I am almost finished

The bottom is not flat like I want it. The plan is to tack the bag to the lining and hopefully it will create a flatter bottom. I even made the flap that old the handles!I am amazed at myself! I don't like how you can see the interfacing through the bag. My little $5 handles came in handy! Anyone have any tips on how to minimize the fuzz of acrylic? It looks great now that it is close to completeion I would like another one but man it took alot of work!

Where am I?

Let's see I am almost done with my knitted espadrilles.

You see I have two tops. Why do I have two balls of twine? Well me being grown went to walmart and saw a little ball of jute twine which is what the pattern calls for and I saw saw this large ball of sisal me thinking they were not that much different and the sisal was cheaper I am going with sisal. No. It was so hard to work with I think I got 6 chs and said enough. Next time follow directions but then it would not be me. The other ball I am not even sure it is jute. It is the same color in the pattern. I got it at Target for $1 on the label it said ball of twine it gave no content info. It was a dollar I could at least try it. And it crocheted up pretty nice. But it stinks! it smells like oil or gasoline. But it is working it will be on my feet I do not care! I plan to make a bag with the sisal once i figure out how.

I have 5 ivory centers left to do for my eight rounds before i begin the borders. The all I have left are the two larger squares the 16 and the 20 rounds. I can't wait. Raena has made two blankets in the time it is taking me to make this one! I want to make one like hers, she made a tiramisu. actually a super tiramisu she used a huge hook. I think i will make a white or ivory one. I am making all things for the baby neutral because I do not want to know the sex of the baby till it comes into the world.

Knitted Espadrilles

Here is one of two. This was a really easy pattern. I hope to have the other one by today. without interruptions I may have it complete in 1 hour. I still need twine and and an upholstery needle. my flip flops are a bit small so i am hoping that I do not need any ribbon to keep them on. Let me tell you how easy these are. I want to make many more.

Any bag but this one

Can you see how I ran out of yarn! I was close to finishing the round and I had decided that I was done. Had I had enough yarn to finish the repeat and bind off a finished bag would have been presented today. I was in the salon long enough to finish it too. However, that is not the case but on a brighter note I am close! But the point of the title. Why when you are making the hardest project of your life as you are doing this forsaken project you ask yourself why am I doing this and you are too close to being finished to actually stop so you drag on. That someone asks you to make one for them? My stylists said will you make me a bag? I quickly said any bag but this one. But I quickly said I am kidding oh yes of course. If she brings it back up then I will know she is serious. But it always happens that way.

My co worker suggested that i put wooden handles on this bag. I concur I bought some rattan handles that will go great with the bag. Now all I need is interfacing and bag feet! Then it is on to the next bag: over sized clutch! it probably wont be orange.

Pictures of progress

I have completed my 6th repeat. i plan to go to ten in the end the bag should be 13" tall. I am really debating wheter or not I should go to ten repeats or not. I feel like it is going to be a diaper bag! nah it is going to be cute with its bag feet and square bottom. Just do not give up!

What's Up!!!

Ok What have Ibeen doing so far. nothing. Sadly but true. i finally went to AC Moore to get some yarn and a plus it was on a bigger sale than previous. previously it was on sale for 1.49 this time it was on sale for 1.19. I almost went back and got some more!. They were fully stocked as well. So as I said before i am doing the centers first then the borders. I am on the eight rounds and the break down is thus 3 white 5 ivory and 3 yellow. not bad but i guess it is my surroundings. You know maybe I should not be in bed all roasty toasty then i would not get bored and then go to sleep. And by the way we got a new pillow top mattress which calls me everyday so when i get home i make sure the baby has what she needs and I get straight in the bed! It is like sleeping on a cloud! But anyway back to crafting. I have completed one eight round. One of the ivory centers. and so I started working on the three yellow centers I got to about halfway through the third one got bored and went to sleep. here is my new goal! crochet at work on the bench outside. I wish I had my project with me so then i could outisde right now enjoying the beautiful sunshine. That way i cannot go to sleep. but anyway that is what I have been doing so far. Instead of nothing I can say sleeping.

I like this banner

I like this better than the last one. I bought the last one and made this one myself for free. i guess i feel restriced with the other banner. But since I bought it I will see what else I can do with it. Waste not want not?

