What a busy week!

My head is spinning (and not just from the virus the kids so graciously passed on to the loving and doting parent that cares for them so!) This has been one helluva week! I mean, I taught my class on the Strawberry Sundae Delight hat and it turned out to be such a hit. That threw me for a loop b/c I figured that not that many people would be interested in making such a silly hat. I guess there are more silly people like me out there than I realized (apologies to any that don't like to be called silly. I use that term affectionately for myself. Like calling myself cute! :D)
Well, not only did they enjoy the hat, but the started coming up with brilliant ideas that spin off of my hat! Wanda Sims made the cutest Strawberry Delight TP cover. LOVE IT! And she is now working on a tissue box cover. I would have never thought to make something cute like that from my hat. :)
On top of the class, I have still been working on the not so secret project. Most of you have already found out that Jenny and I will be teaching an afghan block class every month starting with the last week of March. I have already designed two blocks and worked another after the first design on the Kiss Loom. I have to reconfigure things there. I think I got the wrong gauge or something and am waiting on Graciela to help me determine what I have done that isn't quite right. :P
BTW, I have seen Jenny's block and it is absolutely ADORABLE!!!!!
Also, I got two crochet books in this week. I am very excited about this first one! Ana has a blog here where you can see more of her CUTE creations! And I think all knitters and loomers should have a book on crocheted trims and borders that you can use on blankets or to finish sweaters, pillows, dishcloths, ALL KINDS OF STUFF!!!

As well as that, I have made one (that's right, I just took time for 'me' for only ONE) of Isela's cabled mitts with the Ravelry LAL. I love it. It fits, not too big and not too little. The only thing that I am unhappy with is how I decreased for the tip of the fingers....I ended up with holes that I weaved yarn into to fill up. If I do it right next time, I am sure there should be no holes...or less noticeable ones. Hopefully, I can finish up my second one this weekend. Maybe take the day off tomorrow to do it. :)

Oh, but the dishes that have piled up over this week! I can't believe that I haven't done dishes in 4 days! Yes, we were sick...but my son kept saying that he wanted this or that that he would normally eat on his meal schedule, then wouldn't eat it! UGH! And my daughter didn't lose much of her appetite and hubby didn't catch it until today and you wouldn't have noticed with the two tomato sandwiches and bowl of veggie soup he ate! So, Robin will be dishwasher first thing in the morning after a nice, hot, cleansing shower! My appetite has just come back in the past hour and is ravenous! Hahaha!
And just b/c this Mom-O is so proud of her big boy, I have to post this pic of the picture that Sir Thade drew for me and didn't even show me. I happened to see it sitting on the table and had to get a pic of him holding it. BTW, it says Mom-O but since he is left handed and just turned three he writes from right to left! LOL! Doesn't make it any less sweet, though!














Lady Tru feeling sickly (her hair is so unruly when she won't leave a barrette in it):

And both kids having a good moment and paused while playing peek-a-boo with the other end of my quilt:


Almost forgot! Meet Gandolph, the newest member of our family that was added this week as well! He is a 7 week old long haired chihuahua...and chunky one! But he is a very good puppy. Only a handful of accidents but 95% of the time he goes potty outside like he is supposed to. I have already taught him to sit. :D I can't wait until he gets a bit bigger so that I can make him sweaters...though with his thick fur right now, he might not need them. There will always be chew toys though. This puppy likes my yarn and the knobby ends on the KK loom pegs. Hmmmm, I will have to be much careful of where I leave my 'toys'. Nemisis, my min/pin is very smart and you just tell her once to not touch something, it isn't hers...and she just doesn't look at it again. Gandolph doesn't quite have the memory for that yet. :(

Tutorial for ruffled brim of Strawberry Sundae Delight Hat

Step 1:
Place slip knot onto the first peg and slide your crochet hook into the slip knot from top to bottom, hooking the working yarn and pulling it through to make your 1st chain.

Step 2:
Pull your hook and 1st chain between pegs 1 and 2 so that you are working from the outside.

Step 3:
Chain the number specified in the pattern PLUS the extra chain to place onto peg 2. (In the pic, you see that I have chained 6 and have an extra chain on my hook to place on peg 2.)

Step 4:
Move your hook and chain to center of the loom.

Step 5:
Place your loop in the peg.

Kickin' off the weekend with a laugh!!!!

