Hello,
The last few days have been really wonderful for me. I have had down time. No work, all projects that needed finishing were done. I only had one WIP (Granny Love) but, after my blanket making marathon, I needed a little blanket break. I have some in between days, between Christmas and New Years, and I didn't want to crochet right now. I have several crochet projects lined up with some of my groups on Ravelry. I have been wanting to finally make, and complete, a knitted project. I had a really good Secret Santa this year. She gave me this...
It is bulky yarn and so soft. I thought this would be the perfect time to finally commit to a knitting project. I have tried before, I learned using the English method. I think the fact that I am a crocheter first messed me up. I would make a mistake and get so frustrated I would frog the whole project. Then I discovered the Continental Method. For me this works so much better. I really don't think one way is better than the other, I just think that because of the way you hold the yarn and that I have been crocheting for such a long time, that the Continental Method is a lot easier for me. I don't get confused or tangled up. The other thing that has really helped is that this yarn is bulky. I can see exactly what I am doing and I have finally figured out how to count my rows if I get confused. It is also very easy to see what stitch I am working on if I get called away.
So, for the last two days I practiced. I made a few swatches and then decided what I was going to make was a simple knit and purl scarf. Now, I am a yarnoholic and there are some great sales going on. I had to go out and get some more yarn. I am using one of the skeins and bought some more to go with it. I have big plans for all three colors. Here is my progress so far...
Yay! I even have the color changes figured out. I don't know anyone, in person, who knits. So I use my trusty Stitch 'N Bitch book by Debbie Stoller. She is easy to follow and understand. I have one more day of vacation left and after I clean the house I am going to work on the scarf some more. Blogging has been so much fun for me and it has given me friends that I wouldn't have the chance to otherwise meet. Great minds think alike. Yesterday, after I had made this I sat down to read all of the blogs I follow. I check everyday. My friend, HillyT, had a post that was so similar to what I was thinking that I just had to laugh. Then I read further and she had mentioned me in that post too. We belong to several of the same groups on Ravelry. I love Harriet's blog. Check it out.
I also have a really nice boss, I take care of her baby in the nursery at work. Everyone at work knows that I love yarn. She surprised me by giving me this...
It is bamboo yarn from Hobby Lobby. Four skeins that go together. I decided to use this yarn for something different also. For this I am learning Tunisian crochet. Not hard and it looks kind of like knitting when done. These are my two in between projects. I will show the finished projects soon. I have to get them done quickly. I have two CALs starting on the 1st. Lol.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Saturday, December 29, 2012
The Christmas Blankets Are Finished
Hello,
How is everyone? The last few days have been really nice. Last Saturday was my father-in-law's funeral and that was really hard. The three of us were home on Sunday and we cleaned the house and I finished up the last of the presents I was working on. We stayed home for Christmas and for the first time since we have been married we had guests on Christmas day. Will's sister and brother and a good family friend came up to spend the day with us. It was a really nice day. Autumn was the only child there and so she got to soak up a lot of attention. She was really sweet. The day before, Susie had called and asked if Autumn would be willing to wait to open her Christmas presents until they got there. Autumn said that was fine and would wait to open her gifts from Santa also. I was really proud of her. I wouldn't have wanted to wait until almost noon on Christmas day when I was seven. No way. Santa also brought her a new bike, she can't ride it yet, we have snow now. I made a big pot of potato soup and we had lots of appetizers and two chocolate pies, two kinds of cookies and lots of candy. It was a nice relaxing day. At the end of it we all got into Susie's new van and went down to Coralville to look at Christmas lights. It was a really nice day.
Here are the blankets I made for my nephews and niece.
This is Sawyer's blanket. He is a sweet boy. He had to have knee surgery on Christmas Eve. Poor guy. He is going to be in a wheelchair for a few months. It is snowy and icy and the doctors want to make sure he doesn't hurt it again. He is also in a brace for about a year. I know all about knee surgery and really feel for him.
The next blanket is Wyatt's.
I made the boy's blankets with the same yarn. I thought they turned out pretty cool. The last one is Sarah's blanket. I showed this one last month, but it is part of the set.
I made Susie a Nativity set and forgot to photograph it before I gave it to her. I finished it Christmas morning and hour before they got to our house. She will get some pictures of it for me later. It turned out really cute and Susie has a number of Nativity Scenes that she puts up at the holidays.
I am now ready for 2013 to start. Last year I started keeping track of all the things that I make in a project book. I also (try) to write down the patterns that I create in it. I went back and looked at and added up all of my projects and was a bit surprised. Here is what I made in 2012.
12 Bags
14 Blankets
4 Sweaters
12 Toys
1 Book Cover
2 Pillows
1 Dress
8 Household Decorations
1 Cell Phone Cosy
1 Coffee Cup Cosy
2 Headbands
1 Pair of Fingerless Mitts
3 Pairs of Slippers
2 Shawls
4 Hats
3 Scarves
1 Plastic Bag Holder
Total 72 items. I keep my hands busy. Lol. I will keep a project book from now on. It is nice to see what you have actually made at the end of the year.
Now that I am finished with all of my gifts I am going to finish joining my Granny Love Blanket. I have been keeping it secret since I made a big change to it it half way through. I expect to be finished by mid-week. Somewhere around the 1st. I can't wait to show it to everyone and I really can't wait to put it on our bed. It is so cold here. After having the hottest summer anyone can remember, we have had more days below freezing this December than ever in recorded history. Strange.
If you are still on vacation from work, enjoy your time off, if not then have a wonderful day anyway. Talk to everyone very soon. :)
How is everyone? The last few days have been really nice. Last Saturday was my father-in-law's funeral and that was really hard. The three of us were home on Sunday and we cleaned the house and I finished up the last of the presents I was working on. We stayed home for Christmas and for the first time since we have been married we had guests on Christmas day. Will's sister and brother and a good family friend came up to spend the day with us. It was a really nice day. Autumn was the only child there and so she got to soak up a lot of attention. She was really sweet. The day before, Susie had called and asked if Autumn would be willing to wait to open her Christmas presents until they got there. Autumn said that was fine and would wait to open her gifts from Santa also. I was really proud of her. I wouldn't have wanted to wait until almost noon on Christmas day when I was seven. No way. Santa also brought her a new bike, she can't ride it yet, we have snow now. I made a big pot of potato soup and we had lots of appetizers and two chocolate pies, two kinds of cookies and lots of candy. It was a nice relaxing day. At the end of it we all got into Susie's new van and went down to Coralville to look at Christmas lights. It was a really nice day.
