Tifffany's Ramblings

Sunday, October 31, 2004

Button...button...who's got the button?

I do! Or at least I got some new ones the other day. These were on sale at work and with my discount I couldn't refuse. I think each set cost me around $.85, plus tax. The first group is a sewing set. In actuality most of these are not buttons but are just plastic pieces. But still cute and totally usable in my handmade cards.



I love the little antique sewing machine and the tape measure bow. So cute.

Another set I got was a bunch of Xmassy sayings and such. Here that one is:



And last, but not least, the set I actually used. These are a bunch of flower buttons (most of them actually have shanks) that I bought for use on the kid's sweater I just finished. There was also a purple glittery flower in each pack...but it's missing from the pic for a reason. I got 3 packs in order to get 3 of those buttons.



Other Purchases

I also bought this book for less than half price:



as well as some new yarn:



I actually got 3 of the green (all they had) and 2 of the orange. No idea what I will do with any of it yet, but it sure is pretty (and it was cheap). I spent less than $40 on my whole hull...including book, 7 skeins of yarn, and all those buttons. whee!

On another note...
What is up with bloglines?! Some blogs keep saying there is a new post and I look and it's the same old one. I've had this happen before when I used blogrolling too. I think it may actually be the bloggers changing some small thing and bloglines seeing a new post...it's annoying tho. Has anyone else had this happen to them?

Saturday, October 30, 2004

Note: I did NOT knit this (yet)

...but I am working on it now. Here is the pic from the book of the cardie I have started on with my Paton's Divine:



I also picked up buttons at work yesterday for the kiddie sweater/jacket as well as some other stuff...will blog about that later (or tomorrow) when I have the time for pics. Happy Saturday!

Friday, October 29, 2004

It works!

My camera, that is. For some reason I can't get it to work on my computer but I installed the same programs on my old computer (which has the same OS on it) and it works just like before. Go figure. So here is my latest afghan. I used 4 skeins of Red Heart in Adobe that I had laying around and complimented it with some yarn in white, black, and shades of brown. After washing it with Downy and drying it with Bounce, it is pretty soft (for Red Heart). Here it is:

Well, I'm done with the crocheted sweater/jacket I am making for Vance's niece...almost. I just need to get some buttons to attach. I based the sweater off a pattern, and then sorta took off with that. I think it may be a bit big, but it's a jacket and she can grow into it. Going to try to get my camera to work before work now so I can start showing some of these things!

Wednesday, October 27, 2004

Well I finished the Adobe Granny Afghan yesterday (it came out really well) and I took pics of it, but Vance didn't tell me that he reformatted the computer I had the camera installed on, and I am now trying to get it to work again. Argh! So pics soon, I guess.

In other news, his car didn't start yesterday, so it had to go BACK to the mechanic's today. Ugh! It had sparks flying around inside of it...fun fun.

I am working on a little crocheted cardigan/jacket for a Xmas present and I think I may deviate from the pattern soon...if I have enough yarn. We will see!

Here is what I may make next. Not in the exact colors shown...I have a hodgepodge of sparkle Xmas yarn that I want to use up and I will see if I have enough to do this (I'm pretty sure I do).



It's one of those freebie thingies from Walmart...and yes, it says Red Heart on it. But I actually like Red Heart for afghans and stuffed things...it comes out pretty soft after washing with Downy and drying with Bounty...plus it wears well. That's all for now, hope my cam is fixed soon!

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Because I promised a pic...

I bring you this:



It's an ooold pic of me and my Dad that we scanned to test out the scanner. A couple of years ago, I made this pic from an old photo by cropping and zooming (at one of those Kodak picture maker thingies) and then put it in a frame for my Dad. Since I got 2 pics out of it, I kept one, and that's what ya see here.

I started a new project. A crocheted sweater out of Wiggles yarn...I'm having a bit of trouble with gauge (I think I've finally determined what size I need to make with the yarn change), so I may have some progress to show on that soon. I also picked up some more yarn for the afghan...so am plugging along on that. Real progress pics soon...maybe today if the sun comes out.

