotten on the wagon and promote breast cancer awareness, but let us not forget the ladies suffering from other, just as debilitating diseases. The one closest to my heart is the Lupus Foundation (link in the right column, just below the Breast Cancer site). No one knows what causes lupus, it cannot be cured and ruins the lives of countless numbers. It is diagnosed only by eliminating many other things. This is a process that can take years. The meds to help control it can cause organ damage. But, uncontrolled, it will eventual lead to organ failure and death.
So, please, add a purple ribbon to your pink ribbon this month to help increase awareness of Lupus.

2009-09-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

And the Winner is---

Kath with Autumn Breeze. There were so many great suggestions that it was hard to choose, but I like this because it is color neutral and the purpose is to keep those breezes from going down the neck. Thanks everyone! Kath, please contact me at cayscrafts@gmail.com so I can email your copy to you. For everyone else, this will be available by tomorrow on my pattern page on Ravelry-Cays Crafts.

2009-09-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

Neckwarmer needs a Name!

I designed this cute little pidge a while back and it needs a name. It is crocheted with a twin v stitch and has two buttons. It's been sitting in my file for a long time and now I'm ready to post it to my pattern store in Ravelry, but it needs a name. So, here I am, asking for suggestions from my friends. Leave your suggestion in the comments and the person whose suggestion I use, will get a PDF of the pattern. I'll make my choice Tues morning, so get your thinking caps on. Thanks!

2009-09-27T09:56:00.000-07:00

Ravelry

I joined Ravelry a couple of years ago, but have not used it much. So, in order to prepare for providing the Musette vest pattern, I have been updating my Rav pages, trying to figure out how to provide a pattern for others, etc. It has taken up most of my time for the last couple of days, but I think I finally have it! I have one pattern listed there now for free and as soon as one of my friends lets me know she is able to pick it up, I think I will list another. Just to make sure. I have probably a half dozen things I have actually written down the patterns for and Peter and I were discussing putting them on his website. But, it looks like I can do it myself from Ravelry. Will wonders never cease.
I was really surprised this morning when I looked at the pattern that I posted. Already several people have marked it as a fav and 1 person actually queued it. How cool is that?
Oh yea! If you want to check me out there my id is cayscrafts and my store is Cays Crafts. Big surprise, huh?

2009-09-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

Not Smoking Update
I am on day 11 of being a non-smoker! It has been hard at times, but I am getting thru it.
I have been crocheting like crazy, and baking cookies like there is no tomorrow. First out of the oven were choc chip made with raspberry choc chips that I bought last Christmas season, made with macadamia nuts. Then, I tried to invent a new cookie and it came out ok, but not what I envisioned. I used the choc chip basic recipe and added canned pineapple, coconut and more macadamias. They turned out more cakey than cookiey. But they tasted good. Think I may try them with dried pineapple. The canned seemed to add too much moisture to the mix. And last night, we moved on to peanut butter. Had a hard time choosing between the peanut butter and snicker doodles. Snicker doodles will have their day, and probably soon the way we have been going thru the cookies. Hope this part of the non-smoking does not last long.
When I get weak, I chant to myself- I am healthier and wealthier without cigarettes.

2009-09-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

Musette
I have been holding out on you. For the last couple of months, I have been working on designing a vest. Let me tell you how this came about and then I will show you a picture.
Probably about 2 or 2 1-2 years ago, one of the fellows I used to work with went to China on vacation. He brought me 4 skeins of some beautiful yarn ( there is a whole post about that back when I got it). I spent some time finding out what it is and then it sat, waiting for the right thing to be turned into. Not enough for a sweater, too much for a scarf and I do not do scarves.
Several months ago, I ran across a pic of a knitted vest on the internet. Very different than anything I had ever seen. I printed it out and looked and looked and looked at it. Just could not get my mind around how to do it.

Peter was here for lunch one day and he had just finished one of his designs, so we were talking about what he was going to do next. I got my pic out, and we started discussing how this could be done. By the time he left. I had a pretty good idea of how to proceed. My vest only resembles the knitted vest in basic shape, but I am quite pleased with the results. The prototype is worked in fingering wt wool. It took crocheting it 5 times to get the look I envisioned.

And, without further ado, I introduce you to Musette.

2009-09-16T16:31:00.000-07:00

Final test
I've been a smoker for over 40 years, and this week I'm making my umpteenth attempt to quit. I want to do this. I know for my health I need to do this. I can no longer afford financially to smoke. All good reasons. But right this minute, I would give just about anything for a cigarette. I keep telling myself that this will pass in just a few minutes. I've crocheted like a mad woman for the last two days. I've washed dishes more times in the last two days than the last month. (Penny normally cleans the kitchen)
I have all the tools I need this time. I am taking Chantix, and the nausea is starting to pass. Thank God. I have nicotine inhalers, if I need them. So far, I've resisted the urge to use the inhaler. Penny is quitting with me this time for many of the same reasons that I'm quitting. Yesterday in the car I almost buckled. But, I stayed strong and made it home by buying ice cream and eggs instead of cigs.
My record as a non-smoker is 3 weeks. This time will be different. It has to be.

2009-09-09T08:37:00.000-07:00

Appeal for HELP!
I am having a terrible time trying to upload my pics to Webshots.com so I can post them to my blog. If you go to my album County Fairs 2009, you will see that only part of them have been edited, rotated, etc. No descriptions or anything. I'll be going along just fine, and then the whole thing freezes up. So consequently, I've not posted about the San Mateo County Fair.
The second part of this problem is with my computer itself. When I move pics to Webshots or burn them to cd, the damn computer makes copies of them! I can't delete them, because it will make more copies.
I have Windows XP, and use My Pictures for the upload. My camera is Nikon Coolpix.
Between the two problems, the one most frustrating is the arbitrary copy making. The idea in burning to cd is so not use so much memory for pics. But they just keep multiplying.
If anyone has any suggestions for me, I would be forever grateful. I've been frustrated for a long time with this, but figured sooner or later I could figure it out. NOT!
OK. A couple hours later, and now I can't even get into Webshots! Not true. I can't access my album from my blog. I am so utterly, unbelievably frustrated!
The other thing I can't seem to figure out this morning is how to make a shortcut to Blogger on my desktop. Think I tried to do this before with no luck. But that makes no sense to me.
If you can help me with any of these issues, please email me at cayscrafts@gmail.com. Thanks in advance.

2009-07-22T23:35:00.000-07:00

Fair #2 results are in
Well, we went to Alameda County Fair (CA) on a Thursday during the day. Perfect, all the way around. Not too many folks, the weather was just about perfect!
My Tropical Mist doily took 1st, Granny Ripple Afghan 2nd, Bread and Butter pickles 2nd,Baby Shawl Afghan 3rd, I had 4 more entries that didn't win anything. This fair does give you the scorecard and sometimes the judges do write comments, but to me it is still very confusing. Wish my scanner was working so I could show you one of these. It is graded 25% appearance, 50% workmanship, 25% suitability. The grading scale is well done +, acceptable ^, needs improving -. On this sweater, I received a + on every point, but no ribbon. also, no comments. Go figure. However, on my tomato preserves, there are notes that I left too much head space and preserves should have fruit pieces. Now, that tells me what I need to improve to do better next year. Thank you culinary judge!
When we went today to pick up our items, I got the phone # and name of the person to contact so I can volunteer next year. I have bitched for the last 3 years about the way the items are displayed, so it's time to get off my duff and do something about it.
We have had a really hard time finding our entries at this fair. If there is a method to how things are displayed, I still haven't figured it out. And to complicate things, they had Home Arts in 2 buildings. I'm sure there was supposed to be reason for what went in each building, but there were afghans in both, sweaters in both, baby stuff in both. Can't find the pattern here. So, hopefully, I can get on the committee that does the displays and can give them some input. We'll see.
All in all, a very good day.

