Yarn Along - Feb 1, 2011

February already!  HOW did that happen????

Have any of you worked on a knitting/crocheting project that kept putting you to sleep?  I don't mean because it's boring - which could also be the case, but because you keep the house cool and you're buried under ALL this yarn!

This is what I'm working on. 

My sister "destashed" by GIVING me all her yarn and the request that I make an afghan for my brother-in-law.  I'm crocheting with a Q hook (MAN, this sucker is HUGE like, my gauge is 3 stitches to 4 inches!) and three strands of yarn at once in a half double stitch.  It's roughtly 7 ft wide, you know, crochet until it looks long enough.  Right now, 30 rows long.  I wasn't sure how to work in the hunter orange, but I think it works.  I'm doing 10 rows of the light blue, navy blue, and black combo and then I throw in 2 rows of the hunter orange - she gave me 3 skeins, so it's working.

I'm one my 6th skein of black (3 oz), 3 skein of navy blue (7 oz), and the 2nd skein of light blue (16 oz).  I need to about double the number of rows and it'll be done.

It's working up fast with the size, but it's getting heavy, so my thumb hurts from hanging on to that weight.

It's going to be SOOOOO warm, but my brother-in-law is always cold and he's 6'4", so needs a lot of blanket.

As for what I'm reading, I'm reading Home Sausage Making. 

We're going to make Italian Sweet Sausage this weekend and Pork and Apple Sausage.  I think we're going to smoke the Apple Sausage and use the Sweet Sausage is going to be used fresh.

Hope everyone has a good day and I'll be back later to ready everyone else's Yarn Along with Ginny at Small Things .  Fixit and I are headed out the door on a field trip.

Yarn...Precious Yarn....

Stash Buster:

Ok. does it count as a stash buster when you give some of it away?  I think it does and it's my blog, so I get to say "Yes!"  (Down 8 skeins to my mother, today!)

However, I had to really hold back jealous, covetous thoughts, when my mother came over to get some wool yarn. 

Now, I TOLD her that she could come over.  I even showed her which shelves the wool yarn was on.  However, I was not exactly expecting her to take 8 skeins of my precious wool yarn. 

I mean, my mother is going to use it for hats and scarves and socks for the grandchildren.  How could I think evil thoughts about her?  (especially since I showed her the yarn and didn't limit her selection - ok, I did, but only that she couldn't take the Wool-Ease that I have no project planned for, yet).

If you're going to make socks, take ugly yarn.  Nope, she took some cute purple and bright pink and light pink and some green.  I was actually okay with the pink and the bright pink being sent home with my mother.  The green, she could have taken all of the lichen colored green.  I let myself get upset that she took my cool purple and then she took 2 or 3 skeins of my white/cream color.  It was the white that got under my skin.  How dare she take my white wool.

Step back, Satan!

First things, first.  This is my mother.

Secondly, She's making my kids socks.  (and it's my mother!)

Then, I told her what shelves to go shopping from.  (and it's my mother!)

Fine. (agreed to quite begrudgingly)  I hope I at least get a pair of socks out of the deal.

If only I hadn't seen this tutorial Dyeing with Easter Egg Colors today of all days.  I had this urge to turn my wonderful white into gorgeous colorways of my own creation.

Ok. I'm going back to my corner now and working on Fixit's blanket done in wonderful Red Heart acrylic, but it's not as nice as my wool yarn.  sigh

This Did Not Turn Out

This did not work out at all.

THIS: 

I guess that I really have to learn how to read patterns.  This is evidence that I have absolutely no clue what I am doing when I crochet.  This thing, that we have dubbed "the brain" was supposed to be the starting point to Fixit's blanket.  Hmmmm.

This did not go well.  Seriously, it used two skeins of yarn (...not a bad thing...) but what the heck is it?

I was attempting to make a square.  When the square wasn't working, I started on a circle to make a large oval blanket.  mmm heh...  I would say that I added too many stitches and it took on a mind of it's own.  The pink ruffle was about two yards short of an entire 4 ounce skein of Red Heart - so like 220 yards of yarn in ONE row of double crochet.

S, now the kids have a relatively safe "ball" to use in the house and I get to look for a pattern to actually USE.

Totally Random

Here are some pictures from the last couple of days that have absolutely nothing to do with Christmas, just random life!

Umm, yeah.  That's a lot of yarn. (and it wasn't all of it!)

Yep, it's a cute little tooshy!

Little bit of random.

Have a good day!