I never seem to take the time to update my blog even though I have good intentions and am always learning new things that I would love to talk about.  Every year I say I will be better and I never am.  Oh well.


Thanks to the folks at the Kenton County Library crafting group I have finally tried felting.  When the new Joann's store opened, I bought some Bernat Felting Natural wool

this color is crocus

 and took the plunge with a pattern from a free leaflet from Interweave Crochet.  The pattern worked up quickly as it was basically just half double crochet. I bet I didn't have more than 5 hours of crocheting time in it to finish.

My second shawl in this colorway is Persephone.  This was almost complete when (you guessed it) I ran out of yarn. I have gotten more though!!  It is great how the two shawls, even though they are exactly the same yarn look (and feel) so different!

In the spirit of not having a project pile, I have declared the last week of the month as a finishing week.  so this week I will be working my way though the WIPs in my bag.  There really aren't too many.  April 1st brings some new "a-longs" at Ravelry's Crochet Shoulder Wrappers group.  The one for sure that I am doing is Neptune's Tears (another Anastasia Robert's pattern as is Persephone).  I already have the perfect yarn for that...it has been sitting in my box patiently waiting for the right pattern to call it's name!  The Join-a-long is a gorgeous Lily Go pattern Piquant. I have the perfect yarn waiting for that too if I don't have too many other things on my plate.

OK, that catches me up pretty well for now.  More pictures of my bag after it dries and I have the ribbon in it.  Would I do that again? I don't know.  It was fun but probably not really the sort of thing that catches my attention for too long. 

Keep Hooking!

Behind the Pink Curtain - Komen's Political Agenda

I just read this article. I am the daughter, granddaughter, cousin, and friend to numerous breast cancer survivors and a LONG time support of Breast Cancer research programs. Susan G. Komen foundation is one. Now I am going to say WAS one. I have read some stupid stuff about SGKF...or I thought it was stupid. Now I realize I was the stupid one.

Susan G. Komen no longer has my support at all... nor will it, ever. Politics should not be a decision in women's health issues. People who advocate for women's health should NOT use their politic agenda's to guide the system for their benefit. It should be about the health issue...JUST the health issues.

So the enablers at Ravelry have me signing up for emails from the various yarn stores and I really should not read them.  Today from Elann...

Louisa Harding Mulberry at 59% Savings! New Stock!
Fibre Content:	100% Silk
Made In:	Italy
Care:	Hand Wash/ Dry Flat
Knit:	22 st/4 inches 4 mm (US 6)
Yardage:	124 m (136 yards)
Size:	50g (1.75 oz) ball
Featured Design: A delicate ruffle and picot edging trim the Osprey Scarf, from Louisa Harding Belle, which also features a series of textural lace panels. With approximate finished measurements of 35" in length by 8" in width, it uses just 4 balls of Louisa Harding Mulberry! See more designs using Louisa Harding Mulberry when you view the contents of Louisa Harding Belle and Louisa Harding Queen of Hearts. Standard price for this yarn is US$17.95 - elann discounted price saves you as much as 59%!
$7.25 USD / 7.54 CAD*

And then they have the nerve to put the most lucious pictures of this beautiful silk yarn in with the email!  I cannot believe it.  I am on a stash REDUCING spree.  I have banned myself from purchasing anything and then I see this...*sigh* there should be a law against it.  LOL

 I put a box in the mail today to my mother with two more shawls for the prayer shawl ministry at her church.

Doris Chan's All Shawl Done is Caron's Simply Soft Paints Oceana

Diagonal Stitch Shawl done is Red Heart Soft Icy Pond

A Hat for Emily

a cowl for Rachel

Vickie Mikulak's Flying Diamonds in Paton's Lace Sachet

And then there is my Christmas Helper!

She is getting so BIG!!!!!!!!!!

That's it for now.  I am off to snoop around Elann and see what else I want!

This is crochets in Caron's Simply soft and I made several small changes to the pattern so it fit her a little better.  ( just added a couple of rows and changed a hook size on the edging.  We love it.

So that was my Saturday.  Today Papa is working grandmom is watching TV, Izzy-bug is at her granny's house while mom and dad work so M-ma is going to finish reading Split Second by Catherine Coulter (one of her favorite authors).

Enjoy your Sunday where ever you may be!

I haven't been on here but I have been busy... Lots of Blankets for Project Linus and now prayer shawls for my home church.

First the shawls...  I have re learned to do tunisian crochet. 

This one is based on a pattern from the Crochet Geek called Andrew's Keepsake.  I just enlarged on the scarf that she had made.  hard telling from this picture but the shawl is actually a light thyme green.  You can find the pattern here Andrew's Keepsake It was crocheted with TLC Essentials.

This one is a little on the the large side for a shawl but it sure is warm.  Crocheted with Red Heart Collage in Rust and I Love This Yarn  in burnt pumpkin is it done in entrelac tunisian stitch.  I had the idea of doing the pumpkin stitches in the honeycomb stitch but after I got started I wished I hadn't.  Plain tunisian would have been just fine.  Entrelac crochet video made by Beth in Texas.  SUPER easy and fast to work off.  I actually have extra of the Rust yarn enough that I bought Vanna's Choice yarn in tangerine mist and I am going to make another of these (a little smaller and sans honeycomb stitch.)





