On a different note:
Oct. 30th, 2006 11:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mamadebI gave my mother a set of crochet hook in a case for her birthday. However, she's not crocheting (she says - before she showed me evidence she actually was) because her hand hurts. Given that this was her left (dominant) hand and it's the wrist she broke a few years ago, not really a shock.
What she was crocheting was a gift for Eamon, her boyfriend's baby grandson (who calls her "bubby.") It was adorable - a bumblebee hat. It was also made of sticky, nasty, ugly acrylic yarn. This yarn is just fine for her favorite project - endless crocheted afghans, and it's what she can get at Wal*mart (much as she hates Wal*mart, there's nothing else in her area and she doesn't use the internet at all.) I did have Patternworks and Knitpicks send her catalogs, but she sees their yarn as expensive.
Anyway, I'd always planned on making this a two-part gift. So. First thing I did while we waited for my brother to join us was to take out a couple of swatches I'd made for my current project. The yarn is Dale of Norway Falk - 100% superwash DK wool. One was for gauge, one was to practice the cable, and I'd washed both. They were soft and lovely to touch, and the color, a rich purple, just glowed. My mother has never worked with real wool.
I showed her Encore in the catalog - Encore is a relatively inexpensive but nice feeling acrylic/wool blend that works beautifully and would really be idea for the bumblebee hat, but we didn't get that.
Instead, she found a beautiful cardigan pattern with interesting stitchwork and we got the yarn that it called for, although instead of grey, we got a soft blue. I also got her the needles called for - she probably has them in straights but I got her circulars because she wanted circulars, which would be easier on her hands. I called Patternworks right there, and it was very amusing - my husband reciting our credit card number from memory, my mom talking about Wal*mart and the nice lady on the phone hearing every word. There was a sale on denim needle holders, but I have two pairs of straights and I'm not likely to buy more. So I bought it for my mom, too. It was cheap enough. Not that she'll know, as they're sending the invoice to *me*.
This way she'll make something for herself - and she picked the pattern and the yarn.
What she was crocheting was a gift for Eamon, her boyfriend's baby grandson (who calls her "bubby.") It was adorable - a bumblebee hat. It was also made of sticky, nasty, ugly acrylic yarn. This yarn is just fine for her favorite project - endless crocheted afghans, and it's what she can get at Wal*mart (much as she hates Wal*mart, there's nothing else in her area and she doesn't use the internet at all.) I did have Patternworks and Knitpicks send her catalogs, but she sees their yarn as expensive.
Anyway, I'd always planned on making this a two-part gift. So. First thing I did while we waited for my brother to join us was to take out a couple of swatches I'd made for my current project. The yarn is Dale of Norway Falk - 100% superwash DK wool. One was for gauge, one was to practice the cable, and I'd washed both. They were soft and lovely to touch, and the color, a rich purple, just glowed. My mother has never worked with real wool.
I showed her Encore in the catalog - Encore is a relatively inexpensive but nice feeling acrylic/wool blend that works beautifully and would really be idea for the bumblebee hat, but we didn't get that.
Instead, she found a beautiful cardigan pattern with interesting stitchwork and we got the yarn that it called for, although instead of grey, we got a soft blue. I also got her the needles called for - she probably has them in straights but I got her circulars because she wanted circulars, which would be easier on her hands. I called Patternworks right there, and it was very amusing - my husband reciting our credit card number from memory, my mom talking about Wal*mart and the nice lady on the phone hearing every word. There was a sale on denim needle holders, but I have two pairs of straights and I'm not likely to buy more. So I bought it for my mom, too. It was cheap enough. Not that she'll know, as they're sending the invoice to *me*.
This way she'll make something for herself - and she picked the pattern and the yarn.
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(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-30 05:20 pm (UTC)What was the URL of that online word processor you recced me once that saves your stuff for you to go back and get it later, do you remember?
(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-30 06:09 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-30 07:58 pm (UTC)However, I've been finding that http://docs.google.com is better and more reliable.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-30 08:09 pm (UTC)Dale of Norway is 100% wool, which isn't what
(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-31 12:02 am (UTC)On the other hand, yeah for yarn pushing!
(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-31 05:09 am (UTC)And it turns out that not all of the Wool-Ease
(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-31 05:30 pm (UTC)