Happy New Year!

Well here we are with just a few hours of 2009 remaining. I wanted to take a moment to blog one last time before the year ended. Why you say? Well so that I can reminisce about the past few months of my life. I think I accomplished several things this year not the least being that I learned how to crochet by teaching myself! I absolutely love to crochet! I've made many crochet items, an afghan, several angels, many granny squares, several amigurumi items,several hats, three teapot cosies, a pair of slippers, a few scarves and several other items. I can't believe that I crocheted so many things or that they turned out as well as they did.

This year I blogged for the first time, started my own blog, joined facebook, crochet soiree, and crochetville. I follow several bloggers, but most important is that I've made a couple of great online friends.

I found a crochet designer that I really admire and actually went out of my way to meet in person while on vacation. She's become a dear friend also and her name is Tamara Gonzales. She does Tamara's blog on the Crochet Soiree website. I've started a group there for her called the Tantalizing Tamara group. We talk everyday and we've had swaps and contests and we're about to start a new project of Tamara's after the first of the year. It's a great group of people and besides being Tamara's #1 fan, I've made a very close online friend in Molly Wilson who has her own blogs here on the web, "Crocheting my best with my worsted". What a talented and sweet person and great friend to have.

With all my medical disabilities, I managed to survive back surgery. All in all I'm not going to complain too much about this past year, but rather dwell on the positive things such as crochet which has happened to me.

"May your 2010 be a number 10".

Lookin forward to making new friends and learning things this year.

Christmas

Oh my but the days are just flashing by and Christmas is just a few days away. I hope you will take a moment to stop and listen to the Christmas music that I have downloaded for your listening pleasure. Do you all have a huge Christmas planned or is it going to be a small affair, maybe just the two of you? We were thinking it would be just the two of us but received a phone call from one of the granddaughters asking if we could come pick her up for a few days at Christmas. Now mind you I've only been around this granddaughter(my husband's stepgranddaughter) once and she's now 20 yrs. old, but I guess we'll go get her on the 23rd and take her back home on the 26th. She told her grandfather today that she loved to cook so I think we'll turn her loose in the kitchen and pray for the best. It will be nice having some company at Christmas this year, next year we'll have many more I hope. I've got two sons from previous marriages and one of them has three girls and I'm hopeful that they will all be close enough to come home for Christmas. My husband's oldest son from a previous marriage is the one with the stepdaughter that we will be having a visit from this year but I'm hopeful that he and his family will also be close enough to come home for Christmas. I know that the granddaughter who is coming to visit loves to do crafts with her mother and I'm hoping that her mother has taught her to crochet. If she has I'll let her pick some projects that she would like to do and let her choose some yarn from my stash. lol It will give me a good excuse to go yarn shopping after Christmas now won't it? lol

We made Pumpkin Butter this week and if you've never tried it you should. What makes this Pumpkin Butter so special is that it's sugar free. I mailed one jar out to one of the granddaughters in the package I sent to all three of them 'cause she loves pumpkin pie but doesn't eat the crust. lol I told her it was just like having the pie without the crust. I know she'll try it and when she does I bet she tells me that she wants a bigger jar of it! Lucky for her we made some in pint jars. lol (Oh by the way I didn't tell the gdd that the pumpkin butter was sugar free and made with splenda) My sweet husband made pancakes for breakfast this morning and I had it on my pancakes, yummy.

I hope everyone finds this Christmas to be a magical one and that you never forget that tiny child who was born on Christmas day. Please don't forget our military men and women both past and present and pray to God that he watch over them and if they are active military, give them victory and bring them home safe. John 3:16....For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son.....that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.   Merry Christmas!

If you've taken a look at the blogs I'm following you would probably say I'm a bit excessive. Well I can't help it 'cause every time I find a new crochet blog I've just got to add it to my list and also I come across blogs that I like personally for different reasons. Anyway I've got them all listed here on my blog so that you might give them a look see and determine whether or not you might be interested in following them, but predominately the blogs I follow have something to do with crochet. Today I found a really new and really great one, it's Leisure Arts! I bet everyone who looks at this blog has purchased at least one craft book that Leisure Arts has published! Their headquarters are in my state, Arkansas, Little Rock to be exact. I've done the look around on their blog and really liked what I saw. They'll be doing a lot of talking about designers they are publishing and give us inside peeks at what's going on and coming out in print. You can take a look here:http://www.leisureartsblog.blogspot.com/

I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

Getting Ready........

