dishcloths, bookmarks...and something red...

a weird trio, to be sure, but that just gives you a little insight into my enigmatic brain...

thanks to vik's blogpost about her new obsession with the garterlac dishcloth, i have added another pattern to my bewilderingly large, yet ever increasing dishcloth arsenal:

i really like how the pattern shows off the variegated yarn, and i think it's really cool how the colours line up and form their own little patterns...yes, small things do amuse small minds...




i had been contemplating making this bookmark pattern for a while...but since it was made with thread and a really reeeeeelly small steel hook i was a little apprehensive as i don't have that much experience with either...but then thought, 'what the heck' and gave it a go...and before i knew it, i'd made two of them...

i was going to use a larger hook than the one recommended but did end up using the smallest steel hook i have, and was surprised how fast they worked up and how simple they were once i got going on them....that teeny tiny hook though, i doubt i'll use that one on a regular basis, i'm not sure how people can to be honest...

this is one of cupcake's patterns that she has on her blog.



this is just a motif i've been playing around with...i found it in the book 'so simple crochet'...the title is a bit of a misnomer, as this pattern is marked as 'advanced' in the book ...i would have to agree, as having to work double, triple, and even quadruple trebles is something i don't think a beginner would know how, or more to the point, be able to do with any great success.

this motif is from a poncho pattern in the book, but since i think the poncho has already had it's brief day in the sun (again) and don't see anyone wearing them anymore, i doubt i'll make a poncho, but it could be incorporated into something else...but what? decisions, decisions...

if you would like to make the garterlac cloth, you can find the pattern on dave's blog, criminy jickets

cupcake's fan bookmark is available on her blog, crochetroo...stop in and say hello.

driven to abstraction

i've been knitting these baby sets for what seems like forever and was really starting to miss my hooks, so i put the needles aside and made this:


yes, another doily. i think this one is my most favorite so far...although i seem to think that about every doily i make, so take no notice...cee is befuddled as to where they will all go, as he said i've made about 10 so far and by no means do we have 10 tables, or 10 end tables, or 10 coffee tables, or even 10 surfaces where you would think a doily might appropriately go, but does this stop the doily addict i seem to have become? the answer would plainly be no. this is a free pattern on the celtwich site for anyone interested--you can find the link on the crochet pattern central site, the name of it is 'pink pinapple'...no, your eyes aren't fooling you, this doily is not pink, but the one on the site is. the picture is smallish because this is a large doily, in fact i think it qualifies as a table topper, whatever that means. the specs in the pattern say the finished product should be around 16 1/2 inches, but i'm sure they used a smaller thread than i, because this one is around 25-27 inches in diameter.

'not more dishcloths?!'

dishcloths...what the heck does anyone need eleven million dishcloths for anyways? yes, a slight exaggeration, but still they do pile up...i usually end up giving most of them away, so that is why i think it's perfectly alright to make them by the truckload. i have fallen in extreme like with the ball band dishcloth from the mason dixon knitting book...here is yet another example of how i will look at something, think 'oh wow, that's really neat, but i bet it will be way too hard for me to do' and then when i try it, i end up smacking myself in the forehead because not only can i do it, but it's easy peasy lemon squeezy. i can see myself making a lot of these:

extreme closeup, zoom in on this!!!

even cee liked this pattern, although he thinks it's a lot of bother for just a dishcloth, he thought I was making a sweater or something...now i know what you're thinking...that would be one 'busy' sweater...and you'd be right.

drumroll please.........and 'ta-da'!!

knuck, the second is finished!! now comes the terrifying part...the (muffle gag reflex) embroidery....must come up with witty and/or funny, yet irreverent things to embroider on the knucks...or just leave them the way they are...can't decide. i must say the second went much smoother than the first. i didn't grind my teeth once, which is always nice.

now with added self sabotage

what does someone who's trying to lose weight need more of in their life? that's right! dozens of homemade chocolate chip cookies!!




because i just don't make it hard enough for myself, i decided to bake some cookies...i blame the vicious pms monster...this is a really kick ass recipe, too...the cookies don't flatten out and get those weird-looking wrinkles like some of those 'so-called' good recipes, and the taste, well it's just out of this world. most of these will be destined for the freezer---was that a snort i heard?! you don't think i have the self control to put these in the freezer and not eat them until

a) they are all gone,
b) i pass out, vomit, or some combination of the two or
c) all of the above?

well they did go into the freezer, so there...how long they'll stay there, who knows...out of sight, out of mind as they say. nigel the infamously famous sock monkey is taking odds...




i say! those cookies do look rather good, but i much prefer a scrumptious sock banana any day.

so sweet you'll get a toothache

sugar & spice...i was commissioned by my sister tee to make some baby-type things for a co-worker/friend of hers that is due shortly. tee gave me the colour wish list--they obviously found out the sex of the impending arrival...if ever i had the tremendous blessing of being pregnant, i think i'd like it to be a surprise....although i'm not knocking people wanting to know whether it's a boy or a girl, i'm just saying...there are pros, like you can pick your gender-oriented colours, case in point:

i doubt you'd see anyone dressing a little boy in these...unless they had, you know, issues. i also think there are cons to finding out the sex of your baby...what if you have your heart set on one or the other and you don't get what you want? personally i think people should just be grateful they can have a baby at all and not be picky, but there are some incredibly shallow and stupid people out there that want to design their baby...don't get me started...anyone that knows me knows how close to my heart this issue is.

i'm also working on some leggings that go with this little set, which i think came out very well...the leggings...well,we'll see....i'm not convinced that they will turn out (or more to the point, if i'll be able to finish them without seeking out some help). luckily i have a more experienced knitter in the form of cee's mum close at hand, and between the two of us hopefully we'll figure them out.

there's more baby stuff on the needles, but not enough progress yet to show...that's the thing with this knitting...so much slower than crochet...but i just love the pattern, so i guess i'll just have to work twice as fast...yeah...that'll work...right?