A quick update

I tried doing a post a couple weeks ago about a purse I made for my mom, but for some reason I am having issues with the pictures. So for now, no pics, but I have been crocheting.

I made the purse for my mom from Lion Suede yarn in Mocha and Patons Brilliant in Gold Glow. I added some gold cloissonne beads and a magnatic clasp. There are also three flowers made from the gold glow. Its real pretty so I hope I'll be able to fix the picture problem and show you. I also made a skinny scarf for her out of the leftover yarn. I still need to add beads to it, but the crocheting is finished. And though the weather is wrong for it now, I used some novelty yarns, Bernat Bling-Bling in a blue color and Bernat Boa in white, to make a scarf for her. The blue is done in granny squares and edged with the boa. My mom likes the furry, fluffy scarves and requested a wider one than the others I have made for her. The scarves are part of her Mother's Day gift this year.

I made a goddess shaped doll, amigurumi style, but I'm not sure I like it, so it needs to be redesigned. Maybe I'll post a picture of it as a before to the finished design.

I bought an xxl man's shirt in a pretty aqua-blue color. I crocheted a flowered trim in brown Cool Crochet yarn and made a v neck for it (I hate those tight collars) I did a few other alterations. I haven't taken a picture of it yet.

I bought the above T-shirt because it matches the blue yarn I am making a shawl out of. I am also using a variegated brown and blue yarn I am using. It's not near done yet, but I was working on it last night.

Well, that's it for now. I'll try to get pictures posted next time, I just didn't feel like messing with it today.

Blessings
Agate

I'm an inspiration

Okay, so Grandma's flower garden is an ispiration, but hey, I'll go with it. On the Granny Along blog, in My Copycat Square, Sherri really liked my flower garden square and is mimicking it. It's not exact because she is using the regular square center instead of the eight armed one I did, but I'm still just giddy and honored. I love it when people like my stuff.

Blessings,
Agate

It is done!!!

It is finished. It took me until five minutes before I gave it to her to do it, but it is done. A few things before I show you the pictures. The yellow is really a pale baby yellow, not the orangey color I see on my screen. The light green isn't so yellow, its like the green of new leaves, and that isn't black, it's dark green.



This isn't the best picture of it, but it is the only complete view I managed to get. This one looks better.



Most of the blanket is done in basic Red Heart acrylic, and old acrylic at that, ten or more years old, so some of it has that crunchy feel. So I did the border in softer yarns. (Remember: I am working from my stash and couldn't afford to buy anything else, and it had to be washable anyway) I used a K hook for the squares, and an L hook for the border, creating a wavy and soft edge. The first row is TLC, the second row is a pale yellow Baby Teri (Red Heart, and the outer edge is white Baby Teri.



I wanted to add lots of flowers to it, but since I ran out of time (if my hands hadn't bothered me for that week I could have) but I did add a few. Along the edge of the blanket (before the border) I placed small flowers where three squares come together and reinforced those corners. Then on the four corners of a large center square (formed by four smaller squares) I placed the four larger flowers. Then in the center are three small flowers in a cluster.






I was very pleased with how it turned out. Grandma always complains when we get her things because she doesn't think she needs anything, so when she started opening the bag, she was also starting to complain. She stopped in mid complaint, smiled and said "Oooh". Then she spread it over her and hugged it. It was the best reaction I could ever get. Last I saw it, it was on her bed, hope it stays there because with her memory she'll forget about it if it gets put in the closet (for example the quilt I made for her a few years ago)

My tax money came, not a lot, but considering I haven't had any extra money for months, it was a windfall. I went to Sacramento to hang with Kindra. We went to Barnes and Noble and Michaels this is what I got.



Ah, new crochet magazines to look at and a ball of pretty yarn. The yarn is Patons Rumor in Spanish Heather. It is an Alpaca, acrylic, and polyester mix that is dark grey and a red that ranges from burgandy to bright red to a dark rose. Kindra was talking about making a hat from the Interweave Crochet magazine. She'll have to make it little bigger because regular size hats are always just a tad too small and she wants a new spring hat. I might turn the Rumor into a hat as well, maybe something a little lacy. The yarn is thick and dark and not what most people consider "springy", but I like dark muted colors and I wear a lot of black and red (and not just at work) so I am looking forward to creating a new hat. I don't do a lot things from the patterns in magazines, mostly because I have trouble getting my swatch to match theirs, but there were a couple shirt patterns I liked that I think I'll try. You'll know if I do.

