I did not do much different in the two weeks the cousins stayed with us but lots have happened as well. Though the cousin & her friend are only 2-3 years younger than me, I really felt like an older sibling or parent while they were here. I felt the need/obligation to make sure they don't starve, to make sure they weren't late, to drive them around. I didn't always act on my "instincts" to be a mini-mom but all those things were on my mind. I even worried or became angry when they stayed out very late, came home drunk or brought friends to our house. Well that's just kind of rude but from the parent-like part of me, I was also angry because some of their actions were so irresponsible. One of them had lost their camera from being too drunk at the wedding they attended. The other had her wallet stolen or just lost it on a night out to a club downtown. I had to lay down the law and allow them to do one or the other: have booze and drink in our home or have their friends over to hang out. In the end, they chose booze. Although they did end up going out more, which was fine with all of us if they didn't bring home their idiot stranger friends/relatives, drink roommate's beer and cause a ruckus in the middle of the night while I try to sleep.
Here's an update on my projects:
Bf's socks are technically done...although I was ran out of the original off-white yarn on the last 8 rounds of the second sock. So I went with a differnt brownish color which actually looks nice. However...my "design" was unfortunate, in that the last 4 rows should've been a k2p2 ribbing, but for some dumb reason I decided to do stockinette to create a contrasting texture to the k3p3 of the entire sock. I also bound off too tightly...this resulted in the 2nd sock NOT fitting over BF's ankle. Frustrated, I put that aside, stufffed back into the closet.
Secret Project Okay, so I still haven't said what the secret project is but everything on it is technically completely. I even sewed up the lining but I am uphappy with the lack of stiffness that I think it needs. So I bought some stiffer interfacing from Fabricland and I will now have to remove the stitching on one end, slide in the new interfacing and re-sew it up. Then it's off to my friend across the pond along with a batch of cookies yet to be baked.
SugarN'Cream (Learn2Crochet) Mesh Bag I decided I should learn to crochet a while back and was intimidated by it for some reason. A huge factor was that I did not want to waste any of the yarn I had bought for specific project ideas. So a month ago I picked up a big ball of nasty Sugar N' Cream yarn in a turqoisey color called Robin's Egg from the big box craft store. It's really the nicest color they had and it was dirt cheap - a huge ball of 100% cotton for $7. I figured it would be good for practicing crochet or testing out stitches or making wash cloths. It was difficult to find clear pictures and instructions for crochet online so I checked out Simple Crochet by Erica Knight from the library. The photo instructions for stitches are pretty clear, although I could not figure out from the book what the difference between single crochet and slip stitch is. It seemed exactly the same in there (to me anyways!). That required more research online. Anyways, I am pretty much finished with the Mesh Bag that she does in the book with this plastic twiney string. Obviously the cotton will have a totally different texture & stretch, I also did not follow instructions well on the first 10 rounds. However, I've found a way to make the bag work as more of a very casual day-in-the-sun style purse than just a sling-over-your-shoulder utility bucket bag. I'll post pictures soon. It's the Labor Day long weekend and I'll be knitting and sewing that's for sure.
That means summer is over but it also means I will be bursting with ideas for fall & winter knitting. Although my other 2 summer knitting projects have not been made yet. You know, the Garns cable shoulder bag & yoga mat bag I wanted to make with the yarn I bought from the LYS. Once the secret project is off, and I might not even line the SugarN'Cream bag. I might have the cable bag done at the end of the September, or I'll do the yoga bag first because I'm thinking about inviting my mom to take a yoga class with me at the community centre.
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