Lest you think that last post was some sort of April Fool's...

No, I'm not dead. Again.

I just can't seem to keep up the momentum of the regular blogger. I don't know why. Heck, I can't even seem to keep up the momentum of the regular blog reader. So many of you have such lovely blogs, and they are accumulating nicely in my feed reader, and I will get to them, I will, but man, lately I have just not been into the blogosphere. No explanation; just not feeling it. It's not you; it's me.

But now I poke out my wee noggin to let you know that I am alive and well and relatively busy. Also, I figured I'd update you on my progress on my New Year's resolutions. In a word -- FAIL. Well, except for the golf cart thing. WIN in that category. So, hey, it's not all bad. :)

But, rather unsurprisingly I suppose, I'm not any stronger. In any respect. I have a detailed plan for getting stronger. It's sitting on the table next to the television. Where it's been since January. I still have seven months, right? Hope springs eternal around here.

You know, I really thought the one thing I would be able to do with no problem would be crafting completely selfishly. I mean, if you know me, then you know selfishness is one of my biggest foibles. Well, enter foible number two: Love of praise. Giving beautiful, handmade things away makes people say nice things about you. Apparently I want that more than I want the stuff. Egads, I'm a selfish, needy egomaniac -- but at least I'm a self-aware selfish, needy egomaniac, right? ::facepalm::

So let's skip straight to the show-and-tell, shall we?

I made two more bunny nuggets for birthday pressies:

Then I moved on to making lace bookmarks. Gator claimed the purple one for his own.

Undercover bookmarker by Kathryn White
Size 10 crochet cotton / size US8 steel hook

This one went to Gator's grandmother for Mother's Day:

Fan Bookmark by Crochetroo
Size 10 crochet cotton / size US8 steel hook

Since then I've been making a variety to sell at the church festival this fall:

Icicle Bookmark by Priscilla Hewitt
Size 10 crochet cotton / size US8 steel hook

Fancy Filigree Bookmark by Cheri Mancini
Size 10 crochet cotton / the little hook that comes with Frost 'n Tip hair highlighting (I'm not kidding -- it's about a size US7 steel crochet hook. Handy!)

In the middle of all of that, I learned to tie prayer ropes. It's tricky, but once you get into the groove, time kind of flies right by. I used red and black acrylic microfiber yarn for the first one because I thought it would slide more and make it easier to tie the knots. I was wrong. I'm not a huge fan of that one, but Gator is. Then I made the green and blue one from wool. I was a bit surprised that it was easier to work with. I also like it better without the tassel.

They are commonly all black, but I'm not ready for that level of difficulty. Using two colors really helps keep the strands organized. I especially like that the green and blue knots look like little Earths. :)

I read and viewed several tutorials, but the one I found most helpful was this one:



Yes, the green and blue one is for me. Selfish crafting FTW!!