Post Christmas

So I can finally post all my projects I made for Christmas. I had an excellent one with my family. I did have to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day but I felt like I got in my quality family time.

Without further ado, the projects I made!

Here's an overview of all the gifts I made for people.

This little monster I made for my year old nephew. I used Stacey Trock's Mr. Toothy pattern that I received when I signed up for her Amigurumi class on Craftsy.

Next I made Totoro for my sister-in-law. I'm a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki's movies so Totoro was realy fun to make. 

Batman from my nephew!

Another pattern from Stacey Trock: Mike from Monster's Inc and Monster's University for my niece.

Stitch from the Disney movie, Lilo and Stitch for my father-in-law. I wasn't overly happy how it turned out. I think I put poor Stitch's eyes too close together so he looks a bit wonky. My FIL still loved it, so that made me happy.

Kirby from Nerdigurumi for my brother-in-law. 

And last but not least, the African Flower Owl for my sister. This pattern I used worsted weight instead of DK weight like the pattern called for, so it turned out much bigger than expected. My sister still loved it.

My brother-in-law said the niece and nephews loved their toys so much that they refuse to go to sleep if they're not with them. That really warms my heart. It's so nice to give gifts that people really like, especially when you've worked so hard on them.

Here's hoping for a great New Year!

-Pharmagurumi

It's Christmastime, y'all!

So, just a few hours ago I finished -all- my crocheted Christmas presents. I am so darn proud of myself. I am going to wait until after Christmas to post pictures in the rare event that some of my family members actually read this blog.

I have to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and up until New Years Eve but it's all good! I have my schedule figured out to hang out with my family. I have enough time to attend church services for Christmas. Everything is okay! The start of December was pretty rough, but life is good now.

From the We Are Yarn Ravelry group, the questions was posed: what are your goal for 2015? After some thought, I busted out this list:

• learn to knit
• knit a pair of socks
• get involved with a local spinning group and learn how to use a spinning wheel
• crochet more amigurumi
• start exercising more and eating healthier
• learn Spanish
• continue to be awesome at my job
• find a local charity to craft for
• get more involved in church
• regularly update my blog
• network with other crafters

We'll see how this all pans out.

Gearing up for crafting in 2015, I signed up for the Moogly 2015 CAL! I had planned on doing the 2014 blanket, but....life happened and it got put to the backburner.

I also signed up for my first Swap group on Ravelry! I've never done a swap before but the idea of getting fun stuff in the mail instead of just bills I need to pay for sounds wonderful. The first swap is a Superhero/Villains swap. Oh boy!

Happy Holidays everyone!

-Pharmagurumi  

Phil Ferguson Craft Crush

I was looking around the internets at crochet goodness (like always), and I came across Phil Ferguson. He's a crocheter in Melbourne, Australia and makes crocheted hats out of food. They are absolutely wonderful. I love weird/offbeat crocheted items and this guy captures this mood fabulously.

Here are some of his works:

Here are links to his Facebook and Instagram. Yay for craft stalking!
-Pharmagurumi

Home again!

Finally back home!

The husband's surgery went well. He has to take it easy for two weeks, then no heavy lifting for four more weeks. He's been in pain from the surgery but it's getting better slowly day by day. The whole process went smoothly but I was just a frazzled, stressed wreck the entire time. I was more than ready to get back to my own house and see my pets again.

While in Tampa, we had a -lot- of downtime...so I started a new hat project for myself. My hair has been growing out pretty long so I wanted a slouch beanie to contain everything, especially when I really don't feel like styling it (which is pretty much all the time).

 

Ta da!!!! I got the idea from this free pattern by Chezcrochet. On an interesting side note, the lady behind Chezcrochet is in my hometown. I've gotten in contact with her and she's quite pleasant. She just unfortunately has some health problems that prevent her from being as active in the community as she wants.

I'm still desperately trying to crochet up Christmas presents. I can see a light at the end of the tunnel!
-Pharmagurumi

Big Hero 6

My husband and I just finished seeing Big Hero 6 in theaters. I loved it and thought Baymax was absolutely delightful. The entire time during the movie, I just kept thinking, "I have to crochet Baymax. Must check Ravelry for patterns."

Lo and behold:

Pattern is available here. I'll be so excited to get done with Christmas stuff so I can make something for myself.
-Pharmagurumi

Something Completely Different

Well friends, I am in Tampa, Florida. In a long and convoluted journey, my husband is finally getting relief for his back. He had issues getting answers in our home town, so he went to a spinal institute in Oklahoma. They said he was a candidate for surgery, only they couldn't do the surgery until next year. He's already met his deductible this year for insurance from another hospital stay so the institute said he could have surgery this year at their Tampa, Florida location. My awesome coworkers agreed to cover me. His actual surgery date is Tuesday. So here we are.

I, of course, brought along my crocheting. The Yarn Drum my husband bought me really helped me carry yarn through the airports. I envision long time of me waiting in the hospital for him to get evaluated. I'm still desperately trying to finish Christmas presents. I might have to give some people an I Owe You, but we'll see.

In other news. The Baby Louis pattern has been circulating around my Facebook feed. I'm not the first to say it's really darn creepy, which of course, makes me want to crochet it even more. I showed my husband and he visibly shuddered.

And to finally leave on an uplifting note. My aunt knows a lady that spins. I got in touch with her and she's offered to show me to use a spinning wheel AND LET ME BORROW ONE OF HERS. I am beside myself with happiness. The spinning lady says that a group of women get together once a month to work on projects. I'm going to try and use my wool roving I got from Paradise Fibers to spin up some awesome wool yarn.

