the problem with "x"

I finished both front and back of my "x". And I crocheted around the outside edges of both, to give it a nice finished edge.

I want to crochet more around the edge, figure out some way to put them together, involving more of a block edge than to put them together flat, like they did in the pattern.

I want it to be more like one of those block letters, like the kind you display on your desk, you know?

BUT, there is one really big obstacle to that.

I'm out of yarn. I have just a smidgen left of that entire skein (which, I think, I only used for this project - that's a lot of yarn for just one little "x"). I was reluctant to buy another, just for the few yards I'll need to do the block edges.

A few days ago, I finally decided there was no way around it, I had to buy another skein if I wanted to finish it. I went to Michael's. I looked in the yarn (after trying very hard not to look at all the new Halloween stuff in there - I'm a fool for Halloween), and, wouldn't you know it, they don't have any in that color. Lots of other colors. Lots. But not even an empty spot for the color I used for my "x".

I'm not being lazy with this one, folks. I would finish it if I could. There just isn't any yarn left.

Year of Ami, week 32, F is for Flamingo!

I so very much wanted to do flamingos in the first round, but could not find a knitted freebie at all. Almost did the crochet one, anyway, but then couldn't locate my pink fun fur yarn, so I set it aside. Good thing, because now there is a knit version!

To crochet, from Lion Brand, Fay the Flamingo. (you need to be a member to see their freebies, but that's free, too, so sign up already!)

To knit, from Spud & Chloe (don't you just love their name?), Flamingo. (I don't intend to put the bouncy ball in mine. Pretty sure.)

*pics of my own creations added after-the-fact*

Half a Scotch Egg

Wow, that was fast.

I have to confess, I have a lot of Jean Greenhowe patterns. I am embarrassed to say that this is my first attempt at anything she's written. A shame, really. Because, of course, she's brilliant. And of course, her patterns are super-easy. I'm just lame like that.

This is, in part, the reason for this year-long challenge. To get me to break out my needles, hooks, and yarn, and make up some of the many patterns I'm hoarding for "Someday". Do you do that? You print something out, or you buy the little booklet, and then, it's years before you actually sit yourself down to make the thing? Which, generally, takes so much less time than you'd think. And then you sit there, wondering why you waited so long to start. And feeling like a dork for doing so.

So, back to this scotch egg.

I think I knitted one row too many on the sausage part, because, where I sewed it together, it doesn't quite look right. But, it's a toy, so, big deal, right?
I skipped the cardboard and glue, because I need my play food to be washable. I considered cutting the circles out of plastic, or using small plastic lids, but in the end, I stuffed it lightly, and then sewed the egg into the sausage using the cast-on tail of the brown yarn.
Easy-peasy. And cute, too. Even if it is on the small side, as eggs go.

Yarns: LB Wool-Ease in Buttercup, White, and Cocoa

The arrival of Mockingjay

My copy of Mockingjay arrived just before I left for work this morning.

The UPS guy knocked briefly on the back door (why the back? that always bugs me) and then left the package, plain brown cardboard, propped up against the pale yellow brick exterior.

I retrieved it, opened the package, and resisted opening the book.

Instead, I placed it on my armchair - my knitting/reading chair, the chair we sometimes refer to as the man-chair.

I open the front door, ready to leave the house, and I catch some movement, off to the left, just out of the corner of my eye. Then, oh my goodness, this gorgeous blue jay, with these impossibly long, brilliant blue tail feathers, is briefly perched, wings still out-stretched, on the arm of one of the deck chairs in the front yard. A seriously beautiful bird. Just for a moment.

I glance back at the chair, at the Mockingjay cover. The image of that bird, so similar.

It was hard not to just sit right down and open that book.

Three guesses what I'm doing with my Friday evening.

*blue jay image from here*

Happy Birthday, Fabulous Fibers!

