Nora Corbett's new mermaid alphabet

I just got the new-stuff email from Hoffman Distributors and I love the new mermaid alphabet by Nora Corbett.  What to do with them when they're done??!?!  A joyous dilemma!  I hope someone is packaging these up.  Maybe plain frames from AC Moore or Hobby Lobby will do nicely.

Gave up on baby afghan :(

I realized an hour ago that I wouldn't be able to finish it on time.  I went to JC Penney's   and found a cute 4-piece Lafayette set.  They are getting rid of their gift bags so that was only $1 (and included coordinating tissue paper).

Now I can find a xs piece to work on for IHSW weekend! :)

It's IHSW weekend

I'm not cross stitching this weekend...I have a baby blanket I'm crocheting and I need to get it done by Tuesday night.  Ack.  At least this morning I began the decreasing.  What's that you say??  A coworker told me it should be bigger so I kept increasing until that skein ran out.  Now I am decreasing for real!

Crocheting a diagonal baby afghan

For years I've used a folklore pattern as I call it (one that's been passed down verbally from crocheter to crocheter) to make quick diagonal baby blankets that start with one simple double crochet shell and increases with each row.  When you reach the halfway point, you start decreasing. 

So.  I started a pretty baby blanket with Red Heart's Gumdrop in orange.  It was increasing splendidly and I was very pleased.  Last night I was ready to start the decrease row on my blanket and......blank.  Nothing.  Nada.   Now that I'm aging (and not really that old AT ALL!!) I find I'm forgetting things like that.  I tried a few things with terrible results.  I considered making a matching triangle and sewing the two together in the center, but vetoed that idea.  I looked up the mom-to-be's registry online for ideas, but I still like the crocheted baby blanket idea.  Finally, I was able to find a close proximity to the pattern I use.  Who knew?!?!?  It wasn't a folklore pattern after all!  We can thank Bernat for this pattern.  It even has a name: Corner to Corner Afghan. 

The site I found this pattern on is here and has many more things crocheted on the diagonal.  I'm going to enjoy checking them out!

Herr's Fire Roasted Sweet Corn potato chips - YUMMY!

A co-worker brought these in to work today.  These are very yummy and I DETEST all flavored potato chips.  Good thing I don't love these because she bought them in Utah and we work in the mid-Atlantic region of the US.  She's also brought in Jolly Time popcorn with a marshmallow topping packet included.  This is also not found here.

Song of the Seasons arrived last night

I had to sort my threads and start the piece immediately! LOL  So far, so good.  I usually wait to start stitching until I have all the parts of a series.  I got burned many years ago when the main theme of the series didn't get released and didn't get released.  FINALLY it got released and you could tell there was no interest on the designer's part in what they did.  I was so disappointed it's affected my stitching behavior UNTIL YESTERDAY!!! :) :) :)  I trust that Little House Needleworks will finish her series of three and release them on time. 

Game of Thrones on HBO

I didn't hardly know what this was about, but I found a listing "on demand" on cable for the series.  It started with Season 2 and has what's been aired of Season 3.  No Season 1. :(  However, the first episode of Season 2 gave a very good summation of the story line to that point.  I am very happily watching this series.  Today I found out that HBO is basing the series on the books in George R R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire!  I've already put these books on my Christmas Wish List! 

I expected a lot of drama, but not the humor!  It's been delightful!  I can hardly wait for the weekend so I can watch some more of it.  I look forward to being current with the storyline.

Finished a bulky weight yarn Moebius scarf

I used the wrong kind of bulky yarn at first; it wouldn't slide along the needles.  I switched to two strands of Red Heart acrylic held with one strand of Vanna White's yarn.  My colors are bright pink, bright orange and yellow. 

A few pics from the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival

I saw some really nice yarn and things at this years' festival.   First stop was the t-shirt sales booth.

 



 

 

A lamb not wanting to walk any longer.

 

A gourd!

 

More yarn

 

In case you have a favorite sheep for its wool...

A nice felted tote bag

 

My purchase!

 

Origami jewelry

 

a view of the crowd at lunch time

 

Nice crocheted tote bag

 

When your hands are full...

 

A well behaved model

 

knitted flowers

 

A great shawl/scarf and yarn ready to spin

 

Another great shawl

 

My last purchase.  So pretty!

 

Finding the car!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finished!

I finished my Prairie Schooler Bremen Town Musicians yesterday!  I decided to add the year finished in the alphabet/numbers area as there was a huge blank area that just cried out for filling.  I chose the color of the animals so it would stick out from the letters, but not be out of place. 

 

I've started the JBW Alphabet Hearts on the lined fabric.  More on this as I get a chance!

IHSW: My first weekend

I missed the actual weekend by several days.  I used the Memorial Day weekend instead to work on Bremen Town Musicians by Prairie Schooler.  I made a lot of progress.

Here is what it looked like before stitching this weekend:

 

Here's what it looked like at the end of the IHSW weekend.  I'm pleased!