2009-07-03T11:10:00.000-07:00

How much is too much?
Peter and I were discussing pattern prices the other day. In most of the online groups that we belong to, everyone seems to want all patterns for free. Makes it very hard for the designers to make any money. So, how much is too much for a well written pattern?
I am as guilty as the next guy about using free on-line patterns. Love them! But I've also been known to spend quite a bit when it was something I really, really wanted. Of course, I will spend more $ on a sweater than I will a potholder. To me, an afghan or beautiful doily pattern is worth more than a cap or scarf.
So, I've put a poll on the right side of my blog so you can help answer this question. You have until July 10th to answer this question.

2009-07-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

Next Project
Recently on Crochet Partners, there has been a discussion on how we pick our next project. I've had to laugh at this, because most of us have several things on our hooks at the same time, and WIMs lined up just waiting their turn.
Last week, I had all my fair entries done, too hot to work on the afghan I'm making for Project Linus, so I thought "This is the perfect time to try that wire crochet." My friend, Kitty, gave me the book a couple of years ago, I bought the wire and beads. Guess what? I can't find any of it! I usually put the pattern and supplies in a Ziploc type bag until I'm ready for it. But I can't find the bag. Unfortunately, I haven't had a good place to put the bags so they kinda get stuffed wherever I can find room for them. I've been looking for a week and still can't find the darn thing.
So, I started making a tote bag for Mattie, who is one of the ladies in my guild chapter. She always raves about my purses when I show up with a new one. She doesn't really carry a purse so I decided to make her a tote for her crocheting. She is well into her 80's and makes a minimum of 3 or 4 blankets for Project Linus every month, volunteers at the Food Bank at the Community Center every week and still volunteers at Oakland Children's Hospital. No one deserves this more. Someone gave me a huge cone of suede ribbon yarn in a steel blue gray. Alice gave me a patch that says Project Linus blanketeer which I'm going to sew on the front. I have the bottom, both sides, the front and about 1/3 of the back done in just a couple of days.
I guess my NEXT PROJECT should be finding a storage place for my WIMs that are ready to do. I was thinking of shelves to sit the bags on, but I have so many different sizes that I'm not sure that would work. I'm thinking maybe just a good size plastic tub would be the best. Then I need to gather up all those projects and put them there so when I need something to do, it is the first place I go.

2009-06-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

Comfortghan Squares
As most of you know, Crochet Partners is a huge on-line group of crocheters from around the world. Every once in a while, we find out about a member who has had a tragic event occur in their lives, so we have a small group of ladies (at this time, no men are doing this) who assemble comfortghans that we can send to them when they need a hug. Different people assemble different sizes of squares, so no matter what pattern you have or want to try out, there is someone who is working with that size. You can find out more about the Comfortghan Project here - http://home.earthlink.net/~sdcrochet/CP/CPCP.html
There are some challenges for the assemblers because everyone's gauge is different. For example, my square calls for using an I hook, and the one you are crocheting is using a G or H. Ok! Obviously, you will have more stitches on your final round than I do. I have found an assembly method that will take that into consideration and make a nice join.
The real challenge is when we receive a square that is not the proper size. I think one of the problems may be that people don't know how to measure a square and what to do when it's not quite the right size. So, I'm going to pass on some hints that I've learned over the years.
First: Measuring. Lay your square on a hard flat surface, desk, tv tray, coffee table, etc. Use a hard ruler, wood, metal, or plastic. No measuring tape! Measure across the middle of the square from both directions. If the measurement is correct, e.g, 8", then finish off, tie in your ends, and mail it to me. But, let's say it is not quite up to the size, then it needs to be enlarged.
Second: To increase the size of any square, rows can be added after the final round of the pattern. If you need 1 more inch, do a row of hdc (half double crochet) around, then measure again. If that is too much, then try a row of sc. Most of the time I have found that if I need 1/2" I use sc, 1" hdc, 1 1/2", dc. They will not ever be perfect, but when they are being combined with squares made by 30 other people, the closer to correct size, the better. Anything with a variance of more than 1/4" needs to be adjusted, and if I have to do the adjusting, then it's not just your square anymore.
If your square is only 7", mail it to the person who is using 7" squares. We all need squares! I'm just more vocal than some of the other assemblers.
Third: Finishing. I find it much easier to assemble the squares when there is a ch2 in each corner. That way the corner on every square is clearly defined and there is no guessing on my part where the corner is. I learned many years ago, that when weaving in loose ends, to work them back into the fabric away from the edges. It makes for a neater edge, and since the center of the fabric gets less wear, it is less likely that an end will work its way undone. Thanks Mom, for that bit of advice.
Fourth: Thank you, thank you, thank you to each of you wonderful crocheters who share your talent and love with those who need it. Without you, there would be no Comfortghan Project.

2009-06-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

Blocking Doilies
At last! I think I have a good method of blocking my doilies. As you know if you have ever done this, what to use as a blocking board, how to get it dry in a reasonable amount of time, and where to put it while it dries are the age old problems. Then the next time you're ready to block, the perfect piece of cardboard has disappeared or been used as a backdrop for a school project. Ok!
With the suggestion from one of my Crochet Partners, I ordered those soft tiles that you snap together. They are 12" x 12", so I ordered nine for less than $25 from www.imaginationproject.com
. I figured that was big enough for anything I was going to block. They can be configured any way you need them, 3x3, 2x4, or just use one for a small doily. I am storing them in one of those zippered bags that a set of sheets came in. Voila! The blocking board problem is solved.
I usually hand was my doilies unless I'm doing all of them at once, then I put them in a lingerie bag and throw them in the washer with a load of clothes. I put them in a zip lock type bag with my liquid starch and let them set for a while to really soak up that starch. I squeeze out as much excess starch as possible, but they are still really soggy! So, needing to get one dry in a very short amount of time, I threw it in the dryer for about 5 or 10 minutes. Wonderful, still wet enough to block but not so wet it will take a week to dry. With the help of a fan, I dried a 28" doily in about 6 hours. To pin the project, I like to use the stainless steel T-pins. I got mine at Walmart a long time ago. Hope they still have them because I need more. If I don't have enough of them, I use stainless steel quilt pins with the little ball on top. I find the t-pins are the easiest to use. Your fingers can get really sore after putting dozens of pins in a doily. Not so much with the t-pins. By the way, I still use wax paper under my doily so it doesn't stick to the tiles.
Now it's blocked and just needs time to dry. What to do with it? Need to eat on the table, don't want a cat laying in the middle of it. These tiles are snapped together good enough to move the whole project. This morning, I took mine outside and leaned it up against a wall on a small table. How great is that? Drying in the fresh air, not in my way. Hooray!
I hope these tips help you out, and if you have any more, please share.

2009-06-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

Hooray! and I'm sorry
The deadline for turning in the entries for the Alameda County Fair is today. As you probably know, i wanted to enter the Tropical Mist Doily in this fair, but I was having lots of problems with the pattern. If I would just learn to read, patterns would be so much easier! I was reading tc cl, when it really said tc cl shell. Hmmm, no wonder I didn't have ch 3 where I needed it on the next row. I was on a marathon crocheting on Thur and Fri and finished the doily last nite about midnight. The last half hour I was trying not panic as it looked like I might run out of thread. I maybe have 3 yds left on the spool. That's cutting it a little close.Finished the blocking about 1 a.m. Turned the fan on it, and went to bed praying it would be dry by morning. It was and is absolutely gorgeous. Peter and I just got back from dropping off our entries and I am absolutely exhausted.
Now for my apology. I was bad mouthing the pattern because I thought there were mistakes in the way it was written. So, Ms Hiddleson, I am so sorry that I complained about this pattern. It was all my own fault for trying to hurry and not reading the instructions thoroughly.
And a huge Thank You to all who tried to help.