It seems that everyone is getting ready for the big day, the day when everything halts in this country and hopefully we all take a moment and remember exactly what we're celebrating and let the joy and the wonder and the belief that on this day a tiny babe was born who we and countless others before us call "Emmanuel". Yes that day is Christmas and we prepare more for that day than for any other day of the year. I have recently been crocheting angels, and it seems that the more I crochet, the more I find someone to give one to. A very dear friend of mine, Molly of crochetingmybestwithmyworsted.blogspot.com/ gave me the pattern and I just love it 'cause you can change the color of the angels dresses (for lack of a better word) and match those colors up with the favorite color of the people you are giving them to. Pretty neat huh? I also made a "Hello Kitty " purse for the daughter of a swap partner of mine that I just felt would really enjoy it. This pattern was also easy to do and is a pattern of Lisa Gentry, out of her "Hooked for 30 days Ebook" I really feel that homemade or made from the heart gifts are always best don't you? Stay tuned as I babble on about the crocheting that I'm doing and some of the friends I'm making along the way. A friend is to be cherished.

Welcome

Well my goodness but this year has just flown by! I'm not ready for a new year to begin, 'cause there's so many things that I didn't get accomplished. I've been working diligently on my crochet granny squares and have finally finished all of them for the one swap which was a "huge" job. We each ended up crocheting 73 -8" squares plus a little crocheted gift at the end, all done in basically a three month time frame. Whew! Plus I made three tea pot cosies, a scarf, eleven flat angels, a hello kitty purse (WIP) , a hat, and a few other things I can't remember. Not bad for someone who just learned to crochet in January of this year is it. And that's what I did in the past three months! These are just a few pics of projects:

I'd like to take a moment to give you all a laugh if you will go to: http://dancingsantacard.com/?santa=390547 Trust me you'll find the funny in this one. Merry Christmas!

Also I ran across a wonderful December calendar from Garn Studios this morning and I'm gonna pass it on to you as they have some knitted and crochet patterns for free that might just fit into your Christmas gift giving or your Winter projects so go to: http://www.garnstudio.com/julekalender.php?lang=us I think you will enjoy it and you can email it to a friend.

More blogging to come so stay tuned! Barbara

Fabric Giveaway

I haven't ever linked another blog to this one but this is one awesome giveaway. If you love fabric then you need to check out this giveaway by Retro Mummy
I know I would love to win this but I want everyone to have an equal chance!

http://retromummy.blogspot.com/2009/11/grandmothers-flower-garden-giveaway.html

Isn't it just great to win something?

A Fall Day

Sometimes it's just so hard to write something that you just don't write anything at all. I want to take a moment to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Take a moment and pass it on. You know there just seems to be so much "stuff" on the internet and I have such a great time reading all the blogs that I'm subscribed to that there are times when I spend too much time on the computer.

But today is just gorgeous, with the sun shining, the birds singing and all is right with the world. Take this day and savor it. Go outside and play in the leaves, plant a bulb or two for next Spring, dig in the dirt or just sit in the sunshine. I hope your day is everything that you want it to be, enjoy.

My first Swap

How many of you readers of my blog participate in swaps? Being new to crocheting and also new to posting, I hadn't participated in swaps until just a couple of months ago. My first swap was in a tea pot cosy group and the tea cosy shown here was my first one. I've got to admit I did the bottom twice. The first time it ended up so big you could have fit a whole tea service inside it! The second time went much smoother. The pattern was a free one and it was done in much different colors than the one shown here. My swap partner loved Autumn colors so I did the bottom of the cosy in a variegated sort of beigey colors and then did the stems to the flowers in a dark green and the flowers (there were around 125 of them) in Autumn colors. When my swap partner received it she said that she loved it and that she had to get it back from her little girl several times the first day it was there 'cause she kept putting it on her head and running away with it to her room! LOL It would make quite a different looking hat if the top and sides were completely sewn up! I've just finished and mailed my second tea cosy to a swap partner from Finland. Sure hope she likes hers also. This swapping thing is fun isn't it? Right now I'm in one granny square swap and am about to start another. This could get kind of addicting couldn't it? But think of all you can learn in the process! I had never made a granny square before the first contest and now I've done several different kinds. I've got a book of 200 blocks and another of 50 (which is Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss newest collaboration). I love the one of 50, but have only done around 7 of the designs so far. Onward! To a new square!

Crochet and my niece Hannah part. 2

Several of you wonderful visitors to my blog read about my niece Hannah learning to crochet. I have been so proud of her! She decided that she wanted to learn and really made the effort.

She had crocheted a purse and a doily that she entered into the county fair. Her crocheted pieces did very well in the county fair and her doily was sent on to the state fair. We (or should I say I) have been waiting rather nervously for the results of her hard work. Last night I received a call from Hannah and she told me that she had won "Honorable mention and Best in show" for her age group at the state fair. Not too bad for a young lady, 13 years of age who had only been crocheting for less than six months when she submitted her crochet to be judged! You bet I'm proud of her!