Fab Fibers* is the knit/crochet/spin/other fiber addiction group I attend most every Thursday. I say "most", because I do miss it sometimes.
For instance, last week, I was in Idaho. Just as the rest of the Fab Fibers gals were gathering over at B&N (on the Parkway in Orem), I was sitting down to a post-wedding dinner, far away in Lava Hot Springs.
I've also, sometimes, somehow, usually because I've gotten distracted by my latest Netflix delivery, managed to forget it's Thursday. I usually remember somewhere around 9pm, as they're breaking it up to go home. Then I'm sad, that I sat there, knitting or crocheting alone, in the dark, watching a movie. (Not that I don't like watching movies alone, because I do. I'm just sad to have missed my girlfriends.)

Last night, there was just me, Amanda (our founder) and Megan. I worked on a baby gift (nottellingyouwhat). Amanda worked on this seriously cool, skinny, green scarf she's knitting for a friend. Megan worked on a black and red intarsia-knit scarf, also for a friend. We're very charitable, no? Seems like half of what I do isn't for myself. Except recently, what with the Ami thing I'm doing.
Anyway, we knitted (weird - all of us were knitting...), talked, laughed. Talked about feminine products. That's Amanda's fault - she asked if either of us went to the Smith's in Orem. I do, but, only because it's the one place in Provo/Orem that carries Instead. Having said that, the product had to be explained. (I converted back in '92, or maybe it was '93 - whenever it first came out, with boxes of 6 for $1 so you'd try it. I tried it, and I'll never go back. Seriously.) Megan uses Diva, a reusable version of the same type. That had to be explained. And drawn on a napkin (we meet in the cafe, 7pm, every Thursday - you should come). I'm sure the couple next to us enjoyed overhearing that discussion.
(Well? What do you expect? A group of women, left to their own devices...)

Ahem.

So, as it was FF's birthday, we decided we'd go out after, celebrate a little. Went over to Mimi's, just across the parking lot. (Not my restaurant-of-choice.) We walked in around 9:45 (they close at 10 M-Th). Then took forever deciding what to have. Nate, our waiter, was very nice, friendly and patient. I had the French Toast Breakfast. Not bad, just not impressed enough to want to have it again. I don't know what it is about that place. Something just isn't quite...I don't know. BUT, they have this amazing Pomenade - pomegranate lemonade (the word Pomenade had us thinking "I don't want FOP, I'm a Dapper Dan man" (O Brother), and someone with slicked-back hair walking with a pompous aire). Also, Berry Pom Lemonade - Lemonade with a berry-pomegranate nectar. I had that. Yummm. We eat, drink, and compare freckles.

We're all fair-skinned, dark haired, and freckled. Megan and I have similar freckle-patterning on our forearms. All three of us have at least one freckle on our palm.

After, we stood around in the parking lot talking for a while.
Amanda is single, too, and asks me if I know someone she met in a mid-singles ward. Someone who is about 32 or so. I say that's a bit young for me. Megan suddenly says she's so crushed, she's too young to date me (she's 25). This has all of us laughing. Megan's boyfriend calls just then, and she tells him how sad she is that she's too young to date me. He tells her I'm a snob, too picky. Amanda is giving me a weird look.
Megan, sweetie, I love you, but...well...you've got a boyfriend, and I wish I had a boyfriend...and...I guess, you're just not my type?
This morning, it was hard to wake myself up. Like I'd just had too much fun, and enjoyed my friends so much, that going back to regular, boring, normal life just wasn't the thing.

I love Fab Fibers.

Next week, I'll be at the Storytelling Festival, so I won't get to sit and knit/crochet with my friends, and enjoy the cryptic and rambling conversation. But, you know, Bil Lepp. I mean, is there really a choice? I think not.
Speaking of, if you are looking for something to do Labor Day weekend, you should come. The Timpanogos Storytelling Festival is one of the very best. And we've got Bil Lepp this year.

I wish we could have him every year. We laugh so hard, sometimes it's hard to breath. Okay, it's always that way with Bil. Vampire Santa, Punching the Lard...oh, dear, my ribs are starting to hurt. I don't even have to hear the whole story, just the title, and I remember, and I'm off.

*Fab Fibers needs a logo. Anyone?

Little Fried Egg

This cute little item took me all of 10 minutes, I think. And that includes me working out how to close up the back. Seriously.

For a stand-alone fried egg from this pattern:

Work Rnd 5 in the front loops only (to leave you something to work in later)

Work and finish as written (I love how it's shaped! So easy to make it look realistic!)

