Taking a little break.

I am going to take a little break from this blog. It appears that I already have. I got engaged a couple of weeks ago and have set a wedding date. I will not have time to blog or craft for the next couple of months. I promise I'll come back to the blog. Really!

Long time no post

Okay, it has been over 2 months since I posted. I got busy when I got home from my trip and never did back to it. I'll just leave it at that no need to bore you with the details.

I have been busy and so I have a pictures to share.

I made this shawl for my mother for her birthday. I finished it at the end of May.In June I made a couple of dish clothes and worked on my baby blanket. Here are the two dish clothes I made for a wedding gift for my brother and his beautiful bride. I hope they enjoy them. Here is a doll blanket I made as part of a service project at church. It will go to an orphan some where out there. It is simple but I did use up yarn in my stash! That is always a good thing.

I made some progress on the baby blanket. Here are all of the pieces that I made. Sewing them on is the next step.
In July I finished the blanket. It isn't perfect but I am pleased.

I finished grandma's birthday gift a "thread bowl" vase made from the same yarn I used for her Christmas afgan last year. She loved the colors. I thought it would be great to make a matching vase. She loved it!
I started on Christmas gifts. I figure my family isn't checking this blog (they don't know it exists) so it is okay to show the work in progress. I am making crazy quilt stockings for a few people in my family. This one is for my boyfried Derek. His favorite colors are wine and blue. I decided to make a theme for his stocking. It is still a work in progress. I need to add the decorative stitches, put on the backing and line it. I asked my sister if she wanted one that followed a color theme. She said to make it crazy. I went so crazy with it I can't find the picture to show you.

And then, I made a few more dishclothes. My favorite pattern for the dish cloth is the purple one below. I like how it feels in my hand. I am looking forward to trying out the top one. It was a funny stitch I thought I would try.

I went to the Giant's stitch n' pitch game. It was so much fun. I got to hang out with two of my yarn loving girlfriends, the Giants won and the ladies behind me loved the yarn I was using in one project and my monkey pattern. What more could you ask for at a ball game? The last weekend this month I finally felted the bag I made for my sister's birthday gift. It was exciting to put it out of the washing machine and see how it changed. I might just felt something in the future. I hope she likes the bag.

I have some work in progress. I'll save those for the next post.

There's no place like home.

I got back on Thursday evening. I have been busy trying to get settled back in. It was nice to go and see family. I had a good time talking to my grandma, uncles, aunts and cousins. I rode on a train my uncle conducts. It was fun to hang out on the engine. (That is me in the side mirror)

They were going through a heat wave and the river got close to flooding. I have never seen the river at the height that it was when I was there. It was exciting to watch.
I took too many projects. I thought that I would but it is better to be safe than sorry. With all of the driving around from and to the airport and the trip to see grandpa I had a bunch of time to get busy with my hook. I got as far as I could on my chemise (vest). I now need to block it and then I can add the straps. When sitting and talking I would sometimes remember that I had a project with me. I would pull it out and work. I am Italian and have a hard time talking with something in my hand so I didn’t get very far with the blanket.

I didn’t touch the dish cloth or shawl. Maybe another trip??? I did purchase some more crochet thread and cotton yarn at the variety store in town. There was a 50% of sale. The owners want to retire. We had sundaes at the soda fountain counter. I don’t think that I had ever done that before. It was neat. I am glad I had the change before they closed the doors forever.

Now that I am home I want to get back to making the doll blankets for orphans. They are being collected until June 22 so I don’t have much time and those are now my priority.

Up, up and away . . .

I leave for the air port in two and a half short hours. I decided to take more projects than I can possibly finish. I will have something to work on no matter my mood.

I am taking the baby blanket. I will only work to finish the background. I will do all of the pieces when I get back. I am taking my chemise (it is technically a vest). I will probably finish that. I am taking a shawl I started on a trip to NY City in 2003. Yikes! I hate to admit that. Maybe I'll finish it and maybe I won't but I will work on it. I will also take the first dish cloth that I am making for my brother's wedding.

I won't make a post for a week. There is no internet access at Grandma's. I will enjoy a ton of quiet time and maybe a little time with a hook or two and yarn.

Slow and steady!

I wanted to post a blog on Saturday but I was so tired by the end of that busy day I just didn’t have it in me. On to more important info.

