I get Anxious

True story. 

About anything and (almost) everything. Crochet is one of the things I do to reduce the anxiety. The trouble with the blog though is if I don't have something to show off, I have no idea what to write about. Or if what I have in mind will be interesting. But then I go and look at my stats, and I'm re-encouraged by my steady stream (alright trickle) of readers. 

I don't have to worry about that today though! Because I have TWO finished projects to show you.

First is the afghan for my mom. For Christmas last year, I promised to make her an afghan, and let her help design it. Her birthday present this year (end of June) was the finished product. I spent about 3 months working on it (intermittently). It is super cozy, and made out of Charisma yarn by Loops & Threads. The stitch pattern is the Done in a Jiffy Blanket which I found on Ravelry. 

<sarcasm> Perfect for all this frosty weather we've been having! </sarcasm>

BIG blanket.

Close up.

My second project to show you is a golf club head cover I made for my dad's friend Ken. It's a canary!

The reason it's a canary, is that when Ken, my dad, and their friends play scrambles, Ken always shoots first so the rest of the team can use his shot to read the conditions. He's sort of their "canary in a coalmine". 

Next up on my to do list is a companion cube from Portal! I'm designing the pattern myself, as well as keeping track of it so I can put the pattern up on my Ravelry. I've got all the pieces figured out, I just need to finish making them all and piecing them together. It's going to be awesome though!

What are you working on this summer? 

OMG, she's Married!!

So the Super Secret Project I've been teasing you about for months is finally here!


Tah dah! It's an afghan!

The reason I didn't give any details before is that it was a wedding gift for a close friend of mine, and it needed to be a surprise. It would have been obvious. Purple and orange are the couples respective favorite colors, and what other occasion would I make an afghan like this for?


My original plan was to make a more traditional "crochet afghan" out of grannys stitched together and a border, but ever design I found or came up with on my own just seemed too old fashioned, both for me (I'm a big fan of all things modern) and for the newlyweds. I mean, the bride is 3 days older than me. I'm not her Granny (haha). 
Also, the idea of hiding all those ends.....well, it was overwhelming to say the least. I'll do an afghan like that eventually, just not quite yet. 


While designing the original afghan, I made a few test squares, and fell in love with one granny in particular called the Chocolate Box, which is where the inspiration for the final afghan design came from. 


The border is my own creation. Intricate and "fancy" while keeping with the simple lines and modern vibe of the whole piece. I also did an adaptation of the Tunisian stitch all the way around for the final finish.

A few more angles:

Look how small it folds up! Crazy right? When I spread it all out to take pictures after I finally finished it, even I couldn't believe how much work I put into it. I was like...."are you sure I did all that?"
Just another reminder why I only crochet for people I care about, and not for money. You can't put a price on something made with love!!




~Yes, I know I suck at posting on a regular basis. But I like to post when I have something to show off, so let's not talk about it anymore. (Also, I procrastinate, and since there are no deadlines here, well, life happens.)

Idle Hours Bring Gray Flowers

Weekends are going to be much easier to update now that I'm working again. But I took some time off (*gasp* I know) because my wrist started to bug me. And I've been working a bit on the secret project again too. Which should be finished in a few weeks (yay!) and then will just go off the radar until the big reveal. 


For tonight, I'm just posting a little something I whipped up. Gray is one of my more recent favorite colors, so I made a flower to put in my hair. It's an upgrade on a flower I made last summer, and super easy. Maybe I'll write up a pattern for it? 

Ta-Dah! 

I love how flat it is. Not an obnoxious lump on the side of my head.