Here are the blankets I made for my nephews and niece.
This is Sawyer's blanket. He is a sweet boy. He had to have knee surgery on Christmas Eve. Poor guy. He is going to be in a wheelchair for a few months. It is snowy and icy and the doctors want to make sure he doesn't hurt it again. He is also in a brace for about a year. I know all about knee surgery and really feel for him.
The next blanket is Wyatt's.
I made the boy's blankets with the same yarn. I thought they turned out pretty cool. The last one is Sarah's blanket. I showed this one last month, but it is part of the set.
I made Susie a Nativity set and forgot to photograph it before I gave it to her. I finished it Christmas morning and hour before they got to our house. She will get some pictures of it for me later. It turned out really cute and Susie has a number of Nativity Scenes that she puts up at the holidays.
I am now ready for 2013 to start. Last year I started keeping track of all the things that I make in a project book. I also (try) to write down the patterns that I create in it. I went back and looked at and added up all of my projects and was a bit surprised. Here is what I made in 2012.
12 Bags
14 Blankets
4 Sweaters
12 Toys
1 Book Cover
2 Pillows
1 Dress
8 Household Decorations
1 Cell Phone Cosy
1 Coffee Cup Cosy
2 Headbands
1 Pair of Fingerless Mitts
3 Pairs of Slippers
2 Shawls
4 Hats
3 Scarves
1 Plastic Bag Holder
Total 72 items. I keep my hands busy. Lol. I will keep a project book from now on. It is nice to see what you have actually made at the end of the year.
Now that I am finished with all of my gifts I am going to finish joining my Granny Love Blanket. I have been keeping it secret since I made a big change to it it half way through. I expect to be finished by mid-week. Somewhere around the 1st. I can't wait to show it to everyone and I really can't wait to put it on our bed. It is so cold here. After having the hottest summer anyone can remember, we have had more days below freezing this December than ever in recorded history. Strange.
If you are still on vacation from work, enjoy your time off, if not then have a wonderful day anyway. Talk to everyone very soon. :)
Friday, December 21, 2012
December Catch Up
Hello,
I have not been blogging much in the last couple of months. We have had so much going on this fall. I am looking forward to the New Year and slowing down a little bit. I love blogging and miss that I haven't been able to blog the two or three times a week that I am used to. The week of Thanksgiving was the week that Will hit the deer and totaled our car. That same week Will's father went into the hospital and was in the ICU for about a week. He came home and had a couple of good weeks and we got to have a really nice family party a week and a half ago. I am starting to cry as I write this. My father-in-law passed away last Sunday. He was one of the best people I have ever known. He is at peace now.
It has been kind of hard to keep a happy face during this busy season. I am lucky to have my husband and daughter that mean everything to me and I am lucky to have a job that brings me so much joy. I work with four one year olds. For the last two months I have been the only adult in the nursery with my four little friends. They really help keep my mind off of the sad things. My daughter spends an hour there with me in the morning before school and it is so nice to work somewhere that I can have my own child with me when she is not at school.
We are having the funeral tomorrow and then we have Christmas next week. Whew. As I said, I am looking forward to slowing down and getting back into a normal routine.
I have been really busy making blankets. I can't show all of them until after Christmas but, I made eight blankets for Christmas this year. I started them in November. Four of them are big Queen sized blankets, made to fit on a bed. The other four were small for the four little people I work with. I also made a bunch of other little things. Scarves, hats, and ornaments. I want to write up a series of tutorials after the holidays. I made this little Snowman for the owner of the company I work for. I got to be her secret Santa.
I made up the pattern for this little guy and I will definitely write it down as soon as I get a little time.
If you live in the United States, you know we are having a big blizzard here in the the upper part of the country. We live in Iowa, right in the middle of the storm path. The schools and the daycare I work at were all closed yesterday and Will is still on bereavement leave. Thankfully, none of us had to go anywhere. Other than going out to play in the snow, we stayed in all day.
Autumn loves to make snow angels.
It has stopped snowing now but it is around 6F right now. Not warm at all. The schools are open today though, I am glad for that. I am helping with the Christmas party for Autumn's class today and the kids would have been so upset to miss their party.
I hope I haven't lost any of my wonderful readers lately. I will get back to frequent posting within the next week. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. :)
.
I have not been blogging much in the last couple of months. We have had so much going on this fall. I am looking forward to the New Year and slowing down a little bit. I love blogging and miss that I haven't been able to blog the two or three times a week that I am used to. The week of Thanksgiving was the week that Will hit the deer and totaled our car. That same week Will's father went into the hospital and was in the ICU for about a week. He came home and had a couple of good weeks and we got to have a really nice family party a week and a half ago. I am starting to cry as I write this. My father-in-law passed away last Sunday. He was one of the best people I have ever known. He is at peace now.
It has been kind of hard to keep a happy face during this busy season. I am lucky to have my husband and daughter that mean everything to me and I am lucky to have a job that brings me so much joy. I work with four one year olds. For the last two months I have been the only adult in the nursery with my four little friends. They really help keep my mind off of the sad things. My daughter spends an hour there with me in the morning before school and it is so nice to work somewhere that I can have my own child with me when she is not at school.
We are having the funeral tomorrow and then we have Christmas next week. Whew. As I said, I am looking forward to slowing down and getting back into a normal routine.
I have been really busy making blankets. I can't show all of them until after Christmas but, I made eight blankets for Christmas this year. I started them in November. Four of them are big Queen sized blankets, made to fit on a bed. The other four were small for the four little people I work with. I also made a bunch of other little things. Scarves, hats, and ornaments. I want to write up a series of tutorials after the holidays. I made this little Snowman for the owner of the company I work for. I got to be her secret Santa.
