Art for art's sake...

Finished the Milkweed Project submission last night.



I can't capture it full length (about four feet, give or take) with the cell camera, but there are detail pictures on the Ravelry project page.

It seems kind of pitiful next to the other pieces she's already gotten (see them here), and someone else already did a piece with hairpin lace. Still, I like my little...whatever it is, and I hope the project director does, too. Keep your fingers crossed.

Happy NatCroMo!

Yes, indeed, it is the first of March, and the beginning of National Crochet Month. Sweetness. I've got a ton of projects lined up to celebrate. (Hey, what else did you expect from me?) So... list time!
1. Start and finish 3 squares for my BAMCAL afghan. (This doesn't include the one I'm working on tonight, which is almost done, but was a part of February's patterns.)
2. Finish my submission for the Milkweed Project.
3. Retro Rings Tam (and this time not get so frustrated by the gauge problems I had last time I tried it).
4. Finish my design for CLF's book 3.
5. 2 Sweet Pea shawls from Stitch 'N' Bitch Crochet for my mom and Mama Nariman
6. Knot Ugly Shrug from Stitch 'N' Bitch Crochet for me
7. Some simple little things for the Etsy shop.
Man, my hooks will be flying this month, ha! I doubt I'll finish them all, but danged if I'm not going to give it a shot.
Now, off to finish the last 2.5 rows of the square, and maybe get started on that tam. (I think my Blue Sky Alpaca dyed cotton will work perfectly. :) )

Lacy bits and tangled threads

So, frustrated for the moment at thread crochet, I've turned my attention to both broomstick and hairpin lace. Broomstick was relatively easy. Bonus that Spin a Yarn had a set of US35 pointy sticks on sale for four bucks. As I was checking out, Nancy asked me if I knew how to do hairpin lace. I shook my head and laughed, thinking it was some kind of complicated. She sends her son to get this weird u-shaped doohickey from a shelf and hands it to me. Turns out, someone had given the shop a whole bunch of hairpin lace looms, and she gave me one to see if I could figure it out. I got tangled up a couple of times, but I think I'm catching on. So, my work for the Milkweed Project is going to be a three foot long strip of hairpin lace, with the loops done together in a row or two of broomstick lace. I'm hoping it comes out all right. :D We'll see.
And, bless the LYS yet again. Got a gorgeous skein of Blue Sky Alpaca Dyed Cotton for six bucks, and a skein of Plymouth Fantasy Naturale in sunshiney colors for my mom for three. I love their clearance section, honestly I do.
Anyway, wanna see my hairpin goodness?

At least, I think I'm doing it right. Heh.

Ouch.

Today, while getting my oil changed (in the car, sillies) and grocery shopping for work, I scampered by the yarn aisle at Wal-Mart (forgive me, Spin A Web, but thou hast not what I wanted this dayeth). I thought I'd be a smarty pants and grab some bedspread cotton and a steel hook, and then I'd be making beautiful lacy stuff in no time.
Wrong.
Dead wrong.
That dad-blamed teensy tiny hook is killing my hands. Using thread is killing my eyes. I think I may have found a worse enemy than them pointy sticks.
Still, I trudge onward. Mostly because my mother loves doilies and schnit, and I'm dying to make her one. (Even with her glasses on, she couldn't see well enough to make one out of this stuff.) I'll conquer it, or it'll kill me. We'll see.
I've also decided to buckle down and get to work on my piece for the Milkweed Project, even though I have no idea what I'm going to do, what yarn I'm going to use, or how I'm going to do it. I'll figure all of that out as we go along, I suppose.
Also, gotta finish a third square for bamcal this month. Started it tonight when I got annoyed to the point of no return with the thread. Just gotta finish it.
Gack.