I Only Have Eyes for You!

Today I'm not including a project I've done, but a frightfully fun gift my sister sent me in time for Halloween.

You know you are loved when you open a box in the mail with a set of crochet eyeballs, complete with the optic nerve. 

Even though they are only crochet, a delightfully squeamish response is what they've gotten. My husband is especially creeped out. The kids think they are funny...sort of. Even my skin crawled when I saw the optic nerves.

The pattern was found online, but if you are interested in making them, be sure to read through the comments, as the pattern is in British terminology. My sister didn't realize this at first but when her eyeball was coming out the size of a pillow, she thought she may have missed something. 

These eyeballs are about the size of a baseball.

Keep your eye on the ball! (ha ha)

Be careful if you do this project....don't poke your eye out with your hook. 

 Eye wouldn't trade my sister for the world. Eye love her. Eye don't know what eye'd do without her...

The Price is Right?

This weekend my family and I went to a school fundraising fair. The flier that convinced me to go said there would be "25 craft vendors". I was in! I wanted to shop around and see what was going on in the crafting world since we're pretty new to this area. 

I found a crocheting table (in between all the home party tables-any thoughts on this subject?) and looked through her goods. She had a TON of scarves, fingerless gloves and hats. I mean a TON. My daughter spied a crocheted ruffle scarf. Even though I could crochet it myself, I figured I would buy it because it was only $5. FIVE DOLLARS. I thought my eyes were deceiving me; I thought the dollar sign was a 1 and it was really 15. Nope. I didn't mind buying it. I'm all for supporting schools and also supporting vendors at a craft show. But really, I was disappointed. This woman didn't think too much of her time investment. 

There are a couple of other craft fairs coming up. I'm going and I'm taking notes. Is it worth it to even have a craft booth? Please answer!

One Skein Scarf AGAIN!

Someone stop me! Nah, never mind. I love crocheting up this pattern.

Remember how I said this pattern didn't come out as long as pictured in The Happy Hooker? This one I just did is plenty long enough. I started with ch 223. I think I finished it within two hours. And check out the leftover ball. I should have tried 228 and it would have been a real nail-biter towards the end. Can you imagine the tension? "Will she make it, folks? Or will she be a few inches short? Let's wait an see." Understand that I bought this wool on clearance at Benjamin Franklin's going out of business sale, hence the anxiousness. (Sniff, sniff. Goodbye BF. I'll miss you.)

My daughter thinks this one rolled up looks like an artichoke.

Curly Glitter Scarf

I tackled my next scarf pattern. This one is a gift for a friend of mine who hit the big 4-0 and wears primarily gray and black. The wool I used is Vanna's Glamour, color platinum. It crocheted up very, very nicely and despite the fact that I am pretty much a beginner, the results were gift-worthy in my opinion.

I used a free pattern for a ruffle scarf from the Lion Brand site. The pattern is very simple and straight forward. However, I really wish I would have taken the advice in the first two reviews, which said the scarf comes out longer than the picture. I should have trusted, obeyed, and followed suit. Nope. I forged ahead and wound up with a scarf that would be suitable for the Statue of Liberty. Really. Shorten this one. Trust me.

It still came out nice. The silver threads in the yarn make this scarf an attractive and warm alternative to wearing a necklace. The ruffles are beautiful. I hope my friend likes it.

Next time I will shorten it and possibly make it a couple of rows narrower and then it might just look like the picture from the Lion Brand site. The ends of this one came down to mid-thigh!

Since it is my friend's 40th, I decided to crochet two scarves-one for each set of 20 years that she's lived. The other I crocheted was a boucle one-skein scarf that I posted about yesterday. It came out OK, although I kept thinking the boucle was a better choice for making a teddy bear than a scarf. It's super soft and extraordinarily lightweight. And that one came out too long as well. My friend's neck won't catch a chill this winter!

Scarves!

I just started crocheting...again. My grandmother, mom, aunt and sisters all have crocheted. I crocheted as a young lady, which I forgot about until I started up again, then it all came flooding back. I only did simple things as a kid. My mom was the crocheting rock star and of course I didn't even know it back then. I realize it now as a none-of-your-business year-old woman. It's funny how memories of my mom, which I didn't even realize were in there, came flooding back as I started crocheting: her sitting in her chair, pulling up some slack on the yarn every now and then, counting to herself, squinting at times, talking out loud to the pattern and to herself, among other things.

I didn't mean to start crocheting. My intention was to learn how to knit. I've tried teaching myself before. I thought I would be successful at self-teaching until I actually attempted to knit a scarf. I bought the Stitch n' Bitch knitting books, eager to read them thoroughly and learn, but I admit I am an impatient individual. I scanned over them instead and bought a bunch of knitting needles and got to work without combing over the instructional section. My scarves turned out triangular. When I describe this to knitters, they look at me and give me a simple answer for my problems which didn't register in my brain.

Not ready to admit defeat and determined to knit, I went on a pilgrimage to Jimmy Beans Wool in Reno. I'd Googled knitting lessons/classes before I even moved to the area and learned about them. Then I attended a knitting group (empty handed, mind you, but determined to learn) in my neighborhood and all the people there had some connection to Jimmy Beans. Either they had worked there, were working there, taught there and without fail, had bought wool there. So I decided to check it out.

When I arrived, the creative juices were flowing. When this happens to me, I can not be stopped, probably much like other creative folks. You know how it is: impatience kicks in and you must get a project done. I had no time for the learning curve. I saw plenty of crocheting info around and decided I'd crochet instead. But I knew I was rusty, so I looked at their books and voila, found The Happy Hooker, which is by the same author, Debbie Stoller, of the knitting books I'd tried.

Miraculously, I worked through some of the swatches, learned how to read a pattern (just enough to get started) and then couldn't stand the wait any longer and found a simple scarf to try with my beautiful new Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted Merino Wool. I found Denise Cozzitorto's pattern in The Happy Hooker for a One-Skein Scarf. In the book the scarf is pictured hanging well past the model's hips, wrapped once around the neck.

I found that if you follow the pattern and make a chain of 203 it does not come out this long. I prefer a nice, long scarf and if you do too, then make the beginning chain about 20 stitches longer. It's a lot of fun to make. The pattern calls for a medium worsted weight (#4) but I also made one out of a bulkier weight (#5). Using the #5, I only crocheted two rows of the double chain instead of three, and it came out beautifully.

Two Row Acrylic, #5

Lorna's Lace Medium Worsted, #4