Even the orchestra is beautiful!
Our poor pumpkins stayed inside and have paid the price. We don’t even have the heat on very high. Mine seems to be melting, there’s a puddle under her, and her eyes are more like craisins than maraschino cherries. Her teeth also seem to be shrinking. Shannon and Ari’s pumpkin has interior measles. They will be spending their golden years outside, on the porch, where they will be much happier.
Poor old things. Almost makes me sad.
When I wrote out the rippled sock scarf pattern, I made a few mistakes. Here are the patterns, as they should be, with close ups for reference.
1. Chain 37, turn, skip the first chain, single crochet all the way down=36.
2. *Skip first chain, 1 dc in next 3 ch, 3 dc in next ch, 1 dc in next 3 ch, SKIP 1* Repeat to end, turn.
So the way I thought of it, once rolling, is three, three, three, skip two, three, three, three, skip two, etc. And the skip one at the beginning and end. Right?
The second one is similar.
1. Chain 31, turn, skip the first chain, single crochet all the way=30.
2. *Skip first ch, 1 dc in next 6 ch, 3 dc in next ch, 1 dc in next 6, skip 1* Repeat to end, turn.
So, again, in simpler terms (which my brain demands) skip, six, three, six, skip two, six, three, six, skip turn. Sort of easier than the first one, but harder, sort of too, because my brain was demanding threes.
Can you see them? I think with the close-ups it’s more obvious. I hope!
I had the funniest conversation with the woman I work for today. She loves being vague, as you’ll see:
Me: Did you get an email from Julia lately?
T: Not yet.
Me: Did you get one yesterday?
T: Almost.
Me: You almost got one yesterday?
T: Probably.
Me: Are you trying to make me crazy?
T: Haha.
She really is trying to make me crazy, she fully admits it. Also, she’d drawn a self portrait on her wipe-off board, so I drew myself beside her:
You can’t tell, but she’s a full foot shorter than me in real life. I crouched down for the picture, haha.
Shannon’s already writing about our afternoon of pumpkin carving, so I won’t bore you with the details. I will cause jealousy by telling you how good the pumpkin seeds smell while roasting in the oven (325 for 25 minutes, drizzled with olive oil and salt). They are popping!
They have similar teeth. Erm, and eyes. Blast that flash.
Also, we spent yesterday in Lindsey. Every time we visit Ryan and Corrie I am filled with feelings of extreme jealousy. I love their house and farm and kids and animals and garden and all of that stuff. One day I will live a similar life, I hope. Their turkeys must be nearing the end of their lives, Christmas meat instead of Thanksgiving, they were smallish and got a reprieve. They’re awful cute and silly and make the best whistling noises.
See the horn above the beak of the fellow on the right? It gets bigger when he’s excited ;) Hee hee!
It’s colder outside and fall is definitely here. I love this time of year: nothing beats kicking through dry leaves and pumpkin carving. When we moved here I knew the view would be pretty this time of year and I was right!
Also, sock scarf #2 is finished and just needs to be blocked and it will be for sale. The price is negotiable, I will never be able to charge what it’s worth (about $200 if I pay myself minimum wage plus materials) so if you’re interested, tell me what you think.
ps I know, it’s spelled foliage, that’s ok. Some words are spelled or pronounced wrong and that’s one of my favourites, along with “liberry” (library) and “fillum” (film).
I finally finished sock scarf #1. It’s not terribly long and the yarn is a little itchy (which I think can be cured by washing it) but I really like it. Included in the picture is the world’s tastiest necklace-at least according to Emily’s children. I forgot to wear it the last time I saw them and they were heartbroken. Poor wee things.
Pattern:
Using self striping sock yarn and an E hook, I did 4 ripples and they work like this:
Chain a multiple of 9 and one turning chain (so I chained 37), turn, skip the first and single chain all the way along to make a strong start. That makes 36 stitches. Turn.
*Skip the first chain, dc in second, third, fourth, 3 dc in fifth, dc in next three sc, skip next sc, repeat ad nauseum until you run out of yarn.
