Making it My Way

What kind of pirate am I?

2008-04-14T11:41:00.001-04:00

What kind of pirate am I? You decide!
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Pictures?

2008-01-28T10:06:00.001-05:00

Where did they go? I have no clue! Guess I will have to try again, again.

Pictures!

2008-01-26T12:46:00.001-05:00

Just as promised, proof that I have no life!

Hats for mom(s)
Bucket hat for my mom for Christmas.

Pattern can be found here: http://www.beppycat.com/Bucket%20Hat%20Pattern.html

Crocheted toque for my mother-in-law for Christmas.

Pattern can be found here: http://www.theirishewe.com/mt-static/2007/08/crochet_toque.shtml
I have since made another for her friend and have a request for one more!

Swap time!
These cuties were made for a Christmas craft swap. Each dragonfly represents a member of the family for whom they were made.
Dad
Mom The 4 little ones!
Pattern for bigger dragonflies was created my KristieMN at crochetville.org and can be found here: http://www.crochetville.org/forum/showthread.php?t=28115 I adapted it to make the smaller ones and threaded them with ribbon to make ornaments.

Mom also got these flower scrubbie holders for the swap!
Pattern for these can be found here: http://www.box.net/shared/02dhn6ib6s (downloadable pdf format)

Something that's NOT crocheted!
My daugher and I made these Christmas ornaments out of dough.

Turtle turtles!
I originally planned on making 10 of these tiny turtles. If I ever succeed I will update!

Pattern by KristieMN at crochetville.org can be found here: http://www.crochetville.org/forum/showthread.php?t=40998

Owen's Hat
I made this hat for my son but it fits my daughter better. Go figure!

Pattern can be found here: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/60422.html?noImages= (must register for free at lionbrand.com to view)

Baby Snow Dragons!
Aren't they so cute?!

Kashi-Tasha (Ca-shee Tasha)
Named by my daughter, this was a present from me to her for Christmas.

Diamondeyes
Named by his owner, the son of an online friend who showed me the pattern in the first place. He wanted one so I took on the challenge!
The pattern for these cute little creatures was designed by oldbaglady at crochetville.org and can be found here:

http://www.crochetville.org/forum/showthread.php?t=42777

Horse and unicorn!

I made these for my niece and nephew for Christmas.

I purchased the pattern for these and other adorable animals from kristieskids' etsy.com shop here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8958118

Hat- Personal design!

A hat I designed for my father in law for Christmas.

Sorry, no pattern available, I made it up as I went and did not write it down. If I succeed in making another I will be sure to write it down. I've had a few requests already so I plan to try again.

Most recent projects!

A special request, Octopode!
Made for the son of a friend for his 2nd birthday.

Pattern can be found here: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=114316

A scarf
Made for my daughter

She picked out the pattern herself, which can be found here: http://woollywormhead.blogspot.com/2005/10/its-getting-bit-curly-round-here.html

Now that I'm all caught up I will try to post projects as they are finished from now on, cross my heart!

Like I said...

2008-01-10T12:42:00.001-05:00

This year is sucking big time. After all we've been going through with the kids being sick and having ear infections (Owen's left ear is still not clear!), my granny's passing and my dh's truck having one problem after the next... Owen's surgery was yesterday and at least that went well and he is recovering very quickly, but still it was stressful... after us having to deal with all that and more I'm not getting into, we found out the night before last that our house had been "tagged" by a couple of kids in the neighborhood! They wrote some letters and number, I'm assuming it was their "gang" sign, in big bright red spray paint on the side of our house! As if I don't have enough to deal with right now. Tom and Jim (our landlord) tried to scrub it off but it just left a big pink spot for now. Most likely we will have to reside the whole house b/c you can't just replace one side, the siding is too old as it is and it would never match. The worst part is that they hit 3 other houses in the neighborhood and they have not been caught. That means a whole bunch of people are going to be paying for new siding on their homes and those freaking hoodlums and their irresponsible parents won't have to pay a dime. So frustrating!

In the meantime we're in the middle of another great big closet clean out at our house and everything that has to go is currently residing in my bedroom blocking all my new yarn and hooks so I'm stuck working on one project for now. It's not like I can find the time to do anything right now anyways, I'm supposed to be finding homes for all the stuff first... It sure would be nice to release some of my stress and frustrations into a new and mentally stimulating project. I'm supposed to make some ami pets for some nice ladies and I can't wait to get those started. One thing at a time!

