Sew I See!

Literally and figuratively.  ;o) I dusted off the sewing machine this afternoon.  (I know .  I actually sewed something.  This blog should really be named something else entirely, considering how rarely I sew.)  I finally cut and hemmed some "thrifted" ($1) full-length jeans down to capri length.  I've been meaning to do it all summer, but I really don't enjoy the process of hemming things, so I kept putting it off.  Sewing doesn't get much easier than hemming, but I always worry I'll get the legs uneven, or too short, and I don't like dealing with all the pins... nor do I particularly enjoy sewing over the thick bunches at the seams.  But all that said, it worked out fine, and now I have another pair of comfy denim capris for around the house wear. I probably ought to carry the sewing momentum on to making the simple skirt(s) I've been planning to sew since last summer.  (Then there are all those curtains I want to make...) As for the figurati

This feels surreal... I think I just actually finished the Fuzzy Diamonds Pillow !!  (Could I be dreaming?)  According to my Ravelry project notes, I started that thing in July of last year, so it's about time the crazy thing was done. Crocheting with novelty yarn is still Not Fun (which is a big part of why it took me a year to finish the pillow), but it wasn't that bad, once I got started.  Anyway, it's DONE, now.  It doesn't really "go" with our style of decor-- especially not our living room-- so I just tossed it on the bed.  It can stay there for a while. In the end, I just single crocheted the two halves together.  No need for a fancy border on this one, I think.  First, because I am so, so ready for this pillow to be finished. Second, because I shudder at the prospect of crocheting more fuzzy yarn right now.  Third, because aforesaid fuzzy yarn is kind of floofy, and I suspect that a border of any real width would flop all over the place.  Fourth,

Hey, I actually took some crochet-related photos today!  Sure, the light was awful and some of the photos are kind of blurry, but we'll just have to make do.  (Because I'm too lazy to haul out the tripod and take them over again.) Let's see... There are a few photos of blocked doilies... The "North Star" doily (made to try out the South Maid thread): My lavender "Sunbflower Bloom" doily (a PK design): And my "Pink Lemonade" version of PK's "Gallant": (The last one looks lopsided-- not perfectly circular-- in the photo... I may need to reblock it, once I improve my blocking board, though I don't think it looks quite so lopsided "irl".) Then there's another photo of the Firecracker fingerless gloves-- with no hands in them, this time. (g) Here's the tissue box cover I made for my youngest sister: ...And again, with Trixie the Eskie snoozing in the background, because nearly all photos ar

Uploaded a couple of mediocre photos of the fingerless mitts: It's harder than you might think to photograph a glove or mitt while you're wearing it... ;o) Maybe I'll get Donald (my husband) to take a photo or two, sometime... or at least take a couple of photos of the fingerless gloves with no hands in them. (I started the pineapple oval-ish doily last night. Crocheting into the chain = yuck and no thanks. But now I hope it will get easier as I go...)

My "Ruby Treasure" doily is finished!  What, you expected photos?  Ha ha ha, so funny!  ...Yeah, about that... I haven't even blocked it.  Nor have I moved photos off the camera since my last entry.  There may be one or two crochet-related photos on there; honestly, I can't remember one way or the other. When "Ruby Treasure" was off the hook, I decided to make a small cushion cover using the "Something Pretty" motif.  (Here's the project page on Ravelry , but of course there are no photos there, yet.  Tsk, tsk.)  I started out thinking, "This motif hurts my hand to crochet!  Thank goodness I didn't start an afghan with this pattern!"  By the end of the "Something Pretty" side of the cushion, I was thinking, "This motif isn't so bad to crochet, after all, but I'm still glad I didn't start a whole afghan."  I made the back side of the cushion something simple, and I think I'm ready to stitch th

Let's see... What have I been up to (crochet-wise) since last time?  Not enough blocking and project-photographing, unfortunately... (Maybe posting on this blog again is just the kick in the rear I need to make that happen.  The problem is that as much as I enjoy crocheting doilies and taking photographs as separate hobbies , for some reason, I just don't get as much pleasure from photographing my doilies.  The pictures never come out as sharp as they ought. ~shrug~) At least I have been crocheting, though! After the Summer Splendor doily and the granny cushion, I tried my hand at pouch-making. I muddled (and modified) my way through that first pattern and was dissatisfied with the results. (Ended up frogging it.  Figured I might as well use the yarn for a dishcloth rather than leave it as a pouch I'd never use.) The stitch pattern is pretty and unusual, though.  You can find the free pattern here: Star Stitch Coin Purse . By that time, I'd decided I wanted a