365 - A Crochet Odyssey

And what a trip it was...

2009-12-31T18:05:00.003-05:00

So, a year ago tomorrow I began my journey, hooking my way through the year one square at a time.

I could wax poetic about the quest (God knows I'm not above a little waxing), but aside from the fact that My Beloved is making me a grilled cheese sandwich in advance of an evening of movies and games at my sibling's house and I don't have much time to write, I'm not altogether sure there is anything especially poetic to say.

I loved the journey. I enjoyed the challenge of choosing a new pattern every day, catching up when I missed a day or two, finding patterns that reflected the changing seasons, and figuring out what to say about the creations that tumbled from my hook and fingers at the end of the day.

But I don't know that it taught me anything all that momentous - except that that's not necessarily a bad thing. Not everything is a lesson, nor does it have to be. Not everything needs to have a deeper meaning. Some things are just pure enjoyment. Pure escapism. Pure creativity at its most pleasantly satisfying best.

Sometimes a journey is just a journey. Moving quietly from A to B and enjoying the travel time in between.

Enjoying the travel. Those are absolutely the journeys I like best, and I'm so happy that this was one of those trips.

December 31, 2009

A rising sun motif to usher in the start of a new year and a new decade. And, of course, still more adventures in crochet.

Stay tuned...

I have a feeling...

2009-11-27T16:47:00.004-05:00

...that by the end of this journey, there will be holes.

And yeah, more that just crochet holes. Punny, that.

I've tried to hook one motif per day. I really, really have. That was my grand plan all those many months ago. And I think I've done pretty well, all things considered. Work, illness, family obligations, plain old bad days - given all those variables, I've done pretty well if I do say so myself.

The last time I checked, I was about 8 or 10 motifs behind.

But the thing is, I'm not sure I'll be able to catch up. As the holidays bear down upon me complete with their own contractual obligations - including some Christmas hooking - it just might not be possible for me to actually catch up.

But I think that's okay.

As it says in the header, it's the journey, not the destination. And sometimes the journey isn't as easy as you'd planned.

I happen know that in spades.

But still, I keep going. Holes and all.

November 24 & 25, 2009

Another dishcloth. I'm addicted to cotton.

Now, it dawned on me as this was taking shape that it totally does NOT fit into the whole "motif" theme. It's more of an object than a square. You could not make an afghan out of a string of these crocheted Christmas lights.

The problem is, in addition to this pattern, I'd also printed out had a pattern for a Christmas light dishcloth - and that's what I thought I was making. I was watching Glee whilst hooking, and it didn't sink in until I was too far into the project to turn back that I was using the wrong pattern.

I blame TV.

The end.

Can't seem to stay away from Christmas...

2009-11-24T14:40:00.002-05:00

...or dishcloths.

November 23, 2009

I think this would be a cute stocking stuffer wrapped around a small bottle of dish soap.

After all, if you HAVE to clean dishes, you might as well be festive about it.

Angels and reindeer. That's what they should call this episode.

2009-11-22T21:29:00.007-05:00

I'm not entirely sure that the first two motifs really look all that much like angels, but that's indeed what they are. One is a tiny little ornament, the other is a dish cloth (although I'm not sure I understand the logic behind using an angel to wash up after your spaghetti dinner. Or the desire, for that matter).

Anyway, if you squint - or, perhaps, use your Picasso glasses - I'm sure you'll see the angelic resemblance.

Luckily there's no mistaking Rudolph. The nose gives him away. Or maybe it's the vacant stare...

November 19, 20 & 21, 2009

Ah, Christmas. I love you.

Icky sicky

2009-11-18T23:01:00.005-05:00

There are far, far worse things than this cold - or whatever it is I'm cooking - and I thank my lucky stars that all I'm dealing with is a runny nose, sore throat and crazy fatigue.

But still, eeew to being sick. And a one finger salute to germs while I'm at it.

November 16 & 17, 2009

Thank heavens for tissues with lotion, Halls cough drops, chicken soup, hot tea, a kind husband, and a 1992 Christmas magazine with a handful of Christmas crochet crafts in it.

I've been hit! I've been hit!

2009-11-16T15:14:00.005-05:00

Despite my best efforts (seriously, I've been single-handedly keeping the hand sanitizer companies in business), I seem to have come down with a bit of a plague.

Just a little one - and I'm hoping it stays that way since I haven't been allowed to get the H1N1 vaccine yet. Which, of course, really means who the flock knows what I'm cooking up?

Luckily sitting on the couch feeling like crap is also a good time to hook. And catch up on missed hooking.

'Cause there seems to be some of that going on...

November 13, 14, & 15

Special thanks to Shanna for, quite out of the blue, sending me Stitch 'n Bitch: The Happy Hooker, which is where I found all three of these patterns.

It's got heart

2009-11-11T18:07:00.005-05:00

If I hadn't been so lazy, I'd have photographed the little heart motif before I sewed it onto the hat.

But I was indeed very lazy (it would have involved moving my ass off the couch and climbing up a flight of stairs). So I didn't.

So an entire hat it is.

And that's the kind of day it was.

November 10, 2009

Fortunately I found enough energy to drop the hat in the mail this afternoon, along with all kinds of love and kisses. It's winging its way to a friend who is due to have her baby early next week.

A harbinger...

2009-11-10T10:59:00.005-05:00

Snow. Ick.

I love snow that falls in the weeks leading up to Christmas, but I'd be more than happy for spring to start at the stroke of midnight on December 31st.

Yeah, yeah, I'm Canadian. We're hearty. We laugh in the face of snot-freezing wind chill forecasts. We scoff at blinding whiteouts. We flip a mittened bird at treacherous driving conditions.

Or so they say, anyway.

'Cause some of us don't. Some of us loathe shoveling snow with a fierce passion. Some of us would rather eat shards of glass than drive in a snowstorm. Some of us get so cold we feel it from the inside out. Some of us haven't skied since it was a mandatory part of the grade 9 gym curriculum.

Snow is pretty. But I'm into watching it from afar these days. Waaaaay far.

Or, simply crocheting it from the comfort of my couch by the fire.

November 9, 2009

There is a snowflake in there somewhere. It was more obvious before the flake turned into a square, but it's there.

Just like it'll be there on my driveway in the not too distant future.

Siiiiigh.

She's alive! She's alive!

2009-11-09T18:13:00.005-05:00

...And not just alive, but totally addicted to the leftover yarn from my Mom, which I employed to make all three of these motifs.

I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that it's not even top quality stuff - just some acrylic Vanna's Choice from Lion Brand. But it's just so thick and cozy, and the colours are so deep and rich and lovely.

It feels good on the hook.

And in the heart.

That's all I can offer by way of explanation.

November 6, 7 & 8, 2009

This is a square motif from the Interweave Crochet afghan pattern I mentioned in my last post. I think the purples just work so well here, somehow. See? Cheap yarn can be purdy!

This is one of two flowers meant to embellish a tea cozy. I haven't seen a tea cozy since the 1970s at my Grandparents' kitchen table, keeping their Brown Betty toasty warm. Hmmm, I may need to make one now...

This square is HUGE. It's probably 11" x 11", and although it's from an afghan pattern, I'm thinking it would make a pretty funky pillow. Which I may get around to making one of these fine days.

Cozy

2009-11-04T10:29:00.002-05:00

My mom started a tumbling blocks afghan late last winter, finishing it up a month or so ago. It's absolutely gorgeous and so well worth the hours and hours of knitting, changing colours, and sewing in ends.

That's what I think, anyway. At 69 with pretty severe arthritis, she may have regretted the undertaking once she discovered what a mammoth job it was going to be, but I still think it was worth her blood, sweat and tears. It looks beautiful in their living room, and with the chilly weather slowly creeping in, it was completed just in time for cuddling under snowy skies.

As she always does, she passed along the leftover yarn to me, much to my delight. Expected delights are delights nonetheless.

I used some of that yarn to make this pretty motif, which was designed for an afghan pattern from the fall 2009 issue of Interweave Crochet magazine.

The colours are so deeply saturated, and the yarn is thick and soft. And it came from my mommy, which makes it as cozy as can be.

November 3, 2009

I might get additional yarn and pick at this afghan over the winter, just like my mom did.

