Blessing gown ideas

I have an idea for the baby blessing gown, and I would like some feedback from those who know more about pattern-making than I do.

I'm thinking of making a onesie, and then making a detachable filet skirt. Both would be made out of cotton (8? 10?), probably in green. I'm pretty sure that I can make a trapezoid-shaped skirt that I could attach to the onesie with small buttons. Near the edge, I would incorporate a pattern created from a series of runes that Kris made out for me. In the rest of the skirt, I can insert pentacles, crosses, or moon symbols.

Then, after the blessing itself, the not-very-practical skirt can be removed for whatever festivities follow. Whether we conceive or adopt, we plan on having a rather ceremonious baby blessing/naming.

It seems that I am more concerned with the end-results of expanding the family, rather than the matter of how we are planning on doing it. But, I believe in sympathetic magic and magical thinking. Work the magic and get in the mindset that what you wish will happen. I am taking care of the mundane aspects. Seeing my doctor and enlisting his advice, putting money into the savings account, working on a functional budget, trying to get our house in order. But, I need to do the spiritual, religious stuff as well. And this gown is part of that.

OK... I need to do some other crochet stuff. I'm STILL working on that frickin' tote for Greg. My newest goal is to have it done for his birthday!

A tad distracted

I keep meaning to update you all on my crocheting adventures, but I've been a little scatter-brained. My dad's most recent doctor's appointment shows that the cancer might be growing again. The mass in his lung looks like it might have grown (or it may be scar tissue) and he has smaller "nodules" throughout the same lung.

So he's back on chemo, and the doctors say that it's mainly to maintain his quality of life. Radiation and surgery are not options. When the chemo starts to make him too sick, he'll come off. If it starts to grow again, he might not go back on.

I had to go today to plan for his cremation. He and my mother are not married, so I am his next of kin. He can't afford the funeral expenses, so I told him that Greg and I would handle it. Since he lost his job, he has lost his benefits and his life insurance.

I'm going to try to start posting more regularly. I'm still looking for a good "Christening" gown pattern that is appropriate for a boy or girl and can be adapted to incorporate a few symbols of both Greg's and my faith. If anyone has some ideas, please let me know!

I need to get going, have to work the back half of a shift tonight. Too tired... grrrr...

I guess I lied a bit...

Apparently, I won't be off-line for too long. In fact, I am on right now. And not on the Goddess-forsaken laptop which I loathe. Greg put the computer back together with its old part while we wait to find out what is wrong with the new parts. I don't have all my programs on here, and don't feel like putting them all back if I'm going to have to do it again in a week or so. So... no pics for a while.

Which is a shame, because I got my final package from my secret pal... who is still a secret! But, she sent me some very nice Ostara-colored yarn, some good-smelly body scrub and mask, and a sachet that smells like vanilla. And an awesome crochet hook. It's a wooden one with a lathe-turned handle. Very, very pretty. Will get pics as soon as I can.

My postman is going to have a rough week. I have ordered many things online over the last week or so, and all of it should come this week. I've got my order from Eddie Bauer today (a jacket for Greg and a sweater and cardigan for me). I'm expecting some books from Amazon, tickets to a concert (my Valentine present to Greg), and some oils from Magickal Realism (everyone should go there and order stuff. It is smelly and good! And natural. And made by Kris's sister!) Actually, the oils will probably come in a week or so.

For now, I must go and cook dinner and do some cleaning I promised myself I would do today. Grr... hate cleaning. Hat, hate, hate!

Later, all!

And the winner is...

ME! Yeah! I won the chili cook-off! I get my name on the Chili Cook-Off plaque in our parish hall. Mine was the spiciest chili there. I didn't think it was that hot, but apparently it more so than the others. Of course, voting is done by placing money in the jar of the chili you like, and cheating is encouraged. So I put $20 in mine. ;-)

I'm still working on remembering what I put in it, so I can put it online. So, until then... keep warm!

No innerwebz for me

My husband broke our computer. He claims he was "upgrading", but the result is no computer. We have a laptop, but it doesn't seem to like being hooked up to the cable modem, so I am limited to internet acccess. Right now, I am sitting in Panera Bread, using their free online. After paying what I did for the soup, sandwich, and mocha... I'm not sure how "free" it is.

