Monday, December 30, 2013

Little Owl Hat for Emma

I made this cute little Owl Hat by special request from my daughter who loved the one I made her last year! The pattern is here from Repeat Crafter Me. I've made several of these hats over the last year for gifts and every just loves them!


Sorry for the crappy picture. I took it with my phone...
 
Happy New Year and Happy Crocheting!



Monday, September 16, 2013

Elegant Design Cowl

My very first Elegance Cowl...


I made this last weekend using half double crochet, double crochet,treble crochet, triple treble crochet and a couple of rows of V-stitches just for fun! Then I joined it together with clusters that remind me of little button decorations. Nothing boring about this pattern.

The yarn is Stylecraft DK in turquoise.  Have a wonderful week and ....Happy Crocheting!



Saturday, September 14, 2013

Finished: Triple Thread Baby Blanket


Finally...
I finished this super soft and light weight baby blanket. It's a great pattern to use up scraps from previous baby projects. For more details see my previous post here.


Have a great weekend and...
Happy Crocheting!

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

New Baby Granny Ripple Afghan: Tah Dah!!

Baby Granny Ripple Afghan!

After my last post are you ready for some good news?

First I have to tell you all that reading your comments brought tears to my eyes. Maybe I should have posted about this sooner because I didn't expect this outpouring of support. Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences, faith and support with me. I am very touched and will keep you in my prayers.

You might have guessed since I just made a New Baby Granny Ripple Afghan that my darling daughter Angela that just graduated with a Ph.D. in Pharmacy May-2013, moved an hour and a half away from me for a very good job; the mother to Emma, my first grand baby born almost 1-year ago, (August 24, 2012), is expecting again and the baby is due January, 6, 2014! Woo Hoo! I am so excited and I just love being a grandma! 




You can probably tell by the colors that we don't know yet if it will be a boy or a girl so I tried to go neutral, (maybe I am leaning a little towards a boy), notice all the blue in it? I put very little pink just in case but I think it would be fine if it is a girl.

Anyway, this was the first time I've tried a "Granny Ripple" and I love it. The pattern is from Michaels and Bernat Baby Coordinates yarn.

I used a different yarn for my project...


My yarn is Cascade Yarns Pima Tencel. I really love this yarn. It is so soft and works up so nice. It has a slight sheen to it and I love the pastel colors, perfect for baby...


So here is all the stats:

Crochet Hook Size-G

Cascade Yarns-Pima Tencel (Discontinued-I was able to purchase on clearance from Jimmy Beans Wool about a year ago):
Content:
50% Pima Cotton/50% Tencel
Care:
Hand Wash
Weight/Yardage:
50g/89yd
Gauge:
5 sts = 1" on US 7
Knitting Weight:
Worsted

Update 8/16/2013: I forgot to add this to my
2013 stash-busting challenge!

Happy Crocheting!



Monday, August 12, 2013

A personal story I need to share...

I've been gone for a while and I normally don't share a lot on my blog about my personal life but, I feel this is important to share because it could happen to anyone and maybe this story will help someone else.

My son turned 28 years old on July 5, 2013. On July 19, 2013 at 4:30 am he knocked on the door of my bedroom and said he thought he needed to go to the hospital. He thought he had a blood clot in his leg. So I hopped out of bed, looked at his "calf" and yes is was a little swollen and a little larger than the other calf. Now he's been telling me for weeks that he has a blood clot. He always thinks something is wrong with him, cancer, etc. Too much time on the internet and webMD. So I just kept telling him there was no way he had a blood clot, he's way to young. When I saw the swelling for the first time I thought, Yep, we better go to the emergency room. So, I took my time, put my makeup on, got dressed, etc. and about 5:30 am we went to the emergency room.

They took him in right away and put him in a Trauma room. I didn't think much about it. He told them he had pain, in his leg and that he had an edema, (a friend of his at work happens to work in the emergency room at the hospital and told him if he pushed in with his thumb by his ankle and it stayed indented, he has an edema.) So, he told the nurse he thought he had a blood clot. So they didn't waste any time taking him downstairs for a ultrasound on his leg. I text my boss and said I thought he was fine and I'll be in later.

When he came back to his Trauma Room, it wasn't very long until the Doctor was back in and told us yes, he has a blood clot in his leg. I couldn't believe it! How does that happen to a 28 year old? So the doctor said she wanted to get a CT Scan to be sure there wasn't any clots anywhere else. Just as a precaution she said. So, off he goes again downstairs for a CT Scan.

