#1 or #2? And Some New Crafts.

I took those old photos and played with them a bit.  Which do you like better? The single page layout?

Or the two page spread?

I can't make up my mind.

I've also finished a new scarf, using the pattern from the wrapper on a ball of Bernat Alpaca yarn. The pattern was pretty confusing, and took me some time (and my handy crochet refernece book) to figure it out. Lizy, I'd hold off on this one if I were you, it'll just make you mad. It kind of made me mad. I also tried to make the hat from the pattern on the other ball of yarn, but that pattern was just terrible. I tried it twice, and ripped it out twice. Then I threw that pattern away, and went back to my other hat pattern and now it's half done.

Here's a sneak peek of the holiday jewelry I'm getting ready to bring in to the shop. There's a lot more to come, just as soon as I can get it done.

New Scarf...and Hat!!

Ok, so I actually finished the scarf a few days ago, but I just finished the hat last night. But, I added a flower to the scarf today, so I guess I didn't officially finish until today. :)
I'm just super proud of myself, because I've taught myself to read crocheting patterns, and the hat and flowers are my first from-pattern creations. I'm particularly proud of the flowers, because I actually altered the patterns a little bit to make them look better and I stitched beads onto them. Hooray!! I'm totally on a crocheting kick now (which is good, since I have 3 crocheting classes to teach this month) and there's another idea/pattern I want to try out. Don't worry, I'll post it when I'm done!

Poodle Scarf and Picture Woes

While I was at the shop yesterday, I picked up some new yarn to play around with. I got 3 skeins of Patons® Pooch Yarn in "Indian Summer", thinking that it would crochet into a really cute chunky scarf. And it did. :) I did the same lattice stitch that I almost always use, and it worked out well because this yarn is really bulky. It was kind of a pain to work with, in the same way that bouclé is pain to work with. On the plus side, though, it went really fast. I had the whole scarf (all 3 skein's worth) done in about an hour and a half.

As you can see, the scarf is cute but the picture is not. I spent an hour this morning trying to get a decent picture... Different rooms (with different lighting), different angles... Of course it didn't help that I was doing all the picture taking myself. So, I have decided that I need to join the PhotoShop bandwagon... It's just too cool a program not to have, especially since I am going to be taking a lot of baby photos in the near future... So, to that end, what suggestions do all of you photoshop savvy people have? Which version should I get? How difficult is it to use? Could I possibly bribe one of you to teach me how to use it, once I get my hands on the program? Really, I'll bribe you. :)

What I've been doing instead of blogging:

This is the throw blanket that I've been working on for approximately the past million years. Or, that's the way it feels at the moment. It's really coming along nicely, though. I used blue variegated Lion Suede yarn (moonshadow, I think) for the whole thing. It's gorgeous, and it feels wonderful but man-oh-man is it ever a pain to crochet!! I don't believe I'll be taking on anymore large project with it. Anyway, I could have finished it last night, but I decided to do one more round of the pattern before I end it. So I only have 8 more rows and the same number of tassels and it will be DONE! I'm super excited, and might I say, rather pleased with myself. ^_^



And, of course, we have the never-ending cross-stitch for my niece. I still have some more bunnies to do at the toe of the stocking (to the left of the basket) but I am so close to being done, it's almost enough to make me giddy. I've gotten a lot done, even compared to the last time I posted a pic. Really, it's encouraging to see how far it's come. Then again, it's taken me more than a month to do it. I guess that so long as I get it done (and the stocking made) by the time I fly home just after Christmas, it's aaalllllll gooooood.

There's also all the other *stuff* that I don't have photos for...like, the mountain of presents that I've wrapped or the stack of Christmas cards I've written. I've been working on the nursery too, but I won;t be posting any photos of that until it starts looking decent. Right now, it's just a crib full of random baby stuff and a bunch of boxes on the floor. But at least you know you have something to look forward to, right? Anyway, all of this is my excuse for not blogging...and since I still have about a million things to do (finishing the above projects are just the beginning) I don't foresee a great deal of blogging in my future either. maybe as I finish things....

Finished!

I've been working on this blanket all winter, and I am finally DONE! I've never made anything quite this big before, so I'm excited about it. It's a gift for my mother-in-law... She was complaining just before I left to come over here that she doesn't have any throws to match the decor in her living room. Well, she soon will! I've got it in the mail to her now. I can't wait until she gets it!