Stripped Crochet Legwarmers

Stripes in the round can be hard in crochet, because usually you can see the seam when you slip stitch to start a new round.

I think my way of doing it is seamless, and it all has to do with where you start your new color!

To make these leg warmers you will need about 300 yards of worsted weight yarn in two colors, so 150 yards of color A and 150 yards of color B. I used a size 4.5mm crochet hook and I have a 8 inch ankle. There are 3.5 hdc sts an inch for gauge when working hdc in the round. Finished legwarmers is 10 inches long with a circumference of 9 inches, measured without stretch. Will fit a 8-11 inch ankle. My ankle is 8 inches but my calf is 12 and it got a bit tight at the top but it still worked. Increase your starting chain if you ankle is bigger by 4 chains an inch, and decrease by 4 chains an inch if smaller.

Pattern:
Chain 39 sts.

R1: Skip first chain, and do 38 hdc, one in each chain down the row

Join in the round (I sl st into the first hdc)

R2: Chain 1, and do 38 half double crochets all the way around one in each st. Slip stitch into the first stitch, cut yarn.

R3: NEW COLOR! pull up a stitch, and chain one. To make it seamless, make sure to start in new stitch NOT where you sl st in the previous round with your old color. do 38 half double crochets all the way around one in each st. Slip stitch into the first stitch.

R4:  Chain 1, and do 38 half double crochets all the way around one in each st. Slip stitch into the first stitch, cut yarn.

Repeat round 3-4 until desired length. I did 14 stripes. If you want more stripes make sure you have more than the recommended 150 yards of yarn. Good luck!

Best Friends

My ideal best friend would be someone who could show up at my house spontaneously, food in tow and dressed in leggings and a old tee, because they would be holding my baby while I showered and cried tears of joy over their person.

Perhaps this is why my best friend is currently a pack-in-play. Only it never brings me food and stays in the living room--but it does hold my baby really well, so it works. Also the fact that I can't imagine life without it.

I think I am in a transitional season of life right now. My friend Larkin moved across town and is busy with school and a 40 hour week job. Since I've had a baby, we have seen each other twice. She's busy. I'm busy. Maybe we will be better friends later.

My other two good friends Tori and Sabrina both moved away last year, and I am terrible at keeping up with long distance relationships. I stalk them on facebook occasionally.

Couple that with me never wanting to leave the house and...well, that explains my obsession with the pack-and-play.

I have one good mom friend who has two kids named Melissa, but she is also very busy. As she also has small offspring and a kitchen to clean and a husband to care for as well as a sister getting married there is little time for friends. And she is always going/doing something... But, for my birthday she made me cake and she also gave me a "bad day grab bag". What is such a thing, you ask? Well, its a gift full of little things to open when you have a bad day. So when my husband has to work late and my kid is getting a tooth and I can't shower because he refuses to let me put him down I can open a little package and paint my nails.

It's the little things in life. That bag was the best thing ever. I say was, because I already opened everything. When you have a baby sometimes every day is a bad day.

I'm going to go put my kid in the pack-in-play and do the dishes now.

Marriage after Baby?

If I had to pick a theme song for the last six months of my life, I think it would sound like a mix between a Donald Trump commercial and a tornado. Six months ago I birthed a human. Since then I have been trying to catch up, slow down, stop, go, sit and make bacon and eggs while simultaneously juggling.

I burned the eggs.

But I still deserve an award. 

Also I should, you know, probably be working on that thing that helped create said offspring, right? My marriage? 

Last week I was unpacking some books and I found the dusty copy of The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman (we also read his book "Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married "). I remember when hubby and I picked out these books for our premarital counseling sessions (in fact I think I blogged about it here). I also remember how revolutionary it was to the first two years of our marriage. I credit Chapman's book with helping me understand Brian in many ways.

look at us all cute and unmarried... XD

As a bright eyed engaged woman my love languages were physical touch and words of affirmation (if I am remembering correctly?) and darling boyfriend's were touch and quality time. I remember thinking smugly that since one of gifts overlapped, things would be easy. 

On an unrelated note does anyone have a time machine so I can go back and slap myself with a fish? You are right, it probably wouldn't help. And I'd smell, well, rather fishy. Doesn't make for a good love story.

Continuing on-- into marriage that is. Now I really get to put those things I learned in that book to work! Right off the bat my love languages changed! Apparently cohabiting and priorities can shift my desires, needs and wants too, who knew! Now the things that show me love the most are gifts and acts of service. Boy, do I love gifts!

Husbands desires remained placidly the same. Must be nice to be even tempered. I should try it some time. 

The book did help. If I wanted to do something special for husband I only had to think of his love language. Touch is the way he prefers to communicate with me. I learned to make snuggles and quality time (sans iPhone) priorities in my life because nothing made my husband think I was being disrespectful more than sitting with him but staring at my iPhone the whole time. Also, learning my love language helps me verbalize what I need to my husband. I have been known to melt into my husband's arms when he spontaneously buys me chocolate at the grochery store.

And then we had a baby and now I am lucky if I remember to brush my teeth.

Linking up all month with Brita over at BelleBrita!