The Loot

Saturday I participated in another trade event over at Etsy.

I traded all this:




for all this: 



Love, love, love trading.

If you're jealous of any of loot and feel like doing a little shopping of your own, you can check out the links to the etsy shops below.  I'm sure any and all of the proprietresses would be more than happy to have you browsing around through their shops.

Gingham Life
(aprons)

charming kitty
(hair clips)

Funnykindagirl 
(hair clips)

MazzyBlueStudios
(note cards)

SmoochyBabyDesign
(wooden dog toy)


Jodaycraf
(necklace)

babymoon
(baby sling)





In other news, I got a little time over the weekend to finish up a fingerless glove pattern that I created on the five-hour drive from Southern Utah (where we spent Christmas) to Northern Utah (where we live).  I've made the first pair, but I want to make a few more pairs, just to work out the bugs and get it into my fingers.  Then I'll take pictures of the finished product and post the pictures and the pattern here.  So, watch for that. 

Warning:  If "finding time" from here on out is anything like "finding time" has been over the past month, it may be awhile before the pattern sees the light of this blog, but I'm cautiously optimistic that I'll have it up here within a week or two.  

Time will tell.

since I know you've been wondering . . .

Well, the winter photoshoot(s) went well.

Some of the photos are already up in the etsy shop, while others are waiting for me to find time to get them listed.  It's been a busy January, and it doesn't look like it will be letting up anytime soon, but I'll see what I can do.

In the meantime, I have to give a shout-out to my ever-willing family.  What a great bunch of people!

it just might be enough to induce me to try amigurumi

My husband is a robot-loving-guy.

As in, we have a room in our home dedicated to his collection of Japanese Robots and Action Figures.

(Something along the lines of these.)

I'm a crochet-loving-girl

In case you couldn't tell.

So, when some friends of ours gave us this book for Christmas, it was the best possible intersection of our love.  

Well, unless you count our daughter, that is. 

(Which, I do.)

My Stuff has NEVER made it to Alaska before!

I love to make crochet items for people I know. 

And, let's be honest,

I'm also quite fond of making crochet items that then sell for cold hard cash.

So, when those two loves intersected recently, it was a lovely late Christmas present for me.


Monday night, I received an e-mail from a friend of mine.  I met her through my husband, (she and her husband had been friends with my Eric for years and years) and liked her immediately.  The limited interaction that I had with her convinced me that she was "my kind of person", but it took awhile for us to get around to lining up our schedules to actually spend some time together.  (Interestingly enough, the catalyst for all that was when we found each other's respective blogs and started commenting there.) Over the summer, we were able to get to know each other more, and I found that I enjoyed her company every bit as much as I had thought I would. 

And then, as things go sometimes, she moved across the country, from Utah to Michigan, and now we interact mostly through our blogs again.

So, when I got an e-mail from her regarding this scarf, which she wished to purchase for her sister-in-law (in Alaska!), it was a real treat for me. 

Then, when I woke up the next morning to find that she had written about the scarf on her "write-about-one-good-thing-about-every-day" blog, it was like Christmas morning all over again. 

Yet another example of how crocheting brings good things to my life. 

(Thanks, Heather.)

Yarn Review--Red Heart Super Saver

Let me just say that, I love Red Heart Super Saver yarn for afghans.  Furthermore, I have yet to find a more economical yarn than Red Heart Super Saver.  But, that age-old adage definitely applies here, and when you buy Super Saver yarn, you get what you pay for.

To illustrate and just for fun, I'll share a little exchange my husband and I had a week or so ago.  We were running errands together around town.  I had just dropped off some mustaches that I'd made up, and in the exchange, I'd picked up some more yarn from my supplier.  As I brought it back to the car, Eric picked it up, felt the softness of it, and said, "So this is what you use for the mustaches huh?  It's pretty soft."  Then, with surprise, "Oh, it's red heart."

To which I replied, pointing to the label, "It's red heart soft.  The red heart I usually use is red heart sandpaper." 

All joking aside though, I use Super Saver yarn for the vast majority of my afghans (though I use it for none of my baby blankets).  Super Saver comes in a full rainbow of colors, you absolutely can't beat the price, and although the texture is a little rough when compared to many of the other yarn options out there, I've found that once I've washed any of my super saver afghans a time or two, they soften up considerably. 

In short, Super Saver yarn is very welcome in my yarn stash, and at a price of around $2 for a giant no-dye-lot 8 oz skein, it's my go-to yarn for any of my big afghan projects. 


Here are some of the deets:

Type: Red Heart Super Saver
Fiber Content: 100% Acrylic
Weight: Worsted Weight
Care Instructions: Machine wash warm; tumble dry; do not bleach; do not iron; dry cleanable
Places you can purchase this yarn:  Pretty much anywhere.  I tend towards Wal-Mart, just because that's where I find the best price. 
Price: Around $2 to $2.50 per 8 oz skein


And because I get a kick out of seeing them all together, here's a little collage of some of the afghans I've made using Red Heart Super Saver yarn:

just one of the perks

Last Sunday, I got a little treat.  

A little over a year ago, I gave one of my neighbors a sweater and hat set just like this for her soon to be born baby girl.

.

Remembering how quickly infants grow, and how they spend most of their time covered up with blankets anyway, I purposely made the set in the 12-18 month size, figuring that it would fit the baby perfectly the next time winter came around.

(That would be now.)

So, you can imagine my joy when last Sunday, as I was sitting in church waiting for our services to start, I looked back and saw this mother carrying her almost one-year-old baby who just happened to be wearing "my" hat and sweater.  It was the first time I'd seen it on her, and I'm not exaggerating in the least when I say that she looked absolutely adorable.

Yet another reason I love to crochet.  

I found my round tuit

Remember when I wrote that I was going to decorate my toddler's room with a bunch of beautiful Waldorf stars that I acquired by trading my crochet things?

Well, I did it. 

I used fishing wire, and hung the stars from different lengths around the curtain rod.  I absolutely love the effect, and now being in that room is even more of a pleasure now than it was before.

Hooray!