I made up the pattern for this little guy and I will definitely write it down as soon as I get a little time.
If you live in the United States, you know we are having a big blizzard here in the the upper part of the country. We live in Iowa, right in the middle of the storm path. The schools and the daycare I work at were all closed yesterday and Will is still on bereavement leave. Thankfully, none of us had to go anywhere. Other than going out to play in the snow, we stayed in all day.
Autumn loves to make snow angels.
It has stopped snowing now but it is around 6F right now. Not warm at all. The schools are open today though, I am glad for that. I am helping with the Christmas party for Autumn's class today and the kids would have been so upset to miss their party.
I hope I haven't lost any of my wonderful readers lately. I will get back to frequent posting within the next week. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. :)
.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Mid-December
Hello,
I realized this morning that it has been two weeks since my last post. Last year I managed to still write my posts in December. I seem to be busier this year than ever before. Since the last post I have made a large queen size blanket, a handmade fabric strip basket and 18 candy sleighs. Here they are...
These are all gifts. I have a blanket that is half finished on the hook right now and another one to get done by Christmas Eve, then one more crochet project to finish up before the family gets together. It is top secret though, the recipient reads my blog and would know it was for her the minute she saw it.
When I have finished all of these projects I have a list of things I want to blog about. I want to make a couple of tutorials and I can't wait to finish my Granny Love blanket, it has been hibernating until the holidays are over. I hope everyone is enjoying December. I love this time of year, even with how busy it is. I will talk to everyone soon. :)
I realized this morning that it has been two weeks since my last post. Last year I managed to still write my posts in December. I seem to be busier this year than ever before. Since the last post I have made a large queen size blanket, a handmade fabric strip basket and 18 candy sleighs. Here they are...
These are all gifts. I have a blanket that is half finished on the hook right now and another one to get done by Christmas Eve, then one more crochet project to finish up before the family gets together. It is top secret though, the recipient reads my blog and would know it was for her the minute she saw it.
When I have finished all of these projects I have a list of things I want to blog about. I want to make a couple of tutorials and I can't wait to finish my Granny Love blanket, it has been hibernating until the holidays are over. I hope everyone is enjoying December. I love this time of year, even with how busy it is. I will talk to everyone soon. :)
Monday, November 26, 2012
Monday Morning
Goodmorning,
I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Mine was very relaxing. I spent the four days off puttering around the house, organizing the basement, cooking and working on Christmas presents. Boring to some but, my favorite way to spend a weekend.
I made a few things this weekend. I am making blankets for all four of the babies in my nursery, this is the second one I have finished.
I am also making gifts for the girls that help me in my room. This scarf is a fun project and took about an hour to make. The hook is huge, P 15, and the yarn is Super Bulky, a 6.
The hat is 8 hdc in a sliding ring and then increase until you get it big enough. Then work several rows with out increases. I will write a tutorial for it and the flower. I will also write a tutorial for the blanket. I did the center differently than any patterns I could find. I don't like the foundation chain to show through, like it does on most Granny rectangles. The solution was simple but, still took me a little while to figure out.
Back to work today. I am ready, we are now officially in Christmas season, I am at least. Lol. I love this time of the year so much. I already decorated my house, I will post photos. My camera is charging and it is still dark anyway. Four short weeks until Christmas week. I love it. I still have a lot of things to finish making but, I love that too.
I will talk to everyone later. Hope you have a great day!
I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Mine was very relaxing. I spent the four days off puttering around the house, organizing the basement, cooking and working on Christmas presents. Boring to some but, my favorite way to spend a weekend.
I made a few things this weekend. I am making blankets for all four of the babies in my nursery, this is the second one I have finished.
I am also making gifts for the girls that help me in my room. This scarf is a fun project and took about an hour to make. The hook is huge, P 15, and the yarn is Super Bulky, a 6.
The hat is 8 hdc in a sliding ring and then increase until you get it big enough. Then work several rows with out increases. I will write a tutorial for it and the flower. I will also write a tutorial for the blanket. I did the center differently than any patterns I could find. I don't like the foundation chain to show through, like it does on most Granny rectangles. The solution was simple but, still took me a little while to figure out.
Back to work today. I am ready, we are now officially in Christmas season, I am at least. Lol. I love this time of the year so much. I already decorated my house, I will post photos. My camera is charging and it is still dark anyway. Four short weeks until Christmas week. I love it. I still have a lot of things to finish making but, I love that too.
I will talk to everyone later. Hope you have a great day!
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hello,
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. I am very thankful this year. The last week has had a lot of things happening in our family. My husband and my sister in law both totaled their cars, on the same night. Both are ok. My father in law stopped breathing and his heart stopped. The first responders brought him back, thank God. He went on a ventilator and was in ICU for a couple of days. He is still in the hospital. He seems to be doing better. We picked up our new car yesterday and we both love it, I am thankful that we had full coverage when we didn't legally need it. I am thankful for our health and happiness. I am thankful for my job. I love the little babies I work with and I love my co-workers. Everyone there has been so supportive of me and my family through all the crazy things we have gone through in the last few months. So, yes, I am very thankful this year.
Today Autumn and I will clean the house top to bottom and then decorate for Christmas. We started to do that when she was two. My husband always works on Thanksgiving, that way he doesn't have to work on Christmas. We had our Thanksgiving meal last night and today will be all about baking and decorating. I love this little tradition that Autumn and I have.
I have stopped working on my Granny Love blanket until I am finished with all of my Christmas makes. I am very close to done with it. Just some joining of a few more squares and a border to decide on. I enjoy working on it though and put it on hold so that I wouldn't feel rushed. I had wanted to finish it by Halloween, when it wasn't quite done I put it away. I can't wait to show it to everyone. We have a week off at Christmas and I plan on finishing it then.
Here are some of the Christmas presents I have made so far...
This was made using up some Stylecraft Lucy Pack that I had leftover from my Granny Ripple that I finished last spring. This is for one of my babies in the nursery where I work.
This is a hat for one of my co-workers...
I hope she likes it. I made up the pattern and I think I will make another hat and write up a tutorial for it. It was easy and took about an hour and a half to make.