Bullseye!

2009-11-02T22:16:00.002-05:00

This is an appropriate motif for today, since at the moment it feels like someone has shot an arrow into my head just above my left eye.

Stupid barometric pressure headache.

November 2, 2009

And now me and my aching noggin are heading to bed.

The end.

Boo!!

2009-10-31T11:30:00.003-04:00

I know it's incredibly morbid, but every year I get a little kick out of saying that Thomas is going out for Halloween as a ghost.

Really, this is probably only genuinely funny to My Beloved and I - everyone else just laughs nervously when I whip out this annual joke - but in addition to the fact that I really do somehow find it amusing, it makes me feel closer to Thomas.

On a day when people are parading their more-adorable-than-usual children in an unending stream up to my front door in costumes so precious they make my busted uterus ache, it's nice to feel extra close to Thomas.

And so, I make the joke.

And a little cotton ghost washcloth too.

And all's right with my slightly warped world.

October 31, 2009

And now I'm off to bed, which is the only way I can guarantee I'm going to stop eating the leftover chocolate. For at least the next 7 or so hours anyway...

Hat's off. And on. And on. And on.

2009-10-28T22:46:00.004-04:00

This is the first few rounds of a hat pattern, with the addition of a quick little single crochet border to finish it off.

I've been working on a couple of special order kids hats using this pattern, and thought the initial couple of rows would make a pretty motif perfectly suited for a certain little crochet odyssey.

Plus, once you get into the swing of an addictive pattern it's kind of hard to get out.

October 28, 2009

Somebody help me! I'm trapped in a hat!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2009-10-27T23:18:00.003-04:00

But let the real stuff fall somewhere else for at least another month or so, m'k?

Thanks.

October 27, 2009

With apologies to my friends in Colorado who were dealing with blizzard conditions on Sunday...

Lest We Forget

2009-10-26T22:37:00.003-04:00

Every year about this time, little red poppies start appearing on the lapels of Canadians and Britains. This 90-year old tradition started as a way of remembering the end of World War I on November 11, 1918.

Along with a moment of silence at 11:00am on November 11th, we wear the poppies to remind us of the sacrifices of the soldiers who fought and died for the freedoms we enjoy today.

And usually someone, somewhere, recites these lines...

In Flanders' fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders' fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high,
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders' Fields.

John McCrae, 1915.

October 26, 2009

For those who never came home, we remember.

One BIG square...

2009-10-25T22:36:00.003-04:00

...which also serves as proof that I WAS preoccupied with blankie squares the past few weeks.

This, after much sewing, is the finished afghan. If you look closely, you'll see it's half knitted and half crocheted. It was a Mom and me collaboration - a gift of yarny love for my sister who turned 42 this weekend.

October 25, 2009

Happy Birthday Kathy!

The road to crochet hell...

2009-10-22T23:58:00.003-04:00

...is paved with good intentions.

And gray-ish lasagna noodle ninja throwing stars.

October 22, 2009

Siiiiigh.

In the meantime...

2009-10-20T23:58:00.003-04:00

Mary, I will absolutely prove that I was working on a blankie this week by taking its picture and posting it here when it's done. I'm nothing if not a shameless attention whore when it comes to displaying pictures of my crocheted stuff (ahem, clearly...), so stay tuned.

In the meantime, here's an off-centered flower in a lovely soft blue that looks frustratingly bland and gray here, and a teeny tiny little cotton granny square.

And now, back to the blankie...

October 18 & 19, 2009

I'm at the sewing together stage. And there will be callouses.

See? Attention whore.

Reruns...

2009-10-19T11:07:00.004-04:00

...but for a good cause.

I'm trying to get a special order blankie finished, and I desperately needed to spend some time doing squares for it this weekend. Which, of course, meant I didn't have quite as much time for non-project specific squares.

Which is why these are reruns.

And why this is a boring post.

October 16 & 17, 2009

While these are reruns in the sense that you've seen these two patterns before, they were ones I needed to do for the blankie, so I believe they still totally count.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

October 15th

2009-10-16T09:57:00.003-04:00

October 15th is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, which I quietly celebrated yesterday. In addition to lighting a candle in my front window at 7:00pm, I crocheted a little bouquet of pink and blue flowers, one for each of the wee souls who slipped in and out of our lives without a sound.

Because I will always, always remember.

October 15, 2009

I love you, little ones.

Fall colours, part II

2009-10-13T22:35:00.003-04:00

Two button-y flowers and one single autumn leaf.

And that, as they say, is that.

For today, anyway.

October 2, 12, 13, 2009

Quietly recovering from holiday hangover. During which no actual alcohol was consumed with the exception of one measly half a glass of wine.

But still, a holiday hangover. The cruel curse of the bereaved, I suppose.

P.S. Shanna, can you check the e-mail address you posted? I can't seem to get it to work, and blogger won't let me comment on your blog for some reason! Ack!

A perfect storm

2009-10-11T15:53:00.003-04:00

We used to have Thanksgiving dinner up at my Grandparent's cottage when I was a kid. The tradition didn't last much beyond my 6th or 7th year (for reasons best kept in the proverbial vault), but I remember it very well.

Particularly the year of the big leaf storm. It was probably 1975, and we had a new-ish kitten (my very first) who had never seen an entire forest of trees drop their golden, red and orange leaves in a torrent of autumnal frenzy all at once.

I was pretty agog too, as I recall. We all were, really. You don't see that kind of thing very often.

The kitten attacked the front window as the wind swept the leaves from hundreds of feet in the air and whisked them to the ground in twisty, whirling gusts. We marveled. We laughed. We took 8mm movies.

And now, we remember it all with so much fondness.

So in honour of those sweet fall days at the cottage of long ago, a bunch of yarny leaves in all the colours I remember from that glorious day nearly 35 years ago.

October 3, 9, 10 & 11, 2009

This is truly the most beautiful time of year. It never fails to take my breath away.

I can almost taste it...

2009-10-09T15:33:00.003-04:00

Mmmm. Pumpkin pie!

Can you see it? Is this not the cutest pattern ever???

I would love to give credit where it's due if only I could remember where I found the pattern. It was online...maybe through Ravelry.com? I can't remember now - I'm just so tickled that it looks as cute as it does and that I happened to have pumpkin pie-coloured yarn in my stash. What are the odds?

Best of all, I have real pumpkin in my pantry, and will be baking edible versions of this fall-y pie for Thanksgiving dinner this weekend.

Yum!

October 8, 2009

I could probably eat a whole pie all by myself. Particularly if I had lots of whipped cream to go with it.

I'm not kidding.

Redemption

2009-10-07T22:55:00.002-04:00

There. A spider with eight legs. AND a web to boot.

Happy now?

October 7, 2009

I kid. I kid. I totally knew the spider motif I did the other day was missing two legs, I was just entirely too lazy to make them - even though usually blatant omissions/lazy-ass sloppiness like that makes me really, really twitchy.

Apparently it bugs others too.

Pardon the pun.

Plumpkin

2009-10-06T23:37:00.003-04:00

Finally, a seasonally correct motif. Unlike the snowflakes I couldn't seem to stop making back in the summer, a jack-o-lantern is a wholly appropriate choice for October 7th.

Granted, I've ignored Thanksgiving altogether which of course does come before Halloween, but I found a pattern on Ravelry.com that should rectify that. And there's still time to make it.

Stay tuned...

October 7, 2009

I think I may need to dress up this Halloween. There are no children in our house, and I haven't been invited to any Halloween shin digs, but by virtue of the fact that it falls on a Saturday, it feels like I should do something a little wild and crazy just the same.

As only 39-year old hookers can.

By way of explanation...

2009-10-05T22:14:00.004-04:00

...I have just two words: Sewer backup.

Oy.

Anyhoo, several gallons of bleach-laced water, 49 billion pairs of rubber gloves, three mop heads, and a rented wet vac later, and here we are. With just two measly motifs and lots of catching up to do later this week, I suppose.

October 4 & 5, 2009

Spiders. Geez, I wish that's all I'd found in the basement Friday morning...

My eyes! My eyes!

2009-10-01T22:39:00.003-04:00

Ugh, it's so hard to shoot Christmas-red yarn! It gets hyper-saturated and smothers every colour in its immediate vicinity (like the dark forest green), making your eyes simultaneously bleed and snap shut to block out the burning.

