Tifffany's Ramblings

2009-01-02T15:04:00.002-06:00

Ugh I had a post and stupid blogger lost it

Well, point was I am married now and signed up for ravelry. I am Tifffany there. Stupid blogger, no wonder I stopped updating

2008-09-06T09:06:00.002-05:00

Life Changes

Well we're all moved down to Tampa. We've been here for about 2 weeks and settled into our apartment for one (the first we were staying in a hotel). Life is nice here - warm days and lots of sunshine. I've been watching the weather reports on Hannah and now Ike hopeing to postpone my first hurricane for as long as possible.

I've totally lost all time for my exercising. I was up to week 4 or so of the Couch to 5K but then I had 2 trips to Tampa, a convention in downtown Cleveland, visit to Matt's Parents in Pittsburgh, my wedding shower, and moving to all squeeze in to a tight time frame. I have missed several days of work for all that stuff and have so much to do so I have been working long days, including through lunches. Oh well, it is worth it. And I have been swimming in the evenings so that helps. After this week I have a week off for our long anticipated trip to Disney! We will be driving now of course since it's only an hour away but it should be just as fun! This will be the first vacation time I've taken off since february (when I had a half day) so I can't waiiiiit.

Last weekend we went to the Tampa zoo since we had reciprocal membership from our Cleveland Zoopass which was expiring. It was fun but not sure I would have wanted to pay $20 a person to get in. I did pay $2 to feed a cracker to a giraffe - it licked my hand and was totally cool!

That's all for now - here's wishing for a short week and a loooong vacation!

2008-07-13T17:48:00.003-05:00

So I said I was going to post weekly and then just totally fell off that wagon. I do have excuses, I have been busy. Like who hasn't, tho?

After our trip to Niagara Falls (which was great), I found out they were thinking about hiring someone down in our Tampa office. Someone on the inside knew I'd be interested, and threw my name in the ring. So now I am heading to Tampa in a week for my final interview. But it doesn't really seem like anyone else is interested. And even if someone was, I'd have a really good shot. The hiring manager already told me that "if" I get hired they will pay for my relocation, so we are getting prepared (mentally and otherwise) for a big move! I've been working in my Xmas sweatshop to try to get things made before I possibly go... wrapped and ready to be stored at my mom's. Since we have several trips already planned we wouldn't have time to come up for Xmas, so trying to get that squared away. Also, I booked an overnighter for Xmas Eve at Disney. We figured if we can't spend the holiday with our family then we may as well spend it with our friends.

Oh yeah and I started running. Not that fast or far, but I started week 3 of the Couch to 5k challenge today. Matt has been joining me but had to beg off today cause he's injured his ankle. That's all for now!

2008-06-03T20:17:00.003-05:00

OK so I said I was going to post this last Saturday and I totally missed it, but with good reason (kind of). I was all set to go and take a picture of an amigurumi I had made and some that I was working on. But when I pulled out my camera, the (rechargeable) batteries were dead. All the other ones were dead too, and I know that the ones in the pocket of my camera case were fully charged. I don't know if the batteries are just losing charge or what. So I didn't have the patience to wait for them to charge and take more pics. But I am working on some more little critters and I will try to arrange a photoshoot with them when they are all (or some of them) completed.

So anyways! My birthday is this coming Sunday so we booked a quickie weekend trip to Niagara Falls! We tried using the priceline name your own price thing for the hotel... but it kept rejecting us even when I wasn't much less than their listed price. Like they had something for $160 and I bid up to about $120. You can save 50%, my foot!

So then we went to hotwire and I took a $139 a night deal for a 4 star but it turns out the hotel used to be like a 3star so they bumped it up. Not sure I am so happy with these newfangled hotel bidding tools, I think I will just go back to buying a hotel the good old fashioned way. Because after I looked up the hotel we got and found out our room type, it would have been CHEAPER to just book on their website, argh! But it should still be fun and I will try to remember to charge my camera batteries AND take the charger with me.

Until then... knit on!

2008-05-25T16:40:00.004-05:00

So I know I said I would post every Saturday, but I just didn't get around to it yesterday. I was all set in the morning to hunker down with some dvds and crafts, but my mom gave me a ring around 830 or so that she was on her way out for pre-vacation shopping (she leaves for Vegas tomorrow!) so I got ready and went with her. I got home just a bit before Matt came home from work, so the day was pretty much done. Plus I spent some time playing with my new toy, which is:

the Kindle reader from Amazon! This little baby is pretty fun - and very easy to use. I've already downloaded (bought) my first book, Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk. He also wrote fight club and several other novels, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I especially love that I don't have to buy a hardback which tend to be so heavy and a pain to take along with me.

I have been doing a little crafting but haven't taken any pics right now, so I will have to work on that later! That's all for now - back to playing with my new gadget

2008-05-17T13:50:00.005-05:00

As promised...

I am posting on Saturday! I almost forgot so then I grabbed my camera to take some pics and OF COURSE the batteries were dead. Somehow my rechargable batteries just discharge over time, even when they are not in the camera. So I had to recharge them before I could take pics, but luckily I picked up one of those turbo 15-min chargers a couple of months ago on clearance. Otherwise I would've been waiting hours and who knows if I would've remembered.

So anyways... today my mom and I went out to get some flowers for my balcony. I have a windowbox that my aunt gave me and I needed flowers for that:

I also picked up a nifty plastic pot and got some more flowers for that:

I helped with the picking them out and placement of them but my mom planted them for me. If I touched them, they would probably die in protest. Hopefully I can keep them alive through vigilant monitoring and watering, though.

Also today, I picked up some stickers from Joann's. I had bought a package of blank invitations a couple months ago (on clearance + 40% coupon... I got the 50 pack with envelopes and return cards/envelopes for < $10!). So I got these stickers to maybe spruce up either the invites or the envelopes, I think they look decent together:

I will probably just use 1 or 2 stickers on each invite. I bought 3 packs of them (all they had) and there are about 24 per pack.

And in crafting news, here is the English Garden doily that I am just about finished with:

I just need to weave in the ends, possibly put the french knots in the center of the flowers, and block it. I started another but only have 1 flower done so far.

I've also been working on these funky slippers:

Easy to make in crochet and self striping yarn, these should be done soon!

Well that's about it for this installment. Hope I can keep up with it!

2008-05-14T16:05:00.002-05:00

WOW I didn't realize it had been SOOOOO long since I last blogged. I just feel like there's so many other things I would rather be doing. It's not that I am THAT busy it's just that I am rarely bored. However, Matt is now working on Saturdays (whereas I am off) and I am going to try to commit to a weekly update. That shouldn't be toooo hard. I don't have enough time to craft anymore to update more than that anyways. I just finished a doily this past weekend. Well I need to weave in the ends, block it, and think about doing the french knots for the flower centers. I am working my way through the book Doilies in Bloom. I had done the first one some time ago but then set it aside. I am also trying to do as much Christmas crafting as possible (and without spending money - just using stash) so that I can get rid of some stuff and save some money for the wedding.

Speaking of wedding. We have set the date to be Nov 25th. We will be heading to Vegas on Nov 23rd and getting hitched somewhere there. We haven't booked anything yet but are looking into a Red Rock Canyon wedding. I was planning on doing something at one of the hotels on the strip, but you don't get much for the money there. At least this one includes extensive time in a limo and a really cool outdoor location. Does anyone have any tips on that or other suggestions? I'm hoping to keep it to around 1k (including all the wedding stuff except for rings, clothes, and possibly a tip for the driver).

We will then be coming home the day before thanksgiving and having our reception the Saturday immediately following here in Ohio. We've booked the community center at my mom's condo community and got someone to do the catering. We still have to get a cake but my cousin who is an AWESOME pastry chef and decorator volunteered for that. I think we are going to do a vegas themed reception (veryyyy casual... maybe we can play a lot of sinatra music during dinner). So any crafty ideas for the reception is helpful too. I think I am going to look for card suit cookie cutters for cheeses. Also might ask for the cake to have the suits cut out of fondant and put on... on a basically white cake. I am also toying with the idea of putting the King and Queen of hearts playing cards as a topper somehow.

As far as favors we are still throwing around some ideas. I'd like them to be vegasy and either edible (chocolate) or a xmas ornament.

Not sure about table centerpieces either.

Well that's all for now. I plan to update this on Saturday, if I remember. It will be a lot more than just crafts, probably, since I don't spend that much time crafting anymore anyways. (Another reason for this is that my wrists have started hurting a LOT because of all the computer time I put in at work. And then I do stuff at the gym that puts a lot of strain on them too. So most of my crafting is on the weekends.)

There, I think that post was definitely "rambling" enough for the blog. Hope to see some of my old bloggy-pals soon!

2008-01-01T07:06:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!!

Just wanted to say hope everyone had a great 2007 and is gearing up for an even better 2008! I have been busy lately - Matt found out h got the job he had been interviewing for last Friday (YAY!) so we had to go get him a car yesterday (yay for that being over but BOO for new car payment). Also, we've been busy with visiting people for Christmas and stuff... and now we have to pack to go to Disney World in 4 days (SUPER YAY). When we get back (Saturday Jan 12) he will have a day to recoup before starting the job! Then we can start saving up vacation time for the wedding/honeymoon and maybe another trip to sneak in if we can.

I have been knitting on a Xmas tree skirt but haven't taken any pics yet - maybe later while I am putting Xmas stuff away and starting to pack for the trip.

2007-12-08T17:53:00.001-06:00

WOW it has been FOR-EV-ER since I posted. Not that I was that frequent before anyways. Well, I moved in and was without internet service until mid September due to AT&T's incompetence (which I am still dealing with). I was in Disney World for a week in September - and got engaged there! Woo! The boy and I are still planning when/where the wedding will occur, but we are thinking next November/December in Vegas, baby!

What else is new? Everything changed drastically at work so that's kept me busy. And I've been doing some extra money-earning stuff as well. There is a cool site called ExpoTV which I have used to earn over 2k since July. And I started doing shared reviews, where you just write reviews and earn $10 for each 5 (I put a link in my sidebar in case anyone is interested). The boy and I are doing these to earn some bucks for our next vacation (in February - WOO!).

Also I have been busy getting ready for Xmas. I did some xstitches as gifts, finished up something for a friend (not sure if she reads this so I won't post more on that), did some quickie gloves (prebought those basic knitted stretchy gloves and added a crocheted edging with fancier yarn). Also made some ornaments, soap, and not sure what else. I will try to update this more often, but I don't have as much time to craft as I have before.

So, in lieu of actual crafting content, here is a pic of our Xmas tree a week or so ago (there are a LOT more presents under it now - too many!_:

2007-08-25T05:38:00.001-05:00

Moving Day!!! Not that I keep up on this anyways, but I will be w/o internet service for a few days til I get it set up. Got some busy times ahead... moving this weekend and then Tuesday Matt has an employment testing so he will have to take me to work so he can use my car, plus we'll need to do some shopping to get stuff. Next weekend we are going to Cedar Point and taking my mom to the airport (she is going to Vegas) and the weekend after it's time for Disney World!

2007-08-19T20:04:00.000-05:00

I've been absent a lot lately... I know. A LOT is going on in my life right now. I'm still working, of course, but also in the process of moving into an apartment. I got the keys last Thursday and most of my stuff is there, some of it is put away. My boyfriend is moving in too and will be up here full time come this Saturday (which is when I'll start sleeping there... if he's good ;) )

And in 3 weeks I'm going to Disneyworld again... WOOO!

And we are looking for a job for him

And we are going to Cedar Point labor day weekend cause I have tickets I need to use before the end of the year.

And I've been doing some extra stuff for extra spending money

Life is just busy... but so far, it's GOOD busy! :)

Just checking in

2007-07-27T07:01:00.000-05:00

I've been a bad blogger. I know, I haven't posted in forever. If it's any consolation, I have NO FO's to post and barely any WIP's (and one that I do I can't post),because I've been really busy. Moving coming up (boyfriend to OH and us into a place together), work stuff, doing EXPOTV reviews for spending money for vacation that's coming up, and just lots of other stuff (HP!). Some of it's fun, so no pity for me. OK most of it's fun in the end - just leaves me super busy and sometimes stressed. Gotta run to work now - but I'm still alive!

