Doozy Yarnblob and WIP

No, this isn't a very late Halloween decoration, it's a doozy of a yarnblob:

The above yarnblob is brought to you by RedHeart yarns; by now the yarnblob has been straightened out and incorporated into one of my current WIPs:

Yes, I am crocheting this one; I realize it's rare that I crochet, but the pattern (available for free here) was just too enticing to pass up. The pattern calls for three or more colors, but I went with just two; solid black (color 0312, displayed in the yarnblob above) and a lovely green hombre I hadn't seen before.  Both yarns are Redheart Supersaver yarns; the green is simply called "Green Tones," color 0629. I decided to go with solid black for the second color to highlight the variegation in the green.

For this project, I'm using a size US-K (6.50mm) hook as recommended in the instructions. It's an easily memorized pattern and works up quickly unless you leave it in a bag and forget where you put it.  (What? You've never done this?)  Once this one is complete I may try a second one in multiple colors. I suspect this would also be a great pattern for using up remnant yarns.

RPG Skeleton Statues

These are generic skeletons I painted for my Hubby that he wanted to use as statues:

I think I did ok making them look like statues. Especially since they started their un-lives as part of a Bag O Skeletons (possibly made by Twighlight Creations, though I couldn't find a pic). Gotta love the original color:

What? Aren't all skeletons hot pink?

FO: It's Curtains for You

These are curtains I made for an interior doorway in my younger daughter's room; she picked the fabric and helped with the measurements, and my Hubby hung the rod. I recently bought a new sewing machine, and it made very quick work of this project (translated: I had no excuse for further procrastination):

I sewed one end of each tieback to the curtains and attached basic black buttons so she can leave them open or closed:

Funny outtake for gamers: while typing this blog entry on my phone, my autocorrect translated "tieback" as "fireball." Had I sewn that to the curtains, it really would have made short work of them.

Lavender Yarnblob

Rather late for spring, the Lavender Yarnblob droops a bit in the heat.

Mitosis Yarnblob

Ever intent on survival, this yarnblob started out as a single creature and split into two. 

Eventually, both will evolve into a sock.

Garden Gnomes Repainted

We've three of our many garden gnomes for several years. Once we bought our house, we put the oldest three by the pool, where they bleached completely white. One even lost part of his beard:

Holey gnome, Batman!

Here he is, post repair job.

The aluminum foil is for the aliens.

I don't even remember what colors they were before the sun bleached them out, but here they are now:

Shuriken Found

So, I found a shuriken in my back yard recently:

A bit rusted, but not too bad after a year in the mud.

No, it wasn't a random ninja attack. Last spring (2011) I lost it when I completely missed the target we were using. Yes, my shuriken-fu was weak that day.

Let me tell you, we did quite a thorough job looking for it, but it was nowhere to be found. Then recently I happened to be working in that part of the yard, thinking I'd really like to have my shuriken back, and voila! there it was.

I think the garden gnomes were hiding it.

Don't let that innocent look fool you!

Doily of Doom

This is a doily I made years ago for my best friend's kitchen table:

Looking at it now I think I did a pretty decent job on it, but with one major flaw; it should have been 16 inches in diameter but my gauge was so tight that it's only about 12 inches across. As with most things I crocheted long ago, I didn't know much about gauge (okay, nothing about gauge) and held the thread so tight it dug into my fingers. Now, I would probably get a lot closer to the proper gauge but I haven't been adventurous enough to try any major crochet projects.

Lacy Scarf and Mitts

These were knitted for a co-worker who's been a lot of help to me since she started with us almost a year ago. It's nearly assistant's day or whatever they're calling it now, so I thought I would knit her something in her favorite color. There was some variation in the yarn colorway so the stripes don't match exactly: 

These were made with SMC Select extra soft Merino, color 5284 (100% Merino wool), size US5 circular needles (3.25mm), using "Lush Fingerless Mitts" (pattern by Susan Mills, Classic Elite Yarns). 

The scarf is not part of the original pattern; for that I adapted the cabled portion of the mitts using 3 repeats; one in the center of one side and two at the our edges of the other side:

 

The toughest part of this was getting my gauge consistent for the mitts; I developed tendonitis in my right elbow in late January, so as the condition of my arm changed, so did my gauge. I ended up knitting the mitts four times to get two the same size. As a result, this one gets the "scurvy yarn projects" label.

Blue Again

It's been quite awhile since I could post pics of my pool. Last summer was so hot we just couldn't keep it from turning green. Since it's been cool, the pool wasn't quite green, just a bit turquoise and we had almost no flow. Were we not fresh out of our alleged winter I'm sure it would be a deep forest green by now. This year, however, I've hired a pool service. They came out for the first time Friday to work their magic and voila!

I know it looks the same as prior pictures I've posted, and that's the point: between then and now it's been more bog than pool. Now, we have perfect pressure, great flow, blue water and high hopes for a great summer filled with poolside knitting. Boo-yah.

Dragon Claw Yarnblob

Accidental Noose Yarnblob

I could not have done this on purpose.

WIP: Black and Red Frilly Scarf

It's a couple feet long now, and thankfully looking more scarf-like and less bloody-organ-like. Whew.

WIP: Black and Red Frilly Scarf

I'm making this for my younger daughter:

Yes I realize that right now it looks a bit like either "The Blob" or a disembodied organ, but it'll get better ;-)

Also, I've finished a few more projects over the holidays and will post soon :-) I did manage to make cookies but they were eaten too quickly to ice, so no pics of those.