But really, no big loss in this case. The motif is kind of ugly anyway.

September 30, 2009

I need to go rest my eyes now.

You probably do too.

Wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong

2009-09-29T22:57:00.005-04:00

There are a whole bunch of things wrong with this square. I'm not sure any of the mistakes are obvious enough to notice, particularly if you don't have a picture of the "real" square for comparison, but there are mistakes nonetheless. A-plenty.

I was watching TV while I made it so it's not out of the realm of possibility that I was distracted enough to have read the pattern incorrectly, but I'm pretty sure I was doing exactly as it said.

I read, re-read, pulled out rows - did everything I could - and no matter what I tried, it was clearly going to turn out catastrophically wrong.

So I just ad-libbed what I thought seemed right instead, and this is the result.

It's not right - the blue petals are supposed to be somewhat dimensional, for one thing - but it's close enough.

And sometimes close enough is just fine.

September 29, 2009

I think my luck with the 1991 magazine may have finally run out. Alas.

A blast from the past. Or three.

2009-09-28T23:03:00.005-04:00

All three of the motifs posted today come from patterns I found in an old magazine I uncovered in the basement last year when I was sorting through crap for our garage sale.

It's from September 1991, which is a good 12 or 13 years before I even learned how to crochet.

There are some eye-wateringly atrocious sweater patterns in it (very late 80s Cosby style - weird colours, big patterns, boxy as hell), but there are also some very charming afghan patterns and granny square-esque motifs mixed in with the fashion disasters.

It was a pleasant surprise.

And it's nice to get those kind for a change.

September 24, 25, 26, 2009

The pack rat in me is feeling very smug right now. She KNEW the magazine would be useful one day...

Today, yesterday and the day before that

2009-09-23T17:17:00.005-04:00

One of these squares just doesn't belong here (with apologies to Mr. Rogers).

And it's not the square. Or the circle. It's the weird diamond-esque yellow oval.

I'm just not feelin' it. It's kind of lumpy, a little misshapen, and just...odd. It's like a stylized, yarny, "Always with wings" (with apologies to Proctor & Gamble).

September 21, 22 & 23, 2009

And now I'm going to stop apologizing and get on with my day.

Ahhh, that's better

2009-09-22T17:28:00.006-04:00

It's much easier to blog when the camera and computer play nice.

And without further ado...

September 18, 2009

I used a scrap of hot pink Bernat Satin to make this little heart, but ran out just before I could finish.

Instead of scrapping the whole thing, I decided to use a bit lavender to finish the job.

I realize it looks like it's been patched, but I think that's fitting. I imagine if you could see my figurative heart, it would be delicate tangle of memories and loves held together with white glue, duct tape, and bits of string.

Life will do that to you.

September 19, 2009

Bing Crosby has nothing to do with crochet at all, as far as I know, but I think it should be noted that crocheting on a Saturday evening while watching back-to-back Bing Crosby movies is a very cozy thing to do.

And, as an added bonus, blue flowery things emerge from your fingertips as if by magic.

See?

September 20, 2009

Sunflowers remind me of Fall and my sister. Fall because they're such a deep, fall-y yellow, and my sister because she inevitably brings giant handfuls of them to your house if you invite her for dinner around harvest time.

I like things that never change.

I like her too. Kind of a lot.

While I had all kinds of time to look at but not update my blog, I noticed that I was four motifs behind. September 2 and August 4, 9, and 22 were motif-less.

So I took a little extra crocheting time this weekend to catch up a bit...

There. TOLD you I wasn't slacking!

Technical difficulties

2009-09-21T23:09:00.002-04:00

It's very hard to do a daily blog that requires photographs when your camera and computer have decided not to like each other.

Fortunately I happen to live with my IT guy, so I'll be back and posting (with photographic evidence that I was NOT simply slacking these last few days) tomorrow.

Until then...

Butterflies

2009-09-17T15:14:00.005-04:00

Apparently the Monarch butterflies - who fill Southern Ontario's skies with tiny orange and black stained glass windows in summer - are fewer in number this year. The cool, wet weather has, so the butterfly counters say, inhibited their reproduction.

Which is a shame. I love watching their crooked, laboured flying and effortless gliding.

They make me think of my Grandmother and my boy, both gone, but both still as beautiful to my heart as the delicate wings of a Monarch.

When I found this simple butterfly pattern (made more simple because I didn't embellish mine with beads, as the pattern indicated) I knew I had to give it a try. Three times.

September 17, 15, and 4, 2009

I have no idea how such fragile little creatures make it all the way to Mexico.

They must be packing tiny little bottles of tequila...

Bonanza!

2009-09-16T20:49:00.005-04:00

I'm having ridiculous fun with this month's issue of Crochet! magazine.

At least I think it's this month's regular issue - it's actually possible that it's a special issue. One of those "25 great gifts to make" kind of issues.

I could find out, but that would require going allllll the way downstairs. And that just ain't gonna happen.

Anyway, whatever the case, I'm enjoying it.

One of the purple motifs from last week, the teapot coasters, the posey from yesterday, and today's crazy lavendar rose - they're all from this magical issue.

Excellent. Just excellent!

September 16, 2009

And no, they didn't pay me to say that.

Although I could use the work and likely would if they offered...

A proper cup of tea

2009-09-15T22:50:00.003-04:00

Ahhh, there! THAT'S better! The same little teapot hooked with 100% yarn and felted.

Yeah, the pattern knows best. Lesson learned.

I'm really loving this. I think four of these in complimentary colours would make such a cute hostess gift...

September 13, 2009

Luckily I happen to have three complimentary colours. And someone who I think would rather like a set of wooly teapot coasters.

And yesterday, a little flower.

Since my real life flower garden is woefully in need of attention (and substantial repair, thanks to the marauding voles), I decided to hook a sweet little yarn posy. A reminder of the summer blooms, now fading, that will soon be a memory.

That was fast.

I'm not complaining because I loathe the heat, but seriously this summer was really more like a handful of hot days strung together by weeks of chilly days.

And by chilly I mean perfect. 1970s summers perfect. Low 70s. No smog. No humidity.

Perfection.

September 14, 2009

I just hope the winter is as kind to me as summer has been...

A spot of tea?

2009-09-13T14:59:00.004-04:00

This little teapot motif from Crochet! magazine should really have been done in wool. It's supposed to be a felted coaster (an idea that's so cute I may pass out), but I wondered what it would look like unfelted, worked in an acrylic yarn.

And now I know.

And now I think I need to make one in wool and felt it like the pattern said I should.

Patterns, like moms, usually know best.

September 12, 2009

And now I'm off to have a cuppa.

Me? Suggestible? Noooooooo.

Lather, rinse, repeat

2009-09-11T14:37:00.004-04:00

I think I'm all purpled out now.

Really, I'm pretty sure I've got it out of my system.

Maybe.

September 9, 10 & 11, 2009

It's kind of like when you get a song stuck in your head. Only with colour...

The cottage

2009-09-08T21:05:00.008-04:00

When I was a kid we spent every single summer vacation at my Grandma and Grandpa's cottage in Muskoka, from the time I was three months old until I was in my early twenties.

I loved it. Truly adored every second of every day we spent there. I could wax poetic about the glory days by the shores of Tasso Lake for hours. Hours, I tell you.

Every once in a while I'll smell something that elicits a scent memory of the cottage - summer sweat, musty books, a damp forest floor, dry leaves, or some heady concoction of all four - and unexpected pictures of the cottage flood my mind, to my greatest delight.

Pine sap stuck to my bare feet. Bactine on mosquito bites. Noxema on sunburns. Bonfire smoke clinging to my clothes and hair. Melted marshmallow guts burning my tongue.

Looking back, it was all good. All of it. Every sweet moment.

The cottage is gone. Sold by my Grandfather when his mind was slipping back in the mid 90s. And both my Grandparents are gone now too. But the memories remain.

Yesterday and today's squares somehow remind me of the cottage. The sandy earth tones and the cedar green, of course. But especially the 1950s rusty brown and avocado that covered the ancient cottage furniture - remnants from a bygone time that found themselves living out their retirement years up at the lake.

