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!

A Basket Full of Daisies

I did it! I have completed 152 Daisy Squares! As you can see in the picture above there are still two more to finish, but I want to figure out the layout of the squares before I finish those and possibly a couple more to round the design. I want to see which background color I might need to add to. I have included a couple of pics with layout possibilities. Any favorites? I think I know which one I like best. I will be crocheting all the squares together with white yarn and then using white for a border also.

Here is an update on my Halloween cross-stitch. All I have left to do is the backstitching. I am going to make this into a pillow. I will post a picture of the finished product. I already have the fabric purchased. It looks like the white background got a little soiled. Do any of you have tips to clean this? The area that is dirty will be covered by fabric but I don't want to just cover it up.

 

I think I may put the border on a hand towel for the powder room. I always like to have some holiday towels available and I don't have any for Halloween.

~" 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 in her Yarn Along, so along with all of the crafting, I am in the middle of reading The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott. This book is a history-based fictional novel following the lives of some survivors of the Titanic soon after they arrived in the United States. This is really a riveting read. The author explores the tragedy through the eyes of Tess, a dressmaker, who interacts not only with a sailor from the ship but also the privileged survivors and the press. Fascinating. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Hooks, books and sticks!

~" 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 in her Yarn Along and I would have to amend that quote to include cross-stitch, crochet and quilting among my favorite things.

 

This week for the Yarn Along, I decided to show you an afghan my 86 year-old mom is knitting for my 24 year-old son.

It is #10 Comfy from Leisure Arts' Big Book of Quick Knits. She is using Vanna's Choice yarn in Barley. The second photo shows the true color. Mom is using only one strand of yarn as she found the double strand too difficult to work with. As a result she has adjusted the stitch count to obtain the right width. I think it is quite beautiful. Mom is about halfway done with it now and looking forward to finishing it as she also wants to knit an afghan for my daughter. They are her only grandchildren.

I am also updating the progress I made on the hand warmers from here. As you can see I have finished knitting one navy hand warmer. The picture includes the teal pair I made for myself last winter. I just have to get started on the second navy one. The pattern is quite easy for a beginner knitter like me, with no increases or decreases.

I am just finishing reading Hannah's List by Debbie Macomber. I had to hold back tears while reading the first chapter, but the book has lightened up since then. As usual, the interpersonal relationships are quite interesting and this is a quick read. I would probably be finished with it by now but I have been trying to work on all my various projects so that I actually have something new to post.

I am still working on my Daisy Squares from here. I was able to finish several on the car ride to and from Wilkes-Barre, PA. I think I will need 140 square and currently have 120. Soooo close. Hubby and I have a few free hotel nights banked so we decided to go to Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs.

Hubby loves horse-racing and the casino is a bonus. We had a great couple of days with good food and break-even gambling. Couldn't ask for more.

Thanks for stopping by!