Halloween Tote Swap

As promised, here is a better look at the halloween tote I was making for the swap at Aunt Pitty Pat's.

I also added in some cute extras for my swap partner, Melinda. I bought the stamp at Joann's, the mini sign at Michael's, and the fabrics on Ebay! The little ghost was made with acrylic yarn, fiberfil, and a pattern on the Lion Brand website found here.

I hope she liked it!

Now I am spending my time working on making the spiderweb Halloween swap blocks, also for Aunt Pitty Pat's swap. I have several pieces joined but only two blocks actually completed. My goal is to have it in the mail by monday October 11th, at the latest. That means I am going to have to hunker down and concentrate-- not always my strongest trait.

Another project on my burner are four squares I am testing for Donna at SmoothFox. Even though I already had a bunch of work to do, I couldn't resist volunteering to test these patterns. They are different from my usual fair and a great opportunity to bust out some pink yarn to make additions to the Pink Square Project.

I Always Wanted to Knit!

I am really so excited. I think I might have the skills to start searching the internet for beginner's knitting patterns.

I took a class at my local A. C. Moore this past Monday not quite sure what to expect. You see, I had already attended a beginner's knitting class earlier in 2009 at my local JoAnn's Fabrics and had left that class feeling dejected and lost. Unfortunately, I think the class size was too large and the teacher to inexperienced with actually teaching true beginners for the class to have been effective.

My teacher at A. C. Moore was Beth from Beth's Creative Notions on Etsy. We had a class of three-- a young girl of 10 years old, my mother, and myself. I definately prefer the smaller class sizes. That way I get individual attention and get to ask my questions without feeling like I am annoying anyone.

You can't really see it here but those are even stitches. I learned to cast on, knit, and purl. We talked about ribbing and how combining the basic stitches could make ribbing and things like that. She showed me how to change colors (just like crochet, really) and how to pick up a dropped stitch. I also saw casting off but i am definately going to need to Google that one again when it comes time.

I will be making a pink square for my pink breast cancer awareness afghan as soon as I am done experimenting with this one.

Works in Progress

I am not sure why I let it happen, but I have a bunch of things that I have started that need to be completed. Pictured above starting at the top left is another one of my pink squares for the Breast Cancer Awareness quilt I was making thur an internet swap, a pink amigurumi rabbit with hot pink accents, the beginnings of a leg to a multi-shaded brown amigurumi bunny (made to look like one of my own adorable rabbits), and at the bottom are two little baggies of eyes and noses for craft dolls that I purchased on ebay.

Honestly, the pink rabbit in the middle has been my main focus over the last week because he is the one that is most likely to be finished soon. The pattern you see printed in the background there can be found on Jilly Flower's site.

And as an update on the Breast Cancer pink blanket-- it is very slow going. The idea was great but, unfortunately, there wasn't a large number of participants so I have been trying to make up for the small amount of squares by making mine. My co-worker has decided to take pity on me and has offered to make a few squares as well for the cause. (THA NK YOU!!)

Breast Cancer Awareness - Crochet Square Swap

I am currently working on a pink Breast Cancer Awareness blanket thru a Afghan swap I found at the Yarn Lover's Room.

How the swap works: If you want to join, email the person listed as the swap host(ess). You make crochet or knit squares as according to the requirements. At the end of the swap, you mail your squares to each person that joined the swap, keeping 2 for yourself as well.

Required for this particular swap -- using only worsted weight pink yarn, make two 7 inch squares for each member of the swap. We had 15 people join the swap, so I had to make 30 squares. I made some extras as well to beef up my finished blanket. I loved the oppertunity to try new patterns and designs without the pressure of having to comit to the same pattern for the whole afghan.

In the picture here, you can see all of the squares I have recieved so far thru the mail. I am really impressed with the different shades of pink that were used! I love love love the color pink (one of the main reasons I joined the swap) and I am really excited to see the finished product.

Now, I have to figure out how I want to join the squares together. Black? White? Green? And what joining method? I have alot to consider. Any ideas?