crochet bereavement sets

Earlier this month Candy requested larger gowns for Emmazing Grace (I hope these are big enough). She posted a link to Toni's Burial Gown - a little crocheted dress that is very pretty. From there I got the link to her hat/bonnet. Within 3 days I had 3 little bereavement sets finished all but the flannel for lining. I was able to get that yesterday and now, finally, all three are ready to be put in the mail.

I made this using Caron Simply Soft yarn.

Running a tie through the bottom to makes it a sleeper sack.

I don't remember what yarn this is as it was left-over from
some I used to knit blanket for my niece a few years ago.
It is a super soft baby weight that is special to me.
I added an Offray bow and booties to this set.

A white sleeper sack that was made from
Caron Simply Soft which would, I think,
be suitable for either a boy or a girl.

Tomorrow is the first day of school. With my youngest starting Kindergarten, I'll be able to make a post office stop all by myself. My goodness! That is quite a concept.

Window on the Wall

(completely cheesy alternate title: Windows of Opportunity)


I first saw a window used for wall art at my very fashionable, youngest sister's house. I think she said she and her husband had seen it at a parade of homes. Immediately I fell in love with the idea and remembered the windows that had been in the garage when we moved in this house. One of those windows ended up above the piano in our living room. (picture above)


When we redecorated my mom's kitchen (well, unfortunately less me and mostly my siblings. I would have liked to have been of more help but, alas, I wasn't) Mom used an old window from their house on the wall above the table (above picture). One afternoon my sister and I (or perhaps sisters - I can't remember) were charged with the task of looking through the stack of windows to find the best one. We did and I called dibs on the other nice one (because we all know how binding dibs are). That is the one I used over my stairs (below picture).

I purchased a small, rectangular box at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon, a bunch of artificial flowers for half off and using some styrofoam that came in a box of something my husband had ordered, I made a window box to hang beneath the window. Because it is the outside (with the flowers) I hung a small curtain from the side that is against the wall. My mom used an old rice sack from her grandmother's house for a curtain on her window.

I made some curtains

Earlier this year I started redecorating just about everything I touched. As the weather warmed up, I started moving outdoors which, unfortunately, left some things undone (I say: waiting for this fall/winter when it's too cold to play in the garden). The completed tasks, however, included some MUCH wanted rooms/spaces: my room, the stairway, the kitchen, upstairs bathroom. Nearly finished are the downstairs hall, laundry room, big girls' room. FAR from finished: the computer room & even further: the family room. Anyhow, so there are three windows on the stairs, one up high, one on the back door and one down on the stairs. I wasn't ever fond of those window coverings so I was excited for the chance to change them. I used fabric I've had forever along with fabric my friend Michelle has had forever and happily donated to the cause.

back door: before & after


***


above the stairs: before (ugly, boring and too long white shade) & after (taken at night, but it does let light into the basement - I like that. That was the only good thing about the old shade)


***


there is no before for this window, but it had only the white blinds that are still there. I like this curtain because I can open it to let in light, or close it (which it's been most of the summer) to keep out the heat. The stairs are MUCH cooler this year than they were last year. Yay!

"Mommy and Tessa"

a chalkboard drawing by my five-year-old daughter

Remembering Lucy

for the babies


Lenore's Gown
Michelle's booties

Itty-bitty Buntings


no-pattern crochet blankets
(bottom one is from previous post)


I miss her little face
I miss her small hands
I miss her cute ears
And her tiny bird legs
And her feet
I'll never forget:
I once calmed her down when her parents were busy
Because her mama had showed me how
And once she fell asleep under my hands
And how when she looked at you, it felt like she could see your soul

Sam, Sarah - I will never forget your daughter.

more granny squares

Last week I worked on some other granny squares in addition to the scarf ones. These were and are special to me. For several years I have wanted to make blankets for the hospital. I am not much of a sewer though, and knitting takes so long that I have trouble sticking with the task. Granny squares are quick and, I think, beautiful.
I like the way the blanket turned out with the three large, solid squares and several (I haven't counted them, I don't know why) small, multi-colored ones. It is for a little boy I've never met, made while thinking of Lucy and her new baby brother.
18, there, I just counted.

I dreamed about a scarf

About a week ago I had a dream about a scarf made of squares sewn together in a row. The squares in my dream were knitted however, because the squares looked a lot like crochet granny squares, I was unable to figure out how they could be made by knitting. Well. That's ok, because I've often wished I knew how to make those. A quick google search landed me on an instructional youtube clip and before I knew it, I was crocheting a little one that was all my own. The pattern she used wasn't my favorite, so I searched a little more until I found a completely adorable one with simple enough instructions. And so I give you:

I will still need a few more, but this is what I have so far.
I'm using Peaches & Creme cotton in variegated earth tone and ecru.



