sky / dra (***) / (**) mini

I’m sorta maybe trying to come up with a design for a summer bag. I was actually going to make the granny square bag I love so much (so much), but then I got sidetracked when I realized that those squares are the same ones used in the Babette blanket so I took out the sheet I got in Minneapolis outlining the number of 2-round, 4-round, 6 round, etc squares I’d need for that (a lot) and made like, 7 squares. The squares were good for a blanket (soooft) but not for a bag (soooft). I played around with different stashed yarns, and threw some crap out, and generally remained displeased.

Then through all these swatches I realized I liked to work with cotton, and I made a bag bottom and I kept going.

I came up with a pretty spiffy body which works up rather well. I’m pleased with it. It’s a simple HDC pattern throughout, aside from the bottom which is worked in SC. For some reason, HDC is my very favorite stitch. I find it elegant.

The handles have been slightly more problematic. Even though HDC in cotton yarn with a smaller hook works up stiff, it’s not stiff enough for the first idea I had in mind, which was sort of based on this. I had to frog those — The Man liked them but I did not, and really, he won’t use them quite so much. Also, I was having so much trouble lining the damn thing last night with the initial handles in my way that tonight I decided to line the bag post-frogging. Check out the cute apple fabric!

Confession : the lining is actually a dish towel I bought once upon a time at the dollar store to sew up a market bag with 2 contrasting towels. It’s more funner since there’s way less sewing involved this way.

Sky

*I hate camera phones.

I have an acceptably sized yarn stash. It is acceptably sized, yes, but quality-wise, it could use some upgrading. I’ve been given yarn by people that I just won’t ever use for a variety of reasons (feels like ass, not remotely enough, colour gives me the runs, etc). I’ve been meaning to clean said stash out (garage sale!) and as I do, I’m trying to use up some of the yarn that’s accumulated. The goal is that eventually I’ll have space for betterer yarn (which I’ve already started buying). I refuse to go into the LYS until I have space for gooder yarn.

Hence this afghan. I printed the pattern eons ago, but one really has to be in the afghan mood to start an afghan. To date, this is only the second one I’ve completed. And I had to wonder at what this said about my sanity, that I started a freaking afghan in the summer. It might say a lot ’bout my brain, but if it does it’s mostly saying that I’ve got little inclination to start a wearable or a dainty project when i’m bathing in sunscreen and cortisone cream.

I didn’t have enough yarn to make the entire thing, but it’s huge enough as it is. Basically I only left out 3 rounds of the outermost circle. The afghan has now been moved to the Christmas stash (it’s red; get it?).

Pattern (free, well written, despite the size, an easy pattern even for a beginner) : members.aol.com/lffunt/skipstone.htm
Yarn : something red in a giant bag - nothing fancy, obvs., just a lot of it.
Hook : M (the N hook recommended just made it too spacey)
Completed in 7 days (June 23-June29)

This is the infamous comfy cardi I tried to ruin. When I took this picture, I was waiting for my washer to be done with its load so that I could toss this in and go back to praying. I was also apologizing profusely for possibly ruining one of our couches (not!) and my new Gap shorts (not!) and for all the salt on the floor everywhere.

This is the completely stain-free comfy cardi. I did take it to the cleaner after the salt made most of the stain go away, leaving only a dirty looking blue stain in the larger affected areas, but when I went to pick the sweater up, it was waiting for me on the ground before the cleaner’s table, untouched. A very infuriating conversation followed in which I was repeatedly told to pay 7.52 7.52 7.52, to which I replied - just as many times - that when you want to screw me over, you have to at least make the effort of sticking my untouched sweater into a garment bag. Conclusion : oxy-clean is a fantastic product. And yes, shots of the cardy being worn will eventually follow, I’m sure; it just wouldn’t do tonight: I don’t want to hurt your sensibilities with pictures of a sweaty, post-gym Sky.

This is what I’m bringing with me when we go camping this weekend. 4-day! It’s seemingly simple enough that I can be camping and working on it simultaneously, which is very important indeed. I need a portable project that I can drop at any point and not pull my hair out trying to figure out where I left off.

Vive le Québec libre..

Sky

So what’s the worst thing that could happen to a crocheter? It’s not running out of yarn before a project is finished, which almost happened, because you can (almost) always order more. And it’s not pet hair, because that’s removeable. If it doesn’t fit you, it will fit someone else. And if you find your item horrendous, you can always frog or burn it.

No. The worst thing that can happen to a crocheter is to put in the last seam, reach for the button which will effectively end the item once it is sewed on, and to spill a full glass of red wine on said item. A glass that The Man just refilled. A glass of red wine on a cardigan you’re working in a pale pink cotton yarn.

And that’s exactly what I did two nights ago.

I can’t even begin to explain how it felt. Nevermind that there was wine all over my brand new Gap shorts and cami, and never mind even more that the couch I was sitting on was also covered. Did you not read the above?? Pale PINK; basically finished cardigan.

I only uttered one word, but 10 years with a man will have him getting the gist of things with only one word and the sound of desperation. SALT! And I figured out just how people actually need to eventually buy more salt. I mean, really… 1 kilo? Who the hell goes through that much salt without having to repair a bad stain?

So I dump 4.5 hectalitres of salt on my cardigan and I let The Man take care of the couch and my clothing, all half-assedly tossed somewhere in the living room in my panicky state. And before putting the thing in the machine (because, yes, fellow yarnophiles, I dared to put Patons Grace in a MACHINE! And no vengeful god struck me down for it, I’ll have you know) I checked the internet for better tips & tricks.

Well. First place I looked said SALT! in the same panicky voice I had used. But them three more sites said OMGOMG!!11! NO SALT!! and then I cried a little. Someone said MILK?! and someone else tried to sell me cialis. I threw caution to the soft breeze and dumped my cardigan into the machine, cold wash, delicate cycle.

The stains are gone, for the most part, if you don’t count the 4 of 5 spots of varying sizes that feature a leftover blueness. I’m wondering whether I will have it dyed or not. It’s wearable but it pains me to see those pale blue stains on an otherwise perfect item. Incidentally, it was a really good Melot Pinotage I had gotten at the SAQ for Girls’ Night and hid before the night ended.

I’ll have pictures soonish. I just got home from the gym, and after the hottitude of the day + workout, I don’t think the cardi can handle that much more grief.

I’ll leave you instead with this poor maladjusted boy. Doesn’t he look like he needs therapy? His mom probably crocheted him some really ugly boxy sweaters in an itchy yarn and he doesn’t know how to tell her. Take heed, mothers. (omgomgomgomg111!!!omg June 24!)There are some really cool patterns out there. No need for headcases such as this. Sadface.

Sky

dreamcatcher, originally uploaded by yeayeayeah.

So I see things all the time that I want to show someone - anyone - and I can’t, really, because no one in my reality understands the beauty of using yarn to create dreams. The things I see online and in stores and on people and that make me want to find several more (free) hours every day in which to producemakecreate beauty have just been accumulating everywhere: in my bookmarks, and in my pinned feeds on bloglines, pasted into my day book, cluttering my art room (that’s just a sarcastic name for it at this point).

And I figured it was fitting (if belated) for me to use my web space to post these things and hope that maybe some might inspire you, while also being readily available to me when I can get to them.

The first of these many clippings, then, is this gorgeous crocheted dreamcatcher by flick’r user yeayeayeah. There isn’t any conceivable way anyone could have nightmares if they were protected by this, is there?

Sky