Working on an Unfinished Project

I just got back to one of my ten or so UFO's (unfinished objects) and will endeavor to work on this until it's completed.  I really like the colors and the yarn is lovely to crochet with so there is no reason that this should have sat in one of my crochet bags for as long as it did but there you have it.  I'm using Jaeger's Matchmaker Merino Double Knitting yarn which may or may not be discontinued.  

I have always been a big fan of most of the Jaeger yarns but sadly I don't think there are many left for sale out there, so it's lucky for me that I've stashed some different varieties of it, such as Matchmaker Merino Aran, and Chamonix (absolutely luscious), just to name a few.  It seems that in the wide world of yarns, they come and go quickly, so if you really love working with a particular yarn, it would be wise to stash a good bit of it because you never know when it won't be available anymore.  The same goes even more so for knit and crochet books.....they disappear quickly.

When I am knitting so many things, after awhile I start to pine for some crocheting content so I think what I'll do from here on in, is have ONLY two projects going at a time, one knit and one crochet, so that way I'll satisfy both of my favorite things to do at the same time.  

A Brand New Year

February of 2011 already...wow, where is the time going?  I've been knitting more than crocheting so no real pics or projects to share with you but I think I'll do this meme one more time and see what changes I've made.

TYPE ONLY 1 WORD. IT’S HARDER THAN YOU THINK!!!

1. Where is your cell phone? PURSE
2. Your significant other? HUSBAND
3. Your hair? BLONDE
4. Your mother? FRIEND
5. Your father? HEAVEN
6. Your favorite thing? KNITTING
7. Your dream last night? MOVED
8. Your favorite drink? MILKSHAKE
9. Your dream/goal? SLENDER
10. You’re in? CONTENTMENT
11. Your fear? LOSING SOMEONE I LOVE
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? FIT, ENERGETIC, AND HAPPY
13. Where were you last night? HOME
14. What you’re not? BORED
15. Muffins? BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP
16. One of your wish list items? GIFT CARDS
17. Where you grew up? USA
18. The last thing you did? CLEAN
19. What are you wearing? CLOTHES
20. Your TV? PANASONIC
21. Your pet? CATS
22. Your computer? PC
23. Your life? BLESSED
24. Missing someone? JOHNNY
25. Your car? 1998
26. Something you’re not wearing? MASCARA
27. Favorite Store? WILLIAMS-SONOMA
28. Your summer? HUMID
29. Your favorite color? LAVENDER
30. When is the last time you laughed? YESTERDAY
31. Last time you cried? YESTERDAY
32. FOUR PEOPLE WHO E-MAIL ME? SON, DAUGHTER, KAY, YARN STORES
33. FOUR OF MY FAVORITE FOODS: DONUTS, MILKSHAKES, CANDY, PIZZA
34. FOUR PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW? NOWHERE
35. FOUR PEOPLE I THINK WILL RESPOND: MY DAUGHTER

Wow, I've Been Away Too Long!

I just realized that it's been 6 months since I've posted here on my crochet blog....that's just not right!  I've crocheted on and off during that time but not enough, as knitting (I know, how dare I) has taken center stage in my craft life.  Now that I've completed the Christmas stocking I was knitting, I'm going to concentrate on my crocheting which I have missed of late.  Having a sore lack of photo crochet, I'm posting a picture of our tree in 2010 which is largely decorated with my knitted and crocheted ornaments, so I hope you enjoy looking at it.

I'm thinking of diving back in by giving the stars on Lucy's Attic 24 lovely and colorful blog which I am constantly inspired by.  I have lots of odds and ends of yarn which would work beautifully for these ornaments and heaven only knows, but I am a sucker for crocheted or knitted Christmas ornaments.  I stalk the free patterns for new ones, but rarely find much that I haven't already crocheted or that I like.  Lucy's patterns are always the exception.

I wish all of you a blessed Christmas and a wonderful, happy, healthy New Year in 2011 with lots of crocheting in the mix! :)

The Baby Ripple

Here is a picture of the completed baby ripple for the birth of my grandchild should he be a boy!  You can see the baby ripple for a girl on an older post which is equally satisfying!  I must get back to crocheting my square granny which is a combination of the three colors you see below.  I love working with this yarn.....Jaeger's Merino which has a lovely hand and rarely splits while crocheting.  I have put this project aside for far too long because it seems I am always crocheting baby items, which of course, I don't mind at all, but now I think it's time for some regular old crocheting with that satisfying granny repetition.

