A Finished Baby Blanket

Today I delivered Elsbeth's baby blanket as my gift to her and her about-to-be-born baby girl, Harmony. I am excited to see her sweet child in a month or so. Soon I will be done with Taylor's Christmas gift and I still don't know what I'm getting Mary. I have Mom done and I still need to order Nick's. I will upload pictures of Taylor's things after Christmas is over. I don't want her to happen upon my blog and see the pictures by accident.

Mary, my mentor and third mother, is on the job market. Which means she could be gone next semester. I decided that she is a valkyrie and therefore I went out of my way to get ahold of the "Creepy Cute Crochet" book and that pattern online that has the slight changes which creates a valkyrie. She has always been there for me and I want her to have something of mine to take with her. She is the reason I have the courage to write and be who I am now.

And another note: my grandmother is not doing well. I plan on visiting her this weekend frequently to ensure that I get as much time with her as possible. She may not last but a few weeks or a few months, its hard to tell. She is 81, you know. So I have work in 30 minutes. Not excited. But after work, I'm going to finish Taylor's gift and start on Mary's.

I still don't have gifts for: Mary (sister), David (stepdad), Doug (dad) and King. Maybe I'll get King her first taste of Coach. Maybe.

Sock Monkey Pattern

Black Hole and my eiffel tower lamp.


Mr. Quackers and my lamp.

Here it is! My first sock monkey pattern from scratch. Let me know if you have any questions.

Sock Monkey Pattern

Size H Hook
Color A White
Color B Red
Main Color Grey (or whatever color you want your sock monkey to be)

** Note. If you want to use black safety eyes, then make sure you attach them while crocheting the head before fully closing the head up.

First leg
R1 with color A, 6sc in adjustable ring
R2 2 sc in each ch around (12st)
R3 * 3sc, 2sc in same st* three times (15 st)
R4 - R11 sc 15
stuff, change to main color
R12 – R27 sc 15
fasten off, stuff the rest of the way.

Second leg
Work same as first leg but do not fasten off. Slip st to last st on the first leg. sc 35 (all the way around both legs)
(now this becomes the body)
stuff the legs before you start the body

Body
R1 – R18 sc 35
R19 * 2sc, dec 1* eleven times
R20 * 1sc, dec 1* eleven times
(now it switches to the head)
stuff the body

Head
R1 * sc in next st, 2 sc in next st* six times
R2 * sc in next st, 2 sc in next st* nine times
R3 * 2 sc, 2 sc in next st* twelve times
R4 – R15 sc 42
change to color A
R16-17 sc 42
R18 * 3 sc, 1 dec* six times
R19 * 2 sc, 1 dec* six times
R20 * 2 sc, 1 dec* six times
R21 * 1 sc, 1 dec* six times
R22 * 1 sc, 1 dec* six times
stuff, then finish decreasing until you can’t anymore, finish off, tuck in ends.

Arms, Tail (make 3, obviously)
R1 with color A, 6 sc in adjustable ring
R2 2 sc in each st around (12st)
R3 * 3 sc, 2 sc in next st* three times
R4 – R11 sc 15
switch to main color
R12 – R25 sc 15
stuff and sew open ends together, sew arms to body close to neck, sew tail on the backside, between the legs

Muzzle
R1 with color B, ch 17. sc 1, 3 sc in next st, sc 14, 2 sc in next st, slip stitch to first stitch.
R2 with color A, sc 10, 3 sc in next st, sc 9, 3 sc in next st
R3 sc 11, 3 sc in next st, sc 10, 3 sc in next st
R4 sc 12, 3 sc in next st, sc 13, 3 sc in next st
finish off. use a little bit of red yarn to sew the red mouth together. then use white yarn to sew the mouth halfway on to the head, stuff, sew a little more, finish stuffing, then finish sewing the mouth. tuck in ends.

sew black buttons on for the eyes, if you did not use the black safety buttons earlier.

Black Hole and Mr. Quackers

I know it has been a really long time since I've posted, but I have good reason-- I swear! School started up again (craziness?) and I started my new job so I'm going a little crazy trying to work out time to do all my homework and crocheting. But I managed to finish my sock monkey pattern that I made from scratch!! I'm so excited that I'm going to share it with you all (once I get back to my apartment, after work, of course) and upload lots of pictures of it!

