a baby and a dog

a big WOW to allison for capturing two of my favorite things in pictures.



this little glimmer of a precious angel:

((i made that sweet tutu and now i wanna make another one))

 

and my best bud

for more of dr. jake schnauzer and other dogs that make me giggle, look here:

for more of my sweetness of a niece, lauren corinne, lookie allison's blog

allison came into the house with her positive energy, her smile, and her treats, so of course jake ran right to her.  i sincerely enjoyed allison as a person AND a photographer.  it was great fun to hear her giggle as she captured that perfect image.  what a fun treat to get pictures.  if you're in her area, contact her. 

do it.   do it now!

off the chain... ((crochet, part deux))

since you've perfected your chain, we're gonna work on the rows.

i'm gonna go ahead and make a blanket here with you.

chain out the length of your blanket.  it'll get longer as you add the rows, so make it a tad shorter than you want your blanket. 
i usually lay the chain out on my lap and imagine it as a full blanket.
i chained around 121.  but who's counting.

look at your chain closely.  do you see each stitch?  it's important that you are able to see the stitch.

SEE THE STITCH!

in the picture below, there is the loop over my hook, and there are five stitches between my hook and thumb.  look at the top loops of the chain. do you see it?

ok:  rows.  each row is made of different types of crochet stitches. 

a stitch is made from a series of yarn-overs, pulling through loops, and pulling through loops again.

i'm gonna start you off with a super easy stitch.

the stitch we're going to learn for this row of the blanket is called a half-double crochet. 

it's not the easiest, but it's my favorite, and i think you're ready.

a row of half-double crochet stitches is about two chain stitches high. 

since it's two stitches high, we're going to put our hook into the third stitch. 

if you're keeping up, the third chain is JUST to the right of my thumb.   

ready?  ok, yarn over. 

put your hook into that stitch we talked about.  the third stitch.

yarn over again and pull that yarn through the FIRST loop on your hook.

yarn over one more time.

and pull that yarn through ALL THREE loops on your hook.

the finished stitch:

you did it!  a half-double crochet!

keep going.  do it again in the very next stitch. and in every chain stitch ever after....

the first row is the hardest because the chain is so floppy and flimsy.  (silly chain)

stay tuned for turning new rows and eventually changing colors...

can i help you??

no really, i wanna help!

if you've wanted to know how to crochet but can't make it to my house for some crochet help, tortellini soup, and gossip, here's my attempt at a tutorial to help you out.

all you need is yarn and a crochet hook!

here's mine:

i picked an L-hook (8.00mm) and some pink yarn.

at first i just loved this yarn for the CUTE label. 

turns out, it's ultra soft and crochets up quickly!!

it's this kind.

STEP ONE:

dig into the center of the yarn skein and find the little end.

STEP TWO:

to start the crochet row, you're going to have to make something called an adjustable ring.

create a loop in the yarn.

STEP THREE:

however you need to do it, make this shape with your yarn. 

my goal is to have that yarn crossing the center of the circle right there.  have the crosser underneath the circle.

all i really did was tilt the loop to the left a bit.

STEP FOUR:

yeah!!!  that's how you want it!!  put your hook under that center crosser but on top of that circle. now pull your short end of yarn to tighten your ring.

ah.  perfect.  that's called your 'loop' there on your hook.  and the knot is your 'adjustable ring'.

your next objective is to grab with your hook that yarn that's coming from the skein and pull it through the loop that's on your hook.

huh??

watch.

this is called a yarn-over (yo) because, well, you pull the yarn....over....the hook.

there, i pulled it through! do it again.

and continue to yarn-over (yo) and pull the yarn through the loop on your hook. 

this series of pull-throughs is called a chain (ch).

see?  a chain!

look at you, you're crocheting!!!

once you've become comfortable with your chain, we'll move on to rows.

practice your chain.

do it now! 

if you're having a hard time, let me know. i'll help you. 

now, go make something.

helicopters!

here's the new bag i just posted in my shop.
i'm really falling in love with just about all the fabric by echino, a japanese import.
it was once thought of by me as too expensive.  but if i don't OVERBUY!, it's just fine!

the fabric also comes in other colors:

i'm gonna go out on a limb here and say i really love the black & neutral!!

so fun.

banana nana

what a great day this was!  an outdoor wedding!  celebrating love, partnership, tradition, family, and good friends.

there's something special about outdoor weddings.  and today proved my point.

a beautiful day: full of love, happiness, laughter, food, and an overall great time with friends.

you can't tell by this picture, but it was 142 degrees outside.

here i am with my sweet friends, leslie and chanel.  these are girls i can count on. 

the bride, kristen, and me. 

kristen is one of my favorite people.  i am usually laughing and laughing hard when i'm around her.  she's very kind, she strives for positivity, and she has cats named after asian food!  kristen is good people.

shortly after the bar opened, we started hearing an older woman at the next table.  she wore a beautiful yellow dress.  the dress combined with her age won her the nickname "banana nana".  she made several wobbly trips to the bar and became what one would refer to as an "angry drunk".  she got mad at her golden girls and decided to gossip about them loudly at our table with my friend, chanel.  while gossipping, she sloshed her drink back and forth.  in a slurred rage, she ended up dumping her drink down the front of chanel's dress.  oh dear.  i still don't think she knows. she wasn't done yet when she came around the table to me.  i didn't dare take my eye off her drink....

woops, banana nana!!

i love this picture of the girls trying to supress their laughter after the banana nana incidents.

dark and shadowy. the heat affected almost all of the pictures!! 

hi julie, michele, and jessica!!  everyone was here!  except vanessa and carrie who were definitely missed!!!

i know these posts have been about the dress, but this day was such a special time, it almost feels off topic to talk about it. but is it off topic to talk about how pretty and comfortable i felt in this dress???  a win, for sure.  

here's my clutch and my shoes.

by the end of the day, the skies finally opened up and the downpour arrived

bra straps and tanlines

so after nearly an hour of frustration last night and quitting 4 times, i'm very happy with how this beauty is turning out.
this is the pleating along the neck. 

lookie here:  pockets!! 

((do you have any idea how hard it is to take a picture of your own hand in your pocket???))

why does my arm look like elephant skin?

after seeing this, i applied some nivea.

here's a top view.  ((again self portrait = difficult))

and the neckline.  i think it's just about my favorite part of the dress. still needs some finishing touches. 
a snip snip here and a tide pen there.

still to complete: 

bias tape on the arm openings, and a hem!  i'm nearly there. 

as you can see, my biggest worry will be bra straps and tanlines.

i'm really getting excited now!!

the namesake:

the dress chronicles (continued)

it's coming along....


int. er. fac. ing.



my supervisor. kakey the kat.




the zipper wasn't as bad as my nightmares.



here it is starting to take some shape......sorta. 
jake, look at the dress.  jake....this way.





stay tuned tomorrow for pleats, side seams, and pockets.