Supporting My Yarn Addiction

My first for sale pattern is up on Ravelry!!! Yay!!!!

Check out my store where the Susan the Ladybug Coaster pattern is available for purchase! Huzzah! (Note: The Crocheted Pot Holder pattern is also available for free download.)

I'm hoping to somewhat offset the major yarn purchase I just made from Smiley's. I needed more Colorwaves yarn for Sean's blanket and it's the only place I found the yarn for $1.99 (compared to $5.99 everywhere else). Of course, with a minimum purchase of $50 plus a flat rate shipping cost of $12.95, did I really save money on my 6 skeins of yarn???





Lots of yarn ordered plus some new circular knitting needles. Details to follow this weekend.

CAKE!!!

I was going to blog a real post. I really was. And then I had to do some online shopping - yes, some of it including a yarn purchase. So in lieu of an actual post, I give you photos of the cake I made last week. It was a big hit at the party.







And if you can't wait for an actual post, you can also check out photos from the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

Covered in Frosting

A quick hello - the aforementioned weekend was a fabulous one. No time to blog extensively as I have spent the evening preparing a cake for a former co-worker. It's the largest one I've made yet and I underestimated the time it would take to bake and frost it. Good thing I did the bulk of it tonight so I can properly decorate it tomorrow. The theme of the cake will be "Jumping the Shark" a la Fonzie from "Happy Days". It was a running gag at my last office - someone would always point out when a meeting had officially jumped the shark. Since she's leaving the office, the cake symbolizing her time with the group as having jumped the shark. Really, it's a lot funnier than what I just typed but I'm coming down from the sugar-enduced euphoria that only homemade frosting can cause.

Speaking of cake (and since I don't have time to post all the photos from the Ren Faire), I'll share some photos of the monkey cake I made for Sean's birthday. It had a strawberry filling and vanilla cake. Quite yummy! I also think I like the monkey better as a cake than as a brownie.

Big Weekend Ahead

There is sooooo much going on this weekend. Sean's birthday is Friday. We both have the day off, partially to celebrate this birthday, partially to have a longer holiday weekend and partially to have time to prepare for our weekend guests (Sean's brother and his finacee from New England).

The weekend will consist of the aforementioned birthday cake to celebrate Sean's 29th, the boys are going to a fantasy football draft party while Kristen and I will be heading to Joann's to take advantage of the Labor Day sales and coupons. We're all going to the Maryland Renaissance Festival, too. So excited about that! The food, the entertainment, the mead! Huzzah!!

And now it's Wednesday and nothing is done. Maybe I'll get some stuff done tomorrow night - and I better, because I'm planning to sleep in late on Friday. There is a birthday cake to make and decorate, the condo to clean, the fridge to stock...will I get it all done in time? Keep your fingers crossed for the Queen of Procrastination!

I'm A Designer!!!

Thanks to Ravelry, I'm now a designer! Huzzah!!!

The Crocheted Pot Holders are now listed on Ravelry. I'm just waiting for the Ravelry crew to link my profile up with my pattern.

I've added a section on the side bar of the blog showing the patterns I have and how many projects are in Ravelry. So cool! Once I get my other patterns written and in pdf, they'll be up for sale on Ravelry.

Thanks to all of you for your support!!

Completed Project: Crocheted Pot Holders

I finished these pot holders yesterday. I love how they turned out. Perfect size and just the right color for Jessie's new kitchen.





As always, all the details are available on Raverly. I improvised this design and I'm happy to share the pattern.

NOTE 9/7/08: This pattern has been moved to Ravelry as a free PDF download.

Camping and Dreams

Camping was FABULOUS! Photos are on my Flickr page if you want to check them out. While I didn't do much crocheting during the camping trip, I did do quite a bit during the 8 hour drive back to DC. That's when I got a lot done on these pot holders.



Now to be fair, I only had 1 1/2 done by the end of the road trip, but still an impressive amount accomplished.

WTF?!

How the hell did it become the middle of August?? I don't mean - hey, it's August. I mean, hey, it the freakin' middle of August, where have I been?

While the posting has been non-existent, I have been busily crafting away. Thanks to the Queen for testing out my ladybug coaster pattern. I had high hopes of getting the pattern written, PDF'ed and posted over the weekend, but :sigh: that did not happen. I received my big order of cotton yarn and have made 3 of the 4 fruit slices for my other coaster pattern. Perhaps I'll have both patterns up on Ravelry before the end of the month.

This weekend, I won't be writing patterns and I won't be near a computer - cause I'm braving the great outdoors and going camping! And by braving, I mean I'm staying in a tent next to my friend's parent's camp (modular home with electricity and a clean bathroom) and I'll be sleeping on my uber comfy Aerobed. Sure, I could "rough it" more if I wanted to but why put yourself through that. It's bad enough I won't have fresh limes for my gin & tonic.

Just kidding - I'm not that high maintanence. I'll be making breakfast on the campfire and roasting s'mores in the evening. I should have some good photos to share when I get back. And yes, I'll be bringing at least one project to work on (which one that is remains to be seen). Should I brave ye olde shawl again??? It's been a month since I last picked it up.

Note to the Queen and Mistress: The viking hat will be making an appearance at camp. Muahahahaha!

Creativity Running Rampant

It started with the ladybug...now two more coaster designs worked up...

This one is called "Froggy love Daddy? Daddy love Froggy!" from the movie "Blazing Saddles". (Thanks for Sean for the name.)



And here's a watermelon. No fun title for this one yet.



I'm still working on writing up the ladybug pattern so these patterns are also waiting to be written. I have a set of three (related theme) coasters I also need to finish making, writing up the pattern, and photographing. I'm hoping to get some coupons for Joann's because I need some different color cotton yarn to finish those.

So here's the question - would you be willing to buy the pattern to make these? What would a good price be? Think of y'all as being my little focus group for marketing Crocheting Commuter designs and wares. And thanks in advance!

The Secret is Nutmeg

Dear Queen,

Get outta my brain!



Well, they are oatmeal instead of chocolate chip and they weren't made because I wanted them. I made them for work - visitors in town tomorrow and I thought having tea and cookies during the meet and greet would be a good idea. I had to make 2 batches - one for my work and one for Sean's. Since I like Sean's work better, they get the perfect batch while my work will get the slightly burned batch. (No worries - they deserve it.)

Mistress - did you make cookies today, too? If so, it's a Keebler trifecta.