Weeks 22, 23, 24, 25 & 26 Challenge

From 63 Easy-To-Crochet Pattern Stitches Combine To Make An Heirloom Afghan,

Leisure Arts

Starting at the top, right to left:

#48 Raised Ripple - pretty

#11 Horizontal Relief - the wrong side is nicer

#24 Clusters - simple and pretty

#18 Woven Relief - would make an interesting scarf

#39 Popcorn Diamond - who doesn't like diamonds and popcorn?

Between sinus infections, allergies, work, and life in general, the days just seem to fly. I can't believe it's the end of October.

Even though life seems busy, I've still had time to get a lot of crocheting and knitting done. This is Pearl's Cardigan, designed by Kristen Omhahl, made with Lion Brand Microspun Sterling. I love this cardigan. It worked up quickly and it is so very soft. The belt is made from a wide satin ribbon and a buckle. For the colder months I plan to wear a deep red shirt under and the warmer months I can wear a tank top. That's what I like-an all season cardigan.

The book and project for the month was The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Provence Cloche, designed by Cecily Glowik MacDonald, made with Paton Grace Blue. I love this hat. It's made in three parts-the cable band, the brim, and the crown. The brim and crown are worked in the round. The button made with a plastic ring. If I decide to make this again, I will probably not use the Paton Grace. It was slippery and the drape isn't exactly what I had expected; but, I still love it.

The Great Gatsby* is also a quick novel to read. I've read various essays about this novel; but my take is that it is a novel about the decadence before the Great Depression and a very strange love story. The genius is in Fitzgerald writing: "The track curved and now it was going away from the sun which, as it sank lower, seemed to spread itself in benediction over the vanishing city where she had drawn her breath. He stretch out his hand desperately as if to snatch only a wisp of air, to save a fragment of the spot that she had made lovely for him. But it was all going by too fast now for his blurred eyes and he knew that he had lost that part of it, the freshest and the best, forever" (160). What a beautiful way to say the Gatsby realized that he had lost his love.

The sock blanket is progressing nicely. I have had many people interested in its progress and a couple people laying claim to it.

*Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby The Authorized Text. Simon & Schuster, Inc, New York. 1925.