When they come back up, the doctor says they are admitting him. He has a pulmonary embolism. Here come the tears and the guilt. If I had brought him in a couple of weeks ago when he said it was bothering him, we might have avoided this. Of course, like my sister said, he is a big boy and could have gone himself to the ER so the guilt didn't last long but it was a very frightening experience.

Everything was happening pretty fast now and they put him in a room and the pulmonary doctor came in and talked to us. She asked all the questions you would ask anyone with a blood clot in their leg. Has he traveled a long distance by plane, has he had any surgery recently, has he had an injury that immobilized him, any history of blood clots in the family, etc. The answer to all of those questions were "No." She is baffled as to why this happened.

So they took some blood and sent it off to be tested for this Factor Five, (I think it's called that) disease. The blood test came back with low proteins but, when you do the test when a clot is already present, the results are skewed.

So, the pulmonary doctor shows me and my sister the CT scan of his lungs. He is one lucky boy. He had a LARGE blood clot in the saddle (something) of his lungs right next to the right side of his heart. If it had been vertical instead of horizontal, the heart would not have been able to pump blood and he would have died. He also had several small clots in the arteries of lungs. So they started him with heparin shots and Coumadin or Warfarin (genetic).

This was three weeks ago and he is doing fine. We go to the anti-coagulation clinic once a week to have his INR checked and we think we finally have the right dosage for him. He is also wearing a compression sock especially at work.

So I have been a little preoccupied and crochet has gone by the wayside and so has my blog. Hopefully things will settle down now and get back to normal. We feel so blessed that he didn't die from this. The pulmonary doctor said usually when they see this big of a clot in that location, they don't make it. Thank God, Adam did.




Friday, August 2, 2013

Learn to Crochet Cables...

Want to learn to crochet cables?

Check out this free Cable Scarf pattern from Red Heart...



This is an intermediate crochet pattern so learn something new this weekend! A video that shows you how to make cable/post stitches is at the bottom of the pattern page. Have a great weekend!

Happy Crocheting!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Rosetta Pattern

Rosetta Pattern

Make a bunch of these Mandala's
and put them on your Kitchen wall for instant Decor!

This beautiful Rosetta Pattern
is from Barbara at Busy Fingers, Busy Life.

Happy Crocheting!



Thursday, June 20, 2013

Crochet Apache Tears: Free Pattern


From Sarah London...


The Apache Tears pattern is so unique I'm going to have to try this. Sarah has some samples to try on her lovely blog using different colors for different effects. Wow! Check it out Here

Friday, June 14, 2013

Crochet Granny Patches Blanket: Added Another Row

It's coming along...



You, dear friends,  are going to get sick of seeing this one. I added another long row and a short row across the bottom, (or top) :) 

I added it because when I would fold it in half, it wasn't on the seam so it would have to be folded in the middle of the square. I don't know about you but that would just drive me crazy! Half the fun of making these blankets/throws/afghans, whatever you want to call them, is because I love folding them. They look so pretty all folded and stacked neatly on a shelf. Of course I love spreading them out on the bed too. I think it is safe to say I just LOVE making blankets!!

All the loose ends you see in this picture are already woven in the back so it is nice and neat for me when I start another row!



Now this is my Triple Thread Baby Blanket. This is so fun to make and the longer it gets the more I love it. I just run out of the Bernat Satin Flamingo so fast. Obviously because it is a worsted weight and the other two threads are sport weight, the yardage is much smaller on the worsted weight and I am using a large hook. so, I have used one and a half Satin skeins and am ready for another and I am still on the first skeins of the Sport weight.

Long story short, I had to stop working on it until I go to Hobby Lobby or order more from Joann's. There goes my stash-busting efforts on this one.
It's coming along...



You, dear friends,  are going to get sick of seeing this one. I added another long row and a short row across the bottom, (or top) :) 

I added it because when I would fold it in half, it wasn't on the seam so it would have to be folded in the middle of the square. I don't know about you but that would just drive me crazy! Half the fun of making these blankets/throws/afghans, whatever you want to call them, is because I love folding them. They look so pretty all folded and stacked neatly on a shelf. Of course I love spreading them out on the bed too. I think it is safe to say I just LOVE making blankets!!

All the loose ends you see in this picture are already woven in the back so it is nice and neat for me when I start another row!



