Crochet Saved The Day

I am convinced that crochet is the new duct tape. It can solve practically any problem. It’s true! I was going to do a photoshoot of my son and niece in their cap and gown (graduating high school) and was setting up my living room with my lights, a backdrop, tripods, and camera when I ran into a snafu. Remember when I made a vow to do more photography and actually use some equipment I bought but not never pulled out or even learned how to use? I did well with that goal and learned how to use it all…and then I forgot again because I put it away.

Well it all came out again for the shoot. Luckily, I just needed a quick refresher and I was good to go. Except that I had these brackets I bought for my lights that were still in the packaging. I pulled them out and tried to put them on my light stands and they didn’t fit. They came with with different adapters but none of them fit. Shame on me for not knowing this when I bought them. I pulled out the adapters but without them, the openings were too big!

It was solution finding time. Rubber bands? That might work. Foam? Nah. Crochet? Yes! I quickly crocheted two little sleeves for the tops of my light stands and the brackets were nice and snug and my lights were safe (breathing a sigh of relief).

 

The photo shoot was back in session! Isn’t crochet wonderful? 🙂

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Crochet Turtle, Cupcake and Pokeball

The end of the school year is coming, and the kids are amping up their crochet requests. Many are making it to the prize-box and I’m feeling generous. I’m granting their requests if I think I can finish them in time. One 5th grade boy has gone around the prize chart three times and he didn’t want anything from the regular prize box. He earned two prize-box items and asked if he could trade them for something I could make. He just wanted a Pokeball. That was doable.

Done!

After the small turtles, a bunch of the Kinders asked me to make a bigger turtle, so I did some stash-busting and finished a rainbow turtle.

Done!

It’s already reserved for a little Kinder. She begged me not to let anyone else have it since she was only one star away. I agreed and discovered she was four stars away. She’s a little Transitional Kinder and they often make that mistake so I agreed to keep it for her, but she has to work hard to get those stars before the end of the year. She only has ten more days!

Before I even finished the turtle, another Kinder made it to Ultimate Prize-Box and she wanted a crochet cupcake. I’d never made one before but I thought I could whip one up.

Done!

She told me exactly what colors she wanted and it had to have yellow sprinkles. She was over my shoulder asking me again and again if it was done yet. Clearly it wasn’t done! But then it was, and she wasted no time playing with it. It’s always the best when they see me finishing something up. I think it makes it more special for them.

Happy camper. 🙂

Someone else asked for a turtle but I can’t remember who. I’m pretty sure it was a boy. He better make it to prize box soon so I can get it done. 🙂

Comic Con Revolution Ontario 2018

For Mother’s Day, family got me tickets to a new Comic Con that’s practically in our own backyard. As some of you may have guessed from my save Lucifer post, I’m a bit of a geek, or is it a nerd?, in my tv viewing tastes. I’ve loved going to the San Diego Comic Con in the past. And by past, I mean 10 years ago! The first time I went in 2004, it was a  manageable convention. Then I went a couple of more times and by 2008, it had become a monster of a thing where it was almost impossible to get tickets. If you magically got them, it was impossible to make it into the panels without camping out for hours waiting to get in, which meant you missed out on other panels. Even then, you didn’t always get in. It was a gamble with the more popular panels. I tried for a few years to get tickets and then I just gave up.

Since then, I’ve been wanting to go to some of the smaller, local ones, but never got around to it. So it was such a nice surprise to get tickets to a convention that was only a few miles away. It was way smaller than the San Diego con without all the big panels you would see there, but it was still a lot of fun. This was only it’s second year in that venue and it was small but intimate. The panels were informative and easy to get into, no camping out necessary. They had a costume contest like you would expect. I didn’t participate this time around but I plan to next year. I wanted to see what it was like first.

The show floor was more manageable too, since it was smaller in scale. I bought a few art pieces but was tempted by so many things.

