Month of Macro: Crochet projects

For a while now, I've been crocheting hats to donate to a good cause.

The other day I wanted to count up how many I had crocheted so far...

And once they were all unpacked from the various places I had stored them, I decided to snap a few photos with my macro lens.

It was so interesting seeing what the hats looked like up-close.

Even though I used the same stitch for all the hats...

Since I used different yarns...

Each one looked so different up-close!

See what I mean?

I especially like this shot, because it makes my stitches look really even (even though they usually aren't)!

And this one shows the braided tassels on a snowboarder-type hat!

Of course, I'm always in the midst of a new project...

So I took some photos of that as well. From the hook...

To the yarn...

I think it looks pretty cool- and I can't wait to see the finished product!

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you had a great weekend!

My vacation is over already?

Well folks, I'm back in NYC... I can't believe my long weekend is already over! I haven't had a chance to upload photos from Minneapolis yet (and those might take all week to share, considering my shutter-button addiction... I'm pretty sure that's a real thing!), but I would like to share a little something with you today:

I am tired of carrying my luggage.

It it no secret that I am cursed with a need to pack for EVERY POSSIBLE OCCASION (it's a family-thing, I swear!). In my suitcase you can always find outerwear for any weather situation, enough crafts to keep me busy for however long I'll be away, a myriad of first aid paraphernalia, and more- not to mention my clothes and shoes. Normally I would pack this into the trunk of my car and be on my way. But since I'm living in NYC sans car, I'm literally bearing the brunt of my stuff.

To be more specific, here are the bags I took to Minneapolis.
A carry-on rolling suitcase, a shoulder bag, and a purse. Not too bad, right?

WRONG!

With a little Internet research, I realized that I dragged this stuff 4.4 miles, up 9 flights of stairs, down 14 flights of stairs, on 8 different subway trains, and through 2 different airports. Can you believe it? To say that I'm tired of schlepping this stuff around is an understatement... and yet, I have a feeling that when I pack for another trip in July, I won't remember this feeling! :)

In happier news, I got to go to Michael's while I was in MSP! (Isn't that sad? Our hotel was really close to a Michael's and a Walmart, and I was SO excited!) Here's a little something I started for the WWII veterans with some clearance yarn I found for $.99/skein.
I hope you had a WONDERFUL Memorial Day weekend- I can't wait to catch up on everyone else's blogs and fill you in on my adventures in the next few days! Happy Tuesday!

Learning how to be a better "hooker"

First things first- guess what I found yesterday?

Unsweetened ICED TEA at the Wendy's by my office. This is a HUGE deal! The entire time that I've worked here (which has been 369 days), the Wendy's next door has not served iced tea. In what I've noticed to be a STARTLING trend, most fast-food stores in NYC don't serve iced tea, and those that do only serve the "sweet-tea" version (gag me). I had to re-up yesterday during my lunch hour, so I was running short on time when it came to getting food. I can't tell you how EXCITED I was to see that giant, silver tea dispenser, glittering behind the counter next to the french fry station. Maybe I'll have to go over there and get one today... JUST to make sure it's still there! ;)

In other news, I took a crochet class last night. For real. As you've already seen, I can do a basic stitch, but since I can't read a pattern, I've been pretty limited to what I can make. I was doing a little Internet research and found out that Lion Brand Yarn has a studio at Union Square- perfect!

So last night, I took "Crochet II"- and boy did I learn a lot! First of all, our teacher was the coolest; not only did she have a degree in knitting/crochet design from FIT, but she was an Alvin Ailey Company dancer for over 20 years... how awesome is that? My fellow classmates were on the weirder side: one kept forgetting how to do things and told us it was because she "took her medicine" and it made her forget, while another one kept looking at my sample and telling me what I did wrong only to have the teacher tell her that mine was correct and HERS was wrong. There were only 5 students, so I felt that I got a lot of attention/help from the teacher. Here are some pics of what I worked on in class (don't worry- that piece on the left is SUPPOSED to look that way- we were working on decreasing and increasing)... :)


When you take a class, you also get 10% off anything you purchase that day... so I bought a new kind of yarn. I was always a fan of a bulkier yarn (which helped to cover my imperfections), but last night I went out on a limb and purchased a finer gauge, WOOL yarn. Instead of cleaning my apartment when I got home (like a responsible adult), I started a new scarf (you can tell my the color scheme that it'll be a Knit Your Bit contribution).


As far as today goes, it's pretty much perfect. If reading Pioneer Woman wasn't fun enough, look what I got in the mail today:

After Bakerella's glowing recommendation of Confectionery House, I can't wait to try these- thanks for the GREAT SURPRISE Mom!
Happy Tuesday!