His name is Black Hole and I will be giving him to Nick in two weeks when he comes to visit. So excited. I'm also giving him a small duck that I made him from Ana Paula's Amigurumi book. Super cute stuff, you should look her up if you ever want cute stuffed animals that infants aren't supposed to play with because of the small parts! Lol. I love making them for my friends and family because they're adorable and not one looks exactly like the other because they are handmade. Anyways. More good news! A new craft store opened up by my university called Lib's Place. She's not in the phone books or yellowpages yet but she will be! She opened up a few weeks ago and she carries my favorite brand: Lion, but more specifically, Vanna. Love love love Vanna. Its tough but soft to make a strong stuffed friend that will last longer than your typical store-bought animal. And I can choose whichever stuffing I want, and I usually buy the cheap hypo-allergenic fluff.

I finally got over my sickness and I cannot wait to post the pictures for everyone to see! I set up the animals next to my eiffel tower lamp on top of my desk. I think it gives the pictures character, but then again you guys might feel differently! I just started on Elsbeth's blanket. Mags and I are making simple granny squares out of Vanna Baby Sweet Pea and Goldfish and bordering it in Ducky. Her yarn was on sale at BF 3 for 5 when we went, so I stocked up then. I'm sure we'll need a few more skeins, but I'll worry about that later. Hopefully when I go to buy more, BF will have another sale and I will be home or somewhere near there.

I don't think I'll be making any new from-scratch patterns until I have need to save some money on a certain, special pattern. But keep an eye out for a little cute one, maybe I'll make a pin cushion some time! Well I have to go take count in the Library. I'll post more later tonight!

-Cass

21st Birthday - At the Beach

I went to Virginia Beach yesterday for my birthday. Let me start by saying that the drive is only and hour and 20 minutes if you go 5-7 over the speed limit and don't go during rush hours. Now that we have THAT out of the way, I left around 8AM because I thought it would take me at least 2 hours. Nope. Got there at 9:25AM (5min detour at one point, the GPS messed up) and woke two hungover lovies up (Mary and Nick). We laid around in the king-sized bed at Sunshine Inn Suites til Nick finally went to go get some coffee and see to a parking pass for my car for the night. He took a good 30 minutes as I explained to Mary that I knew mom would talk to her about Nick and I's break up (and how he went straight to mom after we broke up to apologize. kinda cute, I suppose) and then he came back with three coffees and a shark (named Fred) and a stolen flower. We laughed and joked while they both got ready and then went to eat breakfast at a little cafe carved into a hotel across the street. We then went to one of those non-descript beachy stores to grab me some black bottoms and then we took our merchandise back to the room before renting out some bikes.

We rode our bikes mostly down the boardwalk strip to check out potential places for dinner. Most places conveniently had their menu in plain sight outside of the restaurant for easy touristy access. After riding up and down the 15 blocks a few times, we decided to hit up 15th Street Raw Bar for dinner and a mexican cuisine for some cocktails and appetizers. We returned the bikes and went to shower up before cocktail time. By this time it's about 5PM and we're sitting at a random bar, me with my first legal margarita. It was pretty good- had the house margarita with salt. I drank most of it but not "all" of it because the ice melted pretty quickly outside. We then found another place where we had chips and salsa. I only drank water here because I didn't want to get drunk too fast or get sick. We stopped by a taffy shop so I could get some salt water taffy. I also purchased two necklaces, one green and one white. We all wanted to do the old time photos, so we went over to the shop to check it out. Mary and I had been talking about which era would be the coolest to dress up in and concluded we would all be southern belles and nick could be a gangster cowboy.