2009-06-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

Frustration! Frustration! Frustration!
Can you tell that I am frustrated? The delivery for the Alameda County Fair is this weekend, fair starts 7/1. Well, I have been working on a doily called Tropical Mist by Hiddleson that I purchased from E-Pattern Central. Got to row 23 and my count is off. Now, you have to understand I count every stitch, but apparently didn't do such a good job counting loops. I have had a real hard time with this pattern almost from the the first stitch. It is telling me to use ch 3 loops when no ch 3 loops were made in the previous row, etc. So I adjusted the pattern to what I thought was a good plan. Wrong!
Tried to find some quick help (deadline looming) from CP and Ravelry. Out of time.
So, I started another doily called Pink Palette (my thread color is linen) from an old issue of Magic Crochet. I am on the next to last row when I see a serious mistake about 7 rows back. Rip it! Rip it! When I get to the boo-boo, my count is wrong. What is wrong with me? I continue to rip for another couple of rows but still can't find the error that is causing this problem.
This is not going to make my deadline, so I just frogged the whole thing! My granddaughter almost fainted when she walked into the den to see it all back in a ball.
Ok, so I can't seem to crochet. But I have made my bread and butter slices and tomato preserves for the fair. Look good. Sure hope they do well this year. I have won 2nd for the pickles but have never entered the preserves before.
Since it is about a month before I need the stuff for the San Mateo County Fair, I am going to try the Tropical Mist doily again. In fact, did the first 11 rows last night.
Wish me luck on completing it in time.

2009-05-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

The Fairs have started.
Well, the first of the three county fairs that I'm entering this summer is this weekend. We went today, Penny, Kitty, Nicolle, and Peter. We did very well! Yea!
Since this is my blog, we'll start with my stuff. I won a 2nd for my Sweater (the category is Men/Women crochet or knitted). Then the Grandma's Napkins doily took 2nd. My original pattern cap & scarf did nothing but look good on the shelf. Didn't even take a picture of it. Duh! Just because it didn't win doesn't mean it should have been ignored. My baby ghan took 2nd And last but not least, my Granny Ripple afghan also took a 2nd. Red Ribbons all around. No blues for me this fair. But there's another right around the corner.
Penny got 1st place for both her cross stitch picture Weekend in Pairs, and her cross stitch quilt Bears and Balloons.
Peter won 2nd for the Shifting Sands shell and 1st for the Elegant Swellegance sweater (same category as mine.
So in a category for both knit and crochet, we took 1st and 2nd with crochet! How cool is that? Good day. Had a lot of fun looking at all the stuff and eating of course. I had my very first gelato today.
You can see the pics in the photo section to the right in the album 2009 County Fairs.

2008-12-22T07:15:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Nicolle!
My granddaughter's 19th birthday was yesterday, and she spent the day with me. She also brought a couple of her roommates with her, Brianna and Caitlin. They are all super busy right now with their final final today, packing up to go home for the holidays and all the other stuff young college women do.
We had a great day!
I took the girls to the McConaughey house, which is a Victorian built in 1880 and has been refurbished and is open to the public for tours. Of course, it is all decked out for Christmas and was quite interesting.There are many crocheted items around the house, including doilies and afghans, very old. I did notice that the afghan on the chair in the master bedroom is displayed wrong side up. By the time we caught up with the docent again, I forgot to tell her that. There were a couple of fabulous crocheted bedspreads that I wanted to touch really badly, but I was a good girl and kept my hands in my pockets! Unfortunately, they did not allow any picture taking so I have nothing to share with you but my memory. :)
We then came home, and Penny had fixed dinner for us, wonderful baked chicken and rosemary potatoes with a Caesar salad, followed by brownies topped with tangerine slices.
Nic opened her birthday present before dinner and then Christmas after dinner, since she will not be here for Christmas proper. I made her the Kool Rock Ski hat for her birthday. Pattern is in the book Hip Hats & Cool Caps by Afya Ibamu. Thanks for the book, Andy! I used Moda Dea Tweedle Dee yarn in a blue. Sorry, the trash went out before I got all the details from the label. Says to hand wash and dry flat, but I put it in the washer on cold and in the dryer on perm press and it came out so soft and perfect. I didn't have enuf yarn left to do the big pompom so I made it from Lion Brand Jiffy in a slightly darker blue. She loves it! and that is the most important thing.
For Christmas, I made her a shawl with a stitch pattern from one of my stitch guides in Red Heart Plush in a dark purple color. It is just a long rectangle but perfect for throwing over her shoulders while she studies. Also very soft. Her third gift is the Comfi Cardi by Robin Chachula in the book Crochet Me by Kim Werker. Unfortunately, this is not complete, so she got to open the package and then had to give it back to me. I told her I would have it finished by the time she came back up the weekend after New Years.
She said to me, how did you crochet all this.? I'm here a lot, Grandma!
We hopped in the car and went looking at Christmas lights for about an hour, and then I had to take them to the BART station so they could go back across the bay. They all have a final today, still had laundry to do, and needed to finish packing to go home.
All in all, an absolutely wonderful day!
P.S. This d--- computer won't let me add the pics right now, so I will post my album, Christmas 2008 and you can see them there.

2008-12-09T13:58:00.000-08:00

Back to Crochet
I know I haven't posted much about crochet recently, but there is a reason for that and it is 9 days away! I have been very productive, enjoying every stitch. As soon as the holidays pass us, I will post pics and tell you about what I've been doing.
I can tell you a little story about the decorating under way at our house--not.
Last year when we plugged in the reindeer on the lawn, the big buck had 1/2 his lights out. So he spent last holiday season in the garage. I hit the after Christmas sales and got new lights for him really cheap. So---last weekend, I get up on the ladder, pull down a reindeer, set it up on the coffee table in the den so I can change out the lights while I watch a movie. Can you tell where this is going?
OK-the old lights don't work, so I decide to just cut them here and there to get the excess out of my way. Trashed the old lights, put most of the new lights on. Hmm-might be a good time to see if the head still moves freely. Hang the deer head on the body-plug it all in-Lights work-head moves! Absolutely fantastic.
I'm watching this head swing back and forth and all of a sudden it dawns on me that the buck has his head up and the doe is sweeping the ground. Have you figured it out yet?
Yep! You're right! I changed the lights on the doe! Not paying attention to detail will get you every time. So now, I have more new lights for the buck, but he is still hanging in the rafters waiting for a new light job! ha, ha, ha.

2008-12-07T16:55:00.000-08:00

Even Eagles Need a Push!
Well, a few days to digest the news, the opportunity to talk with Penny, and I've had a serious attitude adjustment! I'm now retired. Well, not exactly, but until something else comes along, that is my mind set and it is much easier to deal with it. I still haven't told my granddaughter, but there is no rush for that. She has had such a hard time since her parents separated, that I want to make this Christmas as nice and peaceful for her as I can. She dreads the holidays right now (unfulfilled expectations). So, I want her to understand the only expectations are the ones we put on ourselves. Don't worry about disappointing others, do what makes you happy.

2008-12-05T11:51:00.001-08:00

Pity Party
I've reached a point in this process where the thoughts are running thru my head faster than I can focus on them!
I'm feeling guilty becuz I bought a new TV in Sept with my bonus (largest $ I've ever received) and then pissed becuz I'm still working. Then I'm scared! And the sheer terror of the future is giving me a rotten headache.
I wonder if the old adage -be careful what you wish for- applies here. I said out loud that I wish I could retire (context being a conversation about winning the lottery).
I haven't told Penny yet. Her surgery yesterday went well, but I wasn't ready to drop this in her lap before the surgery as she is the world's champion worrywart. She called this morning to see if I wanted to go out to dinner tonite, and I snapped NO at her. She must still be foggy from the drugs cuz she didn't ask why. Which makes me feel like a crud.
Standing in front of my closet this morning, I was thinking about the 2 sweaters I have in the works for me. If I'm not working, where will I wear them?
I can't muster up the enthusiasm for working for someone who thinks I'm dispensable, but I have another 6 working days of trying to sound cheerful when I answer the phone-so hard not to give in to bad attitude.
I'm feeling sorry for myself becuz I try to be a good person. I'm sorry I haven't bought more yarn and books.
God, I'm a mess!