Because I love mermaids

#SaveLucifer #PickupLucifer

Rant about a recently cancelled show: Lucifer

I don’t usually get involved in trying to save a TV show. Honest. I’ve been pretty upset over some cancellations over the years (Firefly, The Dresden Chronicles, Reaper and many more) but hey, it’s TV. It happens. We don’t even have cable anymore. I mainly watch on the streaming sites and  I got hooked on Lucifer. I anxiously awaited each episode. Then, Tom Welling (from Smallville) joined the cast and I loved the show even more. Right before the season finale, my son asked me if I was sad they cancelled the show. Huh? What? Canceled? What’s canceled?

Queue the disbelief as I went through the grieving process. NOOOOOOOO!!!! I looked it up and indeed, it had been canceled. After I dried up all my tears (just kidding, I’m not that crazy), I saw that there was a #savelucifer and #pickuplucifer campaign. I almost didn’t bother but decided to join in and hashtag the heck out of the thing wherever I could. The ending was soooo good. I want to see what happens, even if it’s just one more season to tidy things up. Heck, I’d settle for a few episodes or even a movie just to get closure.

So far, I’ve only used the hashtag on Instagram and made one tweet but I’ve gone to the actors’ feeds and left the hashtags there as well. Next, I plan to appeal to the streaming sites like Hulu, Netfix, and Amazon Prime in the hopes they pick it up. Then I’ll just cross my fingers and hope for the best.

I think I just might crochet something that represents the show for me.

My tiny little contribution probably won’t make a difference in the end but it makes me feel better that I tried.

Crochet Squares Backpack Completed

My crochet backpack was ready for a night of fun.

My new little garden is making a nice backdrop for my pictures. 

My old garden still works too.

Disneyland!

On it’s first trip out, hubby and I decided to go for a spontaneous trip to Disneyland on a Sunday night.

Finished Crochet Habitat Cardigan

I finished the crochet Habitat Cardigan!

Look, my plants aren’t dying yet and better yet, they’re growing! Don’t look at the ones the dog is stomping on. Nothing is safe!

My sis-in-law wanted detail pics.

The sleeve and the cowl is done in the front loop of half double crochet.

The back is done in a sc, dc, combo.

I got to wear it out a few times before it got hot again.

Excuse the terrible light. It made for an awful picture. It messes up the colors but you can see how nice it fits.

First time out, I spilled caramel on it. How did I manage to do that you say? Well, what had happened was…we went to the movies and I snuck in a candy bar that was chocolate on the outside and caramel on the inside. It was long and skinny, and unbeknownst to me, partially melted in my purse. It shouldn’t have been so delicate! I tried to eat it anyway after I suspected it was a little melty and I guess I gave it a little squeeze or something because at some point it dripped on my sweater.

When I got home, I couldn’t find the spot! I guess all that caramelly goodness blended in with the colors really well. I tried finding it by feel but it must have dried. Oh well, it will come out in the wash where ever it is. 🙂

My crochet group liked the sweater so much they’re making it at our meet-ups! So excited to see how theirs turn out.

Small Crochet Turtles

My coworker was showing me some photos of a crochet turtle she saw while she was out shopping for succulents. She showed me a picture and I asked if she wanted me to make one. She very enthusiastically said yes, if I would be so kind. It was the least I could do. The only reason I have any plants in my backyard is because she gave me all the cuttings I wanted from her garden  (and I wanted plenty). I was very glad I could give her something in return.

I’ve never made a little turtle before (or a big one for that matter) so I wanted to make a practice one. I had just finished making the crochet Voltorb, so I had black and red yarn in my bag, so a black and red turtle it would be.

It turned out ok but it came out flatter than I wanted. I showed it to her and told her she could keep it if she wanted it but that I would make her a new one in colors she liked. She chose to keep it and I started the next one. I was much happier with it.

I like the head better on the red one but I like the rounder shape of the green one. The kids really like them so I’ll probably make a few for the prize box. Maybe they’ll even get a tail. 🙂