Blessings,
Agate

Racing to the finish

I am in a rush to finish Grandma's blanket. No, I did not procratinate. I have problems with my hands and my back. I think I have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (I don't know this for sure because when I went to my doctor to find out, he told me I didn't have AIDS. Yeah, it was a terribly helpful trip. I knew I didn't have AIDS, I still don't know for sure if I have CTS) and when I fell down at work about a year and half ago, I hurt some part of my back that when it has problems, makes my hands hurt even worse than the CTS. Well, by the end of Wednesday's crocheting my right forefinger was begining to go numb at the tips. So I put away the crochet, iced my wrists and put on my braces. That usually eases the CTS syptoms. Not this time. The numbness began to extend down the side of my forefinger and got overly sensitive (I know it sounds weird, but the sensation is a mix of numbness and pain, sort of like pins and needles, but a little different). Since nothing helped, I figured it was because of my back, which I can do very little about. So, I had to not crochet for awhile because it hurt too much. I also took it easy at work, which is the general cause of my back having problems.

Well, the effort at work helped and I can crochet again. So it's frantic time for the blanket because I have about a week left to finish.



The pic shows the four finished squares I had last night, but I have finished five more while on the Interent this morning (yes, my computer and hook up is that slow). I started on a sixth, but my fingers are a little achy so I am resting for a little while. It does mean however, I will be working on them at Grandma's, even though I did not want to do that. I decided not to do the beige yarn around the bright green (which is brighter than the picture shows and that dark row is dark green not black, I couldn't improve the color in the pic) I didn't like the way the beige looked next to the yellow. I've decided the bright green is okay because if you go outside with the new growth on trees and bushes, the new stuff is the same bright green next to the same dark green. So it works just fine.



I also finally made something with my handspun yarn. It's a little wrist bag. The strap buttons to the purse at one end so I can also wear it from my belt loop. I also still have yarn left, so Kindra, who was upset when I told her that she didn't get the first item made from my new yarn, will get a similar bag, sans the beads though, I don't have enought left.



I thought I'd show you the candle cozy I made a few years ago.



This was for a spring celebration Kindra and I did. It is spiderweb lace with flowers and leaves attached. The yellow cord hanging down is actually the tie that laces up the back of the cozy so it can go around even wider candles. Pretty huh?. Lots of work though, I am not used to crochet thread projects.




Blessings,
Agate

I've got a peeve and a new project

Yes, there is something that has really started to bother me online. I haven't experienced it here, but I find them often in the comment sections of blogs and articles:

Messages from stupid people called Anonymous.

Now first off, the idea that you can't disagree with someone without acting like a nasty little 12 year old is ridiculous. Since when is it okay to be derisive and condescending just because you have a different thought on a subject, or you don't like something someone has made or written. And anyway, why do you even need to say it at all? Do these Anonymous people really have such a high opinion of themselves that their thoughts (expressed with all of the intelligence of a middle school bully) really matter or will make a difference? Or do they have such a small life that they need to make someone else feel like a piece of crap?

But perhaps the stupidest part of a message from Anonymous, is the Anonymous part. What is up with not having the balls to leave a name? It certainly doesn't add to their credibility, I mean who is going to take anything seriously from someone who is afraid to state their name.

Whatever happened to "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all"? Or do some people people think that only applies to kids? If they need to express a negative opinion is it really necessary to add name calling into the mix? What is it about the Internet that makes people think this is an okay way to act? You know they wouldn't say it to someone's face, they'd be lucky to walk away without a black eye, right?

Anonymous tends to bring the level of a conversation down by at least fifty I.Q. points on a good day, and the last thing any of us need is interaction with deliberately stupid people.

Okay, rant over. Like I said, it hasn't happened on my blog, I've just read way too many nasty comments by people who can't even leave an online name let alone their real one; whose only purpose seems to be to make someone else feel bad rather than have a discussion on opposing views.

Oh, now the important part. No pic, but Grandma Alma's birthday is April 12th and I've started a blanket for her. I'm calling it Grandma's flower garden. It will be in granny squares, but the center of each square looks like a flower and will be in multiple colors, then green for the second rounds (I have two greens I can use). The third row will be white or beige (one of the greens is really bright and I'm hoping the light beige will tone it down), then yellow, then white on the next two rounds. The very last round will be SC in yellow. I'm using stuff from my stash and my sister gave me a whole lot of yellow and white. I'm sewing the aquares together on point and then doing a ripple border around the edges. It's all acrylic, and not real soft acrylic, but my grandma has to be able to wash it without special instructions because her memory is very bad, so even if I could afford to buy more yarn, I'd still have to get acrylic, though I'd probably choose some softer stuff. But since Target is still dealing out hours at work with an eye dropper, I have to use the stash.

