Crochet Catch-up!

Hiiiii!!!!

I've been super ghost in the blogosphere due to comp technical difficulties, but now I'm back in business! (After a lot of struggle, I found that my charger had gone bad.)

Let's see what I've been up to...

I wrote about this blanket when it was just in the beginning stages. I used everyone's favorite colors in it so I suppose you could call it a family afghan or whatever. I think it turned out pretty nicely. My dad got it like a week after father's day and said he liked it. Huzzah!! 

BUT... I lost in the imaginary 'best gift' competition to my little brother.
He gave my dad a screwdriver and a card that said:
"From a son who still thinks his dad can fix everything."
When dad told me about the card... I cried.  And cried.  And sniffled for like 10 minutes.
Yes.  I'm a total softy.

Back to crafty bits!  I finished the white & yellow chevron blanket.  It took a really long time and I don't know if I'll make another one just because. Here's some pictures ^.^

Of course Kiva approves of the new blanket.  I must admit, putting the edging on was THE most frustrating part of the whole process! I'm pretty sure that the stitching is wrong. Oh well... it's cuddly just the same :)

...see... cuddly...

That's about it for this catch-up post :) And now that my computer is back in proper working order, I'll definitely be around. Bye bye ghost-caleisha!

My Natural Hair

So today I'm going to do something that I don't normally do :) and that is talk to you about my hair!

I have been "loose natural" for about 3 years and change now, and before that I had locs for about 4 years... I think... honestly, I lose track.  Anywho, my hair mostly falls into two of the hair typing categories- 4B & 4C.  This pretty much means my head has strands that are super kinky with no discernible curl pattern and some that do have a curl pattern.  The individual strands are thick and densely packed together... Umm... my particular hair texture is one that cannot abide a 'wash-n-go' because it is quick to tangle and prone to massive shrinkage.

Recently (as you may know), I moved from Huntsville, AL to Orlando, FL.  The biggest new thing hairwise is the humidity!  Oh. My. Word!!!!!  Pretty much, on really humid days, I can count on my hair poofing up a couple of inches.  Hello Frizzball!

Speaking of my new friend humidity, I blow dried my hair this past weekend just to try something different.  I was sweating like a pig in the bathroom with the blow dryer on high just to knock some of the kink out of my strands.  When I finished, I felt all fancy and whatnot as Lamar & I left to have lunch at his parents' house.  This was me in the car:

nevermind the stank look on my face... I don't know what that's about lol

We were not in the car for more than 10 minutes when the sky burst forth in MAJOR rain! I mean pull over cuz you can't see rain...  Monsoon rain... Ugh. My life is hard.  Here's the hair post rain and I didn't even get it wet!  This was just from all the moisture in the air!

This stank face here is for Mother Nature!

Whyyyy Mother Nature!?!?!?!?! Why must you persecute meeeee!?!?!?!

The next style was a bantu-knot out. So I had one day of curls until the humidity swooped in again and smashed that hairstyle.

Fluffy fluffy curly hair ^.^

I dont even have a picture of my hair the day after my curly day... just imagine a big afro with curly bits. Not too too bad, but it was BIG and kept me too hot at work.

As my next styling attempt on the blown out hair, I twisted it down.  The best thing about this is that I can actually SEE the length of my hair.  That's a big thing because anyone with 4b/c hair will tell you that it shrinks.  My straightened hair comes down to around the bottom of my shoulder blade length, but if I dunk my head in water and let it dry, that same hair will shrink up into a tight afro about 5-6 inches long.  Kind of amazing come to think of it...

So, that was fun. Taking all this time to talk about my hair.  I thought it would be something different and unique to share. Or maybe I just wanted to show you something that isnt made of yarn ^.^ lol!

I hope you're having a great day! Peace!

Pimp Slapped: A How I'm Feeling Post

So this morning I woke up feeling rather down.  Like little miss Melancholy came and smacked moody all over my face.  I haven't been able to shake it much.  I'm almost resigned to just let it ride today and hope for a better tomorrow. *sigh* 

I will not go back to bed.

I will keep moving at least.

