Hey, A New Project!

This time it's a crocheted afghan from a kit, the Northern Lights afghan from Herrschner's. The yarn is nothing fancy--not spun from the hair of female French goats fed exclusively imported grasses from the foothills of Bordeaux, and then dyed using only organic nuts and berries, or anything like that... It's just your basic, 2 ply acrylic afghan yarn.

But it's pretty!

Anyone who does any kind of fibercraft, knows that making something from a kit is like cooking from a recipe...usually you can't resist making changes. I wasn't especially thrilled with the pattern that came with the kit, so I went with a basic ripple pattern, and also made it wider & longer than the 40 x 53 the kit calls for...which means I'll have to order extra yarn, since these kits are notorious for giving you just enough yarn, and no more.

The nice part about crocheting an afghan in winter, is that it keeps you warm as you make it!

Drawbacks, though? Yes, please!
Since you work with two skeins of yarn at a time, and switch colors every two rows, you have to pay *close* attention to the color changes, working in the new yarn at the correct spots. Also, I'd like to throttle whoever is working the machines that make the yarn skeins--every single skein had lots of places where the yarn had been cut and tied back together, and they all had some pretty serious tangles, as well. I had many opportunities to practice finding my zen while spending loads of time untangling yarn.

Outside of that, it's a fun kit that works up fast, and the frequent color changes keep you from getting bored.
I love the colors, my daughter says it looks like green hills, with the ocean and a sunset.
I have to agree!

Applesauce & Anniversaries

In our travels the other day we ran across a neigborhood sign...'Free Apples'. Cue Bat-Turn onto the street to follow the signs!

The man handing out the apples had two trees that had produced a truly gargantuan number of apples, he had them in large brown grocery bags lining his driveway--Red and Yellow Delicious varieties. Most were smaller because he said he hadn't gotten to thinning the fruit off the trees that year (been there, done that), and combined with a bumper crop year he was anxious to get rid of the things while they were still good.

After we got done petting his cool old Basset mix dog and visiting with him, we bagged up a bunch in exchange for a promise of more bags (he had run out and still had a ton of apples to bag up) and some eggs from our hens. So we trucked home the apples and ran back over with the eggs and bags...

Next was to set to work making applesauce! It came out great--I peeled and cored the apples and popped them into the slow cooker for about 6 hours with a few spices and a bit of vanilla. The house smelled wonderful! We kept some of the finished products out to eat and froze the rest of it, applesauce is terrific for adding to cookie dough to sweeten and moisten it. Yay for neighbors who share their windfalls!


Also this week was the 20th anniversary with that darling husband of mine, double yay! I wanted something a bit special and unique for an anniversay gift this year (anyone who hangs with me for that long deserves a prize) so the kid and I went shopping and found ourselves at Cheshire Antiques, a cool multi-seller antique shop here in town. After wandering around the store a bit I got an idea--to create a '20' out of various objects, kind a build-it-yourself 20th anniversary gift!

I scavenged a large number '2', a road sign number set with reflectors...but could find nothing to serve as a '0'. The staff pitched in to help me--the store has a second story that I cannot access since I can't climb stairs due to chronic gimpiness. Two employees went up there and one of the ladies came back down with several objects and I settled on a HEAVY glass and brass porthole cover.

Great, I've got my 20!  Hmmm, now for something to mount it on...a bit more prowling and I discovered a box full of fruit crate end pieces, including one with a 'Pure Gold' paper label on it--perfect! To top it all off I had a gift certificate in my purse that I'd been hauling around for about 5 years--in the past everything I've wanted at Chesire has been either $4 or $400 so the certificate had gone unused. Today was it's day to shine, and I ended up paying 35 cents out of pocket. Thanking the store staff for their awesome service we left.

Now off to Meek's hardware store, also here in town, to put it all together! Luckily the number 2 and the porthole cover already had perfect mounting holes in them, I figured if I bought the hardware, the folks at the store might be kind enough to drill a couple of holes in the fruit crate box end so that I could take the parts home and assemble them. Figuring out the hardware we needed was a bit tricky since the '2' was MUCH thinner than the '0' so would require shorter bolts. And the brass-and-glass porthole cover for the '0' was MUCH heavier so would need beefier hardware to hold it on...The kid and I were standing in front of Meek's wall 'o hardware bits juggling parts when one of the employees happened by and asked if we needed help...boy did we ever! I knew what I wanted but couldn't reach some of the stuff--their display had been designed for people taller than I so OF COURSE I couldn't see the exact parts I needed...ain't that always the way?