So, I won't be getting on very much until the home computer is fixed. T his is very difficult for me. I am usually online nearly every day, even if it's just for a minute or two to check my mail. I have 2 blogs that I post fairly frequently to, and 4 email accounts. Plus, tons of friends that don't live close enough for me to see on a regular basis. How else am I supposed to see how they are doing?

In other news, my package arrived in Germany. My pal seems pretty happy with the gifts. Her kitties seem very, very happy with the toys. I signed up for SP10. I'm hoping to actually knit something for my next pal. We will see.

Also, I got my new washer and dryer today. It's not the Kenmore. It's a really nice Maytag set. And I had to get white. Because they had the floor models for a couple of hundred bucks cheaper and could deliver today. Which meant one less trip to the laundromat for me. But I'm ectstatic. There is supposed to be drumming tonight, but I might just stay home and do laundry.

Finally, I am entering our church's chili cook-off (which is Sunday, for those who are close enough to stop by). I've already made the chili, and the hubby says it's the best I've ever made. Just hot enough to be spicy, enough flavor to be yummy. I have a tad more tinkering to do with it (I think it needs more meat, hubby says he thinks it needs more tomatoes), but I am letting it sit in the fridge for a couple of days to make it taste better. I will be posting the recipe (as soon as I remember all of it) later on, whether I win or not. I'm calling it Brigid's Sacred Imbolc Chili. I figure, it's red,(an Imbolc color) it's hot (and Brigid was the keeper of the sacred flame, if I remember correctly, as well as patron of smithies), the ingredients I have put into it are in threes (including red, white, and black beans), and it will be served with sour cream (dairy for Imbolc). And it has Guinness in it. Which is Irish.

So, wish me tons of luck at the cook-off. It's not a fair competition, and there is lots of cheating... but, it's fun nonetheless.

Take care, all. See ya when I see ya!

Not safe for work!

Yeah! The Anticraft has updated! WOOT! And, as usual, there are very cool, but strange things to make. Like this! I might make one. I might make many and give them as gifts. Hehehe...

Actually, it could be useful for my altar on Beltaine. LOL....

SP9

I'm a little worried that my secret pal has forgotten about me. I was late responding to a couple of emails she sent me last month. I did respond eventually, and I haven't heard from her at all since the beginning of January.

So... Secret Pal: If you are out there and trying to contact me via email, please comment on my blog. I'll try to figure out if there's something wrong with the email.

PICTURES!!!!

Yeah!!! A humongous post filled with lots and lots of pictures. For my deprived friends who are still suffering from dial-up, my condolences. Go fix yourself a cup of tea, bake some cookies, take a nap. I'll still be here. Probably still loading.

Back? OK... now on with the post.

I finally got around to getting batteries in my camera. I also finally got around to having some time off work. Both of these events occurred AT THE SAME TIME!!! I've been working mucho overtime, and haven't been getting much sleep the days that I work. It's been nuts. I have had to come home and sleep for about 4-6 hours every morning that I have come home. Hence, nothing gets done around here.

Why have I been working such crazy hours? Well, we are short-staffed. And, my dryer died. Not broken. Broken can be fixed. Technically, so could my dryer, but the guy from the appliance-fixing place says it won't do any good. It's 40-years-old and the motor is gone. So, we are taking the buy-out from the home-warranty (a measly $120). We are going to buy a new dryer. And hopefully a new washer. Might as well be a matched set. This is the one that I want. In red. Maybe blue. This is what gets me through the long hours at work. This is what keeps me awake at 4 in the morning while driving back from Chicago. I'm pathetic.

OK, so on to the more interesting stuff. You didn't wait all this time for these pictures to load so I could talk about how much I want a new washer, right? Right! (NOTE: I was going to divide this into a couple of separate posts so you aren't stuck reading for ages on end. But who knows when I will have the time or the inclination to actually get all this blogging done. So, you're stuck with the whole kit and caboodle... it's at the end.)