If I could go back, even for five minutes, I would do it in a heartbeat. I'd walk down to the shore, push my feet into the sand, and touch the surface of the water with the flat of my hand.

And just be.

September 7 & 8, 2009

If, when I get there, I get to choose my heaven, it might just be the tiny cottage on Tasso Lake.

Labour Day

2009-09-07T12:08:00.004-04:00

Long weekends usually start with good intentions and end in gloriously unabashed slacking. And this one has certainly been no exception.

My Beloved spent a few hours out in the garden tending, mowing and weeding. But me? I stayed inside crocheting and making muffins with some of the apples we bought at a local farm on Saturday. And then crocheting again.

And again.

Ahhhhhh. That's the ticket.

September 5 & 6, 2009

To make up for my slothfulness, I'll be turning 1/2 bushel of Roma tomatoes into tomato sauce today.

Eventually.

The last rose of summer

2009-09-04T21:38:00.005-04:00

Okay, this square is not a rose. Nor is it technically the end of summer (not for another 17 days or so). But Labour day weekend has always felt like an ending to me. And even now, more than 15 years since my last official class of any kind ended, I still feel a "back-to-schoolness" in the air. In my air.

I wander around kind of aimlessly during this time, wishing for a reason to by notebooks, paper and a brand-spanking new pencil case. Wishing for a new beginning. Or some sort of exciting new change.

Who'd have thought that not going back to school would still make me wistful after all these years?

And so once again I say, thank goodness for crochet.

September 3, 2009

They won't cure anything, of course, but crochet, wine and chocolate all make excellent band-aids.

This I know for an absolute fact.

I'm just going to stop apologizing...

2009-09-03T10:27:00.003-04:00

...for being behind and doing terribly disorganized things like posting Tuesday's square on Thursday. The lure of the sun and crisp/cool/warm early September days are distracting me.

Yeah, that's right. I'm blaming God.

Step aside, the lightning bolt should be arriving any second now.

September 1, 2009

And now, the garden beckons...

Pink

2009-09-01T21:15:00.004-04:00

Sad news from two friends in the last few days has made me want to seek out bright, cheerful, happy things - like a very, very pink square. Not so that I can pretend that their sorrow doesn't exist or doesn't matter, but so that I can remind myself that there is still beauty in a world that often seems so cruel and so ruthlessly unfair.

So pink it is.

And my sincere sympathy too.

August 31, 2009

It is, of course, possible to feel sad when you're looking at pink. But I still think it helps.

The lost weekend

2009-08-31T16:59:00.007-04:00

And, uh, the lost last Thursday and Friday too...

August 27 - 30, 2009

Time flies when you're having fun!

Life's like that

2009-08-26T18:28:00.007-04:00

You'd think that all the practice from the 200 & some-odd squares I've hooked this year - along with the several years of crochet experience that fueled the odyssey in the first place - would mean that my mistakes would be few and far between. And small. And easy to recognize right off the bat before much damage was done or time wasted.

You'd think that, but you'd be wrong.

Apparently practice doesn't make perfect. It makes you better, but never perfect.

Like so many of those cliches invented to make life appear neat & tidy & easy as pie, this one is a lie. You know, kind of like the, time heals all wounds one, which is also a pile of crap.

Why the disgruntlement? Because tonight - or tomorrow, or whatever day I can actually bring myself to do it - I'm going to have to rip out an entire shawl and start all over again.

So close to the end I can taste it.

Except that it tastes off. Like spoiled milk. Because I just figured out that I made a huge mistake right at the start that has affected the entire piece.

And it explains why it looks more like a long pointy Superman cape than a dainty, short shawl.

Siiiiiigh.

But I did do a couple of things right this week. Today's square and yesterday's. Both, as far as I can tell, absolutely perfect.

Just don't look too close...

August 25 & 26, 2009

A penny saved is a penny earned? What?!

No it isn't. A penny saved is a penny saved.

Harrumph.

It's not easy being green

2009-08-25T23:16:00.004-04:00

Actually, it's much easier than you'd think. Especially if you're too lazy to go upstairs to get a different colour of yarn and instead opt to use the exact same kind you used the day before.

So, green it is.

Again.

August 24, 2009

They don't call them the lazy days of summer for nuthin', I suppose.

Bad movies and a broken head

2009-08-24T17:40:00.005-04:00

I made this cranberry red motif on Friday night while we watched Paul Blart: Mall Cop.

It wasn't worth it.

The movie, I mean. I quite like the motif.

And I especially love the comically large ball of Phentex yarn I used in its creation. It makes me feel small - like I've shrunk down to the size of a tiny little crochet-loving waif who couldn't possibly weigh more than 90 pounds.

Blah ha.

August 21, 2009

$7.99 for a billion yards of yarn. Good deal.

And then there's Sunday.

Saturday I had massive sinus issues (dizziness, headaches and nausea) which I initially thought was a possible brain tumor, but eventually conceded was more likely the barometric pressure screwing with the inner workings of my (clearly) already fragile head.

So no crochet on Saturday.

But this frilly green circle on Sunday.

August 23, 2009

It's a total coincidence that I chose a colour some might describe as neon snot green. It really is.

Silly life...

2009-08-20T15:51:00.006-04:00

...getting in the way of my crocheting!

But everyone knows you can't keep a good hooker down.

Or something that sounds far less filthy and sordid...

August 18, 19 & 20, 2009

Mmmm, Neapolitan ice cream colours. Yum!!!

I would say it was a loaves and fishes kind of thing, but I don't want to be struck by lightning.

2009-08-17T22:10:00.005-04:00

Today it's actually less about the square and more about the yarn I used to make it. I had just enough. Emphasis on just. Seriously - when I hooked the very last stitch I had about 12" of yarn leftover.

A very close call indeed.

It was touch and go as I nervously monitored the dwindling scrap of denim-coloured Astra slowly disappearing with each stitch, but I somehow managed to eke out an entire square from the little scrap.

Magic, I tell you! Magic!

August 17, 2009

If only my photography skills were magic too. You can't tell that the four petals in the centre of the square are both rounded and somewhat dimensional. Alas.

Hottt

2009-08-16T23:12:00.006-04:00

It's hotter than a [your colloquialism goes here].

With the humidex I'm sure it had to be pushing 40C today. (In case you're not a celsius type, that's just north of 100F, which is wayyyyyyy too hot for me. Melting hot. Sticky hot. Stinky hot. And definitely whiny hot.)

Luckily a couch, air conditioning, and yarn can completely redeem a disgusting too-hot day like today. And they did. As they did yesterday and Friday too.

August 16, 2009

August 15, 2009

August 14, 2009

Sadly, the days of running through the sprinkler are long gone. I like my neighbours too much to subject them to that...

Fiesta and carnage

2009-08-13T22:26:00.004-04:00

The cheer radiating from this bright, happy little circle motif belies the anguish I felt midway through its creation when My Beloved tapped on the window to tell me that our gorgeous beet crop had been decimated by voles.

All they left us were the tiny ones. The ones you usually see pickled. Or, perhaps, laughed at and discarded. All the fat, luscious, once gorgeous ones were eaten into comical half moons of cruel vole-y destruction.

Between the mice, slugs and voles, we're almost ready to raise the white flag.

Luckily no critters seem to like zucchini. They can (and have - I'm not kidding) grow baby-sized in our garden. Over six pounds and 19" long.

It's been a bit of a weird gardening season.

Thank God for crochet.

August 13, 2009

Yarn. It's so delightfully predictable.

Inedible, but predictable.

'n such

2009-08-12T22:34:00.002-04:00

I would like to win the $9 million 6/49 jackpot tonight.

And also, I crocheted this square.

August 12, 2009

It's just one of those days where the less I say, the better.

All laughed out

2009-08-10T22:59:00.003-04:00

Today's square was made during the viewing of Valmont, a 1989 Colin Firth flick made even more entertaining by adding a sibling, a high school friend, nachos, brownies and wine to the mix.

Try it. You'll like it.

August 10, 2009

If Colin only knew...

Sunday's square...