Join white yarn in one of the back loops from rnd 4

Rnd 1: sc around in back loops (16)

Rnd 2: dec around (8)

Slip stitch to close round
Make sure you stuff it a little. My yarn ends were just about enough. I added some stuffing, and it's a little bit puffy, so maybe I shouldn't have?
Use the nice finish, and close up the hole

Voila!

Yarns: LB Wool-Ease in Buttercup and White

One Minion down...

What do you think? Pretty cute, huh?

Pattern wasn't hard. Just all them parts and pieces to contend with, which always slows me down.

Problem on Rnd 5 of the overalls: (Just checked the pattern, and she's fixed the error, so no worries! But, if you have a copy like mine, printed earlier, here's how it should work)

it says: *sc in next 2 sc, inc* around (32). But, that has math issues. You start with 28 stitches (from rnd 4), and you only want to add 4 stitches. If you increase every 3rd stitch, you're adding 9ish. I say "ish", because 28 is not evenly divisible by 3, so you're going to come up short. And have too many increases. If you want to add only 4 stitches, and you're starting with 28, you might want to divide 28 by 4. That gives you 7, so, probably, your rnd should read: *sc in next 6, inc* around. That will have you increasing every 7th stitch, and will result in 32 stitches.

Math always wins.

I like how she did the arms. Easier than trying to sc around in a tight circle.

I had to take off 3 stitches from the goggle strap to fit the head right. Dunno why, but, it's not hard to pull those out. I stitched mine down to the head.

I also stitched the center of the overall strap down to the overalls in back, in order to make it more like overalls, less like an apron.

Yarns: LB Wool-Ease in Buttercup, Blue Mist, Black, Oxford Grey

(are we about done with that Build-me-up Buttercup yellow yarn? Nope. Because it's just right for yolks.)

Lava Hot Springs Highlights

First, I must tell you, despite my lack of excitement beforehand, Lava is a GREAT place to be! Seriously...I wanna go back, like, RIGHT NOW! Super-fun. For reals.

Okay, so, this is where we stayed:

It's called Aura Soma Lava, and we stayed in the Conference Center. There are 7 twin beds, and 2 hide-a-beds, plus plenty of room for air mattresses and such. I got to sleep on the landing:

(I've always wanted to sleep on a stair landing. Seriously!)

It has it's own private hot springs pool:

(which was not filled when we got there -

some lame excuse about how they have to refill while adding cold city water, or it's too hot, so they didn't like to do it the day before? Whatever. Because they were also mowing the lawn when we arrived...I wish I was kidding.)

It has a great little yard and patio area that looks out on the river:

(The river on which we went tubing. (Of which I have no pictures. Because, though there were some of our party that chose not to tube, they did not think to come take pictures of us screaming and hooting as we went over the "rapids" under one of the many bridges. And I didn't think to ask until later.) Suffice it to say...it was AWESOME! Can I go again? Like, right now? Pretty please?)

Um, but, first things first - the reason we were there - my youngest brothers' wedding:

This kid, the ring-bearer, would not move out of the way. I don't know why. He kept wandering around in front of the bridal couple. I don't know if the photographer got any better shots than I did, but I sure hope so. Mine were too shady to see their faces.

We had a nice dinner,

and a lovely evening. As it was getting dark, I was wandering the little field next to our place,

(These guys are in the center of one of those spirals, the kind you walk for meditation? There were a couple of Chinese dog statues in the middle, too.)

and looked up at the hillside (not mountain) to see they had a sort of lame little L outlined in lights:

Which, to me, looked rather flimsy after a week of seeing the Y lit up in Provo.

The next morning, we had a hearty breakfast, got ourselves packed up, and headed out to get some tubes so we could have some fun! (not that the wedding wasn't fun, because it was)

The tube rental is super-cheap. Only $5 for a half-day on a single! We got a quad, and, I have to say, I'd do that again, and get strangers to go with me, rather than go down on a single. It's safer, I think. And more fun, because your people are right there with you, and you don't have to try to hold on to them, they're just there.