The squares will be sewn together end to end, something like this:

I have a few other projects taking up my time, that and the fact that we are far, far, far from scarf season (even a slim cotton one) - I'm in no rush to finish this. Probably about a week or so. Many thanks to Teresa for posting the tutorial video!

some of the things I love about summer:

Rose of Sharon
this flower is on my neighbor's tree, but it looks right over the fence and into my backyard.
Lucky me!

***
Tomato
I actually can't eat garden tomatoes anymore because they really hurt
my mouth, but my husband likes them and I like to grow them and we have
never actually had a problem getting rid of any that may be left over.

***
Pepper flower
our good friend takes peppers, cuts them in half, removes the seeds,
fills the halves with cream cheese, then grills them.
It's one of my favorite summertime treats!

***
Eggplant flower
I've been growing eggplant for the last few years, one reason is that
the flowers are so beautiful (the other is that my husband happens
to really like eggplant parmesan).

***
Cabbage
I can hardly believe that this huge plant once was a few tiny
leaves in a cup that my daughter brought home from school
at the end of the year. It's going to be coleslaw this weekend!

***
Window box
seeing bright flowers whenever I look out my window always
brightens my mood, no matter what kind of day I'm having

river water

I recently found myself in Green River, Wyoming. While walking
across a bridge, I noticed this sign and wondered how carefully
the aquafina marketing people had considered the location of their ad...

Happy Easter

This morning my four-year-old reported that she
thinks she heard a bunny in the living room last night.
I think she could be right about that.

Happy Easter!

Salvation Army

At the beginning of January my friend Jenni and I decided to organize and update a room a month (organize? Who, me?). This month I've been working on my bedroom. It's funny to me that we've lived in this house 7 years and almost everything was still boring and white until last summer when I redid the living room. I'm a little slow with things sometimes.

So, my room. White. Boring. I have one personal challenge in the updating and organizing: Do it as inexpensively as possible. I have been loving the challenge of thrift store shopping! My husband had been wanting a reading corner so when I saw a beautiful wooden chair by the basement door at my mom's houses, I asked her about it. Right away she told me I could take it home if I wanted. The chair had belonged to her dad and so while she didn't have a use for it she couldn't get rid of it either. The afghan I bought at a local thrift store for $2. From time to time I wondered about the person who crocheted it and felt a little sad that their hard work ended up in a second-hand shop.

I have been keeping a list of items to look out for while out and about. Yesterday I took a trip up to the nearest big city to their Salvation Army. A friend had told me that it was an amazing thrift store, and she was right! I found several treasures: the table to go next to my grandpa's chair & two working lamps. The little table is solid wood and was an amazing buy at $10. The silver based lamp with the beaded shade that sits atop the table was $7. I fell immediately in love with the wooden based lamp that was only $4 and I was able to find a shade that is in brand-new condition for just $1. The one thing I did not like about the shade was how bright-white it was. My friend suggested I tea stain it, which was the perfect solution.

Still on my list is a night stand for the side of the bed, but until I find one this TV tray works pretty well. I have a few other projects in the works that I will post about when they are completed. I hope to have the room finished by Wednesday, a little before my deadline.

Failed Afghan Intentions

When I began knitting these blue, white and gray strips I had every intention of turning them into another afghan similar to the one I knit for my mom. I was using the same pattern (pdf) but made a slight change in the edges (seed instead of garter) and the cable - knitting them in a small braid rather than a plain twist (which I actually think I like better anyway, but oh well). My problem came when I went to sew the strips together and realized I had accidentally knit some of them on the wrong sized needles. I guess my attention to detail is lacking from time to time.

I re-knit one of the strips on the smaller sized needles (because that was the original plan and most of them had been done that way). However, for several reasons I decided not to continue with the afghan and a week or so ago I started giving the strips away as scarves. They are warm and cozy and everyone liked them.

they say it has stopped (for now)

We have had snow storm after snow storm around here (makes for lots of cozy evenings spent knitting). The news claims we'll be five days without another storm! That hasn't happened for two months, hence the Christmas lights still up in the front of my house. It hasn't been safe enough for my husband to get up on the ladder to get them down (and besides that he'd have to wade through a couple or so feet of snow just to get to them).