2009-08-10T08:21:00.003-04:00

I actually did complete this square last night and was all set to shoot it and blog away, but then the mother of all storms rolled into the greater Toronto area (serious armageddon stuff - I'm not kidding) and I was afraid of frying my computer. So I put the yarn away, collected up my kitty cats and slunk into bed instead.

It's bright and sunny today - and I can't see any damage in our area - so all's well that ends well, it would seem.

And without further ado, here's yesterday's square - another of the afghan blocks from It's Great to Give.

I generally love a good thunder boomer, but last night's light and sound extravaganza really was a little over the top. Even for me...

Cozy! Cozy! Cozy!

2009-08-08T13:32:00.004-04:00

I bought a little half knitting, half crochet book published by Red Heart (even though my knitting isn't even passably fair) because it had some wonderful, simple items in it that just happened to tickle my fancy. It's Great to Give ~ Knit and Crochet Ideas, is where yesterday's and today's squares came from.

All three are from an afghan pattern that calls for both knitted and crocheted squares, 49 in total.

Designed, I suppose, to bring the two camps together in one yarny love fest of afghany goodness.

If only I could knit.

August 8 & August 5, 2009

Mmmm Autumn blankies and sweaters. I can almost taste them!

And...

2009-08-07T18:52:00.004-04:00

...because once again Shinny asked so nicely (and flatters me regularly), here's a group shot of some of the squares I took at the beginning of July. These patterns are all from Jan Eaton's 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws and Afghans, and so they're roughly the same size. For the most part.

In fact, she planned it that way. They're all meant to be mixed and matched (provided, of course, you are careful with your colour choices).

She's very clever, that Jan Eaton.

Lucy, a.k.a "Old Kitty", can NEVER resist yarny goodness laid out on the floor. And I kind of don't blame her, really.

Floozy

2009-08-07T18:24:00.006-04:00

I remember once reading an article about the history of crochet that said it was the poor man's (or woman's) answer to lace. Cheaper and faster to make than its high-falootin'cousin, but not as delicate or as sought after.

When I hook patterns like the one I used for toady's square, I can totally see crochet's relation, albeit distant, to lace. It's not as fine, of course, but the family resemblance is definitely there.

And I have to say, it's so pretty it doesn't bother me one bit that I'm a cheap hooker.

August 7, 2009

The same article suggested that it's possible that early crocheters were paid so poorly that they had to resort to prostitution to make ends meet.

I'm not making this up.

I swear.

Little art big art

2009-08-06T21:41:00.004-04:00

After nearly 8 full months into the crochet odyssey, I've become accustomed to thinking of the daily squares and motifs as tiny little pieces of yarny art. Singular. Individual. Free-standing, as it were.

So wrapped up in choosing colours and patterns for each individual creation, I forget that they could, hypothetically, be part of something much larger. Or, at least, something else.

It makes me look at the pieces very differently when I stop and think of them as parts of a larger whole; a blanket, a pillow, an embellishment on a garment.

I'm glad I see them for what they are all on their own. But it's pretty exciting to think of what else they could be.

Eventually.

August 6, 2009

Who knows what this will become...

Ketchup

2009-08-04T19:45:00.005-04:00

July 29, 30 & August 1, 2, 3, 2009

Better late than never, I suppose...

Sleeeeepy

2009-07-31T23:59:00.000-04:00

But I have energy enough to say that this motif totally takes me back to grade 5 when I desperately wanted and got a pair of pink and purple Adidas running shoes.

Or maybe they were Adidas-esque running shoes. Faux-didas, if you will. That's quite possible given the economic climate at the ol' homestead in the 70s.

Whatever the case, they were pink and purple and I adored them. Which is why to this day I still get a little thrill when I see those two colours paired closely together.

July 31, 2009

I also had an Adidas bag. I kind of hated it, but feeling sooooo cool carrying one around kind of made up for it.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

2009-07-29T20:32:00.006-04:00

...uh, well, Christmas.

And I know it's early for that. I do. But I'm all about listening to the spirit and going where it moves me. Creatively speaking, anyway. I can't help it if has moved me straight into the Christmas season in the middle of July. S'not my fault.

And so consequently the last few days have been about snowflakes and Christmas and all things frosty.

I was partly spurred on by my desire to attempt the last snowflake pattern again, only this time using proper crochet thread.

Crocheting with crochet thread is not for the faint of heart, it turns out. It's tiny. It's almost like crocheting with really thick hair and a safety pin, but once you get used to the feel of the web-like thread and the impossibly tiny hook, it's really no different than any other kind of hooking.

As long as your eyes hold out all the way to the end of the project, of course. And thank God I've attempted this before 40. My eyesight is already waning, so who knows how long I'll be able to hook with such wispy little tools.

Lord, that's depressing. But, also, that's life.

July 27, 2009

If you look closely you'll be able to see that this snowflake, the same pattern as the one I made on Sunday, is definitely finer and daintier.

And because it's just not Christmas without a little greenery, here's a wreath photo frame.

Well, that's what it's supposed to be. I imagine stiffener is supposed to be involved here, as is using the correct type of yarn/thread, but I opted for this pale green Moda Dea Beadnik, complete with seed beads and shot through with a sparkly little thread you probably can't see in this photo.

So my wreath is larger than the pattern intends, but still frame-size. And, I think, quite pretty all on its own.

July 28, 2009

Boy, I could go for a Terry's Chocolate Orange right about now. A stocking-toe staple in our house.

Snowstorm in July

2009-07-26T23:59:00.000-04:00

I recently rediscovered a Leisure Arts Christmas crochet booklet I bought years ago, and I'm utterly enchanted by it. Snowflakes, angels, tree ornaments, runners, stars - you name it, it's in there. All done is crisp white crochet cotton.

Yum.

I have yet to experiment with authentic, uber-fine crochet cotton - the yarn I used for this motif is Patons Grace, which is very delicate, but not as fine as crochet cotton - but so far I'm pleased with the results.

There's no "wrong" in hooking when you make your own rules.

July 26, 2009

This would make a pretty present topper, but I can also see a string of these tumbling across a wintry window pane...

Big 'n little

2009-07-25T23:59:00.001-04:00

I thought it would be interesting to crochet the same motif using different weights of yarn.

So I did.

The sage green motif is hooked in a worsted weight yarn (which shall remain nameless because it's a pretty crappy, cheap sort of yarn), and the smaller white one is worked in Patons Grace, which is a lovely, delicate cotton.

No bias here. None at all.

July 23 & July 25, 2009

I still like the sage green one - the cheap, crappy yarn isn't a total waste - but I know there's much yummier yarn out there. Much yummier indeed.

A flower for my Mom

2009-07-24T23:59:00.000-04:00

My Mom celebrated her 69th birthday today (which still has me in shock since I think I have her stalled somewhere around 45), and so I crocheted this flowery motif in her honour.

It is nowhere near as beautiful or as sweet as she is, but it'll just have to do.

July 24, 2009

I love you, Mom. Happy, happy, happy birthday!

Frosty...

2009-07-22T21:24:00.003-04:00

Frosty and a little messy.

I clearly need to invest in some fabric stiffener before I make any more snowflakes. There's nothing more pathetic than a floppy snowflake.

Unless it's a billion of them stacking up on my driveway...

July 22, 2009

The only person I know who likes to shovel snow is my Mom.

Yeah, I know. Insane.

Seeing red

2009-07-21T23:09:00.003-04:00

I always find it amusing when I use the wrong weight of yarn for a motif. I mean, the wrong weight for the project for which the motif was intended.

In this case, it was a sweater. This motif, along with shaping half motifs for the neck and waistband, was the main part of a lacy summer pullover pattern I found in the most recent issue of a new crochet magazine from the UK whose name escapes me (I could go downstairs and check, but right now I'm entirely too lazy for that much activity. Stairs? Seriously?).

Anyway, the point is, when I used Red Heart Super Saver instead of the Sirdar baby DK the pattern called for, I created a motif whose scale is so off that the sweater, if I was to make it, would fit a Sumo wrestler. With room to spare.

But since I'm only making the one motif and have no intention of making a lacy floral sweater for a giant, it's all good.

July 21, 2009

I can't get the picture of a lace-clad Sumo wrestler out of my head now. Can you?