One tip: when you come to the rocky bits (of which there are many, hence the "rapids" and mini waterfalls), keep your butt up out of the hole. I have this massive bruise on my hind-parts. Massive.

You do have to walk back up (or get someone in your party to drive down and haul you and the tubes back up, which we didn't), but, even though we floated down quite a ways, it's not a bad walk back to the starting point. It never seemed like it was tiring. There's this path by the river, so you walk most of the way back along that. Then, at one point, you have to cross a bridge. I wish I had a picture of this one, because every time we walked up to it, it had me giggling. The little sign next to the bridge said "Tuber Path" with an arrow pointing over the bridge. It just struck me funny: now we're potatoes? or maybe rutabagas?

I had gone around, before tubing down the river for the first time, slathering sunscreen on everyone. Rubbing the serious stuff on their noses and tops of their ears. Making sure everyone was well-rubbed with sunscreen. Except, I guess, I only got Twin1's face. Because his poor ankles got seriously burnt:

Funny story here...he says I can show you this picture of his bare feet, but only if I share the whole story. So, what happened is, my friend did glitter toes on my sisters and my nieces, and then my baby sister went out to get ultra-fine glitter so she could do them herself on whoever might want them, once we were in Lava. She does my aunt, my mom, the brides' grandma (!). Then, my niece asks Twin1 if he'd like some, too. He says, "sure, nobody will know, because I always wear shoes and socks" (true). We knew we'd be wearing water shoes while tubing (a must - do not wear flip-flops - they just come off your feet and get lost), so no chance of anyone seeing them even then. But, then he sunburned, and he couldn't stand to have socks or shoes on, and he spent a whole day and a half wearing flip-flops and showing off his glitter toes. Yup. I'm glad he can see the humor in that situation. My niece kept offering him polish remover, but he said, no, it was a funny story, so he was cool with it.

Anyway, there's some of the highlights. I could go on. I'll probably come back to it, share more funny stories. A good trip, and a great place to stay and have some fun.

Year of Ami, week 31, E is for Eggs! (now with I Love Egg song!)

I considered, once again, elephants,

but found not the mood for it.

(also, eggs on the brain, with the recent mass recalls and all that)

So, eggs it is.

To crochet, you don't have to make them wearable, Fried Egg Cuffs. (I plan to only make the eggs. I just happen to like the shape of these ones best. Plus, her wearable food is funny.)

To knit, from Jean Greenhowe, hidden away in a collection of Tea Party Treats - Appetizers, Half a Scotch Egg. (scroll down in the link...you can't link to just the one pattern, only the page with her freebies)

In case you don't know what a scotch egg is, here's one I made for our post-wedding breakfast:

It's a hard-boiled egg, wrapped in sausage, then rolled in breadcrumbs, and, in this case, baked. I tried once, years ago, frying one, which is traditional. But it fell apart, and I gave it up entirely, never mind how delicious these are. Then, a couple years ago, while trying to find something to make for a family brunch, I found an easy recipe that had you bake them instead. Yum!

(Eggs making you nervous lately? Just make sure they're thoroughly cooked, and no worries. Promise.)

And, in case you need any more reasons to love eggs (I don't, I love 'em lots already), here's a cute little ditty for you: The I Love Egg song! (I want some. Whatever those are, they are stinkin' cute, and I want some!)

*pics of my own creations added after-the-fact*

Endless Coral

Finally, finally, done with this.

And, though I love how it looks, I think I like the crochet version better.

So there.

Some things to know:

Shorter ends on your circular are going to be much easier to work with. Because you start with only 10 stitches, that center tends to pull the rest in, no matter how much you increase, so those longer ends get in the way. Perhaps an optimal circular needle length would be the 16", as the smaller lengths tend to have shorter needle ends? Not sure if that holds true for all circulars, but it seemed to be that way for mine. It was so frustrating, so hard to work with, I nearly gave up. So start with shorties, folks.

Resist the temptation to do "just one more" row. It can become endless. Trust me.

When binding off in i-cord (new for me), you want the stitch you are knitting as one with the i-cord to be to the right, so it can hide under the i-cord edge. I slipped the stitch off the circular onto the dbl point before knitting together, just to make it a little easier to handle. I tended to do that on the first stitch, but then on the last (of each i-cord row), I generally just knitted them both together off their respective needles. Just keep the non-i-cord stitch to the right, or it will end up looking twisted.

