Today would have been the perfect day to surrender to temptation and make this project:

Equal parts delight and quirkiness, this amigurumi crochet hook designed by the internet personality known as “Nerdigurumi,” is a temptation people like me find hard to resist (you can find the pattern here here), but resist I did, and instead of getting out some worsted weight yarn and a 3.5 mm hook, I instead worked on tidying up and continued to gather the scraps from my recently completed Little Boy Blue blanket. Longer scraps were added to the smaller ball pictured below and to the right by simply winding them onto the ball, while shorter scraps were tied, one end to the other using a granny knot to secure them (see the ball on the left):

Organizing the yarn cleared off my kitchen counter enough that I was able to find this hat that I made last November:

This hat was part of a stash down challenge that I created for myself after I made a major stash purchase from my son’s trumpet teacher. Composed of primarily vintage acrylic yarns (with some vintage wool thrown in for good measure), this hat was made using Valerie Whitten’s pattern which I paired with a vintage Red Heart lavender yarn that I thought my grand niece might like. I had intended to send it to her in time for Christmas, but life got away from me, and the hat sat gathering dust in my crochet empire until I finally managed to get it to my kitchen counter where it would be more difficult for me to ignore.

As my niece is just about the age I was when I read E. L. Konigsburg’s From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, I also included a copy of that.

Once I had my niece’s package addressed and ready to go, I dug out a Clover chibi with jumbo bent-tipped yarn needles that I had been meaning to send to a friend:

People sometimes find it hard to believe that these yarn needles are the life changing experience that I found them to be, and occasionally I like to give these needles as gifts because the easiest way to explain it is to give one to someone to use. She (or he) will not want to give it back.

Once I had that package addressed and ready to go, I then turned my attention to blocking the Little Boy Blue blanket. As I had been laying the blanket out on the porch to take photos and document my progress, and since some of the yarn used is over 40 years old, I decided that a soapy bath was in order:

I let it sit in the suds for half and hour, after which I rinsed it until the water ran clear, and then rolled it between towels to remove the excess moisture. After that, I spread it out to dry on the guest bed that is situated in my crochet empire, and while I was straightening the edges of the blanket, I noticed this:

made for the birthday of a former college roommate, this too had been sitting on a shelf in my crochet empire for far too long.

I had wanted to write down the pattern before I sent the finished hamigurumi, but I never seemed to have the 10 minutes needed to make the notes I would need so that I could write the pattern, but today afforded me that time, I made my notes, and with any luck, tomorrow I will get them written up.

As for a green ham, it would not be complete without a plate and two eggs, so I included those as well:

Part of the work of making any crafted item is to place the work where it will be used and (hopefully) appreciated. As soon as I have a few more of my finished crochet items placed, I will have created enough room to make my very own crocheted crochet hook; until then, I will continue with the task of organizing my crochet empire to make it a functional and creatively inspirational place.