I'm a crocheter, not a sewer

Yesterday, while on a coffee break from working on meeting my deadlines, I did a little surfing on the Internet.  Now this is not necessarily a bad idea, after all, as of today, Christmas is only 61 days away, and I'm the type of person who likes to be ready for it before the end of November.

So doing a little surfing now, I reason, helps me rein in those "cursed" creative juices to find/create the right gift for each person on my list. And this brings me to the HSN website. For those of you with cable TV, you know what those initials stand for. For those who don't, like myself, HSN stands for Home Shopping Network.

Every time I visit a website that offers various goods, the first search I do is with the word "Crochet." I can't help it. It's an addiction. It's a quirk. And I like it.  :) So this is what I did at the HSN website yesterday --  and the search brought me to an item that I had to question the description of.  A "crocheted bracelet." See it there on the right? Does it look crocheted to you? (you can click onto it to get more details.) I don't think so. 

So this means that
     A. they don't know what crochet looks like, because the bracelet looks more like knit, or  
     B. they used the term "crochet" loosely which can mean "the interlocking of looped stitches," which it does appear to be.

It is pretty, but I think the description would be better if they said, "knit." I do want to note that they have a great little page in their crafting section on learning how to knit and crochet ... which is pretty cool for a company that prides itself for selling various items on TV, including the "Yarn Around" layette set (see image on left; you can click onto it for more info). 

So, 61 days, and counting down.  And what did I come up with for ideas? Well, while my husband was setting up my sewing machine for me (I still have a weight lifting restriction on my back), I decided to work up the Himalaya yarn I had received as a treat in my goodie bag from the CGOA Conference that took place this past summer. I crocheted a Treasure Bag using a "H" hook, and it will become a great little change purse -- for myself!  (Won't that be a surprise when I unwrap it?  LOL  Maybe I can persuade my dear husband to stuff it with that pretty "knitted" bracelet!)

I also got another scarf for the challenge nearly done ... needs about 10" worth of rows before it's finished -- and yep, during the first game of the World Series, I took over the house! This means that I was making the cording for the costume, and thanks to Margaret Hubert, I knew how to do it! I took three balls of thread (white & silver, silver, and gold & metallic gold) and matched it with a iridescent thread I had from the 2003 CGOA Conference goodie bag, and twisted and twisted and twisted until I had a beautiful looking cord several yards long. I had this thread stretched out over three rooms, so you know it sure made things interesting!  LOL  When I was done, I made another, but replaced the irridesent thread with a metallic blue and made a shorter cord. Then this morning, just before this break, I started crocheting the trim that I will ultimately (later today perhaps?) be sewing onto this costume.

My biggest problem with this costume is that they want me to cut some rectangles to make the head piece, but they provided no pattern for it.  OK, for those of you who are experienced with sewing, perhaps cutting a rectangle is not a difficult task. But they're asking me to cut in a straight line. Four times. On fabric. I'm a crocheter, not a sewer!  Oh, this is going to be interesting!