2008-12-04T11:26:00.000-08:00

This economy sucks!
Well, all this craziness in the stock market and industry now affects me directly. On Tuesday, at the close of biz for the day, my boss tells me that effective 12/15, I'm no longer employed. I've been with this company before he bought it! Nine years! Goes to show that loyalty is a one-way street. Right this minute, I'm going thru the angry stage-it has taken me 2 days to get here and I'm not ready to give it up yet! There are 2 other assistants in this office, one has been here less than 6 months, is only 30 w/a husband with a good govt job. The other is mid-40's but also has a husband with a good job. I am my sole support! I'm almost 63! Finding a job at my age is almost impossible under the best of circumstances and these are about the worst of times.
I know there are options, unemployment or early retirement, but I'm just not quite ready to face those decisions yet. I need to get over this angry place first and I'm not ready to leave.

2008-11-18T13:18:00.000-08:00

Calming Effects of Crochet
I belong to several online crochet groups and every once in a while, someone will post about the calming that comes over them when they grab a crochet hook.
Many years ago, I was hospitalized with a mysterious malady and was in horrendous pain and scared to death. I was a 19 year old, single mother of a 5 month old baby. My parents lived 1500 miles away and even tho I had an aunt locally, I was feeling overwhelmed and very afraid.
After the docs did a spinal tap, they finally gave me a shot for the pain and I passed out.
I think the most comforting moment of my life was when I woke up and my mom was sitting next to my bed crocheting! I somehow knew that everything was all right in my world again.
P.S. They never found out what caused the pain or the grand mal seizures, but it all went away and never came back. I wasn't allowed to drive for a year because of the seizures, but after that, it was back to business as usual.

2008-09-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

Stitch N Pitch
Huge disappointment! And that doesn't even begin to describe my feelings about yesterday's game. Met Peter at the BART station about 11:45 and we walked over to the stadium thru an overpass. Have I ever told you how terrified I am of being somewhere I feel I can fall from? A chain link fence being the only thing between me and solid ground was not very comforting. Averted disaster and made it safely to the stadium. This was my first (and probably my last) trip to the Coliseum. Finally found our way to our seats, after being given a shirt at the gate. OK, that's cool. Tho, being the huge baseball fan I'm not, I had no idea who the player is. Where they were giving away the goody bags was clear on the other side of the stadium and on another level. So, bless his heart, Peter went to get our bags and those of Anita and Ed, who were already in their seats when we arrived. Imagine our disappointment when he came back with small tote bags from the Athletics, with 2 knitted patterns in it. That's it, only 2 photocopied knitted patterns. I guess the Texas Rangers are not a huge draw, so the stadium was only partially full, lots of empty seats. Which meant, in turn, that very few concession stands were open. Since Peter hiked for the bags (such as they were) I took off to find food and drinks. On our level, I had to walk about 1/2 way around the place to find an open concession stand. Got my hot dog & drink & beer for Peter. By the time I got back to our seats, my dog was cold! Yuk! I can get a better dog at Kaspar's for less $, less walking and it's hot when I get it. After a pretzel left over from the last home stand, Peter and I decided to leave at the end of the 5th inning. It was cold in the shade, the game was moving way too slow, and the food was horrible, not to mention the overwhelming goody bag. So we gave it up, went home. Peter said he was going to take a nap, and I crocheted from the comfort of my rocker/recliner. We parted company at the BART station. Maybe next year we will try the event in San Francisco.
How did other events around the country compare to ours? Let me know, I'd love to hear.

2008-09-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

Coffee & Crochet--I knew when I was posting last nite there was more going on than I told you about. Probably more exciting, too. I have made some new crochet friends and we meet for coffee & crochet now & then. First is Laurie (hi). We met the 1st time so she could give me some squares for the comfortghan project and have met 3 more times, I think, since then. In fact, her friend Marion came with us to Starbucks one evening. Are you ready again, Laurie? And the next new friend is Donna. Donna also had some squares for the comfortghan project so I picked her up and we talked crochet while having coffee at the same Starbucks. So fun to find new friends so close to home. Thank you Crochet Partners. Without you I would not have made these friends.
Oldies but Goodies--My sister called last nite to tell me she has been pushing around a box for years that says Cays things on it. She wanted to know what I wanted done with this stuff. She recently moved and doesn't have room to keep other peoples stuff. In my defense, I didn't know she had this box, really! She went thru it while we were on the phone, and it looks like things my mom saved. Cards, letters, pics, artwork (term used verrry loosely). Then she got to the good stuff. Doll clothes, pillow cases, doilies, crocheted dogs. These were all made by either my mom or grandma. I told her to mail me the box! But since she is only working part time, I am going to send her $ next week when I get paid so she can do that. Can't wait to see what's really there. Will try to post pics.
SFSU-my granddaghter, the one and only grandchild, is attending school at San Francisco State just across the bay from where I live. She came up from Orange Co, so for the last several years I've not seen her as much as I would like to. But, now she's here, and we plan to make up for lost time. She spent this past weekend at my house, and we spent time looking at patterns. I found a really cute vest pattern that I showed to her and she said she loved it, but could I do it with sleeves. Sounds like a challenge to me!

2008-09-10T18:23:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been so long since I've posted that I almost don't know where to start. So, I'll just try to take the things that have been happening one at a time.

Project Linus-at our guild meeting in Aug, we gave 51 afghans and approximately 50 preemie caps to Project Linus. These have all been made since the first of the year by the members of our guild chapter. We hope to have several more for them by the end of the year. I personally gave them another 6 of the little fleece blankies with crocheted trim that were not included in the above numbers.

San Mateo County Fair-Well, we all did very well at the fair. Penny won a blue ribbon (1st) for her cross stitch of a cat laying on books. The cat looks just like our Hazle. Peter has another blue ribbon for the ruana, and a white (3rd) for the cabled scarf. I got my second blue for the Russian Spiral Doily, and took red (2nd) for my sweater and Catty Corners Afghan.

Dawn's Scarf Project-I have 5 scarves completed, all done with using stitch guides and making my own patterns. A couple I have written down and the rest are on little bits of paper with notes. Probably should get them written out before I forget something important. My goal is 12 this year.

Other stuff-I finished the valance for my bathroom, which is from an old Magic Crochet pattern. It is actually a pattern for a panel, but I just wanted a valance, so I doubled the width and shortened it to 15". I love it. It makes me feel so good every time I take a shower. Yes, it's in the shower. That's where the window is.
I did just finish a new purse for me using a free pattern from Caron-of course I couldn't find the specified yarn, but it came out beautiful, IMHO.
My friend, Kitty, bought me the book Beautiful Crocheted Sweaters by Patricia Bevans at the friends of the library sale a while back. Well, I just won the lotto on an ebay deal on some gorgeous gray cotton blend yarn, so I have started the Starry Pullover from this book. It is made with a star stitch and a surface slip stitch. Of course, in 1992, no wrote patterns in XL so I'm having to make some size adjustments. Oh yea, it's worked side to side.
Just finished the book Hooked on Murder by Betty Hechtman. What a kick! A murder mystery with the main characters members of a crochet group. Quick read, just loved it. Looks like it will be a series, so come on Betty, get writing. I'm ready for the next book.
Going to the Stitch N Pitch in Oakland this Sunday-The A's are playing the Tx Rangers, but I'm going for the goody bag and hot dogs. Baseball is secondary in this outing.
I'm also teaching basic crochet and pattern reading to 4 of the ladies in our guild. They all know crochet, mostly what others have shown them how to do. We are using Jean Leinhausers book Learn to Crochet the Easy Way as our base. We are meeting every 2 weeks at my house becuz a month is just too long when you are trying to learn a new skill. And since we aren't having a meeting this month becuz of the ball game, we won't meet for the whole guild until in Oct. Way tooo long!
And speaking of Oct's guild meeting, we are changing the date from 10/18 to 10/11 so several of us can attend Karen Ratto-Whooley's class in top down sweaters. She will be teaching at a yarn store in Campbell, and Peter, Tom, Mike, Anita and myself want to go.

Well, I guess that's it for tonite. I'm sure there are other things that I could post about, but they can wait until the next time.

