August has been a blur.

Long time no blog updates. Lately, I have really only felt like reading other blogs and not participating in my own. I have been knitting more then crocheting as of late but I can't post any pictures of the recent projects because they are holiday presents. Ugh, the holiday's...I'd have to say that is the suckiest thing about this hobby, the fact that if you are a holiday gift maker then you have to actually acknowledge holiday existence this early in the year and those of you that know me already know how much I hate the holiday season. Turns out it's almost as much as I hate birthdays. I managed to almost completely ignore mine this time around, which I think means I can say i'm still the same age again this year. Bonus! It's a rule I read somewhere. Really. I swear.
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Have you seen these guys? This is totally impressive and I wanted to include it. Have your sound up a bit. It's so cool.

melted.

The cooler weather, albeit lovely, has come too late. I have already melted.

I'm still around, just don't feel too much like blogging these days. I think the heat has burned and seared the lobes in my brain responsible for kindness, patience and all things knitting and crocheted.



The main purpose of this particular blog entry was to wish my friend Tevana a happy belated birthday! I didn't forget and I hope it was great!

I love them. I hate them.

My socks. I want to cry. I made some sort of unfixable mistake and I had to take them apart. Not to mention that my gauge was too tight and they wouldn't have even fit a Barbie. I'm so friggin' obsessed by making them it actually keeps me awake during the day. That's NOT right. I tried making them with bigger needles to account for their small size and they started coming out too holey. Do I increase evenly instead for the larger size? They are just a basic ribbed sock, nothing fancy.

Validation.

It's really great when someone loves and appreciates what you make for them. I made this for my nephew Evan before he was born a little over a year ago (just look at him now! :-). He would like a bigger blanket for when the weather gets cooler. I say he deserves it!

Progression.

My sock. Yipee. Kinda wonky, ask me if I care. Clearly I need some practice but this will be my first pair. It took about 20 restarts to get to this point and there is NO WAY in hell i'm starting over, again. These socks may have brought out my OCD-ness more then ever. Letting go now of some unrealistic (for me) ideal of what a perfect sock should look like. Must move forward.

Not my socks.

Carlin made these (for her dad) out of Koigu and I am so impressed.

I have also been trying to make socks but it turns out that I apparently have eight extra thumbs I wasn't aware of. I have literally started and restarted my sock no less then 15 times.
I have $%^&$# it up in ways you probably have never seen. Yet still I crave making them and I am still trying.

Quick, someone lend me a baby!

or better yet, if you have a baby laying around give this a try and be sure to report back!

Look Ma..I'm not ALL thumbs!

Awhile back I had bought some Wool of the Andes from Knit Picks and had planned to crochet a bag to felt. I had started it and decided that it was taking way too much yarn, so I frogged it. I'm not sure what happened, but about a week ago I had this idea that I was going to knit it instead. For those of you that know me you probably remember many of my failed attempts with the knitting process. It was just something I never thought I really enjoyed, until now. It's weird, like a 'knitting lightbulb' finally went on in my head. So far it's relaxing and I can actually say that i'm loving it. Wow.

Here is a picture of the bag progress thus far. No pattern for it. Just tailoring it to my wants and needs. We'll see how it goes.

An AMAZINGLY useful skill...

I was mezmerized.

"I think i'm turning Japanese, I think i'm turning Japanese, I really think so..."

I asked for advice and opinions on crocheted bookmarks and then I disappeared from blogland. I did end up making some for mothers day out of a bulky Red Heart Yarn with gigantic flowers crocheted to them. KIDDING. I actually made book thongs out of a size 10 thread with a hook that was so small I could have removed a splinter from my finger with it. Oy.

I got the initial pattern for it from Crochet Me and took some creative license. They were super fast, worked up in way less then an hour, easy and pretty darn fun. A nice brainless, not too thinky project. The cool thing was that I only had to buy the thread for it, everything else I already possessed.

Can you say i-n-e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e... I love that.

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For Mother's Day Carlin created one of her Amigurumi for me. So cute. She is a bleached blonde, bubblegum snapping, japanese pop star. I just love her. She reminds me of those japanese girls that dance backup for Gwen Stefani.

Continuing the Japanese theme....(try and have sound for this) So sweet.

WTF?

You've undoubtedly heard of the blogs "You Knit What?" and "What Not To Crochet". Both of which I think are very humorous and useful. Along those lines I'm thinking of starting a new blog (as an aside to this one) called :

"You Made Your Poor Defenseless Pet Wear What?"

Here is my very first official unofficial entry.



Comments about this puppy's dilemma can be directed to KAREN

"Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl..."

Happy Hump Day.

