Monday, February 28, 2011

Rainy Monday & Butterflies


Peachy little crocheted butterfly.

This last day in February, oh has this month just come and gone so quickly! I just wanted to touch base with all the lovely people out there who come to my blog and let you know all is well. The thunder, rain and lightening came in the wee hours of the morning and there was 8-9 inches of snow already on the ground. NW Ohio can now expect flooding. We personally are so fortunate not to have that worry about that. I have a couple of friends who live on or close to the river. For them it is a never-ending battle to remain in a place they love or to just throw up their hands and yell, "UNCLE, WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH!" Last week one shared with me photos of deer and this week it will no doubt be ones of flood water in their basement. One year she said the river came up and washed away new bags of mulch, rail road timbers and her tomato plants. I joked that they should have put life jackets on those tomato plants and she got a good laugh, but I know her heartache when hard work is undone by Mother Nature. They build their dream log cabin from scratch and I can understand why they cling to it even in times of despair.

Two tone butterfly.

I have remained busy. The "organization" of my sewing room is still underway and I have been making steady progress. I can at last see the top of my desk and throw away the bag of bread crumbs in case of finding my way in and out of here, lol. I have run across a few things I totally forgot about like these tiny crocheted butterfly magnets that I use to make and sell at my craft shows. I made and sold at least a hundred of these and I just wanted to brighten up today's post with them. I do not take credit for the original pattern, but my twist on this little darling is that I used flower making stamen for the antennae when the original pattern called for pipe cleaners. I also have a lot of UFO's. I won't even comment on how many of those I have, but I will post pics of projects as they are completed. Finishing those alone would keep me in enough subjects to blog about for months. I will post before and after pics of my room when all is completed. I only work on it as time allows. Right now I know my pages are boring because household chores need to be done, but I promise to bring some interesting things soon. In the meantime keep the faith, remain safe and well. We are all kindred spirits who share a common interest and for that I ♥ you all.
P.S. Once again apologizing for the poor quality of some of the pics. I am a craftier person, unfortunately not a photographer. I envy those of you who are proficient in picture taking as well as your needlework.  XOXO

Lovely maroon.

Personal favorite rainbow butterfly.

Another shot of how small they are.

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Saturday, February 26, 2011

Weather and Organizing

I guess all of you are just a bit tired of coming to my pages and reading about me whining about the snow. Believe me, I would love to cut the snow right out of my life, but we got another 8 inches on Thursday night and yesterday I spent shoveling again. I use to love snow, but I find myself grumbling, "I hate this stuff!" And to add insult to injury we are due for more again today. If I looked out the window and saw a polar bear I would not be the least bit surprised. Maybe this really isn't Ohio, but Alaska.........

On another note I have spent the last 2 mornings in this sewing room and organizing. I purchased some small, inexpensive containers the end of  last year. I have 3 varieties and figuring out what I wanted to put in them has been an issue. A couple times I  filled a few only to decide that wasn't what I was going to do, so I removed the contents and switched things around. It has been fun though, seeing things take shape and the clutter slowly disappearing. The other day Debbie visited and made a comment that more time is spent organizing than crafting......truer words were never spoken. I can definitely relate to that. Sometimes I just amaze myself that I use to keep all my "stuff" in my bedroom closet. It just evolved into this craft monster. I can actually remember the very first craft book I bought. I was 19 at the time and if I remember right, it was an over-sized McCall's Craft Magazine. It was about the size of the large road atlas one buys for traveling. I wore that magazine out looking at all the neat stuff I could make. That was in 1970 and I was a new bride and I was going to make it all. When I look back I don't think I made one dang thing that was in it because several weeks later the new issue was on the magazine stand.....yep, I bought it. What is also amazing is that magazine cost only about $1.25....compared to what one pays today for crafting books, that was a real bargain. ♥

