Thursday, March 28, 2013

Random Update...

Sadly popsicle scarf pattern is going to be delayed a bit... my phone (which is my primary camera) crapped out on me... J and I are hoping to fix it as soon as we get parts, it looks like the power/screen lock button is stuck so the phone screen keeps timing out then turning back on instantly, and if you touch the power button it crashes and restarts itself. Essentially the only way I can currently turn the phone off is to take out the battery, which is why my phone is now hanging out in my pocket sans battery!

It's kind of funny actually until January 2012 I was dead-set against ever getting a cellphone. I really didn't see the need in one. I'm not an outgoing person, I'm a homebody if I'm not working or with J, so it just seemed annoying. Then a friend was in a car accident... and I started to get scared of being stuck somewhere without a way of communicating with anyone... he and I also wanted to try to take YarrHooked! out there more, and we realized I needed a phone to do that. I needed a way to take photos at a whim, and to blog and post and try to get myself out there more. I'm not going to lie, I'm now ADDICTED and totally bummed that I can't use my phone right now! I actually have pretty much stopped using my laptop at home, because it's just easier for me to use my phone. I can write out patterns on my phone, keep notes about sizing, yarns I need, projects that need to be completed, take photos etc. Thankfully I'm relatively paranoid, so my photos are all saved on my SD card, and most of my lists and patterns etc are done on Google Drive so when we formatted the phone, hoping the problem was software not hardware, I didn't lose anything.

I finished up another new cool scarf last night, it's adorably nerdy and will appeal to men as well. I'm going to have a few of those ready for Con. season and I can't wait to get that pattern posted online too! EEE! Is the vagueness driving you insane?

Sunday, March 24, 2013

To Do List Fail...

Full disclosure... posting my to do list didn't help at all!
  1. clean craftroom - finished it Friday at 2:20pm!
  2. finish mint chocolate popsicle scarf - finished it Thursday at 11pm!
  3. finish the 3 sets of mitts I started last week and make 2 more pairs - didn't even touch this one
  4. crochet and photograph samples for popsicle scarf pattern - good intentions aside, this one didn't happen either
  5. complete my HtbaFB #3/5 post - was not looking good enough to photograph on Friday, Saturday or Sunday... so that didn't happen yet
  6. bake some bread or biscuits - finished on Friday at 1:45pm. 
I did however make a hat for a friend's soon to be born baby and am about 70% of a scarf I started so... it's not all horrible...

Thursday, March 21, 2013

My To Do List

I'm trying something new. I'm hoping that if you all (which implies I have vast numbers of followers, which I don't...) see the insane to do lists I create for myself every weekend, maybe I'll be motivated to actually accomplish some/all of it!

This is what I'm hoping to accomplish this weekend:
  1. clean craftroom (it exploded again... I'll try to remember to take before and after photos... it's really in a sad state) - Fri 2:20pm Done!
  2. finish mint chocolate popsicle scarf (it's about 50% completed now, so that's doable) - Thurs 11pm Done!
  3. finish the 3 sets of mitts I started last week and make 2 more pairs (this is probably a bit ambitious to be honest, but we'll see...)
  4. crochet and photograph samples for popsicle scarf pattern (should be doable, pattern will be posted sometime next week, if I can accomplish this)
  5. complete my HtbaFB #3/5 post (#4 sadly wont be happening for a while... I'm putting a ridiculous amount of work into it... even though I'm not sure what I'm really suppose to be doing lol)
  6. bake some bread or biscuits (I really miss bread products, I haven't been able to eat any/much for a week now due to my ability to bit food, but I'm healing really well and biscuits are calling my name!) - Fri 1:45pm Done!
So.. yeah! Let's see what happens!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

1 year older...

Last week did not go the way I wanted it to! Somethings went better, somethings went worse...

On Tuesday I had a molar pulled, (tooth of doom will not be missed) which was apparently a very complicated procedure, but I thankfully had little to no side-effects from it. Barely swelled, no bruising, and thanks to my buddy T3, no pain! However the T3 caused me to spend Wednesday and Thursday sleeping most of the day, so my vast list of crocheting goals was left mostly undone!


 The big deal was that my recovery went well enough that I WAS ABLE TO EAT BIRTHDAY CAKE on Saturday! I turned 27, and I was kind of bummed earlier that week that I wasn't going to get cake, but since my recovery was going fine, I decided to bake myself a bday cake! (Yes, I bake my own cake. I have for the past 3 or 4 years, I love to bake, and this is one of the few excuses I have to bake a cake). I decided cinnamon rolls would be my inspiration for cake this year.. I started with vanilla cake batter, I set a bit of the batter aside to mix in some melted butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar, then I spiraled the cinnamon batter on top of the vanilla batter, and baked it! I finished the cake off with tangy cream cheese frosting! It was awesome!

I forgot to take a picture with the icing on it... but it was pretty
and more importantly it was tasty!

But I was able to get some cute new mitts created, and I've designed a new fashion scarf which I'm in love with. I'm excitedly waiting for my keychains to come in so I can start crocheting those up!

Love this neapolitan popsicle fashion scarf!

Monday, March 11, 2013

Cons confirmed!

It's a bit late posting this but I'm happy to report that people in Moncton and Fredericton will be getting a chance to buy some YarrHooked! items this spring/summer!!! I will be at the East Coast Comic Expo on May 18th in Moncton at the Beaver Curling Club and at Animaritimes from June 28th-30th in Fredericton at the Fredericton Convention Center! There's going to be a ton of items at both, ranging from hats, scarves and mitts to dolls to hairclips and keychains/bag charms. I'm even hoping to get two new zombie creations done before the show!

I've been testing out new patterns this past week for con items and some have worked, some haven't at all. It's always a bittersweet thing when only half the items you test work, for instance I'm stoked that my 1" tall cake slices look adorable, but the disappointment that my crochet balloon animal bunny is an amorphous blob. It kind of takes the fun out of the successes when patterns fail, but I'm trying to focus on the positive!


I'm also working away on my new HtbaFB homework for the past two lessons (which I'm combining into one post)... I'm very stoked on the project, though I'm not sure if I'm really doing what's intended.

I'm also gearing up for a 4.5 days weekend, and I think I need to create a new to do list (that I'll NEVER be able to complete) to keep myself on track during my time off. I'm not positive I'll really be up to crocheting much on Wednesday, as I'm getting a molar pulled tomorrow afternoon (I've never had a tooth pulled and I have no idea how my body is going to react) but hopefully Thursday and Friday will be productive!

Friday, March 8, 2013

Pattern: Roller Derby Hats (Jammer & Pivot)

I am a huge roller derby fan! I don't play, I just watch! I'm way too scared of hurting myself! I believe at this point my husband an I have only missed 1 home bout, and I am very proud of my local Lumbersmacks because they are off to Nationals next week! So in their honour here is an awesome new pattern from me!

I've been trying for a year to perfect this pattern, the Jammer (hat with the star) was easy, but the Pivot hat was the complicated one! I didn't like the look of just sewing a stripe onto the hat, I wanted a one piece version and after lots of trial and error I did it!!! *dances like an idiot*

The pattern is available on Ravelry for $4


If you would like to order a hat from me, please email me :)