oh, i'm ready for it, come on bring it

what's that?! can it be?....no really is it? why, yes, yes it is! 'knuck, the first' is complete!!

ta da! take that, you knaughty knuck! where's the second, you ask? humph! you ask too many questions! the second...well, it's complete in my head, isn't that enough? i seem to have a case of 'second knuck syndrome'..oh, the shame of it all....it will get done eventually, and maybe even adorned in some astonishing, spectacular way...or not. who knows...for now i'm happy with knuck the first...and i learned a valuable lesson.....ahem: 'when using a sewn cast/bind off--which was another first for me--, leave a LONG (ie: veryveryvery long) tail for sewing'...otherwise you will be most unhappy and bark obscene words about the room until the air is blue and then you have have to 'somehow' tie a knot (gasp)--wishing the yarn tail was longer just doesn't work, believe me--and work in even more ends than this project already has....do i sound bitter? i also think i managed to join the thumb backwards or sidewards or some kind of wards, but it's done...and i think this graduates me to intermediate knitter at the very least...not that it matters.

the night of a thousand dishcloths

well okay, not a thousand....not even a hundred...more like 15 or 20, but how impressive would that sound?! plus, i didn't make them all in one night...that would just be impossible...not to mention downright silly.

i like making dishcloths...there, i said it. i know some people think that is so lame...but one person's lame is another person's fun and/or profit--ooh i can think of so many sarcastic jokes to put in this space--so we shouldn't judge...besides, there are people, and i'm not one of them, that make these little beauties and then actually sell them for actual money (like $5 a piece!?) and actual people actually pay that, just to have one of these things...so how lame is it, really? dishcloths; the "crack" of the fibre arts world?

more news...we seem to have an.....ewwww...infestation in the house!! honestly, you'd think it was bad enough that our yard is the mecca for local wildlife, but now the inside of the house, too??

they look fearsome, don't they? quake in your boots, you hapless humans!!

how fairy nice

here's another doll i tested for kristen. this is the third in a fairy series, and the pattern is called 'adorable addie':

i had lots of fun with this one, as is usually the case with kristen's creations. can't say enough good stuff about her patterns.

as i was taking the pictures i was reminded of the story about the two girls in cottingley in the early 1900's that fooled a lot of people who should have known better (including sir arthur conan-doyle of 'sherlock holmes' fame) into thinking that they'd photographed actual fairies frolicking in the woods behind their homes...even so called 'experts' of the times claimed the five pictures weren't double exposures...but i guess they never stopped to think that maybe the fairies were just paper cut outs that the girls were holding in front of them...but then again, photography was in its infancy in those days. they made a movie about it some years ago, "fairy tale, a true story" or something like that...in typical hollywood fashion they made the ending all 'cutesy' and disney-ish.


here's a back view of her, complete with beflowered wings.

if you are interested in the pattern, you will be able to get it shortly on kristen's site. for now, the other two in the series are available there.

if you are a geek like me and want to read more about the cottingley fairies, just click here .

what is it?

a four-fingered gigantic pain in the arse, that's what....i may have reached the limit of my puny so-called knitting abilities here....this raspberry nightmare aspires to be a semi-fingerless glove, or 'knuck' as the pattern calls it...however it may just turn out to be an unpleasant memory, i haven't decided yet. i'm a glutton for punishment, so i'll probably still keep trying to make it...and then---eeep!!!---even try to make a second one...i thought making each individual finger and thumb would be bad enough...but nooooooo, then you have to join them together....i think i ground some cracks into my teeth. i'm sure it's me and not the pattern, being that i don't have experience with this type of thing, but the phrase 'you know, you can buy those in the store...' runs through my head as i try to keep track of yarn ends and ssk's (had to look that one up)...no, no, i'll soldier on and keep with it...that pathetic little tube beside it is the thumb...which i still have to join...i think i'll need a drink for that one...

and for no particular reason at all:

here's a gratuitous doily shot...just because i felt like it.

dilly, dally, doily

anyone remember when i said i wasn't sure if i would work with thread more than once every 10 years or so? well i guess i'm sure now....i've made a few doilies....although cee is dubious as to their usefulness and/or practicality....so am i if i'm honest....not many people use doilies anymore. still, they are pretty to look at and can be a fun way to challenge your abilities with a hook and thread. so far the nice thing about them i've found is that they are largely repetitive in the patterns, so once you get the basic stitches it's just a matter of repeating them around to the end...as long as you can get the stitches...i have run into a couple i haven't been able to figure out...but maybe it's not my abilities, but the way the pattern is written? yeah, yeah, that's the ticket....