Farewell Cora Morgan

2008-01-03T21:10:00.000-05:00

Granny Morgan's wake was last night and my husband Tom and I were planning to go. The craziest thing happened while we were on the way. First I have to mention that the driver's side door on my husband's truck has been getting harder and harder to latch lately and he has to replace the mechanism in the first place. We were on our way to the wake and had just gassed up and were getting on I-40 when his door just flew open! He pulled over on the on ramp and tried to get it to close but it just wouldn't latch so we had to get on I-40 while he held the door closed until the next exit so we could get off the interstate and drive back home. I was pretty upset at having to miss the wake and my best friend Kendra was helping us by watching our children at the time so she volunteered to drive me in her safe Honda with the 2 kids to the funeral service today so I wouldn't miss out on paying my respects and saying goodbye. She is a true friend, I don't know what I would do without her. I owe her one big time! So instead we drove to High Point today and got there a bit late for the service so we waited in the parlor with my children while we listened while the service went on. I'm a bit glad things happened the way they did. It was an open casket viewing at the wake and I don't think I wanted to remember by grandmother any other way than alive. They said there were over 300 people at the wake last night, I can believe it. She was truly a wonderful woman. She gave birth to 10 children, 9 surviving today with 21 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren to carry on her legacy. After the service many of the family members went back to her house to have lunch and prepare for the journey to the mountains where she will have a second funeral service tomorrow and be buried there by Granddaddy in the family graveyard up the hill from the old house they raised their family in. She did say that she would be going back to the mountains one last time to stay and she was right. We will forever miss you and keep you in our hearts Granny Morgan.

Cora Etta Grant Morgan
August 27, 1918 - December 31, 2007

I must end by mentioning my daughter's reaction and point of view today. I didn't know how to explain it to a soon to be 4 year old when she asked where we were going today only to tell her that it was time to go and say Goodbye to Granny. When we got to Granny's house after the service my daughter looked at Granny's usual chair and saw that it was empty and asked where Granny had gone. Again when we were in the car driving back home she asked why she did not see Granny. Kendra simply explained that she was not there because she had gone to heaven. Where is heaven? Well it's everywhere, but mostly it's up above us. That seemed to satisfy her enough for the moment. Later tonight after my husband got home from work she told him that Granny was in an airplane going to the mountains. You've got to love the mind of a child! I'm sure Granny would get a kick out of it too.

Bad start to a new year

2008-01-02T13:40:00.000-05:00

I don't even know where to begin. Lately things have not been as festive and they should be. This Christmas started out with my son being sick with RSV, then we went out of town after Christmas for the new year and ended up having to take both children to an urgent care. Turned out they both had ear infections. Then we got the call Monday morning that my Granny Morgan had passed away. We are preparing to go to the visitation tonight. Also my son has surgery a week from today. I don't know what else could go wrong. His surgery is nothing major but I just want it to be over with. I don't think I'd be so down if he hadn't of self weaned just last week as well. I was counting on being able to nurse him through the recovery but he is apparently "all done" so he puts it.

At least I finished most of my Christmas gifts. I still have a scarf and 2 hats to complete but they are for very understanding friends. The only upside is that I've had a huge interest in the amigurumi crochet that I have been doing and already have begun taking orders! I just want to get my house in order first, then I will start crocheting myself a career so to speak. I have found it is the one thing I can do to relieve stress in a productive way. It makes me happy. I got a lot more yarn and a ton of knitting needles from a friend of my mother when I was visiting. Now I just have to teach myself to knit. If I don't succeed with it I know of a few ladies who would be more than happy to take the needles off my hands, but I'm keeping the yarn, sorry. Well maybe all but the wool. It stinks being allergic to wool when you are a crochet fanatic let me tell you!

I should post pictures on here of the work I have completed so far. I may have time later, we'll see.

Christmas is coming!

2007-12-12T17:26:00.000-05:00

My hands are going to fall off before it gets here. I've been crocheting away making many gifts and saving tons of money this year. It's worth it in the end but my hands are starting to feel the effects. I'll be glad when it's all over and I can slow it down again. Good news! My best friend Kendra finally found her craft calling and I guessed it, she is a creative goddess when it comes to making jewelry. Once we are done making Christmas gifts we are going to get our butts in gear and start making products to start selling. We are hoping to open a boutique someday, for now it will be online but the future is starting to look more certain! I am going to start trying to come up with my own patterns once I have time to mess around. Right now I'm on a time schedule so I better get back to work. Good thing I've got plenty of corn huskers lotion to keep my hands from cracking under the pressure, literally!

Busy busy busy!

2007-11-12T12:09:00.000-05:00

Whoops! I've neglected my blog. I knew that would happen, I've never been too good at keeping up with these things. At least I have a good excuse, my son just turned one! HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET BOY! We had a party for him this past Saturday which took a lot out of me. Also I've been very busy with a bunch of crochet projects lately. I'll have to post an update with pictures soon. I'm making some stuff for a swap and Christmas presents galore and a few karma gifts just because. My fingers have gone from swollen calluses to dry skin and bone aches so I have to stop and take a break every couple of days. The aluminum needles don't help at all but they're the only ones that don't break when I'm doing amigurumi, which I have recently discovered and fallen in love with! For those who don't know what it is, it's the technique of crocheting in rounds to make stuffed creatures. I can't wait to show off my work! Guess I better get back to it then!

