thanksgiving vacation is over!

we are back safe at home now after much ado. airline lost all 4 of our bags, ripped 3 when they delivered them and got the last one today. flight was worse than aweful, didnt land until 2 am! On a happier subject we had a great thanksgiving and did pretty well in the black friday dept. got all the gifts for the neices for christmas, and one for a friend. i am thinking we will host a little friends get together for christmas this year, need to talk to some people and see what plans might work for the most amount of people. my family did all our little gift exchanges while we were visiting, got and gave some great stuff.

picked up all these goodies for about 45$ at the after thanksgiving sale, i was pretty happy about that. it is 7 skeins black wool-ease, 6 skeins denim cool crochet, and 3 skeins taupe cotton-ease.

mom threw me a bridal shower while i was there, small and nice. it turned out very lovely and i had a couple friends there so it was all good. i think i will be the one planning a bridal shower here since my maid of honor was there at the first one in california. mom also helped me rehab my poor coat, i walked into a freshly painted green pole right after buying this gem. she makes felted things so she gave me some cut-out felted flowers to sew on. i think it turned out ok, i also put 1 one the leftover flowers onto the lapel of the coat to kind of tie it in and make it look less out of place

thanksgiving is coming!

i will be heading home for thanksgiving and i have actually finished all planned projects. can't believe i actually did this with time to spare. i am currently working on a no-brainer project of leg warmers for some 3 yr old twins. i bought some yarn to make this sweater i saw on svetlana's blog, a copy of a VS sweater and i love it. it is a lovely "rice" colored yarn that is a bamboo/silk/cotton blend and it is fingering weight and it is totally yummy.

FINALLY yay!

so we officially bought our tickets to fly into la to go visit my family for thansgiving. love turkey, it should be great. this is also when we all exchange presents since i am able to be there and hence the crunch on time to get all my "holiday" knitting done. i finished the sweater for my sister and i think it came out better than expected. i really like the little split neck to be pinned into place as a turtleneck. so here it is.

secondly, i have also gotten started on the throw blanket for my mother and all i can hope is that i can knit fast enough to finish it. i have about 4 inches so far (just started of course) and i picked a cable and lace pattern and it is a very easy repeat, already have memorized. at this rate i think i will need to knock out about a ball a day on days i work and 2 balls on days i am off. here is crossing my fingers i can get it done in time!

bridesmaid garters

i finished all of these YAY! i am so glad to have one more item done and i can stash away. i previously posted the pictures of the bridal ones here are the ones i made for my bridesmaids, i think they look hot with the black and hot pinkfor my 2 bridesmaids and one junior bridesmaids.

Wedding Garters

so my wedding is coming up in less than 6 months! EEk it is coming so fast. everyhing is, more or less, already in order, my mother is making my dress and i am making my bouquet and everything else has already been reserved. it really sneaks up on you i tell you what! im more into the marriage than the actual wedding so it is just kind of going by without me. i decided i wanted to make my own garters, i made 2 they are white with a crystal thread in them, made from size 10 southmaid cotton and made from this "pattern". i am going to make 3 more in black for my bridesmaids, i want to do one of those pictures with me surrounded by my bridesmaids and all lift up the dresses to show our leg/garters together.

Holiday knitting sucks!

i think the title says it all for me this week. in my last post i showed a lovely picture of very nice teal colored yarn that is to be made into a lovely lace-y throw for my mother. that got pushed back in lui of me making the sweater for my sister for christmas, simply because i have a lot more oomph to make the throw than the sweater so if i dont get on it sooner and finish it it might not be finished. so here it is on the left my progress and the right is the picture with all remaining materials. i thought it was just a lovely color of the yarn and it was 50% off on sale so i snatched up the remaining 4 skeins of purple and 2 of cream (but im not sure i will even touch the second skein of cream) originally i had bought this other verigated yarn with green/purple/cream color which was supposed to make a print when knit in the correct gauge and i wanted to make this sweater, but alas i did not have enough of the previous color and through my search in the other shops around town i could find no more to have enough so i have 4 100G balls bumming in my stash of that lovely yarn. oh well maybe for another day and another project. well this is my third attempt at this sweater since the original pattern wouldnt work with this boucle yarn and the second pattern which was ment for boucle it didnt look good either so i compromised, i took the idea of the split neck collar from the first sweater and just knit a raglan top-down sweater approx. size L. i am down into the body so far and it is so boring doing nothing but knit knit knit i am sooooo ready for this one to be done!



