Thu-Mai's Challenge

Here is a mother-daughter matching scarf set that I made last week, again using the yarn made from recycled plastic bottles. The color looks off in the pictures, but it is a soft purple.

This is a ultra-lightweight scarf made from sock yarn. The actual colors are pale green, peach pink, and a purple-brown, which combines to appear like camouflage in this photo, but not in real life. I also made this scarf last week.

The newest addition is this patchwork afghan that I just finished up about five minutes ago. This is for my friend Sherry. It was made using a yarn made from recycled plastic bottles. According to the yarn packaging, you save about 10 bottles from the landfill when you crochet a blanket. Since I don't buy bottled water, I figure I saved even more than 10. This blanket is about 3'x4' and is perfect for covering up your legs while curling up on the sofa and reading a book. Thu-Mai called this an ice cream blanket because of the colors.

Since Thu-Mai requested that I upload some pictures of my crochet creations for critique, here you go. So far I have made 2 blankets and this...what I call a shawl scarf. A sharf. Hee! It was made using the Afghan stitch (which happens to be the only stitch I can do well), made with a "I"size crochet hook and a lightweight bamboo blend yarn. It's light enough for spring/fall and although it is hard to tell from the picture, it reaches about to the elbows when worn. And sorry, but this is not a family Christmas gift....although if you would like one for Christmas, I can make a similar one with your requested colors, but that would take away the surprise.

I am currently working on a blanket for a friend (she is making me a quilt in an apple-core pattern in exchange) and I should be finished by tomorrow. I'll add a picture of that (and other future creations) to this post, so check back often.

I Have an Idea!

I had an epiphany this afternoon. Here we are, about six months out until the holidays. I decided to get a jump on Christmas and start making Christmas presents early. For the past 2 years, I have been making homemade candy for presents, and now that I know how to crochet, family presents will have something extra in them as well.

So here is my idea. Let's all have a handmade Christmas this year. No, I'm not just being cheap. Don't you get stressed out, doing last-minute Christmas shopping, or worrying about what to get someone for that perfect gift?

(I have a friend, and to keep her anonymous, I will call her Vendy. I have known Vendy, and her whole family, including parents, stepparents, siblins, in-laws, etc, since about 1997. Every year, Wendy....oops, I mean Vendy pours her heart out into her Christmas shopping. I mean, she actually buys presents that make sense, that I think her family will like. And every year, her family doesn't like the present, and they end up exchanging it. And it goes both ways. Vendy will tell me about how she had to go return all her presents too. This happens every year, and I actually get stressed just hearing about it. )

The best presents are handmade. Bottom line. I mean, I might not treasure a DVD for the rest of my life, but if MY MOTHER WOULD MAKE ME A SINGLE PAIR OF REALLY COOL MULTICOLORED MITTENS, I would treasure them. And yes, go ahead and put the idiot string on them too, Sal.

So, let's all exchange handmade gifts this year. Knit something (SAL), write something, paint something, craft something, bake something. Don't know how to do anything? Well, you have six months to learn. If you still can't make something, then re-gift something. No, not that calculator that you got in the office gift exchange last year, but maybe a nice purse that doesn't go with anything that you own, or a bracelet or hat that you never wear.

I swear I am not just being cheap.

What do you guys think?

Amelia's New Haircut

For those of you who are on Facebook, these pics are old news to you, since I took them about 2 weeks ago, so if you have seen them before, just pretend like you haven't.

I have cut Amelia's bangs like 4 times in her life. Amelia hates having her bangs trimmed. She screams like I am going to poke her eyes out with my rounded edge safety scissors. She goes into a full freak out. So I try to avoid it as much as possible, and usually cut them very short so she can go another 6-9 months before the next trim. She has never had the back of her hair cut, and at 2 1/2, it was wavy and halfway down her back. She is doing better with ponytails lately, but she ends up yanking them out after a while.

On this day, we decided to stealth cut her hair. She was sitting in my lap, and Austin came up with the scissors and a paper plate to put the hair on. I cut the back, and put the cut hair on the paper plate, then cut again, and again, and again. And it turned out really cute! It is so much cooler for the summer and easier to take care of.

Back in the saddle again

Ok, so we had password problems. Not sure how that happened but suddenly my password didn't work. Maybe I was hacked. Not sure.

Anyway, I will be back soon, and in full effekt with some new pictures soon.

Amelia has found her soul mate.

We've been talking about getting a dog for about six months, but have been nervous to take that step. We really think that all kids need a dog, and we wanted one that would be calm and good with kids. Well, we found Buddy. He is almost 8 months old, half golden retriever, 1/4 irish setter, and 1/4 cocker spaniel. We adopted him yesterday and he and Amelia bonded over a hug and a shared plate of macaroni and cheese. I met his doggy parents at the same time that I met Buddy, and I fell in love with all of them. Really sweet, calm, inquisitive dogs. I had planned on naming him Pluto after Amelia's favorite cartoon dog, but she picked Buddy instead and it stuck. We really could not have found a better doggy.