S

So, I'm off to pick up my crochet hook and work on this granny for awhile.  Little by little, one of these fine days I'll have it completed!

Finally, A Post!

It has been way too long since I've updated this blog but once again I'm going for the newest look on Blogger using their Template Designer which is lots of fun to play with and basically easy to understand.  This look may or may not change in the upcoming months, but then, that wouldn't be anything new to those of you who check in here from time to time.....I seem to get bored (something I rarely do in everyday living) with my templates very easily and like to change them whenever the mood strikes.

I dug out my spring colored acrylic yarns to begin making many 6" Granny Squares using Lucy's from Attic 24  Garden Granny, appropriately named.  Check out her blog as it is an explosion of colors, finished pieces, and gorgeous pictures!  Below you can see the pattern worked up in the 3 I've done so far.  I'm planning on doing 4, then sewing those together, 4 more and when they're sewn together , sew them to the previous 4 and so on.  This way when I'm finished there won't be so much to attend to and 'viola', I'll have a completed Garden Granny.

Otherwise I've started a pair of socks and I'm furiously working on the baby ripple blanket....it's a labor of love since it's for my grandchild to be born sometime in late June, early July.  It's the first baby for my youngest of 5 and I'm so happy for them and can't wait to see what they're having.....they want to be surprised.  So I will sign off for now and promise to do more updating on this blog.

 

Wow, I've been neglecting my crochet blog something awful and that will have to stop. I hope to begin posting at least once every month or so, but I have no idea how I skipped 8 months!! Any-hoo, I discovered this meme over at Peek-a-Boo Street's blog and couldn't resist giving it a try, so here goes (the award goes with it which is so very nice:

1. Where is your cell phone? In my purse.

2. Your hair? Blonde.

3. Your mother? Living & Healthy.

4. Your father? Deceased.

5. Your favorite food? BEEF STROGANOFF.

6. Your dream last night? Family Oriented.

7. Your favorite drink? Milkshake.

8. Your dream/goal? Write a Book.

9. What room are you in? Sunroom.

10. Your hobby? Knitting.

11. Your biggest fear? LOSING SOMEONE I LOVE.

12. Where do you want to be in six years? Right Here.

13. Where were you last night? Matt's Home.

14. Something that you're Not. Phony.

15. Favorite Muffins? Chocolate Chip

16. Top of My Wish list? Good Health.

17. Where did you grow up? Prospect Park.

18. Last thing you did. Sipped Coffee.

19. What are you wearing? Jeans, Sweatshirt, Sneaks.

20. Your Favorite TV show? Masterpiece Theatre.

21. Your pets? Bunny & Trixie.

22. Friends? Kay, Rosemary.

23. Your life? Contented.

24. Your mood? Happy.

25. Missing someone? Johnny.

26. Vehicle? Cadillac

27. Something your not wearing? My Watch.

28. Your favorite store? Williams-Sonoma.

29. Your favorite color? Purple.

30. When was the last time you laughed? Yesterday.

31. Last time you cried? Last Week.

32. Your best friend? Kay.

33. One place you go over and over? Perkins.

34. One person who e-mails you regularly? Matt.

35. Favorite place to eat? My Kitchen.

Baby Ripple Blanket

Here's the blankie in all it's colorful glory......I call it my Fiesta Ripple. Since I have the solid pink and the pink throughout the variegated yarn, this baby blanket will be for a baby girl who is still awaiting arrival. As always, after washing the blanket and putting it in the dryer, it's very soft and lovely so I'm sure it will keep the little one to be very snug and warm.

On another note, I'm beginning a couple of Christmas crocheted gifts which I can't really tell you about since some of the recipients read this blog, but I promise pictures asap. It feels good to be able to begin this soon, because waiting until August or September never seems to work out for me. I wind up scrambling to finish and if I make one mistake, it's a disaster because there's not enough time left to be patient and fix it. So, here's hoping this year will be better in that regard.