This is a pattern that I saw a few days ago on Ravelry and decided we should make in our CAL/KAL group, Everything Zen. I am going to make a few of these, one for me and a couple more for gifts. It took an hour while I was having my coffee this morning.
I have three more baby blankets that are almost finished for the three other babies in my care and I have three full sized blankets that are still being worked on. I had a number of other things that I am working on too. I am enjoying all the Christmas gift making. I love to make things for people, I love to give gifts and crochet is great. For a relatively small amount of money I can give lots of gifts. I hope everyone has a special day and I will talk to everyone soon. :)
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. I am very thankful this year. The last week has had a lot of things happening in our family. My husband and my sister in law both totaled their cars, on the same night. Both are ok. My father in law stopped breathing and his heart stopped. The first responders brought him back, thank God. He went on a ventilator and was in ICU for a couple of days. He is still in the hospital. He seems to be doing better. We picked up our new car yesterday and we both love it, I am thankful that we had full coverage when we didn't legally need it. I am thankful for our health and happiness. I am thankful for my job. I love the little babies I work with and I love my co-workers. Everyone there has been so supportive of me and my family through all the crazy things we have gone through in the last few months. So, yes, I am very thankful this year.
Today Autumn and I will clean the house top to bottom and then decorate for Christmas. We started to do that when she was two. My husband always works on Thanksgiving, that way he doesn't have to work on Christmas. We had our Thanksgiving meal last night and today will be all about baking and decorating. I love this little tradition that Autumn and I have.
I have stopped working on my Granny Love blanket until I am finished with all of my Christmas makes. I am very close to done with it. Just some joining of a few more squares and a border to decide on. I enjoy working on it though and put it on hold so that I wouldn't feel rushed. I had wanted to finish it by Halloween, when it wasn't quite done I put it away. I can't wait to show it to everyone. We have a week off at Christmas and I plan on finishing it then.
Here are some of the Christmas presents I have made so far...
This was made using up some Stylecraft Lucy Pack that I had leftover from my Granny Ripple that I finished last spring. This is for one of my babies in the nursery where I work.
This is a hat for one of my co-workers...
I hope she likes it. I made up the pattern and I think I will make another hat and write up a tutorial for it. It was easy and took about an hour and a half to make.
This is a pattern that I saw a few days ago on Ravelry and decided we should make in our CAL/KAL group, Everything Zen. I am going to make a few of these, one for me and a couple more for gifts. It took an hour while I was having my coffee this morning.
I have three more baby blankets that are almost finished for the three other babies in my care and I have three full sized blankets that are still being worked on. I had a number of other things that I am working on too. I am enjoying all the Christmas gift making. I love to make things for people, I love to give gifts and crochet is great. For a relatively small amount of money I can give lots of gifts. I hope everyone has a special day and I will talk to everyone soon. :)
Saturday, November 17, 2012
What's Been Happening Around Here
Hello,
I have not posted since November 1. I think that may be the longest break I have taken. The month started with internet trouble. I couldn't get on the web and when I did it was so slow. It took over an hour to do my last post and it was very short. We have gotten that all sorted out. Then it was my husband's birthday and then a few days later it was my Autumn's 7th birthday. I was brave (stupid) and let her have a slumber party. It started out with 6 little girls. The two oldest went home to sleep in their own beds. I don't blame them, the rest of them didn't sleep much. We had fun though. I took the girls to the Children's Museum and then out to pizza. A wonderful girl from work came with us to help. Thank goodness for Jordan. When we came home we had cake and ice cream. I made a polka dot cake that I saw on Pinterest. It was so neat.
How cool is that? Autumn fell asleep on the couch after all the birthday celebrations, but her friends were still awake at 2:35 in the morning. I had to keep going in and telling them to go to sleep. To top it off they all woke up at 5:30 in the morning. Crazy kids. I made them breakfast and put a movie on until their parents came to collect them. I would bet that they all fell asleep by mid-afternoon. I don't regret having the party, but there won't be another slumber party for many years. Lol.
Last week I was getting all the things that I have made ready to take photos and post. I made a really neat bag with my group on Ravelry, Everything Zen.
I made the whole thing from scraps, which makes me very happy. I love our CAL group and am very thankful to Karisma for starting it.
I have also made a hat and finished a baby blanket since the last time I posted. I need to have someone model the hat. The pictures I took of myself just look bizarre. Like an alien with big eyes and a mushroom head. I have said it before, I have no luck at self photos. I finished the baby blanket last night and it is too dark to take a picture right now. I will get some today. I made it as a gift for one of my babies in the nursery and I used all scraps for it too. I had little odds and ends left of my Stylecraft stash, and used most of them up. My most rewarding projects to make are the ones that I use up leftover yarn for.
I had been planning to write a post on Tuesday and catch up then two things happened. I caught the worst cold and came home and fell asleep on the couch after work. I got up and went to bed. My husband came home a few hours later and woke me up to tell me he had been in a car accident. He hit a huge buck on the Interstate. It totaled our car. The thing is, we live in the country. We are always so careful out here. Especially now during rutting season. The accident happened down in the city though. He is ok. I don't know how he didn't get hurt. The car is a complete loss. When I called the insurance company the next morning, they had already had 4 people call in with deer hits. I called at 8:02. They open at 8. Two of the girls I work with have also hit deer in the last week. It is always bad in the fall. You have to be careful, but I have never heard of so many deer hits in one season. We had to wait two days to get a rental car, they were all booked due to the number of accidents. Before we knew the car was totaled, I called all the autobody places in the area to see when we could get our car in if it could be fixed. The waiting list at all of them was until at least 26 November.
As you can see, we have been car shopping. Just to top it all off, the day after the accident, my sister in law called me to tell me she had totaled her car the night before on her way home from work. The same time that her brother was hitting the deer, she was running in to a cow. Not a good day for the Griffith siblings or the crazy animals that are running around charging cars. Everyone is ok, except the animals. Next week is Thanksgiving and this year I am more than thankful that my family is ok. That is what has been happening around here lately. I hope everyone else is having a less eventful November. I will post again tomorrow with pictures of the projects I have finished. Talk to everyone soon.