I've got all the centers crocheted, and am working on the green rows. There are 24 large squares. If I don't procrastinate too much I should be able to get it done in time. Only problem is, I do most of my crocheting while I'm with her in the evening and I can't work on it when I'm with her. I have done it before, but I don't like lying to her about who I'm making it for.

Blessings,
Agate

Look what I did

For Christmas last year my best friend< Kindra, bought me four batts of roving and a drop spindle. This wasn't a surprise because she knows nothing about these things and had to ask me for the names of what she was supposed to buy. But she went to a lot of trouble for it because the only store I know that sells roving and spindles in Sacramento is called Rumplestilskins and it is located in downtown Sac (that isn't saying that there aren't more, I just don't know of them). Kindra hates driving downtown, it is very busy with cars and since it's the original part of the city the streets are all small and one way, but she did brave them. Then she went into the store, pointed at something and said, that's a spindle. When the clerk said yes, Kindra was very happy, she may have clapped and jumped up and down. She was nearly ecstatic when she got roving right as well.

However, she thinks I am a crafting genius and either figured I knew how already or had instructions so she didn't get me a book. I finally checked a couple books out of the library and spent Thursday spinning after work.

I can't tell you how many wraps per inch it is because it it ranges from lace weight to worsted (it is after all my first skein), but I am so stoked. I did have a few issues with it. The book says to attach a leader yarn and spin clockwise. Didn't have trouble attaching the yarn to the roving, but I had a dickens of a time trying to get it to spin, the leader yarn just kinked up. It was spun the other direction, and I couldn't figure out how to fix it. Turns out my leader yarn was two-ply, and plied yarn is spun counter-clockwise. I also wasn't sure if I was supposed to soak it. My books are about spinning fresh off the sheep yarn that still has lanolin in it and might be dirty. My roving was clean and dyed. So I soaked it once for a little while and right now it is hanging in my bathroom on a bent hanger, drying. Don't know what I'll do with it, but I am considering a few possibilities. I actually saved the last strip of roving to spin when I went to Grandma's apartment so I could show her how I did it. I was so excited that I took the whole spindle to work to show off to some friends, and then to my mom's for her and my sister to see.

Plus, I still have three more batts to spin. I am thinking that if I decide to do it more often and in larger amounts I might have to get a small wheel of some sort. It was hard on my carpel-tunneled wrists and hands to use the drop spindle, but I still had fun. I want to do more kinds of fibers besides wool. Hmmm, wonder how Xander would get along with a big fluffy angora rabbit...

Blessings,
Agate

At a loss

The day my grandmother died, we were completely unprepared for it to happen. She'd gone into the hospital for heart palpitations, they gave her a blood thinner and sent her to Sacramento for tests. At 4am my mom called me and we all drove an hour to get there, hoping she would be okay, or at least still alive. She wasn't. I remember when my Dad told us, I literally hit the wall. I also remember that when we went back to see her she looked green, but that may have been the lights.

I didn't deal well with her loss and I pretty much had to cope alone. My mom was devastated and Dad had to take care of her. My sister is never much good during situations so I was alone. I fell into a depression, or maybe it made one worse.

It has been nearly ten years since that day and I eventually learned to deal with her loss. But I still don't do well in emergencies anymore. I find myself unable to offer any real support when it is needed.

Now to today. My dad is a diabetic who is also on dialysis. He thought he was feeling bad because of the cold that went around the family. In January he went into the hospital with a very bad absess. He had surgery and was okay, at least enough that the hospital, in its infinite wisdom decided after a month to send in to a nursing care home to recover. Three days later he was back at the hospital, the infection was getting worse. My Daddy could die. That's a crippling thought.

He had a second surgery, that has seemed to help, and he went back to the care home.

Now he's back in the hospital. Not because of the infection this time. You see, several years back his foot got run over by a forklift when the driver moved too soon. That's about when they found the diabetes. His foot has never been quite right. Now the toes are black and it has to be removed. We hope it is only the foot, not more. Losing his leg has always been his greatest fear since the accident.

