Crochet'ing Up a Storm ....

Yup, still at it! Well despite the snow, rain, freezing rain, sleet etc. I still made it to work every day this week even though I would have much preferred taking a snow day and crocheting the day away! I did manage to finish my latest project, ta-da:

I actually modified a pattern for a romper, because I wasn't 100% sure my skills would be up to par for the more complicated pants-attached-to-a-dress thing and I wasn't 100% sure it would fit my niece properly. She's just turned 1, and is wearing size 18 months which is what this is, but making it into a little dress that can be worn with a white t-shirt and leggings makes sure that she'll be able to wear this more than once (hopefully), lol, before she outgrows it.

The pattern called for two flowers on the hat, but I thought it looked better with one; so with the leftover flower, I made a little wrist band.

I'm actually pretty pleased with myself. So much so that I went out and bought some nice cotton wool and have started working on a summer tank top (for me) with a fairly intricate design on the bottom. Needless to say, I'm struggling with the bottom part, but am hopeful I'll figure it out soon!

I went to an actual wool store on the weekend (as opposed to the wool aisle at Michael's) and it reminded me a lot of a scrapbook store. Lots of specialty stuff. Lots of expensive supplies. And a few women sitting at a table in the back creating. It made me miss scrapbooking stores, actually, because I felt like a bit of an outsider!!! There's a whole knitting/crocheting parallel universe out there - blogs, forums, websites, etc. Who knew!

So my exciting news today is that I am having a new washer/dryer delivered. My 21-year-old washer has been leaking lately, and the husband deemed it was pointless to repair. Not getting a front-loader (they just don't appeal to me) but I am getting a high efficiency top loading 5.0 cubic feet washer without an agitator, and a big kick-a$$ dryer too. I'm so excited about doing laundry this weekend. Really, I need a life :o)

Have a great weekend!

Born to ... crochet??

Where have I gone? What have I been up to? Why haven't I been updating my blog??

(1) I haven't gone anywhere ... I'm still here ... ok not exactly HERE as in this blog, but here as in this world! Still doing the work-home-sleep-repeat thing, still hanging out in local hockey arenas, still a Senators fan (though I now know how Maple Leaf fans feel, ugh), still counting the wintery days until trailer season re-opens.

(2) Well here's what I HAVEN'T been up to - I haven't been scrapping. Not one tiny little bit. Just don't have it in me. Maybe I can only handle one addiction at a time; and right now, crochet seems to be that addiction. Note the evidence:

As I keep having to admit whenever my family asks ... no, that's not for anyone in particular. No, probably not even for me. No, this is not my funny way of telling you I am expecting a baby. I don't KNOW whose baby that hat is for, ok? It's just fun making baby hats. And scarves in every colour. And gigantic-sized mittens (oops, learned the hard way that when a pattern says to check your gauge, you really should check your gauge).

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(3) And I haven't been updating my blog because I haven't been spending as much time on the computer, at least not as a participant (I still check out YOUR blogs, just so you know ... but mostly read and run, sorry!). And because I had nothing scrappy to update the blog with and this is, after all, a scrapbooking blog. I don't plan on changing the title and I'm not giving up on the paper-scissors-glue thing, but for the time being, if I do post here, it'll probably be to share my wool-hook-needle things.

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I'm pretty excited about my current project-on-the-go, because (a) it's actually FOR somebody and (b) it's an actual piece of clothing. I'm working on a little dress for my one year old niece, and it's coming together really nicely. I'll show you when I'm done. I made another piece of clothing a couple of weeks ago, which didn't work out as well. I made a hooded sweater for myself (or, for a 300 pound woman with freakishly long arms. Another lesson learned re gauge and tension.).

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One of the reasons I'm so excited about this newfound hobby is that it's not actually a newfound hobby at all ... I used to crochet, and knit too ... but I was never very good at sewing pieces of things together and always relied on my Mom to do that part. Now I've mastered my fears and done it myself and I know my Mom would be proud.

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The only thing left for me to figure out is what I'm going to do with all the stuff I make (especially the scarves....). I got my assistant (at work) addicted to crochet too, and if this keeps up we just might rent a table at a craft fair or something! Meanwhile ... anybody want a scarf, lol?