I'm also very glad and grateful that I was instrumental in her learning how to crochet. She now has an artistic craft that she'll be able to use the rest of her life, whether or not she continues to pursue crochet consistently. I've got to get her some more patterns!! Tee Hee!

Until the next time...

Barbara

My Day

Rain rain go away come again another day! I know that rain is necessary but I think we've had too much of a good thing.

Well I got started on the tea cosy that I'm making for my swap partner in Finland. I'm sure that she will need something to help keep her tea hot 'cause I'm sure that the weather is cooling off there! I've also worked on my granny squares for the granny swap that I'm in and I made a little granny square that I intend to turn into a small coin purse. Who will get that for Christmas in their stocking? It's a deep purple.

While I was on the computer earlier, the little featherbabies that I hand fed were sitting on my head. So far, so good though as they haven't left any deposits up there! LOL

I also worked some more on the back room/porch/den trying to get it ready for Winter. I love to look out all the windows while I'm cosy and warm inside. My dear hubby made a very large pot of vegetable beef soup which was just wonderful this evening for dinner. He had me call a dear friend of ours and tell her that he had put some up just for her and her hubby. Isn't he thoughtful? She didn't call me back until much later so I told her to stop by on her way home from work tomorrow night and she wouldn't have to cook. She liked that idea. I hope everyone has done something thoughtful for someone else today. It will certainly make you feel good inside.

Barbara

Rain

Wow is it ever rainy today and has been for the past several days. The weatherman says if we see any sunshine don't get used to it 'cause there's another front coming in. Where did all this water come from (as if I didn't know)? The neighbors pond which is behind our house has overflowed and now their field is flooded. Not too good for the horses I would imagine. So this is going to be a good day to do some rearranging indoors and crocheting to my little hearts content.

I think I'll try to finish up my granny squares for this month and start on a tea cosy that I need to make for a swap partner in Finland. This is the second tea cosy swap that I've entered and I really like it. Of course one can never have too many tea cosies! Especially me, since I have a tea pot collection of over 200 pots I would imagine. Of course I do have my favs which are basically plain and simple, but I have many the are different and by different I mean that they could represent red riding hood, a shoemaker, a snowman, get the drift? Keeps things from being too plain don't you think?

I also want to pick out some new projects once I get things organized a bit around the house. Wish me luck!

Barbara

Where did all this talent come from?

I've got to admit I'm rather new to crochet and I'm definitely new to blogging but I've seen some of the most incredible talent in the crochet world! There are so many women (and men) who crochet, design patterns, dye their own yarn, and spin their own yarn that it just takes your breath away when you start looking at all of the fantastic projects that they have created. The potter's hands are no more talented than the crocheters hands are!

I've been working on some granny squares for the past few days and when I started looking for granny square patterns to choose from it just blew my mind. There have got to be a thousand or more ways to make a granny square ! I know that most people learned to crochet by doing granny squares first but that wasn't the case with me. I started out with a tote which turned out ok but a little long in the handle. I think I've done things a bit backward when it comes to doing projects but I'm glad that I did. I think it made me learn more about crocheting in a smaller amount of time.

Here's a toast to all of my fellow crocheters ! You all rock!!

:) Hugs N Smiles :)
Barbara

Yarn

I've got to admit, I've always loved yarn. It's just so soft and cuddly, warm and comforting. Since I've learned to crochet however I've become obsessed I think. I've got tubs and tubs of yarn and never seem to have enough. I normally purchase the majority of my yarn at the local Wal-Mart but tend to go on buying binges when I travel to a location that has a Hobby Lobby or Michaels store. I haven't been able to find any coral colored yarn in the local Wallie World though and I thought to ask one of the salesladies whether they ordered the colors of yarn that they received or if they just got what the company sent them. She told me that they got what they were sent but... the department manager could order the brands that they carried in the colors that I wanted.

Needless to say, I was in the store yesterday and the department manager was working yippee! Her name is Dixie and she is just a super employee. I asked her if she could order the yarn I was wanting and she told me that she could so I asked her if she could order thread also and she said yes. So to make a long story short Dixie ordered the coral colored yarn that I have been wanting and also two colors of thread in a size 3. I love to work with size 3 thread 'cause I can hold it a lot easier. Anyway who would've thought it, you can go to your local Wallie World and talk to the department manager in the fabric/craft department and get them to order you colors that they might not have on their shelves! The yarn and thread should be in within a week. Here's how I see it, I can pay shipping charges or I can pay tax. If it's a small amount or yarn or thread the tax would be a lot less than shipping would. What do you think?

