Yarnification

A Crochetville elf sent me a package last week, and I’m just now getting the time to transfer pics from the digital camera:

I haven’t decided for sure what to do yet, but I’ve been thinking of making an afghan out of squares and I think those pinks and purples will work in very nicely. Other than that, I’m waiting for inspiriation to strike me—I know I’ll see a pattern and think, “ooh! that would be perfect!” That happens to me a lot that way.

My mom gave me some cash, and I’ve earmarked part of that for yarn, too. The other day I bought some #30 thread (more on that below) and also a little ball of sparkly white #10 thread. I have no idea what I’m going to do with the sparkly thread but it was too pretty to pass up, and I know sooner or later I’ll find the perfect thing to make with it. Other than that, I haven’t spent the yarn money yet. I’m planning a trip to Walmart since the JoAnn’s I went to was cleaned right out of a lot of yarn in the colors I was looking for.

A couple of people have asked me where I got the scarf pattern—I meant to post the link along with the picture, but I was so rushed that night that I just slapped up the picture and left it at that. It’s the Aran sampler scarf from Marlo’s Crochet Corner, and I’m really happy with how it came out. It’s so warm, and I really needed something warm what with how cold it’s been here. (It finally warmed up above freezing today—45°! Hooray!)

I’ve been pretty much at loose ends for projects now that I’ve finished the gifts. I have so many things in mind that I can’t decide what to do! And I want to keep practicing the knitting, too.

I’d started making this pretty Celtic bookmark (PDF file) (my first foray into #30 thread, even), but since there’ll be a thread crochet-along starting at Crochetville soon I’m holding off on that.

So what I have been working on: At home, my socks. I’ve frogged them yet again, and I’m trying the In Your Shoes ankle socks pattern again because I couldn’t seem to get the right size starting chain with the toes-up socks. I could make a starting chain that would make baby socks or one that could make giant socks, but I couldn’t seem to get it right for my size. We’ll see if the cuff-down pattern works out for me; if not, I’ll try the toes-up ones again and keep fiddling with the starting chain length.

And at work, I’ve started working on baby things for charity. I have a few skeins’ worth of Bernat Baby Coordinates in a pretty yellow that was meant to be a baby afghan a while back, but it ended up not working out due to time constraints and the fact that I screwed up the pattern in a huge and painful way. Anyway, yesterday I found where I’d stashed the bag of yarn at work, frogged and wound into balls, and I started making these adorable booties yesterday. I figure on making a bunch of pairs over time in a couple of sizes, some hats, and whatever else I can make out of that yarn; then I’ll get in touch with Touching Little Lives to donate them. I’ve been wanting to do more charity crocheting, and ever since two friends of mine lost their baby a few years ago after he was born very premature (about 25 weeks, which is bad enough, but he was small for how far along she was, too, and he only lived for a few weeks), that’s been the type of charity that appeals to me the most.