new project: Luna scarf

I started another Harry Potter related project today, and I’m already halfway through!  The scarf Luna Lovegood wears in one of the movies has been turned into an easy crochet pattern (click here).  The scarf is different in that it’s worked from the center to the outside edge, and then the yarn is reattached and worked from the center to the other outside edge.  I’ve got the center to one edge now:

As you can see, it’s very lacy, so it’ll be ideal for fall.  Maybe I can finish it tonight, but my hands are starting to ache so I’d better take a break.  I have to go to class soon anyway…  But I hope I have enough yarn.  I’m using leftovers from my two knitted Hermione hats so I’m not exactly sure if it’ll make it.  Don’t want to have to go get another skein just to finish the last row.  I’m using a slightly thinner yarn than called for and a slightly smaller hook, but it’s still amply long and will be plenty wide when I’m done.

That’s all for right now.  Thanks for stopping by!

it’s a holiday!

And to celebrate, I’ll share even more progress on my granny stripe with you:

Hope you’re having a great Crochet Day!

this past week: budgeting and stripes

Hello everyone!

It’s relaxing to be blogging right now after such a stressful week!  Let me tell you, I’ve had the worst kind of personal drama, my first week at my internship, a horrendous mistake in budgeting, trying to cook, and school.  I’ll skip over the personal drama and just mention that my internship is at a community mental health center, where I get to co-counsel people and help lead groups, etc. (it’s a very interesting place to intern, for sure).  My budgeting mistake left me with $200 less than I thought I’d have this month, which means groceries are going to be hard to come by towards the end of the month.  That definitely means no yarn this month, either.  My cooking skills are slowly but surely improving, with the help of my chef boyfriend, which is good, and school is, well, school.

Amidst all of this stuff going on, I have had a little time to crochet.  The Granny Ripple #1 is slowly coming along:

 

And again, while I’ve been crocheting, I’ve been listening to audiobooks.   Nothing I haven’t mentioned before, either.  The Dragonriders of Pern is just as good the… whichever go-round I’m on now.  It’s definitely after third.  Also, my boyfriend and I have been watching an anime called “One Piece,” which is a really long but really good TV series that we are marathon-ing online.

So that’s all my news for today.  Hopefully I’ll have more granny stripe progress soon.  Thanks for stopping by!

new project: granny stripe

I know I have quite a few projects to work on right now, but for most of them I am out of yarn.  The realization just hit me that my lack of yarn money is probably the main contributor to my lull in crafting recently (although I’m sure my apathy has played it’s part).  Since I do not have any money for yarn right now, I decided to make something with what I’ve got.  I realized that I have quite a stash of Caron Simply Soft (not my favorite yarn, but cheap):

The colors are a bit off, but you get the idea.  So I thought I’d try my hand at something I’ve not done before: a granny stripe blanket, particularly the one made famous by Lucy of Attic24.  I know the pattern is simple, but that’s OK with me because it looks so good!  Since some of these colors are basically scraps, however, I decided to change colors whenever I run out of the working one instead of changing them at the ends of the rows, thinking that it would produce a rag-rug type effect and produce a bigger blanket in the end.

I have run into two problems so far, though.  The first is that my foundation chain was so long that, while my blanket will definitely cover a double bed and maybe a queen, I might run out of yarn before I get there, even though that box is full of skeins.  The whole point of this was to not have to go buy more yarn, but I’ve already worked on the blanket enough that I don’t want to rip it out and start over.  The second problem is that some bands of color are significantly wider than others, and while I thought this would add charm, so far it just looks bleh:

In any case I plan to continue, because who knows, it might turn out great after all, and I might have enough yarn!  We’ll just have to see.  Honestly I don’t care that much, I’m just glad to be hooking again after that long hiatus.  If it doesn’t turn out good, maybe by that time I’ll have money to buy some yarn that I really want for something even more exciting.

As always, thanks for stopping by!  I’m headed off to work on it and watch a movie.  (I’m caught up on homework, hurray!)

last days of summer

I go back to school today, after a holiday of about 2.5 weeks (I have to do summer school in order to graduate quickly).  It feels like school should not be for a long while yet, and I am feeling quite rebellious about my forced return, as are many of my classmates.

I was lucky, however, that I got to have a little weekend away in Charleston with my mom.  Here are some photos from the trip, all taken on my iPhone 4S.

Old buildings on Kings Street in downtown Charleston really add interest and history to the experience.

Many buildings are well kept and used as apartments/lofts above the shopfronts.

On Kings Street we stopped at Jim N’ Nick’s Bar-B-Q for some delicious beef brisket sandwiches.

On our first morning, we went to the beach on Sullivan’s Island. It was very hot, but the water felt nice.

Some intense looking rainclouds came in, though, and drove us away in the early afternoon.

We went back to the market area downtown, where we visited Kaminsky’s Cafe and had some incredibly delicious multi-berry cobbler.

On the way back home the next day, we stopped at Middleton Place, an old plantation home, and took the garden tour.

There were many ponds, this one full of lilies, and all around on the live oaks and bald cypresses hung multitudes of Spanish moss.

Here’s another example of the Spanish moss. Very eerie looking, don’t you think?

We had a great time on our trip, even though there was some rain, and I feel much more relaxed now and maybe a tiny bit more willing to go back to school.  Maybe.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any yarny things to share with you today!  No new Ravelry faves, no progress on my current projects, no nuthin’.  I just wanted to share my Charleston experience because it is a very unique and special place, and so different from many other vacations.

Thanks for stopping by!  I’ll have something yarny next time, I promise!