Then we finally went to 15th St Raw Bar for some oysters, crab dip, and hush puppies as well as a bottle of wine. I'm not a big wine drinker, turns out, but I had a full glass to get used to it. Nick bought us shots of tequila, and we all took one. It was about 9PM when we walked back to the hotel room. We weren't fully ready to go dancing just yet, so we decided to play Super Mario on my SNES (that I left in my car from the last time). Mary is ridiculously good at this game! You should've seen her. She was zipping through the levels like they were candy. Nick was getting upset because he apparently beat this game before but he was very rusty. He vowed to buy the system and game so that he could get better and beat Mary. After refreshing our make up, we went out to seek a dance bar around 11PM. The first place we went into the people were already completely wasted. It wasn't my kind of crowd either. The second place we tried didn't let Nick in because he was wearing "athletic wear" (he had on a redskins jersey). The third place was just like the second place in this retrospect and made all of us bitch and complain that a place wouldn't let a guy with a jersey on into the bar but they'd let the girls in wearing next to nothing.

So we settled into this place called The Boxx for a bit. It was pretty much deserted. The bartender made me a pink drink. I think it had vodka in it. Anyways, it was pretty good and Mary and I danced on the elevated dance floor next to the front door for 15 minutes while Nick drank his beer. Then we went to the place that Mary and Nick visited the night before called Sharks (I think thats how you spell it, maybe Sharkx or something). The bartender recognized both of them and made me a free drink.. it was blue and very strong. We played cornhole and two women who were completely trashed were playing Michael Jackson songs over and over again and doing some crazy dance moves. We went back to the hotel after this and I forced myself to drink a full liter of water before bed. I have to say I passed out around 2:30AM.

I left this morning around 10:30 and got back at noon. I've been trying to get rid of my queasyness all day long, actually. Its almost gone. I'm thinking a few more glasses of water and some more crackers will kill it. I don't really get hangovers but I do get nauseous.

It was CRAZY and FUN and I would do it all over again.

Hats and dragons, oh my!

So I'm SUCH a slacker! I know I haven't been on here in awhile, so here goes. Let's jump back to March 26th, shall we? Amazing date night! Went to Comfort for dinner and then had theater tickets to see Wicked at Landmark Theatre in Richmond, VA. Glinda stole the show -- the usual woman that plays Elphaba wasn't in that night, Annie Drummel played the role. And I mean.. she is okay. But Glinda was hysterical! "Toss, toss, mmmmmm!" That is the only line I can thoroughly remember. And "What is this Feeling?" was definitely my favorite song out of the entire play. And I liked how Wicked connected to the Wizard of Oz.

On another note, Nick gave me a promise ring. It's beautiful and I'll upload a picture here in a bit. I gave him his dragon (which I proudly finished). I also completed a white hat for myself. I'm still trying to decide whether or not to keep it for myself or sell it because its a bit snug. Lol. I think it might be meant for those girls who have smaller heads. Mine is gianormous.

Here's the promise ring he gave me:

Here's the dragon I made for him, and the hat after it:

Well Mags wants a drink from Java and we want to see Deborah. Maybe I'll have more time later to talk about the past few weeks. I still have to tell you about Easter weekend. :) Have a good day!

Sick! Yuuuuckyyy.

So I decided to write a blog during Children's Lit. So boring and we talk about the same general things but "insert here" examples from the current book on the reading list. I'm too lazy to find the pictures of the granny squares, sorry loves. Did I mention that I'm making a cupcake pin cushion? It's going to come in handy when I need pins to hold bits of animals together while I sew on ears, body, etc. I might make a doily next. I bought this sz 7 steel hook. Now I just need to decide what doily pattern and yarn I need / want to do. Also, I brought the dark green yarn that I originally used to start a sc scarf and want to make Nick something for our 1st year in 2 1/2 weeks. I don't know if he reads this, so I won't say anything about what I'm making here. I know as soon as I finish typing this up I need to sew on Tay's buttons to finish her bear. She was pretty upset about me not having it finished over break. I feel guilty about it. maybe I should finish my homework and print out the poems/pieces for workshop tonight first.

I really wish I could go to the wedding this Saturday. I'm pretty upset that I can't see him more than Friday night but I'll deal. I miss him but I know he can't and doesn't want to deal with a high maintenance girlfriend while he's trying to "enjoy his break." I think its funny that I spent my entire break seeing him and he wants a break from everything and to "enjoy himself." I guess I'll just have to minimize my dependence on him. Maybe Taylor will fill in the gaps.

