Is there ever a time when we think our yarn stash is too big?

Last week my husband wanted to take me to a local yarn shop to let me "restock" up on yarn.  He reasoned that
     A. it would be an easy Christmas gift from him to me, and
     B. he reasons I "...burn right through it"

What shocked me at the time was that I had said, "No.  I appreciate your generous offer to restock my stash, but I think I'll pass."

          I think he was in shock too.  (Are you?  LOL)

I say this because I believe that sometimes ones' stock needs to simmer -- to chill -- until it's ready to be used.  For some crocheters this is time when a fiber starts to talk to them about what it'd like to become.  And if the fibers are too buried, too crammed or packed in for lack of storage space, how will we ever hear what the fibers have to say?

This is why I think it's important to go on a *fiber* diet from time to time ... so by using up some of our stash, the fibers get a chance to speak up!  But this doesn't mean that they'll tell us what other fiber they'd like to be mixed with to become the "perfect" fabric, the "perfect" item.  

Oh no, no!  It doesn't always work that way.  No, for that, at times, we need to wait until Lady Luck comes to visit for a spell.  And for me, she arrived after I started creating one of the scarves I intended to give as a Teacher's Christmas Gift.  Note I said "after."  The color and the design concept were fine but not the texture and the fiber content!  Who want's a stiff & itchy scarf?  Not me, and I certainly wouldn't give one like that as a gift.  So yeah, I'm scrapping it.  (Lady Luck where were you when I first started the project???)

But while she was visiting she pointed to a fiber I had on the table.  I had used some of it this past Thanksgiving to make charity hat & scarf sets.  Then she pointed to a fiber I had laying on the couch where I was working it up into a Chemo Hat.  "Those two," she said as she sipped some hot cider, "would look lovely together." 

I looked at the combo myself and thought about the gift I had hoped to crochet up for my grand-niece.  I picked up one fiber, then the other and listened.  "Poncho," said one.  "Trim," said the other.  And wouldn't you know it, Lady Luck was looking at the very crochet hook I should use! 

Lady Luck, she's one clever lady!  I invited her to stay with me through the holidays.  We have a lot to discuss!  J


A Note About Today's Image:  I'd like to thank my daughter for unknowingly lending me her babydoll "Emily" for the photo shoot.  Emily is an 18" doll (well loved) but is really too small for the poncho & hat set that I crocheted for an 18 month old child.  When you are looking at photos see if you can figure out if the model is the correct size for the garment or if the photographer "tricked" you.  Once you've discovered their tricks it will make it easier for you to pick the better patterns out.  If memory serves me correctly, Maggie Reghetti discusses this in her crochet & knit books.   The hat is based on the pattern I wrote for the chemo hats I've been discussing this month.  I do not have a pattern written up for the poncho at this time.  

"a darned cute christmas thing"

Remember on Tuesday when I wrote that I was thinking of hanging my yarn stash on my Christmas tree?

Remember the comment Sheila wrote where she said, "I expect pics of this tree!!!" ?

          Yeah.  I know.  You're all still waiting to see.

We'll be putting up the CrochetWithDee family tree this weekend. 

But why make you wait 
     when the idea of hanging ones' yarn stash on the Christmas tree
               is already out there in cyber space?  

                                         Click to see a_darned_cute_christmas_thing

We're Having A Baby!

We learned last night that we're expecting a baby!  Well, no, not us meaning my husband and I ... but my youngest brother and his wife are expecting their first child come this spring season! 

          Will it be a boy?
                    Will it be a girl?

One thing is for certain:  after the New Year I will be thinking of what to crochet for the newest member of our family!  Do I crochet something from a pattern or design something totally original? 

Do I go traditional in using colors like white, pink and/or blue?  Or do I use primary colors like red, blue and/or yellow?  Or do I go with a color to match the anticipated birthstone?

Do I go with cotton, or easy to wash acrylic?  Do I crochet the fabric to be smooth, or textured?  Just a blanket? Or perhaps an entire set: a blanket, a sweater, a bib? ...

So many decisions, so many choices!  One thing is for sure, this baby is much anticipated and will be welcomed into the world with a lot of love!

Still Flying High With The Reindeer

Just hours before the show last night, I finished the last of the reindeer hooves.  We arrived at the school early so I could deliver the last pair in time for the kids to prepare for their number.  I gave the hooves to an older kid I know at the school figuring that since he was going to be a "stage hand" he'd ensure they got delivered to the right group of kids. 

Then I headed to the gym to see if I could get good seats.  This was the first time the school was going to put our two children together on stage -- a rarity since they are in different grades -- so getting good seats was strongly on my mind.  As I walked in the gym the school secretary said to me, "Oh, good Dee, you're here!  We have seating reserved for you."  I was totally surprised as they don't do (that I know of) reserved seating for anyone!  Then she led me to the front row where they had seats reserved for my husband, my father and I!!!  FRONT ROW!!