This shawl is going to my husband's place of work as a donation to the fundraiser they are doing for the Susan G Komen foundation.   It was crocheted with Sensations Little Treat in turquoise/white.  It is so soft and pretty I almost hated to donate it!  I also sent in 2 baby blankets for them to sell as well. Fan Shawl Pattern.  Just a word to the wise with this pattern should you try and print it, there are ads all over this site and I could not get a readable print so I ended up copying it and pasting it into a Word document to get a working copy I could read.  (Sensations yarn is sold at Joann's Fabrics)




Four more blankets for Project Linus! As a said above, I donated 2 blankets for the Susan G Komen fundraiser.  I also donated a large blanket and a baby blanket for a fundraiser to help with the medical expenses of a young woman recently diagnosed with cancer so I guess they are getting around now.  I should probably invest in some labels to put in them.


 I already have another shawl underway.  They are very addicting.  After this one though I need to get back to the blankets.  I think a have another dozen of them already trimmed and punched, ready to stitch!

I also ordered some lovely threads from Carrie's Creations to make at least one more of these.  While I like the stars, I think you could put in Rhode's Hearts or Butterflies so I want to give that a try.  I love the flower motif and the simple yet elegant corners so there are more coming I am sure.  It was also quick to work off.

Other than that, the count down until I hit the half century mark is under 30 days now.  Mark's graduation is 6 weeks away.  Izzy is growing so fast I can't keep up.

I love this face!!

 I have times when I wish time would just stand still for one moment...let me catch my breath and absorb everything that it going on but if it did, THEN what would we miss?
OK, off to the dentist for me to replace my temporary crown for the permanent one!  One less issue!!

While making my way around the web today in search of others creativity that might spark mine, I stumbled onto a post on Two Dresses Studio's blog and it stuck a chord with me.

One and a half million children perished in the holocaust 1.5 MILLION lives that never had a chance. The Holocaust Museum of Houston has started something called the Butterfly Project (the museum link will take you to the page).  They are collecting 1.5 million butterflies for an exhibit that will open in the Spring of 2013 and they are looking for then to be handcrafted by people from all over the world.  It can be done by individuals or by groups.  Here is the information they provide:

• Butterflies should be no larger than 8 inches by 10 inches. 
• Butterflies may be of any medium the artist chooses, but two-dimensional submissions are preferred.
• Glitter and all glitter-related products should not be used.
• Food products (cereal, macaroni, candy, marshmallows or other perishables) also should not be used.
• If possible, e-mail a photograph of your butterflies, to butterflyproject@hmh.org.

Please send or bring your butterflies to the Museum by June 30, 2012, with the following information included:

•Your name,
•Your organization or school,
•Your address,
•Your e-mail address, and
•The total number of butterflies sent.

Mail or bring your butterflies to:
Holocaust Museum Houston
Butterfly Project
Education Department
5401 Caroline St.
Houston, TX 77004
USA


For questions or additional information, please e-mail butterflyproject@hmh.org.

Now Two Dresses Studio is adding a little twist to the project that you can see if you visit her blog.  She is actually collecting the butterflies and posting pictures before sending a box of the butterflies to the museum.

Why Butterflies?

The last, the very last,

So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.
Perhaps if the sun’s tears would sing
against a white stone....


Such, such a yellow
Is carried lightly ’way up high.
It went away I’m sure
because it wished
to kiss the world good-bye.

For seven weeks I’ve lived in here,
Penned up inside this ghetto.
But I have found what I love here.
The dandelions call to me
And the white chestnut branches in the court.
Only I never saw another butterfly.

That butterfly was the last one.
Butterflies don’t live in here, in the ghetto.


Pavel Friedman, June 4, 1942
Born in Prague on Jan. 7, 1921.
Deported to the Terezin Concentration Camp on April 26, 1942.
Died in Aushchwitz on Sept. 29, 1944.

My own son turned 23 this year.  I can't imagine never seeing 24 but hundreds of children a year never do because of the hate in the world.

Need Inspiration?

Butterfly Utopia 
Butterfly Pictures
Primary Games
The Butterfly Site
Color Mountain

Those should get you started but remember they are just for inspiration.  Use your heART!

If you decide to participate and would like to send me a picture of your donation, I will be more than glad to post it!

I have been playing with some techniques that are new to me and I really like some of the results.  I finished my ATC's for the World of Crafters exchange last night.  this months theme is Time for Coffee or Tea so here is what I came up with:

Come, let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things. - Chaim Potok

Two more blankets finished for Project Linus.  I finished the second one last night. 

 The Princess needed help finding her bone and is now content...

HRH Abigail Jennifer Marie (and no I don't know where that name all came from we just kept adding to Abby!

And now my favorite task of the morning was looking for Spirelli templates for my ATC exchange for this month which led me to Go Make Something wqhich consumed the rest of my morning as I browsed from page to page to page!  Lisa Vollrath is the creative mind behind this site and is so very generous with her ideas and instructions and wonderful photography that you just keep going! And I am going right to my basement once this is finished. 




these are just a few of them


When we moved to this house my boys laughed at me for picking up paint chips every where we went.  The house definately needed color!  They laughed even harder when I saved not only the paint chips for the colors we finally chose (we may have needed them again for another match at some point!) but also all the rest that I had collected.  And now...now this wonderful lady makes things like this:

And these:

I cannot wait to get started.  There is a link to her site on the right at the top of the column so check it out for yourself.  I will see you later!

Oh she has another site as well that pays the bills so I definately have to get with that! Ten Two Sudios