It came upon a midnight clear...

One can try to post daily, but it's hard when you don't have internet! MERRY CHRISTMAS! Better late than never! So this is what I've gotten accomplished today! A jellyfish! He was quite obnoxious! All that eyelash yarn, feh. And I had to cut down all of it around the face so you could even find the eyes! Well I still have things to do, so goodnight guys!

Accio Quote!

Morning! So I'm going to see 3 movies w/a friend today! P.S. I Love You, Nat'l Treasure: Book of Secrets, and Sweeney Todd! Woot! Anyways since I'll be dead by the time we get back here's a little something for ya! Happy Christmas Shopping! Only 3 days to go!

I finished it ages ago, but it was a Christmas present so I couldn't post it!

EDIT: August 5th, 2008; I never gave the Ravelry link if you wanted it! So here ya go!

“A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise.”

A new day, a new post! Yay! So the Gryffy scarf has been completed! Hurrah! And more work has been done on the Ravenclaw scarf as well, but that's neither here nor there! This is to celebrate being FINISHED w/Gryffy. It's a love/hate relationship! 

So as loyal readers would know, the scarf was 30 stitches across, then folded in half and sewn. I've sewn the ends together as well, just a simple whipstitch, being to try and find out how my fringe should look. I ended up on atypically.knit's site for some help! This is where I started, back when I thought I could knit it! The needles and I just didn't click! (pun intended!) But she does have very valuable information, in fact the pattern she gives is great too, I just couldn't use it! Anyways she suggest 8 inch long strips of yarn, folded in half, in groups of three, every 2 stitches. And I think that worked great. Now I didn't need as many as she uses, I only did 9 sets per side, every 2 stitches or so. I like to approximate. If you're making one too, do what makes you feel happy! 

She suggested trimming them all the exact same length when done, but I didn't do that. I know that when you do that they still end up a little uneven due to time and wear. I trimmed the ones that were really long, but that's it! Now if the intended owner doesn't like it I'll trim it of course! But otherwise it stays! 

Enjoy the pictures! And of course, you can always see it on Ravelry!

"Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you've a ready mind, where those of wit and learning, will always find their kind."

Well I'm finally getting around to a new post! I'm so horrible! I think I'll try and update my blog daily for a while, except some of this weekend before Christmas, because we're going out of town and I don't want to have to use the really slow dial-up where we'll be. Or the PC that goes w/it! The updates may be a full post or project, or simply some random picture I've taken! Hey a post is a post right? :D

So the Gryffy scarf has been going swimmingly! I'm completely finished crocheting it and have folded it, stitched it in half, washed it, dried it, and shaped it! It looks great! I just have to sew up the ends now and add tassels.... The pattern doesn't really say how to do that though, so I guess it's up to me decide what way I want to do it! I'm going to have to do some google images searching I guess! 

Here it is in all of it's Godric Gryffindor Glory! Now that I see the first two pics I think the camera washed them out a little! The rolled up picture is true to color!

So last weekend a friend and I went to an LYS (Local Yarn Shop) across town from us, and I just got all caught up in the beautiful, colorful, sadly expensive, wools. So much so that I bought myself some blue and a grey/silver by Brown Sheep and have already started work on my Ravenclaw scarf! My poor other projects! They're so unloved! I actually hope to have my scarf to the point where the Gryffy is by Christmas, and Gryffy done by tomorrow! *fingers crossed* 

If you want to know which yarn brand and colors I picked for the Ravenclaw scarf just pop on over to here on Ravelry! If you're not a Ravelry member just send me an email or leave me a comment! Here's a picture for an idea though! 

I also went w/22 stitches across on my scarf, rather than the 30 for Gryffy. I'm quite mad at myself right now though, I had planned on using the bronzy color for my scarf like in the books, and I blanked.... And I'm using silver like in the movies... I can be such a ditz at times! Owell, it's still really pretty! I'm actually about to add on the 5th set of bars, so use your imagination and add them on to this picture from last night! 

The two yarns are really 2 different thicknesses in my opinion, the blue barely making a worsted weight to me... But the nice owner insisted they worked well together and showed me something she had made with the two, and they did indeed look great together. Though they aren't quite the same size like she said, they fit nicely. The grey being thicker makes the captured bars just slightly bigger, which is a look I rather like. If you stretch the grey gently it is the same size as the blue, and the blue doesn't stretch at all, so I guess in a way they are the same size! All I know is it was $7.20 a skein! This scarf better last FOREVER! Though yarn is cheaper than professional therapy! 

That's all for now! Catch ya'll later!

FINALS! AAAAHHHH!!!!!!