2007-06-25T18:09:00.000-05:00

Back... and with lots of pictures. Unfortunately, this is about all I've got to show so not sure when I will have something else new and exciting after this.

First up, a baby sweater I was commissioned to make. The only specifics were a fall sweater for a baby that will be about 6 months old a the time but large for her age. So I used my leftover purple amore from my afghan and a ball of the multi I had and worked this up:

It took 3 tries on the sleeves to get them to a good length and not running out of yarn. I ended up doing stripes and it worked out well, I think. I also happened to find the perfect buttons in my stash:

So I busted stash and made money. Woooo!!!

Next up I crocheted a quickie sweater out of some Pistachio cotton ease I had. This one isn't for anything in particular, was just for something to do. So I experimented with granny squares:

Here it is a bit closer up, with some buttons I bought super cheap (like maybe $1 for 12).

Not sure about the sweater, but I love the buttons with it!

Last up is the afghan I have been working on FOREVER. I bought a ton of this lemon lime cotton from lion ages ago and started all the hexagons some time as well. Then awhile later I picked up 4 balls of sugar n cream in sunshine yellow and worked on the other motifs and border. However, I ran out of the yellow partially through the border and couldn't find it anywhere near me, of course. Luckily, Janine saved the day by sending me 2 balls (and some other goodies). So here is the finished blanket, in bad lighting:

Draped over the couch near the window so it can get some natural light:

And a closeup of the corner... these colors are pretty true:

That's all for now! Starting on another afghan with more tons of lion cotton I bought. Knit and crochet on!

2007-05-19T16:46:00.000-05:00

Here is the swimsuit coverup, all finished:

It is significantly longer than the one in the pattern - but I like it that way!

Also, I finished up a Seraphina shawl some time ago and got around to taking pics of it:

I used Joann Sensations Rainbow Boucle in the Brown/Blue colorway. Here is a closeup for the colors:

Finally, something that no longer exists. I made this multidirectional scarf with 3 skeins of Paton's SWS (Soy Wool Stripes), but I realized I would never wear it. I don't really rock scarves and wool by my neck is a no-no (If I even tough my neck I get huge red irritated skin marks). But here is what it looked like before I ripped it:

I had started a sarong for a swimsuit coverup but I don't think I am liking it, so it might be ripped out as well. Currently I am working on a cotton throw/wrap that I started FOREVER ago. Hopefully it will be done sometimes in this decade!

2007-05-14T06:38:00.000-05:00

More Disneyana

A few more Disney items I've been working on. First up, a Tigger shirt for my bf:

And a closeup of the applique:

Next, I got a couple of visors from the One Spot ($1!!) at Target and dressed them up with matching appliques:

And a detailed look at one:

That's all for now. I started a swimsuit coverup this weekend based on this pattern:

Should be done tonight... then pics soon!

2007-05-07T20:18:00.000-05:00

Did I mention I'm making us shirts for Disney? With my Applique Station? I think I did. Here is the first one... for me. I just took the pics but they turned out kinda blurry. Oh wells.

2007-04-29T16:09:00.000-05:00

A few FO's to report. Last time Matt and I went to Disney we took some of these cinched backpack thingiedoos we got free from a Magee Birthday Party day at Kennywood. We really liked the construction and usefulness of them but they were a wretched neon green and had ads all over. So off we went to Joann lst weekend and picked up some fabric to make new ones. Here is the one I made for Matt with the fabric he picked out:

I am quite happy with how this turned out. I lined the inside with some black apparel lining fabric, so the bag is opaque and all nice and finished inside. It only takes about an hour to sew this up, but it took awhile for me to figure out just how I wanted to do it. In fact, if I was redoing it now I think I would do it a little differently, but I am pretty darn happy with how it came out. I added the eyelets at the bottom and did the straps with my magicord machine with light acrylic yarn from my stash (the red was some stuff I'd gotten cheap from Herrschners).

Here is the one I made for myself:

I love the glittery purple fabric, and I used some light purple baby yarn I had left over for the straps. So of course they have a little bit of shimmer to them. This one is lined also, in light pink apparel lining.

Here is a little baby sweater/jacket I knit. I got this from the "minnies" book, but used 2 different fuzzy fabrics to make it more Coatlike. I used Lion Boucle for the main and some Cha Cha or somesuch for the trim. Here is how it finished up:

I got most of this yarn for a buck or less per ball, deeply clearanced. However, I did run out of the Boucle on the hood and had to buy a ball. I didn't find it at joann's anymore in this color and was worried I would have to order it online at full price plus shipping. But I finally found it at michael's and bought it with a 40% off coupon. I let my boyfriend pick out the buttons, having only shown him the sweater and given him the direction "I need 3 buttons, all on one card, between 3/4 and 1 inch in size." He picked out these coppery ones, and while I wasn't happy with the choice felt I had to go with it since I had told him I would. Well, I love how they look:

That's all for now. I did finish a Seraphina shawl but haven't yet blocked it. My mom has been painting her bedroom t his weekend so extra space is nonexistant. Also she got a Wii so what space we have is occupied by that ;)

2007-04-25T21:28:00.000-05:00

I know I've been remiss in posting. I keep meaning to, but life gets busy. Most weekends I travel to PA and other ones I'm just tired I guess. This weekend is home so maybe I will take some pics and post them.

In other news, I've booked another trip to disney! This one for 8 nights, sept 9-17. Right now they have a free dining deal going on so we get to each out at a sitdown restaurant once per day, a counter service meal once per day, and a snack once per day. But we don't have to actually dole them out that way, so some days we will sit down twice in a day and such. We have them all booked already. Hey at a normal cost of $80 a day for 2 ppl, we save like $640 right there. Plus it's cheap hotel rate time, we get a cheaper rate flying out of pittsburgh, so that after we buy the hotel, get free dining, 8 day park passes with adding on waterparks, and buy vacation insurance since it's hurricane season, it's still under $900 a person! Woooo! We can't wait! (Oh yeah, my boyfriend is going too... and is as excited as I am)

2007-04-08T12:29:00.000-05:00

I am home this weekend and managed to finish up a couple of projects. First up, the purple ripple afghan made out of TLC Amore in Purple and some random Boucle that I got from Marie:

I also worked up a pair of the Dashing Glovelets from Knitty. I used Woolease and the recommended needle size. I plan on giving these to my boyfriend at some point:

...or keeping them. Cause I really really like them and I love the color. We'll see.

After finishing those up I started 3 new projects: 2 baby sweaters and a Seraphina shawl. I'd tried making this before but had followed the instructions a little too literally. The written out instructions aren't the best but I used the picture to aid me in deciphering them and now everything is working out swell. And as far as starting two baby sweaters... my excuse is that I started on one and ran out of yarn. So it is on break until I get more, and in the meantime I started another. Really, the first one is quite close to done, just need to do a few inches of hood, then sew up and find some buttons.

Oh, and happy Easter if you celebrate it (I don't)

2007-03-15T17:41:00.000-05:00

What do you get when you put together an earthquake, a tornado, sleet, snow, rain, an ice storm, and 2 days of 65-72 degree weather? This week in Cleveland area. It's crazy, I tell ya. I know a lot of places adopt the saying "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute and it will change"... but it's definitely true here!

In other news... we are having a St Patty's food day at work tomorrow and here's what I made to bring in:

Potato Candy - yum!!!

2007-03-08T19:13:00.000-06:00

Trellis

I worked up Trellis from Knitty out of 2 skeins of Lion Cotton Ease. I had about half a skein left, and here's how it worked up:

And from the back:

I used 5 whiteish buttons I had in stash... they don't all match but for babies I don't think they have to. That thing took longer than I thought but was something small to work on at the PC and such. Fun fun.

And here's something else I made a bit ago...

2007-02-14T17:18:00.000-06:00

A Blizzard of a Day

Because we had one. And not just me calling it a blizzard, it was all official weather and stuff. Ugh! Took me over 2 hours to drive home from work last night and another 30 mins to dig my car out when it got stuck pulling into the drive. It's a shared drive so I couldn't leave it sit there.

So I ended up not going into work today because my car was so plowed in and all the news stations were urging people to stay in. There goes 8 hours of vacation I was trying to save... might not have the time to take a week off this summer :(

Anyways, I finished up sewing the Regia Mini Ringel socks last night. Here they are:

They might look oddly shaped but they fit my foot perfectly. And the colors will go with so much - I love them!!

And I started another project. An easy ripple afghan made out of some TLC Amore and some multicolored boucle that I think I got from Marie way back when. I love the colors together - it makes me think of a flower garden. Probably would moreso if the Amore was green instead of purple... but I still love it. And it's so soft. Here is how far I was earlier today (about another repeat done as of now):

And a close up of the colors:

About all for now... need to go medicate for my back from endless shovelling. Hopefully I can venture out tomorrow.

2007-02-03T10:48:00.000-06:00

Purple Saturday

I know I haven't posted in awhile - I'm bad like that - but I have a few FO's to show off. First up, some socks I made a few weeks ago from Lion Brand Yarn's Magic Stripes yarn. Here they be:

And a closeup of the colors:

These will end up being gifted.

Next up, some socks for me. This is the Gull Wings pattern from the Knitter's book Socks Socks Socks. The pattern was fun to knit and worked up well in Paton's Kroy yarn. Here it is:

And a closeup of the lace:

I have one more color of the Kroy... wish I'd bought more! There are several other patterns in this book I think I'd like to make as well.

Finally, a pillow freshly finished for my aunt's bday pressie:

I made this from a kit I had bought some time ago on clearance for $5! I have almost a full ball of each color left over, so not sure what I will do with them. I just stuffed and sewed it this morning - her birthday was Thursday - and will give to to her soon.

Next time: A multidirectional scarf in Soy Wool Stripes that is off the needles but needs to be finished and possibly new Regia socks I started last night. Until then!

2007-01-21T21:02:00.000-06:00

Red Scarf Project

My scarves are all packed up and ready to be shipped. I had several premade, but here are a few I made specially for the drive.

First up, altho this scarf might look pink it's because I had to shoot it in low light to get the texture and then macro retouch it. It's based off the irish hiking scarf, but I switched one of the cables and made it a bit smaller. I doubled up on the yarn and used a larger needle, and voila:

Next is what you get when you have 2 balls of woolease and a crochet hook:

I realize this isn't red, but they said any gender neutral colors will do. So armed with some homespun I had in stash and leftover... I made this:

Finally, a crocheted scarf I worked up with some orange yarn. It's kind of close to red:

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll have a new pair of completed socks soon!

2007-01-17T17:09:00.000-06:00

I love CNN! No, really, I do! You might think that's me being sarcastic, but I don't have a sarcastic bone in my body! OK obviously my body is built of nothing but sarcasm and cake... but CNN really is fun. Today they had up a nifty article on desk accessories. They listed some really fun stuff BUT (and I have a big one) they only link to the main site not to the specific product. AND no pics... go figure. But you can still click here to see their list of best office doodads.

In other news, here are a few pics of my trip to Disney with my honeybunny this past New Year's. No pics on New Year's Eve cause the place was packed and a camera person was ne'er to be found. We spent it at the Magic Kingdom tho... and when midnight hit we were surrounded by fireworks. Way cool (and warm)

New Year's Day was spent at MGM:

We had a blast there and got gifted in their "year of a million dreams" campaign. FUN! And the New York area was BEAUTIFUL at night with all the lights up. Unfortunately it was raining so they couldn't "dance". We saw the Indiana Jones show, the Lights, Motor Action, stunt show, and the nifty nighttime light show (in the rain, of course). We did as much as we could here but still ran out of time. I loved this park!

The next day we went to Animal Kingdom and posed in front of the Tree of Life:

and with Mickey:

and Goofy:

It was a pretty fun park... but there was a downside. The Finding Nemo musical wasn't quite up to snuff. It was well done I guess... but way too kidsy. The puppets were neat, but the people holding them were super visible and THEIR MOUTHS MOVED. Just not what I was expecting. We also saw the Bug's Life show which was fun, but smelled. Those bugs are frisky. In fact, all of the 3D shows were a good time.