I have not posted since November 1. I think that may be the longest break I have taken. The month started with internet trouble. I couldn't get on the web and when I did it was so slow. It took over an hour to do my last post and it was very short. We have gotten that all sorted out. Then it was my husband's birthday and then a few days later it was my Autumn's 7th birthday. I was brave (stupid) and let her have a slumber party. It started out with 6 little girls. The two oldest went home to sleep in their own beds. I don't blame them, the rest of them didn't sleep much. We had fun though. I took the girls to the Children's Museum and then out to pizza. A wonderful girl from work came with us to help. Thank goodness for Jordan. When we came home we had cake and ice cream. I made a polka dot cake that I saw on Pinterest. It was so neat.
How cool is that? Autumn fell asleep on the couch after all the birthday celebrations, but her friends were still awake at 2:35 in the morning. I had to keep going in and telling them to go to sleep. To top it off they all woke up at 5:30 in the morning. Crazy kids. I made them breakfast and put a movie on until their parents came to collect them. I would bet that they all fell asleep by mid-afternoon. I don't regret having the party, but there won't be another slumber party for many years. Lol.
Last week I was getting all the things that I have made ready to take photos and post. I made a really neat bag with my group on Ravelry, Everything Zen.
I made the whole thing from scraps, which makes me very happy. I love our CAL group and am very thankful to Karisma for starting it.
I have also made a hat and finished a baby blanket since the last time I posted. I need to have someone model the hat. The pictures I took of myself just look bizarre. Like an alien with big eyes and a mushroom head. I have said it before, I have no luck at self photos. I finished the baby blanket last night and it is too dark to take a picture right now. I will get some today. I made it as a gift for one of my babies in the nursery and I used all scraps for it too. I had little odds and ends left of my Stylecraft stash, and used most of them up. My most rewarding projects to make are the ones that I use up leftover yarn for.
I had been planning to write a post on Tuesday and catch up then two things happened. I caught the worst cold and came home and fell asleep on the couch after work. I got up and went to bed. My husband came home a few hours later and woke me up to tell me he had been in a car accident. He hit a huge buck on the Interstate. It totaled our car. The thing is, we live in the country. We are always so careful out here. Especially now during rutting season. The accident happened down in the city though. He is ok. I don't know how he didn't get hurt. The car is a complete loss. When I called the insurance company the next morning, they had already had 4 people call in with deer hits. I called at 8:02. They open at 8. Two of the girls I work with have also hit deer in the last week. It is always bad in the fall. You have to be careful, but I have never heard of so many deer hits in one season. We had to wait two days to get a rental car, they were all booked due to the number of accidents. Before we knew the car was totaled, I called all the autobody places in the area to see when we could get our car in if it could be fixed. The waiting list at all of them was until at least 26 November.
As you can see, we have been car shopping. Just to top it all off, the day after the accident, my sister in law called me to tell me she had totaled her car the night before on her way home from work. The same time that her brother was hitting the deer, she was running in to a cow. Not a good day for the Griffith siblings or the crazy animals that are running around charging cars. Everyone is ok, except the animals. Next week is Thanksgiving and this year I am more than thankful that my family is ok. That is what has been happening around here lately. I hope everyone else is having a less eventful November. I will post again tomorrow with pictures of the projects I have finished. Talk to everyone soon.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
November
Yikes! It is November already. I will start working on my crazy long list of Christmas presents today. September and October went by so quickly, I couldn't keep up. I finished up the month by making another Patchwork Puppy for one of Autumn's friends. She turns 7 today and for months has been asking me to make her one like Autumn's. I used the same pattern from Crochet World magazine, but I used DK yarn instead of worsted. I used different colors too. Here it is.
It is smaller than the one I made in March, but I think I like it better.
Last night was Halloween and Autumn went as a witch. We had a lot of fun walking around the neighborhood trick or treating. I have to say, the days of yucky, cheap candy are over. She got a huge bag of mostly chocolate. Works for me. :)
I was gong to put another photo up with her wearing the cape I crocheted for her, but it has taken over an hour to get this much of the post done. Something going on with the internet here. They told us the servers are affected by the storm on the east coast. I don't know, all I know is that I have been here for an hour trying to get this published. I couldn't even log on yesterday. I will write another post as soon as we have better service. Talk to everyone soon. Happy November.
P.S. I can't get any links on here right now either. I can't even link back to my own older posts. I will blog again when the issue clears up. Talk to everyone soon. :)
It is smaller than the one I made in March, but I think I like it better.
Last night was Halloween and Autumn went as a witch. We had a lot of fun walking around the neighborhood trick or treating. I have to say, the days of yucky, cheap candy are over. She got a huge bag of mostly chocolate. Works for me. :)
I was gong to put another photo up with her wearing the cape I crocheted for her, but it has taken over an hour to get this much of the post done. Something going on with the internet here. They told us the servers are affected by the storm on the east coast. I don't know, all I know is that I have been here for an hour trying to get this published. I couldn't even log on yesterday. I will write another post as soon as we have better service. Talk to everyone soon. Happy November.
P.S. I can't get any links on here right now either. I can't even link back to my own older posts. I will blog again when the issue clears up. Talk to everyone soon. :)
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
A Cowl, An Owl And A Teddy Bear
Hello,
I hope everyone is having a good week. I have still been going kind of slow, not much running around, and certainly no housework. He he. I am feeling a lot better though and I went back to work on Monday. I have made a few more things to show you. I finished this Bellflower Infinity Scarf that I was working on for a CAL with the group Everything Zen on Ravelry. We make all kinds of different things in that group. It is lots of fun and we have really nice people in our group. Come join us if you like. You don't have to participate in all of the CAL/KALs that we do and if you want to make something you are invited to start your own CAL/KAL. Here is the cowl.
It is for me, but she is my model.
Autumn has had to take a backpack to school since she started kindergarten last year. We have been walking to work since April and the backpack has been bothering her. She has broken her collarbone twice and the backpack strap hurts on the side where it was broken. One day I let her carry one of my bags and she carried it like a messenger bag. She loved it and it didn't hurt her shoulder. She wanted me to make her an owl bag. She said it had to be really big. So I made her this.