School is back in session and I can't wait to get my own apartment so that Mags and I can breathe. I can't have Nick down because she'll get too depressed and she can't enjoy alone time with Ken on the phone unless I'm out of the room. I miss having a kitchen and a double sized bed, too. Maybe the matress won't be comfrotable, but it can't be as bad as the mattress I'm sleeping on now. Oh, and the ability to cook! And make biscuits in pjs! And not have to worry about drgging all my cooking items to a down/upstairs kitchen and wash it there and take it back and put it all back. And not have to worry too much about whether or not a group of people are using the lounge or the kitchen.

Is it bad that I'd rather be home than at school? I miss Mags, but I miss my parents and the relaxing feeling of being near Nick and just knowing I have my own bed (not that I'm ever home, anyhow). Nick is staying in the same apartment because the price is good and he has access to campus. I'm not too upset but I don't think I will ever get used to the smoke smell. Richard made a decent attempt to include us one night, though. It was cool hanging out with them and I wouldn't mind doing it again. Regardless of nNick's opnion, I don't mind hanging out with "guys" or watching video games. Games that last for extended periods of time, however, get pretty boring especially Halo and when I don't have anything to do. I just don't play that mandy video games anymore. I suppose if I had guitar hero again I would play more often but not hours on end. The only thing I play now for more than an hour at a time is my gameboy color. Lame? Perhaps. I have two, technically, but Tay is leveling up the other Pokemon for me. I'll be able to beat the game both ways eventually.

Day ??

I stopped counting days-- its pointless now. I finished my little sister's teddy bear in Vanna's Choice dark purple (I'm too lazy to look up the real name of the skein of yarn) and its a little smaller than the other two bears because I wanted to make sure I had enough yarn to complete it (and I also sorta, kinda, maybe misread the pattern the first go-round, so I ended up experimenting with the size a bit). I haven't touched the two skeins of yarn for my own blanket. I'm putting that one on hold for a little while as I finish my granny squares. Then, before I do the border, I plan on going through the skeins for my own blanket and picking back up on the border.

I'm stumped as to what to make next. I was thinking about making something to sell online, perhaps a simple scarf in a soft, colorful yarn but I'm not sure. I was thinking about making a dish towel like Mags did. That thing is useful and soaks up a decent amount of water. But also, I want to try out doilies, so thats the next little project on my list! I'm interested in making the 5-point pineapple, or whatever it was called. I'll have to look at it again.

I'll upload a picture of some of my granny squares tomorrow-- Mags is asleep and there isn't enough lighting to take a proper picture at the moment. As far as life goes, I finally figured out why my boss wouldnt put me on the schedule: I don't answer the phones. Can you believe that? He refused to put me on the schedule because I wasn't running around with my head cut off while waiting for my pizzas to come out of the damn oven! Goodness. Besides, the last manager, Steven, never trained me to answer them or use the ordering screen. I know the screen isn't too hard but I made sure Lily took me through it before attempting a true phone in. The first lady was very patient and nice but I almost let my order run late because I was taking the call. Sometimes I wonder why people get so awry and awful when they're managers and people don't do exactly what they want them to.

I mean, seriously, how hard is it to pick up the phone and call and tell me about what I'm doing wrong like a regular, normal boss would? If I need improvement, then tell me and I will legitimately work on my weak points. But goodness, I shouldn't have to find out through a 16 year old CSR that the manager is mad and won't tell me why I haven't been on the schedule. Oh well, some people still haven't developed those skills, I suppose. Anyway, luckily the store owner was kind enough to work me and told the general manager to put me back on the schedule. Most of the workers don't like the general manager and say he's a jerk. I have to concur.

Anyhow, I better get going. I know I should be doing something productive so I'm considering getting my little book light out and reading. Not sure what I'm going to read... but maybe I'll be able to play my Game Boy before I go to bed if the light is bright enough. Goodnight!

Disney?!