OMG!!  I know one should never look a gift horse in the mouth, but I had to know why -- so I inquired and she said, "With all the time you put into those reindeer mitts, it's the least we can do for you to show our gratitude!"

OMG!!  I was smiling big time!!  To be able to see the show, to see our children performing together in the show so close was an incredible Christmas gift!!  e

The entire show they put on last night was just fantastic!  The children sang like angels ... including the little fifth grader who did an incredible solo number with the song "Baby Of Mine" (a Disney tune from the "Dumbo" movie).  I'm still smiling from last night!

Then this afternoon, when I was doing volunteer lunch duty for my daughter's class, the kindergarten teacher (the coordinator of the show) approached me and said, "Dee, I can't thankyou enough!  I had no idea that you knew we were short one pair of hooves and the fact you whipped them up at the last minute was absolutely amazing!  I had no idea you did that until I saw the children come out -- each wearing their pair of hooves!"  She said she was too embarrassed to ask me for that last pair and inquired if anyone had told me another pair was needed. 

When I explained to her I had noticed during the rehearsal and decided to just create the extra pair she called me an angel!  She said she had gone out to a store and bought brown gloves for the last reindeer not knowing that I had the last pair on the hook -- and that she was absolutely delighted to see all the reindeer wearing the same hooves during their dancing number.  (The kid I gave the mitts to never told her I had delivered them, so it was a surprise to her!)

I smiled and told her that I loved the front row seating.  Then I chuckled and asked, "Do you think I can get the eight original pairs back to finish them?"

"That's been bugging you for two years, hasn't it," she asked me back.  "Why is that?"

"My biggest fear," I explained, "is that someone will come and & off those ends and they'll unravel.  With the time invested in each one ..."  I let this sink in for a moment.

"OH!  I see," she exclaimed.  "Yes, I'll get them back to you so you can finish them."  And with that we both laughed.

ZYes, I'm still flying high with the reindeer, and think I'll always have this wonderful memory to look back upon for years to come!  Children singing like angels; with moments like this can life be any better ?  I'm thinking this makes for a great ending to the "urban legend." ((giggles))  J

"The Magic of my Crochet Hooks" ~ A New Urban Legend?

Hmmmm.  You know Dasher, Dancer, Prancer & Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner & Blitzen and you know Rudolph too.  But do you know the most famous crochet story of all?  ((chuckles)) I think we all have our own crochet stories, but what happens to them when they grow, and grow and grow?  Where they grow so much that it becomes legend ...

I wonder just where do urban legends come from?  What is their purpose? And how is it that a new chapter seemingly has been written about the magic of my crochet hooks?

This particular chapter starts off when I picked my children up last night.  The manager of the daycare facility asked me if I had any scarves, mittens or hats I could donate to their collection.  My heart sank as I told them that my stock was wiped out after donating my items this past Sunday.   -- But when I got home and found Sherri's scarves there, I just knew what I needed to do!  I crocheted a hat up this morning, and another while doing volunteer time at the kids school today.  I placed the items into a large bag and donated them earlier this afternoon.  The daycare facility couldn't be happier, and I know the recipients they'll be donating them to will be even happier! (Thank you Sherri!!!)

Getting back on track of this new urban legend, as I further utilized my "down time" in the school kitchen this afternoon, I worked on the finishing touches on a Reindeer mitt.  As I did a teacher walked in and watched me "work my magic." 

"What are you working on," she asked.

"The last of the Reindeer mitts for the show tomorrow night," I replied, not stopping my stitching to look up.  My crochet hook was a whirl of motion.

"Think you'll have them ready in time," she inquired.

"I think so," I answered. "They wanted three additional mitts to add to the eight I made two years before, so I should be OK."

She smiled at me and said, "Boy! You sure are good at that!  They'll look good in the show." And with that she turned and left the kitchen.

A few minutes later, after tucking in the last of the ends, I turned the mitts in.  The Kindergarten teacher who is coordinating the show was tickled!  I asked her, "Are you sure you only needed three additional sets?"

"Yes, I only needed three additional sets.  Thank you so much for doing this!  You're our miracle crocheter," she exclaimed with a big smile.

That made me feel good and I left to return back to the school kitchen.

Since the school kitchen is right next to the gym where the show will take place tomorrow, I got to listen to the children practicing their numbers.  Some time passed and I was asked to come peek at the reindeer number; I was thrilled!  ... So as they came onto the stage I counted the children, er reindeer.  One, two, three, four, five, six.  A Santa.  Seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven ...  twelve?  Twelve reindeer?!!?

