thanks, everyone!

the yarn i used was moda dea "tweedle dee", which accounts for the awesome colors. i think i used just one ball, which is why i had to change the pattern - i started it a few times, but saw that i was going to run out before i finished the scarf.

this is a scarf loosely based on the lion brand "scallop scarf" pattern here: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/80985AD.html?noImages=0 (access with free sign-up)


in the original pattern, the scallops are made of 9trebles, but i did mine with 7. i think i also made some changes in between the scallops, but i can't remember what the difference is anymore. the end result is a bit less lacy than the one from lion brand.

c&c welcome, as usual!

oh, man, i didn't even see this until today! i like your pattern even better than mine! there aren't enough crochet mitten patterns out there - only knit, which i don't do (yet...).. or rather, there are crochet mitten patterns, but they're all really awkward looking phentex things from the 70s. heheh.. i'm SO glad to see the distance crochet has come in the past 30 years!

here's the mitten i just made this morning, and here is the pattern, which is probably enough to go on. if it's not, there's a much more detailed (and picture-ful) tutorial over at my blog.

ETA: the yarn i used was sean sheep's "maldon", with a 6mm hook. if you're going to use a yarn that's that thick, i'd recommend going up to a 6.5mm hook and seeing what happens.
ETA (again): worked continuously in spiral rounds, until just before the ribbing starts. instructions are in the pattern. read carefully.

MITTEN

R1:   5 sc in magic ring, pull tight (5)
R2:   2 sc in each sc around (10)
R3:       1, 2 sc around (15)
R4:        1, 1, 2 sc around  (20)
R5 & 6:   sc around
R7:       1,1,1,2 around (25)
R8-20:    sc around (25)
R21:     sc in first sc, ch 10, sk 3 sc, sc in next sc, sc around
      (total of 22 sc, plus 10 ch = 32 stitches)
R22:   sc in each sc and ch around (32sc)                                              
R23:    sc in first sc, sc2tog, sc next 6 sc, sc2tog, sc around (30)
R24:    sc in first sc, sc2tog, sc next 4 sc, sc2tog, sc around (28)
R25:    sc in first sc, sc2tog, sc next 2 sc, sc2tog, sc around (26)
R26:    sc in first sc, sc2tog, sc2tog, sc around (24)
R27:    sc in first sc, sc2tog, sc2tog, sc around (22)
R28:    sc around (22)
R29:    sc around, join with sl st in 1st sc, ch2 (22)
R30:    dc around, join with sl st in top of ch2, ch2 (22dc)
R31:    fpdc around, join with sl st in top of ch2, ch2 (22)
R32-34: fpdc around, join, ch2 (22)
R35:    sl st in each dc around, fasten off, weave in ends

THUMB

R1:   4 sc in magic ring, pull tight (4)
R2:       2 sc around (8sc)
R3-9:   sc around (8sc)
R10:    1,1,1,2 sc around (10)
R11:    2,1,1,1,1 sc around (12)
R12:    put the thumb and mitten together, and sl st each sc in thumb into the hole in the mitten, both pieces right side    out.
it's awkward (both to do and to explain), but it can be done.
alternatively, you could do a final thumb row like this:  [R13: sc around (12), fasten off] and just sew the thumb and mitten together the old fasioned way, but i've been getting really into NOT sewing, but actually crocheting stuff together. you'll see, when i finish the wizard of oz gang.

hey red deer,

what happened to that stitch'n'bitch group that was mentioned a few pages ago? because i'd really like to go..

OMG I THOUGHT IT WAS TOO!!

(a pregnancy test, that is..)

as for helpful ideas, um.... i've always loved bottle trees.. and there's always wind chimes.. or melting them (you know, like, into cheese boards? i know i've seen them somewhere..)..

though, now that i read back over your original post, those ideas really REALLY work better with glass bottles...

*headdesk*

thanks! he was really fun to make, though the feet were pretty frustrating...

this is piglet.

i made him this weekend, based on a google-image search result, here: http://www.decor4kids.co.uk/Classic%20Pooh&%20Piglet%20Mural.jpg

his skin is a paton's mohair blend, and his jumper is acrylic and cotton.

head and body are all one piece, stuffed as i went. the arms are as simple as they look. the ears are a variation on some bamboo leaves that i came up with a few weeks ago. the bamboo leaves do NOT look like pigs' ears, for the record. it helps that they're green.

his nose and face were made separately, and when i'd just about finished attaching them to his head, i stuffed some stuffing in so it would have some definition.

his little feet, i gave up on figuring out this morning at about 1:00, and went to bed to dream up possible solutions. literally. i got up at 9 this morning to finish him, and THAT'S when inspiration struck.

the feet, i have a pattern for. i couldn't risk getting one done, and then forgetting how i'd done it.

more pics over at my flickr (http://flickr.com/photos/skelectica/sets)and blogged here: http://skelectica.blogspot.com/2009/10/introducing-piglet.html

i hemmed and hawed for MONTHS over this project, because i couldn't figure out how to make 19 perfect hexagons.. so i finally thought of just making a hex-based board, with little circle tiles that go on top of it. now, rather than building the board out of tiles, and placing your roads on the seams between 2 touching hexes, the board is always in one piece, and the tiles move around on top of it, and roads sit on the board itself, on the lines between the circle tiles. lord, was that clear at all?!
the board is just made of foam-core that i got at the dollar store. we had a fish-tank disaster, and the board took a hit (you know - like 5 gallons of water making a real live ocean around it?), so that's needing a bit of a facelift.

and carcassonne is next on my list - i did make it (just well enough to play), but it never really got finished, and it's already starting to look a little worn out. i made the whole thing out of dollar store foam core and craft paint, but didn't do anything with the backs of the tiles (my big spray-paint plans never really happened).
this time, out of polymer clay (i think), and complete with the river expansion!

here is the settlers of catan game set that i made.
i bought a box of resource and development cards, and made everything else.



as usual, there are more pics at my flickr page, in the "catan" set.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skelectica/sets/

comments, etc. always welcome!