After Animal Kingdom, we headed to downtown disney and Pleasure Island. I don't have any digital pics of this, but it was SUPER FUN. We loved the Adventurer's Club and went back the next night as well (cause after you pay $23 for a pass you can add 5 more days for just $5. Too bad we found this out our 2nd to last night).

Last full day was spent at Epcot:

This was alright... but probably the least fun of the parks. We were too tired to really walk around the country part, but what we saw was fun. I got cookies in Norway and we rode the ride there. We also got lucky with gifted Fast Passes for the Mission Space, and real ones for the Test Track. I had a super huge headache and thought I might have to pass on th Test Track, but luckily it was gone by the time we were due to go on it.

The last day, we had a few hours to spend so we went back to the Magic Kingdom. This time we scored pics in front of the castle:

We had just enough time to ride its a small world for the 3rd(! not my choice) time and the Teacups for the 2nd (looove em). And for me to have my 2nd breakfast, lunch, and ice cream. So like 3 hours ;)

In knitting news, I've done a couple pairs of socks and some scarves for the Red Scarf project. Pics of those if I can force myself to take em. Knit on!

2006-12-22T06:50:00.000-06:00

It's almost here! Xmas is almost here! My mom and I decorated a cake for her to take to work:

Well I was more the artistic director than anything. I suggested the dying the batter and then sponging the cake green. She came up with the garland all on her own tho. I also suggested the yellow m&m on top for the star, mixing coconut in with the frosting for the snow along the base, and I did the presents. Not bad, huh? We are going to make a few more and perfect our technique.

In other news, I whipped up a quickie sweater to wear on xmas. I took one pic but it's baaaaaad so I will try for another after it's washed and there is some natural lighting. For now, off for my last day of work before the holiday!

2006-12-07T18:24:00.000-06:00

I'm going to Disney World!!!!
Yes, you heard me right. Last Sunday I booked myself a trip for New Year's. The boy and I will be spending the night at the Magic Kingdom (if we can get in before it gets full) and watching the fireworks. So when the ball drops and they flash to disney... think of me!

In other news, a few projects I finished and photographed ages ago but never uploaded. I have 3 cousins' kids who I never know what to get. They have everything (3 girls) and I am so not hip to what's cool in toys. So I bought these:

And to go with them, they each get a set of these:

Also on the bath kick, I knit up these for my mom, from a single ball of Sugar n Cream:

The blue is more vibrant and the changes in shading more noticeable. I used one of the giant Joann balls... and got both out of one... yeah!

Currently I am working up scarves for the Red Scarf Project. Most of them aren't actually red, but they say that's OK.

2006-11-10T18:03:00.000-06:00

Craft Fair Items

First up, a baby sweater in dreadful lighting:

I made this before but did not have a closure on it. So I bought a zipper and started sewing it in, but hated how it looked. With some white boucle and some buttons I finally got it done in time.

Next up, I found some acrylic Xmas yarn with silver or gold thread running through it. So I whipped up these little stockings:

And these:

And with the bits I had left, I made some stocking ornaments with bells:

Some Xmas tree ornaments with pom pom ornaments:

And some snowflakes with pearls:

I love the way the ornaments turned out, and at $1 each I expect them to go quick! Woohoo sale day tomorrow!

2006-11-08T20:27:00.000-06:00

More Ornaments

Finally got some time to upload the rest of the thread crocheted ornaments. First up, a silver bell:

A Two-tone ornament:

A gold star:

A smaller silver angel:

And last, but not least, a gold bell:

In the meantime, I have been working up some more things for the craft sale this weekend. Hopefully I can unload a lot of stuff. It is going to be a big one, it's at a local catholic school and they get toooons of people coming to it. It's from 9-3, so wish me luck!

2006-11-05T19:00:00.000-06:00

As promised, the crocheted ornaments I've been working on. Finally starched. I used some liquid stuff from Joann's that worked pretty well. I wish I would have done it a bit differently for better results, but I guess I will know that for next time.

A snowflake:

A dove:

A 3-tone ornament:

A gold star:

A snowflake:

A 2-tone Ornament:

A large angel:

Another snowflake:

More to come, but Blogger is limiting my pictures per post!

2006-10-30T21:13:00.000-06:00

Aloha!

Pictured above are the cookies my mom and I made for my work for Halloween. We are having a Hawaiian themed luau, so they're appropriate.

And speaking of Halloween, something else I made:

I just love skulls and xbones. I messed up on the coloring of this somewhat. Well, messed up if you go by the directions. But I think I made it work in the end.

Another Xstitch I finished recently:

And last, but definitely not least, I finally finished the Opal socks I had been working on forever, thanks to the Knitpicks needles! See:

Definitely worth all the hard work - I love them! I washed them already so they plumped up a little bit. Unfortunately they also got some random dryer lint and whatnot on them, but I picked it off. Can't wait to wear them. Pics of the many starched xmas ornaments once I get that post to work!

2006-10-28T18:35:00.000-05:00

I am working hard to get things knocked off my "in progress" list. Everything has been on there waaaay too long. I sewed the lining for the stocking and for the blue bag, which is currently drying. I am working hard to finish my opal socks and am on the home stretch (the foot) of the 2nd one. I finished starching all the xmas ornaments and took pics, but they are not loaded onto my pc yet. Perhaps tomorrow. Still working on finishing up the other items on my list... hopefully I will have them done this weekend or before Wednesday when I go on vacation! Not really going anywhere but taking 4 days off work for my man's birthday for a total of 6 days off! Woohoo. I think I am gonna whisk him off to the horse racing track and to dinner, so that will be fun. Pics soon!

2006-10-17T18:44:00.000-05:00

Been pretty busy with work and all. I work until 530 or so now so I don't get home until after 6 and then I still have to eat and wind down. So less crafty time and almost no photo time. Here are the Xmassy socks I finished tho:

I need to rememeber I do not like short rows.

Got my knitpicks needles and I LOVE them. They are perfect for magic looping... and I got the longest ones so it works reallly wellll. Now I can buy the fancy shmancy yarns that require size 0 and 1... and use the fun patterns. If I ever get done with the things I am working on.

2006-10-01T15:42:00.000-05:00

A few crafty things to show off. First up, I finished off the Paton's Divine scarf I was knitting for my aunt for her Bday in November. I used about 1.5-1.75 skeins of the yarn and a simple 2x2 rib over 22 stitches. Here it is:

She has an affinity for red, so I know she will like it.

Next up, a tiny little Xstitch. My boy bought this and started it but gave up, so I finished it for him. I think I will put a magnet on the back.

Finally, a Xstitch I picked back up after several years. It is a stocking I bought to make cause I love stockings. I could decorate all over with them at Xmas time!

It's slow going. But the good thing about working on this is that it makes the doily I just started seem like it's flying! Another Xmas present that I've started...

I also ordered some of those Knitpicks circulars with the fixed needles... in sizes 0 and 1 to make socks. Hopefully they will work well!

2006-09-27T15:17:00.000-05:00

I did something somewhat unheard of (for me) today. I got out an old Xstitch I had begun years ago and worked on it for hours and hours and hours. It's a Xmas stocking I had bought and was making for myself. I love the image on it, but don't so much love stitching it. Why? It's almost alllll white with lots of similar shades of blue - kinda boring. But I am so far along that I think I am gonna try to do it. I have 3 more stocking kits waiting in the wings - maybe someday - as well as tons of other kits and a few other XIP (xstitches in progress, of course).

Has anyone tried the Knitpicks needles? I know many people have tried the interchangeable ones... but what I mean are the fixed needle circulars. I see they have them in size 0 and 1... and I am dying for those size of sock needles. If you have, let me know!

I finished the Caron Shadows Ribbed scarf and a matching hat... pics after blocking. I also saw a sign up for a craft fair in a couple weeks. Haven't called yet - but I'm thinking about it. The main deterrant is that I have noone willing to sit there with me - booooo.

2006-09-25T18:29:00.000-05:00

Casualty: Pomatomas socks. I ripped them out today as I was working the gussets. Somehow the count was totallllly off and I couldn't get it right. I'll knit something else with the yarn. I may also rip the Opal socks if I can't find needles I like better. I am feeling like there are a million different things I want/need to work on at once. I am staying home this weekend so maybe I will make some progress on the quicker of them. Wish me luck!

2006-09-20T17:24:00.000-05:00

Lazy Wednesday... sort of

I had today off so I spent it lying around the house. Well... kind of. I made a lot of crafty progress as well!

First up, the grey on grey toe-up socks I was knitting for myself, but then made the foot too long. So now they will be for my mom:

Next up, the golf club covers, also for her. She had wanted argyle... so I painstakingly charted it out and sewed it in in duplicate stitch, but it did NOT look good. So I cut it out and just left the tops plain. The stripes at the bottom denote the club and the braid on the top I decided on for decoration. I like them!

Next, I started the Pomatomus socks from Knitty. I had printed out this pattern ages ago, but it printed out poorly and cut off the ends of lines. I think that's why I hadn't knit it. So I started it up in some Bernat Hot Sox I had lying around. It doesn't show off the pattern that well and I almost ripped it because of it, but I chugged on. See:

I am a bit further now. As in, done with the foot and onto the heel flap. A day off does that for ya.

Last up, some cookies I baked today. Pumpkin with butterscotch chips, mmmm. They were actually a major PITA to cook because there is no egg (I followed a recipe) and they weren't wanting to set. I ended up cooking them about 5 mins longer than the upper limit of suggested cooking times. I can't really taste the pumpkin much, but they're still yummy. Taking some of these to work tomorrow and the rest with me this weekend.

I also started a Ribbed Scarf out of Paton's Divine for my aunt for her Bday. No pics yet tho as it's still in its early stages, and pretty boring.

2006-09-17T14:15:00.000-05:00

Finished Steelers Stocking! Here is what it looks like:

I quite like the way it turned out. Still up in the air about the lining. I might do it just cause it will help keep it front stretching out too much. But, I'll do that later.

In other news, I went shopping today and bought this:

I paid full price for it, which is so unlike me, but I bought it because it has SEVENTY sock patterns and many of them use a size 2 or up. I would knit on a size 1, or smaller, but I like to knit on a single circ and haven't found one that works well for that. As soon as I finish up these toe up socks I can get started on some of the gems in this book! If you want to check it out more, click on the picture for a link to its Amazon listing!

2006-09-16T13:05:00.000-05:00

Stocking & Socks

As promised, a few WIP to show off:

The big one on the left is meant to be a Xmas stocking. It will be Steelers themed, for my man. I started it this morning, and so far so good! Once I am done with the base, I will make/buy a motif to put on and then most likely line it with coordinating fabric. Fun and quick!

Also pictured are 2 pair of socks I am working on. The grey on grey I think I will end up giving to my mom, since I made them a bit too large for me. The green and red will be fun Xmassy socks for myself. My short rows def need some work - I'm getting major gaps. I think my solution for now is going to be to sew a length of yarn on the wrong side to close them up - but how can I avoid this? Any help would be much appreciated!

On the grey socks I did a picot bind off for stretchiness, but I may rip and redo cause I'm not loving it. On the green ones I am doing a 2x2 twisted ribbing - takes a bit longer but I love the way it looks on these! Ciao!

2006-09-15T16:13:00.000-05:00

I found out today that I got the job I've been interviewing for!!! YEAH! I had my last interview yesterday but I think it was basically a done deal since they called TODAY before 11 and extended me the offer. In 2 weeks I will officially begin as a "Pricing Analyst"... can't wait! It also means I don't have to go to training in my current job (which I was supposed to for the next 2 weeks), as that would be pretty pointless.

In other news, I am staying home and crafting this weekend. At least that's the plan... who knows what will happen.

I starte another pair of socks... green and red for Christmas... and hopefully for me! Not too great at the short row thing, I keep getting gaps. I need better pics to follow, or someone to show me, I think.

Oh, and I thought up a quick, easy way to divide a ball of yarn into 2. This is useful as I've been doing socks lately. First I wind a ball into a cake on the winder. Then, I rewind holding both ends together, to make a double stranded cake. I cut in the middle when I get to the end. Then, I pull a bit from the middle, separate it (a couple feet), and put one of the ends in the winder. By holding where the 2 yarns divide and winding, one strand is caked while the other bunches up and doesn't tangle. Once one is done, I wind up the other. I did a ball in only a few minutes... nice!!