By "RH", as concerns the stitches on the circular, it means the stitches that would be to the right, with the knit side facing, if you were about to continue knitting with your circular. I was confused by that, in the pattern, so that's why I mention it here. Though, reading this over, I'm not sure I'm making it clearer anyway.

Super simple pattern, but a little difficult to execute. I blame my tools. And maybe the yarn.

Something unexpected: The lacy pattern that forms as you do the increases. Very cool looking.

(Confession: I finished this just shortly after beginning our drive to Idaho. Maybe not so endless as it seemed? Still, I wish I'd resisted knitting that last increase row.)

Yarn: LB Wool-Ease in Buttercup, LB Wool-Ease Sport in Melon

Zozo say's "hi"

Here he is! My camera was misbehaving, and cut off at the top. And then I was lazy, and didn't want to set this up again. So, this is it.

Not a hard pattern, but it does take time to make all those parts, and then sew them together. If you're looking to practice your i-cord, this is a great project for that. And bobbles. Those were fun.

I made his arms 2 rows too long, and I figured, whatever. Maybe, not so much. I should have fixed it.

A lighter color yarn might have been cuter, too.

Still love his feet (he has four).

Yarn: LB Wool-Ease in Blue Mist, on size 5 needles.

I'm not here

I'm in Idaho, for my brothers' wedding. Yippee!

I get to go to Lava Hot Springs! I've never been there before.

I'm working endlessly on the knitted coral...it's taking, seriously, forever.

I am not driving, so I should have tons of time to work on my projects.

the saga of the cooler continues

I finally figure out, after trying various other things, that I can take apart the pump (duh). I clean out all kinds of hard-water deposits, and suddenly, it works. Only half of the little tubes are pumping out water, but that's better than it was before. After fiddling with it again, oiling the pump, and tweaking things, I decide that the "economy" pump, which someone installed without asking me first, I'm sure, just isn't going to cut it. I never would have bought something labeled "economy" for something I rely on for my sanity. I need that cooler to work, or I'm not a nice person. Heat makes me cranky.


I'm up there for nearly 3 hours. I have a headache, because I had too much caffeine during the work-week and none on the weekend (and I'm not having any just to cure the headache, because I shouldn't have any anyway), so I'm not happy. I want to run a cleaner through the cooler, but if the pump isn't working, there's no point, because it won't get to everything. I finally decide that half is better than nothing, as long as each pad is getting wet, I'll run the cleaner through. That means draining, cleaning, filling, running just the pump for 20 min, then draining, rinsing, and filling again. All before we can have the fan blowing cooler air. This takes forever, and I get totally soaked in the process, because the good hose, in the back, where the cooler water comes from, I can't use. Because my son can't get it unscrewed (who knows), and also can't get the tiny spigot that goes to the cooler to shut off, so he has to turn off the water in the back. Which means I have to use the front spigot for my cleaning water. The hose on the front has numerous holes in it. It's just a crappy hose, so it split, because it couldn't take the pressure of having a sprayer attachment on it. But it's all I've got, unless I want to climb down and switch the hoses myself. My head is throbbing, so I don't. I just have him hand me the other hose, holes and all, and turn it on.

Which is when I got drenched. Quite thoroughly.

I spray out the cooler base, and refill, adding the cleaner, then fuss with the pump and lines again - half are working, so all the pads with at least get a little wet. Finally, I head back down the ladder to wait it out.

I give it 1/2 hour, then go back up, empty, rinse, and refill again.

It works. But, not like it could if it didn't have that ECONOMY pump in it. Time to order a new one....

Hedgehog Elegance

I've just reached the part in this book from whence the title came. And it is brilliant.

The younger heroin, Paloma, is conversing with another tenant, a new tenant (unusual in itself, because these apartments, "apartments for rich people", are generally passed down to the next generation in the same family), about the concierge (our other heroin), and how she doesn't seem to be as unintelligent as she puts on. It is then that our young girl tells us that she feels that the older woman has the elegance of a hedgehog. "Covered in quills, a real fortress, but...on the inside, she has the same simple refinement as the hedgehog: a deceptively indolent little creature, fiercely solitary - and terribly elegant."