2008-06-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

Fair Time!
Well, it's that time of year again. Peter and Cathy met me at the BART station near my office and we took off Friday evening for the opening day of the fair. It's probably about 20 miles to the fairgrounds, and when we were almost there, some guys in the car next to us rolled down their window and told us that we were losing water. Damn! I have a hose from the water reservoir to the radiator that has popped off twice before. About that time the dash lights for the radiator came on. S0--we pulled over, lifted the hood, and sure enough that same b----y hose is off again! But to make matters even worse, the clamp is now missing, somewhere on the freeway behind us. Fortunately I had antifreeze and water in my car, so Peter pushed the hose back on, I put the fluids in the car and off we go again. Got about another mile and it happened again. Not really surprised since there was no clamp to hold the hose on. But we are very near where a friend of mine lives so I called Kelly. She and her husband Greg showed up with clamp and toolbox in hand and more water. Ten more minutes and we're back on the road. Thank God for friends, not my neighborhood so had no idea where to find an auto parts store.
Mind you, the temp is over 100 on this day.
Finally arrived at the fair grounds, hot and sweaty, but ready to see how we did. After a bit of hike from the parking, we arrived at the Home Arts building! Yea! We split up looking for our entries, I have 5 and Peter has 2. Don't realize how big one of those display barns are until you start looking for a few small items. After a couple of rounds, we discovered Peter's ruana hanging with afghans, sporting a nice blue ribbon for first place. Then we found my afghan, another blue ribbon. Pickles found, no ribbon. Ah, ha! There's Peter scarf proudly displaying a red ribbon for second. Ok! only 3 more entries to find. Right near the main entrance we finally locate my sweater boasting a blue ribbon. Well, the only missing now are my 2 doilies. We looked and looked and looked and they are not to be found. Peter takes off to see if he can find a volunteer who can point us in the right direction while I keep looking. By now Cathy has just stopped, she is so exhausted. Hurrah! I find the doilies about the same time Peter finds someone to ask. They are tucked in the back corner in a glass display case. A blue ribbon for the spiral and nothing for the pineapple.
Not too bad, I have 3 blues and 2 duds, but Peter has a blue and red. These are not the best pics, these old barns aren't designed with the best lighting and I'm not the best photographer particularly when I'm bent over, but you get the idea.

2008-05-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

When it Rains, it Pours!
This has never been more apparent to me than this past weekend. Friday on my way home from work, all of a sudden, the oil light in my car came on. Well, I was about 2 blocks from the drugstore where I was picking up a prescription, so I made my way there. Picked up 3 qts of oil and put them in the car in the parking lot as soon as the car cooled down enough I could do that. Headed on home, about 3 miles, and 2 blocks before being safely in my own driveway, the oil light came back on, the temp gauge went thru the roof, the car started smoking and making this death rattle kinda noise. OMG!
Well, managed to get it in the drive at home. Just turned it off and sat there. I take care of my vehicles, I can't believe this.
But, it doesn't stop here. Saturday we had to take our entries to Anitioch for the Contra Costa County Fair, and then on to Oakland for our monthly guild meeting. So, since the Volvo is out of commission, we are going to take the T-bird (also has good air conditioning and it was hot!) Before we left, went out and checked all the fluid levels, this car is over 20 years old, needs a little extra TLC.
We got about 20 minutes from home and the darn car is overheating! Pulled off the freeway, found an industrial park and pulled into the parking lot. Opened the hood, which weighs about a thousand pounds and has the craziest latch ever invented, and what do I find but the radiator cap off the radiator. Now, I know I put it back on after putting coolant in the car, but maybe I didn't put it on properly. Who knows! It was off. So, let the car cool down, put about a gallon & a half more of coolant and a gallon of water in poor old Betsy. She was really thirsty. Penny & I both checked and rechecked the radiator cap to make sure it was on tight. Okay, on the road again!
About another 20 minutes and the temp is climbing to the bright red spot on the right end of the gauge. Off the freeway again, into another parking lot under a tree. We are very near where one of Penny's brothers live, so we call his house. Mostly what we want is someone to come take one of us to the fairgrounds to get our entries in before 3 p.m. and it is already after 12! Just got voice mail. Don't know new cell phone #-while trying to figure out what to do, he calls us. Would be happy to help but he is in Sacramento, about 1 1/2 hours away with his wife. Drat!
Well, to make a long story short, our entries did not make it into the fair, we did not make our guild meeting, poor Linda had to figure out how to get home from Oakland, and several hours later and many $ we finally got home with the car (thermostat, serpentine belt, etc) after 6 p.m..
But this day is not over yet! No more than got our clothes changed, when the phone rang. A good friend of ours is in the hospital, has been there for a week, but no one thought to call us til Sat evening. Back into our clothes and off to the hospital. He had emergency surgery after a complication from a colonoscopy. But they still don't know why he was sick in the first place. I got a call last nite, and he is home and able to eat real food, so I guess that's progress.
So, as you can see, Saturday was not my day.

2008-05-14T11:40:00.000-07:00

My very own IRA!
I know I am very lucky, but sometimes it smacks me right between the eyes. This morning while reading my CP emails, I was struck by how many times someone said they would love to do more but they are on a limited income. Which probably means disability or retired.
And with their limited resources, they want to do more for others.
I am still working (have a few more years on the old gray mare), my kids are grown and in their own homes (well, my dd is in mine temporarily), and I share expenses with a really good friend. So, once my bills are paid, food is in the fridge, I can pretty much spend what's left on Yarn, Books, Tools/Gadgets that I want. And the really lucky part is I have some left over most months!
I remember a couple of years ago, my friend Chelo, was squirreling books for her retirement. Didn't figure she would have the $ for too many after she actually had the time to read. So she has boxes and boxes of books. I have boxes and boxes of yarn and patterns and hooks. I'm not so sure this was what the government had in mind when they created the IRA (individual retirement account), but it works for me. I guess I better really get busy building that stash so I will have lots I can do when I have the time for it. I love it! I just found a way to justify buying all that wonderful yarn with absolutely no project for it in mind. Yea!

2008-04-29T13:19:00.000-07:00

Time to turn a new page in this old book.
I love to crochet for others, but it seems that the recipients aren't all that crazy about receiving. So all that beautiful yarn I have bought for them, and the time I would have used now are earmarked for me! I'm sorry, but when the time and love I put into a project isn't appreciated, then why am I doing it?
For example, I bought some gorgeous fingering wt cotton in dark chocolate brown with my daughter in mind. She has seen the yarn, says she likes it, but has rejected every pattern I have shown her. And has not submitted anything that she likes. So now its mine. I also like dark brown.
I made my granddaughter a lovely scarf, my own design, for Christmas last year and have yet to receive a "I got it", "I like it" or "its been turned into a dog toy". The blue yarn and teal yarn that I picked up for her are now mine. Even tho blue is not my fav color, I wear it.
I haven't received a thank you for the gifts to my son and his wife from last Christmas either, so the purple I bought for her will turn into a sweater for me.
Good thing I look good in almost any color.

2008-04-23T18:57:00.000-07:00

Russian Spiral Doily
Well, I fell in love with this pattern when I first saw it about 7 or 8 months ago. So, in all my wisdom, I decided it was time to do it. First it would be my entry for the county fair, and then it would decorate our new dining table. Notice how I keep saying would? I worked up the first half and it seemed kinda wonky, but sometimes those things work themselves out as you go. Not a chance! So I thought maybe if I went and got the symbol chart blown up I could see if I had misread the symbols. Well, I spent 2 days going over it with a magnifying glass, and I did exactly what the chart says to do. Still wonky! Since the written parts of the pattern are in Russian, I'm out of luck there in getting any guidance. I got the pattern here http://www.devichnik.ru/2002/08/spiral.phtml if you want to check it out.
So it's now a PIGS and I've chosen another pattern for my fair entry. Oh well!