So one of my goals in life by the time I have my first child is to own all the classic and "new" disney movies. The ones I have:

-Meet the Robinsons
-Beauty and the Beast
-The Nightmare Before the Christmas
-Spirited Away

Classic movies I've yet to own:
-Fox and the Hound
-Bambi
-Dumbo
-Sleeping Beauty
-Cinderella
-Aladdin
-The Lion King
-The Jungle Book
-Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
-Alice in Wonderland
-Peter Pan
-Lady and the Tramp
-101 Dalmations
-The Aristocats
-The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
-Oliver & Company
-The Little Mermaid
-The Rescuers
-The Rescuers Down Under
-Pocahontas
-The Hunchback of Notre Dame
-Hercules
-Mulan
-Tarzan
-Toy Story

Classic List Total: 25

More recent / not classics:
-The Emperor's New Groove
-Lilo and Stitch
-Lion King 2
-Lady and the Tramp 2
-Tarzan 2
-Mulan 2
-Toy Story 2
-Toy Story 3
-Brother Bear
-Brother Bear 2
-Aladdin 2: Return of Jafar
-Aladdin 3: King of Thieves
-Castle in the Sky
-Kiki's Delivery Service
-Princess Mononoke
-Cars
-A Bug's Life
-Chicken Little
-The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
-The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
-Dinosaur
-An Extremely Goofy Movie
-A Goofy Movie
-Finding Nemo
-The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2
-Howl's Moving Castle
-The Incredibles
-James and the Giant Peach
-Jungle Book 2
-The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning
-The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea
-The Lizzie McGuire Movie
-Mary Poppins
-Monsters Inc.
-Ratatouille
-Up
-Arabian Knight

Non-Classics List total: 37
Complete total: 62

Thats a SHITTON of movies but that's my goal. :) Maybe by the time I have my first child is too soon? I mean, I plan on having kids between the age of 26 and 30, depending on when Nick and I get married. I'm almost 21 now. So thats 62 divided by 5....about 12.4 movies per year if I'm to finish on time. Oh goodness, I better start working...

Day 45, A Thorough Accomplishment

I sold my PSP on eBay, decided it was time since I don't play it any more, and received a decent amount for it as well as the games. This allowed me to purchase some brown yarn to start Nick's teddy bear. I made him a brown teddy bear with a purple honey pot and a brown heart to put inside the pot. I made myself a matching bear in purple with a brown honey pot and a purple heart to go with it. I do not have a picture of his teddy bear because it is sitting on his dresser, but here is a picture of mine. When the bears reunite sometime in the future (a week from tomorrow) I'll take a couple's shot. :)

The money flow into my account let me purchase a few more skeins for my blanket! I flew through the last one I had and now I'm working in another. Here are some things I may or may not have mentioned that's happened in the past 20 or so days:

-I dropped the internship officially so that I could focus on excelling in Latin.

-I am quite excelling in Latin. I scored an 82 and 88 on my first two tests.

-Nick and I celebrated our 10 month anniversary! After 11 months, this will officially be my longest relationship that I have had.

-Work hasn't scheduled me in awhile. They "lost" my request slip. I think they're secretly trying to fire me, but that may just be superstition.

-My next project is making my little sister a purple bear. Then the project after that will be a granny square baby blanket. (No, I am not pregnant, but I do have a skein of babysoft.)

Okay, back to my blanket. :) I'll get a picture of that work-in-progress once it looks, uh, nicer... 'cause my ends suck. :) Bye!

Day 25, A Pause

Unfortunately, I'm on the last skein I can afford for the moment. My parents informed me that they can't afford to put much more into my bank account. So I'm going home as often as possible and I'm making two savings funds:

1) Grocery money for next year
2) General spending / savings money.

Mags found us two seniors to pull us up into the Landings apartment above the bookstore (convenient? I think so). So now I'll be within walking distance to campus, have my own double sized bed and own room, have a KITCHEN!!, and I'll be able to save a shitton of money by cooking fresh food and living off the leftovers. I'm super excited.

I'm on a health kick right now. I went to the gym yesterday and have decided that I'm going to try to go Monday / Wednesday evenings after my 530PM class and T / R mornings before my 11AM. I'm actually considering about doing a class that they offer at the Health and Wellness Center, but I'll have to check it out first because I may not be able to consistently go to that class if homework gets in the way. I also went to Wally World and spent a little money on some fresh fruit for snacks. I didn't bother buying bananas or apples because I can just take some of those from the Dining Hall, but I did get a delicious, ripe mango as well as some soft plums. I haven't tried the plums yet, but the banana (that I took from Dhall) and the mango tasted so good together.