Pics later... just had to share the news!

2006-09-14T18:11:00.000-05:00

Wednesday off

I took yesterday off and worked in my own personal sweatshop. First, I finished Fetching from the Knitty pattern. This will be a Xmas gift for a friend

I used leftover yarn from a pair of socks, and had enough! Wasn't sure about that - but yay! I love them, not sure if I will be able to give em up.

I also manager to finish up these socks, a Xmas gift for my mom:

They only took one ball of Woolease with enough to spare to do toes and heels on another pair. Those are in progress and altho I am in love with them, I think I overestimated my feet. They may have to be gifted as well.

And finally, no pics but I knitted up 4 golf club covers for another Xmas pressie for my mom. I just need to work on some charting and duplicate stitching to spiff em up, then sew em up. I used my machine, but it still took a few hours, what with setting them up and unlatching/latching up the ribbing. A day well spent, I think!

2006-09-12T17:16:00.000-05:00

Purchases Maximus

So much for cutting down on yarn purchases and trying to use up some stash. But who can resist kits on clearance for $5 a pop. Especially when they contain these:

I plan on making the pillow for my bed (the colorway in the bag is more purpley than the pink one pictured) and the bag for fun (colorway in bag is a little diff here as well).

The store also had 50g balls of Australian wool (perfect for felting) for $1.50 a pop! What's cheaper than that? Kits for $5 which include more than 4 skeins each! See:

Yup, 17 skeins for $15... wahoo!

And finally, some other cheapie yarn I managed to pick up. The yellow is for the cottony wrap/afghan and the other is just because it was super cheap. It's more of the Caron Shadows and I picked up the only 3 skeins they had in Pearl Frost cause it was only $1.50 a skein. They had another color this cheap as well, but it was the horrid hot pink one. I passed on it.

The needles were also a new addition, to keep at the boy's for when my fingers get the urge. I bought a set of like 4 or 5. And that whole haul was only $40! Not bad, I think. Actually... pretty effing good.

Off tomorrow so I should have fun stuff to show soon!

2006-09-07T18:50:00.000-05:00

Shrugwell by name... Shrug very well by reputation...

I left work early today as a treat to myself (sick earlier this week and long, grueling interviews Wednesday) and came home and finished a couple of shrugs I had been working on. First up, the Caron Shadows shrug, pattern from the ballband:

And the back:

I do have a major complaint about this yarn/pattern. It said it took 3 balls for the size S/M and 4 for the L/XL. I dutifully bought 3 balls, shortened the sleeves by 1.5" each, shortened the middle by 2", and still required a 4th ball. And I meanall of a 4th ball. And not only that, but I had to slightly shorten the body band so as not to need to buy another ball. Argh! Oh, and about the yarn... it is about the only acrylic that feels softer PREwashing and feels more plasticy after being dryed with fabric softener. Oh well... it still looks ok (I think) and will work this winter. I just threw it on over the T-shirt I wore to work today. Heads are cropped to protect the innocent (me) from looking like a goober (unfortunately, also me).

Next up, the dressy shrug I alluded to making in order to wear over a dress to a wedding in about 2 weeks. I searched in vain for a pattern online, and then just ended up making up my own. Crochet a 12" high rectangle in V-stitch, sew up somewhat to create sleeves, then work a little edging which is made up of a row of single crochets and then a row of alternating single and triple crochets. I really do like the way it came out and think it's the perfect size to wear over this dress. See:

And the back, which (luckily) is long enough to come to the top of the dress:

In the meantime, I picked up some Wool-Ease and have started some socks I think will be a Xmas gift. I've also got orders/requests pouring in for other Xmas gifts (2 foot doilies... are you serious?! Maybe... if you're good...) so I'd better get back to my own personal sweatshop. Knit and crochet on!

2006-08-31T17:27:00.000-05:00

Jolly!

As promised, pics of my new tat:

I found the pic online, kind of, and resized it. The pic was just the white skull on a black background but I obviously I didn't want it like that. So I headed to my fave shop and let him do his thing. I like it! Here he is, on location:

My man is the one who named him... Jolly. Better than Roger ;). The fairy on my back is Veronica (from the Elvis C song). The flower is just "the flower", heh.

Oh, and if you missed Pres Bush's speech, check this out. Hell, even if ya didn't, watch it for fun!

2006-08-26T17:20:00.000-05:00

Got several WIP's to show off this week. First up: a bag that is an AFO (almost finished object). I ripped out the shawl and made some granny squares that I was going to use for a scarf... but I didn't think they had the drape for that. So instead I worked them up into a bag, that is just about finished sans lining and handle. Here is one side:

And the other side:

I am probably going to use an old pair of jeans to line it, as I did before. This time I may use the ass of the jeans, so I can have some pockets inside. Not sure, still thinking about it. I also think I am going to make the handle(s) out of jeans... still undecided. I have decided one thing tho, I am going to hold off on finishing projects that require sewing until I have several, then pull out the machine and work them up. I don't have room to leave it out permanently and getting it out requires clearing off my crafting desk which is usually full of cardmaking supplies and/or books.

Another thing I am thinking I may clear off my desk for, though, is my sweater machine. I mentioned to my mom I might make her some golf club covers for xmas, and she was all into the idea. Also thinks I should sell them to people, that I could probably get $10 per. I'll work hers up and see how long they take and if it's worth it. Materials are not really an issue, as I will use red heart for durability.

I also worked on the Opal socks some, that I started forever ago. Here is how far I am on the first one:

I was knitting them on DPN's, but I've never liked that and switched to this circ. I am not a fan of this circ... the join is not so great and the yarn snags. I may look for another one tomorrow, but as for now it beats the DPN's.

Finally, I bought some of the new Caron Simply Soft Shadows yarn while at Michael's looking for yarn for the cottony wrap I am making. I started a multidirectional scarf, but as the color changes are somewhat gradual it wasn't looking how I wanted. So I decided to make the pattern on the label. Here is what it looks like:

And here is how far I am:

I am making the smaller size, and it says it only requires 3 balls. So far I have 2, and I think that it requiring 3 is BS. I am knitting exactly to gauge and finished the first ball WELL before the end of sleeve 1. the back is the same width as the largest part of the sleeves and practically as long... and then there is all that border. I am going to buy 2 more and knock some rows off this thing. 10 off the sleeves (each) and we'll see how many off the back. 26" across seems A LOT for a small/medium. But we shall see. I love the way the edging flips over at the collar.

I was looking through my mom's closet while she was out (gasp! Sometimes I'm such a kid. Since I don't want to raid the fridge due to dieting I have to do something fun) and found a dress that may work for a wedding I am going to in about a month. It's paisley and really cute. However, it has straps, which may be cold at the end of September. I may be designing a quickie black shrug to wear over it, after I ask if I can wear it, of course *wink*.

And one more bit of news, I got a new tattoo. I took a pic the day of but due to it being slathered in lotion, it came out looking gimpy. I'll re-photo once it's healed (which should be soon!)

2006-08-22T18:22:00.000-05:00

I managed to eek out the 63 required octagonal motifs for the cottony throw/wrap I am making... with practically NO yarn to spare. So, since I do need more for squares and triangles and sewing and edging, I stopped at Joann yesterday and picked up some Sugar n Cream yarn in "Hot Green". Here is what it looks like:

Needless to say, it is NOT the right shade. It does match SOME of the green bits in the yarn, but not enough to "go" with it well. So I will be looking for a yellow, I guess, next time I head out there. In the meantime, I will occupy myself with weaving in the 150 ends and my other WIP's.

Speaking of... the shawl is no longer. I ripped it out today, which was relatively painless, and have new ideas for the rescued yarn. The project looked "okay", but since I was wanting to sell it I decided the price I could probably get for it wouldn't cover the cost of the yarn let alone the labor involved. So I think I am going to make several scarves instead... and those should do better, if this sale ever comes into existance.

I'm working some 9 hour shifts this week so that I can leave early Friday and get my weekend craft on early! Woohoo!

2006-08-14T16:22:00.000-05:00

Progress to report... sort of!

First up, one of the (many) motifs for the wrap/throw I'm working on:

I know that I don't have enough of this yarn to finish the afghan... I'm not even sure I have enough to make all of the octagonal motis (there are also square and triangular ones). I am going to have to choose another yarn at some point for the rest of it. I saw some limey looking cotton at Joann's and right now that is the forerunner. But for now, I'm blissfully making motifs til my fingers fall off.

Next up, the blue shawl I knitted with various blue yarns. Most of these were leftover or orphaned skeins, with 3 more skeins I bought and added in for volume and contrast.

I'm not lovin' it. I think I'm gonna r ip it out, tho I'm not sure what I will make with it. Maybe another shawl but crocheted this time... so I can better control how it will look. Or maybe a poncho. It's still unfinished above; I had plans to crochet a border with the suede to help the curling and in which to hide the ends. But now I'm thinking that idea will be abandoned.

Finally, one of the landscapes felted bags I was working on. I finally managed to attach handles to the smaller of the 2.

Even though I had knit and felted tabs, I didn't like how they were going to "face", so I cut them off and sewed them back on with the "right" side out and buttons to dress it up. If I made another one with tabs, I would be sure to switch from stockinette to reverse stockinette so I could have the ends on the outside with the "right" side facing out. It's little and cute. I have some more of this color left over and I thought of doing a pocket or flower... but I might just leave it as is.

That's all folks!

2006-08-10T13:32:00.000-05:00

Last weekend was a bit of a buzzkill. I was all excited for the concert I had planned, but then the boy had a day of grouchiness and killed the mood. For penance, I am making him take me to the zoo this weekend. In honor of this, I made some monkey bread for us to enjoy this weekend:

This is the first time I've made it and I hope it turned out right. It certainly looks rather tasty. I just hope it's cooked all the way through. If not, we can certainly pick around the raw-ish bits ;)

Came home from work sick today due to a stomach bug/cramps combo that hit hard last night and lingered today. Working on a shawl I started this past Monday... it should be ready soon!

2006-08-02T17:58:00.000-05:00

Wine-o Carrier-o

I finished embellishing the wine carrier, and now I lurve it. Yes, I said lurve, like Celine Dion. And no, I don't like her one bit. Deal with it.

It took several tries at making the pieces and then assembling. Here it is finished (click to make big):

I remembered a felted, embellished wine bag in the book Knit One, Felt Too, and got it out to take a looksee. Problem was, it used "fleece" to make the felt balls for the grapes (which I didn't have), and a square of knitted fabric, felted, and cut to make the leaf. I *could* have done that bit and needle felted a vine on top, but I wouldn't have been able to needle felt the leaf to the piece of the vine to the rest of the bag, due to the bag not being wool, so I decided not to go to the trouble. Instead, I used the pattern for the leaf to cut a piece out of regular craft store felt, which I "veined" with a black sharpee. I glued this on with some fabic glue, then set about making the grapes.

I had some purple wool leftover from a bag I had made, so I set out to crochet a grape and "hand-felt" it. To hand-felt, I rubbed it between my hands under water as hot as I could stand with a squirt of dishwasher soap... roughing it up while trying not to drop it down the garbage disposal. Problem was, my first attempt turned out about the size of a plum. So, I made a smaller one (which I stuffed with a wee bit of polyfil), and it turned out to be the rightish size. Make about 10 more of them, all hand-felted, and then glued them on to the bag several times with a combination of fabric and tacky glue. Finally, for the vines I decided I wanted something sparkly and strung a combination of green colored (different greens) "E" beads onto some wire, and glued the vine down to the bag. What you have as a result, is what you see. I surely do like it! It's just about complete... all it needs now is to be FILLED ;)

2006-07-30T15:54:00.000-05:00

Is that more baskets... or are you just happy to see me?

I finished baskets 8, 9, and 10 this weekend. Here they be:

One of them (in front) is a new color scheme, but the other 2 were made from fabrics I had already made a basket from and had lots left over. Now that I've met my minimum requirements (10 baskets), I am taking a break from them for awhile. I'm tired of constantly lintbrushing the strings off my clothes and everything around me!