All you need is love

2009-07-20T22:03:00.006-04:00

My Beloved turned 40 last week. It's a hard number for a lot of reasons, but even more so, I think, when you've faced the kind of challenges and losses that we have. Men with far fewer struggles have wigged out far more than he did upon reaching the big 4-0.

In truth, he was just a little quiet. A little contemplative. And yeah, a little sad.

And I totally get that. I'm not there yet, but I'm following closely behind (thisclosebehind, as a matter of fact). And I know all too well that life hasn't brought us to the place either of us thought we'd be in right now.

We were almost there. Almost. Once upon a time.

But we're here instead, in this other place that we're still trying to get used to. And accept.

But we're here together. And I love him more now than I ever have, even when he's a little sad and a little quiet. And a little wigged out at turning 40.

Which all has absolutely nothing to do with Saturday and Sunday's motifs. It just needed to be said, I thought.

So I did.

July 18, 2009

This, done in the right weight of crochet cotton, is an earring. Or a doily, if you use the yarn I did.

July 19, 2009

Sort of peacock-y, I think.

Don't tell anyone, but I totally did this square incorrectly. It should have a wave pattern, but I changed yarn colours too soon. And mine looks peacock-y instead.

Hanging on by a strand of yarn

2009-07-18T21:57:00.006-04:00

This has been one hell of a week; ups and downs like a proverbial roller coaster. And I'm absolutely spent trying to cope with the happy and sad, the certainty and uncertainty, the light and dark.

Thank god for wine and yarn. And fuzzy little kittens. And fuzzy old cats, too. And people that love me.

Yeah, especially them.

July 16, 2009

Wobbly and bobbly. Kind of like me. Only a little more organized and mathematically correct than I am, I'm afraid.

July 17, 2009

Variations on a theme. God love the Granny square, in all its incarnations.

No mean feat, this sort of multi-tasking

2009-07-15T22:34:00.005-04:00

I managed to complete this square while refereeing multiple cat squabbles, watching TV and drinking tea.

At least I think they're cat squabbles. It's entirely possible that old kitty is a bit of a drama queen and just makes a grand, hissy show of playtime, getting baby kitty in trouble in the process.

So hard to know. But for the sake of old kitty (who, at 13, is equivalent to 68 in human years), I have to err on the side of caution and break up the squabbles to give her a little rest every now and then.

Which, of course, totally interrupts crochet time.

But I was the one who so desperately wanted baby kitty, so I shall shuttie.

And referee and crochet and watch TV and drink tea.

July 15, 2009

Any mistakes and/or imperfections we shall, of course, blame on the kitties.

I've been a bad blogger...

2009-07-15T13:04:00.004-04:00

...but a good hooker!

Having five missing squares hanging over my head and not enough time to catch up was bugging me, so I found a small, simple flower pattern and made a whole little bouquet of make-up flowers.

I know it's probably sort of cheating, but since I make up the rules in these here parts, I'm going to give myself a pardon. And a pat on the back for finally, finally, finally catching up!

July 10, 11, 12 and 13 plus the missing 5 motifs

Oh, and July 9...

It's definitely one of those "looks better in real life" type motifs.

Two fer

2009-07-09T17:00:00.007-04:00

So here's Jan Eaton's Alhambra, which I think must be Spanish for "slightly misshapen and a little lumpy".

Because it couldn't be my fault that it's weird looking. Noooooo.

July 8, 2009

And, to complete the day's weirdness, here's an odd little flower from Suzann Thompson's Crochet Bouquet book.

I say "odd" because of the colours I've used, really. The samples in the book were much less strange. But I love this yarn (I used it for a square very early on in the Odyssey) and thought it was time to bring it out again.

Regardless of it's suitability, apparently.

July 6, 2009
(because I missed the 6th, which means now I'm officially only 5 behind again, as long as I actually complete another square today...)

Hopefully the neon of the flower distracts from the messiness of the square...

Now, as for the Canadian flag pattern, it's pretty simple:

I used medium/worsted weight yarn and a size H/8 hook.

I can't actually remember how many stitches I chained to start, but I can tell you the rows are roughly 4.5 inches long. Each red section is 2.5 inches wide and the white section is almost 4 inches (can you tell I made this up? Could I possibly be more inaccurate?).

The entire flag is just shy of 9 inches wide, and the leaf is embroidered with the same red yarn as I used for the red sections of the flag. I just eyeballed it.

I hope this helps! I think the purse idea is fabulous, willet5, and I'd love to see samples! Poke. Poke. Poke.

Christmas in July

2009-07-07T22:54:00.007-04:00

I guess it was all the Halloween talk a few days ago, because I've now motored all the way through November and have arrived at Christmas' front door with my red, white and green square.

It could also be the fact that the Hallmark Keepsake Ornament Premiere is this weekend and I'm a little excited, having wrangled an invitation to an exclusive ornament club members only shin-dig first thing Saturday morning - before the store even opens!

Shut up. It could be worse. At least I'm not on crack.

July 7, 2009

The bad news is that having missed Sunday and yesterday, I'm now back up to 6 missing motifs. All good intentions, gone.

Le sigh.

P.S. For the sweet person who asked about the Canadian Flag square, I'll post the instructions tomorrow!

Colourless. Mostly.

2009-07-04T20:28:00.007-04:00

I found some cheap, white acrylic yarn in my stash the other day, and for some reason I just can't stop using it. It was one of those huge bargain balls that you normally save for crafty-type projects that don't require quality yarn. But the thing is, for a cheap yarn it's remarkably soft and appealing.

Maybe it's because white is the trendy new garden shade this year and I've been subliminally influenced by its snowy charms. Or maybe it's because I'm too lazy to dig for a new colour and there's still soooo much left in the big bargain ball. Or maybe a little of both.

White is such a clean slate colour. I think that's part of its appeal too. It doesn't belong to any season or celebration - it's just pure and clean, with a zen-like soothing power.

And anything that soothes me is worth its weight in gold.

July 2, 2009

"Seville", another Jan Eaton design.

July 3, 2009

This square is from an afghan pattern that I found in one of my Mom's old "How-to-crochet" books. And when I say, "old", I mean it. I'm thinking we're about the same age, the book and I. Circa 1970.

July 4, 2009

This little flower is actually part of a Christmas afghan (the snowflake portion) which I'll probably never get around to making. Although one never knows. Technically I've started, right?

Bonus motif

Okay, not really a bonus - more of a catch up really. Now I'm only short 5. Which is not bad after more than 6 months. If I do say so myself.

And I do.

The patriot

2009-07-02T23:40:00.004-04:00

I'm not really a flag waver, per say. I think I'm like most Canadians in that respect. I love my country for its freedoms and beauty and peace-loving nature, but I'm quiet about my adoration.

Except on Canada Day when I plant a small flag in one of our hanging baskets or window boxes and crochet stuff like this:

July 1, 2009

Happy 142nd birthday you gorgeous old girl, you.

Trick or treat!

2009-07-01T11:14:00.004-04:00

As I predicted, Tuesday's project also came from Jan Eaton's 200 Squares book. This time in the form of a gothic square.

The word gothic has me skipping all the way through summer's long weekends, past September and into October where Halloween is waiting for me. Halloween, with with its deep orange yarns and candy corn stripes and warm, woolly afghans.

And chocolate. That too.

June 30, 2009

But first, I suppose I should give at least give a little bit of attention to Canada Day...

High praise

2009-06-30T09:02:00.004-04:00

I absolutely can't get enough of Jan Eaton's 200 Crochet Blocks book. Seriously, it's like crack.

Okay, I've never actually done crack, but I have done a lot of chocolate. So let's just say that Jan Eaton's book is like chocolate. The absolute very best kind that you want to keep eating until you're sick - and even at that you only take the smallest possible break from the gorging.

I'm lured in by the colours, really. The patterns themselves are simple and straightforward - and in some cases similar both to each other and to patterns I've seen in other books by other people - but the way she presents each square, linking them to others that she feels they pair well with, is magical.

It's eye candy. The whole book from beginning to end. Even when I opt not to use her colour suggestions and go with my own, I'm still always pleased with the results.

Magic, I tell you.

And that's where Sunday and Monday's squares came from. And probably today's too, but it's still hidden within the pages waiting to be chosen.

June 28, 2009

June 29, 2009

Magic.