Monday, October 25, 2004

I was hoping to have the afghan finished Friday, but that didn't happen. Then I hoped it would be done yesterday, but still no. I am off Tuesday so after work today I am gonna crochet like a madwoman until it is done tomorrow. At least that's the plan. Then I can find a new project to work on, perhaps the Cardigan that I got the Paton's Divine for. Or I might make a poncho for Vance's other niece so they both have one...in TLC wiggles. I have some but will probably need more...but since it is on sale at work this week that is no big deal.

I was bad and got more soap making supplies so I have been churning that out. I just need a contained for it all now...

Well, we're off to get Vance's car...which should make my days less tedious...yay.

Friday, October 22, 2004

Woo! My first day off from my sucky job...and what do I do? Spend bucks! I hit up the Jo-ann Fabrics Moonlight Madness sale this morning (this morning? Yeah...weird name for the sale when you can shop it in the morning). I bought a few things on sale and all kinds of stuff that were half off clearance prices. The things that were clearanced: 7 balls of Woolease T&Q in Wood (to add to the 2 I already have...a nice fluffy jacket maybe?), 2 1 lb blocks of soap, a handful of zippers. I bought on sale: a trick or treat container to hold our candy, a spool of snowmen ribbon, and a set of molds for the soaps. And finally, I got a new magazine with my half off coupon. Total spent: $30 and some change, wheee! I may go back to get some more cheap soap...the mold I bought is for "massage bars" and I think they will look cute with a little i-cord rope attached. Fun fun!

I have been plugging away on the afghan pretty steadily, but I think it may be a waste to spend my day off on an acrylic granny square afghan, soooooooo I will either play with my soap (quite probable) or start a new sweater. Only time will tell!

Sorry for the lack of pictured posts lately. I have been busy with work plus 2 days ago Vance's car didn't start and we have been having to hand mine back and forth. It is at the mechanic's now (on a free tow...thanks to my quick thinking and his Geico insurance) and we should be able to get it tonight.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

As luck would have it...

the day I start my job, I get a call from a real job. All these months I've waited and got no replies, and now I get one, hah! It's for a lab position that pays twice as much at a company I have been trying to get into for awhile. It's a 4-6 month temporary position (filling in for someone who is on maternity leave) but maybe it could lead to a permanent position. And it's not too far either (I don't actually have to go into St. Louis. I may have to quit HL with little notice if I get this job...but will I do it? You bet your pants!

Monday, October 18, 2004

Last Day of Freedom...

before I start my temporary job at Hobby Lobby. This should be amusing, at least for a little while...I am going out of my head being home all this time. I have to be doing at least 2 things at a time and I can't handle having no real responsibilities, bleh.

Anyways, I started on the afghan and am quite a ways into it. Of course I am working it center out so progress is more slowly now than it was before. I haven't yet taken pics of the purple sweater due to pure laziness, but I will.

In other news, I decided to go out today and use some coupons to Michael's and Joann's that I had. At Michael's I got a ball of Lion's Incredible ribbon yarn to try out, but at Joann's I got a trio of square willow baskets. I really only wanted one, but they didn't have the nice dark colored ones for sale alone. And the trio was only $15 after coupon anyways. I used the medium sized ones to hold baby presents which I have around "just in case". They're also fun little things to work on. Then I needed room for the other two, so I spent a few hours completely organizing my craft supplies and ended up with room for them on top of my bookcase. One holds 6 spools of curling ribbon, while the other has a bunch of misc. things in it.

At Joann's I also saw these cute lamps; they looked like a purse but had a lightbulb inside...so cute. Unfortunately they only had one pink one and it had some sort of goo on it (ewwwwwww), so I passed. I can totally see it in my future "someday" craft room tho, which I want all in pink, red, and purple (maybe some black or white for furniture). If I can find one that hasn't been goo'd on, I may need to get it and put it away.