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Procrastination Stops Today

No more excuses and time to make good on those promises I made myself last month. It is time to stop procrastinating and get busy organizing this shameful mess I call a sewing room. Let's face it, there has not been a whole lot of sewing going on in here since last year. True, true, I have been hooking a lot but my yarn stash seems to have grown despite my efforts to tame it down a bit with handmade items this past Christmas. How does that happen one might ask herself...well, goofy, ya went into the store and like a magnet you made a beeline straight to the yarn isle and started drooling like a crazed idiot (it's a wonder they didn't put you in a straight jacket) and before you knew it you were standing in the checkout isle with several skeins of yarn and hoping your husband was not witnessing your latest escapade. It was a wonder they didn't have to restock the shelves when you got done, and it is another small wonder that the shopping cart managed to hold all the yarn. Surely you can't be the only one who has hidden a bag of yarn in the trunk of the car and waited till the coast was clear to sneak it into the house....and then of course it just seems to blend in with the rest of the stash because men don't know how much yarn you had to begin with because when they have the remote to the tv in their hands because they are in their own world. It wouldn't matter that you have built a yarn fort around the chair where you reside in the living room....as long as the top of your head is visible and you are silently present all is right with the world....bathroom breaks as well as food breaks are allowed on occasion of course.......and so my life....mixed and mingled with "oh darn, I lost count, now I have to start counting these chains all over again, I really don't care who won that basketball game", "oh no, I made a mistake 10 rows back and now I need to rip out the last 2 hours or my crocheting"......"I dropped a stitch and need to start this all over".....and so my life.....I ♥ it........and now back to the meat and potatoes of this posting.....I need to organize this room.....my yarn misses me........

Come on Spring!

I spent another day running and maybe the next days can be quiet ones (I hope) at home? The dogs went to the groomers. I did get a pic of my little ham Chewy. They both came home so full of themselves, strutting around like they owned the place. Tails were wagging so I am sure they were happy to be home. While they were gone I grabbed the snow shovel and once again proceeded to do some snow removal. I am paying for it this evening with an aching back, sore left shoulder and plain old tired. I pampered myself with a nice warm bath and it worked wonders.

Did someone say ham??
 
My red bud tree in the Spring.
 I am so wanting this Winter weather to be done and over with. Sometimes we don't realize when we do that we are wishing our life away :(    While looking at my photo albums I ran across a couple of pics from last Spring. Years ago my mother-in-law found a tiny red bud tree growing behind her trash can. She asked me if I wanted it and of course I did. I brought it home and planted it in the front yard. It was so tiny, and look at how it has grown.

Baby robins.
We had robins everywhere. I recall counting about 5 nests and one was on the trellis my husband made for a pitiful rosebush I was trying to save. There were 4 babies and one busy mother. She was feeding them all day long. There was another nest in a lilac bush, one in the trumpet vine, a nest that we kept removing from on top of a porch light and one on the porch rail. It is so nice to be able to open windows and doors and hear the birds sing in the Spring.......it has been a long Winter..........(sigh)

Monday, February 21, 2011

Monday, Monday


It is Monday, and we are back in the snow business again. We got a teasing of some milder weather for a few days and all the snow we had on the ground (since before Christmas) melted away. But alas, last evening Mother Nature moved in with some flakes that turned to a bit of a melt and froze. This morning there was ice on just about everything.


I put the Jeep in 4-wheel drive and we headed for town. Monday is a treatment day and so after that we stopped at the grocery to pick up a few items and then headed back home. My husband has a 10 day break until next appointment and so we are settled in and can be content to just stay warm and relax.

A dozen red roses!

On Saturday was I ever given a pleasant surprise, a belated Birthday Party with my husband, daughters and son-in-law in attendance. It was perfect, just us, complete with all the trimmings.......

Yummy sugar-free cake and frosting!

Party hats and noise makers!

Balloons!

Lovely roses!

Oh, did I mention roses? LOL

Balloons!

A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet!

