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Progress!

December 11, 2012 by 4 Comments

WIP AB with PG neutralsLots of project finishes going on around here lately. I was hard at work on this one all day today. The quilt top is done and it now needs some hand quilting.Happy Land with zebra print and coordinating afghanOver the weekend I finished up a small Happy Land quilt. The zebra looking afghan was finished last week. I’ll be sharing more of these two soon. Hopefully with some directions, if I can manage to find some time to sit and jot them down.

What projects are you working on? Any finishes? I feel like it’s a mad dash to finish some things before the end of the year–a totally self imposed deadline. 

Filed Under: Amy Butler, fabric, fabrics, house and home, quilting, quilts, Rowan, sis boom, wips, yarn

Things I’m Working On

November 19, 2012 by 8 Comments

This….cross stitch letterThat…Happy Land & ZebraAnd the other…crocheted project bagWhat projects do you have going on right now? I’d love to hear about them.

Filed Under: bag, color, crochet, fabric, quilts, sis boom, yarn

Off The Hook

November 15, 2012 by 6 Comments

Red Heart Soft yarn granny square afghanLast year I received some Red Heart Soft yarn to play with and talk about. I started on it right away, but being one of many ongoing projects around here, it only got attention in fits and starts. Today, I can report that the lap afghan/kid’s size afghan is done! And boy, do I love how it turned out.

You may recall me saying that I like the indestructible nature of acrylic yarn. We have an afghan made by Mr. P’s grandmother that he received for his high school graduation. We still have it and apart from a couple places where sparks melted holes in it, it looks the same as always.  Red Heart Soft yarn granny square afghan 2Red Heart’s Soft yarn is a world apart from the Super Saver yarn used by grandmothers everywhere for the last fifty years. It really is soft and the colors are rich and lustrous. This is my new favorite acrylic yarn. I’ve already started a project bag with the leftovers.

In typical Melissa P fashion, I did not use a pattern. I just made granny squares of different sizes and joined them together before adding borders of double crochet. I am always inspired by Lucy at Attic24. Her yarn projects are lovely and full of color. You can find other Attic24 enthusiasts on Flickr and Ravelry if you need an extra jolt of yarn inspiration.

If you’re looking for a durable yarn with nice feel that won’t break the bank, check out Red Heart’s Soft yarn. And then tell me what you plan to make. 

Happy Friday, everyone! Have a great weekend.

Filed Under: Coats & Clark, color, crochet, Disclosure, yarn

Tea Across the Time Zones

March 30, 2012 by 4 Comments
Not every day is filled with the sun. When the days are gray, I’m likely to turn to yarn. I can curl up and crochet, a hot cup of tea beside me. (Yes, I do have various caffeine sources. I’m guessing regular readers are not surprised.) 
While I sip tea, my little tea poppet joins me and brings a little bit of magic to the affair. You see, a while back I sent an identical tea poppet to my friend, Rachael who lives almost 8400 miles away in Australia. Now we can enjoy tea time together, linked by poppets and our overly active imaginations. Rachael is never surprised by my crazy ideas and I’m lucky to have her as a friend.

Today, while having tea, I finished off a scarf.  I modified this pattern to make it narrower. The yarn is Stitch Nation Full ‘o Sheep which makes it nice and warm with a comforting heaviness. And the colors…they’ll brighten any day.

Have a Happy Friday, everyone!  Enjoy these last few days of March.

Filed Under: blog buddies, crafts, creativity, crochet, poppets, yarn

I Love Lucy and a Black Cat

January 15, 2012 by 7 Comments

Fabric scraps aren’t the only kind of scraps around here. There are yarn scraps as well. I admit, I’m not nearly as good at using up yarn as I am fabric. But I’ve been wanting to make one, or three, of Lucy’s bags for some time. The colors I really want to use are not in my stash.

So the first bag was going to have to use up some yarn scraps.  Maybe the second as well. Because only then will I feel good about buying more yarn. (The yarn is inexpensive Red Heart Designer Sport yarn.  I used two strands together with a size K hook.)

But guess what? Even though this isn’t the bag I’m pining for, it turned out to be quite fun and colorful.  Especially with the little flowers for embellishment.  You can find Lucy’s tutorial for the bag here.  And for the flowers, here.

Naturally, I had to have assistance photographing the bag. Stinka thinks she has editorial rights as well as a modeling contract. Unfortunately, she was a bit too hyper for the modeling. These are the only photos that did not have black blurs of cat in them.

And while she looks relaxed in this picture, she’s actually biting the bark, about to swing herself right off the branch with her jaguar impersonation.  You have to love this cat.

