Wait...There Are SEVEN Days In A Week??

So, I had every intention of fully participating in the Knitting & Crochet blog week, but then the weekend hit and I was all, "They expect me to write for SEVEN days?? Like, on the weekend, too? Don't they know the week has ENDED? And that Big Mister is home? And that it's time to PAR-TAY?? Or at least nap more since Big Mister can watch Little Mister for me? DON'T THEY??"

Yeah. I only got up to Day Five on Blog week, but goodness gracious I had fun doing it. :) Methinks I'm going to have to do some more drawrings in the future. (And, in my head it is pronounced "draw-rings" like Mike Meyers' Simon from SNL. Or at least the way I think he says it. It's the way my sister and I say it, so it's an in-joke between us that many people probably didn't get and so they instead think I can't spell "drawings." Well, see- I can. And now you are in on our in-joke.) (I guess you had to be there.)

Instead of blogging, I ended up going back to the sadistic massage therapist and, in all honest to God seriousness, my butt is bruised. Like someone-grabbed-a-hold-of-my-cheeks-in-a-ninja-death-grip-and-swung-me-around-the-room bruised. I hopped in the shower yesterday and thought, "HOLY COW! Did that lady read my blog and say, 'I'll give you something to cry about, wussy girl!'?"

The sad thing is that I thought it was going well and was even surprised at the reduction in both pain and in full body convulsions I had while she was trying to find Waldo near my gall bladder and was congratulating myself on how much I had toughened up from the last appointment. And then, after I got home, I finally remembered that I had taken 4 Advil prior to my appointment because I am smart and OH DEAR GOD THE PAIN!

And now I wish I hadn't taken the Advil because I would have been able to feel the full force of her work and could have begged her to let up a little bit and my poor derriere wouldn't look like someone danced the Electric Slide all over it.  Seriously- that lady is an amazing massage therapist. Strong as all get-out and tenacious when she finds an area that needs to be worked on. It really isn't her fault that I bruise easily.*

Anywho...I hope y'all had fun during the Knitting and Crochet blog week and hopefully even found some new knitting and crochet blogs you didn't know about before. All that blogging about crochet and getting into my stash really got my crochet mojo going and so I spent yesterday ripping out the remaining rows on Little Mister's Blanket-o-love and then basically regraphed the whole thing. I had completed 168 rows prior to running out of yarn. I was going to unravel about 80 rows to get to the place where I was going to use the new green instead of the old green. And then I decided that the whole thing was poo, so I unraveled 80 more rows. I ended up with 8 rows of my original work left. I'm still debating whether or not I should be committed.

Ah well. It will be worth it in the end. (I keep telling myself.) I started working on it today and I must admit it feels good. Except for the hunching over while working on Tunisian crochet color work, which really puts strain on my shoulders.

Dagnabbit. That means I'm going to need a massage again. Don't worry, butt cheeks. The shoulders will get the brunt of it next time...

Night, y'all.

* For reals- I do bruise easily. I don't think I've ever gone a day in my life without a bruise somewhere on my body. Usually on the sides of my thighs/hips and arms because those are my preferred body parts to use when locating tables and walls.

Going Yarn Shopping with Gege- An Illustrated Tale

Today is Day Five in the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week and today's topic is "Something A Bit Different." We are encouraged to boldly blog in ways no man has blogged before. Or at least in a way we haven't blogged before. So, I thought I'd demonstrate my amazing drawring abilities while giving you a peek at a day in my (shopping) life.


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When I go yarn shopping, I always have something in mind- a goal, a purpose- so that I am focused on buying what I need and ONLY what I need. No frivolous yarn purchases for me.

I am so lucky to have a husband who understands and supports my yarning and crochet endeavors

Our marriage has survived- nay- FLOURISHED for so long because we always support each other and compromise, compromise, compromise.

Yarn is the universal friend maker- the bridge between all ages.

It's amazing how peaceful and serene shopping for yarn can be.

The end result is always the same- a happy wife, a peaceful husband, and a restraining order baby safely secured...somewhere under all that yarn.

 The End.


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I hope you enjoyed this snippet of my life.  If so, please let eskimimimakes know- there are prizes to be won for this particular day. YAY! I'll give you candy if you nominate or vote for me. Promise.

