Week 49 Challenge

#38 Diagonal Popcorn

63 Easy to Crochet Pattern Stitches Combine to Make an Heirloom Afghan

Leisure Arts

Once again I ran out of yarn to do the whole square, but in this case the color combination works--a little. Fourteen more squares and the challenge will be complete!

Projects in Progress

This should probably be Projects No Longer in Progress--meaning the Blue Ridge Hoodie. The other sleeve was in and it still didn't look quite right. Then it came time to start the hood. The directions clearly state to join at the right front neck edge--what right front neck edge? I checked the schematics and it does show a neck edge and shoulders. Nowhere in the pattern are there directions for neck and shoulder shaping. I went to Interweave Press, where I downloaded the pattern, only to find out that the pattern is no longer available for download. So the pattern is so flawed that Interweave Press pulled it? I googled the pattern and it seems a lot of people were having problems and unable to get answers from the neither the designer or the publisher. This is not the first time I've had problems from this publisher. Lesson learned: research patterns before starting. The hoodie is halfway frogged and I do have a jacket planned that can use the same yarn. And yes, it appears that the directions are pretty accurate.

But first, my friend informed me that her baby is due in eleven weeks. Time to get started on a baby blanket. My friend requested a dark red blanket. This one is done in a simple shell stitch. I'm not sure what I'll do about the edging.

What I am Reading

I am about half way through Beloved, by Toni Morrison. This is a dark novel that dwells into slavery and the time just after the end of the Civil war. There aren't any uplifting quotes, so far, but this quote really made me stop and read it several times.

"Risky, thought Paul D. very risky. For a used-to-be-slave woman to love anything that much was dangerous, especially if it was her children she had settled on to love. The best thing, he knew, was to love just a little bit; everything, just a little bit, so when they broke its back, or shove it in a croaker sack, well, maybe you'd have a little love left over for the next one."

I don't know what it's like to be a slave, so I won't even attempt to address that issue. But I am a mother, and to not be allowed or afraid to love my children as much as I do, well, that is just inhuman.

Other Stuff

It's Spring and that means baseball. My husband and I enjoy going to watch our AAA baseball team play. Today was the first Sunday game of the season and the weather was perfect. We took our grandson and his friend. Too bad our team didn't play well.

Please check out my Etsy shop.

Have a good week and Play Ball!!!