My boys

No pics of Betsy today ... sorry. I'll have to get one later. :)

Here's my baby all dressed up in one of my sweaters. LOL!



My oldest and my youngest - gee, it's a shame they don't like each other!



Here's my Andrew!

Fisherman Bangle Bag

This is an experiment - totally from scratch, inspired originally by Donna's Bangle Purse only it wasn't quite what I was looking for. Anyway, I started sketching some stuff, researched the popcorn stitch (which I had never done before - not sure why, it's super easy?!?), adjusted the cable she used, and came up with this bag. I'm not sure quite what I think and I'm even less sure what the aunt it was designed for is going to think.

Be kind - it still needs lining.

The front:



The back:



And next to my cat (who is actually pretty petite - only about 9 pounds maybe) for a size reference - it's about 14" wide.



The bangles (bamboo) are 7" wide; the yarn is just plain old caron pounder in off white; I'm going to see if I can find a matching off white corduroy to line it with the cords facing towards the outside so the smooth side of the fabric is on the inside of the purse. If I can't find a decent off white, I should be able to find a dark brown or olive green, which I think would also work.

Tension Tamers

Not what you think! LOL I'm talking about the crocheting kind of tension - even stitches. ;) I have been working on some thread projects and I find that when I start out I have somewhat of an uneven tension, so I started making some little things to help me get on track.

Here are a couple - you can definitely see a difference; the lavendar one was done first and is all over the place, with the red one you can tell I'm getting more comfortable working with thread.



The red is my favorite!

Another Christmas present done!

Oh, that feels so good!! This is the Five-Sided Pineapple Doily from Better Homes and Gardens "Forever Favorite Crochet" - I used size 10 thread and a size 5 hook - not even close to what they suggested, lol. Finished size is about 12" in diameter. I still need to block it and that's it - I'm debating framing it. Hmmm ...

Finally!

These are going in the mail tomorrow to my various ornament swap partners at Crochetville, finally! Took me long enough!



Everything there is off the top of my head - it took me five stockings before finally I found a finished product I liked - so the two on the left are my favorites. :) I like the hats, too, those were a lot of fun. I love ornaments that aren't of a traditional Christmas orientation!

Elegant Lace Stole

Another amazing pattern by Dot!! Thank you for your wonderful patterns, Dot - I love them! They're easy to read, easy to make, and always lovely.

Elegant Lace Stole

I used red heart in cherry red - it's for my grandmother - her favorite color is red and she's always cold - this is very wash and wearable yarn, so I thought it would work for something to throw over her shoulders. We won't be able to be there on Christmas, and are going to be possibly celebrating with my family in February, but I wanted her to have something to open ON Christmas since I know that's important to her.





I think another time I would want to use a more "drapable" yarn (like simply soft) but I wanted to use up stuff in my stash ... so red heart it was! :)