No, not exactly a granny square. It turns out, that when it comes to crochet manuals, I’m a functional illiterate. I recognize the words, but. . . I really need pictures to understand. Looking at my results it’s clear that I’m missing something. Never fear, I’ve not given up the pursuit! I just need to find a visual reference to help my brain along.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t enjoy feeling stupid. Once it became clear on Sunday afternoon that I wasn’t about to make meaning from a string of numbers and letters, I opted to find something I could do. Why spend the better part of the afternoon looking for an idiots visual guide to crocheting when I’d already spent so much time staring at a book?
It also became clear looking at my pajama bottoms that I was in need of something else. Um, when the kid points out the “hole” in your backside and you say, “Oh, I know” only to find out that you had NO clue that the entire backside of your pants were, um, gone. . . yeah, time for new PJ bottoms!
As you can imagine from the crocheting debacle, I’m not a big fan of patterns or instructions. I’d rather launch in and find my way. One vintage sheet, one scrap of vintage velvet ribbon, and two hours later: new pj bottoms. I based this pair on its seat-less predecessor. The only thing new in them is the thread as I even recycled the elastic (maybe not such a grand idea in retrospect).
I slept in them last night and woke up to that ever so smug feeling of: why, you clever, clever girl! You know that feeling, right? When you do something entirely of your own and you didn’t spend a real dime to do it. Nothing like a little ego pick-up after being undone by a crochet manual! What, you don’t get that feeling??
For the moment, I’m enjoying feeing entirely superior and smug toward my nemesis the granny square. Wonder how long that will last?
Those are adorable PJs, especially for spring. You are a very clever girl–BRAVO!!
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Thank you! They were easy—I see several of them in my future. Probably after another bout with the crochet manual! ~W
Ooooh purty!
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I may be the only one in my house to agree with you. BW wanted verbal assurances that I wasn’t going to wear them outside. EVER. When I jokingly suggested that I was going to whip up a pair for him, he ran and hid in his bedroom. Ha! It’s probably bad parenting to mess with your 10 year old like that, eh? 😀 ~W
Those look nice and sunny!
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They are. . . bright. :DÂ Which is a good thing these days—it’s raining and promises to be doing so all week! ~W
Love them…it’s so nice to make something that turns out and that you can use, isn’t it? Next…pants made of granny squares (ok, that would not be too good…ick!)
I don’t know why our JoAnn’s is so wonderful all of a sudden, it’s very surprising…I hope you find some goodies at yours!
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I’m guessing that your JoAnn’s is decent because it’s not in MY TOWN. heh. Oh well. . . I’ll live. And I’m fearful that you might have put a very frightening idea into the universe. Those granny square people are fierce! Hee. ~WÂ
I love your new PJs! YAY!!
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Thanks! Me too. 😀 ~W
Oooohhh! Bright and sunshiney! You ARE a clever, clever girl 🙂
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Thank you. Mock all you like, darling, you KNOW you’d be wearing these things in a heartbeat! 😀 ~W
Bonjour lovely Miss Wende! Thank for de-lurking in my blog. It’s so nice to know I have visitors…and even more exciting when they are as sweet as you! Please stop in again soon okay?
Your new PJ’s are quite adorable! I just love the vintage sheet idea…too cute!
I hope you don’t mind if I tag along in your blog. I’d love to see all the treasures you create.
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Welcome! I will certainly be back to your blog soon. I’ve been buying vintage sheets for all sorts of things lately–but due to some vision problems, I’m just now getting to sewing with them! 😀 Tomorrow, I’m hoping to do more! 😀 ~W
Nothin’ better than new jammies, and, holy cow! when you’ve made them all by your little self it’s even better. good job, girlfriend!
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Thank you! I’m just glad to be using my new machine. I even did buttonholes without pulling my hair out. Yippee! ~W
They are super cute and you are super-cool for having made them. Go ahead – launch your own line. 😉
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I may just do that! 😀 ~W
I think the same person/people who write the crochet manuals are also working at bloglines (your new posts aren’t showing up on my feeds – bleche, I hate not getting evidently hot off the press!). Gawd am I lazy or what! Not like I have to walk 3 miles in the pouring rain, up a hill, on a dirt road to click you from my blogroll. Heck, all I have to do is type “e” on my URL bar and poof… there you are!
Love, love, love your new pj’s and you go girl! As many irons as I have in the fire… I’m just ITCHING to do a granny and do the grannyalong gig. Maybe we need a granny’s gone wild night!
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I’ll check my settings to see if there is an issue on my side with bloglines. Wonder if anyone else is having this issue? As for the granny squares… step away from the crochet hook! 😀 ~W
Excellent PJs, and very inspiring. I think I’ll try some patternless pjs for my daughter first. Maybe for her Spring basket! Oh, thank you for the inspiration!
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Oh, you’re welcome. These were super easy to do and I have say, a huge boost to my crafting ego! I think putting them in Spring baskets is a great idea. ~W
I wasn’t actually mocking you … much. I was sitting here in my threadbare sweats wondering if you’ll be making those nifty PJs to sell … 😀
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Heh… and YES! For you, I would make them to sell! ~W
Kind of ugly sheet, DARLING pj pants! 🙂 I think you could even go to Fred Meyer’s in those. 🙂 Man, I wish I could go to Fred Meyer’s. Just a few more months!
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Oh dear, you must really be homesick to be pining for Fred Meyer’s. I avoid that place at all costs! ~W
You have no idea how good your post from yesterday made me feel! I have been reading your blog for awhile and consider you to be really intelligent. It just so happened that this last weekend I decided to sit down and attempt to knit something more complicated than my usual “nothing but knit stitch scarf.” The instructions were impossible to follow even after I read an explanation in a book designed for children! I have been sewing all my life, and I am convinced that knitting and crocheting is actually a foreign language that it helps to have been raised in a home where that’s what they do! I, too, went back to sewing.
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Thank you! I’m thinking that you are on to something. I only got the most rudimentary introduction to crocheting in my home, as my mom was a really a sewer. And I have very few fears at launching into a new idea with a sewing machine. But these books (oof!) do look like a foreign language. I think it’s OK to try new things, even if you get whipped in doing so! And I finally did find a visual reference and it seems to work fairly well for teaching a granny square. However, that being said—it’s not like I’m going to ever be able to do much else! I don’t see an afgan in my future, that’s for sure! Heh. Thanks so much for the comment: it’s always great to see who is reading! ~W
I love the PJ’s! What a perfect combination of “energetic” yellow and “lazy-lounge-around” PJ’s…love it.
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Me too! I think the vintage sheets are an acquired taste, tho! ~W
They’re wonderful!
This didn’t show up on bloglines for me today either, but usually there’s a bit of a delay. All of your other posts have been though… Good thing, cause I need my evidently fix too! 🙂
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Ok, that’s good to know, Kathleen. I’m not going to worry about it, since it doesn’t seem to be anything on my end that I can actually fix. 😀 ~W
you are clever + stylish 🙂
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Why, thank you! 😀 ~W