It seems like many of my favorite people have officially or unofficially taken their blogs on hiatus. You know who you are. Just about every morning I plant myself in front of the computer with a huge steaming bowl o' joe in anticipation of combing through the many blogs I read (some are listed to the right and some are not)
When the posts aren't new it totally bums me out dude.

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I need your opinion, please feel free to comment at will.

Are crocheted bookmarks lame? I know they can be, but are there exceptions?

(If I ever ask this question of doilies feel free to just kill me.)

Mother's Day is coming. Personally, I love Mother's Day. It's the one day of the year when my child makes an actual attempt at being nice to me ;-)

Enjoy the clip it's a classic (and for the love of...have your sound up!)

Please Note: This IS actual pictoral proof that my brain has finally exploded.

Stress sucks.

Things should be calming down though. We finally got Carlin's acceptance letter for the Magnet High School that she applied to...but not before representatives from said school came to her current school and freaked she and her high acheiving friends out by telling them that there were only 90 spaces available to the entire gifted student population of the LAUSD and that chances were somewhat slim that any of them would be getting in. Great. Thanks for making my kid even MORE panic stricken. You know the old saying "shit rolls downhill" I'm smack dab at the bottom of that hill.

Chocolate Bobbles is almost due and progressing...slowly. Ugh, I just want that thing to be done.

Finally got a very preliminary phase one version of the Baby Intelligence Agency Ebay store open for business. The button is to the right if you feel like visiting. Currently, we are only offering Brainy Baby DVDs but as a search for more product continues that will change. We also have plans for much bigger and better things off of Ebay. Although this is all very exciting it is also a major source of stress for me right now.

I just have to remember to breathe and crochet of course!

Shameless promotion and other blathering.

The daughter has started a blog that ties in with her Etsy Shop. Please visit if you have a few spare moments. Carlin's Kisses.

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I'm still working on the chocolate bobble-licious afghan. I'm dragging my feet with it. Let's just say it isn't the most fun thing to work on. It's actually downright boring. It's so large and cumbersome, because i'm desperately trying to keep it pet hair free that it's become a chore. It's definitely no longer portable so I have had to start some other peripheral projects that can be toted around.

I started the "Cupcake" top for Carlin. It's a cute little top from the Happy Hooker book. The only other person that I know that could wear it is Clare. Cap sleeves are not for everyone. Like Tevana says,"Just because they make it in your size doesn't mean you should wear it."

I've also made a couple of pairs of Moroccan slippers, from Fabulous and Flirty Crochet. They were super easy and hopefully make great Mother's Day gifts. Hopefully.

Speaking of Tevana, congratulations on the new job, I don't know what it is but it has to be better then the dreck you were slogging to before. Can't wait to hear about it and how you left "The Fund".

I want one of these...(not the guy, I have one.) (not even the dog really, I have two.) but I still think it's great...



Have a fabulous day!

It's a good thing.

Glad I cleaned off my desk.

Tax Trouble?

I have the solution if you are having trouble with your taxes.
(Please make sure you have sound.)

It's all about not doing my taxes.

Yeah, but does your Gnome barbecue Tofurky and look like the guy on Lost that used to be a Hobbit? I didn't think so.

In case you were wondering, mine does!

Maybe Karen can create a "what type of Gnome are you test."

And now, a message for our sponsor...

I just received the book “SweaterBabe.Com’s Fabulous and Flirty Crochet by Katherine Lee.” I love the fact that crochet is finally beginning to get the credit and validation it deserves. This book is no exception. It is spiral bound so it lays flat; it starts off with all of the obligatory crochet basics which any beginner would find an invaluable resource. From hook sizing and pattern reading to yarn weights, abbreviations and international crochet symbols (which are so useful for deciphering pattern stitch diagrams).

The projects are conveniently arranged throughout the book by level of difficulty: beginner, intermediate and advanced. The pieces are very clearly photographed on models in a section of the book separate from the patterns, which makes for a very lovely presentation. The actual patterns themselves are clearly and concisely written and are easy to follow. I only wish that the patterns included plus sizing.

The last section in the book contains a detailed stitch glossary; complete with easy to follow diagrams of all the required stitches mentioned in the book. There is also a page dedicated to the yarns used in all the projects. The yarns are photographed at their actual size so that substituting is easy.

Katherine Lee does a magnificent job with pattern creation. She truly has an eye for contemporary design elements. From the Tortoise Handled Purse, which is beautiful (I want to make it right now!) to the Shawl Collared Wrap Cardigan which is amazingly gorgeous. The book is a wonderful resource for those of us that are hungry to create more then toilet paper covers and doilies

Betcha can't guess what we did with our Sunday night.

We learned to...


Fun, fun, fun around the Ol' Davis House I tell ya!