I also finished embellishing the wine carrier, but it's currently drying and will have to be photographed at a later date. I think I really like it... much more than I did before.

2006-07-28T16:52:00.000-05:00

Underwater Basket Weaving

That's basically what I was doing today. I woke up and got ready for work and tried a few different routes out of my condo complex, but to no avail. When I finally managed to trudge through parts of road with water halfway up my tire and got to the part leading out onto the road, it was a definite no go. So I turned around and headed home and called in my weather day in the middle of July. My one weather day for the year. And we have some nasty winters... but oh well. Found out a bit after I got home that we (our county) was declared a state of emergency and several homes and businesses had been evacuated - what fun! So instead of working, I cut and whipped up this baby:

Another basket from the pattern I got out of my head. I also finished up the crocheting on this:

That's a wine carrier for a housewarming barstocking party the boy and I are headed to in a few weeks. My plan is to embellish it and fill it with a nice bottle of Ohio vintage wine... and take it off to Pittsburgh for the festivities. Not sure what I am going to do to dress it up. I have some ideas which include beaded fringe and/or felted grapes and leaves. We'll see! Here's hoping I can eventually leave my home ;)

2006-07-24T17:49:00.000-05:00

A few FO's to show off. First, a baby blanket I had crocheted some time ago but didn't have my large eyed needles handy to weave in the ends. Here it is:

And a close up of the colors:

I had the blue/pink because I had bought 2 balls of it on sale for $1 each. I didn't know what I would do with it at the time, so that's all I bought. I then decided to do this easy stripey blanket, and purchased 2 balls of white to match. I used Bernat Baby Boucle for the entire thing.

Next up, 4 more fabric baskets... 2 just crocheted today:

That makes a grand total of 6 so far... and I need at least 10 for X-mas presents. I may make some extra as well, since they're so quick and easy and I have tons of fabric. I'm working on a wine cozy now for a housewarming/barstocking party the boy and I are tentatively attending in a few weeks.

My mom is currently in Vegas, hopefully breaking the bank (theirs, not hers)... so I took today off in an effort to unwind. I decided to stay in Pittsburgh until this morning, and then woke up at an impossibly early time (read: the numbers on the clock are ones i ONLY ever see in the PM) and left a little before 7... coasting into my driveway around 9. I've spent the day working on the baskets and watching Queer as Folk - The Final Season. Fun stuff... but I'm utterly exhausted from the lack of sleep and looong drive, not to mention my allergies are acting up. Back to the grind tomorrow... :-/

2006-07-19T18:33:00.000-05:00

Fabric Baskets

Here are the fabric baskets I have been working on:

I'm not using a pattern to make them... except for the one I've made up along the way. These are going to be used as Christmas presents, and will be filled with a gift in a jar, chocolate covered pretzels, and the like. My mom is amazed by them and wants to take one to work to show off. Perhaps I will even be able to sell some. I have TONS of fabric and this is just the project to use up some of it. I spent a lot of the day today sorting it into piles of what would work well for crocheting (thinnish, possible ugly or busy pattern, moderate amount present) and what wouldn't (plain, too thick or thin, tiny amounts present). And since I have a fringe measuring cutter thingy and a rotary cutter, the strips don't take long to cut at alllllll. The worst part is getting the strings all over as I make it.

Speaking of strings, they are semi visible in the picture. Anyone know the best way to remove these. A sweater shaver... or other? Or do you just have to leave them?

2006-07-16T20:06:00.000-05:00

This is definitely turning out to be one of the most fun summers I've ever had. This past weekend I headed to Pittsburgh (as usual), where the boy and I planned to buy some tickets Friday night to see a concert Saturday. Instead... we ended up getting the tickets and parking FOR FREE from a friend of his. We got there a bit early and hung out in chairs by the car enjoying the sunshine and some potent potables, then wandered inside for a bit. We got a free pic with the Geico gecko:

The quality is bad due to it being a picture of a polaroid, but that's the best I could do. After the opening bands was the Goo Goo Dolls (meh) and Counting Crows. It was sooooo much fun hanging out on the lawn with lots of space in which to dance. I can't wait for the next concert!

Crafty content will come when I can get a daytime pic. Tomorrow I am off to look for an interview outfit... as I have 3 45min ones back to back on Tuesday. Eeeeeks... wish me luck!

2006-07-10T17:13:00.000-05:00

Made a couple of felted bags... in various states of undoneness. Both of these use Lion Brand Landscapes.

I had 3 skeins each of these colors and whipped them up. The first one features some tabs I am planning to use to attach handles. I also have some left over yarn of this one so I can do a pocket or flower or somesuch.

Off to shop now, bbl

2006-07-05T17:30:00.000-05:00

I have some new projects in the works, but I wanted to do this list instead cause it is FUN

1. Put your iPod (or MP3's) on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question.

How am I feeling today?
Age Six Racer - Dashboard Confessional (Like a child? ALWAYS!)

Will I get far in life?
Joe DiMaggio Done it Again, Billy Bragg & Wilco (This one makes no sense...)

How do my friends see me?
The Patron Saint of Liars and Fakes - Fall Out Boy (HEY!!!! I love you all tooo)

When will I get married?
Dawn - Devision (Awwwwwwwww)

What is my best friend's theme song?
If I Can't Change Your Mind - Sugar (Really, my friends are pretty tolerant. Pretty song, tho.)

What is the story of my life?
Get Out Of My House - Kate Bush (OH YEAH! And my head... and my life...)

What was high school like?
Buffalo Soldier - Bob Marley and the Wailers (Well, I did work hard)

How am I going to get ahead in life?
(skipped one cause the title is a number) I Am A Scientist - Guided By Voices (Well, I majored in Math & Chemistry... so I HOPE that's how I get ahead!!)

What is the best thing about me?
Sulk - Billy Brag (I have been told I'm cute when I pout.)

How is today going to be?
Lonely Day - Phantom Planet (Awwwww... yes and no)

What is in store for this weekend?
Lovers - The Tears (No comment)

What song describes my parents?
5 times out of 100 - Hot Hot Heat (... they don't pester me? Noooo that would be much lower)

2006-07-02T18:06:00.000-05:00

Done At Last!

I finalllly finished the afghan this weekend. The border did not come out as well as I'd have liked... in part due to the fact that Red Heart sucks and each "no dyelot" skein had a different color and gauge. But my man likes it and thinks it'll be good for the raffle, so I'm happy.

Also finished a baby blanket but I don't have my yarn needles to weave in the ends, so no pics of that yet. Now I am working on some quickie projects cause I am tired of laboring over huge, hot blankets in the midst of summer. Happy 4th to everyone... hope ya all are off this Tuesday!

2006-06-18T19:32:00.000-05:00

Vacation Progress!

Yes I had the entiiiiire last week off... and I needed it badly. So I headed out Friday to Pittsburgh to my man's apartment, Saturday we went to see Dave Matthews Band for my b-day pressie, Sunday we went to his parents for dinner and then headed back to my place! Monday we relaxed a bit and ran errands because Tuesday we went to Cedar Point for 2 days! They have a nice deal where you get a 2 day pass to both the amusement park and water park at a significant discount. So we got a room for the night and did that. Soooo much fun, even with our aging, aching bodies and sunburnt flesh. The rest of the week was spent relaxing and hitting the pool, but I also made quite a bit of progress on the afghan:

Turns out my man used to x-stitch, so he got a little kit and reacquainted himself with that while I finished all the x-stitching on the afghan. And I'm back into crocheting on it. I also started some plastic canvas coasters to go with it, which are nice and quick and will also go in the auction. That's all for now... back to work tomorrow :-/

2006-06-03T16:08:00.000-05:00

Congrats again!

Her and I (in that order). Neither of us look great there... oh well

2006-06-02T17:18:00.000-05:00

Con-grad-ulations

...to my cousin! Tomorrow morning she will be graduating HIGH SCHOOL. I remember when she was just a baby hellion... and now she's a fully grown one! I will be watching her graduate along with about 800 others at my old alma mater tomorrow morning. It will take hours... oh joy.

I am not going anywhere far away this weekend, so I plan to make mad progress on the Steelers afghan. Finally got the lettering done and a good section of the white completed... going to try to finish the white up this weekend, despite my somewhat business.

Off to shop more... as if I have the $ to do so ;)

2006-05-30T06:05:00.000-05:00

Not the best pic, but here is a scarf I recently finished:

I used 2 balls of Moda Dea Fresh to make this. It took me awhile to find a stitch where the yarn would look decent. I liked the way it turned out, but don't think I'd make this again. I have 2 more balls of this and am not sure if I am going to whip up another scarf or use it in conjunction with other yarns to make something more interesting... leaning towards the latter at the moment.

Easy crocheted pattern, but I still wrote it up so I'd have the right number of stitches and somesuch, in case I decide to make another. Shoot an email to tifffany(at)gmail(dot)com if you want it.

2006-05-22T18:43:00.000-05:00

So, I lied. I tend to do that when there are no repercussions to my action. But it's in a good way. That means I did actually take pics of the 2 other furry scarves I made. See:

I used the same colors of Cha Cha as on the other two, but with black Homespun instead of the Ranch color. Makes quite a difference, I think

Finished another scarf but not sure I like the pic of it. Craft on!

2006-05-21T21:08:00.000-05:00

Just got back from Pittsburgh... tired! I finished these scarves up last week:

I also wrote up the pattern, so if anyone wants it email tifffany(at)gmail(dot)com with a request. It's easy to work up and uses up some of that novelty yarn I stashed in mass when it was "new".

I made a couple more of these in diff color combos but will probably not bother taking a pic of them. Cause I'm lazy. ;)

Finishing up another scarf now... pics of that when I get home early enough to take good ones!

2006-05-15T09:09:00.000-05:00

This weekend I stayed home and finished the ponchette I had started. Here she is:

And a close up of the nifty edging:

I managed this in record time, and really like the way it turned out. It's all crocheted, and I even forced myself to write up the pattern... just in case I ever want to make it again. Want a copy? Shoot an email to tifffany(at)gmail(dot)com and it will be in your box ASAP. Warning: the edging is a little bit complicated and not for the faint of heart... but if you can do doilies everything should be A-OK

Yesterday I was feeling pretty okay but then I left the house with my mom and as soon as I was in the car for 3 minutes I was feeling nautious and headachey. Not sure what was going on, but it got worse with each short trip we took. This morning when I woke up I was feeling a bit of the same, so in order to not aggravate it I called off work. I don't really have the time to burn (got 3 weeks planned vacation this year and we don't get separate vacation and sick leave), but I was worried I would feel sick and to leave and drive home would just make it worse. Off to hole up some more and work on another project/pattern for "the sale".

2006-05-13T14:28:00.000-05:00

Last night I locked myself in and made some progress on the Steelers afghan, which is a charity project. Here is how much I have done on the center panel so far:

I just have to finish filling in the white and then I can get back to actually crocheting. I am going to add some length to the center piece and then do a black and gold border. Hopefully it will bring in beaucoup bucks for a women's cancer center of a Pittsburgh hospital.

Also, I got some Regia today that I had ordered from Elann. I didn't order the new stuff cause it's heavier weight and less yardage, but I did get enough for 2 pair of neutrally colored socks:

That's all for now... off to work on a new ponchette I am kinda designing!

2006-05-10T16:15:00.000-05:00

Houston, we have cast-off

OK, so this isn't even knit... but I just thought of that clever little title and had to use it. Here it is:

I love the way it turned out. I used one big ball of Joann's Sensations Rainbow Boucle in light blue and the star crocheted baby blanket pattern. Worked up really fast too! Now I need to figure out some more stuff to make for this craft show I intent to do to earn Vegas bucks and use up some stash. I'm thinking ponchos and scarves and wraps are a good bet.

Found a LYS in my area. It's called Tamarella Yarns. Not a very big selection, but they had Cascade and Brown Sheep and Lamb's Pride, so there are some standards. Also had some BOGO yarn a nd a big island of 25% off. Not much sock yarn, which is what I went for, but I did pick up one ball of sockota and then order some Regia from elann.