I will wash the dishes & finish the laundry.

I will crochet on my dad's blanket.

I will sweep the house.

I will allow the 'blues' to exist and run its course without taking over the day.

I will acknowledge any negative thoughts, explain to myself why they are not true, and not dwell on them.

I will get dressed in bright colors.

I will stay engaged in this day despite the very strong desire to check out of it.

I'm going to take a shower now and put on some music.  I guess Mel will be riding around with me today, and that's alright.  She just doesn't get to call any of the shots.  Please send up a little prayer of encouragement for me today if you have a second.

Thanks.

What's on My Hook? #23: Granny Patchwork Blanket

Ello Friends!!

I have officially begun my 3rd crochet blanket since moving to Florida.  It's kinda funny that this has been my activity in the Sunshine state where the temp's already gotten up into the 90s... I really can't get enough of the yarny-goodness... *shrug*

Top: Delta Blue, Lime Green, Cherry Red.
Bottom: Lavender, Paddy Green, Royal, Soft Navy.

Sorry for the crappy lighting in the picture above... I guess that's what I get for settling for instagram pictures instead of reg camera ones.  Anywho, this blanket is going to be my dad's father's day gift.  So that gives me like 2 weeks to finish it.  That's totally possible. I'm doing another Granny Patchwork Blanket (you can see my first one here).

Whenever I make gifts for anyone, I tend to get really symbolic in the choices I make. For instance, since this blanket is for my dad, I was originally going to limit it to 4 colors- his, mine, & my brothers' favorite colors... but then I decided to add in the favorite colors of dad's wife and her kids. Might as well right.

So I was up super late Tuesday night figuring out the stripe patterns for the 26 total squares the blanket calls for.  It took me a while because I got a wee bit OCD and found myself making stripe patterns that told stories- like there's one that the 1st and 5th stripes are my dad's color and the 2nd-4th are me & the bros.  In my head this is the square where my dad is hugging us.  (Cheese much? lol) This is the final rundown of all the blocks.

...looks like a secret code...

Pretty much, this is my roadmap for dad's blanket.  Looks easy enough.

I also designed one for my mom using the same color concept.  Hers will have our 4 colors plus white.  I wrote out her roadmap Tuesday night, so when I finish dad's I can jump right into it if I want.

That's about it for now and of course there'll be progress shots and updates along the way.  I'm excited to get this piece underway and for my dad to get it for father's day!

~Peace

Bad Blogger... New Knitter

Ok guys... I am so ashamed of my non-blog-writing and whatnot. Over the last few weeks I kept thinking, "hmmm... I should blog about this..." but then I don't.  Does that ever happen to you?

Anyway, I figure I should give you a bit of an update.  Umm... On the crafting front, I recently learned how to knit continental style. Which makes knitting SO MUCH EASIER! Oh.My.Gosh! I can knit!!!!  [insert celebratory dancing]

Toot has developed a habit of digging the squeakers out of her toys and playing with them. And since I'm always scared that she's gonna choke on them, I decided to practice my new-found knitting SKILLZ and make a thing for the squeaker to go in. Luckily she approves of my workmanship. 



After doing the dog toy in garter stitch, I decided to try my hand at stockinette.  Purling continental style is kinda hard, but manageable.  Oh! Also, one of the biggest things I've noticed is that my tension is a lot more consistent now.  When I was trying to knit the standard way, my knit stitches were considerably tighter than my purl stitches making the whole activity difficult.  Now the tension is even because I'm use to managing the yarn with my left hand.

Any crocheters out there who want to learn to knit should def try continental.  I thumbs up this method!

I made a little bow out of the stockinette swatch... and then got a little obsessed with bows.




After knitting the one bow, I decided to crochet the rest.  I now have the 3 pictured above (which I'll be adding hairpins to the backs) and a black one attached to a hair tie for work.  I think I have rediscovered my love for little yarn accessories ^.^ 

That's it y'all! Some of my bits that have been on my hooks and needles.  I have a new finished piece to share really soon & I'm excited about it.  I promise to have that up this week!  Goodnight :)