Back to work

Well, today was my first day back to work. It was great, actually, to see certain people again after such a long time. My only problem was… the morning sort of dragged. I was busy, so I can’t explain it. However, it felt as if lunchtime would never come and then, after lunch, the day flew by.

I went home and did the laundry and worked on my bed jacket – I’m about one-third of the way up the back panel. It’s coming out really nice and I can hardly wait to get it done, now that I’m working on it. I’d intended to also work on my fruit, veggie and cheese platters for my dolls, but that didn’t happen. Hopefully, I can make some headway on those this weekend.

McGonagall as an Amineko

For some time now, a certain pattern has been in my queue on Ravelry: amineko! The cat is so completely cute. I started her last night, intending her to be a gray tabby cat and the last of my “homework” assignments for Hogwarts at Ravelry. When I went to bed last night, I was nearly done with her last leg and had only the tail, ears and face left to do.

I finished her off this morning and, with a little adjusting due to some strangeness in her body, I now have a completely adorable gray tabby cat!

Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas!

There’s something amazing about shopping all day and spending just over $20. Heidi and I headed down to Kingston today. Our first stop was the bookstore. Thanks to the gift cards we got for Christmas and our birthday, we were able to walk out of their with our bags full and without having spent a penny!

I got three books of crochet patterns, all of which were on my wishlist. I also picked up the DVD of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”.

Then, we stopped for lunch at Panera Bread. That was the only money we spent all day.

After lunch, we spent almost an hour roaming around Michael’s and I found some yarn that I needed, as well as another book for amigurumi, this one with dogs.

Covenant Service…

Since it’s Sunday, we had church. However, it wasn’t like our normal services. Today, we had the Wesley Covenant Service. I really enjoyed it. It made me stop and think about why I decided to be confirmed as a Methodist.

In any case, I don’t know what the coming year will bring. However, I’ll hold fast to my faith in God and try not to worry as much as I have in past years.

Who’s Up For Some HP?

New Year’s Eve and Heidi and I decided that, in order to really enjoy the end of the year and not be dozing until the ball drops, we’d watch as many of the Harry Potter movies as we can.

Since we watched the first movie a few days ago, we started with the second movie (The Chamber of Secrets). Then, we watched the third movie (The Prisoner of Azkaban). Since we’d taped it a while ago and there wasn’t time to watch the fourth movie, we skipped up to the sixth movie.

It was the first time I’d seen it and I was really, really pleased with some of the changes they made from the book to the movie – particularly the scene in the Astronomy tower.

A Simple Headband

This is the one I made for myself on Christmas.

I mentioned a couple days ago that I am making headbands. Unlike some of my other projects, these are being worked from a pattern that I wrote myself. I’ve decided to share the pattern here. If you want to make one for yourself or even to sell, go ahead. Just don’t publish the pattern as your work.

The basic headband is really simple. I used a G hook and a few different worsted weight yarns. Caron’s Simply Soft is my favorite, but any one will work.

First, you chain 106 stitches. I’ve found that marking the 21st stitch and the 85th stitch make it easier when you get to the second row.

For the second row, slip stitch into the second stitch from the needle and then, slip stitch in the next 20 stitches – this should bring you to the first stitch marker. Chain one and then single crochet in the next 63 stitches, bringing you to the next stitch marker. Chain one and then slip stitch in the last 21 stitches. Finish off and then, you’ll have a nice headband to wear. Just wrap it around your head and tie it off under your hair.

They can be left plain or you can use motifs to decorate them a bit. I’ll see about writing out the patterns for some of the motifs I made up for the project. However, I also found a few in different books and online.

Seed Stitch Washcloth

I’ve been working, off and on, with my first crocheted washcloth. I set it aside when I was fighting to get through my Christmas gifts. Now, though, I’ve pulled it out again and I’m making really good progress on it. I’m really liking how it’s turning out so far.

It’s really simple. It has a straight single crochet edge around a seed stitched body. I like how the seed stitching looks and it makes for a soft cloth.

School supplies?

As the end of the year draws near, I am beginning to worry… I need to have projects done by January 14th or else… well, I won’t finish my “classes”. So, today, I made up a racing broom for one of my dolls. It fits for one of the bonus projects for a “class” and it also works for “school supplies”, so I got points for it twice!

The weekly challenge this week is to make twelve of something. I decided to make twelve headbands. They’ll come in handy and it’s a quick and simple project to work on. I made the pattern up when my headband broke on Christmas.

What’s a hexipuff?

I finished with all my Christmas projects and I was met with a problem. I have other projects that I need to work on. However, I didn’t really want to do any of them. I wanted to make something that would work of quick and be done.

I decided to make what is called a “hexipuff”. Basically, some brilliant person on Ravelry made a knitted pattern – the Beekeeper’s Quilt – that is formed of as many 6 sided blocks as you want to make. Others have written crochet patterns for the same thing. I made mine in crochet. Since I can use it for Hogwarts at Ravelry, I put the patronus for Nymphadora Tonks on it: a werewolf. Remus is my favorite character!

All Done!

I finally – finally – have finished all the little cork goblins that I was making for Christmas. I had the two I needed for the day before I left on vacation completed in time. I had the three I needed ready for Christmas day read in time. Now, though, I have the last five: the ones for my aunts and uncles – as well as myself – done. My Christmas crafting is done for another year. Now, I can move on to other things.