The wings are also pockets. She loves it and used it yesterday.
Today is the birthday of one of the babies in the nursery I work in. She is also the daughter of my friend, Heather. The same lady who came to help me when I hurt myself last week, she is also my boss. I love her baby. She is a funny little thing. I made her a little teddy bear to carry around and play with. I used scrap yarn and worked it up while watching a documentary last night.
Looks like I need to put a nose on it. Ha ha. Somehow I forgot that until I saw the photo. I have time before work. So, that is what I have been up to this week. I will talk to everyone soon. I still have more to show you. :)
P.S. The bear is no longer noseless.
I hope everyone is having a good week. I have still been going kind of slow, not much running around, and certainly no housework. He he. I am feeling a lot better though and I went back to work on Monday. I have made a few more things to show you. I finished this Bellflower Infinity Scarf that I was working on for a CAL with the group Everything Zen on Ravelry. We make all kinds of different things in that group. It is lots of fun and we have really nice people in our group. Come join us if you like. You don't have to participate in all of the CAL/KALs that we do and if you want to make something you are invited to start your own CAL/KAL. Here is the cowl.
It is for me, but she is my model.
Autumn has had to take a backpack to school since she started kindergarten last year. We have been walking to work since April and the backpack has been bothering her. She has broken her collarbone twice and the backpack strap hurts on the side where it was broken. One day I let her carry one of my bags and she carried it like a messenger bag. She loved it and it didn't hurt her shoulder. She wanted me to make her an owl bag. She said it had to be really big. So I made her this.
The wings are also pockets. She loves it and used it yesterday.
Today is the birthday of one of the babies in the nursery I work in. She is also the daughter of my friend, Heather. The same lady who came to help me when I hurt myself last week, she is also my boss. I love her baby. She is a funny little thing. I made her a little teddy bear to carry around and play with. I used scrap yarn and worked it up while watching a documentary last night.
Looks like I need to put a nose on it. Ha ha. Somehow I forgot that until I saw the photo. I have time before work. So, that is what I have been up to this week. I will talk to everyone soon. I still have more to show you. :)
P.S. The bear is no longer noseless.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Autumn's New Sweater
Hello,
How is everyone doing this week? I have had the last two days off from work. Not because I wanted to, I slipped on some wet leaves on Wednesday and landed on my artificial knee. I am am going to be ok, but it was pretty scary. I dropped my phone when it happened and I couldn't get up. I tried to call my friend, who was driving away from my house, and my phone wouldn't work. Autumn helped me get inside to the computer chair. It has wheels. I got online and emailed a few people, my phone was dead and I had to get ahold of my husband. Then I got on Facebook and tagged a couple of people and asked for help. My boss, Heather, was here within minutes to help me. Whew, I was so terrified that I had broken a part of my new knee. Will came racing home and long story short, I am ok, just really sore. The upside, I have had lots of time for my hobbies. I finished Autumn's hoodie. She picked out the yarn. I wasn't sure how the yarn would look and then we had to wait almost two weeks to get one more skein to finish it. The pattern called for 1,000 yards, I used more than 1,300 yards and I checked the gauge. That kind of stuff drives me nuts. I don't live close to the yarn shop and I had even bought an extra skein just in case, but it still wasn't enough. It was worth the wait though. She wore it to school today.
I am so proud of my little girl. She was with me when I got hurt and she was such a great little helper. She was scared but she did everything I asked her to do. We don't have a landline, I don't think very many people in the US do anymore. She was ready to go start knocking on the neighbor's doors to find me some help. Facebook is attached to email and most people have smart phones. My boss heard her phone ping and checked and saw that I had posted that I needed help and she came right over. Several people saw my post and were ready to come over. Made me feel a lot better. I am so clumsy. Made me feel like an idiot to fall like that. I really want to thank my friend, Heather Wyjack and her husband Tom, for coming right over. I admit, I was a complete emotional mess when they got here. So that is my post for the day. I had planned a different post, I need to talk about some awards that some friendly bloggers have given me. I will do that tomorrow. I also have a couple of projects that are just about done. I will talk to everyone soon. :)
How is everyone doing this week? I have had the last two days off from work. Not because I wanted to, I slipped on some wet leaves on Wednesday and landed on my artificial knee. I am am going to be ok, but it was pretty scary. I dropped my phone when it happened and I couldn't get up. I tried to call my friend, who was driving away from my house, and my phone wouldn't work. Autumn helped me get inside to the computer chair. It has wheels. I got online and emailed a few people, my phone was dead and I had to get ahold of my husband. Then I got on Facebook and tagged a couple of people and asked for help. My boss, Heather, was here within minutes to help me. Whew, I was so terrified that I had broken a part of my new knee. Will came racing home and long story short, I am ok, just really sore. The upside, I have had lots of time for my hobbies. I finished Autumn's hoodie. She picked out the yarn. I wasn't sure how the yarn would look and then we had to wait almost two weeks to get one more skein to finish it. The pattern called for 1,000 yards, I used more than 1,300 yards and I checked the gauge. That kind of stuff drives me nuts. I don't live close to the yarn shop and I had even bought an extra skein just in case, but it still wasn't enough. It was worth the wait though. She wore it to school today.
I am so proud of my little girl. She was with me when I got hurt and she was such a great little helper. She was scared but she did everything I asked her to do. We don't have a landline, I don't think very many people in the US do anymore. She was ready to go start knocking on the neighbor's doors to find me some help. Facebook is attached to email and most people have smart phones. My boss heard her phone ping and checked and saw that I had posted that I needed help and she came right over. Several people saw my post and were ready to come over. Made me feel a lot better. I am so clumsy. Made me feel like an idiot to fall like that. I really want to thank my friend, Heather Wyjack and her husband Tom, for coming right over. I admit, I was a complete emotional mess when they got here. So that is my post for the day. I had planned a different post, I need to talk about some awards that some friendly bloggers have given me. I will do that tomorrow. I also have a couple of projects that are just about done. I will talk to everyone soon. :)
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Tuesday's Tallies - Granny Love Update
Hello,
Autumn is my favorite time of the year. I am loving this fall more than most. We have our new house that I love living in. The place we were in before was always temporary, even though we lived there for two years. We have our privacy, we have nice neighbors, my daughter has two little friends that live next door. This is a good fall season for our little family.