Socks for Tess

I have in my house a very happy four-year-old (and enough yarn for at least another pair). I'm not sure what brand this yarn is (because I lost the label), but it was sent to me by Mama Bear. The pattern I used was simple enough. I cast 15 stitches onto each of 3 US size 2 needles. I knit in a k2 p1 rib for three and a half inches. At that point I worked a 2 inch heel flap over 22 stitches. I did my favorite heel, s1 k1; turn s1 p across. I turned the heel leaving 8 stitches in the middle then picked up 12 stitches along each side and continued the rib along the top of the sock. For the gusset I decreased to 11 stitches per side needle (needles 1&3) while 23 stitches remain on the top. Tess has a size 11 foot (in what? toddler? I think) for her length I knit until the sock measured 6 inches from the heel. I decreased for the toe until I had 13 stitches on the top needle and 6 on the other two then finished up with the kitchener stitch. Volia!

Sock Saga

Knit some socks. Sounds simple enough, huh? Riiiight. I wanted to make something special for Christmas for our pastor and his wife who really went above and beyond to be there for us during one of the hardest years we've faced. Nice warm socks for a cold Utah winter sounded like just the right answer. Man socks are easy enough, just a simple k2 p1 rib. I did have some trouble with the heel but once I decided to go back to my usual version I had no further complications. But when I got to the pink sock, it was a different story entirely. I wanted to make something pretty so I tried an eyelet pattern that I didn't care for. Pulled it out. I tried the Lombard sock but while I enjoyed learning how to do a picot edge, it wasn't the right pattern for what I wanted. I tried my pattern called sandy's sock but pulled that out too. Finally I modified that slightly and knit from the other end of the yarn (it was starting to feel rough from being knit and pulled out and knit and pulled out). Success! I finished them only hours before I had to give them away.

The past few weeks I've been knitting on my log cabin afghan (I know, it was supposed to be a Christmas gift. I didn't finish it),a bunch of dishcloths (and I've given most away now too) & socks for my youngest daughter who is four-years-old. She tends to have sensory issues and doesn't like store-bought socks in the least. She is thrilled that I'm knitting her socks again (she grew out of all of her old ones). I am considering putting in an order from knitpicks for some pretty new sock yarns (and the harmony needles look tempting too!).

Merry Birthday to me!

On Monday I got an unexpected package in my mailbox. When I opened it I found it was a belated birthday/Christmas gift from my friend Jenni. She sent me two beautiful hand-knit dishcloths as well as a matching crocheted pot holder. The red dishcloth has an apple design in the middle. The white one has a super cool circle pattern around the edges. There was a pretty set of her stitch markers. I love them! Now I need to get knitting something so I can use them. Finally she included a book about the fruits of the spirit. I can't wait to read it.

Thanks Jenni!

Tipless Mittens

As I'm sure it has been for most people, the last month or two have been busy here in our neck of the woods. I had a lot of knitting drama with some pink socks I was working on. But! I finished them on time (barely). I knit these tipless things for a friend who tried one of the aforementioned pink socks on her hand and commented that she'd like them that way. Well. The socks were a gift for her mother but as soon as they came off my needles, these little bad boys went on. It's amazing how much faster something knits up on 7's over 2's.

There wasn't really a pattern, I just did what worked. I knit a 1x1 rib for about an inch and a half or so (I kept measurements between knuckles, never with a ruler. It seemed easier) using size 5 dpns. After that I switched to 7's and did this: k3, p2, k3, p2 (10 per needle over 4 needles) adding mini braid cable thing on one of the k3's (I made them opposite each other so they would match when worn on the right and left hands). After knitting that for a while I ended with the same rib I began with. The thumb was super easy. I just left a hole (instead of knitting in the round I knit back and forth for a while) then later picked up 4 stitches at the base adding one on each side until it went all of the way around. These were fun and easy! I'd like to knit them again in acrylic (not 100% wool, like these) so I can wear them. Wool is too itchy for me.

short temper with the short row

First of all, thanks for all of the input on sock yarn! I looked up several different yarns and though I had wanted to try something new, I ended up purchasing Trekking yarn for both pairs. I started the first sock right away. The first pair will be Tech Guy Socks. I like this pattern for a man. I still haven't decided what pattern to use for the pink socks.

I'm having a problem though. I've never done a short row heel, but I've tried before. I thought I'd try again. It's causing me stress because I don't like the hole at the top. I looked for a video tutorial but was unable to find one. I may end up just going back to the heel flap, defeated and sad. *sigh* Can you see? They don't even look like they are in a pretty line. Bleh. Perhaps I'll give it one more try (but I hate to keep pulling it out, I think that probably isn't very good for the yarn). I haven't touched it in a few days. It's in time-out.