So, for Christmas/Yule, my parents got me a gift card for JoAnn's. I think I was supposed to use it to buy the swift that I have been wanting for oh-so-very-long. However, there are a lot of things in this world that I want, especially when I have a gift card and a 50%-off-one-item coupon. I did not get the swift. Instead I got these:



Yes, those are knitting needles. Clover bamboo needles in a variety of sizes. I figured they would be good to learn on. And if I don't like knitting, I'm pretty sure that Greg will be more than happy to take them off my hands. He was practically drooling over them. Not the ugly tapestry holder they came in. Definitely need to replace that. Got any ideas, Ms. Molly? :-)

I also bought a pattern for a Christening gown that I am going to look at modifying. Unfortunately, they did not put the pattern in any sort of graphic form, so I don't know how to change the filet crochet bits from hearts and roses to pentacles and runes. But it looks fairly straitforward, so it gives me something to start with.

And, I got an S hook. "S" is for speedy! :-) This thing is frickin' huge. I have absolutely no idea what I am going to make with it, but I had to have it anyway. Apparently, I can make a scarf in an hour with this thing. How cool is that? Never have to worry about last-minute gifts again!

Speaking of gifts... I have pictures of many of the presents that I made during my "down-time" at the end of last year. The first picture is stuff I made for Kris and Kid. The Pixie slippers I made by modifying this pattern. I'm not happy with the bells. I tried a gazillion times to get them in the center of the toe. But, for some reason, they didn't want to be there. The scarf came from my most favoritest crochet book. I used some of the alpaca I got from my SP9 pal. It was very soft and cuddly. I almost didn't want to give it away. I have enought left over to make another scarf, though. :-)



This is DEB! Half of Deb-and-Suzanne. She's the half that isn't addicted to yarn. And she is wearing the now-infamous cammo-hat. I think she looks adorable... kind of like she's hunting stuffed bunnies. What a sport!


Here is one potholder I have made for my friend Jen. Notice that you cannot click on her name. This is because she doesn't blog. She doesn't even have inner-webz. She is living in the dark ages. But she will be so very fashionable and hip if I ever get around to making the second potholder and gifting it to her.


And these are generic hats and a scarf I have made for my brother and sister-in-law. One of these days I will get around to making the scarf for my brother. I have too many other things to worry about right now. Of course, I could use my new S-hook and have one done in an hour...hmmmm....


Next, we have Morganna modeling a shawl I made for my mother. She recently went on a cruise and wanted me to make her a shawl that she could wear with a black dress. Well, the pattern that she picked was a pain-in-the-arse, and I had way too much trouble with it. Instead, she got a very larg half-granny-square made from the recycled sari yarn I bought on Ebay ages ago. See! I'm using some of this stash that I thought I would never use!


Now we have come to the stuff I am sending to my secret pal in Germany. Because of my end-of-the-year drama, I didn't get a package sent to her in December. So, I am sending oodles of stuff out tomorrow. The picture shows the Pixie slippers I made her, along with 3 little cat toys (with catnip inside!) I made for her kitties.


The cat toys were a challenge. Not only did I have to figure out the pattern for a ball on my own, but I had to keep them away from my beasts. The first one that I made disappeared from my yarn tote in the middle of the night. I have since seen it in odd places, like under the bed, in-between couch cushions, near the food bowl. I figure they deserve to get the first toy their meowmie makes.

Here's most of the rest of the goodies (I'm also baking some homemade corn meal cookies):


The jar-thing that looks like a sugar server is a soy candle that smells like cinnamon buns... or some such baked good. In all honesty, all candles that smell like cookies or cakes or what-have-you smell the same to me. They smell like sugar, vanilla, and a hint of cinnamon. Every one of them.

Here's a close-up of the yarn that's heading to Germany:

The pink Cherry Hill sock yarn is so soft and silky. Makes me wish I was making socks! The red, white, and bluse yarn is self-striping sock yarn that Greg had used to make me socks. I figured it would be something different that she wouldn't get in Germany. And it makes very pretty sock, too. See for yourself:

Those are the socks that Greg made for me for Yule. They are great. Warm and colorful, and I got so many compliments from people who saw them. Not bad for his first pair of sock, no?

And here is the last yarn-related picture, my yarn-tote WIP:


It looks huge, but it's going to be felted, so it will shrink. Hopefully. I have just a couple more rows of the heart left, then it's pretty much half-double crochets. 30 more for the front. I'm thinking maybe 5-8 for the bottom. Then a gazillion for the back. I'm making pocketed sides for holding needles and assorted tools. And a couple of straps. I might finish it before the end of February. My goal is Valentine's Day. I think it would be a nice gift... you know, with the heart and everything.