I got a lovely birthday gift from my mother, i had been drooling over these sets of interchangable knitting needles, i was looking at the boye, denise and knit picks. i really liked the denise set but neither the knitpicks or denise set goes to the smaller sizes which i love since i use fingering weight a lot. she bought me the boye set for my birthday, love my mom, she knits and she "gets it". i want to sew myself a lovely holder for all my fixed length circular needles that i have aquired/bought over time and keep them nice and neat as my new set. i have already used them twice! My little finishing note today is that i love orangina, i cant get enough. it is sooo goood, i had it the first time in high school when my french teacher made everyone in our class try some french foods, escargot too which i also liked! here is a little picture to brighten up anyone elses day who loves this stuff.

today will be productive!

today i found 2 birthday cards waiting for me in my mailbox, one from my dad and one from grandma, so nice of them to think of me. i must share the card my father sent, it is just hilarious and i must say.... speaks volumes!

in case you can't read the text it says : Genie to cat "...and for your third wish?" Dog to cat "seriously, you might want to stop and give this a little more thought." 2 balls of "granted" yarn sit in front of the cat. its priceless... love shoebox, they have a card for everything!

as for todays crafting news, i have been working on this knit scarf, it is a DNA cable (found here) and so far it is about 6 feet long, only one more foot to go! woohoo!

this darn thing has taken me sooooo long to do, as it is tedious and since i used a yarn much thinner than the pattern called for (and i chose not to make it seaman style i did the cable the whole way through) i decided to make it 7 feet long to be wrapped around several times. i am in the home stretch now, and this last stretch seems to have taken forever. atleast i have the repeats down and no longer have to follow the pattern/graph and i have also mastered the cables and twisted stitches without using a cable needle, it was taking me twice as long having to use the cable needle 2 times every other row, that was frustating!

i have been forcing myself to work on this sucker for the last few days to get it done, it is a christmas present (i see family in nov. so it has to be done by then) and i have other projects to get to. i know if i set it aside and start something else i will just pick it up, bind it off, and it will never be the intended length. so now while i have the movitation i am forcing myself to finish it off!

on the GREEN side of this project, i am using what was once a very nice cashmere merino blend men's sweater. i unwound all of the pieces then wound one strand from each piece, sleeves/front/back into a 4 ply ball and this is the yarn i am using. i had bought some nice yarn to do it in then my sister said he likes dark orange, you can't really tell much from this picture but it is a nice rusty orange-redish color so i think this suits the color she said best.

My next project is a throw for my mother for christmas. when she was here visiting in aug. she saw this yarn in my stash (vintage Samba soft cable cotton blend) in this lovely turquoise color. it came from an estate sale, and i love the color so well i bought it and had no idea what to use it for. she is currently re-doing her living room and would like an accent throw in the aqua-turquoise color so that is what she shall have! it is 20 50-gram balls so it will be a small lacey one, but one none-the-less.

it's been a while!

so today i decided to organize that ever growing stash of mine, so out it all came from the hiding places, the closet, the tupperwears, and the baskets to all culmonate onto this double size futon.

now it always looks like more i think when you get it all out there right infront of you, there is no denying my hoarding now! well either way it is what i collect and it goes to a good use eventually so i dont feel guilty about it.

this friday will be my birthday and since DH will be out of town for it i got to go shopping this weekend for my birthday gift, i got 50$ pre-taxe to spend on whatever i wanted (really it was only yarn). here the Zeller's was having a 50% off all clearance yarn so i went in there to spend my money and get the most for it. well they royally screwed up my bill and i was waiting at customer service for 20 minutes just to get it fixed and they ended up giving me a pretty good refund to make up for the time i had to waste while 3 people tried to figure out what had happened. needless to say it was the best 20 mins of my day, even if i was a bit late to work.