I ♥ my family. My birthday is really January 18th, but we were all in Toledo at the hospital during that time were we needed to be for my husband. He is improved and doing well. We are truly blessed. I am truly blessed to have a family who is caring. I wouldn't trade them for anything. They are perfect just the way they are........until they told me the cake only had 7 candles on it because it wasn't big enough to handle 60 of them, lol.......♥XOXOXOXO♥

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Just A Head's Up

This day is winding down and I have received the addresses of the gals who won the mugs. I will get them in the mail in the next day or so, but definitely by the weekend and they can expect their packages sometime this next week :)

I have jazzed up my blog pages a bit. I hope the new font is easy enough for everyone to read. We have had a busy week and today was the 4th day in a row that we have run to appointments and obligations. My husband had an eye exam on Wednesday and while he was in doing that I checked out some yarn at a local store. I bought 6 skeins of CARON SIMPLY SOFT in a color called GREY HEATHER. ( I apologize before hand for the poor color quality of my snap shots. Late evening and artificial lighting just wasn't the best combo for good photos). I have worked with this yarn before and it is definitely very soft and easy to knit or crochet ( I needed more yarn like another hole in the head, lol). As I left my eyes scanned the yarns and beautiful colors, I wondered, "Do we really possess the yarn, or does it possess us?"


Then the isle where they have all the ribbon and because I can never make up my mind, and there was quite a variety to choose from, I picked up a few spools.......I know, I know, a few usually means just 3, so I stretched the truth a bit and there was actually many more........but the colors were so very eye-catching and they just seemed to jump right into the shopping cart......hummmmm........   


As you can see I have quite the collection. I did consider my friend Jeanie's suggestion to use a polka dot ribbon for the trimmings on the baby items. I even found a pretty light green gingham. The photos do not do the colors justice. The 4 spools of ribbon on the upper right are actually a pretty shade of lavender.



There is no excuse now for not completing the crocheted set. I just need to find some free time and get started. I am sure it wouldn't take more than an hour to finish it all up. Next time I do a post on my pages I promise to be able to say, "It's Done!"

I leave all of you creative people with good wishes today and always. Take care, and God Bless You All ♥

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

WINNERS!!!!

TA DA.........(DRUM ROLL PLEASE).......and the WINNERS ARE.........

JOSIE @ FLOWER POWER (Pink mug)
TAMMY @ KNITWIT'S CORNER (Green mug)

CONGRATS GIRLS!!!!!

You can send your addresses to my email:
ladybug1698@gmail.com

Thank you all for your comments. I would love to give everyone a mug. I plan to have another GIVE-AWAY in the next 3 months. I would like to do maybe 1 every 3-4 months, so keep your eyes open and check back with me from time to time. You are always welcome, and tell your friends. The more the merrier.

TIME UP!!

The deadline for posting a comment for the mug GIVE-AWAY has come and the winner will be announced after 12pm EST here in Ohio. I had over 20 people to participate and I was very pleased with that. All the names were written on scraps of paper and put in a basket. I will have my hubby draw the name for the pink mug first and then the name for the green one. You may check back here on my page for the names of who won and I will also contact you. If I do not hear from a winner in 3 days time I will draw another name.♥

Sunday, February 13, 2011

New Gal On The Blogger Block

Hello everyone! Just wanted to give a head's up for another blog of interest to any of you who might be scrap bookers. My oldest daughter is new to blogging and started her own just this weekend. Although she is new to all of this, she isn't new to cropping, pasting, embellishing and card stock. She has her craft room devoted to her hobby and she has sold pages on Ebay and now has a little place on Etsy. Check her out, she will welcome visitors and comments.     http://busy-bee-scrapper.blogspot.com/   

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Update on Crocheted Baby Set

You know that feeling you get when you have been working on a project for what seems like forever and you are finally seeing the finish line.......well, that's how I'm feeling right now. I finished all the crochet work on the shell baby shawl/afghan, the matching sweater and bonnet. I sat last night while watching a bit of TV and tucked all the loose tails in and sewed up the little seams on the sleeves. I still need to dig around in my button jar and find some buttons that will compliment the piece. Of course I need a ton of narrow ribbon to decorate it and give it that special finishing touch. The original pattern calls for the bonnet to have pom poms. I'm still debating about that. I promise I will post a pic soon on the completed set.

