Monday 19 May 2008

Oxfam Week

Sucked. I decided to devote one whole week to knitting 9x9 squares for Oxfam, because it's a good thing to do and they would be easy. My goal was to make at least 3, but hope to make 4 or maybe even 5. Well let me tell you, simple 9x9 squares are not as easy and enjoyable as they sound. At least for me they weren't. Each and every one that I am sending I hate. Either something went wrong with them and/or they're just plain fugly. I'm keeping one because I have to-it's far too big and won't be usable in the charity blanket. Good thinking on the boyfriend's part, though; we ordered an old Scrabble game on Ebay and it doesn't have the nice handy bag for all the letter tiles to live in-enter effed up Oxfam square...

I am glad to see the end of Oxfam week because, in addition to the fact that my squares sucked, it wasn't enjoyable. I think that was because I didn't have a finished product to visualise. All I kept thinking as I was knitting these craptacular squares was, 'I hope they even use this - it's so ugly/misshapen/ugly.' If I never knit another annoying 9x9 square as long as I live I will be a happy girl. Does it make me a bad person that I hated knitting for charity so much? You know what, even if it does, I'm ok with that. I'm sending them out as soon as possible, the sooner the better. Good riddance to them!



Here's a little peek at them. The green one was supposed to have a pattern on it, but since I'm a genius I just forgot to do it; the purple one was supposed to have a red cross-ish type pattern on it, but it was getting too big so now it looks much more like a Christian cross which is cool if that's your thing, but it just really isn't mine; the red one is way too small, good thing it's stretchy; and the blue one is lopsided. Hunks of crap!

Anyway, on to better things. I plan to knit a myriad of toys in the next few weeks; some for my friend's baby (I have so many ideas for that lucky little girl I had to write them down to remember them all), and some just for my own amusement. I started tonight and am already half done with the first one. Much more fun than knitting stupid squares. (Can you tell I'm still bitter about the squares?)

Saturday 10 May 2008

Summer Nights Shrug

'But, oh, those summer niii-hiiights! (Tell me more, tell me mooore...)'

This shrug has nothing to do with Sandy or Danny, but this shrug is perfect for when your arms get a little chilly on summer nights, and whenever I hear the words 'summer' and 'nights' next to each other in a sentence I think of that song from Grease.





It's taken me a while, and the sleeves are a bit too long, but I love it. I have never been able to find one like it in a store (hence the need to make one) and I couldn't find a pattern for one that I liked so I just made one up. I basically took all the components of making a sweater out of several separate rectangles and added trim, a hood, and shortened the body. It was a little tough making the front and the back match up as I had to knit the front longer in order to accommodate the ta-ta's, but it all worked out. I can't wait to sit around outside at night so I can wear it. It will be perfect in Autumn, too. And oh, is it warm. When I was stitching it all together last night I was getting a little toasty just having it across my lap.

I love it, I love it, I love it.