OK, so I've been a tad lost in ripple-world

The new blog, it's been gobbling up a lot more time than I had ever thought. It's really, really fun though. People keep popping out of the ether, crochet hooks or knitting needles in hand, ripples at the ready. There are even some newbies inspired to try it out. Ah, the power of the ripple. Here's what I have to this point:

A several times ripped back to this stage large blanket:

A star lovey for the babe which grew out of my obsession to figure out how to make a soft wave ripple work in the round:

(pattern here, thanks to Beth Parsons, whomever she may be!)

Click the button to get the way too long to repeat stories on those, and you should definitely check out the other ripplers. Creativity runs wild with the traditional crochet! It's funny,but I really don't think I've ever, ever done a ripple before. Never ever. Though I have some recollection of making those kitchen towels with the crocheted tops that hook around the fridge handle with my Grandma Allaria, and those tops may just have been a ripple. I can't remember for sure though, and I know they no longer exist, I've checked all my mom's drawers and hidey holes for them. Not that I really want them, they were awful. Cheap, cutesy hand towels replete with little animals and florid holiday prints. I do however, want to remember how to make them. I think there's huge update potential there...must remember to work on that. Done right, what a great hostess gift that would be!

And while you're at it, be sure to pop by the Granny-Along, hosted by the fabulous Kim Werker of CrochetMe fame and now crochet cheiftess at Interweave. Once she put the granny bug in my ear, these popped out of some languishing Plymouth Wildflower DK:

Gorgeous stuff on the blog, and yet another trip down memory lane for me. It's still hiding in the basement, that giant granny gone wild I took on at some point after my grandmother taught me to crochet oh so many eons ago. I wish I remembered more about working with her or what she made herself. I do remember how her hands looked holding the hook and the yarn, her filed to a lethal point nails picking out strands of yarn, pointing out where I went awry. Trips to I don't even know where to pick out sherbet toned scratchy acrylic. A g-hook of my very own. Hmmmm, those towel tops just may have been a granny-type pyramid...really must make a point to play with that a bit.

On the knitting front, am almost needing to figure out how to graft the toe of my very first ever sock. Thank the crochet goddesss for keeping me too busy to reach that point! Have also started knitting a coat out of my regrettably too small and now frogged cinnabar coat. Eco Wool knits BEAUTIFULLY btw. It's a pattern out of Classic Knit for Real Women that #1 caught my eye and #2 has instructions I can understand with one read through. Score for them. The book came home from the library with me this week, and while I am most definitely NOT in love with it as a whole, very little instruction/explanation, even of their sizing, and over all what I consider fairly frumpy patterns, there are a few like this coat that caught my eye. There's a super simple (or at least seemingly super simple) cable scarf that's clean and linear. And a knitted ripple scarf with a 2 row repeat that seems too goodly easy to be true. And a crochet motif they work into a bag and scarf that I will definitely play with. The sweaters I'm not in love with at all, just not my thing, and the pictures, while flatteringly posed, just don't give you a good clear look at the designs. In my opinion, worth a look, but not a buy.

It's all provided some much needed stress relief in some very trying mommy times. We had #1's 6th birthday which sent #2 into a tizzy of middle-child angst. We found out our classical school plans for the fall may just well be totally crumbling out from under us. And #3 has managed to fall just so and put his bottom teeth through the skin under his lip. At this point, am just hoping to make it through the week without anything else wonky. TGIFT my dears. TGIFT.