Goodnight Summer

I am boycotting summer.
I'm just over it.  I am so done.

Merriam-Webster defines boycott as - to engage in a concerted refusal to have dealings with (as a person, store, or organization) usually to express disapproval or to force acceptance of certain conditions


Every year around this time I start yearning for Fall and the end of summer.  But this year I'm in a downright protest against summer.  Here in Texas we're on the 900th day of 100+ degree weather, not to mention one of the worst droughts these parts have ever dealt with. (Okay it's not really the 900th day, but that's what it feels like.) I mean we didn't even get a real Spring for crying out loud! No rain = no flowers.  I mean the trees are just gasping out here, folks.  


So I was walking through my local craft store sometime last week when I came across this:

Now, usually I scorn the putting out of the holiday things months before the actual holiday, but this year I almost did a little dance! And I thought, "Darn right! If the craft stores can start preparing for Halloween in August well then so I can I!"  And right then and there I decided that I'm just not dealing with summer anymore.  As far as I'm concerned it's time to start preparing for falling leaves and cornucopias.
So there!


And here at Casa Moi, that means it's blanket making time!

This one is going to be for Mr. Boy.  He's pretty much grown out of all his baby blankets, and when I made this one for my friend last year, he loved it!  So I vowed to make him a Granny of his own.

I chose to use the colors from Goodnight Moon because he can just stare and stare at that book for... well... minutes.  He's a 3 year old boy after all.  So no one activity can generally keep him occupied for more than a few minutes.

And I'm also making a baby blanket for a friend who's expecting and whose baby shower is coming up on September 17th.  But I can't show you pics of that one yet because you never know whose watching.

So I'll be a busy, busy, crocheting bee for the next few weeks!

Reminiscing...

So I'm trying to be a "good" knitter. I have a fair amount of almost finished projects and even though, with the new crisp, fall weather we've been having (which, by the way, is somewhat rare in these parts) I'm itching to start something new, I'm forcing myself to finish at least some of what I've started. I will not start so much as a pair of socks or fingerless mitts until I've finished at least 2 projects that have been sitting around for severeal months now. One of them actually has been sitting around for about a year. Part of the problem is that I'm fairly sure that once these projects are done I won't even really like them anymore. I've just gone too far to rip them and start over and I can't stand seeing them lie around the house anymore. (Yes, I keep them out in the hopes that having to see them every day will somehow inspire me to finish them. Does that actually work for anyone?)

So anyway, until I finish these projects, there's just not much goin' on in my life to blog about here at Chez Eden. Even the Halloween hubbub has died down somewhat. I lost my steam somewhere in there so some of the other super cool paper crafts I had planned for Halloween will have to wait till next year. At least I managed to get some raven and owl silhouettes up in the window before I completely lost all motivation.

So anyway, I was rummaging around in my closet yesterday when I came across my first ever knitted sweater. Man, is it ugly.

Here it is, in all it's glory. All garter stitch, in Lion Brand Wool Ease, which I thought was just the best yarn ever at the time and I couldn't understand why anyone would ever want to use anything else. I crocheted the bright pink trim on later using crab stitch, thinking that all that rusty orange just needed a little something to make it just a little bit more something. Now I do like these colors together, but I now understand that this doesn't necessarily mean I should be wearing them. Out in public on a hopelessly pilled and very obviously handknitted sweater. Ah well, you live and learn.

In the close-up, you can see just how awful Wool Ease looks after a few trips through the washer and dryer, which is why I don't use it anymore. And this photo is after I cut all the little pills off of it, though I don't know why I even bothered.

Still, I must say that at least this is a very well-made sweater. The fit is perfect, which is amazing for me because even now I rarely manage to get something to fit just the way it should. Must have been beginners luck. The seams are pretty good too. It's warm and comfortable and wearable. I just don't wear it anywhere but inside the house.

You've come a long way, baby.

Now I know that Wool Ease kind of sucks despite the fact that it's cheap and can be run through a dryer. Now I know that garter stitch is better left to blankets, babies, or edging. Now I know that many things need to be considered before choosing what color or colors will work for a pullover. Also that pullover sweaters are usually too warm for Houston.

Now I know.

BTW- The pattern I used is called Earn Your Stripes from this book. (I did it all in one color because at the time I was intimidated by the notion of carrying my colors up the side. teehee)

Halloween Banner and some new socks

I finally did some decorating for Halloween. Not finished yet, but I did manage to make a pretty cool banner.

It was easy, but time consuming and after doing this, I seem to have lost all motivation to do anything else.
I did have fun playing with paper and stencils and scissors and glue. Made me feel like a kid again. I spent a lot of time in the scrapbooking isles at Hobby Lobby and Michael's. I never realized how much money those scrapbookers must spend! Oooh La La! That is one expensive hobby!

I also managed to finish another pair of crocheted socks.


Same pattern as the last pair of socks I did, but this time I did esc instead of sc for the cuff part. Still not sure whether I like it or not, but the Serenity Sock yarn I used was softer and prettier than the Red Heart and Sole.

Now I'm not sure what to do next, but I do have a lot of UFO's that I could attend to... Hmmm...

Halloween Tree!!

Halloween Tree!!, originally uploaded by Hell'sCook.

Yes, people, I'm already starting to think about Halloween. You see, Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday. Chalk it up to being the child of an intense health food nut who only allowed candy on holidays and birthdays and how could I help but choose Halloween as my favorite? I mean, it's an entire holiday almost totally dedicated to candy! It was the only time in the year where it was acceptable to stockpile as much candy as possible and hoard it or gorge on it at will!

But now that I'm older and I can't eat that much candy without suffering severely in one way or another, it has become more about just... acceptable spookiness. The pagan in me just loves the fact that it's a holiday entirely dedicated to celebrating the dark side of things. You don't have to celebrate the birth of any deities or give of yourself in any selfless way. You don't have to run around like crazy buying a crapload of gifts for family plus any friends that you think just might also buy you one. No one is expecting you to cook or bake large amounts of food and invite family and friends over for cheer and goodwill, nor do you have to endure anything resembling a midnight mass. In fact, one of the great things about Halloween is that you can turn off your porch light and ignore it almost completely if you so choose and no one will find it strange or rude or uncaring. OR you can go completely nuts and decorate and bake and dress up and throw a wild party and that will be just as equally accepted by all. I LOVE IT!

The past couple of years, despite my love for the holiday, I have pretty much ignored it. Last year I had a baby who was too young to fully appreciate it, plus I was too tired from taking care of him to do anything other than buy a bag of candy and throw it in a bowl for any trick-or-treaters who came along. The year before that I was pregnant with that baby and so nauseated that just the idea of candy or the smell of burning pumpkin made me want to hurl.

But NOW, oh now! I am ready or at least I intend to be ready. I'm going to make up for those lost years and then some. I'm going to make homemade Halloween decorations. I'm going to bake and maybe even decorate sugar cookies. I'm going to carve pumpkins. I'm going to take my wee one, who is finally getting really good at the walking thing, and costume him up and go trick-or-treating. Oh yes, I'm going to do it all! And I'm already thinking about it all right now so I won't run out of time or be overwhelmed.

I probably won't have a Halloween tree, but I like the "spirit" behind the idea.

(ps- notice the countdown widget at the bottom of the page)