8 Rounds

I am on to the eight rounds. I went to AC Moore yesterday and all they had was ivory and white. They are having a sale on Sugar and Cream right now 1.29 a ball vs 1.59. Hopefully they will restock soon i need to call. Anyway I am going to do what I can with what I have. I barely had enough for this white center.

Baby Babette Progress

15 of 15 complete. Now on to the eight rounds. I am really loving the yellow it just seems to pop!

They did not take all that long. I found doing the centers first and then the borders may have made it go much faster.

I am doing big things!

Cables in crochet?! Yep! Now with a baby size thanks to Diva27406!

Remember the cable baby hat I made a while back. Well the lady that originally made the pattern asked if she could post my baby hat pattern on her site and she did! You see big things! Go me!
Check me out: http://www.rheatheylia.com/index.php?page=patterns&id=5

Cable hat in action

Now mind you she has it on because it is raining but she came in the office and said “I love the hat!” I gave it to her yesterday. The brim came out nice as well. I need to go ahead and make a neck scarf to match. Now I actually see someone rocking my stuff I realize I need to get me some labels.

Baby Babette

So i a m making this baby babette. I wanted to use greens but the AC Moore I went to did not have the green I wanted so i went with yellow. I am using Sugar and cream cotton yarn so far it is looking very pretty. The light yellow is called ivory i see it as light yellow. I have 5 more four round to go before i start on the eight rounds. The plan is to do the largest amount of squares(ie 15 4 rounds) first then do the larger rounds.

Cat Blanket to Baby Blanket

Minus the edging these blanket are excatly the same 100sts wide by 125 sts long. See how far back I had to be to take a full pic of the solid blue one. Yes this was a gauge lesson. Now the solid one needs to blocked badly because how is it still curling even though it is ribbed?! This is my first blanket where i did the ribbing as I went. It took longer than the cat blanket but the same amount of yarn about 1 skein not a complete skein. One side of the ribbing did not come out so well it is only visible upon real close inspection. I may have came out ok if i had doubled the yarn on the blue and white one. Now that I think about it the solid blue one was made on key plate 4 not three like the blue and white one. it still is sport weight versu worsted weight. But htere you have my gauge lesson. Haven't had one in a while been hand kniting purses for so long I forgot all about gauge! what a way to come back to reality.

What have I been up to

Nothing much still working on the green shopper and thirsting for the yellow basketweave madie. Have not started it because want to finish the green one first. I was going to buy some yellow yarn when I remembered I have some already. It is a thin cotton. I am going to double it and work the bag up on my 5 circulars. At least that is the plan anyway. But i do have the base and more of my shopper complete. That is a good start. I should be half way done but i am not working on it like I usually do. You know circurlar knitting it will go by in a flash. I am already thinking of ways to finish it and i am not even halfway done. Red heart did a great job on color matching this yarn looks like a great piece of fresh new grass.

The yellow bag I am going to make like Raena's Madies she cast on the length then knit the width her base and bag are seamless to me. It just takes too long for me but you get a great bag. We will see. I am thinking of putting piece of plastic canvas on the botom and adding feet I do not want my bottom poking out i really want a flat bottom bag if that makes since.

Last night I was watching QVC and they were selling D&B Bags. I want to make one of those. A large square bag with a short handle that is the next line after the yellow madie but not sure what color. Still have not made me a real big bag( because I have made a buttonhole bag) out of crochet nylon. anyway steadlily working away on my grass shopper.

Check this out

http://www.dipdive.com/

I enjoyed this.

I am knitting again

it has been a while since i picked up the needles. tried to start several things just did not stick but now i got. A bag of course. I am making another shopper.

