A visit, a vacation and not much else.

~" Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? " ~ Ginny at Small Things. I am joining Ginny's Yarn Along. Feel free to check out her site and peek in on what others are knitting/crocheting and reading.  

 

This past week saw my son home from California for a visit with us. I didn't spend much time on crafts, as I was much more interested in spending time with him and my daughter who will soon be moving to a nearby state. We also took a short trip to Hershey, PA for some memory making. I am not big on roller-coasters (fairly bad fear of heights) so I let the rest of the family enjoy those rides. Since I was unknowingly nursing a sinus infection it is just as well that I didn't spend any time upside down. Another reason my crafting suffered.

 

I did manage to get halfway through The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bojahlian on the car ride. Unfortunately, the descriptive gore of the aftermath of war was just too much for me. The book didn't really catch my attention enough to struggle through it so I finally gave up last night. It was definitely not bedtime reading. I think I will borrow a J.D. Robb book from my daughter as my next read.

 

 

Therefore, I have included some pictures of an afghan I made for myself that I started during a difficult time in 2012 and finished this past winter.

 

 

 

 

   This afghan pattern is called Purple Passion from Vanna's Afghan's All Through the House book. I used Vanna's Choice yarn in Purple Mist. I have always wanted a purple afghan and this was a very easy and fairly mindless pattern.

 

I hope to have more to share next week but as we are preparing for my daughter's move I am not too optimistic.

 

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A Finish, a Start and Yarn Along

 

First, the finish. Here are my daughter's hands modeling the hand-warmers I finished this week.

I have now made this pattern twice and feel ready to tackle either another hand-warmer pattern, a cowl or maybe a sweater? I know hand-warmers, cowls and scarves will come in handy for my daughter who will be living in New England this winter. I may try a sweater for me though, just to say I have made one. I have a pattern chosen. I just have to buy the yarn. I find all the various parts that need to be knitted quite daunting. I also ordered a vest pattern from my local yarn shop, but it hasn't come in yet. I need to ponder on this a little before I choose my next knitting project.

 

I am joining Ginny's Yarn Along. Feel free to check out her site and peek in on what others are knitting/crocheting and reading.

As for my reading, I finished The Red Garden  by Alice Hoffman and I have to admit that I found it quite interesting as it progressed. I am not sure whether or not I will try another of this author's books but I will definitely keep her in my list.
Do you keep a list of what you have read? I do, otherwise I find myself coming home from the library with repeats. Sometimes that is okay but usually I want something new. I keep a small notebook with one or two authors per page (for those that are favorites and have written many books) and then other pages with just lists of books and authors. I make a note of books and authors that I particularly liked or disliked. There are very few in the latter category.

Currently, I am deciding between the two books above: Sophie's Choice or The Sandcastle Girls as my next read.

 

Finally for the start, I have begun stitching my Halloween hand towel. I modified my Scary Cat pattern (that you can see here) for hand towel size and this is what I came up with. I am pretty pleased with the results. I will put the pattern on this site as soon as I am done stitching it and ensuring all is well.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

  


Big Progress!

Well, I put my mind to it and I am well on the way to assembling my Daisy Squares Afghan. You can find the tutorial to make these squares here at My Rose Valley.

 

  I am weaving in the ends of the squares just prior to attaching them and then stitching over the woven ends. I have done this before and rarely have any ends poke out later. I am so pleased with the way the white yarn showcases each square.

 

I have one more row of squares to attach and then must single crochet in the opposite direction. I think I will do one row of single crochet around the outside and then either a scallop or picot stitch.

~" Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? " ~ Ginny at Small Things. I am joining Ginny's Yarn Along. Feel free to check out her site and peek in on what others are knitting/crocheting and reading.  


I have stopped reading Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan. It was just not my type of book. I was dreading opening it each time I sat down with it. I also had to reread several pages just to understand what I was reading. I never have to do that. So, now I have picked up The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman. This is a much more interesting book for me. It is an historical novel set in Massachusetts. It is a little choppy as each chapter advances several years forward, so the characters mostly change with each chapter with some reference to former characters. It is quick reading though.


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Fair entries and Yarn Along

I just sent off my entry form for the Long Island Fair at Old Bethpage Restoration. I had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to enter as you are only allowed 3 entries per Department (ex. Needlework) and 1 entry per class (ex. pillow). I didn't enter last year as we were going to be away during the fair so this year I have a lot of items that could be entered.

 

 I decided to enter the Daisy Squares afghan you've been watching me make. I am assembling it in the diagonal stripes. You all seemed to like that layout best and so did I. 

I found a mistake in the original layout when I put the colors on a paper grid. If you look at the upper right-hand corner you will see that I miss-placed the three corner colors. Unfortunately I had already made the squares that I thought I would need to fill in the pattern. I will have to undo the background color on a couple of squares or save them for a pillow and make a few more. I will have to hustle to finished it by the September 16th delivery date for the Fair. So far I only have two rows crocheted together in one direction. I am connecting them using single crochet. I want to be sure it won't come apart.

In joining Ginny for her Yarn Along. Please hop on over and share what you are
knitting/crocheting and reading or look at what other bloggers have in the works.

Obviously, I am making the Daisy Squares afghan and I am working on the second hand warmer. I am now reading Sweet Tooth, by Ian McEwan. I actually have to go to the library today to renew it. I don't want those pesky fines. Since I just started this book, I have yet to form an opinion on it. I have never read one of this author's books. 

 

The cross-stitch is done on Scary Cat! There was an awful lot of outlining needed. Now I just have to make this into a pillow. The fabrics you see in the picture are the ones I bought to finish the pillow. Don't you just love the cat fabric on the right? This will be another LI Fair entry and therefore another item I need to finish soon. Sigh.....

 

I am also going to enter one of my counted cross-stitch samplers. Not sure which one yet and a quick bread: Citrus Tea Loaves. I will show you pictures and provide the recipe when we are closer to the fair.

 

  

Thanks for stopping by!

Fellow Blogger's Birthday Giveaway

Just a quick note. Nancy at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe  is celebrating her birthday with a giveaway. I just found this fascinating blog. The drawing is on August 14th so hurry on over to get in on the fun! Please mention that I sent you to her.

Thanks for stopping by!