I’m having so many problems writing this entry right now…Seriously, WordPress = usability fail.

Alright! This is not everything that I’ve been working on, but it’s some of it…my excuse this time is that I just moved, and I didn’t do a lot of the packing.  As a result, it wasn’t until last night that I was able to locate the cord for my digital camera.  But the following projects had their pictures taken by the gift recipients, so they were e-mailed to me.  So, without further adeiu, I present to you two crochet gift projects.

“Imaginary Tiger Friend”

This is Imaginary Tiger Friend by Craft Kitten. I saw this patten way back before I even learned to crochet.  I queued it immediately on Ravelry, because I knew that my boyfriend loved Calvin & Hobbes, and that I had to make it for him. After a while, a kind soul on the RAK group on Ravelry gifted me the pattern, and I began working.  It was an epic struggle of “Why aren’t my stripes lining up?” (answer still unknown) and the disappearing crochet hook (my parents found it 2 months later, exactly where I’d looked for it) but I think it came out alright…if huge. I really had no idea how big it would be…so if I were to do it again, it would be a bit smaller, but Scott liked it anyway. It made for a great anniversary present.  It took a really long time…I’d say I started work on it in May and didn’t finish it until July.  Admittedly, I did let it sit for a while, and coudn’t work on it on weekends (since that’s when Scott’s around), but it still kept a while just because it was so big.  Oh, and the whole thing is done in Red Heart Sport Solid.  And I somehow have way more leftover than I though.

(^ Check out Scott’s toes!)

And the other gift I made was for my best friend’s birthday present.  She’s moving and starting law school this month, so I wanted to give her something she could use.  I figured a reusably grocery bag would be great, so I got myself the Eco Warrior Bag pattern by Knitomatic.  I’m not exactly an “Eco Warrior” but I try not to be unnecessarily wasteful either.

It’s supposed to be done in ribbon yarn, but I had some doubts as to a) how that would look, and b) how strong it would be.  And I’ve been having a love affair with CottonEase lately, and it’s definitely durable, so it was my #1 choice.

I went down a hook size (or 2, I don’t remember) and increased the amount of…increases, ha.  And I absolutely love the way it came out. I’m considering making myself one out of the leftovers.  It only took about a ball and a half, and it was super easy.  Great TV crocheting.  If anyone wants a shopping bag, I’d totally recommend this pattern

Coming up soon

• Another CottonEase project!
• Marie gets over Second Sock syndrome
• Llama duck!

I didn’t make this, but I have to share it anyway:

It’s a fuzzy pineapple!! Isn’t is cool? My friend Kat made it for me. She crocheted the black covering and cut and sewed the rest. I was quite happy to receive it. And to learn why Kat had called me the other night asking “What is your favorite fruit?” Best homemade button ever.

After buying 3 pairs of shoes the other day (my previous sandals were kind of grungy and not acceptable for officewear), I decided to get rid of some of my clothes. I have far too many. I filled a bag to be taken to goodwill and filled another with clothes I plan to strip down for their fabric. Lining bags and whatnot. I don’t know when I’m going to do all of this, but I really like the idea of reusing the old materials. I’ve been into the “green” movement for a while, but I’ve been getting into it more lately; thinking more about sustainable options where I wouldn’t necessarily have considered them earlier. And using old clothes for material seems like a good option to me, as many others have demonstrated.

Someday when I’m not in grad school…