Floral Beauties - Daffodils

I like to think of my dainty flowers as girls.

Friends to keep me company and to talk to.

Flowers bless me mightily!

Floral Beauties - Tulips!

God makes wonderous variety, even among the same

type of flower.  He amazes me with His creativity.

My creativity comes from Him, but is,

definitely, but a poor reflection.

Crocheted Sneakers by Kay Meadors

Well, I finished my 1st pair of 

Crocheted Sneakers

by Kay Meadors

They turned out pretty cute, I think.  :)

Size:  0-3 months

Colors:  Denim and Cream 

(Pace - wool blend)

Hook:  E

Next, I'm going to try them in Pink 

and make them for a 3-6 month old

with a F Hook.

Stay tuned for a preview of these as well as other upcoming

Kay Meadors designs.

This is my first time of helping someone with their pattern

testing, and it is a nice challenge.  Thank you, Kay!

My Family

The cat and I are the only females at our house.  My husband and I have 4 boys who are eating A LOT and growing fast.  I take care of a little boy for a friend and even the dog is, you guessed it, a boy!  A friend once told me that I was woman enough for this household.  I'm not quite certain that sounds entirely like a compliment, but I choose to take it that way!  :)

I've been wanting to share the family with you a little bit, and like Lucy at Attic24, I think it best to be discreet for safety reasons.  So here are some glimpses.



Here the 3 youngest are watching popcorn pop in an oil popcorn popper for our End-of-School Party last week.  (We homeschool.)  You would have thought it was the Comedy Hour.  There was much excitement and giggling and screaming as the kernels popped.

Here is my second born pretending to be the Hulk.  (He took these pictures from here on down himself, except for the last one.)

Here is the dog.

And here is the other 'woman-of-the-house':

With my oldest petting her.

I saved the BEST for last.

The D.H.:

Crochet Limited by Produce

Hmmm....I haven't been able to crochet much lately.  Why?  Everything else is demanding my attention.

Today it was these:

Yum!  We had our first fresh batch of Green Beans on Monday night.  Now I have some more for tonight and tomorrow plus some for the freezer!!!

Our cherry tomato has given its first fruits as well.





Next, I will be moving toward the apricot tree.

Because LOOK:

Again, YUM!!!


 I think slowing down on crochet production is worth these yummy other endeavors.  Plus, my growing boys get more out of the fresh vegies and fruit than my crochet!  :)


I have worked in a little hooky time.  And I'm nearing the end on these:

Stay tuned for the finishing touches!

Yarn Bootie Progress

Well, Friends, I'm making progress,

slowly, albeit surely.

This IS my usual

M.O. (method of operation)

because homeschooling my

4 boys takes up most of my

time and church activities take

up another large chunk.

What time that is leftover

I must split between my

crochet, blogs, gardening, and songs.

So here is a picture just to keep

you updated:

Not looking like much yet,

BUT, it will!

So far, I loved the method Kay

uses to turn from the sole

to the bootie side.

And here are glimpses from another love:

Romans 1:20a  "...since the creation of the world God's invisible 

qualities--His eternal power and divine nature--

have been clearly seen, being understood

from what has been made, so that men

are without excuse."

Cherry Tomato gone Wild!

I thought everyone might like to see this crazy cherry tomato plant we're growing.  It is almost as tall as our 6' privacy fence.  I can hardly believe how tall and bushy it is.  And there are tons of small green tomatoes on it!  I can hardly wait for them to turn red.  Gardening is right up there with crochet in my hobby list.

AMAZING!!!

My other main hobby is writing songs.  Here are the words to one of them:


Whatever Good You See In Me                    Written:  Fall 2007
(Lezlie Lindsey)

Verse 1
Whatever good you see in me, it’s Jesus.
Whatever draws you to me, it’s Jesus.
Like a facet in a diamond,
My life twinkles so you can find Him.
Whatever good you see in me, it’s Jesus.

Chorus:
Heaven born, now Heaven bound.
I’m so grateful I am found.
Whatever good you see in me, it’s Jesus.

Verse 2
I have nothing of my own; it’s Jesus.
I am nothing on my own; it’s Jesus.
He is everything to me.
What freedom brings humility.
Whatever good you see in me, it’s Jesus.

(Chorus)

Verse 3
I’m giving all the glory to Jesus
He’s the writer of my story, Jesus
Every creative thought, every act of love,
Every good & perfect gift from above.
Whatever good you see in me, it’s Jesus.