Warning: Do not read this will driving, eating, or drinking a hot liquid. It is best to be sitting down and to take a DEEEEEEEEEP breath. OK, you may proceed.

So, this week I kept getting the overwhelming urge to pick up some yarn and a crochet hook and practice some crochet. I had done this before back in October of last year. And I stopped b/c I got really busy with my looms and Christmas and all that. But my little swatch of single crochet always called out to me to come back and give it some buddy stitches of half double, double, and triple crochet. So, Wednesday evening I sat down and practiced. I did a few rows of each of those stitches until I was comfortable and moved on to the next. Once I felt fine with all four stitches I decided to do a simple project. A cute little bear that some of the ladies on the TeenyTinyTreasures group were making for preemies. Looked pretty simple...though probably not the best project for my very first item. I never follow the rules of yarn craft though. LOL!
I sat down and followed the pattern for the head, chaining 4 and joining in the round and continuing on like they said. Before bed I had the head finished! Woohoo. I did notice an error in the center of the head (you dc into each stitch on the chain and then chain 2, where this chain is....it leaves a hole in the head. I will just have to do some research and see if I am doing something incorrectly.)
The next morning I couldn't just pick it up and start on the arms and legs. We had to run Sir Thade to an appointment, so I grabbed a small skein of yarn and a hook and put it in my purse to practice some more crochet. Haha! I got home and picked up the body-less head, read the directions and completed an arm. This was pretty easy! I continued the legs and other arm and ended off the working yarn where they told me to. I looked down at the first side of my bear and saw this:
Go ahead....it is OK to laugh! I giggled uncontrollably for 3 hours afterwards. I really have no recollection of making the extra leg. I can't for the life of me figure out how a made that third leg without remembering doing it. ROFLOL! I sent the pic to Jenny and she looked at the pic before reading my message and thought to herself about it being a cute octopus....needed a face.
But it wasn't supposed to be an octopus!!!! See? I can't help but change someone's pattern!!!! LOL! I sat down with my very first crochet project and ended up creating a totally new pattern. Haha!
I came up with a simple quick addition to make another head and add 3 arms to it and got this:

I planned on giving the 'bear' to my nephew, who is only a few months old, when my sis comes to visit in a few weeks. But, I bet Dylan won't mind an 'OctoBear'. Yes....that is right, I am going to be adding the ears from the original pattern to the octopus to create an 'OctoBear'.
I am sorta glad that I messed up so badly. It will make for a very memorable first project, I had lots of fun (when I could get the giggles under control), and I get to give it to my sweet nephew, Dyl Pickle. Ooooooo! Idea! I need to make him a dill pickle toy, too!!!!

I hope that I gave everyone a very good laugh b/c I feel so happy inside when I see the 'creation'. I smile everytime I see it and I hope that Dylan does too. Oh, I just can't wait to see him!!!!
In other news, my Strawberry Sundae Hat class starts tomorrow so if you haven't joined my class already...go ahead and do so.
And Jenny and I are coming up with a top secret class (Ok, so it isn't top secret...but we are ironing out details and I don't wanna blab until the details are fixed) that at least some of you will really enjoy doing! I am hoping that a LOT of you will want to take the class...keep your eye on the schedule for the last week of March. ;)
Well, I am off to work on Chris' second slipper. He has been whining and bugging me for a few weeks. Ever since he busted a huge hole in the heel of his others. He really loved those slippers (the GrouchMan Slippers that I made him for Christmas). :D So, off to finish the second one so that I can get on with working more on our top secret class!

Teaching

This year I had decided that I was gonna 1) start writing my own patterns, 2) do some charity looming, and 3) teach a class (or more than one) for the Loom Class Yahoo Group. I just figured that my first class wouldn't be until later in the year when I establish myself and my name more. But, nah! Fearless me jumped in head first and answered Pam's plea for classes to be scheduled soon. Now, to tell you the truth about that statement....it was more like a shaking and terrified me felt guilty that Pam couldn't find teachers and so stepped forward timidly with my meager patterns at her disposal. LOL! No, lie. I was terrified. Haha!
The class will be for the Strawberry Sundae Hat and starts on February 23....that is next Saturday, ya'll. So get to signing up for it! If you downloaded the pattern already and haven't touched it b/c of the fact that you were not so good with a crochet hook, get on over to class, hon! I will help you out as much as I can (like I wouldn't have anyway! You guys can e-mail me anytime!) I am interested to see the different flavors that you guys create with it.
And in case you guys wanted to do Jenny's Cream Cones, that class starts tomorrow and goes right up until my class starts. If you understand her pattern then you will do fine with mine! Then we can all have a Sundae Party! Woohoo!
Besides, the class biz I have finished Bethany's Chill Chaser Cap! I will make sure to post pics tomorrow b/c I haven't taken any of it yet. My yarn choice made it soooo warm and cozy. And I loved it so much that I wanted to wear it out grocery shopping today. But, no matter how silly I am, I don't think I could pull off that really warm hat on a 59 degree day. LOL!
Talk at ya'll later!