So much of this book is over my head. I haven't read enough philosophy. I haven't read enough Russian literature. Or seen enough films. The concierges grammar and knowledge are well beyond her station in life. She brought herself there. She reads and studies everything. I had to look up autodidact in my dictionary. It wasn't there. I had to figure out for myself what it meant, from the meaning of the word didactic (instructive), which was.

I set this aside for a while, feeling overwhelmed. But now that I've picked it back up, I don't want to put it back down again until I'm done.

I love chickens

I'm sure that's something you'd never suspect, right? Unless you've been to my house. There are chickens everywhere. Some are useful, some are just fluffy and huggable. Or pretty to look at.

My latest chicken, I made myself, from this terrific pattern!

She's both useful, and huggable!

I love this little cutie. She's now the official holder of all my knitting/crochet tools and paraphernalia. Because, hidden under her wing, there's a button-loop closure, and the top opens up. She's a Cluck Clutch! (She's rumored to have a matching coin purse mini-cluck. Can't wait to make that, once the pattern is out.)

camping and such

In case anyone out there is wondering what goes on around here that isn't fiber-related...

Mom and the boys and I went camping a week ago Friday. We used to go all the time, when the boys were little, but some years, of late, we hardly get out the sleeping bags at all. Such a shame.

We went up to Hope Campground, just 20 min away, up Provo Canyon. We'd driven up the week before, just to check it out, maybe decide which site we'd like. It must have been at least 10-15 degrees cooler up there! Every site is fully shaded, and it's so beautiful!

(It is also, however, what I would call "rustic". Meaning no electricity, "outhouse" type toilets (though they do provide paper), with (potable) water spigots near each bathroom only, none at your site. All sites have a fire pit, picnic table, and grill. FYI.)

That said, we do love it there!

I left work early Friday so we could get an earlier start, but, somehow, it just takes longer than you think it should to pack up the car for 3 people staying one night at a campground (that's just me and the boys - mom did her own packing). When we were finally all packed in to the car, loaded down with way too many things to fit in the trunk, sleeping bags piled on laps, we stopped at moms, loaded our gear into our (borrowed) trailer, picked up dinner at Wendy's (we know how to rough it!), and then finally piled into the van and headed up the canyon.

Backing the trailer into site 18 was a little trickier than you'd think. I know the basic principles of backing a trailer, but somehow, it wasn't working quite the way I pictured. A lot of "forward again...straighten the wheel...back...to your right...no, left!...okay, forward again..." later, we got it nicely parked in the driveway. Only to find out, after several tries with the "legs" and many blocks of wood, that the driveway might be just a tad more tilted than it looked (which maybe explains why the trailer didn't seem to be able to go the directions we thought it should), and we'd just have to live with sleeping in a non-level trailer, because my hands were starting to cramp up, and my biceps had gone all noodly. It was definitely stable, not about to tip or roll away, but, according to our level, not level.

Oh well. Let's go see how Twin2 did with building the fire, shall we?

(um, if I'd been thinking, I would have had the camera out...)

The fire looks great. Soon, we'll be ready to roast marshmallows.

How did Twin1 do with the tents? (Because there's only one (king size?) bed in the trailer (and a loft bed that we are pretty sure won't hold their combined weight), and because the Twins like privacy, we brought 2 tents, one for each.) Hmm, 2-pole tents must be a little trickier than they look? No, wait, he's got it. But that tent pad sure slopes downhill. Good thing I'm sleeping in the trailer on that huge bed.

(These things are so much better with visuals...)

We get settled, and eat our dinner. Or, mom and I eat, since the Twins ate on the drive up. Then it's time for 'smores. Twins are disappointed that we only brought Nutella and a Dark Chocolate spread instead of chocolate bars. Mom and I don't like that chocolate bars don't melt enough, so we packed the chocolate in spreadable form. I tempt Twin2 with giant marshmallows. He goes for it, and at least roasts/burns himself a massively huge, fluffy marshmallow. Mom has a 'smore. I toast a massive marshmallow, slowly. We talk.