In the meantime I have been traveling the pages of many of your blogs and like a voyager I peek in and see what is going on with you. I can not rave enough about attic24, dear Lucy and her colorful world. She was my inspiration to start blogging and I will be forever grateful to her. She is working on the most beautiful motif and making a shawl. Check her out when you get time at http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/ 

Another blog worth checking out is my friend Jeanie over at Getting Started. She has some yummy recipes and you should check out her sweet tiny pincushions. They are adorable! I know she would love to have you visit her at http://mimibabyyow.blogspot.com/

Other than that I have been busy running all week with my husband and meeting obligations for his doctor appointments and treatments. He is doing well and so far his doctors are so pleased with his progress. He is doing so well that he dodged the bullet and doesn't have to undergo dialysis. His renal diet is working and so is the chemo. I thank all of you who said a prayers for him and this family as we continue on with life and it's challenges. We are blessed in so many ways. I never forget that, ever.

GIVE-AWAY REMINDER

Hey everyone, this will be my last reminder for the mug GIVE-AWAY. We are approaching the final days for you to be included in the drawing for either the PINK one or the GREEN one. For all of you who still want a chance to win, you have through Monday February 14th. Drawing will be on the 15th. For those who have already visited me and left your comment, GOOD LUCK!

Award


Thank you to my friend Jeanie for her wisdom on how to get the award patch onto my blog page. You are definitely a peach! And now that I know how to do that I can try my best to meet the requirements for accepting the award. I want to once again thank Terrie ~.~ smiling for her sharing the award with me. She has a very stylish blog and can be found at http://terriekwong.blogspot.com/ . I think what I like the best about Terrie is that she is sweet and seems very kind-hearted. She is a cat lover and if there were such a thing as reincarnation I think we would all want to come back as her cat. She is very good at felting and has some interesting pics and tips to share with others. She makes the cutest tote bags. She loves her family and has some really nice photos.


Now to get busy and do the requirements:

Post a linking back to the person who gave you the award.
Share 7 random things about yourself.
Award 15 recently discovered bloggers.
Drop them a note and tell them about it.

The 7 things about myself:

1. I am a naturalized American citizen. I was born in West Berlin, West Germany.
2. My favorite foods are Italian.
3. My best hobbies are to crochet, knit and quilt, but I love all crafts in general.
4. I have been married almost 41 years to the same man, lol.
5. I am mom to 2 grown daughters who are college grads with degrees.
6. I am a nurse for 26 years.
7. I love people and believe we all have something of value to offer.

I wish I could name them all but here are the 15 blogs that I would like to share this award with:

 1. attic24
 2. getting started
 3. All roads lead home
 4. the garden bell
 5. happier than a pig in mud
 6. Teacups & Tiskets
 7. Sweet Bee Cottage
 8. Little Tin Bird
 9. L is for Love
10. Paisley Jade
11. Easy
12. Jelly Wares
13. icrochet
14. Bee In My Bonnet
15. yarn around hook

I just want everyone to know that to pick the best blogs is almost impossible. Every blog has something of interest and to choose only 15 seems unfair. I have gone to all of my FOLLOWERS blogs and they are a group of very interesting women who deserve awards too. My above list is just a random compiling of only 15 that I picked off the top of my head from my list (they are in no particular order). Anyone who would like to visit these can link to them on my pages by searching the list in my right hand column. I realize that although these awards are a feather in anyone's cap, they are also time consuming. I have also noticed that some blogs I have visited love the awards, but request that their pages remain "award free". I do understand completely if you prefer to use time for other needs, we all lead busy lives. Since this is a "first" for me I am a bit giddy. With every new follower, I am humbled to think someone else finds me a bit interesting. It makes me want to do a better job to keep you all wanting to come back. For that I you all.  Susanne :)

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

GIVE-AWAY REMINDER



Just a reminder about the mug give-away. If you want to win you need to post only 1 comment for the time period of Feb. 1st through Feb. 14th. There are 2 mugs so 2 names will be drawn. Now how great is that! You have 6 more days. The countdown has begun. If you don't want a mug for yourself, then leave a comment anyways, you can pass it on as a gift to a loved one or friend. I want to also thank those of you who have come here to visit me, and who have left word about this by posting it on your blogs. I am truly grateful. I am finding out that fellow bloggers are the most giving in so many ways. I wish I could {{{hug}}} you all. Thanks for being you ♥