Okay so I should pass all my classes with A's, but lets face it. With out the worrying, stressing, hyperventilating, nausea, stress eating, thumbsucking, rocking in the corner, crying, panicked last minute studying I'd never accomplish that. :D 

Anyways this is just a quick update to let you all know I'm still alive! I had planned on treating you with a lovely post with pictures and projects and lots of words the weekend after Thanksgiving, but my Grandmother took a turn for the worst and had to go into the hospital so we hit the road to go see her, and I never did find a decent internet connection I could use. So no post. And I've been busy with my new job and school since. I got promoted, yay me! I still work the same amount of hours, but the schedule is better overall, so that's awesome. 

I'd love to give you all an update of my crochet projects tonight, but I'd feel guilty doing that without being ready for finals, so expect an update either late tomorrow (doubtful), Tuesday after finals, or Wed. after work! Anyways the scarf is 95% done, so hopefully it'll be completed by then! Bear with me! Keep reading the blog!

Happy Turkey Day!

Well here we are! Thanksgiving! And I find many things to be thankful for, even if this is probably the busiest one ever for me. What are you thankful for? Here's a small list of what I'm most grateful about!

• I have a new job that doesn't suck to bad, and pays well.
• I'm getting A's!
• No Science final.
• I have a roof over my head.
• I have a nice car that runs.
• My mom is cooking a delicious dinner as I type (which I'm going to go help with)
• I have a ton of yarn to use!
• I have a Mac as my primary computer as opposed to a Windows OS machine!
• Did I mention food?
• My family and true friends, but that's a given most of the time!
• Abnormally warm weather today in the 70's (F)
• Aforementioned weather to make putting up the Christmas lights comfy!
• CHRISTMAS LIGHTS! I have a billion! (not really, but I think I'll count this year!)

Of course for most people, no matter how happy and thankful you are, there are always a few things you're less thankful for, and I am one of those people!

• My job is 30 hours a week PLUS school....
• I'm finishing my very last Jones Halloween Limited Edition Candy Corn Soda. (How fitting that it was on a holiday? Totally unplanned.)
• I have less time to crochet anymore....
• Tons of last minute school projects
• It never snows in Florida anymore....
• That my mom went "Veggie" and so we don't get a Turkey but instead an organic, free range, non-genetically-hormonally-antibody-altered Chicken, because she missed out on getting the same thing in a Turkey. 

I think I'm going to take today and FINISH a crochet project. Gryffy can wait. I have a lamb that has been wandering around here without legs and a tail, well I guess not wandering because it has no legs, but still, you get the idea! 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Gryffy as he's now called. V2.07

So I'm almost done w/the seventh set of captured bars. I didn't get to do any more of it today, and I'm unsure if I will or not. I have some Latin sententia to get thru for the big test on Monday, and I'm doing my annual Pre-Christmas Clean-Up! It's where I make room for all the decorations that I put up! I find all the wrapping supplies, put them in one place, carve out a space for the tree, etc! Plus if everything isn't cleaned up I'm not allowed to put up lights, and I live for the lights! I start before the Thanksgiving meal every year. After all, why put off until tomorrow what you can do today!



Tomorrow I'm going to the FSU football game! Shame this scarf won't be ready to go with me! Unless maybe I were to start taking speed or something...

Gryffindor, V2.04

Well here we are, 8 days later, makes for great continuity in the blogging world huh? Busy weekend, many things to do, latin to study, and a scarf to get under control!

And under control I did! First off I found out I was reading the pattern WAY wrong. And I missed that part at the end about folding it in half and sewing up, which makes sense, I just figured it wasn't done. Whatever. I'm over it! And what was in the last pictures is no more! I've started over, and it' looks FANTASTIC! So fantastic that I will most likely end up making one for myself, in Ravenclaw house colors. With silver, not bronze. Who came up w/that idea anyways? It's kind of hard to confuse silver with bronze, maybe someone on the costume staff of HP was colorblind. Talk about being in the wrong line of work!

So here is my progress so far! I get a bunch of it done at school in between classes. I either sit in the Honors lounge and chat, or take my laptop and catch up on TV I've missed because of studying or sleeping! It's a great thing for my hands to do!




It looks a little warped down between the first 2 sets of bars, and that's because I tried stretching it out on my knee for some bazaar reason, I don't plan on doing that again! I'm assuming all sins will be erase once I sew it together, none of that should even be noticeable. Then I get to do tassels! I love tassels, so tassely! But for now I'm ready to start on the 5th set of captured bars. I figure with Pushing Daisies and Private Practice on tonight I might even make it thru 6 or 7! Yay me!

As always here's your Ravelry Link! And reminder, join Ravelry!

I just found a pattern today for a knit R2D2 beanie, which I absolutely must have, so now I have to try my hands at knitting again... I just find it so much easier to control one hook, which is harder to drop stitches on, than 2 needles. I'm accident prone, like I really need to add needles to the mix!

You sort of start thinking anything's possible if you've got enough nerve.