2008-04-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

Comfortghan for Jay Dawson in memory of Ryanne Mace

Pen Klapper, another of our CP members, son's fiance` was killed at the shooting at the university in Illinois. So, in true loving fashion, the CP members put together a comfortghan for him. He has received it, and was so very touched that people he did not know and likely would never meet sent him so much love and comfort. Here are a couple of pics I took before I mailed it. I used the same faux braided joining as the other one, but this was done in denim blue. The edging is #33 from 50 Crocheted Afghan Borders.

2008-04-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

Dawn's Comfortghan is on it's way to her!
I didn't want to post this until I was pretty sure that Dawn would have this ghan first. I want to thank everyone who contributed to this project. The response was pretty overwhelming. I don't know what else to say, except to let Dawn know how shocked we are at the senseless violence. I joined the squares with Bernat Berella 4 in Winter White using a "faux" braid joining furnished by one our CP'ers. I then used #34 edging from 50 Crocheted Afghan Borders by Jean L. There were about 50 people involved in the creation of these afghans. Squares were crocheted and mailed to me, another person provided the method of joining, and still other sent money for yarn and postage. This was definitely a group effort from the heart.

2008-03-31T19:19:00.000-07:00

Bad, bad project
Well, we are all so willing to share our triumphs, but every once in a while, we have a project that just goes BAD! I was so excited about doing this, found a great pattern, bought the wool for felting, and when all was said & done------a big failure!
I found this great pattern for mule type felted slippers. Thought these would make great Christmas gifts for next year. Off to Michaels to buy the yarn for 3 pairs at 4 skeins each. Ok, under $20 a gift, not bad.
Decided I would do the largest pair first and get that out of the way. I consulted my friends at CP to see if anyone could remember where I got the pattern becuz the print was so small I had eyestrain trying to read it. Ended up doing a cut and paste and enlarge on the copy machine so I could read the instructions. Spent a couple of hours each evening for about 3 days crocheting them up. Then added a flower to the front. Looked really cute, but huge! They are supposed to be a size 9/10 women's.
My goodness! Just look at these pics-to give you some idea of reference, my feet are a size 8-now the bottoms fit my feet fine, but just take a look at the tops. What happened here???
So now I'm scared to death to make any more-so we may be switching to felted purses instead.

2008-03-19T10:41:00.000-07:00

Comfortghans
Last month, the son of one of our CP members was killed in a school shooting. It touched the deepest fears of every mother in the world, as was so evident on CP. We decided to make a comfortghan for Dawn. I said I would assemble, and the other members started crocheting the squares.
No sooner were we on this project than the fiance of another member was killed at the school shooting at the university in IL. We had so many squares already in the works that I said I would assemble another comfortghan for Pen's son.
But my own life was about to rearrange the schedule.
My daughter has been trying to get her divorce now for about a year, after 2 years of separation. In recent months, her soon to be ex, has been getting more and more irrational. He has been harassing her with phone calls, unexpected visits, etc. His friends have been threatening and she has been scared out of her wits. Since she lives in a rural area that is not close to the police or sheriff, we decided to get her out of there. Her things have been stored, and she is now in a safe location. But I was gone for 10 days and while I was away, the squares kept coming.
It was almost like Christmas opening all those envelopes. So many beautiful patterns, some I had seen before and some I had not. There are yarns I had never seen.
Another CP member, Linda, sent me her version of "faux" braid joining, which I am using to assemble. It was a little tricky at first, but makes a very nice join. Thanks, Linda!
The 1st ghan is joined and the second is down to the edging. As soon as I finish, I will get pics taken so I can post here for you. They should both be in the mail by the end of the week.

2008-02-10T11:23:00.000-08:00

Catty Corners Finished

Well, it's done! Thanks to all my friends at CP for keeping me on track. I have taken a couple of pics so you can see. I need to take photog lessons. Not nearly as pretty in the pics as in person. Maybe I should take it outside (we have sun today) and see if I can get a better pic.

Anyway, I am entering this in a least 2 county fairs this summer. I wanted something that was a bit of a challenge, and squares are it for me. I get tired of making them and I absolutely hate joining them. This particular pattern had a whole new group of challenges along those lines. It is 63 squares (an odd number) and the squares were made in pairs by color sequence. Five main colors done 6 different ways = 60 squares. Had to lay them all out on the bed to figure out what colors I needed for the last 3.

First challenge-asked my roommate to come take a look and see what colors she thought I needed. This is a very busy pattern. Not understanding the layout, she started moving stuff around and next thing I knew, we had separated some of the pairs. OK. Not so bad. We got them all laid out so the pattern made some kind of sense, were taking a good look to make sure nobody was facing the wrong way - and -

Second challenge- Hazel (one of the cats) jumps up on the bed scattering squares everywhere. OMG! Thought I would die. Finally locked the cats out and got them all lined up again. So, we laid a sheet over them so they couldn't get mixed up again.

Third challenge-I safety pinned the first row together w/only 1 pin in the middle. By the time I got to my chair, some of them had flipped around and twisted so I have no idea what I have.

Final solution: stitch markers on each side so they couldn't move. Joined w/slip stitch each row and then the strips together. Did join the wrong side of 2 strips and realized it when I laid it back on the bed. Ugh! Frogged the joining and did it again. Finally got to the ripple border. Marked the corners with stitch markers, as after the first couple of rows, corners were hard to spot easily and that is where the differences in the rows are.

Anyway, it's finished. Now on to my Feb list of goals.

2008-01-29T17:17:00.000-08:00

Catty Corners Afghan

I went to CP today for encouragement cuz this afghan just seems to go on forever. And I do really know forever, having one afghan that took me 3 years to make. This isn't even 3 weeks yet. But it is small squares, with lots of color changes. Seems to take longer to hide the ends than to crochet the square. The reason I don't do small squares for anything. But, this pattern caught my eye, and I decided it was the perfect challenge for my county fair entry this year. I received some really good advice, but unfortunately, some of it is not practical in this case. Like start to assemble the squares, so I can see how much I have done, and the remainder won't seems so far away. Well, there are 30 matching pairs of squares, none alike, so assembly can't be started until all the squares are done. Can't start the ripple border until the squares are put together. Catch 22.

Another suggestion was to put it aside and work on something else for awhile. Two problems with this. #1, I'm afraid I won't pick it up again. I really hate small squares. #2, if I stop now I will forget the color sequences.

I also think I am trying to catch a cold or something, and that is making me cranky. Think maybe I'll just take some Nyquil and go to bed. It will all be better tomorrow!

Thank you, each and every one who tried to snap me out of my mood. It will be a beautiful afghan when it is finished.

2008-01-24T13:27:00.000-08:00

None of the below!
Finished the scarf, wrote down the pattern, took it to the guild meeting for show and tell. Everyone loved it. This will be a very versatile pattern. You can stop at about 30", add a couple of buttons for a neck warmer, or make it as long as you want. Need to take a pic, but the batteries in my camera are d-e-a-d. And I keep forgetting to get new ones.
When I finished, I started the Catty Corners Afghan from www.e-patternscentral.com . I'm planning to enter this in the county fairs this summer. The colors I'm using are from the TLC Essentials colorway Cherry Chocolate (or something like that). Anyway, pinks & browns. Love it, love the afghan. Never thought I would say that about an afghan with 63 4 1/2 " squares. The thing that will make this stand out is the ripple border. I'm liking this color scheme so much I told Penny (my roommate) that I might just have to change the colors in my bedroom. LOL!
My daughter is planning to come to visit late Feb or March so I told her to bring her crochet hooks. I have several patterns that need testing. So she's excited about that. Can't wait to see her!!

2008-01-15T15:10:00.000-08:00

Great start!
Well, a couple of posts ago, I lined up how I thought I would handle my goals for this year. Well, I'm here to tell you- I'm ahead of schedule! So far this month I have completed:

3 book totes (three kings day presents)
6 12" squares for the TCC afghans
6 edgings on fleece blankies for Project Linus
1 pr slippers for my Jan person on my 2008 xmas gift list.

The only thing left on my list is a scarf for Dawn to send to the troops next year. Well, I'm going to take care of that tonite by designing a scarf to match the hats I did for xmas. 2 birds, 1 stone. Of course, that involves pattern writing, and then I will have to do it again to make sure the pattern is correct, but that is a good thing. (more scarfs for Dawn).