The Twins, one at a time, drift off to their tents. We keep talking.

Talk turns to her reconstruction (it's big - remove carport, add garage with apartment on top, and a great-room over the main floor of the house), and things she wishes she could do, that would make it just that much better. Further conversation discovers that maybe, just maybe, she can manage that one more thing.

We finally get ready for bed, put out the fire, and settle in with our books. (Because this family reads, y'all.) After a while, we're drifting off, too.

A while later, mom's getting out of bed. I figure just a bathroom break. I'm not totally comfortable - my silk sleep-sack leaves me too cold, but a blanket is too warm. I try to sleep anyway. I hear her come back, get something from the car, get her book, and leave the trailer again. As she's going out, I ask what's up? She says she can't sleep, for thinking about that one more thing to add to the construction. To which my mind replies, "Just four little pieces of flagstone", though I don't say it out loud.

She's outside for a while, reading by the fire pit. When she comes back, she goes to sleep pretty quick, and as I'm drifting back to sleep, I suddenly hear, very loudly, four definite footsteps, right next to the trailer. Someone with a long stride, so probably a man. Not so sleepy now, I sit up and listen, while telling myself there's nothing to be scared of. I realize it must be one of the Twins. Sure enough, a few minutes later, the footsteps return, and I hear the tent zippers.

Then, I really do sleep.
First thing in the morning, as soon as we're both awake, I say, "Four little pieces of flagstone", which cracks us both up. Mom says she had the same thought.
We love that scene.
(from Mr Blandings Builds His Dreamhouse (Cary Grant, Myrna Loy), based on a novel, and which inspired both Don't Eat the Daisies (Doris Day) and Money Pit (Shelley Long, Tom Hanks). For our family, this movie is a must-watch during any reconstruction, redecorating, or drawn-out project. Get yourself a copy and watch it. Seriously. Because I can't describe this scene without it loosing something. I tried.)

Anyway, back to camp.
We have breakfast - yogurt, kashi.
And we reminisce about our favorite serendipitous camping trip, where we found, spilled under the tables, a lot of seed beads. Not just the beads, either. Enough fishing line to string them on, too. Suddenly we had a project and a souvenir, all in one. That was just the coolest.

For this trip, I brought some shell bracelet kits, and we get those out and make up about half of them.

It's getting a little warm, kind of humid, and looking to storm, so we put away everything we can, just in case it decides to rain.

We finish just as it starts to rain. This quickly turns to a downpour, and then hail, as we pull away from the campsite.

Back at home, I get myself up on the roof (again), to check out why the cooler isn't working so well. Lately, I'd been coming home to a house that was hotter than it was outside. And I'm kinda cranky in the heat.

(I'll entertain you with that story later. It's kinda longish.)

Year of Ami, week 30, D is for Despicable! (now with alternate crochet option)

Darling as these are, I couldn't delay any longer.

You can make your own Minion!

In crochet, from Crochet Goods, Minion. (She's got some other cool patterns, too.)

Knitted version, from Kat Knits, Your Own Personal Minion. (She's doing this cool challenge...Handmade 365 - spending time every day on a creative project. Awesome.)

Another good one in crochet (I may even like this one better...I just forgot...and I had printed the other, so I thought that's the one I'd meant to make...anyway...) from WolfDreamer, who I think is the most awesome designer, especially if you have a Pokemon and/or Mario fan in your life. Despicable Minion.

(thanks to Maine Mummy for reminding me!)

*pics of my own creations added after-the-fact*

It's so tactile

I love playing with this, getting my hands in there, rolling the curves over my fingers. It's not just the fuzzy-fluffy goodness of the Fun Fur, either. It's just a fun shape to explore. Possibly good for meditation. Definitely a good baby toy. (Favorite colors, girlfriends? Cuz you are so getting one for your next baby. Or maybe you'd like to make one yourself? Sooo easy!)

The pattern doesn't really give you step-by-step, just a suggestion of yarns and stitch-patterns. So I looked up a little more info on hyperbolic coral reef-making at The Institute For Figuring. (They host a Crochet Coral Reef  project!)