(Repeat last 3 lines.)

(Chorus)

I feel honored!

You know, I've been making the Kay Meadors bootie patterns for about 6 years now.  And, obviously, I love them.

...Then, I get on Ravelry.

And there she is!

As NaturalStateKnit.

So I claimed her as my friend A.S.A.P.

And then, to my very great surprise (and delight), 

she returned the favor.

She noticed my small bootie collection that is fast growing over there.

(If I had taken pictures of all of them I've made, oh my!  Enough said!)

Anyway, I'll come to my point

...in just a minute.

I felt like I'd met a celebrity and one that offered to be my friend as well!  :)

As Lucy at Attic24 would say, this circumstance made me heart-skippy happy indeed!

So, back to my point...

Kay Meadors is making new bootie patterns, 

this time with yarn instead of thread.

(Check out her work over at Natural State Knitting 

or at Ravelry.)

And...

she asked me to test the crochet patterns for her!!!

"Would I?" I said.  "Well, of course!"  :)

So I am and in order to do it I must venture away from my beloved thread and use yarn, sock-weight.  (So hopefully my fingers won't notice the difference too terribly!)

And...

since I didn't have any of that kind of yarn,

I simply HAD to venture over to our local yarn shop,

The Yarn Basket.

Miss Lorene fixed me right up.

I bought 3 colors (to allow for both baby genders, of course)!

The brand is Pace.  It is a washable, unshrinkable, wool blend.  Have any of you ever used it???

And, so, for certain and for sure, I have to show YOU, my blogging buddies!!!

Ta-daa!!

Isn't it PRETTY?

Denim, Cream, and Pink yarn loveliness!!!

I'm especially fond of the Denim!

I can hardly wait to get started, so...

I'm going now...

P.S.  I'll post the names once I get started to head you in the right direction over at Ravelry.

Adventurous Oval - continued

Progress is being made:

What do you think?

Have a BLESSED day!!!

Ta-daa!!!

Some time ago, I showed you this:

But it is finished now and
given to its new owner!

So I can show you the "Perfect Pineapple" in all its intricate perfection!  I LOVE IT!!!

Isn't it MAGNIFICENT???

I can hardly believe I did it!!!  

Patricia Kristoffersen is the bomb 

(in the world of doilies anyway)!

This pattern is in the Absolutely Gorgeous Doilies book.

I don't know if I've ever found a pattern book before

where I like EVERY pattern in it.  

But this book is

IT!!!

And judging by the work of The Shrone and the Dixie Redhead,

 over at Ravelry,

who major on PK doilies, 

Ms. Kristoffersen's work is

SUPERB

across the board.

Eventually, I would like to own all her pattern resources...

But...I am a trifle obsessive!  ;)

I found MORE pictures!

A couple of months ago,

I posted an entry about

this sweet dress:

made from the pattern:

Raleigh Belle

And I just found a couple more pictures

that I thought you might like to see.

Sweet, sweet, sweet!!!

Fun Crochet/Knit News Videos

I decided to look up crochet in the news and found these videos from 2009.  They are about decorating cities with yarn artwork.  Some crazy crafting there.  Maybe you've already heard about Knit the City and Yarn Bombing.  I'm new to the whole internet world, so I am not very 'with it' yet.  So far, it is fun to catch up!

This video is about knitters:




The other video is about crocheters and Crochet Bombing in Denver, but it is from ABC so you will have to go here to see it.

I'll bet those knit and crochet groups are a bundle of fun!!!  Living in a bigger city does have its advantages! ;) I'd love to hear whether or not you have heard of this phenomenon and what you think of it.

Have you or someone you know participated
in a Yarn Bombing or something similar?

Being a busy homeschool mom, my craft group is on-line at Ravelry, but I look forward to the time when I can go be a part of a local group.  It would be fun to chat about our projects while we work together!  :)

If you belong to a crafting group of some kind,
what fun and/or unusual things have you tried?


Drop me a line in the comments and let me know!

Posies are for Sharing!

Well...

I know it's not CROCHET,

but...

one of my other passions 

is gardening,

and specifically,

FLOWERS!

And this Lovely demands

to be shared:

This hydrangea bloom was SO blue on the plant
that it almost looked purple.


God's creativity surpasses anyone else's;
that's an ABSOLUTE truth!!!

Rose and Bow Headband

I love little girl accessories!

God has a sense of humor,

you know, so...

I have 4 boys!

So my outlet for little girliness is

the new moms at my church.