Saturday, October 16, 2004

Double the FO's...Double the Fun!

I've got 2 FO's to show off here. The sweater will be shown in a later post as it is washing right now. First, the scrappy poncho. This will be for Vance's niece for Xmas. I am a little worried that it will hang too long on her, but Vance thinks it will be ok so I guess I am just going to go with it. I used lots of leftover bits and pieces of homespun (including some from my sweater), some leftover Bernat Bouclé, one new ball of Bernat Ping Pong, and partial balls of Patons Cha Cha and Lion Brand Fun Fur. I knit 2 rectangles in garter, sewed them together, then did some crocheting at the top to make the neck less wide. Here it is:



I have gone through many stages of like and dislike with this...but now that I see the whole thing (in the picture), I think I like it a lot.

Next up are Vance's secret Xmas socks. I knit these from 1 ball of Woolease Worsted in blue and some leftover Woolease sport (held doubled) in Blueberry Twist (leftover from his other socks) for the toe, heel, and cuff edge. I am so glad to be done with these, since I had to knit them only while Vance was at work. Here they are:



Now I think I am going to start an afghan for his brother in law for Xmas out of some red heart yarn I have (I am trying to clear as much as possible out). I am planning on using this pattern: Rectangular Granny Square Afghan. Now I must get back to my cake, which is almost done baking! Have a fun Saturday!

Happy Sweetest Day...

...to those who celebrate it! It originated in Cleveland, Ohio so I am very familiar with it, but some of you others might not be. It's basically another Valentine's day, without the bloody massacre (that I know of).

Anyways, I have a pic of some fun stuff I got the other day. I traded in 9 skeins of Paton's Divine yarn in a pink that didn't look as good in real light as it did in crappy store light. Unfortunately Michael's is a cesspool and so they didn't give me fair value, but I did manage to get enough of a diff color to make the sweater I wanted to. I also picked up some floss to sew together my purple sweater and a new mag, see:



I have since sewn together the sweater and finished the poncho. I am a bit worried at this point that the poncho will hang too long for its intended recipient (who will be almost 5 by Xmas), but Vance says to give it to her anyways. I'm also just about done with his secret Xmas socks (so shhhh don't tell him) and should be able to finish those tomorrow while he is at work. Then I get to start something new, yay!

Thursday, October 14, 2004

I have a new FO to show, and it's not the sweater. I decided to get my butt in gear and finish the scrapghan I had knitted the strips for, so I did that yesterday. Here it is:



It's washed and ready to be gifted to my dad this Xmas. The soaking/washing helped the rolling a little bit, and time will help some more. I also couldn't resist starting a new project. Here it is...destined to be a poncho:



It's rainy today so the colors are a bit darker than they actually are. I started this with the idea of making it for Vance's niece for Xmas, but have been toying with the idea of making it for myself, hrmmmm. We'll see how it ends up. If it's for her I will knit 2 rectangles and sew them together (what you see is the length of the rectangle). If it's for me I will knit one big rectangle, fringe it, and attach it at the shoulder (what you see is the height).

I have an interview at hobby lobby today, which might be a good temporary job while I look for a career job, depending on what they want me to do. I guess I will find out in a bit.

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

I've got a new toy!

Lookie see:



Yup it's a drop spindle. Vance helped me make it last night. I realized a bit ago that I had the round pieces in my wood stash and so I went out and got some dowels, a hacksaw, and some hook screws and voila! Now I just need to get some fiber so that I can play with it...hmmm...

Since I had several of the round pieces and I had to buy the dowels and hooks in multiples I will probably make more. It can't hurt to have more than 1, right? I may also offer some up for trade...or in a contest...whee.

In other news, I went to a job fair yesterday and it suck suck sucked. There were less than 10 booths...including Family Dollar, Hardees, and Mary Kay. bleeeeeeeeh. I did get my resumé to an IT company and Kelly Scientific, tho. So keep your fingers crossed.

That's all for today. I will finish knitting my purple sweater today but I may or may not sew it up.