My mind raced with quick addition:  eight mitts from 2003, plus three mitts hot off the hook from 2005 = eleven pairs of reindeer mitts -- not twelve!!  Two of the children each had on just one mitt.  Oh no!

I turned to head back to the kitchen; I knew what was ahead of me for this evening.  As I did so the teacher I spoke with in the kitchen earlier turned to me and said, "Oh, another pair of reindeer mitts will be needed!"  Then she turned to the school secretary and said, "I know she can do it, she's a miracle worker with that crocheting she does!"  The secretary looked my way and gave me a wink.  And it's that wink that leads me to believe that a new urban legend chapter had been written.

When we got home I looked up the meaning of "urban legend" and the Merriam Webster dictionary says it's "an often lurid story or anecdote that is based on hearsay and widely circulated as true."  
... And when I looked up the meaning of "lurid" it said, "shining with the red glow"  (could that mean the glow from Rudolph's red nose?)
... And when I looked up the meaning of "anecdote" it said, "usually a short narrative of an interesting, and/or amusing incident.

The other day I mentioned how the Kindergarten teacher believes I have the entire school crocheting; I know this is not true, at least not yet.  Now this other teacher, and the school secretary believes I work magic with my crochet hook.  I can't help but chuckle and wonder just how much more this story will grow.  And I'm thinking if the Lone Ranger had a side kick, then I'm going to be needing one too.  Don't all good urban legends have side kicks?  ((grins))  Any volunteers?

In the meantime it's nearly 8:30 PM and I almost have one of the mitts done.  All I have left is two more rows, seam up the sides, tuck in the tails and then crochet one more mitt.  Hooboy; can I do it?  I will admit that I am feeling some discomfort in my wrist, the same as I did in 2003 from all this "emergency -- last minute" crochet work, but I will press on.  After all, it's for the children, and it would look hokey if two of the children had to share a pair, right?    };o)

Spirits Lifted, Smiles Everywhere

My son asked me this morning if I was serious about hanging hanks and skeins of yarn on our Christmas tree this year.  All I could do was give him a big grin and say that yes, I am seriously thinking about it!  I've even given thought as to how I could hang them without worry of pine sap ruining the yarn!

My grin continues because my boss, John, over there at Knit Together, pulled what I think is a miracle out of his hat for me ... or should I say out of his stock room?  He found 30, yes, that's right, 30 balls of the treasured Marlene yarn for me!!!  We thought I had cleaned his stock of it out earlier, but apparently these were hiding just a bit!  I bought every one he had and now I can go back to offering delicious designers hats crocheted out of this incredibly beautiful fiber!  ... The colors I picked up today are: black & white, purple, and a blue  (a bit darker than the hat pictured above) ... thus far we've raised nearly $250 to be donated to the American Cancer Society and that's worth smiling about!!!

PLUS, a package of new designer-prototype crochet hooks arrived for my inspection!  You had to have been in today's crochet class(es) to get to check them out -- what fun!  ... if you missed my class(es) today, that's OK.  I plan on writing up a review of these hooks and reveal who the designer is in a brand  blog I'll be launching soon!  Stay tuned for that bit of news!  :) 


My grin continues to grow even further because we all know that I think crochet totally rocks.  And now I've got the proof to stand not behind me ... BUT beside me!   You know I've got to gloat!  LOL ... check it out: Crochet makes it as one of the Top 10 Fads of 2005 (and one to watch for 2006) for searching on the Internet!  (come on, grab your crochet hook and your pom poms and do that happy dance with me!)

Now if I haven't been showing my pearly whites enough today, then add to this that my US Postal carrier dropped off a little package ... in it was three bee-utiful scarves that Sherri sent me to donate on her behalf as part of the 60 Scarves in 60 Days Challenge we did.  They are so soft; so warm -- they will be much appreciated!!  Sherri also stuck in there one of her crocheted gingerbread men -- he is sooo cute!!!!  Sherri, he's for me, right?????  (hint hint)

So you see, my spirits have been lifted ... I love when that happens!  Thanks everyone!!!   :)

I Must Be Cracking Up

It's official; I'm stressed!

Holiday decorating, wrapping gifts, holiday greeting cards ... and lets not forget that I need to figure out where to put my stash to make room to bring a tree in the house!  Ack!

I need to crochet one more set of "Reindeer Hooves" for the holiday show, two designer scarves for the teachers, and still design a cowgirl hat (with unspun roving) that will also need to be felted once it's done.

Hooboy!  I'm going to run away.  I'm going to run away where no one would think to find me come this time of year!  If you really, really need me, I'll be sitting in the yarn aisle at my local yarn shop trying to figure out how to get the bulb hooks to attach to the yarn balls like those pictured on the right ... I figure hanging my stash on the tree until after the holidays is one way to solve my stash storage problem ((chuckles))