And because he insisted:

This is Zorro cuddling with his pretend girlfriend. It's a microfiber stuffed kitty that vibrates. My mother bought it for me thinking I could use it on my lower back. Zorro confiscated it.

I actually do have another cat. KC just never holds still long enough to have her picture taken. So Morganna and Zorro get all the online love.

And finally... for the couple of you out there who don't know what I look like... or those of you who have never seen me dressed up:


Occasionally, I do get out of jeans and t-shirts and spend the few minutes to do my make-up. This is me at my company's holiday party. Many people didn't recognize me out of my sexy uniform. I even had a few people tell me I looked cute. I was cheesing most of the night from it!

OK... all done. get up, move around. Get some circulation flowing back into your ass. I'll try to get some more posted early next week. I'm not sure what I will post, but I'm sure it will be interesting!

Ummmm.... yeah

So I never got around to posting the pics I have promised for so long. My batteries in my camera are dead and we haven't had the money to replace them. Yes, I know that batteries aren't that expensive, but I missed almost three weeks of work. It's on my mega-grocery list for tomorrow, so I will try to get them posted tomorrow night before I fall asleep.

I'm also going to take pictures of my current WIP. The yarn tote for Greg. I am so proud of myself for the way it is turning out. I'm almost finished with the lettering... then it will be a million rows of half-double crochets, a couple of straps, 2 sides, and some sewing. I'm almost done! :-)

I will also have some pics of some items I recently bought from JoAnn's with my Christmas gift card. I am very excited. One of my three readers has a clue as to what it is, but I'm keeping it a secret from all the rest of you. All two of you. :-)

OK, I need some sleep, and my carpal tunnel is flaring up. Take care!

Happy New Year!

OK... it's a few days into the new year. I've been busy.

I am waiting to post pictures because I need to get pics from the people I gifted the FOs to. Bad, bad hooker. Didn't take before pictures. Coming soon. I promise!

Right now I am working on a very ambitious project. I am making a project tote for the hubby, using this in the pattern. I've already frogged it a half dozen times. I might finish it in the coming year.

I also finally bought Stitch & Bitch. I'm thinking about learning to knit. It makes me feel like a lemming. I'm going to finish a couple of projects that are in the works before attempting a new hobby, though.

And finally, I thought I would share my new year's resolution. I've only made one. I plan on getting my stash organized this year. I'm honestly not even sure how much yarn I have or what kinds. It's getting out of control. KMart has a sale one plastic storage drawers. I'm getting a few this weekend and will start the organization process this weekend (or next).

OK... I have to get to bed. Later, everyone!

Musical interlude

I want the Love CD. Mmmm.... Beatles and trippiness. What more could a hippy-wanna-be want?

A Yule surprise

My holiday season became a gazillion times brighter last night. I was at church getting ready for the ritual when I glanced to see who had just walked in the door. I saw a very recognizable back of a certain someone's head and let out a squeal of delight (or so I was told!). My dear, dear friends Deb and Suzanne had come from Maryland for the holidays! What a wonderful surprise. I'm not even mad at a certain someone who knew and didn't say anything (although I sense she wanted to based on our last YIM conversation!).

I should have guessed something was up. Not only from Ms. Gemini's most recent post, but also from the conversation we had Friday evening. I had called to ask her opinion on buttons for a hat I was making for Deb. She said I just caught them, they were on their way out to grab a bite to eat, then they were going for a ride. I asked where they were going, but Suz wouldn't give me any answer. I didn't think to much of it, because driving around the countryside is a favorite passtime of theirs. After I got off the phone, I did think for a moment that it was a little late to be going out for a drive, but maybe they were looking at Christmas lights or something. :-D I'm just very happy right now.

In other news, I have a pair of socks. My loving hubby made me a pair of socks for Yule. They are very patriotic. I will try to get a pic of them this week. Along with all the other pics that I have promised. LOL I haven't had a chance to make his gift yet. I make make him a felted tote for his yarn supplies.

