Hooky Fun

I'm working on a few different projects right now, getting ready for the holidays (yikes!) and a few gifts are on my "to do" list.

My first "must finish" is an afghan for my cousin who is expecting her first child in October.  I really wanted to make something useable for her and the baby, not just a decorative piece, so I opted for simple stripes of teal, lemon, plum and magenta with a lime scalloped border.  I have 8 more stripes to go before I can start the border and I need to be finished in 10 days!  The worst part will be weaving in the ends because I've deviated from my normal routine of weaving them in as I go.  Word of advice: weave the ends in AS YOU GO!!! It will save headaches later when you just want to be done but instead you have a few more hours of work left to be completed.  Ugh.

Anyway...

I also stopped at the library the other day and picked up a few pattern books.  My library doesn't have the best selection of crochet books (but of course there are shelves of knitting books, go figure) but once in a while I get lucky and find a few I haven't seen yet.  Thankfully though, my library does interlibrary loans with neighboring community libraries, so my selection is broader but I have to reserve online, I can't just go browse the shelves.  I picked up these 3.  One is a bunch of amigurumi toys and I've already started a hippo.  The second book is a fantastic one called Crochet In Color by Kathy Merrick and it has some really great patterns in it.  I might have to buy this book so that I can do some of these patterns later!  The third book (in the middle) is all about edging -- I haven't had a chance to flip through this one yet.

Back to the gifts I'm working on...

I picked up some yarn and a hook from The BagSmith lady at Stitches Midwest...the hook is ginormous, like a broom handle...and I plan to do a tunisian stitch afghan.  Can't post pictures yet because it's a gift after all!

And lastly, I recently ordered two more Lucy Packs of Rico Creative Cotton!!  I have no idea when it will arrive but I absolutely cannot wait.  I will be making something for myself that's for sure.  After all of these gifts, its high time I spoiled myself right?

Ta for now!