we crochet...*sniffle*....because we care....

our latest endeavor was to make cancer awareness ribbons. there are a couple of reasons. both shannon and i have cancer survivors in our lives, and it just so happens that september is the month to be aware of the particular cancers that have affected our lives. funny how that worked out. we have a couple of different kinds, made into pins, magnets, and ribbons that you can hang from your rearview mirror.



the darling display board is compliments of shannon. don't let her get in within 20 feet of a glue gun because she'll use it!!! how cute is that? we need a stand but other than that, it's really quite perfect.

this is in support of the annual light the night event to be held at sugarhouse park on october 9th, 2010. come out and support the leukemia and lymphoma society!

**Update from Shannon** Want to know more about the board? Go here!

i knew it!

look!

i was going to comment on shannon's earlier post about the pom pom legwarmers, but my computer won't let me. so i have to post a whole new post about how i think leg warmers are not okay, unless they're on babies. this is even debatable. because you see, leg warmers are unnecessary. perhaps your pants will remind you of this. or your socks. or your tights.

and speaking of things that are unnecessary, i happened to find this picture as i was perusing new and fun things to create.

BEHOLD:

i LOVE this. for a few reasons. it's so bad that it's awesome. i think my family actually had a crocheted set like this when i was a kid and boy did we think it was neato. we had the tank cover, the lid cover, the toilet paper cover. they were pink and embroidered in pure greatness. there may have even been some fringe involved.

the bathroom set hasn't come up in recent crochet discussions. however, i think it's worth revisiting. is there a way to make these cool? i don't know. but i'm going to sure as heck find out.

What the Eff?

Really Red Lion?

Who made these with a straight face? In multiple colors even. No wonder the model won't show her face. 

Luckily Red Lion has so many other goodies or we might have to take this outside.

Be Aware!!

First More funnies!!

Thanks for the chuckle Denise!

Now, on a more serious note, it's Leukemia Awareness month. Someone I love is a Leukemia survivor and I'm so proud of him. I'm going to take a moment to toot his horn since he's not the kind of guy to do it himself. I can't even imagine how it would feel to think you have the flu one day and then to find yourself facing your mortality the next. I've learned of the crazy amount of treatment and medications he had to take. The side effects of each and every one of those really opened my eyes. I had no idea. On top of that are the tests that are just as unpleasant as the treatments. Some people would give up. I see it all the time. People who use their illnesses as a crutch. But, as if I needed another reason to admire him, he did nothing of the sort. He dedicated two years of his life to the treatments, as the doctors recommended, but he also lived during that time. He takes the hard times in stride and has an amazing perspective on life. I have the opportunity to talk to the most amazing person I know every day and I'm so thankful. Please take some time to go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's site. You can read more about Leukemia here and you can read about the type of Leukemia my hero had here. It's rarer for someone his age to get ALL and he was only the second person his age to go through the treatment program he went through. Luckily it worked! He has been cancer free and off treatment since May. Thank God for modern medicine.

Believe it or not, this does have a connection to crochet! Since the Leukemia ribbon is orange, I decided to wear something orange every day this month. So I made this awareness ribbon pin that I'm wearing today.

                    

I'll have to take a picture of the orange flower I made to put on a hairband. It's super cute. This weekend I plan on finding more orange stuff to make and wear. Headbands, etc. I'll put up a picture of the flower hair band and other orange stuff a little later.

I have to say that I'm kind of proud of myself. I so should have taken a before picture, but I'm kind of glad I didn't document the mess my living room was in. I was fortunate to inherit two huge garbage bags of yarn from a friend of my mom's. Sooo many colors! I had absolutely nowhere to put all that yarn, though.So I had it in plastic grocery bags piled in a corner of my living room. Of course I'm in those bags all the time looking for what colors I want to use and eventually half the bags were spilled all over the floor. It was a tad out of control. So Kami, in all of her brilliantness, told me about these shelves she got from Ikea (check them out here). So off to Ikea we went and low and behold, they were only $15! So I got two and a couple of really cute cardboard boxes. I put all the odds'n'ends'n'balls in the boxes and there's plenty of room for more. Then I threw all the longer skeins on the bottom shelves and some shorter skeins up higher. Now my odds'n'ends'n'balls bag has turned into a smaller project bag. I can throw a hook in with a ball of something and make small things like scrubbies. It's easier than carrying my big bag. Hooray! My big book of patterns can go on the top shelf too.

Apologies for the crappy camera phone pic

I just realized I haven't taken pictures of the market bag I finished. I'll have to get on that, but you can see it hanging from the side in this pic. I love that there's still room for more stuff! (Just what I need, I know)

Anyone out there with good craft organization tips?

-Shannon

mmm....yarny.....

this obsession with crafting has begun to take over my life. don't worry, you're not going to find me passed out and buried under skeins of yarn one day. at least, not any time soon.

i really don't like learning new patterns. i look at a pattern and if it looks difficult, i won't attempt it. i don't like doing hard things. but once you realize that all crocheting is pulling yarn through loops, just in different sequences, then it becomes easier to understand what a pattern is asking you to do.

like this blanket. looking at it, it looks zig zagged, doesn't it? i loved the colors in this one, i loved the pattern. but it's ziggy zaggy for crying out loud. i don't like doing hard things! ps. how do you spell zig zag? like that? that looks weird.

i finally sucked it up and tried to read it. it's incredibly simple and i feel like an idiot for not attempting it sooner. this pattern is worked with vanna's choice. i don't like vanna's choice yarn. i don't know how to work it, it doesn't come out of the skein in the middle. that drives me bonkers. plus it's called vanna's choice, but whatever. i worked mine with the el cheapo red heart and this is how it has turned out.



can i just say, adorable? i didn't have a good red, so i exchanged it for the turquoise. i have a ton of turquoise. the pattern works up a tad slow, because of the changing of yarn. but, it is the cutest thing ever. here's a close up of the zig zaggy goodness:



find the pattern here!

i think i had at one point decided to make christmas presents. this was until i realized that this would take away from projects that i want to make for myself. i suppose i can start on those gifts now. :)

ta da!

one of my new favorite things is to crochet inanimate objects. like those candy corns. i've also found hamburgers, sushi, tea sets, and other such whimsical things. it delights me. this next project has been done for a while but i couldn't post it because it was a gift for someone. without further ado, behold!



peas in a pod! and they're married. isn't that just the cutest damn thing you've ever seen?

i have been dying to share this. i couldn't because it wasn't with it's rightful owner until earlier this week. but it's a gift that's been given so i can brag about it.

this was in 5 separate parts, if you count the top hat and veil. well, 6 if you count the flower on top of the veil. i'm thinking it turned out to be a tad bigger that it was supposed to, but who's gonna know right? not too many people that i know are so obsessive about crochet patterns like i am. except maybe shannon.

it's it adorable? it's peas. in a pod. they're married. they're two peas in a pod. which is funny to because this was a gift for my friend tonya, who doesn't really like anything pod shaped. except for pea pods themselves. so i think i'm safe there. don't even get her started about the prius. :)

it wasn't a difficult pattern, just a few peices to put together. i had to make the eyes up because i didn't have any buttons and i did not embroider mouths on them. i tried, and they looked like they were having strokes. so i took them out, and added the heart, just for kicks. now i know that i have to do the mouths before the things are stuffed and sewed up. i'm just not that talented yet.

find the original pattern here