Things coming together...

I feel like I'm finally settling into a routine and that things are starting to really come together here in Kyiv! The rest of the project team is slowly but surely arriving. My car is now here sitting in the parking lot (waiting for a license plate!). I filled out some papers the other day because my "household effects" are soon entering the country. (Then I'll have some stuff to put in that china cabinet!) And I just finished weaving in all my ends on my "Rachel swing jacket" from Robyn's book! I am about to start on the sleeves. Then just the collar and buttons! So yeah, things are all coming together! Literally in the case of my crocheting... I think my housekeeper likes my crocheting because she always refolds it very nicely after she moves it around to clean or what not! I saw a woman knitting while working in one of the kiosks the other day. Although, I think the Ukrainian craft is more embroidery, but there is certainly some hand knit and crocheted things in the markets!
~L

New Project!

Despite the fact that I haven't finished my previous project, I've started crocheting a new project because I was so excited to start one from Robyn's book!  I'm going to make the "Rachel Swing Jacket" because it's getting cold and I've never made a jacket!  Or a top down sweater.  So it's very exciting.  Plus, I like having multiple projects to work on.  My Crossover top is actually a knitting project now that I'm working on the edging, so it's nice to switch back and forth between the knitting and crocheting.  Yay!  I'm off to crochet some more before bed time.

~L

Crossing Over - Soon!

No, not to some strange religion or parallel universe.  Just that I'm excited that I (finally) finished the second panel of my "Crossover Top"!  Hooray!  I just have to do the edging and the waist band and voila!  My second Robyn sweater will be complete!  Then I just have to figure out which of the projects from her new book to make first! :)

~L

Blueprint Crochet has arrived!

My friend Robyn (of Crochet by Faye) has published a book, and I was sooooo excited to come home after a long day of work and find it waiting for me on my doorstep! I immediately forgot about the groceries I was supposed to put away and tore open the book to look at it. It's so cool! The design is great and the photos of the items are really well done. They're "cool" without being crazy trendy. Which is true about her designs too! You won't find any crazy fun fur monstrosities in here! So, I don't know that many of my loyal blog readers are crochet fans, but it's cool news none the less. If you know any crocheters, tell them to check out her book!

Blueprint Crochet, by Robyn Chachula
(with some help from her dog Faye!)
~L

Long weekend = Nice crochet progress!

Hooray! I had some travel time to kill over July 4th weekend and so I've made lots of progress on the Crossover top (that was designed by Robyn of course!). This weekend I'm supposed to be de-cluttering and cleaning my house, but I feel like crocheting instead! I'll just have to do both. We had a feng shui seminar at work and I realized that I have bad feng shui. Mainly because of my clutter. So although my life seems to be going pretty well even despite my bad feng shui, with good feng shui it can only get better! We'll see! ~L

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Fun Top!

Yay! I am loving making the "crossover top" that my friend Robyn designed for crochet today! The stitch pattern is so fun and the construction of the top is neat too. And the best part is that I'm making it out of this great turqoise blue cotton yarn I bought a few years ago because it was on sale but never found anything to do with it. Voila! Soon it will be an awesome top! I'm also working on another project but it's a secret until I get them finished and mailed off to the people they are for. Not that any of the recipients know how to read let alone do they read my blog, but their parents might! All in all it's tempting to skip work to work on my projects! Cough cough. Hmm maybe I'm catching something... Alas, off to work I go! ~L
(And yes, that's my guitar hero guitar in the background! Another reason to stay home! I'm close to beating it on the second highest level)

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Another Project Finished!

Hooray! That's two projects in two weekends. Pretty good. I still have two other UFO's (unfinished objects) but instead of working on them, I think I'm going to start a new project! In an effort to minimize, declutter, and generally decrease the amount of stuff that I own (and might have to move with me!) I have been going through my collection of knitting and crochet magazines to take out the patterns I might actually make some day. Happily, I have discovered that my friend Robyn is officially my favorite designer! I've been going through a year's worth of "Crochet Today"s and every time I get to a picture and think, "ooh! i really want to make that" I look at the title and sure enough, it says it is designed by Robyn! So the next project I make is going to be the cute vintage sweater pattern that she updated. At least I think, I'm also trying to use up the stash of yarn I have accumulated but I think I have a yarn that will work. Then again, I really like the 'Crossover Top' from the July edition, and that's a little more summer-y. And her book (Blueprint Crochet which looks amazing!) comes out in September and I already see lots more of her patterns I want to make! Too cool, because she is an awesome woman and and awesome designer! Coincidentally, this sweater that I finished is a predecessor to one of the sweaters in her book! I was supposed to finish it, oh, a year ago for my friend's wedding. Oh well, better late than never! Maybe I'll take of picture of myself in my bridesmaid dress, but with the sweater! Hee hee.

I also ran the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure this morning. Very cool. It is the largest race for the cure in the country. It was very successful although we were under an "excessive heat" warning. And really, the heat was excessive! It was unnecessarily hot even by 10 in the morning. It's only gotten worse! So now I'm going to go do errands at Target, but maybe stroll around a little extra to enjoy the air conditioning. (Mine doesn't exactly work!)

Afghan Complete!

Finally, after a few months of having just one row to go, I finished my afghan that I started at the beginning of the year! And just in time! It is officially too warm to be knitting an afghan. I've decided to go on a "finishing" spree. I have three more projects that are over half way done and finally I will get them finished... I swear! We'll see how long the last few rows of the next project takes. Sadly, it is a project I started a year ago!