Monday, February 7, 2011

Award

A nice big "THANK YOU" to Terrie ~.~ smiling, whose blog is http://terriekwong.blogspot.com/  She not only received THE STYLISH BLOGGER AWARD but is also  extending it to include some of the other blogs she enjoys. I was a lucky enough that she included me. Now if I could only figure out how to get that award patch on my pages I would be a happy camper and then I could do the requirements that come with that award :) Go check out Terrie's pages, she has lovely photos and some interesting crafty projects that she is sharing with her followers.

One of my holly bushes half buried in snow.

Nothing worse than a naked goose in winter. I have a scarf and hat I made for it, but just never got around to dressing it.

Warm enough today to melt the snow down.


That snow and ice pile is up past my waist. There is another foot of driveway under it.

Little foot path to the front door.

Rabbit tracks out back off the deck. Some tiny tracks, mice? bird?

This will take forever to clear or melt.

Large slab of ice Meghan removed from front stoop.

There are shrubs under all that, and creeping phlox....crocus, daffy dills and more. I am so ready for SPRING!

The best thing about this Monday morning is that it isn't snowing. Meghan came over yesterday after work (and cleaning her own driveway) to helped me clear off 4 more inches of fresh snow that was on top of 2 inches of ice. Then she did the bulk of scraping with a square-shaped shovel to break up those 2 inches of ice. We got a lot of that removed. When I saw her coming down the road I had to think, "Thank you God for sending her to me". I was even more thankful and grateful when the neighbor down the road stopped with his tractor (that has a big bucket on the front) and he cleared frozen snow away from the mailbox and the end of the driveway. He was truly an angel dressed in shabby coveralls and knitted hat to come and clear the worst of Mother Nature's last assault on us. I will have to definitely find the time to do some baking for 3 neighbors who this week refused any pay and so kindly helped us out. It is the very least I can do to pay them back. I know my husband is grateful too. For 30 years he has been the snow removal guy around here, with some occasional help from the girls and me. It's an empty nest here for several years. We are older now, and he is sick.


If I can offer any of you some good, sound, advice, never ever take your health or your loved ones for granite. Never in a million years would I have thought my husband would be this sick. He was someone who very rarely ever got sick or complained. Make the most of every moment of your life. It is not always fair, but life is still good.


I have had enough of snow. I am sure all of you have had enough of hearing about my troubles and woes and so I will try and post some interesting things the next time I sit down at my pc. I am still working on that baby sweater, and I definitely need to get started on organizing this sewing room. It is a small wonder some of you haven't suggested me for that program "HOARDERS". I know it is a lot less embarrassing to post pics of the mess then what it would be to never remedy the problem. Besides, it would do my heart good to just sit and play around with the new containers I have bought. This is already a busy week. I am so hoping to be able to find some time to tackle this problem head on..........bear with me, I won't disappoint you.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Blessings

Not a day goes by that I do not thank God that I am able to wake up and plant my feet firmly on the floor and hope the devil knows I am up, up to good things. Sunday shouldn't be the only day of the week that we are reminded to be thankful. With every  beat of our hearts, with every breath we take, we should thank God. I remember once wondering why my Old Regular Baptist mother-in-law did not say grace at her table. I guess I felt the need to question her about her faith and beliefs since she was such a rock when it came to her religion, and her God-fearing ways. I remember she chuckled and said, "Susie, I have already thanked God for that food, more times than you can count. I thanked Him when we planted the seed, when I beat the weeds down with the hoe, when we harvested the crop, when I stood in my kitchen and canned the produce and when I stood over my stove and cooked the food. And I thanked God when all of my family came to the table to eat of  His  goodness to us. God knows I am grateful. He has heard me, He knows my heart." She set an example for her family by living her life so that she could go before her maker with as clean a slate as possible. No one ever doubted her. I never again doubted that she was grateful for the food on her plate, and her example to me reminded me to be thankful always, not just when I was going to fill my belly.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this! My hubby surprised me several summers ago with his artwork. Birds nest in the ivy too!