So end of day one w/the Gryffindor scarf and things are going along quite well! I'm ready for the first color change, which I would have done but I didn't take that yarn w/me to school today and there wasn't enough room in the backpack what w/my Latin books, random notebook, and MacBook. So it had to stay, honestly I didn't think I'd get to do much crocheting at all today. But we didn't have much writing in Latin today so I got about 7 rows done there, and another 10+ at a Carnation sale we were doing for Faculty Appreciation day on Thursday. Then I finished up the last bits in Science before that class even got started hardly, so I was sad.... I'd probably finish the gold and then another garnet tonight if it wasn't for a Latin and Science test on Thursday, and a Humanities test on Friday.... None of which I feel all that good about. Had a math test on Monday that I'm worried about getting the grade back from tomorrow.... It all snuck up on my somehow this week! BUT only a month 'til Finals! YAY! I like finals, because they're final!

If you like it here's the free pattern, and again if you have Ravelry it's all here! If you don't have Ravelry, get on the list!

Right side, and wrong side.

And X gets the square....

I find it so much easier to post when I have a working camera and can actually take pictures of my work! After all each picture is worth a thousand words! I wonder if I could just substitute a picture for this 1000 word essay I have coming up....

Here's the latest square in my quilt, I now have an accurate representation of the color schemes for my checkerboards! I think I shall have to put this aside for now though and hurry up and start a scarf promised to a friend years ago! I have the yarn and everything! She wanted a HP scarf in Gryffindor house colors, and I insisted it had to be knit to look right. I have the pattern and everything! Sounds easy right? Wrong. It requires a knowledge of knitting. Which I don't really posses. So I finally found out that I could crochet it in a way I can't remember right now, but is commonly called the Afghan stitch and is done w/a loooooooong hook. So I bought the hook but was working on my quilt and didn't want to stop. Well now that I'm at a good stopping point I might as well pick up the hook and give it a go! As long as Pirates Online doesn't stop me! So addicting...

The Quilt of Many Colors V1.something

So I've been working on a new quilt and updating it on Ravelry, which I finally got into! YAY! If you're not already in, get on the list! Trust me, it's amazing, and the future of those of us who use yarn and hooks or needles!

Anyways so this is the quilt, in it's begining stages, which I'm currently still in!
I got the pattern from Happy Yellow House, who has some awesome quilt patterns I suggest you check out. They're free, so enjoy!

I had to modify the pattern somewhat because I discovered that my 3 color schemes for the checkerboard pieces weren't going to work w/10 squares of checkerboard. I don't do 3-4-3, it has to be even! And I really wanted the quilt to be bigger as well, so I added two additional rows on the bottom, and a column on the side! So instead of 4 big squares by 5 big squares, it'll be 5 squares wide by 7 squares tall. Giving me 35 individual completed squares. 18 will be checkerboard, 17 will be the star design. And 3 goes into 18 six times! So I have my evenness! No I'm not anal, why do you ask? I was watching some Harry Potter yesterday while doing one of the checkerboards and I think I'm going to have to slip house colors into some of the Star pieces for added fun!

I really should take some time and do the math on the final size...

BTW, if you are on Ravelry, you can get all the deets there! Just click here!

Club Sandwiches not Seals!

So this is an obnoxious little seal I made for a friend, the yarn was evil! By the time I got done crocheting all the pieces I didn't want anything more to do with it! So I made her sew the fins on and the nose and eyes! It was the least I could do, lol! I can't remember how many ounces it took, if I do I'll edit the post, I do know it was a wool mix she got from JoAnn's but that's about all I remember... It's been over a month since I made him. Anyways she got the amigurumi pattern from Planet June's Etsy shop. It was a very good pattern, I've also bought the Ferret pattern from PJ and I do plan on making it sometime! I finally found the yarn I want for it! Maybe that should be my next project!

Scarf of fuzz....

So a friend asked me to make her a scarf a few weeks ago, gave me the yarn, and so last night I put off delaying and buckled down! 3-4 episodes of CSI: Las Vegas later, we had this!

The variegated yarn was made from 70% wool and 30% soy. And it was a pain, it would go on forever before changing, which made it look awfully funny, but the Alpaca was amazing. Super soft, stayed together well, though it did shed sorta like a cat.... You can't really see it in the scarf, but the fringe and the single crochet row on each side of the middle is made from it. It almost matched the beige in the variegation too closely.

Over all I think it came off okay.

If you want to try your own hook at this I found the pattern here. Quite simple and quick.

P.S. I should mention that I think that pattern is slightly wrong and that you need to add a row 7, just by repeating 6. It's up to you, but if you don't do it one side comes out smaller than the other. Also I found that to help make your work look neater if when you go to start Row 2, if you attach it to the other side of your work, where you first started, you get a nice neat outside edge! No border needed to make things pretty! If that's confusing just email me I'll be glad to help you understand it!