I'm back from the Void

We've unpack about half of our stuff and I have my hooks and yarn on hand again. What? A girl has to have her priorities straight. Coffee, clothing, internet, yarn.
I hit the Humane Society again while mom was here because they are awesome. Sadly, since it's hot weather they didn't have much in the way of wool sweaters out on the racks. I did, however, snag a salmon colored cotton. More orange than pink in this case, but nice. On a subsequent visit to the same store, Elizabeth looked at shiny pants and kept a watchful eye on the creepy partially shaved cowboy mannequin head whine I went scouring the men's section for potential yarn. Came up with a soft, lovely wheat colored cotton. There IS a lack of wool and I consoled myself with the two sweaters I have hidden away for just this reason.
Right now I am making the salmon cotton into the Paradise Skirt. It's simple and easy so far, a lovely pattern. It actually has my size! I'm only one full row of pineapple pattern into it but it think it'll be fun. I like the hem-up style more than I thought I would. (my size usually makes it difficult to get the right measurements if I don't work the waist first)I think I'll make mine just below the knee instead of ankle length.

It's OURS!!!

I just got a call from Juana, our realtor. We got the keys, the money is in and the house is OURS!!!! We're moving, finally. I can't believe it! Mick also lost his first tooth today and I have some cute random shots of the kids playing outside. Many are a diaperless baby, so be warned!

In the line of fire....


Serious discussion about the toothfairy


Gratuitous nakey pic


The tribe found water and toy shovels


flower for Mom?


Look, lost a tooth!

Running FREE!

Mase Face

I love the Swiffer Cover, so here it is in use.

Yup, I'm gonna show you pictures of my used mop and dirty floor. Aren't you thrilled?
Here is the cover.




Sorry about the looks, it has been used to death since I made it because my kids keep fighting over it. Oh, and I can't forget the coffee-grounds-on-my kitchen-floor incident. Pick up the grounds FIRST, then mop! Sheesh, He's 6 already, do I have to tell him EVERYTHING?
Totally teasing. Just in case you took me seriously and got offended for my kids. :)

This is the linoleum on the floor just inside my back door. three kids, a husband, two dogs and this is a regular look for us.










And below is the same spot of floor just after using the Swiffer cover. It took some real scrubbing, but the cover can take it since it's cotton, not paper.

Crochet Swiffer Cover

I made a Swiffer cover as a gift for an RAK group I recently joined and I was dying to try it out myself. I have a Swiffer Wet Jet, but my conscience was poking me every time I bought a bottle of cleaner or a box of disposable Swiffer pads so it went in the closet to gather dust. I made do with my sponge mop for a while, but I really hate those things. I crocheted cotton sponges for my kitchen and use cloth rags for washing, I even use cloth for nose-wiping during a cold most times... so why did I keep using a sponge mop? I couldn't answer that myself, so I started using a spray bottle with more natural cleanser in it and a handful of terry shop rags to mop with.
When I saw the Swiffer cover I just HAD to make one... I made it a few days ago and didn't test it out til today, but now I wish I had. It's wonderful! It scrubs the spots like nothing else, it absorbs far more cleanser than the pads did keeping the floor drier and I can use less because it stays wet enough to keep cleaning.
I'm SO making a couple of these for Nanny, I think she'll love it.
I was concerned about the fit since I went by the pattern with no alterations even though the pattern wasn't made for the Wet Jet.It's great, perfect fit.

Mason's New Sleeveless Hoodie Pullover

The boy never seems to fit anything for long and the most recent growing phase left him without a suitable jacket. It's an awkward time to buy him something because I know he'll only wear it a very short time and I don't want to waste money... but I can't begin to guess what size he'll be when the cold weather comes again so I cant buy one that will be big enough to fit when he needs it.

What do I do? Crochet, of course.

This was a simple little pattern I made using the guidelines in my favorite (and very first) book, American Crochet. It's a must have for any serious crocheter. The cover is torn, the corners bent, coffee stains on a couple of pages and yet it's still the most valuable book I own for crochet. In this case, I used the chapter for making wearables.

I will post a pattern in greater detail soon, but for now a basic description will have to do.

I started at the bottom of the back and made a simple rectangle then shaped the arm holes and the back of the neck. Cut yarn, and start the front panel also at the bottom. This time I added a crocheted cable to either side and I made the front neckline a couple of rows shorter and the shoulders a couple of rows longer. Since I know he'll grow quite a bit, the joining of the sides and shoulders were done in a sc for easy undoing to add a bit of ease when he gets bigger. SC joining on the seams also allowed me to hide the ends of threads without sewing them in... simpler for the finish and much easier when sizing up.
The hood is simply made by sc around the neckline and adding a few sc in the back for shaping. A couple of rows into the hood, I decided to add cables, 1 on either side of the hood to match the cables on the front. Once the hood was the right length, I stopped at the back of the hood, half row, and turned it inside out. Holding the sides together, slip stitched a joining and made a row of sc around the facing. To further shape the hood, I decreased every third stitch for the top half of the hood.
Finishing was done by two rows of sc around the arm holes decreasing at the bottom to shape, and a row of sc around the hem. This left only 4 ends to weave in, one for the hood, one for the hem, and one each for the armholes.
Finished sleeveless hoodie is 24 inches around, 12 inches around the arm openings, 12 around the neck and a 10 inch tall hood.
It's fast and simple, I made it in a day and a half with many delays and interruptions.