And in still other news... the second pregnancy didn't take either. I'm doing ok, I'm in pretty good spirits. Glad that the issue is finally resolved one way or the other. It's disappointing, but I hadn't really gotten my hopes up anyway. This is when being a pessimist makes life easier. :-)

Well, I have cookies to bake (not really homemade, break and bake because I am having a lazy holiday!) and slippers to crochet. We have vespers service at church tonight and I am really looking forward to it. I have missed so much church and socializing because of the pregnancy stuff, and I really miss it.

Take care, all. Have a wonderful holiday, whichever one you celebrate!

Still getting stuff done...

I'm not going to go into all the gory details here, but.... I'm pregnant. Not quite still pregnant. Pregnant again. It's tough to explain, but it has to do with some peculiarities of my anatomy. I did go into details at my other blog, and I will answer those who ask in private. But, I'm a bit tired of describing the incident for now. It's all I've talked about for days, and I'm kinda bored of hearing it.

I'm not allowed on the ambulance still. I'm almost finished with my nephews sweater, but I took a break because I was getting tired of it. So I am now working on some slipper socks for my secret pal. My gauge is atrocious, and I think these socks will be knee-highs when I'm done. Hopefully they will shrink a little when I wash them. My pal did say that she had largish feet.

I will try to get some pics up some time this weekend. I volunteered to teach a CPR class so that I won't be short too many hours on this paycheck. I started light duty today, and I will continue doing office stuff until my doctor releases me. I'm trying to convince the company that it would be more cost-effective to put another person on the rig with me to do the lifting.

I hope everyone's holiday crafts are going well. Take care!

So much done

Well, I have found a way to get lots of crocheting done. Spend a weekend on bedrest. So far, I have finished 2 hats and a scarf and I am almost done with another scarf.

I went into the hospital on Friday night with bleeding again. This time it was much heavier. They checked me out, did lab work and another ultrasound. Not a good prognosis. I'm not going to be able to carry the baby. They sent me home because I wasn't bleeding enough to warrant an emergency D&C. I am supposed to spend this weekend on essential bed rest, drink lots of fluids and take it very easy. I'm calling my doctor tomorrow morning to see what he wants to do.

Thanks to everyone who sent prayers and energy my way. I appreciate all the friends I have, both in online and IRL. I'm doing okay right now. A little down, but not extremely depressed.

For now, I'm returning to my spot on the couch to finish that second scarf. I'll get pictures of everything as soon as I can. I would type more right now, but I have a 20 pound cat laying across my arms as I type. He's purring, so I'm pretty sure he's comfortable. I, however, am not.

Take care, everyone!

Preggers

Well, I'm still pregnant. I had to go to the hospital on Saturday because I had some bleeding. They checked me out, did an ultrasound, said everything's fine right now. THere is a small chance that my previous gynecologist might have exaggerated a bit. I might be able to carry the baby without extreme difficulty. It will still be a high-risk pregnancy, but maybe not as severe as was once thought.

I am actively looking for patterns for Blessing/Christening gowns that I can crochet. Something that's not too girly and frilly. I am creating a ritual that involves chanting/praying for a safe pregnancy and a healthy baby. I figure a little magic never hurts.

I've also got an idea involving an afghan made of granny squares from the people who love me and Greg, and by default will love the baby, too. I'm still working on the specifics of that.

I have my doctor's appointment on Friday. I'm counting down the minutes. I'm still scared, nervous, anxious, you-name-it. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Men with balls (of yarn!)

This rocks!



My hubby knits... not much or well (the latter I believe is directly related to the former!), but knits nonetheless. Nothing sexier than a man knitting you some toasty socks!

Memes

A certain Scattered Gemini informed me of this. She knows how much I love memes. So, I am helping this kid out and posting his little project to all my blogs. I think you should to. I mean, really, what's the harm in it? I would really like to see how addictive these things are anyway.

I <3 my Secret Pal

OK, here are the pics I promised! What a wonderful Secret Pal I have! What great goodies! I hope she's having fun on her vacation!

The pictures aren't that great. Lighting inside my house is terrible, and I could really use a new camera. Here ya go anyhow!

Here you have a some delicious cookies and some very yummy candies. I'm supposed to be dieting, but calories ingested from gifts from secret pals don't count, right? She also included a postcard book of Perth. Beautiful pictures. I want to visit!


