It's been a long year but I'm glad to say that I've almost made it to 2017... thanks to family and friends.
I wish I could take better photos so you could see the lovely table topper my quilt-y friend Doniene sent me. I love the fabrics, the colors, and all the loving kindness that went into it! It's hard to see but there are feather-quilted borders!!! I'm impressed...
Looking forward to the coming year, I am excited that I will retire next June and will have lots more time to spend doing things that make me happy... more time with family and friends and honing my knitting/quilting/crocheting skills.
So... as the holidays are almost here, I would like to wish you a...
A coworker is expecting her first baby (a girl) and I've been having fun making a couple of things for her. I went "neutral" for the 36" square baby blanket because Jessica hadn't found out yet whether or not it was a boy or a girl... but I chose a non-baby green yarn.
The blanket is just one big granny square with a simple border. I found the free pattern here (link).
Once I found out that Jessica is having a baby girl, I needed to make something girly!
I found another free pattern for the caps (link) but had trouble deciding what size to make since so I made two... one size 0-6 months the other size 6-12 months. This way, the baby will have a hat that fits all winter long! It doesn't look like it in the photos but the leaves are the same color as the baby blanket. (It's overcast today and this was the best photo I could obtain.)
Yes, yes, I know... our fabric stash is precious to us. But sometimes a fabric or group of fabrics that you LOVED in the shop 10 years ago, just isn't what you're into now.
Although it feels like Spring here today and the shawl isn't needed, I am glad to finally put in the last stitches and weave in the ends.
I debated on whether or not to add the borders because I truly liked the way it ended up prior to the borders... but I think the scalloped section and the two rows of double crochet with a plain single-crochet edging added a more finished look to the shawl.
No crochet project in the works but I do have just a year left to start, make, and finish a quilt for my youngest nephew who will graduate from college in the Spring of 2017. This means I first need to clean up my quilting/sewing room, which has been sadly neglected.
I had a lot of small balls of leftover yarns that I wanted use for something because there was too much just to throw it all away. I found THIS PATTERN on Ravelry (link) and knew it would be perfect.
I've gotten the main body of the wrap completed and it's ready for the borders.
I started by following the written instructions... I was suspicious by Row 3 and sure by Row 6 that they were incorrect so I had to rip out back to Row 2. I followed the provided chart and, once I got used to the symbols, it was easy to follow. Actually, much easier than written instructions!
The borders will look similar to this (from the original "blarf"):
Not sure about the fringe yet... but we'll see how it goes.
At work, when I have lunch... I usually sign into FaceBook to see what folks are up to. Thursday, I got a surprise that brought tears to my eyes... and I thought I'd share it with my quilty friends. Here's the post...
When we make quilts for "someone special"... we send the quilt "out there," not knowing if it will be liked at all, let alone used. It makes me very happy to know this one is loved and used. Since you can't really see the quilt in the bag, here is what my niece Jenny's quilt looks like:
Jenny is a USCG officer who flies big helicopters out to sea to rescue folks in trouble. I'm so proud of her...
I decided that everyone needed a new winter hat for Christmas so I used the free Work or Play Beanie (link) and four different yarns to make an assortment of hats for all the guys in the family.
My daughter teaches third grade and her classroom is on the chilly side and I wanted to make her something she could throw on to stay warm... that wouldn't get in her way while she's working with kids.
The pattern (link) is easy... you just crochet this big rectangle, fold it in half, and stitch up part of each side to create the "armholes" at the top. In this photo, the fold is at the top as are the openings. This photo will give you a better idea of how it goes on.
My daughter had no idea what the gray mass was or how to wear it but loved it once she got it on. No photo but I swiped this one from the pattern site...
Pinterest is a nice way to relax during a quick lunch at work and during one foray, I found a cute poncho thing that I decided to make for the grandgirls.
It took a while to locate the pattern, which is from a Yarnspiration: Patons True Colors.(link) and looks like this worn.
The grandgirls loved their ponchos... and wore them pretty much all day Christmas. Sorry, no photos... after present-opening, I was in the kitchen completing the feast.
I found a lovely shawl (link) on Pinterest last fall and converted it to scarf-size to see if I could do the windowpane stuff... and if the yarn I thought might work... would work.
It was a fun pattern... so easy to relax, watch a movie, and crochet away. I had to pay just enough attention to keep my mind off stuff that was stressing me out.
So much so... that quite a few folks got one for Christmas!