Sunday, October 10, 2004

Last night I took some time out from knitting on my sweater to sew this for my mom:



I bought the piece of Halloween fleece ages ago off season, but it was a little shorter than I wanted so I bought some purple a few weeks ago (on sale cheap!) Then I cut some 12" pieces of purple fleece and sewed them to the Halloween print using a zig zag stitch. After zigzagging all the edges...I had a very large blanket to give away. Here is a closeup of the Halloween print:



I think it's really cute (and really big) and that she will enjoy it. I'm sending it off ASAP so she can enjoy it for a long time.

In the meantime, I am looking for a sweater to make for Vance, since I ripped the last one. I am using Lion Brand Microspun but think I am gonna double it, so I can use an 8 or 9 needle probably. I want something simple...any ideas?

Saturday, October 09, 2004

Picture Day

I'm feeling alright (not great, but not too horrible) today so far so I was able to take some pics. First off, the felted bag. I finally decided to just sew the handles to the bag with some yarn that matched. Here she is:



And a closeup of the top region and pretty silver button:



The reason for the button is that I put a magnetic closure on the purse and then cut the shank off two matching silver buttons and glued them on the outside of the closure to hide it. I really like the way this looks. The buttons are from a tub that I bought for a few dollars from walmart...that thing was a goldmine. As long as I'm using them for craftier purposes rather than on actual sweaters where I need a lot, they work well. I've used them on purses, bags, cards, and I even used one on a sweater once (where I only needed one). Total score!

Next up is the granny square tote I crocheted for Vance's mom. I ended up needing another skein of yarn for this...so it took 3 skeins of 1 color and 1 skein each of 3 other colors...not bad. It's very sturdy and a good size...here she is:



The brown portion is actually crocheted twice as long then folded over to form pockets on the inside. The pocket that goes the width of the bag was too wide and short, which made it too floppy, so I put some buttons on to tack it in place (buttons again from that tub, whee!). Here is what the inside looks like:



I really like the way it turned out and I hope she will do. She paints a lot so maybe she can use it to carry that stuff around...the pockets are perfect for small things like paintbrushes (and there's 10 pockets, wow).

Last, but not least, I finished the back (or front, they're the same) of the mistake rib pullover I am knitting from Lion Homespun in 3 shades of purple. I like how it looks better outside than inside, yay. Here it is:



I can't wait to wear this baby! I think it may be kinda short (not too cropped, but waist length) and it will be form fitting, so I hope it looks good on me.

Friday, October 08, 2004

I finished both bags I was working on the other day and I had all planned to take pics and post them today...but then I grew so desperately ill that I could do nothing but lay in bed and moan. So not good. But I am feeling better now and was able to eat and everything...tho it's now too late to take pics :(. Hopefully tomorrow. I've started a new sweater for myelf out of 3 different shades of purple homespun. The pattern is from the last Knit It! magazine, and I had wanted to make it for awhile. At first I cast on for the XL size but after a couple rows I ripped it out and decided that for once I would knit my actual size and wear something more form fitting...so I went down to the L. Since it's a ribbed design it will just stretch where it needs to (and we all know where that is) and pull in in other places. I'm nearly done with the back and should finish it tonight, my body permitting. I am toying with the idea of posting the patterns for my Halloween Bags that I designed and crocheted, but don't want to go to the trouble if noone wants it. If anyone has any interest in this let me know and I will get on it.