2006-05-04T16:14:00.000-05:00

As promised, and sooner than usual, the finished crocheted Glitterspun top! This will be for my mom for her birthday in June:

I quite like how it came out. I threw in an extra ball of glitterspun to make it a bit longer. It was quick too, despite my putting off working on it.

Here is Lion's pic of it:

It's a pay pattern, but pretty simple to do. Adaptable to any yarn as well, I'd say, with only slight modifications. I think it makes a cute semi-dressy over top.

In other news, I started a baby blanket for a co-worker. I'm using Joann's Sensations Rainbow Boucle in light blue (it's a boy) and this pattern. It's looking cute so far.

Heading to Pittsburgh for the weekend (per usual), so catch ya next week

2006-05-03T06:10:00.000-05:00

I managed to stay up a bit last night and finish the crocheted Glitterspun top I've been working on since forever. It wasn't tedious I just wasn't really working on it. It's for my mom so it had to be worked on in secret... plus it was kinda boring. But last night I got the crocheting done and the ends woven in. Looks pretty good.. pics later.

I've decided that my man and I need to go to Vegas this november... so I've started saving and planning for that. I think I am gonna try to do a craft show in the fall to raise the funds... I definitely have the stock for it. In the meantime maybe I will try to work up some more of what I have into sellable objects. More later, off to work (bleh)

2006-04-24T16:09:00.000-05:00

I had planned to have a very relaxing weekend... staying in and working on the Steelers afghan. Of course, I'm not a downkey person so that quickly went out the window. Friday I did hole up and watch a bit of Queer as Folk: The Complete Third Season and work on the Steelers afghan. But Saturday morning, my mom and I decided to jet off to New York and go to a Casino on the Seneca indian reservation. Fun stuff... even tho I lost all my bucks.

Sunday I did a little bit of shopping and got a haircut (finally!) So in order to regroup, I took half a day off today and watched more Queer As Folk and worked on the afghan... the design is maybe halfway done. Plus I wanted to relax before I meet some friends from high school (!) for dinner at a little italian place with huge portions. Almost time to go... hopefully I will have something to show eventually.

Heading off to Pittsburgh this weekend (of course) to hole up with my boyfriend. I think I'm gonna request we order in chinese and don't go out... I need some time to chill. Happy end of April... bring on the warmer weather!

2006-04-18T15:34:00.000-05:00

Not much to report. I'm thinking of getting a pair of these:

Yes those are Crocs shoes. Altho I probably wouldn't get that style, they seem pretty comfy. With one exception... I can't seem to figure out what size fits. 8's feel like they might fall off a little while 7's have my toe hitting the tip. Do these stretch? Shrink? How should they fit? Does anyone know? Input would be much appreciated ;)

No new FO's... working on the 2 I currently have going... and a lot of other stuff taking up my time. I need a vacation ;) Staying home this weekend - maybe there will be some progress

2006-04-12T06:05:00.000-05:00

Blooming Roses Doily

I used to be so good about updating this thing...not sure what happened. Oh yeah, I got a job... and a life... and a laptop which is not as conducive to uploading pics. But, whatever.

I finished the Roses doily from the Doilies in Bloom book last week, and took a few pics. Not the best, but I don't have time or energy to fiddle with lighting and such. Here is the big picture:

It turned out quite a bit smaller than it was sposed to. But I'd rather have nice, sharp stitches than size (but why can't I have both *whine). I think it's cute, tho not entirely useful to put anything on. Here is a close up of the center, with more realistic coloring:

And the little rosettes at the edges. Thank goodness there were only six, they got to be a pain to make in duplicate:

That's all for now. My stepfather is in town this week so gonna hang out with him in the evenings then mebbe head out of town this weekend, per usual.

2006-04-04T05:58:00.000-05:00

My mom and I had been planning to go to Niagara Falls to gamble last weekend, but due to possible bad weather and other complications, we ended up skipping it. I still didn't head out to Pittsburgh over the weekend, because I wanted to rest some without all the travel. So instead I went shopping! What did I buy? Why, this...

Isn't she pretty? It's a new '06 Honda Civic EX - the bestest trim level with an extra protective covering on the paint and fabric! The first place I went to was horrible to me and I ended up walking out. They kept trying to push a lease on me (The lady *said* she didn't want to lease!), would not give me the discount they advertised through my employer (Apparently it's not available on the "number one car in america"... only on the "hottest selling models"...) and also were not giving sale prices, after they advertised "Every new Honda on sale"! LIARS! After they gave me their "last best offer" and I had refused and was ready to leave, they were willing to give me the price I wanted. But it was too late (last means last to me), and after insulting my car, holding my keys hostage, and being general @$$holes, it was WAY too late. I had to yell to get my keys back and after I was leaving my mom was still going off.

So after 3 hours of hell, I went to a place near me that did not advertise sale prices OR a discount at my work. I told them I did NOT want to lease or get a different model (oh yeah, the other place tried to talk me down to paying too much for a cheaper model when I didn't want to pay too much for the one I wanted *sigh*). Without asking, they gave me $1000 off and the warranty at cost. And the rest is history! I have a not so pretty payment for the next 5.5 years *gasp!*, but my year of purgatory is up June 21 and hopefully I can post to a better job. If not I may be looking to switch companies.

Oh yeah, and I finished the roses doily but due to poor weather (see previous pictures), I haven't photographed it yet. But I will! Soon! Happy Tuesday :)

2006-03-22T19:57:00.000-06:00

Not much to report on since I've been slacking in the craft department due to being out of town, a bit sick, and busy playing online poker (I lose). But I am working on the roses doily and I finished all the blooming parts and am now doing the regular doily part.

Also, I'm busy designing an afghan. My boyfriend works at a hospital and the women's cancer center has been doing a lot of fundraising so I asked him if they would be interested in raffling off a Steelers themed afghan (he's in Pittsburgh). Of course they jumped on that and said they are having a Steelers auction in late summer/early fall, so I started designing one. I am going to put the logo in the center then do "superbowl champions" along the top and bottom (or sides) and the ones they won up the sides (or along the top and bottom). I think it will come out well and hopefully bring in a pretty penny. I spent most of tonight working on the main chart, and it's looking pretty good. I tried to upload it but blogger is being cranky. Perhaps another day...

I'm off again this weekend, so hopefully I will get to start it soon, after I finish this doily I was so excited about and now want to be done with. Or maybe I will *gasp* start another project without finishing either of the 2 I have going! That's so unlike me...

2006-03-16T06:05:00.000-06:00

The second, and even larger, pineapple doily is done, done, done. I finished the crocheting Monday whlie watching the new Lifetime movie, wove in all 40 or so ends (!) on Tuesday and blocked it, then unpinned it yesterday and had a quickie photo shoot. Here she is:

I really like this, even better than the other one. I think I like the lacier look for doilies... and it makes em go quicker too! Here's a detail shot:

This baby is about 26" or so in diameter (just slightly smaller than the 28" the pattern claimed). I blocked the dickens out of it with my new T-pins, then spray starched it a little while it was all wet and stretched. It came from this book:

This is later called "Timeless Doilies to Crochet". There are some other cute ones in here, I think I might've made some others. While the first pineapple doily took almost exactly one ball of 350yd size 10 thread (It went slightly over but there was a knot that I had to cut out... if not for that it might have been exactly one), the second took maybe 1.5. Which means that I still have plenty of green left for the doilies in bloom! Oh, and did I mention I got this green stuff on clearange ages ago for $.45 a ball? That means that gift of 2 giant doilies well be just over a dollar... exxxxcellent.

2006-03-12T18:32:00.000-06:00

Pineapple Sundae/Sunday

Well I finally finished blocking and photographing the pineapple sundae doily. I had doubts that it would turn out flat, as it was very 3-Dimensional as I was making it. But I really like the way it came out! It was meant to be 21" across, but mine came out closer to 19.5". Here is the finished shot:

And a closeup of the pineapple portion:

I used straight pins stuck into the carpet to block this baby (on a towel, since I was afraid of it dyeing the carpet. It says colorfast but I have a green streak on my hand to prove that's not necessarily so). It worked alright, but I have since bought some T-Pins, which I think will hold it better and not bruise my finger when I stick em in.

The pineapple doily came from this book:

I made one other doily from this book before, and it came out well too.

Now I am onto another one... called Heirloom Pineapple Doily... in the same shade of green. I finished all the main rows, now I just have to work the points... fun fun!

2006-03-10T16:57:00.000-06:00

Doily Madness

Or so it might seem. I am really into making these right now, so we'll see how far I get. First up is a purple doily called "Vanity Fair":

Isn't she cute! She only took a few hours (started last Thursday night and finished Friday before I left for PA). She's from the book Dainty Little Doilies, shown below:

I bought this ages ago with intentions of making them, but gave up for some unknown reason. All the better, cause I'm enjoying them now! These ones range from about 4"-8"... not very big, but good for using up bits of thread left over from larger doilies.

I made another purpley one with more leftovers, but it may be ripped for thread to make the flower doilies, so I'm not blocking it now. And since I'm not blocking it, I'm not showing it. I made it earliy Friday as well, so you can see how fast these are!

I've finished the Pineapple Sundae doily and will show it off soon! And I'm on to another one... called the Heirloom Pineapple doily, I think. In the same color as the other Pineapple... it's going to be a set. Watch for it! :)

2006-03-08T05:58:00.000-06:00

Woohoo I'm back in the crochet blog ring! I decided to get back in since I am posting semi regularly and it seems I have been focusing on crochet lately. So if anyone is wandering in from there: ~welcome~.

In other news, no exciting pictures to show of FO's or even UFO's as I've been busy and haven't taken any pictures. I started a large doily on Monday called Pineapple Sundae and am only a row and a half (and washing and blocking) from completing it, so maybe pictures soon. I have a smallish one (or two, if I don't rip it) that I will take pics of asap.

I am finding thread crochet surprisingly soothing lately. I hadn't done it in awhile, and altho the twisty thread can be a pain, it hasn't been too bad lately. First I started by buying a book of Christmas ornaments and whipping up about 13 of them. They all came from this book:

I used metallic thread and must say that they all worked up really quickly and pretty. I look forward to blocking them and seeing them finished - whenever I figure out how I want to starch them. Anyone have a favorite product for this? To make them really flat and stiff.

Yesterday I wandered out to buy Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and ended up stopping in Michael's and picking up this:

I look forward to making every doily in this book! They're colorful and fun... and since I have random bits of colors and lots of white I have most of the supplies for all of them. Not til I finish the pineapple ones tho, as I am using green for them and will use the leftovers in these. Just hope I don't lose steam by then! :)

More later... happy Wednesday!

2006-03-03T13:17:00.000-06:00

I finished a few baby things, and haven't had time to take/post pics. But I have about 30 mins before I head out to Pittsburgh, so I am gonna throw em up now.

First up is a couple of baby hats I whipped up from some leftovers. For the girl hat I made a little flower from the Lion Brand pattern to adorn it. For the boys I just added a pom pom to the hat. And a stripe with the little bit of blue I had. I think they're cute!

Next up I made a little jackety sweater with a skein of white Baby Coordinates and some random bits I had leftover. I had to use some other white yarns to make edging, as I ran out of everything else.

Obviously, I still need a closure for it. I would like to do a zipper, but I can't find a separating one in anthing less than 12". Ideally I'd like a 9", but a 10" would probably work too. Anyone know where I can get one??

Well I'm off! I have some other new things made that I may be able to show off when I get back :)

2006-02-16T20:53:00.000-06:00

So I finished up a couple of the sweaters with closures and all, and decided to snap a pic of them so I could move them into the finished pile for good. First up I started with a ball each of green and blue Lion brand Baby Soft and came up with this:

For the button I used an "extra" that came with a sweater I bought (and wear!). It was a tight fit at first put with playing with it a little it is going in a bit easier. The pattern calls for a tie but I always felt like that might choke, and be a pain to wash.