But what to do after my obligations are met? Make another neck cozy from the pattern I wrote during the holidays? Start a sweater for myself from that sock yarn that is patiently waiting? Or, design a vest for the Musette yarn? Or, work on the Diamond Patch redesign? Hmmmm. Not sure, what do you think?

2008-01-11T13:36:00.000-08:00

Christmas Gifts 2007
Well, they did not end up being what was on my original list for this year, but I am proud of them anyway. The beanies for the girls is my own creation. I found a pattern with this cable in it, but after I started, the cable was the only thing I liked about it. So, frogged the whole thing and started over. I took notes as I made the first one, then went to the computer, wrote it out, took it back to my chair to start the second one. What I wrote out did not resemble what I crocheted at all-so back to the computer; first hat in hand, yarn and hook. Figured out what I did, crocheted the whole hat sitting in front of the computer. Third one was much easier, and the fourth I slid right thru. Yea! Pattern writing is a lot more difficult than you would think it to be. The yarns used are mostly Vanna's Choice as I had several single skeins in my stash, then they were trimmed with other yarns that have been hibernating also.
The scarf for Nicolle is a one of a kind-I bought the yarn from my LYS. It is hand painted sock yarn and is yummy. I keep using this word for this yarn. It is so soft, you just want to bury your face in it. I chose a pattern from one of my harmony guides, and just worked it until I ran out of yarn. I did edge it with a loose slip stitch on the wrong side.
The guys beanies I found the pattern online-don't have the url handy, but I think it was called checkerboard beanie. I experimented with Jason's and made 2, reversing the contrasting colors and then edged them together to make a reversible beanie. He hasn't received it yet as he is in the field on maneuvers getting ready to go back to Iraq. So we'll see how he likes when he gets back in a couple of weeks.
And last but not least, I made a neck cozy for my daughter using Rowan Cashsoft DK yarn. This stuff was a dream to work with. Another pattern of my own design. My friend Kitty went to Britex (sp) Fabrics in the city for the buttons, which appear to be the most gorgeous shade of green abalone that I have ever seen. And, I forgot to take a picture of it. That's what being rushed at the last minute will do to you. I did write down the pattern and plan on making another one soon, so if this pattern writing went the way of the beanie, I can figure it out while it is still fresh in my mind. Heidi did say she would take a pic and send to me. She also said she wore it yesterday and that it is very warm and oh so soft! Yes!
I have two friends that read a lot and always carry a book with them. So I made Paperback booktotes for them. Kitty's is a trellis stitch and Chelo's is done in basketweave. They both seemed to really like them.
The pics are in My Photos, Christmas 2007.

2008-01-06T09:25:00.000-08:00

Catching Up

I know, I know! I haven't been very good at keeping my blog up this last part of the year. Since our move in Sept, things have seemed just slightly out of sync. But, I'm going to try to catch you up on the end of 2007 in the next couple of posts
First, we'll start with our crochet guild. Men Who Crochet chapter of the CCGOA.
Our first guild meeting was in May last year, and we decided right off that we wanted to do something to pay back the Telegraph Community Center for providing space for our meetings. So, we decided to make afghans for the Center to distribute come the holidays. We are a very small chapter, with only 4 or 5 who come regularly, and another 6 or 7 who attend the quarterly Crochet Soirees.
We started making 12" squares for these afghans. We made enough squares to assemble 2 complete afghans with a few left over for 2008. But--the members also donated about 12 more afghans and 1 quilt from their personal closets.
Since the only time all these were in the same place at the same time was the day of our presentation at the Community Center, I tried to quickly take pics of the items before they were donated. To see them, check my Photos to the right and click on Community Center Afghans 2007.
Since Peter is a volunteer at the Center, he was there the day they were distributed, and he said there were a lot of big smiles from the people who received them. Good! That's what we wanted.

2007-12-19T09:29:00.000-08:00

Here comes the year 2008!

And with that, I hope to be much more organized than this past year. Of course, an unplanned move didn't help much, but I could have been better.

Since I have 14 people on my list that I try to make something for each year, the sensible thing to do is a minimum of 1 per month. Sounds good!
Our guild chapter is also doing squares for charity afghans for the community center again next year, and since we are such a small group so far, I need to do probably 6 squares each month.
I like to put snowflakes in my Christmas cards (didn't happen this year, got them crocheted, but never blocked) so need to do about 5 a month.
Then Dawn needs scarves for the troops, and instead of hurrying at the last minute, would like to do at least one every other month.
Which brings me to Project Linus. I have fleece blankies up the kazoo, thanks to many bargains I've found. I would like to edge a minimum of 1 each month for next year.
I still have the redesign of the Diamond Patch Sweater to finish. I really want to wear this sweater!
I have a list of WIMs on my blog that are mostly for our home that I would like to do this year.
I don't even have a plan for the county fair circuit for this next year.
And last but not least, there is the CGOA design contest. I would like to enter something in that.

The problem: too many things on the list, not enough hours (it's that full time j-o-b thing). I love to crochet. Do some almost every day. I thought if I wrote it out and made a plan, it would flow more easily through the rest of my life, but when I list it out like this, it's beginning to look more like work than love.

2007-11-30T16:44:00.000-08:00

New Patterns and Publishing

Ok, ok! I know it's been awhile since I posted but that doesn't mean I've been sitting around on my hands. I have been working with my creative mind and have used my new Harmony Guides to make a gorgeous scarf for my granddaughter's 18th birthday. Then, still on a high from that, used another stitch from same books and made a neck cozy. Actually, I made 2, same pattern but different yarns and improved the edging a bit on the second cozy. Also, put the buttons on differently for a change of look Which one do you like best?.

When I showed it off at our guild meeting, a couple of people wanted the pattern. So, what's a person to do? Of course I had copies for them!

Someone in one of my online groups posted info on submitting patterns to the Crochet a Day calendar for 2009, so have been looking at what I've actually written down in the last year. And have been looking at a couple that I didn't write down, but should before I forget. Wondering if I should take the plunge and submit a couple of items. What do ya think?

At about the same time, I got my back issues of Crochet! magazine, and CGOA is having a design contest this summer. Winners could be published in future magazines. Got a couple of thoughts on what to submit for this, but a little early to voice these thoughts yet.

If I want to expand my horizons and pursue designing, I need more hours in the day! My j-o-b is definitely going to be in my way, but sure need the $$$.

2007-11-13T09:36:00.000-08:00

Quick project update
Just finished a beautiful gray scarf for Nicolle. She requested this for either her b-day or xmas. So yummy, & since she is my only grandchild, I kinda went nuts and bought this handpainted yarn from my LYS. It's washable wool, mohair and nylon. To die for!

2007-10-31T10:49:00.000-07:00

Halloween finger puppets

Annies Attic free pattern of the day a couple of days ago was a spider and a jack o lantern finger puppets. So I decided I was going to make these for my friend Lily (age 4). One of my Crochet Partners, Beata, designed a ghost for her daughters scout troops, so I had to turn that into a finger puppet, too. I didn't get the spider done, but here is the pic of the ghost and the pumpkin. My roommate, Penny, embroidered the faces for me.

I forgot to take pics before I brought them to work today, so one of the guys I work with took this with his cell phone.

2007-10-31T10:40:00.000-07:00

CGOA Conference-Fashion Show
After our classes were finished, we went back to the cocktail lounge and found Peter almost done with the ruana. We were running out of time so the final finishing was done later, but I could wear it to dinner. When I stood up and put it on, people in the lounge started clapping! Apparently they had been watching us crocheting like crazy. So Peter and I walked around for a few minutes and let folks touch and feel and answered questions.
Downstairs we went for the dinner and fashion show. Peter, Margaret and I sat together and Melody & Kathy, other members from our local guild were across the room from us. The food was good but the fashion show was great! Since it was the Knitting Guild national show, there were more knit items than crochet, but they were all beautiful. The batteries in my camera went dead, so don't have any pics to show you, but Doris Chan, Karen Klemp, and several other designers were our models for the evening. My only disappointment with the fashion show, was there was not one item for men or designed by men. Hopefully, by next year, more men will be represented.

