Long time no post…
So. Long time no post. I’ve been meaning to post for days because I actually have finished projects. I keep flaking out and not having enough time, though. But here I am. And it looks like I’ve got a long-ish post to make up for lost time. I promise to try posting more!
First, more recent news. A very kind Crochetville Fairy Godmother suprised me the other day! Don came home from the post office with a box. A box from Herrschners, with my name on it! At first I was confused because I hadn’t ordered anything from them, but while I was opening it up it dawned on me that it was an RAOK package. Lookie what was inside:
Inside there was a gorgeous pattern and all sorts of yarn: Red Heart Holiday in blue, rose, and red/green; Caron Sayelle in white and off-white; and Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in ecru, pumpkin, warm brown, citrus fruits print, and seashore. I am a very happy camper!
Thank you, fairy godmother! You totally made my day!
I also have some thread FOs that I finished up probably last week but haven’t posted yet. The first one is Angela’s Cornflower Bookmark, though mine is definitely not a cornflower what with it being yellow and all. (Again, click for full-size; I’m trying to get in the habit of using thumbnails for bigger pics…Pattern info should be there on the gallery page at the link, too.)
And here’s one I’ve been working on for ages. I kept getting away from it to finish the afghan and other projects I had going on, but then recently I buckled down and got it finished. This is the first doily I’ve made, and it’s the most complicated thing I’ve ever tried to block. I do think I messed up the blocking some and made it look weird in places (now, I did make a couple of mistakes along the way, but they were pretty minor things; mostly the reason it looks odd in places is that I didn’t do a great job of blocking).
So I plan to wash out the starch and have another go at blocking it. I could use the practice at that, anyhow!
Right now the major thing I’m working on is the Prairie Star doily from freepatterns.com. I’m at the end of round 24 of 27, but when I got to the end of the round, I found that I’d made a mistake somewhere. The whole round was v-stitch in chain space from the previous round, 5 dc in next chain space, lather, rinse, repeat, but when I got to the end I ended on a v-stitch instead of 5 dc like I should have, so I ended up with an extra chain space in the previous round somehow, and who knows how many rounds I’m going to have to frog to get it right. I’m going to need to take a good long look at it to try to figure out where the problem is and then start frogging. Ack.
In other news, tonight I’ve been trying to teach myself to tat while I’m minding the cash register. I’m using a homemade shuttle that I made by printing out a printable tatting shuttle that I found on BellaOnline since I have not actually gotten around to buying a shuttle yet. (Bad me—I had 50% off coupons for Joann’s that were only good on Friday and Saturday but didn’t make it over there…)
So I’m using this shuttle made of cardstock and instructions I found here (this one has been more helpful because it has left-handed illustrations, too) and here.
And, erm, it’s not going so well at the moment. I mean, I know it’s going to look awful at first, but there’s awful and then there’s awful. I think I’m doing something wrong. Not sure what, though. I have two books at home that explain it though, the Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Needlework and the Good Housekeeping New Complete Book of Needlecraft, so between the two of them I should be able to figure it out. I may just need to stare at some different illustrations before it clicks. A real shuttle probably wouldn’t hurt, either, since the cardstock one is a little floppy and tends to get a bit tangled in the thread (probably because I don’t fully know what I’m doing!)
It can’t be too hard, though, right? Just need to practice until I get it right. I’m trying it out with #10 thread, figuring that would be a whole lot easier to learn on than the #80 thread I found at the flea market. Once I get the hang of things I want to make some itty bitty flowers.
Or maybe I’ll get impatient and crochet them :->
