hook me up

Thank the Gods for the Delta Breeze! Things have cooled off here on the West coast. We are just close enough to San Francisco (Yes. “The City” rocks) to get a little cool breeze in the summer.

The results are in from our County Fair.

* Hobo Bag 1st Place
* Knitted Babe Doll 2nd
* Violet Beauregard renamed Tangerine Dream 2nd
* Socks 3rd
* Crocheted Baby Dress 3rd.

The quilts were stunning. There seems to be a lot of quilters in our area. This is the first year I don’t have a quilt in the fair.

For some reason comments aren’t visable on my blog. I should have some time to work on it tomorrow.

Woooo Whoooo! An F.O. I really, really like this skirt. Though Violet Beauregard certainly doesn’t fit. I think it will be My Tangerine Dream. I used Knitpicks Shine, colors Coral, Terra Cotta and Sunflower. Two thumbs up on the yarn. I did lengthen the skirt by adding few more rows of single crochet before I began the lace and I also added more lace to the bottom. The less you see of my legs the better. I picked up a matching T at the Thrift Store. I also found the perfect slip to line it with at the same store – just haven’t gotten around to it so you probably are seeing a lot of my legs.

To make a long story short, Mr. Right and I were driving down the road when he spotted a turtle in the middle of the road. It was well over 100 degrees outside. We picked it up and went door to door. There were only apartments and businesses near by. So it looks like we have a Red-eared Slider that is about 7 inches. We have had him for about 2 weeks and he is doing great. Our backyard pond is just about completed. I’ll post photos when it’s done. Our new babies name is Toby. No. I didn’t name him.

The Amigurumi turtle below was inspired by Toby. It’s a little dark but I love the way he turned out. The eyes were from a thrift store toy that was done in. I creeps out to remove the eyes but you know me and recycle. I just grimace and cut!

Toby is sitting on my new crocheted bath mat. It was too easy and sooo soft and squishy. I bought 4 cones of sugar and spice cotton. I used the simple Tunisian crochet stitch with 2 strands of sand and two strands of white with a size Q hook. Just make your base chain the width of your mat and crochet until it’s the length you want. When I got to the end, I did a single crochet around the mat and then cut the yarn and wove in the ends. A lot like a big dish cloth. I like the basket weave look of the fabric. I have enough cotton left over to do 2 or 3 more! My daughters fell in love with it so guess what they are getting for Christmas. Wouldn’t it be a great gift to do some face clothes add bath soap or bubbles, roll them in the mat and tie a ribbon around it?

My SnB group, WAKCs (Woodland area knitters and crocheters- WACKs was already used) usually meet on Tuesday nights. We use a conference room at our public library or meet at member’s home if the conference room is in use. I love the diversity of our group and that includes skill level and craft of choice.

I think we really wanted another excuse to get together for crocheting and knitting so we decided to participate in the KNIP day. We met at a park near my home. Keep in mind that this “doing it in public” stuff isn’t new to us. You could probably open a yarn shop with what we have in purses, backpacks and bags on any given day. Still, it was one of those picture perfect days. Five of us under the shade of a tree, chatting and knitting while the children played and families picnicked. I hope it was as pleasant for all of you.

Here is a pic of the latest. This is the Bulls Eye Hobo bag pattern by Stitch Divas. As you can see, I changed the color and instead of Berroco Cotton Twist, I used Berroco Touché. I did use the Berroco Suede and even put some in the granny squares for interest. I would do two things differently.

1. I used a black and white toile to line the bag. It is a directional print I sewed it so when you look inside the bag the print is horizontal! Not my brightest moment.

2. I would round the corners of the granny squares that are on the bottom. The way you sew the gusset to the front and back makes the bottom want to round, instead of square. I think it would “shape” a little better that way.

The best part was the Bedazzler! Wow! I could really get carried away with that little beauty.