Friday and Saturday. On Sunday

2009-06-28T20:30:00.004-04:00

Saturday:

- Kitten play
- Breakfast
- Mediate scuffles between kitten and grown-up cat
- Kitten play
- Strawberry hunting (at farm #1)
- Strawberry hunting (at farm #2)
- Dinner foraging (at grocery store)
- Kitten play
- Lunch
- Kitten play
- Gardening
- Kitten play
- Crochet
- Kitten play
- Dinner
- Kitten play
- Crochet
- Mary Tyler Moore, 2 episodes from Season 3
- Crochet
- Part of really bad Michael Jackson biopic
- Sleeeeep.

Sunday:

- Kitten play
- Breakfast
- Strawberry jam making
- Mass
- Foraging (at grocery store for items forgotten there yesterday)
- Lunch
- Kitten play
- Strawberry bread making
- Kitten play
- Crochet
- Confessions of a Shopaholic (not worth the eye strain)
- Kitten play
- Dinner
- Garden inspection

See? Not so much time for crochet. Too much kitten and strawberry action, I'm afraid. But I did make up for Friday and Saturday's missing motifs in between playing with Dibley.

Sadly, neither motif photographed as nicely as I'd like. Pastels end up so washed out, which irritates me no end. Although apparently not enough for me to come up with a solution.

In real life the blue is a lovely robin's egg and the green is a deep mint.

Trust me. Strawberry & kittens lovers almost never lie.

Friday June 26, 2009

Saturday June 27, 2009

I really wish I hadn't used up ALL the strawberries. A daiquiri would go down ever so nicely right about now...

A strange kind of day

2009-06-26T09:26:00.003-04:00

Because yesterday it was exactly 6 months until Christmas (and I'll find any excuse to celebrate virtually anything I possibly can), I decided to work on a square with a Christmas motif.

But it's a bit of a laborious pattern, and I quickly realized I might not have the time (or patience) to get it done in time for photography and blogging. But I kept plugging along, a backup plan in mind should time run too short.

And then, while flipping mindlessly through the channels after dinner, My Beloved stopped on CNN. Its "BREAKING NEWS" banner screamed from the top of the screen as they reported the strange news that Michael Jackson had just died after suffering sudden cardiac arrest.

And it blew us both away, leaving us sitting on the couch utterly gobsmacked, mouths agape, chins on the floor, feeling the 80s slip further away with each passing second.

All good intentions for a happy little Christmas square flew right out the window.

So instead, I quickly whipped up this deep pink shell sampler while sitting in bed later in the evening. I decided not to worry about not getting it photographed and posted, opting to cuddle up between my old kitty and My Beloved and go to sleep.

June 25, 2009

Life is too short not to cuddle while you can.

Come again soon!

2009-06-24T21:22:00.005-04:00

Because My Beloved is working late and I'm bored (and also because I'm a needy attention whore who's curious like a cat), I was checking out the blog's stat counter this evening to see who came from where, and just exactly how they got here.

To my surprise, the location from which I get the third greatest number of hits (behind the US and Canada) is The Republic of Moldova. It's a pretty little principality nestled between Romania and the Ukraine in central Europe. And someone there likes to crochet. Or at the very least likes to read about it.

Which tickles me immensely.

And so, for whoever it is out there in Moldova regularly checking out this Canadian girl's strange little daily adventures in yarn, this square's for you:

June 24, 2009

Thanks for stopping by!

Not gaining ground...

2009-06-23T23:59:00.001-04:00

...but not losing any either!

I was going to try to make up for lost hooking today, but only managed to complete this briar rose square, another design from Jan Eaton's fabulous tome. There was just too much kitten wrangling going on to attempt much more that this, I'm afraid.

He likes yarn. And my older cat's tail. And hidden dusty places. And just generally tearing up the joint.

And I'm in love.

June 23, 2009

And since you asked so nicely, Shinny...

Dibley, 8.5 weeks.

So behind...

2009-06-22T23:50:00.004-04:00

Ugh, seriously, I think I'm 6 squares behind now. Apparently spring, garden chores and a new kitten will do that to a well-meaning crocheter.

But I did manage to hook one of Jan Eaton's larger squares (from her 200 blocks book) tonight, so there's still hope.

I will catch up. I will. I will.

And now I'm off to kitten wrangle and call it a night.

Friday!!!

2009-06-19T17:02:00.004-04:00

...and only one more sleep until kitten comes home! YAY!!!

But since this blog is about a crochet odyssey and not about my expanding home zoo, I shall attempt to reign myself in and talk yarn.

Variegated blue yarn, to be exact, which seems to work fairly well with this pattern. And that's not something I can say about all variegated yarn (browsing through the archives will prove this. In spades.). I think the structural simplicity of the pattern is what makes the changing colours work.

Blue. Did you know I have no idea if my new kitten is pink or blue? There seems to be some confusion which will need to be cleared up at the vet tomorrow. And I'm sure kitten will be happy because it will mean an end to people staring at his/her nether regions.

June 19, 2009

Yarn and kittens. Could life be sweeter?

Can hardly concentrate

2009-06-18T23:59:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited about the new furry addition to the family coming home on Saturday morning that I can hardly concentrate on (or talk about) anything else.

But I did manage to settle myself down long enough to crochet this purple circle-in-a-square from 300 Classic Blocks for Crochet Projects. I almost stopped when it was just a circle (it was very pleasing at that point) but half-finished things bother me so I went all the way.

And lo and behold, it's pretty nice this way too.

June 18, 2009

The kitten's name is Dibley.

Observation deck

2009-06-17T21:36:00.003-04:00

This looks a little like a Ferris wheel to me.

And that's all I have to say about that.

June 17, 2009

P.S. I used self-striping yarn. I'm not THAT sloppy with my colour changes...

Now I'm short three...

2009-06-15T23:33:00.002-04:00

I really had no idea it would be this hard to keep up during spring. I had no idea the lure of the garden (as well as the occasional drudgery of its accompanying tasks) would have such an adverse effect on my ability to crochet a square a day.

Add to that a few commissioned crochet projects I've been trying to complete and preparation for bringing home a new kitten this coming weekend, and I'm totally behind the 8 ball.

But I'll make it up. I will.

Let's just hope the kitten doesn't like yarn.

Oy...

June 15, 2009

At least I was able to make time for this!

Still stuck in the 70s...

2009-06-13T23:58:00.003-04:00

Look! Another decal-esque motif, but this time with little bobbles between the petals.

Can't get enough of the 70s...

June 13, 2009

And on that note, I'm off to watch Donnie & Marie while I sew rainbow patches on my jeans.

Flashback

2009-06-11T22:26:00.003-04:00

Today's motif totally looks like a bathtub decal, circa 1973 or so.

I remember my Mom putting a garden of the rubbery little flowers on the bottom our denim-blue tub (which was right beside the denim-blue toilet - God love an era that dyed bathroom fixtures psychedelic colours just for fun) to prevent slips.

The decals echoed the huge purple and white flowers on the shower curtain and window coverings, which in turn matched the flowery blue and white towels in our 1973 bathroom.

I kid you not.

Oh my sweet Lord, I miss the 70s in the absolute worst way.

Being able to recreate a tiny little reminder of that magical (and flowery) decade while sitting on my couch all the way over here in 2009 is utterly priceless.

June 11, 2009

The hairstyles of the 70s. Yeah, those were priceless too.

Close but no cigar

2009-06-10T21:24:00.004-04:00

I'm not sure what happened here. The pattern is correct, the hook is the right size, the tension is fine, but something's still clearly very wrong because this is supposed to be laying flat, not all puffed up in the middle.

I secretly kind of like the fact that it's dimensional, but I'm not really sure what to do with a partially puffy flower.

June 10, 2009

Maybe I should look for a partially puffy gardener to give it to.

As luck would have it, I missed yesterday so I can kill two birds with one stone today. First, I can make up the missing motif, and secondly I can redeem myself by demonstrating that I can crochet un-puffy motifs when I put my mind to it.

June 9, 2009

My only mistake here was taking the photo at night. Mint green washes out very easily at dusk, apparently. But at least it's laying flat.

I've been hooking...

2009-06-08T22:25:00.004-04:00

...I just haven't been blogging about it.