(No I won't...that's a lie.)

To view other creative blog postings, google search: LikeI'mGoingToSendYouToMyCompetitors. I'm sure you'll find lots of creative blog postings that way. *innocent smile*

(Ok, ok- search for 3KCBWDAY5. But don't nominate anyone else. I have candy. And nunchuks.)

To Everything There is a Season Turn! Turn! Crochet!

Alright. Today is Day Numero Four for the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week and the topic is "A Knitter or Crocheter For All Seasons?" We are encouraged to discuss the seasonality of our craft with y'all. Like, "I like to crochet warm stuff in winter because it's cold," or something along those lines. I must admit this topic didn't really get my blogging mojo running so, instead of utilizing the excellent nap Little Mister took this morning to do something productive, like blogging, I ended up thinking, "Ugghhh...why did I decide to commit to writing everyday for this blog week thingy? Seasons of my crochet? I don't make sweaters. I need a sweater because it's cold here. It's almost winter. Winter, spring, summer and fall...all you have to do is call...and I'll be there.......ugggghhh....now I have that song in my head. I'm hungry. I wonder how long Little Mister is going to nap. Seasons....seasons.....Uggggghhhhhh."

And then I went on the hunt for food. I didn't even spend his nap time cleaning my house but that's because I did that yesterday (!!!!) and yes, that truly was a Porcine Pilot you saw today. You are welcome.

I just couldn't think of how the heck I could say that I make things seasonally and then BAM! It hit me. Instead of crocheting different projects dependent on the seasons of the year, I actually crochet different projects dependent on the seasons OF MY LIFE.

Take a moment to let the profoundness of that statement sink in. I know I had to. I had to eat a sandwich and take a nap it was so profound.

I find that I will go through crocheting bursts dependent on how my life is going. For instance, I taught myself how to crochet in the summer of 2007 when I took a leave of absence from my job as well as a sabbatical from my schooling. I was so stressed out and filled with worry and anxiety and found solace in trying to get a hang of this whole yarn thing.

And then I became addicted and couldn't stop. When I find something I like- a pattern, a stitch, a color- I tend to go through an "Obsession Season."  My first Obsession Season was my "Round Ripple Season," which was most of 2007 and 2008. (There is actually one more that I made but I didn't take a picture of it before giving it away.)

Top L: My sister's boob blanket, top R: Greens for my mom, Mid L: G-ma's 90th b-day blanket, Mid R: Spidey-ghan for Lyteyz's Little Man, Last row: MY PURPLES!!!

 At the end of 2008, I went through my "Scarf Season."

Wait...I'm NOT a scarf? You mean I was adopted???

 I'm currently going through a "Stained Glass Window" season. It started with a pillow and has continued to two purses, a blanket, and a cowl.

One "manly pillow" coming up

The fastest foot-crocheter in the west.

As you can see, I'm also going through an, "UFO Season," as well.

I find that I crochet the most, and the most intensely, during the "STRESS!!!" seasons of my life, whether they are out of my control or self induced, i.e. I put an insane deadline for myself to finish something. Such as an upcoming birthday where I had to crochet furiously for two months to finish this.

Ah yes...the Mario season of 2009. Unusual weather we are having. (Name that movie!)

When my life season is a little overwhelming, I always have my escape plans in place. Usually sticking my head in the sand like an ostrich is my number one go-to plan. My sands of choice are either books, video games (Hellllloooooo BigFishGames!), and, of course, crochet. I became extremely productive at the end of 2009 and early 2010 due to that particular overwhelming season.

This particular season of my life- new motherhood and relocating to the other side of the world- has been pretty overwhelming, as well. I cycled through all of my escapisms and have actually been pretty darn productive crochet wise, but unfortunately either haven't finished or haven't taken pictures of what I was working on yet, so unfortunately I can't showcase much stuff right this moment. Hopefully very soon, though. It's been a while since I've shared a finished object and I'd like to get some of the many (many!) UFOs out of my "allllllmost finished" pile. (I think the last one was my Christmas tree skirt....HEY! Not only another round ripple, but a Christmas SEASON crocheted item! Totally on track with the theme of today's blog topic!)

So, there you have it. Winter, spring, summer and fall, Gege crochets it all. Is there a season of life when you are most creative, as well?