2007-10-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

CGOA Conference continues
We didn't attend any classes at the conference on Friday. We stayed at my home and I continued to hook like a madwoman on the ruana. And we caught up on the things happening in our lives.
Saturday was a different story, however. Back to Oakland on BART, gotta love that public transportation! We both had afternoon classes, but had to hook up with Peter first. I totally screwed up the hood on the ruana in the middle of the night, so he was going to work on it while we were in our classes. Thank God. Otherwise, there was no hope of it being done for Saturday evening. So, we left him sitting in the hotel cocktail lounge and headed off to class.
My class was Crochet Lite with Karen Klemp (I hope I spelled her name right). We discussed different ways to convert a pattern to lighter weight yarns. We swatched using different yarns and hooks. Karen had several examples with her, and we all brought swatches to class with us. The thing that stuck with me the most is to get the softest fabric possible, use the largest hook you can before the stitches loose definition. Of course, this takes swatching, swatching, and more swatching!

2007-10-17T14:15:00.000-07:00

CGOA Conference-the Marketplace
Well, they finally opened the doors about 7 p.m. and we all rushed inside to find the perfect yarn, gadget, etc. Personally, I'm looking for fingering/lace wt yarns, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I've planned for this. I have money! My first impression was "This is all there is?" After being at Stitches West which had lots & lots & lots of vendors from all over the country, I was a little disappointed that this was mostly representatives from local yarn shops and designers.
However, that feeling passed as I forged ahead. I met Jill Vosberg from Just One More Row. She designed the Diamond Patch sweater in knit that I am still trying to redesign in crochet. I talked with her for several minutes about the trials and errors in this process. She still wants to see it when I finally get it done. Getting close to the diamond being correct. Then it is just a matter of making 40+ and constructing a garment.
As I was wandering around, I met Bonnie Pierce, another Crochet Partner. I didn't even think of it at the time, but my maiden name is Pierce. I wonder if we are related somehow.
But the cherry on the icing for me was at the Newton's booth. I bought some merino/cashmere yarn from them at Stitches West. But I didn't have enough to do the above mentioned Diamond Patch sweater (may be one reason I haven't finished it yet). So, with my arms loaded with all kinds of yarn, I'm digging through the table of merino/cashmere, when the proprietor comes over to me and asks if I'm looking for something in particular. You bet I am! I described it to him, and at first he looked a little puzzled, then started pulling boxes out from under the table. Couple of boxes later, he came up with 2 more hanks of exactly the same yarn! Can you believe it-from Feb to Sept. How lucky can a gal get!
We finally headed back to the BART station after 9 p.m. to end the first day of the conference.

2007-10-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

CGOA Conference-part 2
After lunch on Thursday, Melody went on to her 2nd class and Margaret and I hung out in the hotel lounge. I was crocheting like crazy on Peter's ruana pattern. I wanted to wear it Sat, and the pattern was just released a week earlier. The only way this was going to happen was teamwork! Peter crocheted both fronts and I crocheted the back. We both worked on the hood and finishing.
The exciting part of the afternoon is I got to meet Rita Weiss! She was sitting in the lounge talking with Peter when I came back from (?) Peter introduced us and I chatted with them for a few minutes and then went back to my crochet. Rita has the most beautiful hands.
At about 6:30, we relocated downstairs and lined up for entry into the marketplace. Well! That's why we had hung around the hotel all afternoon!

2007-10-04T08:58:00.000-07:00

CGOA Conference in Oakland,CA
Wow! Hard to believe that after all the anticipation, it has come and gone already.
Margaret came from FL to do the conference with me. She arrived Wed p.m. and we were at the Marriott for our 1st class on Thurs a.m. by about 8:30. The Bay area has good public transportation, so we just used BART to get there. It lets you out, up the escalator, and right across the street is the hotel. No fuss, no muss, no parking!
We both took Darla Fanton's double hook class on Thurs morning, along with Melody who is a member of my local guild. Great class! Darla gave us a few minutes of pointers, got us started, and then spent the rest of the class walking behind us, so she was right there when anyone had a question. Great hands on approach. She also had examples of work that we could look at. For our $7 materials fee, we each got a booklet of her dishclothes, autographed, mind you, and a double ended hook plus a bookmark. Couldn't buy the booklet at Michaels for that price. And it's almost impossible to find a double ended hook in any of the box stores.
After the class, we had lunch in the lounge at the hotel and then Melody was off for another class.
Stay tuned for the next espisode:

2007-09-19T08:51:00.000-07:00

Wow! So much has happened since my last post.
We are moved, still buried under boxes, but most of them are now in the spare bedroom, (sorry Margaret), for the garage sale, or in the garage still waiting its turn.
The packing and moving was an adventure. Neither Penny or myself has ever had anyone do our packing for us, and I seriously doubt if it will ever happen again. These guys used about 5 trees worth of paper. Instead of using dish boxes, they wrapped every item in the kitchen in a minimum of 1 sheet of paper. Some things had 3! They wrapped candles in paper, but not my antique dolls. Go figure!
And it turned out to be the hottest 3 days we've had all summer. But, give the devil his due, they worked hard! Took them from 9 to 6 on Wed to pack, and the moving started at 9 the next morning, and they finished at 9 that nite. Made me tired just watching them. All that supervising was exhausting.
A couple of slight misadventures; what would a move be without them?
The first was at our old house. We lived on an alleyway which is a private street for the residents, but kids walk thru and parents drive thru taking kids to and from school. Well, about 3 in the afternoon, the guys were loading the 2nd truck (yes, 2 trucks) and some lady pulls up behind the truck and starts honking and wants them to move the truck so she can pick her kid up at the Catholic school down the street. Her behavior was totally rude and unacceptable, so after a few words, she gets out of her car, leaves it in the alley and walks away. Now, she is blocking our neighbors drive (the truck was not). So, Penny, former police dispatcher that she is, gets all her pertinent info and calls the police dept. They say they will send a car as soon as they can. Well, she comes back, still shouting obscenities, kid studying his tennis shoes, and finally backs down the alley and leaves. Penny calls the PD back to stop the car and was told that since she had all the info the lady will be getting a citation in the mail. Hurray!
The last thing loaded was our personal stuff that we wanted to carry ourselves. The guys loaded it in the back of my wagon, and we are off to the new house. About 10:30, we can't find my personal box. No nightie, sheets, shower gel! How can this be? Thank god we still have the keys to the old house. Back we go. Yep! There is the box sitting right in the middle of my empty bedroom. Another lesson learned. Follow the movers thru the house and make sure it is all out. Between us, we've moved about 60 times, you'd think we would know this.
The next day we are trying to find all the TV's, VCR's, cable boxes, etc so the cable guy can hook us up. One tv is missing. It's a 19" so pretty hard to overlook if it's just sitting around somewhere. Actually, we have 2 of these, exactly alike. One belongs in the living room and the other in my bedroom. I have one in my room, so we are assuming the missing tv is for the living room. We were crawling thru the boxes in the garage trying to see if it was buried anywhere. At one point, I have crawled thru a hole trying to look down the stacks of boxes. Couldn't see it, so was trying to get myself out. My feet are off the floor, and my body is only on a solid surface from my knees to my hips. When trying to find something to push off, I find the only thing within reach are black plastic bags of pillows. Ok! Now I'm thrashing around like a beached whale. Penny grabbed my feet and pulled me back just far enough to get a hold on a stack of boxes. But still no TV. Several phone calls back and forth to the movers. Still no tv. I have called the cable company and they are only going to hook up basic cable for us and then reschedule the main installation til we find all the equipment. We are now looking at all boxes that could be big enough to hold the elusive tv. After 5 long, hot hours, we found it in my bedroom at the bottom of a tall stack of boxes. Hmmm! Guess the tv in my room really belongs in the living room.