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    Relearning to Bind Off

    My beautiful scarf is done! Way back on my bir’day, Scott bought me some fancypants yarn that I started working into a wavy scarf. Seven months, 5.5 feet of unstretched scarf (and most of a blanket and two dice bags…) later, I have a scarf, currently blocked out on my roommate’s floor. Hey, he wasn’t there at the time. Not my fault he came home that night after I went to bed. I’m not keeping the scarf–it’s going to my much more colorful sister–but I’m really proud (and glad!) it’s done. Aside from the little dice bags to break up these longer projects, this is my first sizable finish since…

  • On Life and Love

    Happy Bir’day to Me!

    Saturday was my bir’day! I’m a ripe young mumble-something years old, and I don’t feel like I’m getting old–I feel like I’m running out of time. Advertising that I didn’t want gifts (hello, getting rid of stuff) meant that the gifts I did get were thoughtful and amazing. A set of writing books covering memoirs, grants, motivation, and fiction–writing techniques. A shorthand manual. Weber and Neal Stephenson books. Amazing and creative fancy-pants yarn (color 12). I picked up yarn for a new project myself on Saturday–an afghan to be finished by Feb 13 and begun after I finish my current afghan. Greg, being Greg, picked a pretty, soft eggplant-colored yarn…

  • On Life and Love

    Crocheting and Knitting: Having the MIPS

    Um, that’s more this kind of MIPS, not that. I haven’t been a heavy crocheter since shortly after I left teaching in early 2008, but way back then, I started a blanket. It’s a gorgeous design, and I picked the colors based on the decor of a friend’s house. I don’t keep up with him anymore–and he’s married, so no telling what his house is like these days–but I still love the blanket. It’s wide: wider than 6 feet, which makes doing each row a painfully long endeavor. My favorite times to crochet (and knit, whatever) are when I’m watching television or on long car rides. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I’ve…

  • On Life and Love

    Cats and wall hangings

    Part of my quest for a gorgeous and comfy home includes wall hangings. Everything from posters to crochet work, I want them on my walls. Unfortunately, my cats — most notably Jackie — have a problem with that. Nothing on the walls goes undisturbed by her if she can get to it. And, alas, all the wall space in my front rooms is accessible to her. She hangs off of them, bats them around, etc. My parents had a set of mirrors they always put up in a style I loved. Three tall, slim mirrors in a descending path along the wall. Very stylish. But any mirror that size is…

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    Crocheting happiness

    Or, at the very least, a hat. I made myself a tam this weekend to cover zee locks. Found this pattern courtesy of the Nappturality forums. It’s huge, but someday I will fill this hat. Until then, it’s a little floppy. I used a standard black cotton yarn (Sugar n Cream) for this so it would be airy enough for North Carolina summer wear. I’ve also got brown and purple cotton I might use to make others. Doing another in acrylic yarn for the winter will be a cinch, although I’d worry a bit more about finding strange colors in my hair with acrylic. I made a few changes to…