It was a slow time for the store, so by now several employees had appeared. One of the guys kind of took over the project and hauled all my stuff to the front of the store where he spread everything out on a worktable so we could assemble everything. I'd asked if they could just drill three holes for me, but the guy ended up actually building my 20th anniversary gift to completion! Once they started and ran back and forth getting the right hardware they got so enthused I didn't have the heart to stop them, they got so into it...plus they know their products best so I went with their recommendations. They even had lovely brass hardware to match the porthole cover! The Meek's folks were so kind, I explained that because my hands were messed up I couldn't hold a drill any more so they just charged me a few bucks for the hardware--small towns are wonderful!

But damn if between all of us if it didn't work out, go together in the end and turn out AWESOME!
And here's the finished gift!

It was just one of those times where fate smiled on me, people I didn't even know went above and beyond the call pitched in to help me and everything just kind of weirdly fell together.
J. likes it, now to hang it on the wall!

Vintage Linen Score!

Also at the rummage sale, I found some lady's entire workbasket, stuffed with what appears to be vintage embroidery, applique and crewel projects, mostly from about 1920 to the mid-1950's although some is clearly earlier.  Some of it has, over the years, suffered some stains but they look like they will wash out.

There was a folder full of patterns & instruction sheets.

A bunch of floss, it seems to date from the 1920's-30's mostly.

This enterprising lady wrapped her floss around bits of old cardboard--Chesterfield cigarette cartons and a voting stub.

This is about half of the balls of thread.

Several yards each of vintage fabric which looks like it's from the 1930's.

Some utility bill envelopes from the '30's, which she had sealed and stuffed bits of extra floss into--you could just pull out what you wanted through the window openings.

And a lovely surprise mixed in amongst all this stuff--a souvenir ribbon from 1897!  As near as I can figure out from my research it genuinely dates from 1897.  The silverwork is tarnished but other than that it's in great shape.

None of the work was finished, but several were started.  This is lovely in person.

The company and project info stamped onto the linens was beautifully done, they had style back then.

A pattern for a corset cover.

The original Angry Bird.

I love finding old treasure troves like this, it's a fun glimpse into someone's life in the past.  I don't really know what I'll do with all this stuff, but we'll see!

McCall's 1955 & Origami Fodder!

Went to the baby version of the big upcoming local church rummage sale the other day--this one is just a warm-up.  Scored a cool torn-up kid's book for origami paper and some lady's entire workbasket, stuffed with what appears to be vintage embroidery, applique and crewel projects from about 1920 to the mid-1950's.

In amongst the linens was a 1955 McCall's knitting magazine.  Complete with snotty models!

Ohso NOT amused to be in a knitting magazine.  Her agent swore--swore that she'd be on the cover of Vogue this month.  Right now she is envisioning how she'll disembowel him.

Also less than thrilled.  And she looks like she isn't enjoying the Jaunty Jacket of Calibar (which sounds more like a weapon in a video game).

So the photographer got smart and passed around the Fun Pills and Vodka.  Instant Happiness!

What whatwhatwhat...?!  The editor at this point was weeping into his Vodka Collins, tearing at his hair and muttering, 'Whatever, just get the damned issue on the stands!'  Seriously, folks.  NO.

I will say that I want this dress.

Aw Hell, and this one, too.

The ads were an experience in 'What the Hey...?!'

Way, WAY too happy to be knitting.  Although to be fair, this is how I envision my knitting family members workin' the needles.  Same outfit, expression, everything.

Mrs. Smug Bitch down the block knits the modern way with a machine, laughing at the old-fashioned ladies all the while.

No self-respecting product of the time was without the go-to Terror-Inducing anthropomorphized Mascot.

Yes, FIBERGLASS CURTAINS.  Fun fact:  when I was in high school, unbeknownest to me the curtains in my room were made of this crap.  One day I decided they needed washing and tossed my nightgown into the washer to make a full load.  FULL-ON MISERY-FILLED ITCHFEST HALF AN HOUR AFTER RETIRING FOR THE EVENING.  Good God.  Screw this crap.

The farther into the back of the magazine I got, the more pathetic and odd the ads got.  'Fad of the Month' sounds like a great idea, right?  You can never have enough ticky-tack crap around to inflict on your least-liked family members.  Order a kit!

