Quite a long post

Like everyone else, we've been quite busy around here chez DaisyFrog. We've gone through an expensive, harrowing ordeal with one of our cats, but I'll save that story for another day. Or maybe I won't tell it at all, because the little bastard now appears to be fine after eating something that disagreed with him.

Anyhoo, how about some FOs?

This here is a lovely tea cozy crafted for my brother. Being the Renaissance man that he is, Glennjamin enjoys his daily tea, and so I made him a tea cozy. The gray is Plymouth Encore Worsted, the red is Malabrigo, and the pattern is from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. I crocheted it instead of knitting it because it needed to be finished in a timely fashion. I am fairly pleased with it, although it is a bit large. Whatever. Glennjamin seemed pleased.

Here is the same thing, this one for my father. This was also crocheted (hdc) in Plymouth Encore Worsted, and the size came out better on this one. I created a very subtle pattern by crocheting in the round in one direction for 3 rows, then reversing for three rows, and so on. I am pleased with it! This was a quick and easy project.

This here is a bear for my cousin's son who is about 17 months old. The head and body are done, I just need to crochet the arms and legs and sew it together. This is loosely based on Camilla Engman's Bedfellows pattern from The Happy Hooker. I think it's going to look pretty dang cute when it is finished.

Here is my first Bainbridge Scarf, pattern by Minty Fresh. Again, it is crocheted instead of knitted. I created the ribbed effect by crocheting through the back loop only on each row. I'm happy with it except for the little tassel-y things at the end of the ties, but I broke the yarn too short, so I didn't have enough to weave it in. Stupid on my part. I am making another one of these in dark green mercerized cotton. Please excuse my waddle in the above picture.

Tis the season to treat oneself! These books were availabe on Amazon.com for only $10.17 each; how could I resist? The patterns in Lacy Crochet are really pretty and not too futzy or prissy in my opionion.

The patterns in Amigurumi appear to be well laid-out. I need practice in crocheting various shapes, and this book will most certainly provide me with that practice!

My family was waaaaaaay good to me at Christmas this year. I got some music - if I weren't married, and if Eddie Vedder weren't married, I would marry him based simply on his cover of "Hard Sun". Holy moly, that is one mighty fine song. And who woulda thunk that Robert Plant and Allison Krauss are a vocal and artistic match made in heaven? Not me, but that they are. Whoa. And I haven't listened to Gomez or Norah Jones yet, but honestly, how bad can they be?

And of course, I got me some booky-wookies. (Not like Chewbacca, no.) I love Crochet Me. It is one mighty fine book. I am definitely making the Victorian Shrug/Wrap from the cover. I also love Amy O'Neill Houck's Babydoll Dress. *Le sigh* So many patterns, so little time.

I think Annie Modesitt is brilliant. I don't like all of her patterns, but I admire her creativity and lack of attention to the rules. This book is gorgeous. There are about 10 patterns in here that I want to make.

My neighbor Anne Marie gave me this book, and it friggin' ROCKS. It basically gives you recipes for eighty bajillion sweaters, with different options for sleeves, bodies, pockets, cardigans, pullovers, collars, and whatever else you can think of. I will be using this A LOT.


This here is Dulcinea. You may remember me mentioning that my dad has a Blythe doll named Bridget. I knit her an outfit. When Dad first got Bridget, I really thought he had gone around the bend. But the more I looked at her, and the more I looked at other Blythe dolls, the more I realized that I actually kind of liked them. A lot. So my dear Dad surprised me and got me Dulcinea for Christmas. She is a Medieval Mood reissue, just in case you were wondering. She is pictured above with Hemingway.

Dad also got me this Jizo statue. Jizo is the protector of women, children, and travelers; coincidentally, I happen to be all three of those things. Neat, huh? Isn't he cute? He will be residing next to my happy fat Buddha.

And now for the piece de resistance. Oh yeah. Those are roller skates baby. Quadline Dominions with 100 mm wheels. Are they sweet or what? WT got these bad boys for me for Christmas, and I LOVE THEM. I can't wait for the weather to get nice (oh wait - I live on the eastern seaboard. That won't happen until June) so I can skate my ass off. Literally. My ass needs to be skated off, as well as my waddle and my spare tire. So not only am I going to kick some retro 70s ass, I'm going to look good doing it. Okay, maybe not look good WHILE I'm doing it, but I'll look good AFTER I do it. I'm sure I'll look like a moron while I'm doing it. Because that's how I roll. Ha! Get it? Roll? Roller skates? Tee hee hee!

I need some sleep.

***

So you may or may not have noticed that my yarn diet ticker is missing from the top of my blog. Yeah, I blew the diet about 10 days before it officially ended. Whatever, good enough. I will probably start a new diet shortly. So you wanna know what I bought?