I was looking at the new coach bags and i want these colors grass green and canary yellow. I do not know yet when yarn companies roll out their spring colors. Now that I look at it I did not do to bad on the green I did not think it was bright enough. The canary yellow may be a stretch. Where am i going with a bag that bright? I am not sure but it is cute. I can buy my interfacing from this and that lining i am not too concern probably the same lining i used for the last shopper it has green in it. I want to make a buch of pockets for this bag though. What i don't like about the original shopper or even any big bag is I can never find anything i just toss everything in the bag and regret it when I go to look for something. I love the bag becasue I can throw eveything in it but i don't like it for the same reason. So to remedy that pockets. I bought a cable needle although i have no idea on what to do with it but i may not use it and just do basket weave. This shopper or should I say my spring shopper will not be plain. If I do a canry yelow shopper i will have to be accessoried to the hilt. matching earring shoes shirts the bag must have a purpose i don't want to be like why is she wearing that bag. no that one can be plain. it is going to be too bright to focus on texture. oh bag feet or no bag feet. This and That sells bag feet for 3.50 I am thinking eight feet. oh got to go to AC moore and get theses handles hopefully they will be there I can get them for half off!

Cayla

too cute!

Baby Legs and tutus

I am behind in the times becasue apparently there has been a pattern out to make your own baby legs and tutus for a while. Anyway here are a few links to some tutorials.
Baby legs there are severl but they are pretty much the same there is one out on the net where you slice the btoom cuff in half to tighten it on the leg http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=207882.0;all

Tutus now this is the cutest thing i ever did see. I cannot wait to make my baby one. She is set for Halloween. And over the weekend I put a head band around her tummy to make sure it would not be too small. Even thought I am thinking about cutting a ribbon 1 yd long and tying the tulle on for 20" you know kinda like a tutu apron then it is adjustable the bigger she gets just add more tulle? and it is still no sew. http://plumtickled.typepad.com/plumtickled/2007/08/tutu-tutorial-t.html
the baby has some leotards too i was wondering what i was going to do with them but now i know.

Ureka!!!!!!

Thank you Virtuos (crimson Purl) because i really was going to give up on the brim. I re did it with the insert and it still was not right i was close to tears I tell you but Virtuos said don't give up look for newsboy caps. So i did and came across yarncat's pattern for a news boy cap. Her hat was 66st and my hat is 64 sts perfect i followed her brim pattern to the t and i got it! Thank you Jesus!!! Yes it is that serious.

Baby Cable Hat

Trying to make my baby a hat this past weekend i made a little baby hat. it is the cutes thing! my next attempt will be a cotton one for the summer time babies. same pattern same hooks (H,G) cut the numbers in the pattern in half.

Wow! did not know this would be so hard

this is after several take downs and I still ended up taking this down. the brim was flat on my face. You see how it is laying flat on the ball. I believe I need to do two pieces and put and insert in the middle. I do not like the band. Not sure how to do the band to look like the one on the MJB hat. May just forego the band. I actually like the brim on the hat. never made one before. Did not really like brims. First time for everything. Back to the drawing board.

I told you I was creative

I went from a bag to a hat. Next time I want to try a sport weight or a lighter weight worsted like simply soft and see what I get next I have to make the baby's hat. My plan is to not inc to 80 and go from there. Leon says it is a female hat. I am going to make him a hat! have you noticed what I got for christmas? it is the best thing since bread! Not sure if I posted the pattern yet or not it is very easy too. http://www.rheatheylia.com/index.php?page=patterns&id=5

I have plans to use this pattern to make:

Cable Bag

Cable Neckwarmer

It is suppoed to be a hat but it looks more like a bag

as i said in previous post next time i will use a smaller needle. But i did it does it count when it does not come out right? I was thinking of putting a ribbon through it and trying to wear it that way.

Beer Can Chicken

Over the holidays I decided to do something out of the ordinary. I made a beer can chicken. It was not for christmas or newyears but since i had to eat why not try something new. I injected the chinken with Ken's lemon pepper marinade and rub him in a seasoning salt and let it sit for a day. then i filled a tilt can with water and more seasoning salt and brushed him with oil and more seasoning (and i wondered why the skin was salty but Leon loved the skin) I cooked it slow for 3 hours and basted it every hour (that is why it so dark everytime i open the oven door it got darker).

It tasted great. Lesson learned do not baste in oil (I think that is why it got so black)
Only cook for two hours (the white meat was dry)
try with different marinades (loveed the lemon still would like to try more)
keep on injecting!

