Where, Oh, Where Can She Be?

I fell off the face of the Earth. I joined a commune. I ran away. I was too busy/lazy/forgetful to update my blog? BINGO!!!! We have a winner.
It's been 2 1/2 months since I showed my darling face around here and for depriving you of my company and wit I apologize. I got wrapped up in the little things of life that are unavoidable yet mindnumbingly average - colds, kids, more colds, spring cleaning, pet sitting, subsequent carpet shampooing, yadda, yadda, yadda. Well, I did like the yadda and yadda, but that last yadda was uninspiring. While I was away from Blogger, I learned to make a Wii remote shaped cake and Lego Indiana Jones characters out of modeling chocolate. Which I also made myself. And I got a haircut. I took off well over a foot of length. Yeah, think about that! I tip forward as I walk now.

Why did you ask? Even I have no idea what I mean sometimes.
Enough of the pleasantries, onward to yarny stuff!!! I have been so thrilled by spring this year that I've made a fitted tank in a pastel green cotton and I am *just* about halfway finished with a pretty skirt I found a patter for on a web archive. I get so lost when I've pattern surfed that I forget where I found it or what led me there, I simply bookmark it and peak at it again in the morning to decide if it really was that cute or if I was wearing crochet goggles. They're kind of like beer goggles but its concerning ....aha, yeah, you get it.
I found this skirt pattern on Ravelry as well. Completely accidentally while I was looking for any new patterns, I believe it's titled Lace Edged Skirt, but you can look for yourself using the search, just make sure to tick free, crochet, skirt, and have the word 'lace' in the search box. There are some pretty skirt patterns there so even if you don't care about this particular skirt, you won't be wasting your precious crafting time.
The skirt starts with a long row of joined flower-like motifs. I don't think it's a surprise that I've altered the pattern a bit to fit what I want (and my backside, which I do NOT want). I used 5 play reclaimed cotton in a morning glory blue color and since I'll not be doubling the strands as the pattern calls for, I simply made more of the motifs. I adjusted for the thread and my plus-sizedness by making three of the motifs and measuring. I want a bit more flow and flutter, so I took my biggest hip measurement and added 10 inches then made the number of motifs I needed to reach that length/girth. It's worked flat, so the last and first flowers aren't joined. The pattern if pretty specific about the number of stitches per motif so that made it easy to DC over the entire length of them for one row, then to split the next row into the start of vertical panels. 16dc section divided by a simple 1dc, ch3, 1dc shell. I altered the pattern a little for the shell since I didn't like the look of it when I used the original instructions. Hookers prerogative *shrug*
I want it to hit just below my knees so I am making the body of the skirt about 20 inches. This isn't counting the motifs at the bottom edge or the waist and belt at the top. It has button holes every three inches down one of the straight sides so it's fairly easy to keep track of the length as I go, without the need to break out my much coveted measuring tape.
Yes, coveted. My children and I have a checkered past where the measuring tapes are concerned. I've bought the enclosed kind with a cool pattern and the children, thinking it was a present or treat of some sort, opened it. Poor thing was only a year old. I got a replacement and it died soon after coming home. OK, time to be a little more fiscally wise, cheap tapes here I come! The round cased retractable ones for $1... the first's retracting button was brutally crushed in and it was unusable. The second was either pulled out or retracted too hard and the little tab on the end snapped off. The third is still missing. Thinking I was ever so clever like Magical Trevor, I got the kind that HAS no case to break. The long plastic tape that you have to hand roll. None have died as far as I know, but I have two blue and one white somewhere here in the house that I can't FIND. Knowing they're here and not knowing where drives me around the bend, every so often I'll got crazy and toss the house searching for it while alternately muttering and screaming to no one in particular.
One day last month I was having a fit searching for my Nook, which has also mysteriously vanished and what did I find shoved in the recesses of the couch but a blue measuring tape! I've kept a close eye on it since I cant really keep buying innocent tapes for my children's nefarious deeds. There have been two rescues and once I caught the youngest in the act of whipping the poor thing. Not what it was made for and that's not even touching on my issues with the wild whipping about of a very long plastic tape with sharp, eye rending metal edges or the 'fun' to be had in wrapping it around various body parts and sliding down our steep stairs yelling 'whee, I'm a mummy!'
In more crocheting goodies news, while shopping one day we saw a very good sale on a shelving unit. It was pretty, heavy duty, and best yet, 75% off. I pointed and yelled "MINE!" with great maturity. Mike jumped, looked at me with one eyebrow up and asked calmly, "So hun, would you like a shelving unit?"
It's mine. For me. Now when I come in the door or walk down the stair I see MY shelves. I have three canvas eyelet totes on the top shelf, one with finished projects, one with WIP and the last... well, it holds my nail polish and related accessories. Seeing nail polish on the cream carpet and the remover in a puddle on the table was enough. the next shelf down holds my books. My collection of fairy tales, leather bound Reader's Digest books, a TON of crochet pattern books and booklets, and of course, my library books. The next shelf down after that is too readily monster-child accessible so there is not much more than a t-shirt and a laptop cover on that one.
I wish there was a crocheters group that I could meet with here in La Pine. I've gotten to spend more time with my SIL this last month or two and I have REALLY enjoyed it - clothes shopping, movies, lunches out and COFFEE. Mmm, Dutch Bros is the best, but I digress. As much as I love this time I've had to spend with her (I've missed her while she worked over in Eugene) I wish I had some ladies nearby who don't look glazed over or uncomfortable when I bring up yarn and hooking.
I'll be taking and posting pictures tonight, as soon as I make sure my poor neglected camera is charged up. Oh, and after a trip to the library to get Super Fudge for my boys. yeah, I had to say it because I just know you care. Goodbye til I remember you again, old blog.