For a basic model of a hyperbolic plane, the rate of increase should be 1 stitch every 2 stitches. So, for this version, that's what I did.

To get one that looks similar to mine: (worsted weight yarn and a size E hook)

ch 11

starting in 2nd ch from hook, sc back along the chain (10sc) ch 1, turn

even rows: *sc, inc* repeat to last sc, sc in last, ch 1, turn

odd rows:  *inc, sc* repeat to last sc, inc in last, ch 1, turn

repeat these 2 rows as many times as you like, until you have a curvy curly coral.

I did 8 rows total in plain yarn, then one row in Fun Fur held together with the yarn, then the last row just in Fun Fur.

At first, I was all set to make these in shades of white and cream. But then I discovered that coral only looks that way when it's dead. Live coral is all kinds of bright colors. Once I knew that, it didn't matter how pretty it would have looked in all shades of lovely white, I had to pick out some bright colors and fun fluffy stuff.

Yarn: LB Wool-Ease in Fuchsia, Fun Fur in Cotton Candy

gonna be showing a little (or a lot of) leg in September...

I've been going over my wardrobe, trying to figure out if I can make it through an entire month wearing stuff I've made, every day, without too many repeats.

You know what?

I have a lot of skirts.

And maybe 2 tops, 3 pairs of pants, a few suits (sorta casual, but still okay for work). Also a fair number of dresses.

But, a lot of skirts.
A
Lot

I'm gonna need to sew some tops.

And maybe a few more pairs of pants.

But no more skirts (or dresses).

For now, anyway.

Except maybe that skirt in that gorgeous fabric with the big swirling paisley design. And maybe that dress in the sweet lemon print. Maybe.

Thrift Store goodies

Container Garden reprise 2

How it looked in June, the morning after planting:

In the heat of July, early evening:

And now, in August (in really strong morning light):

Can you get past those and get in the door? (Barely)

Sheesh - you can't even see the containers anymore! (I had to pull the gargoyle out of hiding)
There were other things in there besides coleus (the dark stuff) and sweet potato vine (bright green), but those have taken over big-time. I don't remember ever having my coleus get that tall before.

I'm gonna have to re-pot the hanging one. I fed it, and gave it a couple weeks. Up close, it looks like it's doing so much better, so many more flowers. But when I see it here, (casting that serious shadow) I can see it's still not anywhere near what it was when I got it. My guess is it's almost all roots in there.
(um, I think maybe I need to change out my door decor...)
Just in case you're wondering, or thinking that maybe I'm just good at this whole garden thing (ha!), all I do is water them twice a day. At first I thought, ugh, that'll happen. But then, this gal that was teaching the class, she says that she just waters them as she leaves for work, and again when she comes home at night. Totally works.
(Also, when you plant, start with fresh soil every time, I use a variety called Moisture Control, and a liberal sprinkling of Osmocote.)

Bzzzz

We have bees!

Aren't they both just the cutest?!?

Both patterns were pretty easy, straightforward.

The crochet version is written in English (British?) terms, so even though it says dc, that means sc to most of us here in the US. Just to be sure, when I was starting this one, I looked online for a conversion table, and found this one. Basic, but adequate, I think.

I didn't slip stitch at the end of every round, I just used the jogless stripe. It's not perfect, but I think it'll do.

When I was crocheting, it occurred to me that as I was working in the round, and as I was going to be picking up the same color again in a few rounds, I didn't need to cut the yarn every time I changed colors. So I didn't - I just let it sit there until I needed it again. The yarn didn't even tangle while I worked!

The knitted version was so easy, I hardly felt like I'd started, when I was already making the stinger.

I had the Wool-Ease handy that I'd just used for the crochet version, so I just kept on with that, using size 3 needles. It's still only 3" long. (Carried the other color yarn on this one, too. Just twisted it tog when it was time to pick it up again.)

When I did the i-cord for the wings, I just did one longer one (30 rows) and stitched the ends together. I then folded and stitched in half, and sewed to the body, wrapping the yarn once around the center for a little more definition.

Yarn: LB Wool-Ease in Buttercup, Black, and White