writer's blocks

i made some more progress on the 200 blocks afghan, this picture is of the squares that will be the centre of the blanket, at least that's what i've decided so far:

another random square, loved the pattern, not sure about the colour placement, but that's something i can decide as i go along.

the pictures are not that great, i'm having a harder and harder time trying to get decent shots out of this camera, and end up having to do a lot of editing, but you get the general idea.

the last one i've done is called 'old vienna', not really sure why, unless the little filigree designs are suppose to emulate some sort of bavarian decoration.

i quite like this pattern, again the picture is just not doing it justice. somehow the colours seem to look different in every picture, but they are all the same, trust me.

incognito...

this camouflage item may be a hat for cee, or it may be a tea cosy, he hasn't decided yet.

i also have a similar ball of yarn that may or may not be masquerading as a pair of matching gloves...it hasn't decided yet.

"pengooins is practically chickens..."

yes, it's true, nothing says merriment more than a crocheted penguin with a red vest and ear muffs:

die-hard looney tunes fans will recognize the post title as a quote from one of my all-time favorite cartoons with bugs bunny, playboy penguin, and some poor, starved tramp on a box-car train who uttered the line whilst looking hungrily at the penguin....no worries, the cute penguin never got masticated, and neither will this little guy...that is unless the killer shih-tzu gets hold of him...

i do loves me some penguins, and i found this pattern in a super book called 'tis the season to crochet' by bobbie matela...aside from having the afore-mentioned and pictured penguin, along with a myriad of charming accessories patterns to go along with it, like scarves, wreaths, candy canes, christmas lights, etc., there are some really cute decorations in this book that practically scream out "crochet me!" plus there are even some festive clothing patterns in there like hats, mittens, snazzy evening wraps and jackets and a purse. in my opinion, this book is really worth a look see, it may even rate a hug or two.

and this just in...the 'scarf that never ends'......

still hasn't.

but you can see that i've definitely been working on it, because here's what it looked like when i blogged about it last:

yeah, sure, it was last MARCH, but that's just semantics, so stop being so picky...i told cee he will be able to (not) wear it this winter...and i'm sure he won't...not wear it, that is...

lest we forget

today is the day we honour the men and women who served or still are serving in the armed forces to protect our country. at the 11th hour of 11th day in the 11th month, we pause for a moment of silence to remember the thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives fighting for freedom during war or peace keeping missions.

we wear poppies on our coat lapels because a canadian soldier and physician, lt.-col john mcrae, saw poppies growing next to the grave of a friend who had died in battle and was inspired to write the poem 'in flanders fields', which is recited in some form at every remembrance day ceremony. i made this poppy, but i've also bought several--they are famous for 'jumping' off your coat--because the proceeds go to the royal canadian legion, helping ex-servicemen and women.

don't forget to remember

blog blanket blatherings

so yeah...i think winter is officially on its way...we've already had the ceremonial 'turning on of the furnace' and the rest, well it's all inevitable...like making afghans...for me a 'winter' thing to do.

this square (and the next) is from the "200 crochet blocks" book--which i love, just ask cee, and he will regale you with stories about me hugging this book--was that so wrong?!--the colours look much better in the real, but don't most things? Plus our camera isn't exactly the newest anymore...it serves its purpose, i suppose. the dark square is a plum/purple, then sage green, what i would call a delft blue, and then gray.

i have been having the hardest time picking just a few squares out of this book...there are just so many that look good to me...incidentally if you are thinking of picking up this book, do so!! i really couldn't recommend it any higher--come on, if a grown woman hugging it isn't a good enough review of it i don't know what is!


i will probably only go with about 4 or 5 different squares for my first afghan, all with these four colours.

hopefully by the end of this winter i will have decided on which square patterns to use, but i wouldn't bank on it....it's a bit strange, really, i'm not usually this indecisive. no wonder though, because the possibilities are endless...in case you were wondering, i really do love this book!


i joined the crochet along over at the 'ville so hopefully seeing everyone else's projects coming together will inspire me to stick with it.

hey, that looks oddly familiar...

well it should...that is, if you are a faithful reader of my blog...okay, stop laughing, it could happen...but for those who don't frequent this corner of my fuzzy brain, this is my yo-yo scrap afghan that i started...oh...last may and i abandoned it when the humidex made our temperatures go over 47 celcius last summer (that's 117 F for all you fahrenheiters) plus when i realized all the little ends that have to be woven in with the joining of each little yo-yo, i kind of stuffed it away in favour of less tedious projects.

but with the falling of the leaves and the lowering of temperatures comes the instinctive need to crochet blankets, afghans, throws, rugs, anything with which you can cover up. I dragged out ole 'scrappy' and started working again. i have disciplined myself to try to join at least five yo-yo's a day...this way it will get done, albeit eventually. i think in spite of all the tedium it will look nice and 'homey' once it is done.

there is another ghan started...it's a bit of an experiment though so no pictures...i don't know how far i'll get with it but we'll see...it all sounds so mysterious, doesn't it? like some freaky weird science project or something. really it's not that bad....or is it? (cue spooky music...fade out)