$5.58 and 9 months (the pullover project continued)

2007-10-09T15:33:00.001-04:00

That's the total amount of money and time spent I spent on the pullover. I'm am so happy it is finally done! The force was strong against me, I kept running into one problem after the next. First I ran out of yarn, then I found out the yarn was discontinued. Once I finally found some more yarn I didn't have enough of the color I wanted to finish the edging with. To make it worse, 2 nights ago I was assembling it at about 12:30am and the power went out! You better bet I was crocheting by candlelight by that point. I also realized the next day that I had managed to get a messed up square in there so I had to go back and take it out and fix it. As if that all wasn't enough, just as I was finishing the very last row around the bottom, my crochet needle snapped in half! That wasn't going to stop me either. I searched for the super glue to no avail, it was empty so I grabbed the duct tape. It wasn't comfortable but I managed to finish just before the tape and my fingers gave out on me. Too bad my daughter can't wear it yet, it's October already and still 90 degrees outside. Wtf? Well at least it is done and she has it to wear when the weather is right. I ended up winning the auction for the turquoise yarn, a whole 98 cents! The s&h came to $4.60 so altogether I paid $5.58. I used up every last bit of the turquoise making the squares and putting it all together so I had to use the white I had purchased to do the edging, and I didn't follow the directions for the sleeves and bottom b/c I didn't like the way it was looking but I think it came out looking nice still. Claire still loves it and that's all that matters. I like it too. Well here it is:

And did I finally learn my lesson about making sure I have enough materials to finish my work before I start? I doubt it. :)

Jewelry skills return?

2007-10-03T11:06:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking about picking up my clay again and making more jewelry. A good friend recently lost her job and we've been talking about getting together to craft and make money, possibly starting our own business if it works out. I've been thinking more and more that we could really make some money off of jewelry and that it would be a great starter craft for her since she doesn't sew or crochet, yet. I love teaching others how to craft so this is going to be so much fun. I made a bunch of stuff years ago and have since donated it all to my beloved forum- Carolina Mommas, for an auction they had a couple of years ago to make money for the site. I was surprised at how everyone was bidding quickly on my work and how well it sold. I saved one necklace that I just couldn't bare to part with. Here is a picture:

Every time I see this necklace I wonder if I can do it again. Guess I'll never know if I don't give it a shot! I wonder how long clay is good for?

The pullover project

2007-10-02T13:35:00.000-04:00

Last year my mom got a bunch of free yarn from a neighbor that had been sitting around for quite some time, the price tags say Woolworth's for goodness sakes! Well, I've been having fun creating with this old stuff, up until now. Some of this yarn was Caron cotton terry yarn, very pretty and nice to work with. It is a purplish color and soft so I thought it would make a nice pullover for my daughter Claire. Little did I know that the pattern I had chosen to do would need more yarn that what I had. Of course I didn't figure this out until I had used up all the yarn I had on hand. No problem, I thought, I'll just get some more. It turns out that Caron discontinued this particular type of yarn quite a long time ago. Crap. So I've been on this never-ending search for cotton terry looped yarn. My first attempt was through someone on ebay who hand paints it. I learned the hard way not to let seller's know just how much you need their product. When I asked for 3 skeins I was told I would have to wait until more was dyed. When I checked back more was dyed alright, and the price had been raised almost 3 times what it was before! Yeah right. So my search continued, or was put on pause I should say. I moved on to other crafts and forgot about it until just last week. I decided to give it another go with the hopes that I would this time find the yarn and Claire would have a pullover to wear this fall. Well yesterday must have been my day b/c not only did I find an auction on ebay for some of the EXACT SAME yarn I had in a color that would go very nicely with the color I had already begun with, but it was affordable too! I placed my bid but my impatience got the best of me and I continued searching. Just my luck, on ebay express someone had a listing of 7 skeins of the same kind of yarn in white at less than $2 a skein including s&h. I couldn't help myself so I went ahead and bought it. That means I now have way more than enough yarn coming my way, plus if I get the other auction I'm really set. If I win the auction I will use the colored yarn to finish the sweater. Either way I will be dying the white yarn and using it to complete the sweater (if the auction doesn't go through) and make all new washcloths and kitchen towels. The bidding for the other yarn ends tomorrow and the 7 skeins are already in the mail and on their way so it won't be long now! Now I just need to find the best dying techniques available for dying a 85% cotton and 15% polyester yarn... In the end I wonder just how much time and money this quick and free pullover will cost!

Yeah so that's how I make it my way.

Here's a picture of what I have been able to complete so far.

The pattern can be found here: http://www.knittingdaily.com/freepatterns/crochet/232-1.html if you register for free you can download it. I have been having fun making the squares, they are very easy and if I had the yarn I needed in the first place it would have taken no time to complete I'm sure. ;)