Baby Ripple Afghan

This ripple blankie is moving right along as I'm closing in on the last 15" or so. The colors are really lovely and very vivid in person and not at all washed out as they look in this photo for some odd reason. This afghan is a 'make ahead' gift for the next one of my sons or daughter, for that matter, who has a baby girl sometime in the future. There is a bit too much pink in this one to present it to a baby boy.....the father would probably have something to say about that, I think. :)

I've been making more granny squares as well and you know how addictive they can be. Here are a few pictures for your perusal:

I've made more but don't want to overwhelm the post with too many pictures. Next on my agenda is a hexagon blanket for a gift. I have so much yarn in so many colors that I think it would be great to give a hexagon afghan a try......only problem is the sewing together.......it may not be a pretty picture, but time will tell.

Blanket & Completed Baby Sweater

Here is the finished picture of the assorted squares and finished blanket. I was happy with the way it turned out and it's amazing how soft it gets after each washing! I know the little one, who's due any day now will be snug and warm underneath this blanket made with Mimi's love.

 Not to forget showing you a picture of the completed crocheted baby sweater.  I love the way it turned out and if you need particulars you can read the hook size, yarn used, etc. on a former post.  This sweater is addictive to crochet because I kept thinking all the way along.....oh, just one or two more rows before I put it down and it was always difficult to actually stop along the way with this.

Here is a fun questionnaire that I copied from My Living Room blog. It is indeed, very difficult to put in only One word......I cheated twice.

TYPE ONLY 1 WORD. IT’S HARDER THAN YOU THINK!!!

1. Where is your cell phone? PURSE
2. Your significant other? HUSBAND
3. Your hair? BLONDE
4. Your mother? FRIEND
5. Your father? HEAVEN
6. Your favorite thing? KNITTING
7. Your dream last night? MOVED
8. Your favorite drink? MILKSHAKE
9. Your dream/goal? THIN
10. You’re in? CONTENTMENT
11. Your fear? LOSS
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? HEALTHY
13. Where were you last night? HOME
14. What you’re not? BORED
15. Muffins? BANANA
16. One of your wish list items? YARN
17. Where you grew up? USA
18. The last thing you did? BREAKFAST
19. What are you wearing? CLOTHES
20. Your TV? DVR
21. Your pet? CATS
22. Your computer? PC
23. Your life? BLESSED
24. Missing someone? AUNTJOAN
25. Your car? OLD
26. Something you’re not wearing? MASCARA
27. Favorite Store? JIMMYBEANS
28. Your summer? HUMID
29. Your favorite color? LAVENDER
30. When is the last time you laughed? TODAY
31. Last time you cried? LOSS
32. FOUR PEOPLE WHO E-MAIL ME? SON, DAUGHTER, AMY, KATHY
33. FOUR OF MY FAVORITE FOODS: DONUTS, MILKSHAKES, ICING, PIZZA
34. FOUR PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW? NOWHERE
35. FOUR PEOPLE I THINK WILL RESPOND: NO IDEA

Crochet With a Deadline

I've been crocheting my little fingers off in the past few months and here are some pictures to prove it. Above is the baby ripple blanket I'm working on using a size J hook and Red Heart Strata in 'Bambino''. The trouble is I only bought 3 skeins and now could kick myself since I haven't been able to find anymore of this yarn. If you know where I could buy some, please let me know because 3 skeins aren't going to be sufficient to complet this adorable blanket.


Next up is the baby sweater I began a week or so ago and I'm really enjoying this project. I'm using Bernat Softee Chunky and a size G hook. It's a top down sweater so there won't be any joining when finished....it'll be all ready to go other than adding button bands, a collar, and buttons. I do need to find a baby hat pattern to go with this though......any ideas would be very welcome.


Finally, I'm still working on my squares in order to sew together in the end and have a baby blanket sampler, so to speak. I'm using Bernat Softee Chunkyfor this also, and a size H hook. The patterns are ones I've picked from the Crochet Stitch Bible, and 63 Crochet Stitches booklet. I tried to make each one about 10" wide but some are about an inch short so I'll have to tweak and stretch a bit when sewing it together. I'm not sure which method I'll use when I sew it together but I'll probably just go for it and if I don't like the way it looks I'll try another method. I'm going to have to finish these by March 6th so I need to buckle down and get those crochet hooks 'a flyin'.