Week 54 Challenge

#29 Alternate Spike Single Crochet

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

Leisure Arts

The spike stitch is probably the most versatile stitch I can think of. Use a cotton yarn and you have a dishcloth; use a double thickness and you have a hot pad or potholder; use something lightweight and soft and you have an elegant, yet warm, scarf.

Next week starts the last nine-block column, then the edging. What shall I do next? I have a couple of ideas. One is to go back to something I did in earlier blogs and create something that ties in with a book I am reading. Another is to pick a book or magazine and work through every pattern. I've been scouring the used book stores and antique book stores, but nothing has jumped out at me yet. I've still got a few more weeks before I decide. In the meantime, suggestions are always welcomed.

Projects in Progress

99 Snowflakes

Leisure Arts

I am getting a little tired of snowflakes. But I must push on. Knowing me as well as I do, I'm afraid that if I start another project--just to break up the monotony of snowflakes--I won't get back to the snowflakes until the week before gift giving time. So I'll continue (sigh!).

A little hint for snowflake starching: Fabric stiffener works fine, but for the larger snowflakes, I've used my doily starching methods--soak the fabric in a heavy starch and water mixture, then stretch out, pin, and let dry. It may take a little longer, but the process is worth it--you won't have limpy snowflakes.

For grins, I dumped all the completed chemo caps out on the dining room table. How many are there? I don't know. What's the goal? I don't know.

Working on chemo caps is a great stress reliever. There is no difficult stitch pattern to memorize, only the increases. I'll work on chemo caps when I get a lunch break and then I'm ready to tackle the afternoon's work head on. When I get home, I'll work on a chemo cap until I can relax. Once I relax and get in a rhythm, I can go to work on something a little more difficult--like snowflakes.

What I am Reading

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is finished. I think I am one of the very few people who cried over Dumbledore's funeral.

Next up is Lord of The Flies, by William Golding. I read this before in high school, so reading it as an adult should be interesting. As as adult, I am sure I'll have a very different perspective than I did as a teenager.

Other Stuff

I've given in to the allergy season and have decided to just put up with the itchy eyes and stuffy head. This is a picture of the start of my outdoor oasis. The glider sets in the shade of our Bradley Pear tree. I still need to do a little bit of leveling, but I'm liking it. We'll see how far I get this summer with adding more of the things I like.

That's all for now. Have a good week!

Week 53 Challenge

#58 Soft Clusters

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

Leisure Arts

Between the really soft yarn and the stitch pattern--I really like this one!

Projects in Progress

99 Snowflakes

Leisure Arts

I haven't had a chance to work on much more than the challenge, snowflakes, and chemo caps. Snowflakes are easy to crochet--but a bear to starch!! Just warning ya!

What I am Reading

I did find a quote this week from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

Dumbledore to Harry:

"Ah, Harry, how often this happens, even between the best of friends! Each of us believes that what he has to say is much more important than anything the other might have to contribute!"

Other Stuff

This week's post is short for a reason. It's Mothers' Day. I've spent the better part of today with my daughters and grandchildren and it has been a wonderful day. The weather even cooperated, which was doubtful during last night's thunderstorms and tornadoes.

Happy Mother's Day and have a good week.

Week 52 Challenge

#57 Alternate Mesh Stitch

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

Leisure Arts

An OK block. I love filet crochet and this is somewhat similar. I can't believe this challenge is almost done! What should I do next as a challenge? Suggestions anyone?

Projects in Progress

Dazzling Details Jacket

Designed by Garnstudio/Drops

Crochet! Magazine, September 2009

Yarn: Baby Bee Sweet Delight, Grape Jelly

I gotta say, I love this jacket! It's just too bad that the weather is finally warming up and the jacket will need to be put in storage with my other sweaters.

99 Snowflakes

Leisure Arts

Every year after our Thanksgiving Brunch, all our guests get handmade Christmas ornaments. Last year I gave everyone a set of crochet clothespin angels. This year I am giving snowflake ornaments. No, I don't plan to make all 99 snowflakes!

What I am Reading

After reading Beloved, I need something a little lighter. So, instead of diving into another literary classic, I am reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. I don't have any soul-searching quotes this week; just reading for fun.

Other Stuff

There isn't much else going on in my world. The pollen counts are very high and keeping me indoors. I hate that, because I am a big outdoors person. My garden is calling me! Looks like it is time to get a mask I can wear when working outside.

On another note, my work area is a mess. I have so many projects going right now that it is time to stop starting new projects and get the old ones completed. I, at least, have good intentions.

Please visit my shop on Etsy.

Have a good week!

Week 51 Challenge

#28 Boxed Shells

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

Leisure Arts

This is a basic shell stitch that is so simple that it's pretty. This summer I am taking a workshop on designing and I plan to use this stitch for a lacy shell top.