Half Finger Typing Gloves

I finished my 'Half Finger Typing Gloves' offered in the Loom Class this week. Karen Gielen is the pattern designer and teacher and she did a brilliantly wonderful job! I love my gloves and plan to make more in the future. Maybe even some for the kids...but I wonder if they will wear them. Since I got the glove pattern down now, I will work on Bethany's Chill Chaser Cap starting tomorrow morning.
For now I am gonna go watch the rest of Shrek III. LOL! Hope to get a tad unbusy soon so that I can loom more, and therefore, update more. :D

Bonus: a cute pic of Sir Thade and Lady MaryAnne (daughter of my SIL's boyfriend who has taken a liking to Thade. More like an obsession but that is OK b/c I just love her to pieces myself! :D)
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Kisses for me!!!!

Kiss looms that is! Mine showed up last Thursday. And I am so happy with them. It is the combo 2: 4-6 peg mods, 4-9 peg mods, and 4-30 peg mods. Here they are:

The four 9 peg mods assembled in first position with no spacers.

The four 6 peg mods assembled in the same fashion.

This is a pic of one of the 30 peg boards shown assembled in the 2nd position, no spacers.

And this is the baby doll blankie I made for Lady Tru's babies. I used the 4-9's in first position with no spacers and I used the U-stitch. And I was so excited that I totally forgot to do a purl and knit edging so that it wouldn't curl. LOL! I will have to slow down and think about what I am doing next time. But I did try my hand at crocheting a border for the very first time. I did a single crochet around the edge once then continued around the edge with chaining three, missing next stitch, then single crochet into next creating the simple picot. I have to practice on it...but I am still proud. So far, all I know about crochet is to chain and single crochet. :D GO ME!

The gauge for the blankie is 16 1/2 stitches per 4 inches using a worsted weight yarn. I like the colors of it (Jeannette, is it familiar? I have made several preemie hats with it also.)

I only got to play with my Kisses on Thursday and Friday b/c hubby and I dropped the kids off at his mom's and we took off out of town for the weekend. Our 4th anniversary was yesterday. We went to Florence, AL and stayed in the Marriot Shoals Hotel and Spa. It was very nice. A restaurant in the hotel and then a revolving tower restaurant connected to it. It was a very good weekend. Managed to get away from the kids....but then bought a bunch of junk for them. LOL!

You can barely see the hotel and 360* Bar and Grill from this shot as we left yesterday. Sorry.

Here are better shots of the hotel and the 360*. I also made a preemie hat on the way there and one on the way back, so it wasn't totally a non-looming weekend. I just wasn't gonna risk my new babies getting broken!





That last one is the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (recall
history lessons on the Great Depression and the TVA.)

And this one is what woke me up at freakin' 7am. Like I could even manage to sleep well in a bed that was actually comfy and warm, then I got woke up and I wanted to sleep in for once! UGH! It is beautiful though, isn't it?

Now I am off to work on my Fingerless Typing Gloves for the LoomClass and when I am done with those I will either work on some of baby items with my Kiss looms or I will finally do Bethany's Chill Chaser Cap! LOL!

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIT'S FRIIIIIIDAAAAAAAY!

And since my New Year's Resolution to myself was to create a free pattern and a 'for sale' pattern every few weeks to put on my pattern blog I wanted to announce that another free pattern (the Strawberry Sundae Delight hat) and a 2 for 1 purchase pattern (Short and Long Brim Ruffled Hats) are up on my pattern page, Rockin' the Loom Patterns!
Thank you so much for checking them out! I hope that everyone finds something that they can use. :D