I ALWAYS make something

homemade for them.

As a matter of fact,

I don't even put my name

on my present because

once they open it,

EVERYONE

knows it was from me.

Well, this past Sunday was no different.

After a long run of boys,

one of our mamas had a little girl!

So...

I made her these cutie booties:

Then, I asked her if she was a mama that likes

headbands or one who doesn't.

And she did!

So, I let her have her pick:

She chose pink.

The "Bow Beautiful Headband" pattern is from

Heirloom Thread Crochet For Baby - #1310 - American School of Needlework
designed by Kelly Robinson.

The "Pink Flowers" bootie pattern is from

Bootie Collection (Crochet/Knitting) (Leisure Arts #3052)
designed by Kay Meadors.

A Shawl for Me

I so seldom make anything for myself.

Are any of you like that?

There are so many occasions for gifts!

And I love to give people some special I've made.

But THIS one, I made for me.

And I love it!

This pattern is called "Breezy Wrap".

It is from the book,

Total Crochet Fashions

I, personally, did not care for all the patterns in this book,

but THIS one I love.  Besides, most books have things

that appeal to different personalities.

To me, this wrap looks like 1/2 of a HUGE doily!!!

And YOU know I LOVE doilies!

So why not wear one?

If you want to check the original pattern out,

it's on the front cover of the book.

I did not do the fringe because I had small boys at the time
and a very feisty, playful kitty.  :)

Tools of the Trade - Crochet Thread Style

I was inspired by Erica over at Crochet by Day!   Last week, she had a great idea for showing us the Tool of the Trade she uses for holding multiple skeins of yarn for a color-filled project.  Awesome!

Her idea made me think of something similar I bought; only I had crochet thread in mind.  Here is a picture of my crochet thread holder, purchased at Wal-Mart.

I also got something a bit smaller for travelling

with projects with less colors:

I don't know if WM carries them any more, but it's worth a look.

BUT...

These thread carriers are not
as dear to me as
my favorite
thread crochet tool.

My FAVORITE tool for thread crochet is...

a free-standing paper-towel holder!

I put the crochet thread on the paper towel holder,

which holds it, keeping it from the inevitable bounce

off the lap maneuver.  The thread rotates
and unwinds easily while I'm crocheting.

I'm sure others who are TCV (Thread Crochet Veterans)
have already thought of this, or something similar.

But those of you who are new to this
wonderful medium might appreciate this tip.
A Thread Crochet spool bouncing off your
lap onto the dirty floor is an annoying experience,
and so is having to chase after it.

(My dh suggested you might like to know this trick, so

I'm giving him full credit for that!  He is also the one

who inspired me to blog in the first place.
This is ONE of many reasons we are bff.)

Adventurous Oval

Well...I told myself I wouldn't do it.  I told myself I would finish the sweater first and work on the Springtime Floral Doily.  That's what I told myself.

BUT...

I COULDN'T WAIT!

I have been SO inspired by the thread crochet artists on Ravelry who are using color so exquisitely and intricately in doilies.  I have been crocheting doilies for YEARS, but almost always white.  I usually don't care for doilies that use only one color (with white as the exception, obviously).  Also, I have never personally met anyone who makes doilies besides me, except for my mother.  And she always uses white too.  I had barely started the 'Windsor Oval' in my Absolutely Gorgeous Doilies pattern book as my first 'relief' from blue sweateriness (because I must have breaks from repetitious patterns)...

AND I COULDN'T STAND IT ANY LONGER!!!

I HAD to try

a "Preliminary Experiment"

in color with this 

Patricia Kristoffersen masterpiece.

I'll admit I was nervous.  I mean, I've never tried this before.  What if it looked terrible?  What if my color choices were sub-par?  What if I fail?

And then...

I remembered

I CAN ALWAYS FROG IT AND START OVER!!!

Silly me.  

All that angst and panic over NOTHING!

Philippians 4:13 for pete's sake!

So...I took a deep breath and brought out my thread stash:

And I chose this:

And I 

PLUNGED!!!

Here's what I have so far.

I don't know where I'm going from here.

I don't really care.

I just know it will be COLORFUL!  :)

(Now, just in case you're wondering, I do KNOW that my color choice isn't actually wild or exciting.  I'm pretty conservative in most areas of life and this is no exception.  So I just have to take joy in the fact that I have made a START and who knows where the road of color thread crochet will take me from here!)

I love making personal progress in my JOURNEY, 

no matter which part of it is progressing!  :)