Saturday, February 5, 2011

FAMILY

Okay, enough already! MORE SNOW! Yeah, it is snowing again, and has been since around 9am. It is now going on 4:30pm and no let up. My oldest daughter Rachael treated us to a visit and stayed about 4 hours. Her county is now at a Level 2 and it took her about 45 minutes to get home when under normal conditions it takes about 20 minutes. I was relieved to know she made it home safely. It has occurred to me that I have mentioned that we have 2 grown daughters, but never said a word about the other little critters that share our home.
 
Chewy.
Trixie Belle.
            They don't look like they could do much damage, but don't let the innocent looks fool you. Chewy was only 3 months old when he killed a small rabbit in the back yard, and Miss Trixie Belle was his accomplice. I had to remove both of them from the scene of their crime to clean up the mess. Yorkshire terriers are ratters and very protective of family and home. They are loving little mops. Not a day goes by when they don't do something to make us laugh. This family loves it's pets. I read once that the true character of a man is how he treats dumb (meaning non-vocal) animals. They have no voice in which to speak if they are treated badly. My belief is that if you have a pet you should take care of it, and in turn they will be the most loyal friend you have for their lifetime. I do believe God put them on this earth to show us what unconditional love is. We can learn a lot from the animals we love and who love us back.

Friday, February 4, 2011

I Love ♥'s

 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 
Oh look at me, I learned something new today from Lynn over at http://happierthanapiginmud.blogspot.com/
Thanks Lynn . I will once again remind folks of her Give-Away, so check her out and soon. You have until Feb.14th to comment for a chance to win a mug from me. There will be 2 given away, so you have 2 chances to win.  :)   Good Luck! 

GIVEAWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

RED ALERT!!!!!!......."HAPPIER THAN A PIG IN MUD" HAS A GREAT GIVEAWAY THIS MONTH!!!!!!........ AND SO DO I!!!!!! Come and join in the fun for a chance to win. 

http://happierthanapiginmud.blogspot.com/search/label/give-away

So go to Lynn's  site and check out the requirements for a chance to win a great kitchen gadget. I really do need to learn how to do the linky thing and posting those terrific giveaways on my sidebar. I have found blogging great fun. It is so cool when I can finally see the light and find the answers to doing the things a lot of you seasoned bloggers do. Everyone is so kind and thoughtful. If I haven't mentioned it here lately I won't let another day pass that I don't thank all of you for cheering me up with kind words, wonderful pictures, patterns, ideas, and recipes. I also enjoy reading those little snippets of your life, happy or sad, that you share with all of us. It reminds me that we are not alone when it comes to joys and sorrows no matter how large or small. We all breath the same air, and have a common bond. I suppose if one had a Mission Statement it would include "bringing happiness" to others :)  One thing that I would love to learn to do is making that little heart using the keyboard. So anyone who is heart savvy please enlighten me if you would be so kind. I am open to any tips or ideas to make my blog better. One is never too old or too smart to learn something new :).

Birthday Surprise!

Oh I have something to show all of you...........look at all these goodies!!!!! No, I have not been busy knitting. Read on.........

Knit Knacks!

My birthday was January 18th and during that time my husband was in the hospital. I really didn't have time to sit around and mope because I was turning 60 years old. Oh it would have been glorious to have spent my time feeling sorry for myself, crying my "Woe is me", but my thoughts were elsewhere and there was no room for self-pity when someone I love was needing me to be strong.

How much fun this will be :)

And in the hospital room walks my youngest daughter with a birthday surprise for me, a 1000 piece Springbok Puzzle! "Do you like it Mom?" Oh, how could I not like this, it is so perfect!

Springbok Puzzles are the best!

My husband came home on January 24th. I think I should pull out the card table and he and I need to sit and put together this jigsaw puzzle. Then I will finish it with that puzzle sealer and find a nice frame. It will look good hanging on my sewing room wall.