What has this to do with my Grandma? I can't deal. I find myself unable to go see him, I don't have anything to offer him. Not even just my presence. My depression has been coming back for some time and my complete dissatisfaction with my life makes me not the greatest of company even at good times. I have no endless chatter to fill the silence, no cheerleader chants to bring up his spirits. Usually, I might make something for him, but I don't even know what to make for him. He already has a blanket I made a few years back, but its not at the hospital so that it either does not get ruined or stolen. I just don't know what to do.

I feel so useless and so bad about it all. But I can't handle it. I sort of just shut down emotionally whenever mom wants to talk about it, and she thinks its me being strong, but its not.

What makes it even harder is that I take care of his mother. I go to my Grandma's apartment and fix her dinner almost every night, and make sure she takes her pills. I am the one who has to keep her updated on his condition, but since its so hard for me to go visit him, I hardly take her there, though I know I should. It's difficult to gauge what she can handle hearing. She has these mini strokes every once in a while and I am afraid of causing one whenever something new happens with him. I told her last night about his leg and she was the most upset she had been the past three months. I just hope this doesn't cause an episode.

I feel like I am drowning, meanwhile everyone keeps expecting me to take over as the family rock while Dad is sick. I don't have it in me to take care of anyone else, I don't even feel like I can take care of myself.

Blessings,
Agate

Meet the "family"

Hi all, You've met Wanda who greets you as you enter my blog, now its time to meet the rest of the family.

This is Winston.



He is Wanda's brother and a tribal punk, notice the loincloth and the red and orange tribal tattoos, oh and don't forget the multi-colored Mohawk. He's just too cool for words.

Then there is Wyla, the baby of the family.


She is totally Goth, and though it doesn't show up in the picture, her skin has a sparkle in it. Aren't those lace sleeves awesome, though she'd never admit that. Now stop looking at her.

This is bear.



He doesn't have a special name or anything. He was an experiment in making a sort of flat bear that could fit into a pocket on a blanket. It doesn't show here, but he's only about 3inches thick. He also has a belly button. There are several changes I want to make should I do another bear. I crocheted his body directly from the round that is his head without breaking the yarn, so his head is a little crooked and wants turn a bit. And his hips are way out of proportion to his shoulders, so I want to widen his shoulders (I guess I should say actually give him shoulders) so he looks a little less odd. But I thought he turned out cute in spite of those flaws.

Blessings,
Agate

Meet my boy

Yes, I am a sterotype. I am a single woman, I crochet, and I have a cat that I consider my child. But just one. This is Xander.

He is the only surviving member of his litter. I adopted him from Dr. Toogood's love on wheels. Toogood (yes, that's a real name) is a vet who takes animals out in a special van for people to adopt. For $2 I got a cat I wasn't supposed to have in my apartment only to find out two days later the rest of the litter died from toxidia. Xander had it too, but medicine helped. He's a behemoth now. That is a big shoebox that my wedge heel shoes came in. You can't see it, but his tail doesn't fit.


This picture I had to 'fix'. It was blurry, but so cute, so now it has an oil painting look.

He drives me nuts, thinks I'm a giant chew toy, and obnoxious as all get out, but I adore him. He's my boy.

(Fortunately, he doesn't care much about my balls of yarn, the plastic bags I have them in, that's another matter entirely.)

Blessings all,
Agate

What else I do

I do a lot of crafting. Last year, I decided to make a needlework purse. One one side I did a crazy quilt panel (whose picture didn't turn out). This was the other side though.


I made an ocean purse because I just love the ocean and want to move down there someday. My favorite beach right now is between Mendocino and Fort Bragg (California coast) see:


This is Caspar Beach. It's a secluded little beach with an RV park nearby. Now Mendocino County in so even summer days are breezy and cool, so this beach is never filled to the brim like, say, Santa Monica or any of those other beaches you'd see in SO CAL.


I usually only get to go for the day, but I always get there real early, just after the sun has risen, and for a little while the beach is all mine.

So, I made this purse. Not that I'd ever seen a mermaid in the cove, she wasn't in the original idea, but she turned out so cute. My ocean floor is littered with beads and shells, some of which I actually picked up on the beach.

Another great place over there are the headlands. The town of Mendocino is actually on a cliff. You can walk out the edge of it and watch waves crash over boulders or beneath 'caves'. The last time I went there I watched some seals as they fished and ate below. You might even be able to pick them out of the second picture, though they are going to be little gray blurs. Like I said before, I don't have the greatest camera.



