greetingarts

July 2009 is the party month

Last weekend, my husband's cousins threw a Chinese banquet for his uncle's 80th birthday.  This week, we're going to celebrate a wedding, a 38th birthday and a 70th birthday in the space of five days.  I brought some knitting, but... we'll see.  The camera batteries are charged and ready to go!

summer activity

For the past week, the temperature has hovered just below 100 degrees, and we've about reached the midpoint of summer vacation.  How can I tell?

Well, instead of answering the question, how about some pictures?  Do you know what this is?  This is my kids occupying themselves when I'm trying to get some laundry and vacuuming done, and they're set up at the coffee table with scratch paper, craft supplies and their own ingenuity.

Front view.  She's hamming it up, here, but still.  That was a *lot* of tape her sister used.

So here I document for posterity, the fact that Rebecca is not always the passive one who gives in to the little one.  She knows Jessie dotes on her and will do nearly anything she says.

And something else to remember: Sometimes a little creativity - and a roll of tape - is a dangerous thing.

now I have a list

So I guess some pairs of little ears around here heard me whoopin' and rejoicing over finishing up some of my old projects, and decided they'd better give me something to do.

Found a stack of my crochet books on the coffee table, along with a two page wish list.  So far I've made two peanuts...

next time I'll listen

Another one bites the dust!  This was the longest crochet project I've ever had going, I think.  Started it way before the wave blanket, and I finally hooked my last double crochet for it on July 11, 2009.  It's at least a two and a half year project, probably older.  The photo is totally misleading, because that armchair there is one of those kid-sized upholstered seats, only about 2 feet high.  The finished baby blanket is not quite exactly square, at 31" x 30".  But who's measuring?

The pattern is Interlocking Colors, again from the book 200 Stitch Patterns for Baby Blankets. I used a D hook (yes, that's right, a D, what are you lookin' at?) and some teeny baby yarn that my friend gave me to make a charity blanket with.  As she handed it over, she told me to double the yarn, but I didn't listen.  Oh, no, I didn't want to waste yarn so I used one single strand, and millimeter by millimeter, I built this blanket.  And now, it's done.  The members of my knitting guild aren't going to recognize me without this blanket on my lap, it's what I've worked on without fail when I needed something brainless, automatic.  I'm not sure yet what charity I'll be giving this blanket to, but I can't wait to let it go!

Since I always like to have at least one project going that is slated for donation, I'm  now looking for the next pattern.  Preferably one that involves extra bulky, chunky wool and a Q hook...

...and some more fruit

This time, an apple and an orange (though Rebecca thinks of it as a pumpkin).

From the free Preemie Fruit Orchard Hat pattern found at YouCanMakeThis.com.  I think the pattern was missing a decrease row, but it's easy enough to figure out (just repeat the last decrease row one extra time, I think) and the leaf pattern is cute and easy to remember.  I made one of these after putting the kids to bed, and the other while I was waiting for the fireworks display after our picnic on the 4th of July. 

They'll both be going to the LA County General Hospital's NICU.  Hopefully I can make at least a few more before our knitting guild takes a tour of the facility next month.  Oh, to see all those squishy, wrinkly baby faces!  I'm going to bring Rebecca with me, I think it will be good for her to see where some of my charitable efforts go, and she's already asking me to start teaching her to knit so she can contribute, too.  We've got until the end of August, we'll see whose patience runs out first!

watermelon dress

I'm sure you all know by now that I love to knit, but hate seams.  I'm getting better at it, but still prefer not to have to sew anything up, so when I found a free pattern (click link for the .pdf file) from Kraemer Yarns for a cute little dress that is knit top to bottom with no seams at all, I just had to try it. 

I don't know whether it was just an incredibly quick knit, or if it was due to the fact that I made this when I was without my DSL, but it was fast and very satisfying.  I can't quite remember, but I think I completed it in just a few days, much less than a week, and well before Jessie needed to wear it for her first formal picture session, at preschool.

The back cracks me up with the black buttons.  I haven't decided whether to embroider  little seeds onto the front of the dress or not.  What do you think?

I wish I'd recorded this on my Ravelry, and had written down how I did the bottom ruffle, but I think it was a knit into front and back of each stitch for around 5 rows.  The original pattern has it with just the natural stockinette curl which looks great and matches the collar and sleeve cuff, but I know my little girl, and she likes it the flouncier and rufflier the better, so I improvised.

What a little cheeseball.  Don't worry, Mom and Dad, you'll definitely get a 5"x7" when we see you in just a few weeks.

waves for charity

I'm embarrassed to tell you that I started this afghan back in January.  No, not seven months ago, I'm talking January, 2008.  Yeah, I know.  But anyway, it was finished on May 15, seventeen months later.  Luckily, I got it done before it got too hot.  It's mostly wool, a little mohair, a little acrylic.  One strand of an off-white, kind of dull sport weight held together with one strand of colorful bulky weight yarn.  The specifics can be found on Ravelry, but basically I cast on 99 stitches onto a size 11 circular, and used the Creamy Waves pattern from 200 Stitch Patterns for Baby Blankets. 

The blanket finished up at 30" x 40", is super thick, incredibly warm, and I love it because it's so richly colorful.  It's now in the hands of afghans for Afghans, maybe already keeping a little kid warm.