:) Hugs N Smiles :)
Barbara

Berroco® Preview Pattern | Salem

Now isn't this just a fantastic bedspread pattern? I'm gonna have to succumb to the urge and buy it. However I don't know when I'll ever get it done!Berroco® Preview Pattern | Salem

Shared via AddThis

Chemo Caps and Hats

I recently joined a group on Ravelry called "Hearts of Love". The members of this site crochet or knit chemo caps/hats for Cancer victims who are receiving treatment. It is an awesome thing for people to do for someone else. You can either send your caps/hats to Teresita and she will take them to a Cancer center in Northern California or you can donate them to a Cancer treatment center in your own state. I'm opting for the center in my own state which would be the Arkansas Children's hospital. They take any size hat/cap from infant on up. Each year they collect "Boggins for Noggins". When the project first started they just gave caps to the Cancer patients who were being treated there, but when the other children saw their new found friends receiving a "Boggin for their Noggin" they wanted one also. Consequently the hospital now lets anyone who is leaving the hospital during the Winter months (or any other month if they want one) have a "boggin for their noggin". Anyway the "Hearts of Love" group has a challenge if you will going on for each person in the group to knit or crochet 3 chemo caps/hats by the end of October and send to a Cancer Treatment Center of their choice. Currently my hubby and I have the three hats to donate but we want to do three more before the end of October so that we'll each have three to donate. Don't you think this is a wonderful thing to do for someone else? If you would like to join in just let me know.

"Help someone smile today"
Barbara

My Niece Hannah

I have a very shy thirteen year old niece named Hannah who expressed an interest in Crochet after learning that I had taught myself. I had asked her mother if she knew how to crochet and she said that she didn't. I then asked Hannah if she would like to learn and she said yes. The next time my hubby and I went to visit I took Hannah my DVD " I Can't Believe I'm Crocheting" and the kit from Leisure Arts "I taught myself how to crochet" which includes an instruction book with patterns, hooks, stitch markers etc. and of course I added in several different skeins of yarn. I had only recently taught myself by the same way and wasn't sure about whether or not I could teach someone else. I left all the goodies with Hannah and checked back regularly to see whether or not she was still interested in crochet or whether she had lost interest. Well she certainly didn't lose interest! The next time I went over for a visit she showed me some of the things that she had made, one item of which was a doily! Wow I was really blown away because trying to crochet a doily certainly wasn't on my list of things to crochet first!

Hannah is a 4-H member and entered a purse that she had made and also another doily which she had crocheted into the county fair. She got a blue ribbon I believe for her purse and a beautiful red ribbon for her doily. Needless to say her doily is going to be entered into the state fair next month in her age group. I am so proud of her accomplishments, what a talented young lady. I thought she would have an easier time of learning to crochet than I did since she was so young but she really outdid herself I thought. I'll let everyone know how the state fair turns out for her.

Meeting my #1 crochet designer!!

While on vacation my husband and I made a detour on the way home. We stopped in Wichita, KS and spent the night so that I could meet my favorite crocheter and designer, Tamara Gonzales. Ever since I first started reading her blog: Tamara's Take on the Crochet Soiree website I have enjoyed her work. She is a very talented woman. The photo above was taken at Tamara's favorite yarn shop. Tamara is on the left, me in the middle and Tamara's best friend Rosina is on the right. The name of the yarn shop is "Twist" and it's located in the heart of Wichita. What a fantastic yarn shop! The girls CGOA groups guild "KS My Stitch" holds their meetings there. They have wonderful spots to sit and crochet or knit, rooms to hold your meetings in, knit and crochet patterns, accessories and tons of yarn of every type!!! It's a yarn lover's dream place to be!!! It was like a mini-vacation to get to talk to Tamara and explore all the yarns and stuff they have there and the ambience was just heavenly. Tamara, Rosina and I checked everything out there, and I found a pattern of Tamara's (which I just had to have and got autographed) went to lunch a short way from the shop where we met up with Tamara's sister and then on to a store to look for a purse like the one the Tamara's sis had (crocheted of course). Then it was on to Michaels where I found some more yarn on sale and we just shopped 'til I was ready to drop! I found a super (barely used) sweater that I'm going to repurpose into a pillow at a consignment shop, actually I found several items to repurpose into pillows. I was really wearing down (I'm disabled) and Rosina had a "babysitting" appointment with her grandchildren and so they delivered me back to the hotel where my hubby was waiting on me. I had a fantastic time and a wonderful day with a person that I admire very much. What more could you ask for? Well, I had that too but we'll leave that for a blog of hubby and myself's trip.