I've been working on my Granny square blanket a little too. I do the ripple at Grandma's every night and carry the granny around in my purse. Here's what they are looking like:


I don't usually use pastels, don't like them much, but that's what baby yarns (at least the ones I can afford) come in, and I bought a bunch when my friend was pregnant. It's all fingeriing weight, although the lavender row, is a fuzzy acrylic I found at Goodwill and tossed it into the mix for texture.

Hee hee, I do like being able to post pictures.

Blessings all,
Agate

Rippling along

Oi vey, I think the blogging gods have issues with me blogging. I have such problems! My first blog, a few years back, was hard to keep up because I'd type up a post and get kicked off the net right as I hit post. Lost interest. My last blog, for crochet, I could never get to post pictures on, no matter how hard I tried. Now, I am having trouble getting the log in page to download. I know most of the problems are probably because of my old laptop, but I can't afford to fix or replace, so I'll just keep trying.

Anyway, I've been crocheting...Ta-daaa!

Here's my ripple blanket. I'm really liking it. Here is the addy for The Never Ending Ripple-Along . There are some fantastic ripples going on there. I'm going to join in today, if my computer lets me stay on. Here's a closer peek.

I'm using the lacy chevron pattern from The Encyclopedia of Crochet by Donna Kooler. My yarn is mostly Red Heart acrylic, although there are a couple skeins of Lion Brand Wool-Ease, and one vareigated yarn is from an old sweater I ripped apart. I am also using a K hook.

A friend of mine has been bugging me to make her a bunny Amigurumi doll, brown with a fluffy tail. She's also told me that when she and her fiance move into the house they just bought, she will have a room devoted to her two real bunnies and is thinking of hanging a bunny fairy from the ceiling. (Yes, a bunny fairy for the bunny room) So, for a housewarming gift I am making her a bunny fairy, brown with a fluffy tail. The bunny is done, so I am trying to figure out the wings. I tried crocheting them this morning, but I wasn't feeling the cuteness, so I am gonna try fabric, embellished with ribbon and threads, maybe with a crocheted border. Pics when it is done.

I am joining another crochet along too. This one is The Granny-along. Last year I started a granny square blanket for charity, and I'm hoping this will help me finish it.
Well, that's it for today. I'm thinking I will go apply for a job at Michael's (craft store) today. I work at Target, but apparently $50 billion dollars in annual sales, doesn't translate to anything for its employees, so I need a few more hours to make ends meet.

After all, I NEED MORE YARN, of course.

Blessings all.
Agate

Fingers crossed

There is a remote possibility you have already read posts from me, I had a blog called Following the Thread on a different blog site, but I could not for the life of me get a picture to post and all I could do was type about my creations, not show them off. I managed to get a picture of Wanda up on this one already, so here we go, fingers crossed.
I love to crochet, I adore it. Apparently, I was taught once by my Grandma and once by my mom's friend, Jill. I don't remember this, but I don't doubt the veracity. Up until relatively recently my interest came and went, but in about 2001, I dove headfirst into my yarn stash and have yet to come up for air.
I create most of my own patterns. I crochet very tightly and have difficulty matching my gauge. For example I tried one pattern that called for a G hook and my swatch said I needed a N hook. Now that is actually my most extreme example, ususally I need at least two sizes larger of a hook to work patterns written by someone else. Frustrating. I dislike making swatches enough as it is without having to do three or four of them to find a hook size.
I like to use my crochet to do charity work because I really don't have a lot of money. Last year I made 26 baby hats for the Caps to the Capital charity drive sponsored by Save the Children and Warm up America. I also made a scarf for the The Red Scarf Project from The Orphan Foundation.

I am at this time unoffcially participating in a crochet along to make a ripple blanket, I'll post the blog addy later. I'm not great at finishing blankets, they take so long, so that's why I haven't signed onto it. It's been fun though. It's a stash buster project, you only use what you already have. Mine has a lot of browns and reds. I'll post a pic later because I need sunlight for my very cheap camera to take a picture, and it isn't sunny yet. I like the blanket though, maybe I'll actually finish.
Well, here goes nothing, I posted a picture of my red scarf, lets see if it shows up for you.
Agate

Yeah! I checked, it worked. I get to post pictures now. Whoo-hoo!