To see other blogs participating in the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week Day 4, do a search for 3KCBWDAY4.

Did You Ever Know You Were My Hero?

It’s Day Three of the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. Yes, I just posted my Day Two, but for me in the Land Down Under, it’s really Day Three so I’m playing catch up from posting the first day late and am making up for it by doing a double posting from the future. Or something like that.

Ahem.

Anywho…the topic for today is “Your Knitting or Crochet Hero.” Of course I’m totally picturing a crocheter dressed in a superhero costume, a big “C” emblazoned on the front, flying around Crotchopolis (hmmm…sounded better in my head) to right all the wrongs of this world *coughknittingcough*. But since I haven’t finished my suit yet there isn’t a crochet superhero out there yet, I’m going to have to say the first person to pop into my head was my mom.

Now, she is not an obvious choice for this because she is actually not a knitter or crocheter, although she was quite the macramé queen back in the day. However, she is extremely artistic and amazingly inventive. Extremely. She’s the type of person who can look at a piece of junk and see a gorgeous piece of furniture waiting to be revealed. She can go through a kitchen cabinet and chose a random assortment of ingredients and BAM! The best dinner you’ve had all week. She can see something amazing on TV- a skirt, a curtain, a painting- cock her head to the side and say, “I wonder if they did it this way?” And then WHOOSH! She not only replicates it, she improves it. I can only wish I had a quarter of the artistic talent and abilities that my mom has.

So, after laying the groundwork for how amazing my mom is, and to reiterate that she is NOT a knitter or crocheter, I want to show you exhibit A for why she’s my knitting hero.

My mom is more awesome than your mom.

What you are looking at is the very first knitted item my mom ever made. Ever ATTEMPTED to make. She was in her twenties and decided to take a crafting lesson at the local Senior Center because old people are cool and this is what she came home with. She said she never finished it because she got too busy and started having kids so, in essence, I am the reason why my mom is not the knitting or crocheting superhero she was obviously destined to be.

Once you pick up your jaws off the floor, I want to remind you what my first (and only) knitted item was.

It's a washcloth! Yeah...shut up.

Now look back at my mom’s intricate cabling.

And back to my pathetic excuse for a washcloth.

And now you know why she’s my knitting/crafting/cooking/super hero. (Heeey...maybe I can get her to make me my Super Crochet costume.....)

To see other blogs participating in the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week Day 3, do a search for 3KCBWDAY3.

My Perfect Crafting Day

For Day Two of the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, the topic is a Photography Challenge Day. We are encouraged to take creative pictures of the yarny kind and there is a competition and everything. Well. I wanted to make it a fair competition for others, so I decided to remove myself from the festivities and instead use this as the “Wild Card” day. Ok, ok. I admit I am not a good photographer. And believe me, I hear you saying, “*Gaaaasp!* No, Gege! You are amazing at everything you do!” But, as true as that is and as perfect as I am (hee!), when it comes to photography I really do not have the eye for it and get impatient trying to set things up for the “perfect shot.”

So. The Wild Card topic is "Craft Your Perfect Day" where we are supposed to discuss what our perfect crafting day looks like. So without further ado, here's what my perfect crafting day looks like.

My Perfect Crafting Day is one where I don’t have to choose:

Do I wash the dishes or my new felted bag?

Do I need clean underwear or do I need to finish just one more row?

Does My Mister need a good wife or a new hat?

Do I need to change the baby’s diaper, or the channel to my favorite show?

Do I vacuum the floor or pet my stash?

Do I get dressed for the day or roll around naked in my yarn?

Do I lay the bed or lie IN the bed?

Do I stop Little Mister from eating that paper or do I finish just one more row?

Do I stop Little Mister from eating that power cord or do I finish just one more row?

Do I change the litter box to get rid of the smell or do I crochet myself a gas mask?

Do I work out to reduce the size of my butt or do I work in to reduce the size of my stash?

Do I need to call my mom or do I need a lobotomy?

Do I make dinner or do I make a shawl?

Do I go to sleep or do I finish just one more row?

Here’s hoping for a decision free crafting day someday soon!




You can find other participants in the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week Wild Card Day by doing a search for: 3KCBWWC