I am a little uncomfortable with this week's 10 on Tuesday, so I won't be participating. Yes, sometimes people can be annoying or do annoying things. However, I would feel rude if I were to list them here. Besides, the lists already done give a good representation of things people find annoying about other people.

I'd rather show this cute baby dress I am working on. This is the one I have had to set aside until I get more yarn for it. I love the pineapples! I will block it when I am done to see if it looks different/better that way, but hopefully it won't be a necessary thing (after all, what mother really has time to block her baby's dress?). I envision this over a white slip or one-piece. It is so soft, too!

Yum!

I made Vegetable Gyoza and Edamame Succotash from the Vegetarian Times tonight! Yum.

Sorry, no pic - we dug in before I could take a picture.

I will note that I did not use sesame oil (some of us react to it), and I don't have cilantro or chili oil, so I used dried oregano and cayenne powder. I try to limit the oil I cook with anyway, and chili oil isn't very spicy (or maybe the stuff I bought once wasn't). I buy cayenne pepper, along with most of my spices, from the bulk section of the health food store. It's a lot cheaper than buying McCorrmick or any of those bottled spices from the grocery store. A decent health food store has good turnover with the spices, so they aren't already old when you get them. Also, you can get cayenne pepper (or red pepper) powder in various levels of heat at the health food store, and the hottest stuff is not much more than the regular stuff, so it actually is more cost effective because you use less (yeah, right - I like it hot!).

Wow! Almost a month!

I just realized how long it has been since my last post. I have been very busy.

I am unemployed. I was laid off from my job and haven't been having much luck finding a new one. I started this blog because I have been crafting more and wanted a record of my work.

I am as busy, if not more so, as when I was employed, but now I am making time to craft. For one thing, I can crochet while I read job ads. I couldn't do that at work!

I am getting crochet and crafting done, just haven't finished anything yet for various reasons.

I may be getting a commission for a baby blanket! I made one recently for my mother to give to a coworker who just became a great-grandmother. Everyone loved it! The new mother was showing off her baby in the blanket and now another relative of my mother's coworker wants one!

I used to sell Avon to the coworker, so she asked my mother to ask me if I was willing to take a commission. Now I have to figure out how to charge for it, besides the yarn. I've only done crochet for family, who bought the yarn for me.

So here's what is on my plate right now:

Crochet:
1. 2 baby dresses. I started a second when I ran out of yarn last week for the first. I have to go back to my LYS to get another skein. The pattern book I am using just said 6 oz of a type of yarn that I didn't want to use. I made a big mistake in translating that into yards. The owners of my LYS said they were out of the dye lot I had bought, but if what they have doesn't match, there is a website for finding a dye lot they can use to get my yarn. I don't want to spend a lot on another skein, so I may try using a different color to finish the dress if what they have in stock won't work. It's missing the last few inches at the bottom of the skirt and the sleeves.

2. The Chic Ripple cardigan out of Crochet Cardigans. For my mother. Of course, she's an in-between size, so now I have to study the pattern to see I can alter the pattern to fit her. The small is too small and the medium is too big!

3. Baby blanket?

Craft:
1. Finish those butterflies I painted. My sister wants one. I need to find a good clear acrylic paint sealer or glaze so I can coat the wings and add them to the bodies already made.

2. Started drawing again. Nothing to write about here.

Sewing
1. 1930's evening gown. I haven't touched it since April. The sewing room just got cleaned, so I can start on it again. Maybe. I need a sewing manniquin.

2. Duct tape sewing manniquin. Needs to be stuffed and put on a stand somehow.


Sigh. I need a job. Being unemployed is wearing me out.

Eye Candy Friday

I like it when other blogs I read have Eye Candy Friday, so I thought I would post a pretty pic:
A pink coneflower. I thought it turned out great - I was playing with my camera in my Mom's garden. I don't have my own property, so I enjoy my parents'.

Ten on Tuesday

I thought I would give this week's Ten on Tuesday a try. It's better than complaining that I just frogged round 17 on my baby dress for the second time.

10 Things You’d Bring on a Deserted Island

1. Kookie - she would be so happy to be there, and so useful. A big, protective Malinios with a penchant for digging is perfect for any deserted island. Plus I wouldn't be lonely. Poop might be an issue, though.

2. My bag of crochet hooks (that's one item, right? It's a little bag)

3. Baby yarn - it's so soft and I love working with it. Plus it's warm but not too warm - perfect for most temperatures you'll find on a deserted island

4. Sock yarn - I've got to have something besides baby yarn, otherwise I would get bored

5. Books - lots of them

6. Sun hat - I am not big on wearing sunscreen unless you have to, it's still made of chemicals. Avoidance is better.

7. Eye liner and eye liner brush - I know someone mentioned mascara. For me, I have to have eye liner. My lashes are dark and bushy, so normally it's not that noticeable if I wear mascara. And yes, I use an eye liner brush and either powder or eyeliner in a jar. I have been known to use pretty, dark eye powder instead of liner, but the powder tends to dust my cheeks when applied.

8. Natural bug spray - although there are some insects that will ignore eucalyptus, lemongrass, citrus oils, and other bug repelling oils, a good blend does work on most types of insects. And it smells good!

9. Rum - GOOD rum! Wine wouldn't do well on a hot island and beer needs to be cold, so rum! Especially if there are coconuts on the island. :)

10. Two long-haired goats - a male and female. The kind I can get yarn-quality hair from. I figure I can make a spindle from what's available on the island, and the goats will give me roving to make my own yarn with when the yarn I brought with me ran out. Milk for making soap, babies to grow a small herd if need be. Plus they are smaller and probably easier to deal with than alpacas and llamas! I would be hoping to be rescued before inbreeding became an issue.

Later!

Baby Blanket - check!

The baby blanket is done! My mother commissioned a baby blanket for a coworker who just became a great-grandmother. She paid for the yarn. It was made from approximately 1.5 skeins each Bernat Baby Coordinates in Iced Mint and Lemon Custard. I used a shell ripple stitch for the blanket and a shell stitch for the edging. The edging has alternating yellow and green sides.

Baby Ripple Blanket

Started May 22 2009

Completed June 14 2009

The corners curled up until I added the edging, now they lie flat.

I actually managed to keep this one nearly fur free! That can be near impossible at times, what with Maybelline's penchant for laying on anything I am reading or working on. She loves laying on my crochet if I put it down somewhere without putting it in a bag.

Also, sorry for the week without posts - I was busy during the week so that I could go to Massachusetts with my Dad to visit family. I got to see my Grandmother, so I am really happy about that! I had a great time, and I have lots of photos to sort through from riding around Ware, MA on the back of my Dad's motorcycle. I'll post some soon.

Yay for the Weekend!

What a week! I am glad it is over. However, I am not going to rant. I refuse. This is a craft blog. Let's talk about crafts.

I ran out of yarn for the baby blanket I am making, but here is a picture of it so far.
Sorry that it is so dark - my flash shines off of the yarn.

I entered Kookie into a photo contest last week. I had to train her to sit still in front of the camera - she was initially afraid of it. I also had to cover that stupid green light that shines when you hold down the shutter button. As far as I can tell, it doesn't do anything except shine a green light in the eye of anyone looking at the camera right before the picture is taken. But my big bad belgian doesn't like the light, or the flash, at all.

I did manage to get some good shots of her to send in. Maybelline got jealous and wanted attention, too.