Then I used the rest of the blue to make another crocheted sweater, but ran out part of the way through and had to substitute with some white Bernat Baby Coordinates (sparkly!) Here is the end result:

I love this one! My mom says it's too girly with the flower buttons, but I think it'd still be great on a little boy. I mean, hellooooooooo, blue and white. Babies are practically genderless anyways. The flower buttons are still coming from a pack that I bought ages ago. I think the buttons weren't intended for clothes, and each pack had lots of different colored flowers and 3 sparkly ones (a pink, blue, and purple). I bought 3 packs so I had 3 of each and have so far used up all the sparklies. I still have a lot of other flowery buttons left tho. At about $1 a pack, I am getting a lot of use out of this $3 button pile!

I am exhausted from baking (cupcakes!), laundering, and packing tonight as I am off to beautiful Pittsburgh this weekend. The weather is supposed to be terrible, so hopefully I won't do any further damage to my car. Until another day...

2006-02-13T19:55:00.000-06:00

Wellll I've finished 3 more baby sweaters, but only 1 is realllly done since I need to put closures on the other 2. They are all crocheted which is how I got them done so quickly, and now I am working up a hat or two to use up the last of my baby scraps. Then I will be down to 2 balls of baby boucle and I think that's it! Hopefully I can get some pics before I head out to PA this weekend...

In other news, I got off work early today and the plans were to get a quick oil change then go home and rest. But the "quick" oil change that was sposed to take 30 mins ended up taking 2 hours and costing $50... UGH. They gave me a free oil change coupon for my trouble, but I don't know if I want to go through the experience again. Besides just the length of the wait and the cost I also had some old people's dog jumping on me cause they brought it and no leash, a freezing waiting room, AND 2 guys wandered in and tried to peddle books and phones. No, I don't live in the ghetto and yes, I hate the people in my town.

Pretty soon I should be starting some exciting projects, if I can figure out what ;) Any suggestions?

2006-02-05T14:33:00.000-06:00

Pixie Cables

I finished the baby set earlier this morning. There wasn't much left to do since I was working on it til midnight last night. Without further ado, here is the sweater

I love this pattern but I keep forgetting that the pattern needs some tweaking. I really should write these things down. It came out cute anyways, and I just used some stash buttons in coordinating colors. Cause I don't think baby sweaters really need super expensive matchy matchy buttons :). This was made from Woolease yarn in color "Ivory Sprinkles" that I got ages ago for $.75 a ball. I also made my mom a sweater and socks out of this, and still had enough for both the baby sweater and a hat. I made the largest size for the baby sweater, I think it's 6-9 months.

The hat came out pretty cute too. The tons of seed stitch at the top did get a little bit boring tho.

What is next now that this is done? Another baby sweater/set. I am really trying to burn my baby yarn, ;). Hopefully I will still be able to show pics, if I don't use up all my blogger pic space :)

2006-02-04T15:57:00.000-06:00

Super Saturday!

This morning I was awakened when me mom came home (the garage is near my bedroom). So when I got up and told her she had woken me, she said "good, let's go to breakfast and shopping...". Who am I to argue with that? I bought a few things... and when I came home I had this in the mail:

Isn't it beautiful? Marie made it for me as a thank you for the cardigans! I was just glad she liked em, but this little beauty is fabulous. I adore purple and I like how it's all flowersy with the green and the leaves. It matches the fairy on my back :)

I am also about finished with the baby sweater - need to find/sew on buttons and weave in some ends then I will have some pictures of that. Happy weekend all!

2006-02-02T06:10:00.000-06:00

I was surfing over at Kim's, and found this neat link for trivia tips about yourself. Of course I had to try it and mine were too funny not to enjoy. Lookie here:

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Tiffany!

The Eskimos have over fifty words for Tiffany.
Tiffany is the world's tallest woman.
A thimbleful of Tiffany would weigh over 100 million tons.
If you drop Tiffany from the top of the Empire State Building, she will be falling fast enough to kill before reaching the ground!
Ideally, Tiffany should be stored on her side at a temperature of 55 degrees.
The horns of Tiffany are made entirely from hair.
Tiffany will often rub up against people to lay her scent and mark her territory!
Tiffany can only be destroyed by intense heat, and is impermeable even to acid.
Pacman was originally called Tiffanyman!
Lightning strikes Tiffany over seven times every hour.

As cool as it is with the eskimos, Pacman, and being nearly invulnerable, I sure do hope a thimbleful of me does not weigh *quite* that much ;). And about marking my territory... erm... well... *blush*

It's better than using Tifffany, I suppose, whereas I get "Marie Antoinette never said 'let them eat cake' - this is a mistranslation of 'let them eat Tifffany'!" as a piece of trivia... yikes!!!

2006-01-30T17:54:00.000-06:00

I've been waiting for Herrschners to have a free shipping event, so I can order a few things... and they finally did! I nearly missed it since I was out of town this weekend, but I checked my junk emails as soon as I got back. I'm glad I did, cause I was able to score a Strip It Tool and Deluxe Braiding Tool Set, along with a few balls of Paton's Fresco Yarn in order to bump me up to $25. I got 4 balls since it is on clearance, and I think I can make a cute scarf or baby/kid item out of it :)

Kind of a boring post, since I don't have a new FO to show off. But if you head on over to Knitti-Me's new home, you can see some of my handmade items modelled for your viewing pleasure :)

2006-01-23T16:57:00.000-06:00

Update: I lied

Well, misinformed. The blue tunic actually measures about 45" x 28". So if you're interested, scroll down to see it and then send me a comment/email! :)

2006-01-22T12:01:00.000-06:00

Woohoo I finally finished up the mancala set that I promised my friend for Xmas. Not so woohoo tho is the fact that I hate it. See for yourself:

The cups didn't have a very flat base so I had to sew them all to each other to keep them standing up even after blocking. It's still usable, just not very pretty. *sigh* Oh well...

What DID turn out pretty tho is the homespun blanket I made for my cousin in the Tudor colorway. This worked up so quick and easily. It is going to be a hs graduation present for her to take to chilly Buffalo. Hope she likes it!

And a detail shot:

I started out using the waterfall pattern on lion's website, but then I decided to start with a chain of 91 instead of 61 so it'd be longer. Theeeen I decided I wasn't a huge fan of the rippleage and just did sc the whole way. I like the way it turned out tho and it should be a big, warm blanket for school.

That's all for now! I started a new baby sweater because I didn't know what else to make. I really like the pattern and it's a fun, quick knit.

In other news, Marie got my sweaters in the mail and said they fit perfectly! If I'm lucky, I'll get to see em ;)

2006-01-18T17:54:00.000-06:00

I finished the capelet for my aunt the same weekend I started it - so quick! I only used 2 skeins of homespun instead of the 3 called for on the site. Both the capelet and the flower is 2-toned, mainly cause I couldn't find the same color in stock. But I think it's cute! See:

I'm hoping she'll like it. She's a fan of purple and victorian things. :)

Continuing with my sweater giveaway, I have a tunic I had crocheted for my mom. She likes it but it's grown too long for her. So if you like long sweaters, check this out. It's about a 38-40" bust and maybe 27" long. It stretches in both ways tho, so fits a wideish range. It is crocheted from woolease sport. I think the color was called "royal blue".

And a close up of the stitch...

Like this? Want to wear it? Leave me a comment or send an email off to tifffany(at)gmail(dot)com.

2006-01-08T13:53:00.000-06:00

These sweaters are not being given away. Just thought I should say that ;) These were all made for my mom as gifts. First up, we have an off the shoulder piece crocheted in Bernat denimstyle. I used a pattern from a mag (Crochet fantasy, maybe? Or Crochet!) and had to change the pattern a bit due to gauge. This worked up much bigger than what was called for, but I still think it came out well.

Next up is the sweater that was made from the baby blanket yarn. The one I had to rip out part of the blanket for. But I think it came out well all around. Also from a magazine, probably Crochet! or Crochet fantasy. And I also had to edit the pattern some because it did not work up to gauge. But in both cases I used many less stitches, so less time for me :). I love the way this came out, and it fits really well.

Last but not least, a sweater I finished over the summer as a Christmas gift. This can be recognized as the Lo Tech Sweat from Chick Knits. It took forever to knit, but I was super proud of my seaming (esp the pockets) on this. And I think the buttons are cute. Made from Woolease Ivory Sprinkles, purchased at 75 cents a ball, this sweater was a steal! Even factoring button and pattern costs.

I finished up the capelet last night except for sewing on the flower. Now I've started on an afghan to use up more homespun... more pics soon :)

2006-01-06T19:48:00.000-06:00

We interrupt this sweater bonanza to bring you news of a finished project (!!!). Yes, I finally finished up the baby blanket. Here she is:

I had originally had 4 skeins of Peach Baby Coordinates to make this blanket from, but part of the way through my mom grabbed it and decided it would make the perfect sweater for her. of course I didn't turn the blanket into a sweater, but I did use the yarn I hadn't worked up yet plus ripped back a few rows to complete a sweater for her for xmas (pics pending on that). I finally finished that thing xmas eve morning, locked in my room after taking the day off. But it came out great! Since the blanket was no longer a good length, I bought some white baby coordinates and added stripes on each end. Of course I bought 2 skeins and used less than 1, but such is life. At least I went from 4 skeins of the stuff to 1, right? And got 2 good projects out of it ;). Just because I love my new camera, here is a closeup shot:

Update on the Sweaters: Rosy Outlook and Sonnet have been claimed, but the sweater coat is still up for grabs. I may also have some more coming...

I've started another project, Lion Brand's Town and Country Capelet. I've decided to crochet this for speed, as it's going to be a birthday gift for my aunt (birthday at beginning of February). And I am using up a random ball of Homespun I have (and buying 2 more to go with it, but a net loss, right?) That should be done in no time, and the rosette is so fun to make!

2006-01-04T16:46:00.000-06:00

Back again! Who'd've thunk? In an effort to blog more often, I added blogger as a favorite on my internet explorer bar. We'll see if this actually works.

Since this season is light at work, I took off a few hours early today and came home to enjoy some movies and crafting! I am almost done with my peachy baby blanket and can then start something NEW! Well after I finish the rogue Xmas gift that escaped pre-Xmas finishing. In related news, Kepler was sadly ripped out when I decided it'd been languishing too long and was going to be too big for my tastes anyways. I think I have decided not to make any sweaters for myself for awhile. Dare I say: for 2006? I tend to overestimate my body size and then they don't fit right. Plus, I don't wear sweaters much. I would if I could, but the temperature at work is so random that it makes more sense to dress lightly and bring layers for the fluctuations. Because of this, I think I am going to purge my handmade sweater collection. Some of them may fit my mom, but the ones that don't are up for grabs! These are way too big for me, but I would be happy to give them to someone they might fit! They should comfortable fit someone with a bust size of 44-46", possibly slightly larger. Here they are:

Rosy Outlook

Not so rosy, for me, but I love this sweater! It is made from an acrylic ribbon and is very spongy and soft. And I spent so much time picking out the buttons! It is a light, powdery blue.

Modified Sonnet

Also, not poetry on me. Thisis made from Woolease sport in a purpley color, with some added purple filament for detail. I made this from the Knitty pattern Sonnet, but then added the crocheted squares and edging to lengthen it and try to bring the neck in/finish off the edges. This sweater has wide shoulders, so be prepared to wear a tank or strapless bra. I LOVE the buttons I bought for this, a flowery nickel. They are slightly heavy but don't cause the sweater to sag or anything. I have half a mind to cut them off, but I won't... unless any interested parties doesn't like them ;) Color is MUCH more accurate in the 2nd photo!

Homespun Sweater Coat

Made out of Lion Brand's Homespun yarn, this coat was once a crocheted coat which was torn out and reknit into a lighter weight knit coat. I am way too short to wear sweaters this long. It's a brown/reddish color called Creole and is super soft. I used simple black buttons to finish this off. I love the huge collar on it!

So there it is... drop me a line if you or someone you know would like one of these. They are free with one stipulation: please please please wear them. Or have someone wear them. I spent too much time and/or money for them to be languishing in my or anyone else's closet ;)

If you need more measurements or better pics lemme know and I will see what I can do ;) If these are successfully adopted and some/all of the others don't fit my mom, there will be more offerings!