and on a side note, see that little basket on the left, that is all of my yarn unraveled from secondhand store sweaters. i have every intention of using it again, already have a large ball of it in a nice rusty red-orange color here next to me making a scarf for my brother-in-law for christmas. i must admit i like to unravel the sweaters, and have done it so much i have it down to an art, but i hate the washing process so i just don't do it, and instead watch my gauge very carefully.

moving on from the mass quantities of yarn i will present (very late) the sweater i made hubby for his birthday/making up for the one i made him at christmas that hopelessly did not fit, not even close!

he really likes ths one a lot better, it was custom made just for him, no pattern. he picked the yarn, i picked the fit/style. i think it really suits him since his favorite thing to wear are those baseball tees with the different color arms, so i made it raglan and i like him in this black polo shirt he has so i made it a polo collar. it is all knit top down then it is a crocheted collar and button part. i really like it and it was so simple, with the exception of having to rip out an entire arm because unknowingly my math wasnt as great as i thought it was and the sleeve was almost as wide as the body part and of course i didnt have him try it on until the sleeve was literally 2 inches from being done. but other than that there were no major problems, i am testing the pattern and will post it here when i'm done with that.

my finishing thoughts for this post would have to be, i love reading blogs, there are a few that i frequent (olga, and svetlana to mention 2 off the top of my head) and i wish i had blogs like theirs. i knit and crochet as much as they do and i finish projects just as fast (which by the way i think svetlana is a super hero because she has a little boy and still finishs things fast!) i just have no momentum to post about them and take pictures even if i am on the computer every or almost everyday. i do make it a point to check in to crochetville everyday so i really should just do what i wish i was doing and make it my goal, maybe my new years resolution that i never made. ya that will be it.

proud to present my first free pattern

this is a lovely little wrap that i made up myself, it is top down all one piece worked back and forth and in the round. i think the instructions are written a bit different but it made it a lot easier to follow in my opinion, if you have any problems with it let me know and i will work it out with you, as this is an untested pattern. i made the small/medium for myself but the large/Xlarge size is as of now not tested. i hope this works out for everyone! so without further ado here is a picture of front and back and the pattern will follow below! it comes in 2 sizes S/M and L/XL

I retain all copyrights to this pattern: it is not to be sold for any reason, you may sell your own finished product as long as you give credit for the design to me, free for personal use only, not for commercial use.

Materials: 4 (7) balls black mystic alpaca 50g/ 118yrd 100% alpaca yarn (this is a fingering weight yarn that is super cheap on ebay i love it! peru4less is the seller) or sub any fingering weight yarn
3.75mm/F crochet hook
¼" lace (optional)
Pattern stitches:
Ch chain
Sc single crochet
Dc double crochet
Tr treble crochet
Ss slip stitch
Pattern notes:
This pattern is a wrap around sweater that ties shut in back, it is also done completely in one piece. For this pattern you must understand working in the round and attaching and picking up where the stitches were left off. This pattern is also written a bit different than normal, below are the *to* repeats, &to& and [to] repeats that will be used throughout the ENTIRE pattern, please understand this before you start so there is no confusion. Also all treble shells will be worked in the space between the DCs and not actually into either and will be thusly referred to as "next space".
Pattern repeats:
* sc in last sc, skip next ch-3 space, ch-1 tr (ch-2, tr) 4 times ch-1 *
& DC in first ch-2 space of shell ch-3 sc in 3rd tr ch-3 DC in last ch-2 space of shell &
[increase by working tr (ch-2, tr) 4 times, ch-1, sc, ch-1, tr (ch-2, tr) 4 times ch-1]