It’s easy because all you do is count three. Three three three three three…The second one, that isn’t finished yet (and that I am hoping to sell!), is only 2 ripples, and I did it with six dc, then a three dc cluster, then six dc, skip 2, etc. A wider ripple, narrower(it adds up to 3o stitches) and it will be longer.
Is that confusing? I know that the easiest pattern is the most confusing, this ripple business took a while to wrap my brain around.
Next project:
I got a new book on the weekend, Basic Crochet Stitches by Erika Knight and it’s awesome. Full of pretty stitches that will work well for mittens. Just don’t ask me for the pattern when they are done: my brain will explode and wreck my computer.
I am basing the pattern on the mitts I got at Target last year for $2. They’re cute and fit perfectly. My mitts will have a slit in the thumb and mid way on the palm to poke out fingers like the Freehands gloves that were on Boingboing. Now that I am addicted to improving my brain with my DS, I need to be able to use my fingers and thumbs, even in cold weather.
Guess who I borrowed the ruler from? :)
So I did my zombie makeup and took a bunch of pictures and realized that it’s so hard to take a serious self portrait in zombie makeup and laughed my head off…
Because I went through the pictures and saw this:
I think I am going to skip the teeth. They look ridiculous and they feel terrible. Now we eat lunch then we stagger to the park!
As you already know, tomorrow is the big zombie walk here in Toronto. I’d never even heard of it until last year, when I was at work on a Sunday afternoon and an enormous crowd of zombies staggered past the window and-I think-tried to eat my brains.
I got my dress at Value Village a couple weeks ago, it was cheap, haha, and it’s pretty hideous. It’s so shiny, I hope fake blood sticks to it. I will wear jeans under it because I don’t want to be that zombie with a purse. That’s just crazy. And it’s long, so I can wear practical shoes, it’s a long walk. I will wear my fur stole (beaver? what creature died for it?) and a tiara. I think my back story is prom queen gets strangled by boyfriend because she won’t put out after the dance. Then gets autopsied and buried in her prom dress, then rises from the dead to eat brains…brains ease the pain of being dead.
The picture on the right is of the y incision that will be glued onto my chest and makeupped over with blood dripping down. There will be makeup hand prints on my neck, hopefully Shannon won’t mind.
As per request, best of luck deciphering it.
I used Bernat Alpaca blend, which is a thicker yarn, and I think an H hook. But that might not be correct, but it’s a thicker one,
Chain 3, use a slip stitch to attach into a ring.
1.Ch3 (first dc), work 10 dc’s into ring, sl st in first sc to join=11 dc
2. Ch 3, dc, 2 dc in each st, sl st in first sc to join =22 dc
3. Ch 3, dc, dc, *2dc in next sc, dc in next, repeat from * around, sl st in first sc to join =33 dc
4. Ch 3, dc in first 3 st, *2 dc in next sc, dc in next 2 sc, repeat from * around, sl st in first sc to join= 44 dc
5. Ch 3, dc in first 4 st, *2 dc in next sc, dc in next 3 sc, repeat from * around, sl st in first sc to join= 55 dc
6. Ch 3, dc in each sc around, sl st in first sc to join =56 dc
7. Ch 3, dc in first 3 st, *2 dc in next sc, dc in next 3 sc, repeat from * around, sl st in first sc to join= 70 dc
Continue for 17 rows, or until it’s big enough for your head. Make it look pretty, tuck in those excess ends. I make them big because I have a big head and so do all the people I love the most in the world.
Since I started my first sock scarf, I have fallen in serious love with this yarn. The colours are great and the price (around $15 CAD with tax) ain’t too shabby. Scarf number two made for some serious fiddling last night, trying to decide on a pattern, and I ended up going with what I already know: ripples work well. This one only has 2 wider ripples and somehow the yarn is striping the way it’s meant to. Like everything I make, I want to keep these for myself (out of worry that they just won’t be appreciated properly as gifts), but I may end up selling them. Although, with the time I put into them, they’d cost around $100 each, which is crazy for a scarf…
The first one isn’t finished yet, it’s just in my work-in-progress bag. So, that might mean it never gets done.
