My little brother is the cutest thing. He's only three and he follows me everywhere I knit or crochet, wanting to learn it. So I gave him some leftover yarn from the Cataract doily and my shortes pair of knitting needles. He gets impatient when I try to teach him the way to do it, I think he enjoys seeing the movements and tries to copy what I do. I maybe teach him real knitting when he's older and still interested. Right now, it's enough that I have a very cute knitting/crochet partner who adores me just as much as I adore him.

I bought these balls of yarn in Hobby Lobby Evansville some time ago. It's called Sinfonia, a sportweight cotton yarn from Mexico. I completely adore this yarn and I bought loads of it (in cream and variegated green) though I had to leave most of it behind. There was a limited number of the variegated green yarn and the dye lots are different, so I've been thinking about the possible projects I could do with it. I decided to make something for one of my adored best friends (who celebrated her 26th birthday on the 15th of August: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROSS!)

It's a crocheted halter top for the next time she goes to the beach. I figured a plain bikini top would be too revealing (personally, anyway. I bet Ross has no such hangups. Heehee.) so I decided to make it into a sexy, not-quite-openwork halter. Hope she likes it (and actually gets to use it, but knowing her, it probably would be. She loves the beach.)

This blue thingie above is the Cataract doily I made for Deborah (wildthing1058 on Crochetville) She was assigned to make a doily for me, so I thought it would be a nice gesture to give her something back for her hard work. I already sent Madonna (tween on Crochetville) her two doilies, the champagne-colored one and the big purple people eater. I hope she likes it. I wasn't able to block any of the pieces as we have a set of three year olds running around, pinned doilies somewhere in this small condominium would be disastrous if/when they get to it. So I hope those lovely ladies don't mind.

And finally, a random photo of moi.

HA! DONE!

And guess what? I'm working on yet another one. Mwahahahahaha.

Today's my day off (oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I got a job. YAY.) and I spent the whole day watching DVD's and finishing a doily using variegated blue thread. Beautiful. The doily is called "Cataract" and I think the variegated blue thread is definitely a fitting color for it.

In other news, I miss my husband. He left for Evansville last Tuesday to take care of things back there. He'll be back this January for good, so it's okay. It seems so long, but I think with this job and all my hobbies keeping me busy, time will be pass quickly. He will be with me again and I can hug and kiss him all I want. I am definitely looking forward to it.

It's a beautiful, ovecast day today. It's definitely going to rain. I would have wanted to go out, but reading (while eating hot puto* smothered in butter) next to a window while the rain is pouring outside is also wonderfully appealing. I'm definitely done with the Champagne-Colored Doily, all I have to do is block it and post pictures. Now I'm working on this:

See, this is why gauge is very important. This purple "doily" is turning into a huge people eater. I barely started with it and it's already more than eight inches wide. I just hope the lady who gets this for the Doily Swap will like it and will have somewhere to put it. I mean, it looks fairly impressive (READ: hella big) from where I'm looking, but I would also want it to be useful. Form follows function and all that.
People always ask me why I'm so crazy about crocheting and knitting. I can't say I'm crazy about it, but I definitely see how amazing it is to turn a pretty ball of yarn into something complicated. By manipulating string using a hook; twisting, turning, building it stitch by stitch, you come up with something that showcases its beauty even more. This is especially true when you make doilies. Not to mention, crocheting doilies is an exact art. Each stitch has a purpose in the whole scheme of things. If you miss a stitch or you put even one extra, it won't look right.

And finally, what bigger joy is there to know that you are capable of creating something beautiful with humble materials, that you speak and understand a code only a limited number of people in this world can know, and that you are helping carry on something that is thought to be a dying art? The knowledge is satisfying and wonderful, I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world.
*Puto is a kind of steamed cake made of rice flour. It's usually eaten in the morning with cheese or butter or both. It's wonderful with coffee or hot chocolate. Just thinking about it makes me gain five pounds. Mmmmm.

Current Work In Progress: The Champagne-Colored Doily

I found this beautiful Champagne-colored thread while browsing at my favorite craft store. It's the color of old parchment (or natural linen) with a gorgeous sheen. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it. I got the pattern from (again) Madonna Crochet Magazine Number 6. The pattern was fairly easy and I whipped through it like nobody's business.

It's obvious where I like to work, no? Now you can see what my sheets look like.

I'm going to work on another doily, or maybe a larger centerpiece after I'm done with this. This could be for the doily swap, or I might decide to keep it, who knows? The larger doily is definitely for the swap. The lady I'm making the doily for likes purple and I found the perfect shade of purple in my stash. It's the closest thing I can get to Cadbury purple, only the thread is a little richer in tone.

In other news, it's so HOT! I'm planning to frog the Klaralund sweater I did back in Evansville. It's too large for me (wow, who would have ever thought that was a possibility?) and I spent too much money on the Kureyon for it to be shoved in a closet, never to be used.

So much to do, but I'm definitely not complaining!