Tamara recently attended the CGOA Summer Knit and Crochet Show in Buffalo, NY. This is the CGOA's Annual Chain Link Conference. Tamara attended as a representative of Leisure Arts and the new Crochet Soiree website. Tamara entered an afghan in a contest sponsored by the CGOA and won honorable mention. The name of her afghan was Tamara's Tale Aren't the colors just gorgeous? I have been entranced with this afghan ever since I first saw the picture. What talent and what an artistic creation! I can only aspire to be as talented in the crochet world as Tamara Gonzales. Everyone needs to keep their eyes and ears open for her work because I for one can see her becoming a top of the line designer and I don't want to miss any of her stuff! Keep in touch with her on the Crochet Soiree website and be the first to obtain any new patterns that she might have published!

What are you working on?

Just a note to everyone out there that they need to check out www.crochetsoiree.com and view Tamara's Take for today July 28, 2009. That's my hubby she's talking about!! Isn't he fantastic?He's just such a special man and truly completes me. He is so supportive of me in whatever it is that I undertake to do and has been immeasureable to me in learning how to crochet. To me, crochet is more than just a hobby it's an art. He as I do, cares about others and truly has a good heart. I'm thinking I've got a partner to help me crochet laprobes for the Veterans who reside in the Veterans Home in Fayetteville, AR. My hubby is a Veteran himself and a past State Commander from the great state of Arkansas for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I'm glad that laprobes are much smaller than Afghans so that we can get many crocheted before the weather turns really cold this winter.

What crochet projects are you working on right now? What organizations do you belong to that you could use your crochet talents on?

"If you can read this blog, thank a teacher and if you can read it in English, thank a Veteran"

Until next time,
:) Hugs N Smiles :)
Barbara

Merry Monday!

I was thinking this morning how terrible a lot of my Monday mornings felt when I was working at a regular 8 hour a day job. For many years as a single mother, working at a very stressful job, Monday mornings were probably the worst mornings of the week. For the two days that I had off each week I had a ton of things that needed doing both inside the house and out, plus I had a child to take here and there for activities, and then there was the rest I needed that I hadn't gotten all week. So, by Monday morning I started the week out tired from trying to accomplish too much in a short period of time. What was I trying to be Super Woman? No one person is perfect and I wish that I had realized that many years ago and saved myself from most of the disabilities that I live with today. Stop and smell the roses take on a whole new meaning these days. But I have found that when I try to do something for someone else no matter how small or volunteer a little that it probably makes me feel better than the person who is receiving my outstretched hand.

I have found a new hobby, stress reliever, therapy these days and that is Crocheting. I've only been crocheting around 8 months now but I just love it. I think if you were to take up the art of Crochet you would enjoy it yourself, plus there are so many things which you can create that would benefit someone else such as: caps/hats for chemo patients, laprobes for folks who are wheelchair bound, ditty bags for their wheelchairs, animals for children and numerous other things which could brighten the day for someone else. Give crocheting for charity a try and let me know what you do. When you make someone else's day brighter, yours will be brighter also.

How was your day today?

I did a lot of canning today. Bread & Butter Pickles and tomatoes. Yesterday I made Salsa. Even though my hubby and I are both disabled and have been through surgeries in the last few months we still managed to get some vegetables planted. There's something so satisfying about canning vegetables. When you see the jars neatly lined up, they just seem to be so pretty to me. It's also nice to know that when old man winter rolls around you have some foods already set aside.



I've got to get busy this evening crocheting though. Time to pick out my next pattern and start on something new. I'm thinking some dishtowels would be nice, as I haven't done any edgings as of yet. I have two new dishtowels that are just crying out to have some embellishment put on them. Yep, I think that's the thing... pretty up some dishtowels. I'll let you know how they come out!



Have any of you checked out the Crochet Soiree website? http://www.crochetsoiree.com/ Check out Tamara's Take. It's a very good reading blog and Tamara is a wonderful person in the world of crochet.



Until later then........



Barbara

Summertime and Crochet

Hello there and welcome to my blog!

This is something that I'm very new at. Something else I'm very new at is Crochet. I am a self-taught crocheter who has been crocheting for about 8 months now. I have made quite a few things, joined crochet forums, learned new stitches and made many new friends.

One of the new things in Crochet that I've started doing is crocheting chemo caps for Cancer patients. In the past I just purchased a few and donated them but now I can make them myself and I've set a goal for myself of caps/hats to complete this year.

If you are a crocheter, do you crochet in the Summertime just as much as you do the rest of the year? I do but the projects that I work on are smaller. Big afghans just make me hotter!!

Barbara