2005-12-28T19:23:00.000-06:00

I'm baaaack... maybe. I am finding it exceedingly difficult to find time and/or motivation to post lately. I have been busy taking trips, cultivating a new relationship, and getting ready for/enjoying the holidays. Buuuuut, I got a new digital camera for Christmas (!!), so I will be able to take lots of high quality pics. Hopefully that will give me stuff to post!!
Here is a pic I managed to snap of myself with the timing function (!!) Christmas night. Excuse the crazy hair, I had just taken down a bun.

As busy as I feel I've been with work, I've actually been taking some days off and half days cause I have so many other things to do. I saw trans-siberian orchestra, which was awesome. Aaand played glow in the dark putt putt, which was super fun (and I won!)

I even finished all the xmas presents I had planned (except for one, but I will...I promise!). It was a very fun time. Hopefully I can take some fun pics soon of some things I finished...and eventually new things if I ever have any. :)

2005-11-25T05:52:00.000-06:00

Argh! I'm a bad blogger, cause I'm so busy!

Last weekend I had a 3 day weekend. Saturday I went out to Aurora farms but didn't buy anything (save for some Pumpkin fudge, mmm) and then stopped at an Alpaca farm! The little guys were so cute! I bought some sportweight yarn made from a fellow I saw while there, and the lady inquired as to my making some things for her shop. Still waiting to hear back from her...

Sunday I had a date (*gasp*!) for lunch. It went fine. Then in the evening I went to see Saw II, which I really enjoyed! I am such a horror junkie.

Monday I just kind bummed around, workong on some x-mas presents. I started Mancala Mia, a request from a friend. Hopefully I should be able to get it done before the holidays - tho who knows with my busy schedule.

Thanksgiving was a good time. Despite feeling a bit yucky I managed to make it to 2 aunts houses and ate way too many desserts. Working today (no shopping for me, booo) but taking a half day tomorrow and heading to Pittsburgh to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with my friend. We're also going to go see Trans-Siberian Orchestra in a few weeks. Wooohooo!

2005-11-17T20:30:00.000-06:00

Oy!

'Nuff said

Too busy to post. Later y'all

2005-11-01T20:30:00.000-06:00

Making Christmas... and Thanksgiving... and Halloween!

Well I had a weekend consumed with holiday craftiness, and a few more things to show. First up is a plastic canvas (gasp!) witch I made when I was but a wee lass. My grandma used to buy kits for me to work on at her house, and this was oneof them. It was a large project for me at the time. And I still love it. Here she is:

Next up is another bit of craftiness for work. Like last month when we had pumpkins to decorate, this month we were instructed to make a "trace your hand" turkey. And be creative in decoating it. Well mine decided he was way too badass to be cooked up and eaten:

Note the mohawk, "Hooligan" t-shirt, studded leather collar, and beak piercing.Hee!

And last, but not least, some Christmas craftiness. I made some snowman bags for Christmas gifts. I used a 2 layer stamp on some cardstock for the snowmen then embellished with some 3-D stickers and puffy paint snow. Finnish it off by securing it to some white bags with silver brads, and you have these:
And what goes in them? Well, each year I make a "generic" X-mas gift that I need somewhere between 12 and 15 of (depending on how I edit my list). This year the lucky number is 13 and I decided on handmade soap and handknit and/or crocheted washcloths. The aunts on my mom's side will get some bath and body soap additionally, since there are only 2 of them whereas 10 sets for my dad's side. Here is what a typical set looks like:

Of course, the washcloths are all different patterns. And the ribbons around the soap denote the colors, while there are several scents. Some of them include mixed berries, melon, cranberry, strawberry, and sea breeze. I can't remember them all right now. They are all different shaped celticy knots too...so I think they will be a nice genderless gift.

2005-10-30T19:53:00.000-06:00

Well, this week has been a busy one. I got off audit for the new job role I was trained on (which means my work is no longer checked before it goes out to the world), and I found out I got a raise and a promotion. Also, a guy at work called me pretty (a no-romantic-interest guy). Whew, it was busy! No word yet on how big of a raise cause it has to be approved by a higher authority, but my manager says I will be happy with it. Aaaand it gets backdates to Oct 2, so I will get the extra since then in one check, woo! To celebrate, and cause I'm lazy, I took off Saturday for a nice 3 day weekend.

What did I do? Well, I made some caramel apples. I just used a package of caramels and it was pretty easy. Personally, I don't care for candy coated fruit, but my mom does. So she'll enjoy them. I also carved a pumpkin, cause it's not Halloween without a Jack-o-Lantern. I lose interest in carving pumpkins fast, so I picked an easy one this year. Here he is with the lights on and off:

I should mention that what I have in it in the second picture and what I will have in it tomorrow night is not actually a candle. It's this piece that fits in one's mouth and lights up all different colors and is good for rave parties, etc. However I have an easily triggered gag reflex and it bothered me, so I found another use for it. It flashes the colors pretty rapidly and looks neat with the skull. I painted the skull part white cause I thought with the quickly flashing light it was a bit harder to stay focused enough to tell what the design was. So this way it's obvious, and reflects the light well.

I also worked on some Xmas stuff, pics of it tomorrow if I can get my butt in gear. And other crafty news to report... until another day.

2005-10-29T09:08:00.000-05:00

Another post written in advance, this time just a quickie. Way earlier this year, I designed my own Christmas stocking out of some bits and pieces of wool I had left over from other projects. Add some fancy yarn, fabric, and ribbon and you have a felted nontraditional Xmas stocking. Here it is, in a not very good pic:

I designed it to look like a victorian boot, which was fun. I had big plans to make a few more and then submit it for some sorta online mag, but couldn't figure out the whole submission thing and decided that my camera wasn't good enough to represent it in that medium anyways. But I still love it and may make some more. The lining is sewn so that the heel part of the boot is "cut out" from the interior, lest small things fall in there never to be seen again (or at least not easily retrieved).

I did already write up the pattern as specific as I could, so if anyone wants it let me know (I have it in Word format). Just leave a comment, with email address so I can send it back, or just shoot an email to tifffany(at)gmail(dot)com. It's good for using up bits of leftover felting wool and to have something to do with the fun novelty yarn out there.

2005-10-27T17:06:00.000-05:00

In an effort to post more often I am cheating and writing this on Monday to publish at a later time. But it's all old news anyways so that's alright. A few sweaters I finished up earlier and took pics of a few weeks (maybe more like a month or so) ago but have not yet shown off. Well, here they are.

First up is the tennis sweater from vogue knitting:

I'm so not a fan of having my picture taken, can you tell? I used Lion Microspun for this since I had it in my stash and wanted to use it up. I only had a little bit of white leftover from a shawl I made for my mom to take on vacation to Cancun with her, so I omitted the stripes at the neckline. I also did less rows for the neckline so there was a bit of a deeper V, cause i don't like things anywhere near my neck if I can help it. I like the way it turned out, now I just have to actually wear it. :)

Second (and last, for now), is the Chic Cardigan from Hot Knits (I think) that I worked up with some earth colored Paton's Divine. I have shots of i both opened and closed for your viewing enjoyment:

I think I like it better open, even tho I spent forever (and a significant bit of bucks) picking out the buttons. This will be nice for the fluctuating temperatures at work, except that this yarn tends to shed. What else is new.

That's all for now. I have some more things I'd made in my absence (from blogging) that I should round up and photograph one of these days.

2005-10-24T09:40:00.000-05:00

So I've been quite a bit busy lately and thus have forgotten to blog. But I'm here now and have a lot of updates (with pics!)

Last weekend I called my friend up cause she had gotten a new puppy. She wanted me to come see it, so on Sunday I headed out to Pennsylvania and saw her. She's a dachsund (the puppy, not my friend) and they named her Nestle. And she is just the tiniest cutest dog ever!

I came back later on Sunday (got home a little after 8) and was going to go out to see The Fog, but it didn't play until 10:30pm and I was a bit tired, so I nixed that idea.

Monday I sat around for a bit debating whether to stay in my pajamas all day or go out. I finally decided to head out around 2 or so because I needed to return a movie and such... and I ended up getting a new tattoo. I wanted something on my side and I was able to find some flashart that I could piece together to get something I liked. And the shop was so clean and sparkly that I couldn't resist. Here is what it looked like that day (click all pics to make bigger):

Then it was back to work for a week, but not before I finished this:
I really like the way the detail came out on the edging. To make this I used one ball each of Lion Brand Baby Soft in pink and purple (not the official names), a giant ball of Lion's Pound of Love in White, and misc amounts (over 8oz) of Red Heart SuperSaver in white to finish it off. Gotta love using up the Red Heart. I have 2 more balls of the Baby Soft (blue and green), so I may have to make another.

Then earlier this week I got a present in the mail! It's this beautiful bracelet made by Marie over at Knitti-Me. Here it is, and it's all mine mine mine:
It matches perfectly with my new pajamas that are so soft I am having trouble taking them off in order to put on real clothes. Who needs real clothes anyways? I would gladly live in life in my 'jammas if I could. Also received with this beautiful bracelet was 2 matching stitch markers (head on over to her site to see em) and I hilarious note. It made my day! I won these little treasures by correctly guessing that some mystery buttons were originally on long underwear... go figure!

Finally, Joann's was having a big sale this weekend, so I couldn't resist heading over. I picked up a few skeins of yarn to compliment some I already had, and whipped up this autumnal scarf/hat/mitts set:
I had originally planned these to be for me, but I'm not sure they're my colors. In any case, what I used to make them was: almost 2 balls of Katia Countryin color 10 (bought off Elann ages ago), almost 2 balls of Schachenmayr Toy in color 31 (bought at Big Lots in PA), 2 full balls of Sensations Angel Glitz in color Glitz Copper (bought from Jo-ann of course), and almost 2 balls of Moda-Dea Ricochet, one each of Soul and Salsa (also bought from Jo-ann, on clearance for $1). All together I would estimate the set cost about $25 to make. Now the question is what to do with it. Step one involves modelling the mitts to show they are actually useful. Step two is probably to stick it up by all the other things I've made and have nothing to do with. My 3 huge rubbermaid totes are full and I am now moving on to laundry baskets. I think I need to find a craft fair or something to take this burden off me ;)

That's all for now! Not really working on Kepler much but started a new baby blanket. Cause, why not?

2005-10-12T16:18:00.000-05:00

This is my latest obsession. In my job I listen to music all day while I work, when I'm not in meetings. This particular cd has been in my player for a couple days now. Well, it does come out so that I can also listen to it on the way to and from work, of course. When I love something, I really love it. It all started when I picked up a used Wheatus cd at my local record store. They have a deal with buy 3 get 1 free on used, and I had always been fond of Teenage Dirtbag and their cover of Erasure's A Little Respect so I bought it...and loved it. Much fun hyperness and a bit uncouth (in a good way). So then I got Suck Fony, which is fun but a bit more mellow. Their new release, Too Soon Monsoon is a bit of a hybrid between the two... a bit mellow and a bit hyper all at once. If you like bands such as Placebo and Dashboard Confessional, then ya might like this.

In other news, I broke a nail today so decided it was time to file them down a bit and am having much trouble typing. So that's all for today.

2005-10-10T08:43:00.000-05:00

I still haven't gotten a scary makeover, but I did spend last night at some frightening haunted houses. Well, at least they frightened me. I went to Nightmare in Painesville, which is several haunted houses all grouped together on a local fairground. It was dark and scary and lots of fun. The picture to the left is one of the creatures, I couldn't find anything better to show. But I'm sure I ran away from her at some point.

Also last night, I had some yummy shrimp at Red Lobster, thanks to the special endless shrimp deal. I've been wanting to go there for awhile now. And their biscuits? YUM!

I took some more pics this morning. One came out really good but then I somehow messed it up... oh well. Here is the One Stitch Baby Sweater from Lion Brand with cotton-ease in Orangeade. It was a simple knit, but kinda heavy having all that hanging from the needles. I made the smallest size (I think), and it took well under 2 balls. I'm saving the rest of the orange for some colorwork once I make some more little baby items with my one or two balls each of several colors of cotton-ease. For buttons I just used whatever I had in my button stash. They're not all exactly the same, but close enough.