Now this is my Triple Thread Baby Blanket. This is so fun to make and the longer it gets the more I love it. I just run out of the Bernat Satin Flamingo so fast. Obviously because it is a worsted weight and the other two threads are sport weight, the yardage is much smaller on the worsted weight and I am using a large hook. so, I have used one and a half Satin skeins and am ready for another and I am still on the first skeins of the Sport weight.

Long story short, I had to stop working on it until I go to Hobby Lobby or order more from Joann's. There goes my stash-busting efforts on this one.







So that's all for this week. I hope you all have a great weekend and Happy Crocheting!

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Free Crochet Pattern Medium Star

Make several of these darling stars into a bunting. Free pattern over at


Happy Crocheting!

Monday, June 10, 2013

Crochet Slipper Tutorial



Slipper Tutorial




This cute slipper tutorial is done by Sam at 2 Create Color. The excellent photos make it look so easy!  I'm going to give these a try. She also has a link on how to customize them!  Thank you Sam :)

Happy Crocheting and have a great week!


Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Please Comment...I Apologize!!!

Hi all my blogland friends.

I was just informed by Anna Pedrosa of Annasimplecrochet that my blog only allows people that are registered with google+ accounts are able to leave a comment. I apologize to all of you. I don't know how that got turned on but I have figured out how to turn it off so please leave your comments. I have missed hearing from you and visit Anna's lovely blog.

Monday, June 3, 2013

Crochet Granny Patches Update, A Ruffle Scarf, and more...

Granny Patches Blanket Update...

It's been almost two weeks since my last update and I have added two more rows to keep up with my "One a Day" challenge and worked in all of those ends! This is also one of my Scrap-Buster Blankets. I think I'm loving it! 

I can only work on granny patches for so long and I grow weary, especially with those ends so...


I make an occasional Romantic Ruffle Scarf with Red Heart Sashay yarn!  This is the third one I've made and they work up so quick it makes for an easy project between rows on my blanket.


 This is my sweet little Sonny dog, he is an English Cocker Spaniel and is 10 years old.  He is my faithful and loyal friend.

This one is another fun and quick project I just started! My Triple Thread Baby blanket. It is so soft and thick. I'm just using a double crochet in the back loops of every row and it makes a nice ridges.  I am waiting for the Pink Yarn from Bernat to arrive and then I can finish this one off with a nice Border. Not sure what pattern I will use but I still have time to figure that out. This one is a HUGE Scrap-Buster using three strand of baby yarn.  



Wednesday, May 22, 2013

One a Day is Back and My Crochet Granny Patches Blanket Update


Granny Patches Blanket Update...

Do you remember this?

Now it has grown into this...




What do you think? It's hard to show the colors so I will try and do better next time.  I hope you bet the idea. I am really excited about this one. I like it so much better with the white border around each color.  I am working in my ends as I do a couple of rows.  I find doing that, almost as satisfying as crocheting. It looks so good without all those ends hanging around! :)

It's going to be pretty big because I have a lot of squares and I want it to fit on my double bed.

Also, I just want to say that my heart and prayers go out to all of the victims of the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma.  For anyone interested in helping out, here is a list of charities if you would like to donate.

Here's where I am linking up this week...
I am so excited One a Day is back.  I would like to do at least one row a week so I can get this done.  Thanks Carole! We missed you.











Preview


Happy Crocheting!




Monday, May 13, 2013

Dishcloths and Potholders: Stash-buster Cotton

These quick and fun little projects have busted my cotton stash "Big Time". I only have three little balls of cotton yarn left! I'm so glad I joined the "2013 Stash-buster Challenge." Now, I can't wait to go shopping and pick up some new colors of cotton.




Dishcloths: These are so fun to make and I love the stitch.







Love this set Made with Hobby Lobby "I Love This Cotton".  These are so soft. Better than Sugar-N-Cream cotton. The potholder is made holding two yarns together. I used the plain yellow and the variegatedIt is nice and thick and worked up super fast. The Dishcloth is the same as above.

I'm not sure where I got the Potholder pattern below but when I find it I will post it here.  



Love these Potholders/Trivets: These were made holding two yarns together.  It was fun using any variegated yarn you have and yellow and then change to pink and switch back to yellow.  Tons of fun to make and it turned out a lot prettier than I thought it would.



Another Dishcloth same as above...






Have you been Stash-busting lately?


Happy Crocheting!