I was almost right. My coworker was nearly done with the white section last Monday. She is now done with the white section. I don’t know how she does it. She plans to make 4 blankets so she is going to make the background 4 times. Thank goodness! That will give me enough time to catch up and finish the white section on my blanket.

I made a little yarn rose for my grandma Landis for Mother's day. I saw her on Thursday and left in such haste that I forgot the little flower. I will give it to her when I get back from Idaho. I do think that she will enjoy it. She and I have similar taste in things. I think that she will really like the colors. I haven't made crochet flowers before. It required a technique that I haven't used before.
I made a little hot pad. I love the color of the yarn. It is beautiful wool. This is a stash busting move. I can make a few more. This little square challenged me. The directions included some techniques that I haven't used before. I look forward to using up the rest of the yarn.
Here is the monkey that I have been working on. I still haven't gotten to the point I was at before I ripped it out but I think he is coming along nicely. I will take a little break on him while I am in Idaho. I don’t want to carry my stuffing on the plane.
I found a new way to work through my stash. We have a service project at church. We are collecting items for orphans. One of the items on the list is doll blankets (16-20" squares). I started a light pink granny square yesterday. It is already 12". I can hardly wait to finish it. Will it get done before I go??? Probably not. I won't take it with me.

What will I take? Hmmm, good question. Right now I think that I will take the blanket to finish the white section, my sweater to finish the trim and straps, and a cotton dish cloth that I am working on for a wedding gift for my brother. I think that should be enough for a week. Isn't it??? I am packing tommorw I will decide then.

Getting better

I am starting to feel better. I have been over extended for a sick person. I would probably feel much better than I do now if I had taken it easier. I tried. I am just not very good at it. Staying home and in bed all day Saturday and Sunday were difficult. I should be 100% soon.

I did get to do a bunch of crochet last weekend and this week when I was being good about taking it easy. I started working on the baby blanket.

My coworker is making it too, so I helped her figure out how to do it. She is learning to read patterns. She is very quick with her hook and will probably be done with the white part of it when I see her Monday. She puts me to shame - in the speed department. Again, I am not very good at sitting still.

I started working on the monkey and made it half way through the body and realized that something was terribly wrong. I ripped it all out and sent an email to the designer. I just didn't understand what the problem was. Maybe it was my brain under the influence of the flu or maybe it was just a strange way to word it. I got the answer I needed and have restarted. I haven't gotten back to the point where I ripped it out but I am making progress and that is all that matters.

Here is the picture of the hotpad I made last week and didn't post. I love the colors of this yarn. It is beautiful. It doesn't show off the technique used for the pad but it was a great learning experience.

5:30AM and all is not well.

I woke up at 5:30 this morning to go on a hike. Something didn’t feel right. I decided to give myself another hour of sleep and something still didn’t feel quite right. I did the same thing twice more. By 8:30 I knew I was coming down with something. I called my hiking date and cancelled. Big bummer!

Part of me wonders if I got sick because I wanted to go for a hike instead of help someone move. Another part of me wonders if I got sick because I purchased yarn last night. I can’t tell you how many skeins I bought. It was three bags full. I bought yarn for the monkey I am making for my brother’s birthday in September, a baby blanket that I want to make for my future baby (or someone else’s baby if I don’t get married), and finish a hobo bag I am making for my sister’s birthday in September.

I finished crocheting the bag this afternoon. I still need to felt it. This is my first felting project. I hope it goes well. I started a dish towel for my future sister-in-law. There will be a shower sometime in the next few months. I started the monkey. I am half way through with the head. I don’t think I will finish the head today. I am ready to conk out. Being sick is the pits.

This week I finished the hobo bag and a hot pad. I started a monkey and dish cloth. My sweater is still in progress. I did do a little work on it this week. Maybe I’ll spend some time on it tomorrow. I would be done with the beret for my mother except I made an error on the last row and that darn yarn is unforgiving and I will have to scrap it all. On the upside this will force me to write down the pattern.

I must note that my hiking date was wonderful. He called me atleast 3 times to check on me and see if he could do anything. He was super sweet and brought me won ton soup for tonight, chicken noodle soup for tomorrow and some otc items to ease the symptoms. What a man!