Side note I made this plate for my birthday my girlfrindes took me to mad platter.
What I learned from that
I had a great time making the plate
Plan out my plate much better ( I had a plan but it really didinot come out like i had plan next time make a sketch)
Learn a better way to put words on a plate
other than that I love the plate and the experience oh yeah next get a sitter.

I am not sure where I went wrong but...

My crochet cable hat is coming out way too big. Let me take you back. I was looking at Shamkea's blog and she posted about someone who made the hat on MJB album cover. I was browsing crafster.org and i cam across the crocheted cabled hat. I thouhgt i could make the reflections hat witht ecrocheted pattern no big deal. well that was two frogs ago. I had to start the hat over twice before i got the pic to the right. Which I am happy about because it is finally looking like the picture but it is oh so big. the pattern says use j hook . But now the lady who made hers made two and the secons one ahe used a smaller hook. So I will call this the trial hat (although it looks like a bag, which it very well may be). My other question is when does it start coming down? I could just be tired of the hat I have been working all day on it. Due to the determination not to fail. Well anyway let me go knit a blanket that oh so way overdue. Which reminds me to keep my mouth closed and not offer to make anything for anyonelse. I want to say I am in a selfish crafting phase of my life. When I first started all I wanted to do was craft for other hell that was all I did but now I don't want to craft for anyoneelse because it takes time away from what I could be crafting for myself. "Hi my name is Toni and I am a selfish crafter."

P.S. anyone know of a good pattern for a crochet brim?

Go me

I made a sheet! Not pefect but it does fit. I am working on a knitted bag but that is not new. Christmas was lovely. I got a palm centro. It is very cute! I also made some pillows (not stuffed yet) Next I have to get her comforter and make her some curtain toppers I will look up the pattern for that. Wish me luck!

this what I have so far

These are my attemps at the neck warmer thingys I posted about yesterday. the one on the right I made last night and the one on the left i was making a baby genius scarf and i became bored. have not touched this in a long time. A light came on last night. The neck warmer is like a short scarf. I had just the thing. The blue one (the one on the left) looks more like the one on crafster. I need to make the beige one longer. I don't have any buttons and it is christmas time so I will not be buying any. I have some eyehooks at home i will be using them.

What do you think about this

The author says it is a rectangle. I am thinking of chaining 23 (the first three should be the 1st st) and crochet til my desired length. The stitch looks like dc. The yarn looks like wool ease thick and quick. So I am going to give it a try. AC Moore is having a sale tomorrow with a 50% off coupon so if Wool ease thick and Quick is not on sale I can have it for $3! Oh yeah size N hook.

Machine Knit Kaiju

I made the smallest one. I cannot fit it myself. So I am making the largest size and i think it i will be too big. They knit up fast. I made the first one to see if I could make it. Now I have a belt to fit a waist os 22"-24". Who has a waist that size? it fits the baby.

Guess what I had the other day

A strawberry eggnog milkshake! I asked my baby did she want a regular or chocolate eggnog milkshake. Those are the ones I know they made. She said I want a strawberry egnog milkshake I was like I don't think they make those. But they did. It was good too! When it is watermelon milkshake time I will request a strawberry watermelon one!

Machine Knit Kaiju in the making

My yarn is not fancy just simple cotton/acrylic but it is cute. I made my swatch last night. I have a question though. Do I or don't I stretch it to measure it? Half is 1x1 rib and the other half is 2x2 rib. Once i get my measurments I am good to go! The pattern is fairly simple i do have another question about rehanging the side of the center pieces I am not sure what I am suppoed to be doing I am not sure if I rehang the entire side or just the purl stiches or what? That part is going to be totally trial and error. It takes a while to translate a handknit pattern to machine knit but no time to make it on the machine. My plan is to make christmas gifts. Realy not sure how to size it though just make them to fit me and if they don't fit I wll take them back! (Nah)

So Sad

I worked on this bag for like three days and i did it wrong. I was almost done with the center petal when i realized i was not doing the outer two petals. Now yesterday I was cussing I am better today. I have not picked up a needle or a hook since Sunday (that is when i noticed it) so I figure I am still a little bitter. I was supposed to be another madie this is the chart from the Damask pattern from Berrocco. I will make it just not right now.