No Excuse

It's been way too long since I've posted. No excuse really, at least for most of the days between then and now. Just nothing to talk about.

I haven't done much crocheting, which is part of the issue. I'm working on another baby blanket, same pattern as I used before, but this one is done in Deborah Norville Premiere yarn in Parrot. The nursery is going to be done in jewel tones, so it should look good with it. I like the color. There are long colorways which works well with the pattern I'm using.

I've also dragged out my sewing machine and made a dress for my granddaughter's 5th birthday, which is coming up soon. I'll post a picture of her in it.

A New Addition

I found out this past week that the 4th grandchild is going to be a boy. I don't know the proposed name, or exactly when the he will join the family, but I'm excited none the less. Both of my sons will have two children then, one girl and one boy apiece. And the older ones are the girls. I decided soon after finding out the new one was on the way that I would make the baby, regardless of sex, a Texas flag baby blanket. I won't start on it until later in the year, but you can purchase the pattern I bought on Ravelry. The name of the pattern is Lone Star Baby, by Staci Perry. It is really a great pattern done in Tunisian crochet.

I love Tunisian crochet. Just the basic TSS is great for any pattern than has embroidery on it. It makes a perfect backdrop for a cross stitch pattern. And it is easy to master the basic stitch. If you haven't tried it yet you should.

So Much For That

I said that I was going to do better about posting, and here it is, several days later, and I'm just not getting on to post. I was under the weather a bit last week, but still it isn't an excuse for the delay.

I have a friend who is getting married at the end of this month so I've been working on some love birds. I've tried several patterns but I haven't found one that I really like. I have a lot of difficulty with crocheting in rounds. It's a mental thing I guess, but I find it really difficult. If I get one finished I'll post a picture and where you can get the pattern.

I've also been working on an afghan for my best friend from high school. She remains one of my greatest supporters and the least I can do for her is make her an afghan. She has a closed in porch on her house, newly built a few years ago after her house was destroyed by Hurricane Rita. She likes to sit outside and read, and even though her porch is enclosed it still gets cold in the winter, so my goal is to make her a wrap to keep her warm. I finally settled on a pattern I found in a Crochet Today from last year. I know it was last year because I only got my subscription about a year ago. Anyway, the afghan is made by crocheting squares and just sewing them together. The completed squares are placed into a bag and sewn together in the order they are pulled out. I'm using Red Heart's Ranch Red and Claret for the main colors and with a few others made from scraps thrown in for a little more interest. I am woefully late on completing this, but as her birthday is in September I don't feel rushed to do it right now.

More on Smoke

I mentioned a few posts ago about the smoke from fires from the north of here. Its still going on, some days worse than others. Yesterday the visibility was extremely poor and the smell of smoke inside the building at work was so strong I left with a headache. Here's a picture of midday yesterday. It reminds me of the sandstorms that kicked up from time to time when I was in Iraq.

I understand that fires such as those causing the smoke can smolder for quite a while before it gets under control because it burrows down into 3-4 feet of deadfall. Thankfully today wasn't as bad.

Fathers

Today is Father's Day and I find myself surrounded by them, and missing the ones who mean a lot in my life.

My dad died in 1985, and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss him. I was 29 and it was a devastating blow to me. He was a brilliant man, with a photographic memory. He was also a voracious reader and many times I'd find him in his recliner with one of the books from our encyclopedia set in his hand. I don't have a lot of clear memories of the year after he died. I know that I went to work and took care of my boys and my then soldier husband. But not of events that I know had to have happened during that time.

As for that soldier husband, about four years ago two weeks after our 31st wedding anniversary, he took off like a coward after getting caught by the husband of the woman with whom he was having an affair. I miss him less each day and hate him more. He destroyed his sons with other actions related to that woman but not to what he did to me, and has no contact with his youngest. He's missing the lives of his grandchildren who are growing into such wonderfully entertaining people. I've forgiven him and that woman and the others he probably slept with while we were still living together as husband and wife. His ego is such that he can't bring himself to apologize for what he's done. I say this knowing that in those 31 years he apologized to me three times. And you know that he messed up more than 3 times in all those years. He is after all a man.

But I have two sons who are wonderful fathers and I see how involved they are with their children. I have to take credit for that because their dad wasn't involved with them like that. My grandchildren are going to remember this involvement and appreciate it when they have children of their own.

Happy Father's Day to all fathers. Earn that title!

I Give Up!!!!

I've come to the conclusion that I just cannot deal with plastic canvas. I started stitching together my purse organizer and found that one piece somehow has disappeared. I'm sure it is around here somewhere, but rather than take the time to look for it I started stitching. This pattern was relatively simple. Just straight sides, nothing fancy. And even so I managed to break one of the little holes. I guess my frustration has more to do with my attempts at making coasters for my older son's birthday, in the shape of Texas, where I am from and he was born. You can get the coaster pattern here. After three tries I got one coaster cut out. I've gone through another four attempts and I'm just done with it. Maybe my eyes are just too bad or I need to get stronger reading glasses. I don't know but I just am not going to deal with it for now. Oh well, I guess I will just have to avoid using the purse I designed this for, or use it and get frustrated being unable to find things easily.