Ch 92
Row 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook {ch-1 skip 4 ch in next tr (ch-1,tr) 4 times ch-1 skip 4 ch sc in next} repeat {to} to end. Turn
Row 2 (and every even row throughout) ch-4 repeat &to& across to last dc, ch-2 dc in last sc. Turn (in next rows this last dc will be done into ch-5 of ch-7)
Row 3 ch-7 (counts as first tr, ch-2 here and throughout) (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1 [to] twice, *to* 4 times, [to] 2 times, *to* in last space. Turn
Row 5 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to*, [to], *to*, [to], *to* 5 times, [to] , *to*, [to], *to* 2 times. Turn
Row 7 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 2 times, [to], *to* 2 times, [to], *to* 6 times, [to] , *to* 2 times, [to], *to* 3 times. Turn
Row 9 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to*3 times, [to], *to*3 times, [to], *to* 7 times, [to] , *to*3 times, [to], *to* 4 times. Turn
Row 11 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to*4 times , [to], *to*4 times, [to], *to* 8 times, [to] , *to*4 times , [to], *to* 5 times. Turn
Row 13 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to*5 times , [to], *to*5 times, [to], *to* 9 times, [to] , *to* 5 times, [to], *to* 6 times. Turn
Row 15 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to*6 times , [to], *to*6 times , [to], *to* 10 times, [to] , *to*6 times , [to], *to* 7 times. Turn
Small/medium sizes:
Row 17 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 7 times insert hook into increase "corner" pull up next increase "corner" and insert hook through that as well, work tr (ch-2, tr) 4 times ch-1 continue *to* 11 times to next increase "corner" leaving sleeve holes unworked, match both remaining increase "corners" together working through both work tr (ch-2, tr) 4 times ch-1 *to* 8 times. Turn
Row 19 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 8 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 12 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 9 times.
Row 21 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 9 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 11 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 10 times.
Row 23 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 10 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 10 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 11 times.
Row 25 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 11 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 9 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 12 times.
Row 27 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 12 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 8 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 13 times.
Row 28 repeat row 2 to end, ch 66 turn
Row 29 sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc back across 64 remaining ch, sc across bottom edge of top working sc into each dc 3 sc in each ch-3 space and 1 sc in each sc across to end, ch 66 turn
Row 30 sc in 2nd ch from hook and across remaining 64 ch sc across to end.
Row 31 ch-1 sc in each sc across turn
Row 32 ch-1 sc in each sc across. Fasten off and weave in starting end (at neck) and ending end at waist strap.
Attach for sleeves as follows:
Locate increase corners attach yarn
Row 1 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 7 more times to end, ss in 5th ch. turn
Row 2 ch 3 &to& last ch-3 dc, skip dc and ss into top of ch-3. Do not turn
Row 3 - 10 repeat rows 1 and 2
Row 11 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, insert hook into next sc draw through loop, skip next tr shell space, insert hook into next sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 5 times, insert hook into next sc draw through loop, skip next tr shell space, insert hook into starting sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops. Turn
Row 12 repeat row 2
Row 13 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 5 more times to end, ss in 5th ch. Turn
Row 14 - 24 repeat row 12 and 13 on row 24 do not turn
Row 25 ch-7 tr, ch-2 tr ch-1, *to* 4 more times sc into sc ch-1 (tr, ch-2) 2 times tr. Turn
Row 26 ch-1 sc into top of tr, ch-3 dc into last ch-2 space of shell &to& 4 times dc into first ch-2 space of half shell ch-3 sc into last tr. turn
Row 27 ch-1 *to* 5 times ending with sc into last sc fasten off. Weave in end.
Repeat for remaining sleeve.
Large/X-large sizes:
Row 17 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 7 times , [to], *to* 7 times , [to], *to* 11 times, [to] , *to* 7 times , [to], *to* 8 times. Turn
Row 19 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 8 times , [to], *to* 8 times , [to], *to* 12 times, [to] , *to* 8 times , [to], *to* 9 times. Turn
Row 21 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 9 times , [to], *to* 9 times , [to], *to* 13 times, [to] , *to* 9 times , [to], *to* 10 times. Turn
Row 23 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 10 times insert hook into increase "corner" pull up next increase "corner" and insert hook through that as well, work tr (ch-2, tr) 4 times ch-1 continue *to* 14 times to next increase "corner" leaving sleeve holes unworked, match both remaining increase "corners" together working through both work tr (ch-2, tr) 4 times ch-1 *to* 11 times. Turn
Row 25 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 11 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 13 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 12 times.
Row 27 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 12 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 12 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 13 times.
Row 29 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 13 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 11 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 14 times.
Row 31 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 14 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 10 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 15 times.
Row 33 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 15 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 9 times, insert hook into next sc, draw up a loop, skip next tr shell space and insert hook into following sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 16 times.
Row 34 repeat row 2 to end, ch 86 turn
Row 35 sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc back across 84 remaining ch, sc across bottom edge of top working sc into each dc 3 sc in each ch-3 space and 1 sc in each sc across to end, ch 86 turn
Row 36 sc in 2nd ch from hook and across remaining 84 ch sc across to end.
Row 37 ch-1 sc in each sc across turn
Row 38 ch-1 sc in each sc across. Fasten off and weave in starting end (at neck) and ending end at waist strap.
Attach for sleeves as follows:
Locate increase corners attach yarn
Row 1 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 10 more times to end, ss in 5th ch. turn
Row 2 ch 3 &to& last ch-3 dc, skip dc and ss into top of ch-3. Do not turn
Row 3 - 14 repeat rows 1 and 2
Row 15 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, insert hook into next sc draw through loop, skip next tr shell space, insert hook into next sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops, *to* 8 times, insert hook into next sc draw through loop, skip next tr shell space, insert hook into starting sc draw through loop, yo pull through 3 loops. Turn
Row 16 repeat row 2
Row 17 ch-7 (tr, ch-2) 3 times tr ch-1, *to* 8 more times to end, ss in 5th ch. Turn
Row 18 - 28 repeat row 16 and 17 on row 27 do not turn
Row 29 ch-4 tr, ch-2 tr ch-1, *to* 7 more times sc into sc ch-1 (tr, ch-2) 2 times tr. Turn
Row 30 ch-1 sc into top of tr, ch-3 dc into last ch-2 space of shell &to& 4 times dc into first ch-2 space of half shell ch-3 sc into last tr. turn
Row 31 ch-1 *to* 8 times ending with sc into last sc fasten off. Weave in end.
Repeat for remaining sleeve.