Until then, wish my husband and I luck!
-Pharmagurumi

Depressing News

I'm a huge pet lover.

My husband and I have two pit bulls: Moira and Midi and three cats: Scrambles, Navi, and Angel. We probably spend more money on their health and well-being than we do ourselves. All our pets are definitely members of the family.

My cat, Angel, is 16 years old. She's traveled with me through six moves. Through junior high, high school, undergrad, and pharmacy school. She's the only pet that has come from my childhood home. Much less to say, she's been my constant little buddy throughout the years.

Her health has declined these past six months. Her kidneys are failing and we've worked with trying to get her hyperthyrodism under control. We've been giving her dexamethasone and cyanocobalamin injections to try and stimulate her appetite. We've given her subcutaneous IV fluids since she's not eating and drinking well. But none of that really helped.

I'm going to have to put her down Tuesday evening. It's hard but she just had horrible quality of life this past month. I've already told my coworkers to just...leave me be when I go into work that evening.
-Pharmagurumi

I braved Black Friday aaaand....

I got nothing. I had seen some people mention on Facebook that Walmart would be having this huge sale on Red Heart with Love yarn. It was usually around $5.50 per skein and the internet told me it would be as low as $1.67 a skein!

I'm not one to brave Black Friday at all, but I figured this sale was too good to be true. I finished work at 9am then headed straight to my local Walmart. Only thing on sale was the huge Super Saver Jumbo yarn for a dollar off. I actually exercised restraint and didn't buy anything on that trip

On to better news!

My Paradise Fibers order came in! It's gray Norwegian wool. It's one of the cheaper fibers offered. I figured since I'm new to spinning, I might as well try something that doesn't break the bank. I am trying to connect with some local spinners to see if I can handle a spinning wheel. I can keep practicing on my Adventure Time drop spindle until then.

I've also been trying to connect with other fiber arts bloggers around the web. I finally figured out how to post my Pinterest, Ravelry, and Bloglovin profiles. I love the idea of blogs sponsoring giveaways and Crochet and Knit-alongs. I know this blog is still in its infancy stages but I'm going to try to make this blog grow so I can get connected to the wonderful virtual fiber arts community.

-Pharmagurumi

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all my American readers.

I have to work at the pharmacy today so my family celebrated Thanksgiving last Sunday. I had an absolute blast hanging out with my mom, husband, brother, aunt, and cousin. I think it's really great my mom and aunts live in the same city as I do so I don't have to stress about traveling for the holidays.

I don't know about y'all but now I really feel I can start getting in the Christmas spirit once Thanksgiving has past. I've started listening to Christmas music at work. My husband and I still need to put up our Christmas tree and Nativity Scene, but it will have to wait until I'm off work again. I love the Advent season leading up the Christmas.

Now I just need to finish crocheting all these darn Christmas presents in time!

-Pharmagurumi

Black Friday Deals

Just got an email from Marly Bird about black Friday deals so I thought I'd share. I also read on some crochet Facebook group that Wal-Mart is going to have a huge black Friday sale on Red Heart with Love at $1.97 a skein. I stay home and hide during Black Friday.

Still desperately trying to finish Christmas presents. Crocheting away!
-Pharmagurumi

Free Yarn for A Year!

Happily Hooked Magazine is doing a contest where you can win free yarn for a year from Red Heart yarns. Apparently the winner will receive 10 skeins of choice every month for a year. If any of y'all want to enter, here's the link. Good luck everyone!

-Pharmagurumi

A Great Gnashing of Teeth

My husband and I just got back from a random getaway from Fredericksburg, Texas. It's been our weekend romantic getaway destination for many years now. As usual we both had a lovely time.

It's just the post vacation blues settled in hard. The back-to-reality realization hit me. I'm having Thanksgiving dinner with my mom tomorrow since I'll be working Thanksgiving day. Still have to cook everything. Laundry is still crazy. House needs cleaning. I need to go exercise.

So instead of being a responsible adult, I settle on the couch for a crochet and podcast listening marathon. And then I realize I messed up on the crocheting project I'm making. The project I need to finish before Christmas. Cue teeth gnashing.

I set the project aside. And by set aside I mean I threw the project down on the coffee table in disgust then took an anti- frustration nap.

I woke up, life is okay, the project was easier to fix than I thought. I can pick up groceries tomorrow morning and just enjoy being with my family.

It will all be okay.

Now back to podcast/crochet marathon.

-Pharmagurumi

Mathematical!

So around two weeks ago I went tothe Kid 'N Ewe and Llamas, too festival in Boerne, Texas. It was the first fiber festival I have ever attended and I had an absolute blast. I bought my firsts skeins of alpaca, attended some really interesting classes, and also splurged to buy an Adventure Time drop spindle and some cheap roving. I'm doing my best to learn how to make pretty yarn. So far my efforts are as ugly as homemade soap but that won't discourage me!

Cue Action Shot!

On other news, I'm still desperately hooking to finish Christmas presents. November flew by and Christmas seems just around the corner. I'm working on a pattern for my sister, currently, and will post pictures after I finish.

One of my coworkers also asked me to finish an afghan his mom started. His mom can't crochet anymore due to arthritis so I offered to finished it. Crochet is a huge stress relief for me so it's almost like they're doing me a favor to ask for projects.

That's all for now!

-Pharmagurumi

Introduction

Hello! Welcome to my semi-serious blog about all things that I find interesting. I love crocheting and am currently a pharmacist in a hospital setting. I'm slowly learning to enjoy knitting, even though crochet will be my first love. Also spinning! I'm hoping to get more serious in my crafting and this blog will document that. Might even have a few snippets about the healthcare field and other life events.