I have been working on my Granny Love blanket. I have around 60 more squares to go and then I am done. Whew! I have changed it considerably since the last time I posted about it. I will show the changes pretty soon. I don't want to show the whole blanket until it is done. I am close. Here are the squares I finished this week.
There are about 100 sitting here. Doesn't look like it when they are all piled up. Like I said, I made a major change to this blanket and I can't wait to show it. Pretty soon. This project is part of the One-A-Day group on Ravelry and Gingerbreadgirl hosts a link party every Tuesday. Go check out everyone's neat work. There are some really beautiful projects on the go. I will talk to everyone tomorrow. I have more things to blog about. :)
Monday, October 15, 2012
How To Crochet A Flat Join
Hello,
Thanks to my blogging friends, Lucy, Teresa, and Karisma, for helping me figure this out. This isn't the very best video and I am kind of nervous about putting myself on video. I think it will help people figure out the flat join. Like I said in last week's post, I am sure I am not the only person to come up with this method, but I did figure it out on my own. This is a nice way to join squares or any crochet work that you don't want to sew together. It doesn't have the bump in the middle like a lot of the joins I see. Here goes.
I hope this works, please remember, I am not a professional video maker. Lol. I will post again tomorrow. I a lot of things to show and talk about right now. I have just been too busy to blog. Talk to everyone tomorrow.:)
Thanks to my blogging friends, Lucy, Teresa, and Karisma, for helping me figure this out. This isn't the very best video and I am kind of nervous about putting myself on video. I think it will help people figure out the flat join. Like I said in last week's post, I am sure I am not the only person to come up with this method, but I did figure it out on my own. This is a nice way to join squares or any crochet work that you don't want to sew together. It doesn't have the bump in the middle like a lot of the joins I see. Here goes.
Update, Trying To Post A Video
Hello,
I have been working on making a tutorial for the flat join. We made a video and I watched it and it looked like it turned out just fine. I can not get the video to upload on to the post. I have no idea why. So back to page one. If I can't get it to work I will take photos of the steps tonight after work. I was so happy to have finally gotten the video made. My husband works evenings and finding time when we are both home and awake at the same time is not easy. He took the video for me. Anyway, I will post something tonight. Hopefully it will be the video, which will be easier to follow than still photos. I have a lot of things to blog about too. It has been a busy crafting week for me. Talk to everyone tonight. :)
I have been working on making a tutorial for the flat join. We made a video and I watched it and it looked like it turned out just fine. I can not get the video to upload on to the post. I have no idea why. So back to page one. If I can't get it to work I will take photos of the steps tonight after work. I was so happy to have finally gotten the video made. My husband works evenings and finding time when we are both home and awake at the same time is not easy. He took the video for me. Anyway, I will post something tonight. Hopefully it will be the video, which will be easier to follow than still photos. I have a lot of things to blog about too. It has been a busy crafting week for me. Talk to everyone tonight. :)
Monday, October 8, 2012
A New Pillow and a Flat Join
Hello,
How is October going for everyone so far? I am loving it. It has been cold here since last week and I am so glad. Time to finish my cardigan I think.
I made this granny ripple blanket this year and had lots of yarn leftover from the project. I didn't know what to do with it and made a few squares, just to see what I could come up with. The squares were small and only had four rounds. There were a pile of them. I also have a few pillow forms in my stash of craft things. I have wanted to make a pillow to go with this blanket for months. Yesterday I sat down and made this.
I added two rounds to all the squares and made three more. I only had 15. Six rounds made the squares large enough that they would make a patchwork and fit the pillow form perfectly. I sewed the squares together. That was alright for a small project like a pillow but it had me thinking that there had to be a better way. The join as you go method looked funny to me with this particular pattern and I don't like the bump or raised ridge that comes with slip stitching or single crocheting them together. I messed around for a while and figured out how to make a flat join. I am amazed that my mind somehow put this together.
It is a perfectly flat join and looks nice as the rim of the pillow.
No bump in the middle. I am sure I am not the first person to come up with this, but it is the way I will join certain kinds of squares from now on. No sewing.
I am going to write a tutorial for this when I get home from work. I need help taking the pictures. I can't seem to photograph myself crocheting. Lol.
This blanket and pillow will go in the den in the basement, once we buy the couch. For now it is keeping me warm and cosy while I crochet or read in the evenings. I love the feel and weight of it. It is the only blanket I have made with dk yarn. I am going to make a few more.
I hope everyone has a great Monday! I have to go get ready for work now. Talk to everyone soon. :)
How is October going for everyone so far? I am loving it. It has been cold here since last week and I am so glad. Time to finish my cardigan I think.
I made this granny ripple blanket this year and had lots of yarn leftover from the project. I didn't know what to do with it and made a few squares, just to see what I could come up with. The squares were small and only had four rounds. There were a pile of them. I also have a few pillow forms in my stash of craft things. I have wanted to make a pillow to go with this blanket for months. Yesterday I sat down and made this.
I added two rounds to all the squares and made three more. I only had 15. Six rounds made the squares large enough that they would make a patchwork and fit the pillow form perfectly. I sewed the squares together. That was alright for a small project like a pillow but it had me thinking that there had to be a better way. The join as you go method looked funny to me with this particular pattern and I don't like the bump or raised ridge that comes with slip stitching or single crocheting them together. I messed around for a while and figured out how to make a flat join. I am amazed that my mind somehow put this together.
It is a perfectly flat join and looks nice as the rim of the pillow.
No bump in the middle. I am sure I am not the first person to come up with this, but it is the way I will join certain kinds of squares from now on. No sewing.
I am going to write a tutorial for this when I get home from work. I need help taking the pictures. I can't seem to photograph myself crocheting. Lol.
