Cupcake

Pattern: Cupcake, from Stitch 'n Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker
Yarn: Elann Sonata, Color Aegean Sea
Hook size: I (5.5 mm)
Made for: #1 Girl

When I last posted, I completely forgot that I'd finished this crochet project. How embarrassing! This is Cupcake, my first crochet top, which I made for and is modeled by #1 Girl (who looks way too grown-up in these photos -- I'll figure out a way to reverse time as soon as I have an extra minute!). I followed the pattern exactly, except I shortened the body by about one inch. Otherwise, I'm not too confident yet in my crochet-fu to be messing around with pattern instructions.

I let her choose the yarn color and she picked this vibrant blue. I picked out the ribbon. Green is currently her favorite color, so that's what I went with. I started and finished this in August; I think it took me about 2 weeks to complete. I quickly finished the front and back, but took longer on the sleeves.

Oh, the sleeves! They gave me fits. There's errata for the sleeves, but that wasn't the problem. I followed directions, I guess, but the scalloped edgings kept coming out wonkier and wonkier. I started over about five times. I scoured the photos on Ravelry, too, trying to get some close-ups to see if I was even in the ball park. Finally, I just kind of fudged it and did what worked for me.

The cotton yarn was nice to work with. Smooth and non-splitty. I blocked it, but not on the board like I normally do. I just dunked it in some water and gently stretched it out with my hands and hung it over a hanger. That seemed to do the trick of opening it up more.

Even though fall has started, it's still so hot here, that she could probably get away with wearing it for another couple of weeks.

So, next time, I promise, what made me pick up the hook.

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Back, in Color!

Ah, let's just skip the explanations and act as if I just blogged here last week. It'll be so much better that way, trust me.

Actually, like so many of my favorite blogs, I've been on a surprise hiatus -- "surprise" because I had every intention of blogging more regularly and then next thing you know, work piles on, Ravelry sucks you into a vortex of lost hours, you start walking more and enjoying the outdoors, kids need thousands of little things for school, youngsters start preschool for the first time (yessssss!) and books beg to be read. And I looked up and it was already September and I had to look back at this blog to see that it had been May when I last updated.

Crochet Ripple Afghan WIP

Before I talk about this colorful piece of work, I have to divulge how my WIPs just started reproducing on their own. I used to try and keep the number of my projects manageable, only because having too many projects on the needles tends to overwhelm me. Well, color me overwhelmed. I lift sofa cushions and find newly hatched WIPs; they're sprouting everywhere like tribbles. I don't even know how many projects I currently have around and I'm too afraid to count.

Now, to add to the problem of underage WIPs just having babies willy-nilly, I learned to crochet since I was last here. Another hobby?

I'll explain more about how it started next time (if you can wait another five months), but I'm making this afghan for the kids' playroom. It used to be our 4th bedroom, but in a recent fit of clearing clutter, we finally moved the boys into one room and now everyone has a nice playroom they can share. I thought a colorful afghan was a nice touch, for when they want to cover up while reading or watching TV.

I have so much more to say, but in an effort to have something to say next time (and I hope it will be soon!), I'm going to cut this off now, catch up on your blogs and try to talk to my WIPs about having safe & protected intercraft. We don't need any more WIPs around here.

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