Working hard or hardly working?

Those are the two possibilities as to why I wouldn't have made a post lately, right? Well, the correct one is working hard. Working hard on what?
Well, there is the sweater that a bunch of us are making on the Kiss Loom Group.
Graciela wrote the pattern for a simple sweater for us. Of course, it was so simple that I HAD to make it challenging by changing things up. I shortened the body by 20 rows and lengthened the arms by 15 rows. Well, I basically made up the sleeves all on my own b/c I didn't cast on as many pegs as she called for either. :P I guess changing patterns will always be a weakness of mine. LOL!
In the middle of doing the sweater I decided I would work on a crocheted poncho off and on, so that I didn't get bored with one thing. I am very proud of it. Made it from the yarn that a friend sent me as a late birthday gift. Her is name is Karen and she is from Portland, Oregon. We have been friends for years and she likes to send me surprise Christmas and birthday gifts. :D She is the one that got me the flower loom and spool loom for Christmas if you guys recall those. We attempted to start needle knitting at the same time, but she works a lot and doesn't get the instant gratification that I do. She is contemplating getting some looms, though. She said she spent an hour touching and caressing yarn before picking out three skeins of Lion Brand Jiffy in deep purple for me. :D I love the poncho which you can find the pattern for free on http://www.lionbrand.com/ . It is labeled as the 'Town and Country Poncho'.

And a friend of mine e-mailed me this past week that her husband had passed away. Oh, how my heart ached that I couldn't do anything. So, I set out to crochet her a little animal. Everytime someone close to me passes away I purchase a stuffed animal to represent that person and when I am having a hard time and want to talk to them or cry, etc, I pick up the stuffed animal and talk to it. I know, it is probably stupid, but it is a comfort thing for me. I decided I was going to crochet the 'Baby Penguin' from my 'Amigurumi World' book....but the baby penguin wasn't as small as I thought it would be. I wanted something that my friend could keep in her purse or carry with her easily. The baby penguin is at least 6" tall. Besides, Lady Tru got up from her nap and totally claimed him. She threw a fit when I needed him back so that I could stitch his wings on. We named him 'Pepe'.

Besides that stuff, I have completed test looming a pigtail hat...which I will be teaching in 'Class' next month for my dear friend, WandaJean. She will be away from home for like 2 months and asked if I would teach it for her. How fun, huh?

I also made a bonnet (by Pam Keville) and baby booties (by Graciela) with 'Class'.

I got a very special, handmade preemie bootie loom for my birthday. They make these tiny little booties! I am working on making hats and booties that match now. :D NOTE: That bottom pic of the preemie booties is showing that the sole is only 2" long. Perfeclty Precious! :)

Oh, and I tested Jenny's block for next week and it is very cool! I need to make a tutorial on how to complete the bobbles on the Kiss Loom before the class starts. I just have to figure out what way would be best to do it....video or photos. I don't know if the webcam I have is a good enough quality to make a video. And I could try with my digital camera, but then I am limited on time and have to figure out how to prop it up b/c the tripod that we got free with my other camera is not really made for the big Canon cameras that I like to have. It is more for those tiny, skinny little digital cameras. :P
And right now I am testing out Stephanie's pattern for next month's block. Lace work! You guys are gonna love it.
I need to sit down and get to work on my own designs. I want to work out a pretty cable design for a block for July. And I want to make a tank top with an intricate cable pattern that is in the center of the bust area. WandaJean Sims sent me my 'Teacher's Apreciation Holiday' gift early, since they will be out of town, and I got a lot of baby yarn (for the preemies) and two skeins of blue yarn that I think will make a pretty tank top. I just really have to work on math calculations AND what kind of straps I want it to have. Wide ones, skinny ones, etc.? :D Wanda also sent me a pack of sewing needles and a pack of her favorite stitch markers which are really good stitch markers!
Ok, well, I know this wasn't a very productive post, but that is what you have to deal with for now. :D