Smoke

I've been bad lately, not posting anything for several days. I told myself that I would post regularly if I started this and I feel like I've failed myself. Oh well. I'll try to do better.

Monday evening there were heavy thunderstorms that blew through the area where I live and some of the lightning strikes started fires in the state directly north of here. Every day I'd walk out and smell the fires and ash was covering my car heavy enough to look like snow. It rained on Wednesday, too, but not enough to quench the fires. It also rained several times today. I just came back in from walking my dogs and for the first time in four days I didn't smell smoke. Hopefully this means that the fires started by Monday's storms are finally out.

I haven't worked on anything since I last posted. I have to get started on my oldest son's birthday present. His birthday is in August, so I have a little time, but it really just seems to go faster and faster these days. I also have planned something for a friend who is getting married next month. Hopefully her gift won't take as long.

I promised that I'd get my purse organizer stitched together and that hasn't been done yet, either. I will get on that, too.

It's Been A Few Days

I am ashamed that I haven't worked on much of anything lately. I did start a ruana, which is a kind of a wrap. I wanted to try my hand at entrelac crochet, which is the pattern for this wrap. I've had difficulty understanding the instructions, because parts of it are counterintuitive for what I know about Tunisian crochet the foundation for the entrelac pattern. I'm using Bernat Mosaic in Psychedelic which is a wonderful mix of yellows greens and blues. As soon as I get some length to it I'll post a picture. I've started it over at least 6 times, and am once again on the foundation tier.

I also need to stitch together the purse organizer. I'll take a deep breath and do that in the next few days, too.

(Still not done.)

Time Off

I just got back from spending a few days in Savannah, GA, visiting with my roommate from Iraq who was there for a conference. Savannah is a beautiful city. It was my first trip there and I wish I could have stayed longer. I'm going back and taking my family with me. It's fairly close to where I now live, well within travel time that we could run up for a day and return in the evening.

I took crochet projects with me because I thought I'd have plenty of time to work on something while LV was in her conference during the day. That didn't happen. There is just so much to do there, and I was out of the room and walking along River St. poking my nose into the wonderful shops that have revitalized the warehouse buildings put up in the 1700s.

This morning while I sat eating breakfast at Huey's (a wonderful eatery) I glanced out the window and saw a dolphin frolicking in the river. I was surprised to see one so far up the river. I understand the ocean is about 12 miles from where I stayed. It was wonderful to see.

We didn't eat at Paula Deen's restaurant, a mere two blocks from the hotel, opting instead to take a trolley tour in the evening instead. The first night, though, we ate at the Pirate's House Restaurant, reputed to be haunted. I don't know about that as any ghosts in residence behaved themselves, but the honey pecan glazed fried chicken is delicious.

I won't bore you any long with my trip. It was great, though.

Long Weekends

I extended my long weekend by taking off work yesterday, and all of next week. Going to Savannah to meet up with my roommate from Iraq. It's not going to be a wild time, but I believe we'll have fun regardless of the fact that mortars and rockets aren't being fired in our direction.

Here's a picture of the purse organizer after I measured and cut out the plastic canvas to size.

There are two end pieces, one bottom piece. (the largest piece center bottom) and four sides. Two for the outside and two to divide the interior of the organizer. I will make additional dividers within the three main compartments, but that still needs to be figured out, as well as how best to put it together and keep the frustration level to a minimum. For this first attempt I'm going to use the quick stitch method. If I do it again I may try to design the sides and ends before I stitch everything together.

Oh yea, I used 7 per inch plastic canvas. More later.

Not Really Crochet

This really isn't about crochet, but kind of has something to do with yarn, so I thought I'd share. A pet peeve of mine is purses without any kind of organizational attributes to them. I can't stand having to dig through a purse just to find my phone or a pen, or whatever it might be. I am a bit intolerant I suppose. Anyway, I sell the original door to door make up line, and several brochures have included purses and a tote that seemed exactly what I wanted, so I purchased one. I really like it, it was a good price, but the organization portion isn't removable. I've tried a couple of the commercial purse organizers and they were just a waste of money. So I decided to see what I could find that I could make. There are patterns for sewn organizers and I even found a pattern for a crocheted one, but none of them suited me. I wanted something that didn't have to be propped up.

After several attempts to find something I set about trying to figure out how to make one myself. I thought of plastic canvas, which would give strength and stability to it, plus I could make it removable if I wanted it to be. And here is where the yarn comes in. It can be decorated like any plastic canvas project, or just have the edges sewn in.