this first one is called 'grape harvest' and it's my latest:



i found the pattern for this one online at annie's attic. it was a free pattern of the day. i rather like the 'grapey' texture of the stitches...i actually used a smaller hook than recommended for this...no, not because i'm crazy, although that is a good argument...but because i didn't have the size the pattern called for so i had to use the one i did have...funnily enough mine came out to the same size as stated in the pattern...either i crochet very loose or the pattern tension was a little off...it measures around 12 inches.


this next is from a pattern booklet and is called 'artist's choice oval'...the thread is a variegated one that i got cheap (i'm thinking because not many people were wild about the colours) and thought i'd try out these patterns...if i made these again i would probably just use white or ecru as i like them plain like that...it's just how i roll--hey check out my 'street' lingo--this is a good one for the center of a table...it's about 20 inches or so.


last is called 'pinapple fantasy'--not sure i'd fantasize about it, but oh well--and it's also from a pattern booklet. i was worried you wouldn't be able to see the pattern to its full effect in the variegated thread, but i think it picks up okay...and again i'd probably only use a plain colour to make it in the future....another large piece at around 22 inches in diameter.

not-so-sad sack

i made this tote bag/purse as part of a crochet along on the 'ville. the pattern is called 'tapestry tote', i'm not sure why...neither the one in the pattern nor mine looks much like a tapestry to me, but oh well:


this pattern worked up really fast, and took minimal yarn. it did take a lot, and i mean a lot of time to weave in all the little ends, which is about as high up there on my scale of fun things to do as having a root canal, but alas, that's always the case when you work with multiple colours.


i lined this one with a plain colour...i figured there was enough colours going on on the outside of it. i had considered using it as a purse but then thought i might get some odd looks especially from the younger generation....go on, say it; "you mean more odd looks than you usually get?!"

my original plan was to make this in cotton yarn and somewhere from thinking about it to actually doing it i ended up using regular worsted yarn, but i may do this one in cotton as well.

if you are interested in the pattern, you can find the link to it here.

i come from a land downunder...

here's a first on this blog...a picture of something crocheted that was not made by me, myself, or I...a teeny cute little platypus i received from cupcake--she of the tea cosy patterns fame--from crochetville. i won this pretty little lady in a trivia contest and she arrived with a super nice coaster and a postcard from australia today. here she is saying 'howdeedo' to the furry kids:

em...what's the story with the mattress on the floor?!

good question, and i'm so glad you asked...well it's on the living room floor because it was just too hot to sleep upstairs during this recent heat wave we've been suffering through...even with the a/c on...granted, we are not power hogs and keep our central air set pretty high, cause that's what they ask us to do to conserve..."they" being our "illustrious"--snort--governing body, even though our neighbours and pretty much everyone else around here have their a/c set so low they have to go outside to stop their shivering...no matter how long i stay in this province i will never get used to the humidity in the summer....you know it's bad when the weather person flashes you a huge over-bleached smile from the tv screen and perkily says "it's only going to be 39 degrees today, nice and cool!" what the?? did i fall asleep and wake up in some lava-spewing volcano town where 39 degrees would be considered "nice" and/or "cool"?!

X marks the spot

avast ye scurvy dogs!! ye've stumbled upon the lair of the notorious pirate, "mad eric the red"!

ye must be foolhardy to try and tangle with the likes of him! there'll be no 'parlez' here...he be one of the most villainous miscreants from here to the west indies! why, the only one can tolerate his miserable poxy hide for more than five minutes is his googly-eyed parrot, rusty, who has a penchant for spewing expletive words and phrases. arrr...ye'd be miserable too if yer wooden leg had dry rot...best turn back me bucko, for here there be monsters!! don't even look at his jewel-encrusted treasure chest, for it be cursed--like the wretched, tattooed scoundrel himself! ger off with ye, he's got a ship to commandeer!

okay, enough pirate talk...i sure had fun making this set, which i tested for kristen. your imagination can run wild and i'm sure any little (or big) kid would love to have these delightful characters to play with.

now i'm off to sail the seven seas with eric and rusty.