I also got some smelly soap that smells wonderful, along with a bath mitt and a butterfly-shaped bath "pouf". And pumpkin candles! Aren't they cute?

And finally.... YARN! Glorious yarn! Lots of yarn. In many shapes and sizes. The ginormous balls are soft and fluffy alpaca. I have no idea what on earth I'm going to make with them. The pastel variegated is microfiber. I think I might have enough for another sweater for my niece! And the black and white is a soft, fluffy acrylic. I think I might make slippers or mittens with those. Greg was wanting some mittens.

In other news.... I'm pregnant. We are still waiting until we find out if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I have blogged about this extensively on my non-crocheting blog. Some of you might not be able to access it though, because the post is friends-only. To make a long story short (for those who do not know that story), I might not be able to carry a child to term due to some circumstances regarding my anatomy. I have a doctor's appointment on the 11th to find out what's going to happen. I'm scared and anxious and impatient and practically every other emotion that I can muster. I hate waiting. I hate suspense. I hate drama. Grrr....

OK... off to watch TV and work on a version of my felted purse just for me. I should be making gifts for others, but I'm feeling awfully selfish today! :-)

Pictures galore!

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. I got to spend time with my favoritest people under 4 feet... my niece and my nephews. I sat at the kids' table because I seem to get along much better with them than I do most of the adults. The conversations are far more interesting.

I have been a hat-making fool lately. I think I have finished about 6 hats in the last 3 weeks. That is a FO record for me, I believe. I have pics of most of them, but before we get to those, I have another kitty photo!



This is Zorro, the beastly kitty. It was early in the morning and he wasn't quite awake yet. He was sleeping on top of me, all 20 pounds of him! He is the sweetest cat, loves everyone and everything.

For some reason, I can never get photos to appear on here in the order that I want them to. I was going to put this next photo last, but forgot to add it first. Now it is too much of a hassle to change it around. There's a bit of a story, though. I crocheted a lovely sweater for my niece. First attempt at a sweater with actual sleaves and all. She loved it (you can see it farther along in theis post!) but was upset because she didn't get a hat. Papa Larry and both her brothers got hats, she wanted one, too. In purple. Since they were only going to be up here for the weekend, and I didn't have time to go to the store and get more yarn, she ended up with purplish blue and green. She seems to like it anyway.

Isn't she cute? She looks like a little angel, but she is a demon child. I have nicknamed her Lupa because I am convinced she is being raised by wolves. When I commented on this at Thanksgiving dinner, she started howling. :-)

This is another hat I recently finished:


This is one of my coworkers, Karla. She saw me working on the cammo baby hat with ear flaps and asked if I could make one for her. Of course I can! She was kind enough to model it in payment for my efforts.

And here is my father's new hat and scarf:


He, on the other hand, was not so happy to model it for me. :-P

This is the true love of my life... right after Greg. My nephew Alexzander. When he was 3, he told me that he was going to marry me. Every time he sees me, he runs full tilt and collides into me with the biggest bear hug a 5-year-old can manage.


He loved his hat, but says he wants a sweater. In red and blue. These kids are very demanding.

And now.... what you've all (three) been waiting for:


Lupa's sweater! She didn't want to take it off. I wouldn't let her wear it during dinner, but she wore it the rest of the night. She loved it and loved the daisy buttons and everything else about it. She is too adorable.

And last but not least:

My littlest nephew Brendan. He has a hat just like his big brother. He looks a bit shocked by all the attention. His mom's a tad camera shy.

I got my package from my secret pal! She's in Australia! I was wondering why it took so long getting here! It was filled with all sorts of cool goodies. I will try to take pics on Tuesday and get them on here. I still need to think of some cool stuff to get my pal in Germany. I'm going to make her some kitty toys, and I think I'm going to get her an ornament from the Art Institute. They sell little replicas of their lions as ornaments. They are cute and very "Chicagoan".

That's all for now. It's late, but I am not tired at all. I work tomorrow, but I think I'm going to go and crochet and watch some TV.

Later!

Lion Yarn

I knew there was a reason I subscribe to the Lion Yarn newsletter. Normally I hate having "spam" flood my inbox, but today's newsletter might have made it worth it!

Because of this and this. ::giggles::