first wave of bouquet flowers

so i am inlove with these french beaded flowers and decided for my upcoming wedding i would make myself a beaded flower bouquet (saves me money, lasts for ever, looks awesome!) so i started making some of the many flowers for the bouquet, here is a shot of the calla lillies i am making

new halter top

oh ribbon yarn, let me count the ways i loathe thee. this is a true story of where a sale went bad, not every yarn sale is a good sale. i have never used ribbon yarn before and i wanted to try it, well the opportunity presented its self in the way of 3 dollar a ball ribbon yarn in the clearance basket at my LYS. i bought 5 balls, enough to knit myself a cute little halter top 4 lime and 1 white. well i started it, got in a ball and half then had to rip it out because it was curling up so bad. so scratch that, rip, restart with a few rows of rib (it still curls but not nearly as bad as it was) did some nice waist shaping and added a white bust, i think the trouble it was was sooooo not worth it but im glad its done and it did come out awesome. so here she is in all her glory.

so this is now my finished great frustration. this is a super cute pattern from interweave press knits spring 2007 (on sale now at a magazine stand or interweavepress.com near you) it is done in the round, great been there done that one before, so i got through the bottom of it just fine... when it came to the ribs the counts were off for the "side seam" which wasnt really a side seam just a marking point to know where shaping etc went. through much frustation and correcting someone elses poor math skills i finished it. so if you plan on doing this top any time soon feel free to email me and i will tell you were i found problems i nthe pattern and what i had to do to change it so it wasnt lopsided and weird. good luck anyone who wants to tackle it but i will advise it is expert level with the math problems tossed in there!!

on a brighter note this is my own pattern that i have made up and currently have some people testing for me, i would love to maybe try to submit it for a magazine. i would love to be published!

these addictive little flowers

so i have been making these french beaded flowers, very addictive. since these were all my first try i just bought some cheapy beads and cheap wire from the dollar store. well today i decide i would invest a couple more dollars and went to a bead shop and wlamart and got the right gauge wire, florist tape, more beads etc so i am pretty excited. but now i feel like i will screw up the nicer beads and am hesitant at starting. wish me luck

little knit handbag

this is a purse i made (and will be attempting to write out the pattern and post-it here as well) just the other day. it is going to a bride to be at her bachelorette this weekend. i really hope she likes it, i find it to be very cute.

my starter

so i am new to this and hopefully it will be a great way to express myself. i love crafting and will hopefully be able to post a few free patterns on here. once i figure out this picture thing i will be posting some of those. thanks everyone for checking me out.