Projects in Progress

Dazzling Details Jacket

Design by Garnstudio/Drops Design

Crochet! September 2009

Baby Bee Yarn Sweet Delight, Grape Jelly

The jacket is not quite done. I still have the pockets and then blocking. It is soooooooooooo soft. The pattern calls for buttons on the cuff, but I am going to skip that. Large buttons on cuffs tend to get in my way. The only other change I made was to make the jacket a little longer.

What I am Reading

This week I finished Beloved by Toni Morrison. In this quote Paul D is remembering his various escapes and once again, love comes through:

"And in all those escapes he could not help being astonished by the beauty of this land that was not his. He hid in its breast, fingered its earth for food, clung to its banks to lap water and tried not to love it. On nights when the sky was personal, weak with the weight of its own stars, he made himself not love it. Its graveyards and low-lying rivers. Or just a house--solitary under a chinaberry tree; maybe a mule tethered and the light hitting its hide just so. Anything could stir him and he tried hard not to love it."

Beloved is a harsh book about slavery, not just the facts, but how the people enslaved felt and the extremes they went to for freedom, for themselves and for the children they were forbidden to love.

On a side note, the last page of the book says several times: "This is not a story to pass on." This reminds me of the "Notice" before the beginning of Huckleberry Finn . Mark Twain states: "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR." With this Twain dares his book to be critiqued...Morrison is daring readers to pass the story on and I pass it on to you. Read it.

Other Stuff

Today is Easter Sunday. We had to cancel our traditional egg hunt today because of the rain that won't go away. No matter your religion, blessings to you on this day.

Have a good week!

Week 50 Challenge

#50 Picot Stitch

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

Leisure Arts

I kind of like this one. At first I wasn't too sure if this stitch can be used for anything else, but after looking at it for a few days I can see some possibilities. Thirteen more to go!

Projects in Progress

Baby Shells

I Love This Yarn, Cranberry and Cranapple Stripes.

The baby blanket is finished and presented to the mother-to-be. This isn't a color I would choose for a baby, but it's what my friend wanted and she happy with it. And, I got it completed with six week to go!

The blanket is somewhat based an a pattern from 7-Day Afghans. If the directions are followed, the blanket feels more like a rug. So I changed it. Instead of using two strands of yarn, I used one. The same size hook is used. I also worked a row of single crochet around the blanket before starting the edging. The edging is three rows of the shell stitch worked with a single strand of contrast yarn.

Dazzling Details Jacket

Designed by Garnstudio/Drops Design

Crochet! September 2009

Baby Bee Yarn, Grape Jelly

I did my research on this one and the only corrections are very minor. Several people on Ravelry have made it with no problems. So far, I'm lovin' it. The pattern is working up quickly and it is so soft. I'm going to try to keep this one for myself, but I can see one of my daughters wanting it.

What I am Reading

This week's quote from Beloved, by Toni Morrison, is keeping with the theme of loving and the freedom to love:

"He knew exactly what she meant: to get to a place where you could love anything you choose--not to need permission for desire--well, now that was freedom."

Think about. Things we take for granted aren't there for everyone. Could you live like that?

Other Stuff

Today was my grandson's birthday party. Last week he turned four-years-old. It's hard to believe. He is such a little man. As he was opening his presents, he made sure to thank everyone by name and he thank everyone for being there. Such a sweetie, but I'm his grandma.

Please check out DinaMarieCrochet at Etsy.

Have a good week!

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!!!

Week 48 Challenge

#20 Plain Square

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

Leisure Arts

Challenge

This one is pretty easy, but I did make one change. The directions said to crochet in the back loop. I thought that looked a little sloppy, so I crocheted through both loops. It looks a lot better, I think.

Projects in Projects

Got the sleeve in my hoodie. The sleeve went in kind of funny and looks funny, but I tried it on. Other than the sleeve is longer than I like, it fits fine. My goal is to one day take a class on designing garments so I can fix problems like that.

What I am Reading

Harry Potter is finished and Beloved, by Toni Morrison is started. I'm not far into the book, but so far we have some memories of slavery and a possessed house. Next week I'll have a better perspective on the book.

Other Stuff

Spring seems to finally be here, although I haven't put away the winter coat. With the snow and freezing temperatures, I was afraid my daffodils wouldn't make it. They were on the ground, but the warmer temperatures over the last few days have popped them right back up. I am afraid the my gladiolas won't be back. I found the bulbs on top of the soil. I dug a hole and put them back in. We'll see. Can you tell I can't wait to get outside with pretty flowers?

I'm waiting for my photographer/husband to get the pictures processed then I will have new items up in Etsy.

Have a good week!