Here, I can prove it:

June 6, 2009

June 7, 2009

June 8, 2009

See? Told you.

Moment to moment

2009-06-05T23:59:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I'm amazed at the way a pattern magically transforms itself into a really beautiful little piece of art right before my eyes. And my fingers.

Maybe I'm a simpleton, but I don't always pay close enough attention to a pattern to truly "get" how it's going to go from the words and abbreviations on the page to the completed motif I see pictured in the book.

I don't always ready ahead, is what I'm trying to say. So each new round generates an "ah-ha!" moment as I sloooowly discover the way the block is being built.

Which is exactly what happened with this little star motif.

I knew what it was going to look like before I started - I chose the pattern based on the picture in the book, after all. And yet somehow it still seemed to spin and tumble from my fingers in a way that surprised and delighted me at every turn.

This is also the way I watch movies. I'm only critical after the fact, dissecting plot lines, critiquing performances, giving thumbs up or down on my way out of the theatre. While I'm watching the movie, I'm very much in the moment - not thinking too much about what might happen next, no matter how obvious the next twist might be.

But I don't think in the moment is always a bad place to be. I think entirely too much (and not always constructively), so when I find activities that keep me good and rooted in the present, enjoying each tick of the clock without anticipating the next, I fall into them like a great fluffy bed. And relax.

June 5, 2009

Now if only I could find a job where I'm paid to sit around watching movies and crocheting...

I can explain...

2009-06-04T23:05:00.003-04:00

I missed a day. And I still haven't fully caught up from the last time I missed a few days. As a matter of fact, I'm now short two squares.

But at least I'm keeping track, right?

Knowing you have a problem is half the battle, they always say. My problem is two missing squares, and I promise to rectify the situation. Soon. Well, sooner or later, anyway.

My excuse, because of course I do have one, is that I've been trying to finish up a special order (a crocheted monkey for a little birthday girl), and I used my hooking time yesterday for that instead of a square.

See? Totally legitimate.

The good news is that the monkey is finally completed. But, uh the lamb who's next in the queue needs my attention now.

There's always something.

Thank goodness...

June 4, 2009

At least there was time for this flowery green square today between all my monkeying around.

A busy day...

2009-06-02T23:59:00.000-04:00

...so a simple square.

It's always so cozy to sneak back to a familiar pattern like the granny square. I don't have to think about anything except what colours I want to use.

And sometimes the less thinking, the better.

Seriously. This is a lesson I've learned in spades.

June 2, 2009

Nothing wrong with relying on a little granny square help every now and then. Nothing at all.

Triumphant return

2009-06-01T22:43:00.004-04:00

In honour of my Sibling's return from a fabulous 14-day European vacation yesterday (because if the hour of home video we watched last night is any indication, it was an incredible trip indeed!), I give you Lady Catherine, from Jan Eaton's 200 Crochet Blocks.

Really, it should be Catherine with a "K", but we'll forgive Ms. Eaton for not knowing the correct spelling of my sister's name.

Everyone makes mistakes.

May 31, 2009

Welcome home, Lady K! oxox

Because no one came home from anywhere special today and it was just a very ordinary (and party rainy) Monday, I also give you this simple purple square.

June 1, 2009

Mondays are just kind of like that, aren't they?

Well whaddaya know!

2009-05-30T19:36:00.004-04:00

I managed to get today's motif crocheted, shot AND posted today. Before dark, even.

Will wonders never cease?

I did, however, have to employ some photographic trickery to get the pattern to show up properly. Jewel tone variegated yarn makes the "Sunray" pattern virtually disappear, it seems. So that accounts for the regular shot and the second, floating in mid-air and also magically backlit, shot.

Because I'm nothing if not a stickler for clarity.

May 30, 2009

Jan Eaton, I heart your squares.

I have a vague sort of plan for these - the ones from her 200 Crochet Blocks book. They all turn out roughly the same size when I used the same brand of yarn (Bernat Satin), so I'm thinking that by the end of this experiment I might have enough of them to cobble together a pretty interesting "crazy quilt", and still have plenty of other motifs leftover for other uses.

Other totally-as-of-yet-unimagined uses. Which is, of course, half the fun.

This is getting to be a habit...

2009-05-30T16:15:00.004-04:00

I swear I had this square finished yesterday. Early, in fact. I could easily have shot it and blogged about it before I went to bed, but I got distracted. Again.

I have, it would appear, a brain roughly the size of a gnat.

Anyway, here's yesterday's "Victorian Lace", done in a yummy new variegated Bernat Satin I picked up the other day.

May 29, 2009

Care to lay any bets on whether or not today's square actually makes it up before midnight?

The 50s...

2009-05-28T23:57:00.003-04:00

This square reminds me of the 1950s. Well, maybe "reminds" isn't the correct word because I wasn't born until 1970. So let's just say that it reminds me of my grandparents' house. Lots of brown, lots of green - lodged firmly in the 50s and happy as clams, they were.

Okay, they did also delve briefly into shag carpeting in the 70s, but for the most part it was pretty obvious that their glory days were from the decade of poodle skirts and cabinet televisions.

The lumpy brown couch I was banished to when my sibling and I stayed over and got giggly in the big, comfy double bed we'd started out in was the same shade of brown as the yarn I chose today. And the green in the middle of the square? We have one of the funky, vintage swivel chairs that once lived in my Grandma and Grandpa's pretty little sun room, and it happens to match the green in my square almost exactly.

And all this probably accounts for the pleasure I got from making this square, and the way I couldn't stop looking at it when I was done.

May 28, 2009

There's nothing like a little colour therapy.

Ooops...

2009-05-28T09:00:00.003-04:00

I hurried to finish this Baltic Square last night (another beautiful Jan Eaton creation), shot it, then got onto the computer and promptly forgot to blog about it.

The Internets distracted me with all manner of shiny objects, virtual style.

Ah well. Better late than never.

May 27, 2009

If anyone knows why this might be called a "Baltic" square, let me know. I'm curious and couldn't find any answers myself...

The blues

2009-05-26T23:12:00.004-04:00

I've been working all day to banish a horrible dream from my head and shake the lingering ickies that have been clinging to me like a bad stink since the moment I threw off my sheets this morning.

It's slowly getting better, but it's almost bedtime I'm reallllly hoping that I won't end up being subjected to a sequel tonight.

Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts.

Or any thoughts, really.

Like, for instance, why is it so impossible to get navy blue yarn to photograph properly? Sometimes it looks black, sometimes it looks gray, sometimes it looks vaguely blue if you squint, but it never, ever looks like it does in real life.

Which is annoying.

Really, today's square is so much prettier in real life when you can actually see the deep navy blue playing off the lovely, soft lavender.

But this photo will just have to do...

May 26, 2009

Okay. Sweet dreams, everyone.

Fingers crossed...

Perspective

2009-05-25T22:43:00.003-04:00

Sometimes I think I should start putting a penny into my shots so it's clearer just how big or how small each day's motif is.

I suppose it really doesn't matter, but every once in a while it makes me twitchy knowing that it's impossible to tell if a motif is coaster sized or dinner plate sized.

For what it's worth, today's is kind of large salad plate sized.

Betcha can't tell though...

May 25, 2009

Size shouldn't, but somehow does, matter. In crochet, anyway.

Weekend

2009-05-24T11:22:00.003-04:00

Busy outside. Busy inside. Busy with family. Busy, busy, busy.

But never too busy to crochet, of course.

May 23, 2009

May 24, 2009

This weekend's motifs brought to you by Linda P. Schapper's 300 Classic Blocks for Crochet Projects.

Big day, long week, quiet night

2009-05-22T22:11:00.004-04:00

I've been hardcore gardening or cleaning all week, it seems. And I'm sore and tired, in that good way you get when you've been working hard and accomplishing a lot.

So an evening with Cary Grant, a fire (it got chilly tonight), My Beloved, and some yarn was a perfectly quiet and cozy way to wrap up the busy week.

May 22, 2009

This is the same blue yarn I used for the Dahlia square. I'm always amazed at the difference taking photographs at night versus during the day makes.

Amazed and annoyed.

P.S. I've not been giving credit where it's due. The last few motifs have been from Jan Eaton's 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws and Afghans.