Well I have to get into the shower, scrub up, dress, and then eat breakfast / study for my Latin vocabulary quiz. Wish me luck and signing out!

Day 14

I'm as caught up as I can be. I added Paula's blog-- she has adorable little stuffed animals that I want to try out. I might even buy her book. The teddy bear on her page is something Nick wants me to make him. Hehe. That shall be an interesting project: learning my first pattern! I've never followed a pattern before.

I'm using Red Heart yarn and on my third "ball." Its going to be so warm! I can't wait to use it when I get sick!

This weekend Nick came down to visit. He drove me crazy and I absolutely loved every minute of it. We had a few conversations on the subjects of tattoos, houses, jobs, and the like. He's looking for a new job and I'm hoping he'll keep his mind open to what he classifies as "lower" jobs. I don't particularly make a shitton of money with my minimum wage hourly + tips job, either, but hey.. its a job during a rough time and I do not plan on getting fired anytime soon! We made several trips to wally world, one with his friend Zach who is interesting and smiles often, one by ourselves for new underwear, and one with mags because we were bored.

I bought two packets of eyeshadow and new underwear. I bought the underwear because I'm trying to go 2 weeks without doing laundry (if I can help it) to reduce laundry fees. Its $3.00 a load here! Wayyy expensive when I could just go home every once in awhile and do laundry there for free.

Well I'm going to go back and see if I can complete another row tonight! Goodnight and sweet dreams, all.

Day 10

So my roommate, Mags, told me I had to do a positive countdown list. Here we go:

1 Day until I see my boyfriend, Nick.
Only 40 more Latin classes until I'm done with my foreign language requirement.
Approximately 5 months until my 21st birthday.
Less than 3 months until Nick and I celebrate our one year anniversary.
About 7 months until I travel to West Virginia with Nick and Alan for our second annual vacation together.

If I think of any more, I'll add them later. I need to study Latin and take random breaks with crocheting! (By the way, I'm pretty sure I'm 2 lines behind, now).

Day 6

I'm on my 7th row (I think, I'm not even sure how to count the stitches anymore...) and I'm back at Longwood now. I have office hours today and then my first class tonight at 5:30-- Brit Lit! I'm kind of excited about Brit Lit, I'm hoping it will be as interesting as Children Lit is sounding.

I'm worried about my analytical piece for my panel presentation. Its starting to sound more and more scary. Not the presentation part, you know, getting up in front of people part, but just writing what I'm going to say and taking up a full ten minutes... THAT part is scary. Because I talk fast. And I get a tad bit nervous. And I'll probably talk in circles. But I'll have my amazing support system of a panel and my fellow interns and of course the grad students and Mary to keep my head on straight and keep me from embarassing myself before I go up there.

On a lighter note, Nick is coming down on Friday afternoon and staying until Sunday. Then Mags and I are going to Rue 21 in Mechanicsville on Monday over Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which we blissfully have off.

Well, I'm going to shower and work on my stitches. This is me signing out-- and hopefully staying on my goal: a row a day (assuming I have the yarn to do so).

Day 1

Hey there, I'm Cassie and I love to read, read, read. But you know what? Enough about how many books I've bought (and haven't had the time to go through and read just yet), and more about my new passion: crocheting. Its fun, relaxing, and, although time consuming, I'm improving. I started my first project, the scarf for my boyfriend, Nick, but that didn't happen because the single stitch was so tight and so tiny that I felt like it was taking too long, so I decided to start a new project...Crochet My Blanket! This is going to go on for quite some time, I'm afraid, since I rarely have time to actually crochet. I managed a row and a half with triple stitch. I don't know if I'm going to continue with the triple stitch or switch it up or not.

When I'm done with my blanket, I hope to tackle doilies and little creatures. They are sooo cute. :) Zombie dolls are on the top of my list-- after watching my roommate Mags do them, I seriously wanted a set of my own. Alas, I have run out of time -- must get ready for Nick's and test out this new game, Sonic the Hedgehog on PS3. Did I mention that I love video games? Woooooooo graphics and free internet!