Yarn Over

Shelba took some gorgeous pictures of her daughter in her Mimi & Boo hat. I’m so pleased with the way that one turned out, and that Zorba apparently loves it and actually wears is (unlike my daughters, who refuse to wear any hats any longer than it takes me to snap a picture of them. The one Boo has on in that picture was torn off and flung into the air shortly thereafter. Grrr.)

Speaking of my hats, I must indulge in a little blatant self- promotion (BSP, as we called it on a writers’ discussion list I used to be on). This is my newest hat, which is basically the same hat I made for Zorba, but in a thinner yarn, with a lacy edging and a different flower. I’m pretty proud of it because it is almost entirely an original design (the flower is adapted from a pattern book).

I think it’s utterly adorable, if I do say so myself. It’s made using KnitPicks’ terrific Shine Sport yarn, which is a nice light cotton blend perfect for summer. And it’s super stretchy – this one is a little big for Boo, but fits Mimi well and fits me perfectly as a skullcap. Anyway, I will be making several of these, I think, for the shop, in baby and toddler sizes as well as this medium size, and would love to make them in any of the Shine Sport colors shown in the page linked above for special orders (this one is the “hydrangea” color way, with the flower in cherry).

C’mon, you know you want one.

(Cross-posted at Mimiboo.)

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

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Originally uploaded by JenEx

My first official commissioned blanket is finished. I need to rinse the dog and cat hair out of it and block it, and then it will be mailed off. I wasn’t quite sure about the yellow border, but I think I’ll leave it. It’s a little, uh, bright, but that’s ok. Right?
Used roughly 3 skeins of Ella Rae classic print, with the border a yellow acrylic blend from stash. It’s a basic shell stitch pattern with a modified shell stitch border. I’ve fairly pleased with it.

So. Freaking. Funny.

Really, there is not enough crochet-related humor in the world. Particularly in relation to all the hideously entertaining crocheted things in the world. (So easy, even a newbie can make completely incomprehensible crochet pasties and underwear!)

This fills the hole that was left when You Knit What stopped updating. Thank goodness. I am once again filled with homemade fuggy goodness.

Here’s the thing. I blog about my daily life, crazy family, grammar pet peeves, books, tv, parenting in general, parenting in particular, and whatever else pops into my head over at Mimiboo. I started crocheting again last November and have written about it a bit there. Then in January desperate financial straits led me to pimp out offer up my crafty services in exchange for actual cash, and I was amazed and overwhelmed at the response. Since then I’ve had a project — or two, or three — in the works at all times, and try to crochet a little bit almost every day. Sometimes at lunch or on the bus on my way to and from work; sometimes at home after the kids have finally gone to bed. I have been finding myself reading craft blogs and forums more frequently, looking for ideas and tips, and buying crochet pattern books far more than my budget should allow. I’ve been wanting to write about all of this, but realized it could quickly take over my main site if I opened the floodgates. And then a couple of weeks ago I officially opened my etsy shop, and soon realized I would have to do something to promote it if I hoped to, you know, sell things.

So I started this site. I wrote an initial post and then I upgraded, and it got eaten. I haven’t gotten back around to posting any sort of introduction until now. Here, then, is my manifesto, of sorts.

Why a crochet blog?

1. To provide a place for my crochet mutterings which won’t overwhelm my daily blog, and drive away readers uninterested in ramblings about fiber content, colorways, shaping, stitch choices, and types of hooks.
2. To spare those who are interested in said mutterings but could not care less about my personal life from being subjected to interminable stories about preschool and teenage antics, my genius baby’s language development, or my ongoing battle against hoochie clothes for 6-year-old girls and extraneous apostrophes.
3. To further the promotion of crochet as an entirely valid and creative fiber art, in no way inferior to knitting, and far removed from those Barbie-doll toilet paper roll covers your grandmother bought at church bazaars in the 1970s. Although if you want to make a Barbie-doll t.p. roll cover that’s a perfectly valid creative expression as well, and I wholeheartedly support your endeavor.
4. To review crochet pattern books and stitch guides that come into my possession.
5. To document the progress and post pictures of works-in-progress and finished items.
6. To eventually, maybe, publish original crochet patterns.
7. To promote my etsy store, Mimi & Boo Designs, and, she says hopefully, to sell some stuff and make a bit of money.

I think that’s quite enough for now.

The combination of $5 in Borders Bucks and a 40% coupon in my email this morning meant my lunchtime destination was fixed. I love working downtown and having the Borders literally a five minute walk away. And when I say Borders, I mean THE Borders, the headquarters/flagship/main/whatever store.

Anyway. So I found myself at Borders and I found one of the books I’ve been anticipating and salivating for, Lucinda Guy’s Crochet Designs for Kids, which just came out. I only had time to glance through it, since a lunchtime trip to the bookstore almost always means I get back from lunch late anyway, but I can’t wait to get home and dive in. (Of course, here I am writing about it instead of getting back to work, but I’ll do that in a minute. Really.) The little elephant alone sold me on it. It remains to be seen whether I can manage to actually make Mimi and/or Boo a little crocheted pinafore, but the desire to do so is definitely there.

I also picked up a truly obnoxious cheerful and bright vinyl bag from the clearance racks there. It will be perfect for toting projects along to doctor’s appointments and long car rides.