...or just scrounge in the yard for pinecones and make your own nightmares.  I'll bet under 'materials needed' they list 'one quart of cheap vodka'.

Or scrounge around under the sink and in the bathroom drawer for materials to make gifts for your children!

Both pathetic and depressing.  Stop crying, Betsy!  Just tell your friends it's Barbie's Dream Home!  Now hand mama the rest of her vodka, she has to get started on the family's Christmas gifts.


Then there was the torn-up kid's book--a cool book with awesome artwork, a real shame it was shredded.  Some of the pages were salvageable so I can reuse them in my origami.

I swear I've seen this guy at the Renaissance Faire, staggering around with his cup and crying out, 'Ale tax!' as he slobbers up and demands some of the beer you are drinking.

I love the attention to detail with the little deep-sea diver in the thing's gullet.

And let's just say right now that I have an entire coop full of these.  I recognize a broody hen when I see one!

Necro'ing Another Old Project!

Another crochet project risen from the dead!

This is a ripple baby afghan I started no less than 11 years ago for my own daughter, that got stashed away due to my injuring both hands in a fall down a flight of stairs when I was 9 months pregnant. The subsequent surgeries and physical therapy that followed made things like crochet impossible for a long, LONG time, but I decided just recently to try again and I can do it for really limited amounts of time. All that origami folding has paid off & helped!

So time to break out the mothballed projects, yay!

It's made from Hayfield Pretty Baby 'Changes' yarn from the UK, which in 1999 went for $4.45 a skein at my local boutique-y yarn store, long since gone. Sheesh...

It sure is pretty yarn! The color changes very nicely from shade to shade and makes for a really nice finished product. I only have 1 1/4 skeins of the stuff left...I wasn't following a pattern when I made the blanket and just kinda winged it. So it may work out to be a decent size or be a bit small. I was wondering why I hadn't gotten more of it at the time, until I realized how expensive it was when I bought it.

Also, I dunno what I'll do with it, although my daughter has taken a fancy to it!

I broke out my 'Future Projects' binder (doesn't everyone have one of these?) yesterday and was amused by the pink freebie flyers I picked up years ago from Super Yarn Mart, long since gone. I'd forgotten about those and it was fun to see them again and have memories of the place come back...I used to love going there and looking at all that wonderful yarn. It's a real pity that sewing/notion/needlework stores are disappearing here in southern California because no one does things by hand any more (even with the advent of Etsy & Ravelry!)...you'd think with all our modern conveniences we'd have MORE leisure time, not less. Oh, you can buy things online, I know, but that doesn't compare to being able to run out and lay your hands on the yarn RIGHT when the mood strikes and take it home that day, and being able to see & touch the various fibers. That's how I used to pick out what I wanted to work with--by seeing it in person and being able to handle it.

I have at LEAST two more half-done crochet projects lurking out in the garage, too. One is a regular-sized afghan in blue & green tones, the other a throw in brilliant scarlet chenille--gorgeous yarn!

Edit: I just noticed the sticky note I'd left myself in the project bag for this afghan, which reads 'USE SIZE 'F' HOOK!' I'd apparantly taken the hook out before storing the project...

I had re-started this the other day using a size 'G' hook. AHA HA, that's a good joke on me, how funny! *whimper*

*Rip, rip, rip, rip...*

Again.

*sigh*

Christmas, Yay!

Merry Christmas to all, as we sift through the torn paper & ribbon wreckage.

The kid is beyond happy, she got a bunch of stuff she wanted.

Stuffed microbes--Rabies & rabies babies! They even have little bloodshot eyes...

The Monty Python Killer Rabbit slippers she's been after.

They are beyond awesome, the mouths yop-yop-yop open and closed as you walk!

She's been threatened with dire consequences should she EVER venture outdoors while wearing them, though.

I also found some time to make a few new nail polish ornaments. Although the only clear glass balls I found this year were very small and have this ugly iridescent coating on them, which showed up as a horrid band across the middle of the ornament. The nail polish works best on the bigger ornaments since it has more room to spread and make prettier designs. I did luck out and found some truly garish nail polish on sale at Walgreens! The looks of mixed shock/disgust/pity on the faces of people who passed me in the store as I shoveled bottles of this stuff, grinning like a madman, into my cart was priceless. The checker had it flash across her face too but hid it quickly...I gave her a break and explained that the dead hooker colors were for a craft project and she laughed with relief...

Anyway, here are the new ornaments!