More on my process later.

Recycled Silk Sari Ribbon Yarn Giveaway

AllFreeCrochet.com is giving away 2 skeins of recycled sari yarn from Darn Good Yarn. This is silk ribbon yarn. What better way to be green than using recycled yarn made from the end products of sari manufacturing. Rather than this being thrown away it’s being turned into beautiful silk yarn. Visit their website for entry information.

Grandchildren

I am so thrilled to be a grandmother. I cherish every hug and kiss I get from those little ones. My oldest granddaughter is 4 and very smart and fashion conscious. She’s long limbed and very tall for her age. I made her mother a scarf not too long ago. I used Yarn Been Hollywood Special Effects which I believe has been discontinued. Unfortunately I don't have the color name or number. The yarn was given to me by a someone I know after I returned from Iraq. I can’t say I was thrilled with it initially because it is an odd mix of eyelash, ribbon, and chenille, but the colors are beautiful. Bright pink, green, yellow, orange, purple, blue. I was concerned that it would be difficult to crochet, but it was very smooth. I particularly liked the eyelash portion of it.

But I digress. I had a bit left over when I finished my DIL’s scarf, so I used it to make a very short one for grandbaby #1. Actually I thought I had enough yarn to complete hers but couldn’t find that last skein so it was not as long as I would have liked. She immediately put it around her neck and tied it in place. I was pretty impressed that she knew enough to do that.

I was looking for something in my stash and found that last skein so I immediately set about fixing my error by crocheting her a new, much longer scarf. Here it is almost finished. I used a K hook.

I measured it against her and she pronounced the length of the scarf “pertet” so I finished it off and wove in the leftover yarn. I showed her how to wrap it around her neck, and she proceeded to show me the proper way, tying it in a “pertet” knot.

I apologize for the bad picture. I'm going to have to work on that.

Baby News

My thing used to be whenever I knew of someone who was having a baby, or their spouse was, I'd crochet a baby blanket for them. I got out of the habit, and even when my own grandchildren started arriving I didn't even think to make one for the first. She was three when I finished hers, my grandson was one, and my second granddaughter got hers more quickly. I think she was just a few months old when I finished hers.

Two years ago I spent six months in Iraq and met a wonderful young Air Force lieutenant with whom I became very close. She said I reminded her of a favorite aunt, which was fine with me. She was very adamant about never having children. Well, several months ago I received an email from her that just said, "Guess what?" My reply was to ask her due date. I knew she'd change her mind eventually, I just didn't realize it would be so fast.

Anyway, I'm getting better and I set about looking for a great pattern to make a baby blanket for this baby girl who is going to be beautiful if her parents are any indication. I found the nursery colors would be green and pink, so I went in search of the perfect yarn to match. I found one at Hobby Lobby. The in-house brand, I Love This Yarn, is truly soft and comes in a huge variety of solids and variegated. I chose Summer Happens, and crocheted this blanket.

The picture doesn't do the color variation justice. I have very poor lighting in my apartment, no overhead lighting outside bathrooms and kitchen. I'll need to be more creative in the future. And I can't retake pictures of the completed blanket because it has been mailed off to New Mexico. I used a pattern for a larger afghan pattern I found on Redheart.com. I just used a smaller hook than was required. I believe I used a J instead of the N suggested in the pattern. The pattern can be found here.

I'm pretty proud of myself for getting it done before the baby was born. She's going to make her appearance in July.

Now I have two more to make before the end of the year. My older son and his wife are expecting later in the year, and I've got everything bought for that blanket. One of my best friends in high school has a grandchild due at the end of the year, and I'm just waiting to find out the nursery colors before I begin.

It's A Miracle

I don't know what got into me but yesterday I went to Wal-Mart after work, and never went near the yarn. I also went to Michael's and fondled yarn but didn't see anything that remotely interested me. I must be ill.

Then today I had to run errands, something I have to force myself to do on the weekend. I guess getting out of the house five days a week is enough for me. But I had to get to the bank and the post office, so I went to Joann's and a different Michael's from Friday. No yarn. I can't remember the last time, at least since I started crocheting with a vengeance again, that I left any place that sold yarn (remember I even bought it at Big Lots) without at least one skein. I admit to coming close because I saw a beautiful colorway in Bernat Mosaic. But I left it at the store. I'm proud of myself.

Some days

Some days work just really interferes with what I want to accomplish ;~)  But I did manage during lunch to clean out my always present project tote. It’s amazing what can be found when something is stripped bare. I found that my really cheap ($3) reading glasses, kept in an outside pocket, were broken. It’s not so much the expense, but they were a perfect fit and leopard print. So now I have to go to Michaels and hope that they have another pair in the correct strength and the right print. (heavy sigh

It just affords the possibility that I will buy more yarn for more future projects. But I digress.

