My buttons

Here they are! Feel free to use them if you want to link me ^___^




By the way. Today I've won my first e-Bay auction! Wow! I got myself some gorgeous Rowan Cotton Yarn, yuppie! :-)))

The irresistible appeal of yarn auctions...

I'm in the tunnel of e-Bay! Someone please help me! I didn't use e-Bay not even once in the last 5 years, and now, I can't stop... I make bids for thing that I don't even want, but I simply cannot resist beautiful yarn at low prices... And hooks, cable needles, everything that has to do with knitting and crocheting.
Hopefully I haven't won a single auction yet, but there still is time... ;-)

Crazy about squares

Yesterday I was in one of my missions at Barnes and Noble to have a sneaky look at a few crochet and knitting patterns from various (too expensive) books... In this wandering I bumped into "200 Crochet Blocks" by Jan Eaton. It was love at first sight! I LOVE this book and I bought it even if it costs a fortune, but, hey, it's totally worth!

I immediately started to use all my leftover yarns, finally. And I'll be making a pretty ton-sur-ton pillow. Look at this, I'm using all the blue yarns that I had in small amounts. I love this first two squares that I've made, aren't they nice?





I've also progressed a little with the Amigurumi bull terrier that I'm making for my sister. Since then I've made the head, the small body and one ear. Little by little I'll go on. Sure I've been distracted lately by the Olympic games, I'm so crazy about Figure Ice Skating that I spend a big part of my day looking for videos online. I've also worked a little (finally) so I'm running late on some projects.



Online I have also found a Gadget for you crochet-geek girlfriends. Look at these "felted icons" they are so cute you have to download it. This icons are perfect for my crochet folders!!!

Tapestry Crochet Kitty Bag

The lovely weather, almost summery, that we had here in Berkeley during the last week inspired me in trying something new. It was a while that I wanted to try Tapestry Crochet, but I never figured out how to do it properly. Finally, a couple of days ago, I found online this adorable pattern by Carol Ventura for a Tapestry Crochet Kitty Bag, and it is very well explained how to tapestry crochet.
Ok we all agree that my attempt, as usual, is not as good as the original, but still I am satisfied with the results... If only I new what to do with my new little bag... ;-)

First Doily Ever

So here it is, my first doily ever. I am totally amazed, and still, when I finish a first-time ever project, I almost cannot believe I did it.
I used a very lovely pattern by Crochet memories, called "Autumn Reflections", some thin cotton thread and a tiny tiny crochet hook size US7/ 1,75mm, and I made it through. Can you believe it? And I am not the tipe of person who has a lot of patience, but I did it...
and I must admit it wasn't that difficult, at least much less than I expected when I first saw the size of the hook, that was scary!

Attempting

I have been experimenting lately. After having spent a whole day at Laci's I had to try several things. One of them was "Filet Crochet" and this is the result... I messed up the pattern a little bit but, I must admit, I found the whole process very slow and pretty boring. I don't think I'll finish this filet cat, anyway I wouldn't know what to do with it...

I also have been working on some potholders, made with kitchen twine, crochet hook H8/5.00 bordered with various wool yarn. I'm pretty happy about it, I made them because I really needed them, so for once I made something actually useful :-)

Finally I tried also to hand felt. I must say that my results aren't satisfying at all. I still can see the texture of the knitted wool I burned my hands, and used tons of dish-soap in my bathtub... So disappointing! I guess I'll try again, but I doubt it'll go better next time. I love so much felted items though!!!

And they call it puppy love...

My next project is a little ambitious, but I want to make a puppy amigurumi like this one for my sister! I have no pattern, though...

Love is in the air

Oh yes, St. Valentine is approaching, and because I live very far from my friends I always have to think about presents with a lot of anticipation.
In Italy St. Valentine is not a big deal, we just expect some chocolates or small presents coming from our boyfriends (things that never come...) but we don't really send cards to friends and stuff.
Because I'm here in the US, though, I thought: "this year I will send a couple of St valentine's cards". But I didn't want to send just a card so I made this scarf for my dear friend Sabina, in Rome. Hope she gets it in time!

I also sent this book to my friend Puli, who lives in London, and wants lo learn crochet. I hope that she gets into it, because once you start crocheting it's so funny!!