Hello 2013

Alright so I know it has been a very long time since my last post (looks embarassed) but between working, being sick, and then the craziness of trying to get everything ready for the holidays the blog slipped my mind. So to catch up - no I did not get a job with the mortgage company that I was temping for over the summer. They moved to Texas and while I was offered a position I decided to stay in Tucson with David. You may remember David was about to become extremely busy preparing for his grant proposal and orals back in June. Although most of you know this, I will state again that yes he did pass and is now working in the lab full time. He is much more relaxed now.

 So after my long-term temp job ended in mid-September, I did some short (only a few days long short) temp assignments but mostly I worked on Christmas gifts. The main one was a lap-sized blanket for Melissa and Derek since their first wedding anniversary was Jan 3rd. So I managed to find yarn in her wedding colors and luck was on my side since the colors that were dye-lot only were on sale. Side note: I hate dye-lots and often avoid purchasing certain brands so I don't have to buy all my yarn at once - I prefer to purchase as I need which helps keep the amount of yarn in my apartment to a somewhat manageable level. The blanket was made in 3 panels, then stitched together and edged as a whole. The hardest section was the center - for some reason the afghan stitch really bothered my arm/elbow if I worked on it for too long. It was definitely worth it in the end - Melissa loved it!

Their names from the center panel.

The edging and the colors.

I could not get a good shot of the entire blanket but you can get an idea from the two pictures. I also made little luggage tags since there was some leftover yarn. The luggage tags are great. I made a set for David and myself to use on our luggage. They are a perfect size - big enough to see easily on the baggage claim but small enough to not come undone on the plane.

Then I made presents for my family. For my little sister, a set of luggage tags that look like the German flag (she loves all things German and has made several trips to the country with plans for more) and a mug/cup cozy she can use on her many Starbucks runs so she doesn't burn her fingers. My mother requested slippers in pink and yellow. Fair warning, they are bright and it hurt my eyes to crochet them! Finally, I wanted to get my dad something Jimmy Buffet themed (he is a huge fan) but nothing caught my eye. The solution? I made him his own parrot to put up in his home office.

Pardon the lack of eyes. I didn't do the eyes until after we arrived in GA and failed to take a picture.

The next big project I have is to make a baby blanket for a friend of mine who is due in May. She wants a pink ripple with a ruffled edge. I also found a pattern for a purse organizer - I finished stitching one but I still need to felt it before it is ready to go. Then once I master felting, I can make the ones for my mother and mother-in-law.

I received a new set of crochet hooks this year - bamboo ones! I am so excited because I have wanted bamboo hooks for a long time. I've been making crocheted cases to keep my hooks in since my little bag is finally starting to die (it could be that I have overloaded that poor bag with all my hooks) and I have just the pattern for this new set of bamboo ones. Once I finish, I will post pictures.

Otherwise, nothing exciting is going on here in Tucson. We're still settling back in from our trip and pricing flights for our trip back to GA for a friend's wedding. It looks like it will cost us lots more for that trip then it did for our Christmas trip. Sigh.