I found a couple of skeins of yarn, apparently thrown in to show co-workers, purchased at Big Lots for $1 each. I bought all the skeins of the colors I liked. One, an orange-pink mix, has a terry cloth feel that I think would be great as a beach cover up. The other is a mix of shades of red in a mixed fiber ribbon yarn with a light sheen to it. That one works up so nicely, feels smooth as it is worked.

I also discovered several small balls left over from projects and I have no idea why they ended up in the bag. I think I’m going to experiment with hyperbolic crochet, or maybe free  form and see what it becomes.

Another Finished Project

Last night I finished a scarf pattern I converted from knitting to crochet. It may sound difficult but it wasn't. Where it said knit I used single crochet. Increased and decreased normally when necessary. Here's what it looks like.

Several months ago I purchased a lot of Redheart Supersaver in Marrakesh for another project, about three skeins too many, so I thought using one of the extras for this scarf would be a good idea. After all I had it on hand, and it depleted my stash by one skein. It was an experiment after all. It's approximately 65" long, I am too so I played measuring tape. The picture really doesn't do the color justice, but a co-worker said it reminded her of Fruity Pebbles, so that's what I am calling it.

The knit pattern I used can be found on the Lion Brand website. If you haven't yet registered there, do so. It is chalk full of free patterns and helpful advice for both knitters and crocheters. Oh yeah, the pattern number is L0478 and is called Woodland Path.

Self Control

It seems no matter how strongly I talk to myself (I'm just going to l-o-o-k at the yarn), I end up buying at least one skein. Yesterday I bought three. I had to pick up my brother in law from a friend's house, so I thought why not run to WM while I was out. We've been having a horrible bout of fleas in the yard, spread no doubt by a number of stray cats that seem to wander through at their leisure. Anyway, my reason for going to WM was to pick up some yard spray. But as I can never go there without at least cruising the craft section I wandered their while BIL went off in search of his own thing.

There is no denying it. I love yarn. The colors, the textures, its all intoxicating. Like most crocheters I have several projects going at once (see previous posting), and several that I'm planning to start as soon as I complete a few. I grabbed some Caron Simply Soft in these colors Violet, Raspberry, Orange and Dark Sage for a retro skirt pattern made from granny squares. They aren't quite the right colors, but they looked pretty interesting together. Hmm, maybe for that paisley top I have planned . . .  I didn't buy them, but I did pick up a skein each of Blue Mint and Forest Floor for a top (Diamond Shell by Lesley Arnold-Hopkins) and skirt (Lace Skirt by Linda Permann) I'm turning into a set. You can find the patterns for these in issue 18 of Inside Crochet. You can get information on subscribing or purchasing this crochet magazine, I love it, here.

(edited 27 Dec 12 - still haven't made any of the projects mentioned!)

It's an Addiction

Last night I decided to count the number of active projects I have going on, as well as those that I have planned for the near future. I was appalled. My first count, just of the visible projects, was for a total of 9. These are  projects that I do some kind of work on most weeks.

Then there is one almost finished afghan that is packed away in a box in my closet, and I literally have not worked on it for a year. I do plan on completing it. Some day. You can find that project here.

That number doesn't take into account the other projects I work on but aren't visible. With few exceptions, like when I know I won't be able to work on anything, I have a bag I take with me that has 3-4 small projects. Plus there is a summer top I'm working on for myself. It may be ready next year. I can't say I never make myself anything but the last thing I made was a coaster and coffee cozy for my desk at work. After I made each of my coworkers their own sets.

These don't take into account the projects I've purchased yarn for but have not yet started. I think I have a crochet addiction.

What I'm Doing Here

My hope with this blog is to explore my life now that I am alone. Not alone in the sense that there isn't anyone around me, but in that there is no longer a significant other in my life. Hasn't been for about four years now, but the fabric is now completely ripped in two.


It's odd that to think that at my age I now have to start over again. It's definitely a scary thought, especially when I think that men my age are single for a reason! Oh well. 


I've been doing a lot of crocheting the last six months. And I've actually finished some projects, which is amazing to me. Ravelry has become my favorite place for patterns. I have a lot of them, too. So I'll share what I'm doing, and provide links when appropriate. I am not much of a designer, but I do occasionally come up with something on my own. Usually I am inspired to create when I find a knit pattern I like. I knit, but just very basic stuff, and I prefer crochet.


I learned to crochet after my mother passed away in 1980. I was a young mom, and the last thing I knit was a blanket for her in her favorite lavender color. It was buried with her. I decided that I'd learn a new craft and a friend of hers, who was extremely crafty, showed me basic stitches and how to read patterns.

There are so many talented designers that I find I have enough projects to keep me busy for the next 100 years, even if I never bought another pattern from now on. I don't see that happening, though.

So this is my adventure in crocheting, which keeps my hands occupied gainfully.