Tuesday, October 05, 2004

Bloglines

So I spent a good part of the morning making sure my site was Bloglines friendly and subscribing to it myself. Right now my link bar lists the sites I had previously that do support bloglines. If you are missing then it's not cause I don't like ya, it's cause you don't support it. In blogger, this is easy to fix. Just go to Settings and then Site Feed and make sure the drop down menus say Yes and Full and all should be well. In other blog publishing programs I dunno what you have to do. I'm hoping this works how I wanted it to. I really hope it shows some sort of update symbol on my little sidebar list...but I don't think it will...hrmmmmmmm. If anyone tries to subscribe to me via bloglines please let me know whether or not it works. :)

Crafty News

First off, the green sweater, as promised. Here it is:



It is not a great picture but you can see the basic idea...very plain but nice (I think). I love the neat seams on Raglans...see:



Anyways, lookie at all the neat stuff I got yesterday:



Fun! I got the 2 magazines and the magnetic clasps in the mail when I got home. The other stuff I picked up at the stores...the book I got at Michael's with a coupon and the yarn at Joann's...some on sale and some with coupon. The first skein (on left) is called Angel Hair and is some Joann's exclusive yarn. It kinda looks like Lion Brand makes it tho based on the label. It is in the color forest green and has bits of gold in it...very pretty and very soft. Next is Patons Mosaic in Bottle Green and finally is Patons Evita in Andes...which is a mix of black white and grey. They did have Evita in a greeny color (2 actually) but I decided to mix it up a bit. These will sit in my stash for awhile til I find something to use them for.

As for the book, last night I taped the new lifetime movie Plain Truth (which was decent) and watched it later while starting a new project from the hipknits book. What did I decide to make? Well it's the granny square bag...which is actually crocheted not knit. Here is the pic in the book of it:




The pattern calls for Woolease Chunky in those dark but beautiful colors. Since I had several skeins of coordinating Woolease worsted that I got half price when my Atlanta Joann's was closing, I doubled them and went with it. Here is what I have as a start:



I'm really liking the colors and the way it is coming along. This is going to be a present for Vance's mom for Xmas.

Well that was a pretty long post for me, but I had some catching up to do. Time to sign off and get some stuff done :)

Sunday, October 03, 2004

Well I took some pics of the green sweater and was all ready to update and post when I realized that (1) I don't have office so I can't update my gallery and (2) I don't have the ftp settings so I can't upload the pics either. Grrrrrrr...and Vance went to his friend's house before work, so I won't have it anytime today. Will have to post pics of that stuff tomorrow (hopefully).

In related news, I started a new pair of socks for Vance for Xmas. The other pair are for Xmas too, but he knows about them. Now that I've got his size down, I can make some surprise ones too...yay! I worked a little more on his sweater but it is so tedious and I think I will have a ton of yarn left over. Am toying with the idea of ripping it, doubling the yarn, and knitting something simpler (like a zip up hoodie). The pattern is really nice, but I think it may be a bit much for him...he's very simple. We will see, I guess.

Saturday, October 02, 2004

Wooo, the green Raglan sweater for my stepfather is washing as we speak. I just finished knitting and seaming it and threw it in to wash/dry it so it would soften up some. I really love the color and style...so if he doesn't like it I will just steal it from him, bwahaha. Of course it is a bit too long for me...

I've already got a tag ready to go for it too! Oftentimes I procrastinate on that bit. Almost always when I am giving a handknit gift I take one ballband, cut the care instructions off, tape them to an index card, punch a hole in the card, and use a contrasting color thread/yarn to tie it to the gift. (Contrasting color so that when they cut it off they don't cut the fabric...but not a color that will "bleed" onto the gift.) I don't do this when the gift is something that can be taken care of any way desired (i.e. acrylic worsted weight afghans). That way, hopefully, people will take care of their gift which took me so long to make...and also realize right away that it was handmade for them. :)

Hopefully my joann.com order will come in the mail soon so I can finish up the felted bag. I ordered some more magnetic closures since they had a $10 off of any $10 min purchase...i spend about $10.40 and so with shipping my total came to $5.35...whee! Pics of the sweater probably tomorrow and of the bag soon, hopefully.

Friday, October 01, 2004

The Raglan Sweater is coming along well! I have the front, back, and first sleeve finished and I am well underway on the second sleeve. It is a quick knit on sizes 10 & 11 needles...and I will actually have enough yarn (hurrah). No update pics cause my computer is still being put back together. It is now reformatted and all but I've got to get all my programs back on it...fun fun. I'd better get back to that...