• Cotton Ease in Almond for Zephyr Gal's Juliet
• Cotton Ease in Indigo for Zephyr Gal's Tree Jacket
• Red Heart Soft Yarn in Off White to make a layette for my cousin's wife
• Red Heart Heathers in Blue to make a layette for our pregnant lesbian friends
• Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy in Vivid Green and Cool Blue (blue in stash) for Edna Hart's Marly Boatneck from the latest issue of Knitscene
• Casco Bay Sport in Pale Blue and Brick Red for Regina Rioux Gonzalez's Singular Tee, also from the latest issue of Knitscene
• Classic Elite Four Seasons in Barn Red and Natural to make Cathy Carron's Cabana Tee, also from the latest issue of Knitscene (can you tell I like this issue?)

I also at some point want to make (from the latest issue of Knitscene) Katie Himmelberg's Phiaro Scarf, Kathy Zimmerman's Wildflower Tee, Ann Budd's First Time Tube Socks, and Cecily Glowik's Pebble Hoodie. Because, you know, I have all the time in the world.

***

I can't believe that Christmas break is almost over and it's almost time to go back to work. I am going to see friends this weekened, and Banana and WT and I are going to Longwood Gardens on Monday. Monday night we are hosting our annual New Year's Eve bash, where Anne Marie comes over, gets drunk, laughs silently, and slaps her knee. A good time is had by all.

I wish you all a lovely rest of your holiday season, and a wonderful 2008, where all of your dreams come true. :o)

Thanks for stopping by.

Hm.

I was going to upload some pictures tonight, but then I realized two things: one, Blogger is not allowing me to do so, and two, I don't have any pictures of the things I really want to blog about. So that's kind of dumb.

All is quiet here in our little neck of the woods. I got my homework done early for class, which isn't due until Wednesday, for crying out loud. Look at me with the mad study skillz. Dag. WT and the Banana are sleeping soundly in bed. The cats are shredding or barfing on something in a dark corner of the house. All's right with the world.

Work continues on the Chevron Scarf and a crochet border on a community project which must remain secret right now. Ravelry still rocks. I miss my group, though. It's like therapy. However, I will be going to Loop on October 27 to see the one and only crochet guru, Doris Chan. That should be freakin' awesome. After watching Ms. Chan and her magic fingers, I'll be going to French Meet-Up, also in the cit-tay, so I can practice my mad French skillz. I'm all about the mad skillz these days.

I went to Barnes and Noble today and didn't buy a single gosh-darn book or magazine. Wow. My will power these days is off da hook (I am so street). There were a lot of books to choose from too. Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair. Crochet Me. Bag Style. Knit Two Together (or whatever the hell it's called, the one with Tracey Ullman). Lots of good stuff. But I went to get the IK holiday issue, and they didn't have it. Pffft. Ooh, have you seen the Suss Cousin's knitwear book? It's really nice. I'm liking it; it'll definitely be going on the ol' Christmas list.

WT and I will be going to a concert on Sunday. By ourselves. We might even go out to dinner beforehand. By ourselves. I can't remember the last time we went to a concert, and hubby is a musician for chrissake. I'm looking forward to it too, as it's a venue I've never been to before, the Scottish Rite Auditorium in Collingswood, NJ. I've heard good things about it.

Jebus, this post is even more boring than the previous one, isn't it?

I'm going to bed. Maybe next time I'll have pictures. Maybe. ;o)

Treats all around

So finally, beaucoup pictures to show you all! Here is the progress I've made on the Green Gable thus far, and I must say, I'm liking it:

The sleeves may be a smidge big, but I'd rather it a little loose than too tight. I can't stand clothes that are too tight, especially under the arms. So there.

Here's the Puzzle Scarf that I started about a month and a half ago. It's a really easy chart to follow, and I'm using Cascade 220 Superwash that I picked up on sale when the Main Skein was closing. I'm debating whether or not to block it; I think it looks sort of cool this way.

WT and the Banana were super good to me for Mother's Day. Look at what I got! Two books I've been coveting for quite some time; the only dilemma is which project to get started on first! I love practically every single pattern in Fitted Knits, and there are some super cool sweaters in Twinkle's Big City Knits. I really need to pace myself and plan though; before all else, I need to do the Cropped Crochet Sweater that I am test-crocheting. First things first.

I got my package from the Knitter's Treat Exchange, and my treater Dominique really spoiled me! She got me these two patterns mags, Bergere de France and Phildar, both of which I absolutely adore. The patterns are gorgeous. Here are some that I really love:

How cool is this sweater?
I'm loving this, but not sure about the belty thing and the epaulettes; I don't need any attention drawn to my waist/hips!
This is super cute.
And this tank is so pretty!
She also sent me this package of sock clips...
... two skeins of Phildar yarn! One is cotton and linen, the other is cotton and seacell - it's so soft!
I also got a Belgian chocolate bar - dark chocolate with ginger. Yum!! To top it all off, there was this adorable felted bowl with these cute little soaps. They smell wonderful. Thank you so much Dominique!
Gratuitous cute kitten shot.
And from my garden: impatiens
Geranium buds
Marigolds
Azaleas
And bleeding hearts from Anne Marie and Todd's garden.

Until next time my friends, be well! And thanks for stopping by...