This blanket and pillow will go in the den in the basement, once we buy the couch. For now it is keeping me warm and cosy while I crochet or read in the evenings. I love the feel and weight of it. It is the only blanket I have made with dk yarn. I am going to make a few more.
I hope everyone has a great Monday! I have to go get ready for work now. Talk to everyone soon. :)
Sunday, September 30, 2012
September
Hello,
September is my favorite month. It is the beginning of fall and the leaves start changing. It starts to get a little cooler without being cold yet. There are birthdays every week for my friends and family. I think I was busier this September than ever before. I had a great month.
I finished the last present for the last birthday party. Autumn wanted me to make another one of these, I made one last March for another friend's birthday.
Looking a little lop-sided, but her friend loved it. We also gave her a Build-A-Bear yourself kit. They are kind of cool. The kids can sew their toy together and stuff it themselves at home. Only $10. for the gift instead of the $40.+ Build-A-Bear gets you for if you go to their stores. The little girl's party was a slumber party. Autumn's first one. Five little girls running around giggling. They live next door and I half expected a call in the middle of the night to tell me Autumn wanted to come home. She stayed and had lots of fun.
We had the television to ourselves for a change and tried to watch Neil Young's live concert last night. Right in the middle of Powder finger, one of my favorite songs, they broke into the show to say two rap artists were fighting at the BET awards. I was so mad. I don't like rap and I highly doubt the anyone watching Neil Young cared about rappers either. They talked about it for 20 minutes. Argh.
Today was a perfect Sunday. I got up early, as usual. Made my coffee and snuggled up on the couch for some hooky time. Yesterday Autumn and I went to Hobby Lobby to get her friend a present and I let her pick out some yarn for a hooded pullover that I have been planning on making her. I worked on it this morning and I think it will be done in a few days. It is working up really quickly. Here is what I have from my coffee session on the couch this morning.
It is very bright, but she is six and can get away with it. I actually have the front done too, but for some reason the photo didn't transfer.
I bought some polar fleece ( at Hobby Lobby) for a blanket for Will's man cave. He plays guitar and I thought he would like this with a border crocheted by me.
Apparently I did a good job picking it out. When I showed it to him he said 'Cool, Stratocasters'. I acted like I knew what they were. Ha ha. I will show the blanket when I get the border on. The last thing I worked on this morning before I had to get up and do chores, is a blanket I am making for one of my nephews for Christmas.
This will be a great big patchwork blanket with five different colors. It is bulky and fast to work with.
This has been a really nice weekend. Yesterday I met with the trainer at the gym, I joined on Tuesday, and was shown how to use the wt. machines. I can tell you that I am really sore today. Even my fingers hurt. No lie. I have been trying to get back in shape. I started to walk to work about 6 months ago and now we live twice as far, I still walk though. I have never done any wt. training before. Wish me luck. I thought it was pretty hard. I did feel like I really accomplished something when I was done.
Today I am sore, but I still cleaned the house, made supper and then I made a couple of apple pies. I only make one or two a year, but I love to make them.
As you can see, one of them has already been tasted. Dinner hasn't even been served yet. Lol. I am not the one who ate the pie either. The other pie is for my friend. If my arms weren't sore after yesterday at the gym they are today after making pies. I hope everyone has had a fantastic weekend. I will talk to everyone soon. :)
September is my favorite month. It is the beginning of fall and the leaves start changing. It starts to get a little cooler without being cold yet. There are birthdays every week for my friends and family. I think I was busier this September than ever before. I had a great month.
I finished the last present for the last birthday party. Autumn wanted me to make another one of these, I made one last March for another friend's birthday.
Looking a little lop-sided, but her friend loved it. We also gave her a Build-A-Bear yourself kit. They are kind of cool. The kids can sew their toy together and stuff it themselves at home. Only $10. for the gift instead of the $40.+ Build-A-Bear gets you for if you go to their stores. The little girl's party was a slumber party. Autumn's first one. Five little girls running around giggling. They live next door and I half expected a call in the middle of the night to tell me Autumn wanted to come home. She stayed and had lots of fun.
We had the television to ourselves for a change and tried to watch Neil Young's live concert last night. Right in the middle of Powder finger, one of my favorite songs, they broke into the show to say two rap artists were fighting at the BET awards. I was so mad. I don't like rap and I highly doubt the anyone watching Neil Young cared about rappers either. They talked about it for 20 minutes. Argh.
Today was a perfect Sunday. I got up early, as usual. Made my coffee and snuggled up on the couch for some hooky time. Yesterday Autumn and I went to Hobby Lobby to get her friend a present and I let her pick out some yarn for a hooded pullover that I have been planning on making her. I worked on it this morning and I think it will be done in a few days. It is working up really quickly. Here is what I have from my coffee session on the couch this morning.
It is very bright, but she is six and can get away with it. I actually have the front done too, but for some reason the photo didn't transfer.
I bought some polar fleece ( at Hobby Lobby) for a blanket for Will's man cave. He plays guitar and I thought he would like this with a border crocheted by me.
Apparently I did a good job picking it out. When I showed it to him he said 'Cool, Stratocasters'. I acted like I knew what they were. Ha ha. I will show the blanket when I get the border on. The last thing I worked on this morning before I had to get up and do chores, is a blanket I am making for one of my nephews for Christmas.
This will be a great big patchwork blanket with five different colors. It is bulky and fast to work with.
This has been a really nice weekend. Yesterday I met with the trainer at the gym, I joined on Tuesday, and was shown how to use the wt. machines. I can tell you that I am really sore today. Even my fingers hurt. No lie. I have been trying to get back in shape. I started to walk to work about 6 months ago and now we live twice as far, I still walk though. I have never done any wt. training before. Wish me luck. I thought it was pretty hard. I did feel like I really accomplished something when I was done.
Today I am sore, but I still cleaned the house, made supper and then I made a couple of apple pies. I only make one or two a year, but I love to make them.
As you can see, one of them has already been tasted. Dinner hasn't even been served yet. Lol. I am not the one who ate the pie either. The other pie is for my friend. If my arms weren't sore after yesterday at the gym they are today after making pies. I hope everyone has had a fantastic weekend. I will talk to everyone soon. :)
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