Thank you Meghan for this great gift. Love U!


Thursday, February 3, 2011

Crocheting Again

Good Morning to all of you out there in Blogland.......I am back to crocheting again and started the little sweater that goes with the shell baby afghan. Yeah, I know, I was gonna do something else, but grabbed the pattern and yarn. The crochet hook just appeared in my hand and I started hooking away.

Baby sweater neck edge.

I had about 6 rows done and discovered I had made a mistake back on 2nd row......grrrrrrrrr.......and so the ripping out began and the problem was corrected.

Button loops.

I like the button loops at the end of every other row, but thinking instead of 6ch loop they should be just 4-5ch. Buttons for baby sweaters are small and the loops just seem too big to me. I may have to rip out back to the 2nd row again.......grrrrrrrrrr.......it would appear that I am spending more time undoing what I have accomplished........at this rate I may just get this project done before this next Christmas, lol

More finds for future use.

I have such a terrible time with pictures. I have 2 cameras and the one needs new rechargeable batteries. I am in awe of what beautiful pics many of you take and then I turn around and frown at mine. Every once in awhile I luck out and take a good pic. Anyways, getting back to crochet.......I found this pretty yarn awhile back and I bought several skeins. Unfortunately my camera skills do not do it justice, but it has lovely colors. I am not sure what I will make with it. There is a free pattern inside the label for making baby leg warmers, how cute, but I really don't see a toddler keeping those on where they should be, lol............You know leg warmers can also be used for the elderly as arm warmers and elbow protectors, so they would be a great gift for nursing home residents, along with those lap covers that so many people crochet and quilt.

Beautiful baby shawl.
Lots and lots of fancy border.



So pretty when completed. It was used as a christening shawl.
 The above 3 photos are of a baby shawl I made a couple of years ago and sold. It took ages to do that border. One round took over an hour. Again, my camera skills do not do it justice for it is snow white in color. The pattern came out of a book and if you are interested on where you can find it I will run it down for you. Just leave a comment and I will get back to you ASAP.

Sewing blocks and strips on my small felt board.

It would seem that I am spending a lot of time chatting about crochet, and completely ignoring one of my other passions which is quilting. A few years ago a friend asked me to do up a quilt for her daughter's baby shower. They knew the baby was going to be a girl, and her name was to be Lilly.

Closeup of some of the blocks.

Another closeup of family and friend's artwork.

A design was hatched out on graph paper and all pieces were cut to size. Each white block was ironed to freezer paper (removed later) to make it sturdy to write on and each guest was given 2 blocks (the extra in case of error). They were given an instruction sheet on how to do the blocks which allowed for 1/4 inch seams. Permanent color Pigma Pens (or fabric pens) were to be used to prevent bleeding and running. Designs would be sharp and crisp. Everyone was to design their own block for Lilly at the baby shower and then all blocks were to be returned to me to be sewn together. This baby quilt would have a rod pocket and hung in her nursery. As you can see, some blocks just didn't measure up to the others. I do not know if someone grabbed a batch of the wrong fabric pens or what. It really disappointed me that some people didn't follow the instructions and made their designs out to the edges of the blocks. Of course the seam covered up their art work.

My block.

I needed one more block for the layout and so I asked the grandma if it would be okay for me to add one to the mix. She was happy with the idea. Of course anyone can do this simple baby quilt. Blocks can also be embroidered, but unless you have folks who know how to do that you may never get a completed quilt. Even a few people could do blocks for a pretty toss pillow for in a nursery rocking chair. I suppose it pays to have friends and family members who are needle savvy. Quite a few of the contributors to Lilly's quilt were male, but we all know that it doesn't matter. If you look at the quilt and check out the first block on the top left (frog).....ahhh, done by a talented man, mind you! Everyone did their block to express their love for her and that was all that really mattered wasn't it...........happy stitching, love you all!








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~WRITE IT ON YOUR HEART................
THAT THE ONES YOU LOVE ARE LIFE'S MOST PRECIOUS GIFTS~