Filed Under: blog buddies, cat, color, crafts, creativity, crochet, embellishments, house and home, yarn

It’s Contagious

March 21, 2011 by 5 Comments

Gray skies, wind and rain.  Not my favorite forecast.  However, I took advantage of the perfect yarn weather and sat down with hook in hand.  This is the result of my efforts since Saturday just before bedtime.  Ten rows of granny stripe make a good beginning to a blanket.  (I chained 219 to begin mine.)

If you haven’t succumbed to the Granny Stripe Blanket Fever, you may not understand the attraction.  Repeatedly, I read that people have been turned off to the idea because granny squares are so boring.  After giving the granny stripe a chance, lo and behold, they find it is completely different.  It’s fun and highly addicting.  Highly.  It’s good to know I’m not the only one who can’t put it down.

Check out Flickr for inspiration.  (Lucy at Attic 24 is my inspiration.  I love her colorful blankets and other crocheted goodies. They’re so fun and full of life.)  Then grab some yarn and a hook.  And be ready to be taken over by the Granny Stripe Blanket Fever.

Filed Under: color, crochet, yarn

Bring on the Minion

March 1, 2011 by 3 Comments

It’s March already!  I’m still not used to writing 2011.  I need a bit more time to get things done around here.  Either that, or I need minions.  Yes, that’s it!  Minions.  If you’ve seen Despicable Me, you understand the value of minions.  Just think of all those wacky little helpers in your work space.  Things would happen.

Maybe not quite what you intend, but they would happen nonetheless.  I decided on an amigurumi minion.  He’s not as likely to wreak havoc.  And he makes great company.  He thinks everything I do is excellent and all my ideas are brilliant.  Minions are like that.

Filed Under: crafts, crochet, yarn

Getting Back to It

February 13, 2011 by 5 Comments

I’ve stumbled upon a new way to gauge cognitive function. Nothing scientific, just anecdotal evidence from this week of pollen mayhem. Try knitting a very simple pattern and see how far you can get before you make a mistake. On Thursday I couldn’t get more than about six or seven rows before extra stitches were showing up. Yesterday was much better. Something closer to twenty.   Improvement at last!

I’m using Gedifra Fiorista Fino for this long, narrow scarf.  I love the feel of it and the colors are so urban with the grays, mauve and rust.  Using a wonderful yarn went a long way in keeping my interest while I was desperately trying to undo mistakes.

With renewed optimism, I went back to the cutting mat and rotary cutter. A charm pack of Amy Butler’s Soul Blossoms had arrived last week and I was anxious to see how it played together. No surprise. All colorways mix fantastically. As usual with these charm packs, I had no idea what I would do with it. Now that I have all these 4 1/2 inch squares, ideas are forming.  It will take more fabric to bring them to fruition.  In the meantime, I need to get out and enjoy a little sunshine.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! 

Filed Under: crafts, fabric, yarn

Black and White

February 3, 2011 by 4 Comments

While the high winds have been stirring up dust and pollen here on the coast, I’ve found the easiest project to attend to was this little amigurumi pony.  Allergy attacks are not the best time to be doing any hard thinking–no pattern writing or rotary cutting of fabrics right now.  Instead, I grabbed a free pattern, some inexpensive acrylic yarn, a couple of hooks and got to work.

I’ve been wanting to make an amigurumi for a niece and nephew for some time.  Until now, I just hadn’t been motivated.  After reading Anna Maria’s post about Juliana’s amigurumis, I figured it was time to stop procrastinating.

I didn’t make the eyes as called for in the pattern.  The ponies in the pattern appear to be suffering from severe hyperthyroidism.  I wanted a smoother look for my zebra so I choose to sew on buttons instead.  With a twist, of course.  I couldn’t resist heart shaped buttons for my 7 1/2 year old niece.

He has a crazy mane and one slightly floppy ear which makes him all the more lovable.  I think he is going to find a very good home with a certain little someone.  Now to decide on the appropriate character for an almost 5 year old nephew.

Filed Under: crafts, crochet, yarn

The Part with the Pointy Bits

December 6, 2010 by 5 Comments

You know the kind of days where you blink and the next thing you know everything is topsy turvy.  Where things seem to be going along relatively smoothly until Wham! the unexpected strikes.  Twice, in fact.  Well, that’s been our house as of last night. 

It started with vandalism and ended with a major appliance failure.  A new rear passenger window is being installed.  And tonight…refrigerator shopping.  Bah! Humbug!

I started this knitting project shortly before all the mayhem.  My very first attempt at knitting a sock.  With four poky needles–eight pointy bits–it may get interesting.  So far, if you don’t look too closely, I’m doing fairly well.  It forces me to concentrate on something other than fridge dimensions and cubic feet sizes.  All I have to worry about is keeping all the stitches on the needles.  Not easy when you’re envisioning just what you’d like to do with those needles if you ever got your hands on the hoodlum who smashed the window and ran.

Filed Under: house and home, yarn
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