Jen’s Garden sign and a bit of Yarny Goodness

It is so quiet in my house, a balmy silence that soothes.  I rarely get this in my own home and I am soaking it up as we speak.

My husband works from home, drawing on a computer, he designs machinery etc and while doing that he has the news programs going, all the time.  I get so tired of the snarky comments, complaints and whining of these news shows, some how, some way they can always do things better. Ugh, even talking about them is nerve wracking. Anyways, that is why I rarely get peace and quiet in my house.

  Today, my husband is from home for a bit thus the blessed silence.
Since we last visited I have been slowly but surely gaining strength and stamina.  I have focused on de-cluttering my house and ridding my home of the unnecessary. It feels freeing.  Life had been rather hectic and I have put it off until I could really pay attention and decide on what I want to keep for a certainty and what I can let go.

Being forced to stay home gave me the opportunity to get it done and now I can see straight to starting on my décor a little.  I will share some ideas soon.  My little cottage needs some TLC and it is time to start chipping away at it. My mood is English cottage style with florals and color, rather old fashioned and grandmotherly.  
I also have been painting.  I finished the custom garden sign and shipped it off.  Here is the finished product.
 

I hope Jen likes it.  

It was a pleasure to paint the luscious pink roses.  I can’t wait until my real roses start blooming again. 

  Though with the dry Jan/Feb we have had we need a good wet March so we have plenty of water this Spring and Summer.  It is not unusual to get heavy snow/rain in March and though I love the sunshine, I love being able to water my flowers all summer even more.

 In the evenings I have taken up the crochet hook again.  I put the final touches on an infinity scarf I started last winter and tried it on.  I am not a fan of wool as I find it irritating against my skin but thought I would do this one in the yarn the pattern called for. I tried it on to photo but could not get good light. So I set it on the bed.

 

I need to dig up the pattern, I think it is called Sunburst Granny square but I am not sure.  The yarn itself was variegated so I did not have to switch out colors. Now to wear it.

 

The last two evenings I have hooked away on my latest project, something bright and colorful for these next few weeks of winter. 

 

 

It is my version of this..

 

From Bee and Buzz

 If I continue on it at the pace I have managed the past two nights I should be done by Monday or Tuesday.   I like instant gratification of a project done swiftly.  I would like to wear it a time or two before warm weather arrives.

Now that I have rambled on a bit and checked in I will bid you adieu and go paint a sign or two.  My husband is home and guess what, the t.v. came on….boooo, quiet is gone so I will head to a quiet spot.  My Studio. 
toodles..







 

My Crochet Project list

I had such grand plans for a post tonight.  Things don’t always go as planned.

My next painting lesson was to be the topic, Easy 5 Petal flowers, but YouTube froze on me, forcing me to re-download the video.  At 245 minutes to download I figured I would be sound asleep by the time it is done.  If it does not freeze again. 
So I had thought to crochet, but that was put on hold as I developed a stiff neck while I ate dinner.  Where this has come from I do not know but it is painful.

I have taken a hot bath and am now lying abed with a hot rice sock on the offending muscles in high hopes of them loosening up enough to sleep tonight.

In the mean time I will share some crochet projects I would love to tackle this winter. (click on photo or name of project for link to source and pattern)

Wouldn’t this Sunburst Granny pattern make a lovely wrap? 



come to think of it, it is rather similar to the wrap I finished last Spring.  I have yet to share the finished product yet. I shall share that soon but for now back to my ‘to do’ crochet list.

This Rainbow blanket caught my eye.  I wonder if this could be modified into a scarf, it would certainly brighten up a dreary winter day. 



I love the Daisies popping up on this Flower Garden Granny Square shoulder bag.



I am definitely going to invest in some Bernat cotton yarns in these colors below.  This is exactly the color scheme I am going with in my kitchen and these will be perfect for some decorations.  Much too pretty to scrub dishes with!

Pretty As a Picture Dishcloths



I spent a lovely afternoon in my garden, we had beautiful sunshine and near 80 degree temps.  But cooler weather is about to descend (like a 30 degree drop from today in the next few days)and instead of digging dirt I will be trudging thru snow for work. Crazy! (I won’t get snow at my house, thankfully, but I work up by the ski resort and they are predicted to get snow next week)

Colder weather always puts me in the mood to crochet, sew and switch up things in the house.  There is much to be done here that has been ignored for the summer so I could just enjoy being outside while the weather was warm but now it is time to focus on the inside.  Maybe I will start with some of these dishcloths for my kitchen.  Maybe crochet some edgings on some dishtowels to match.  Hmmm, the possibilities…

Well, I hope tomorrow to post the next episode of Learn to Paint, so check back if you like.  If all goes smoothly it will be tomorrow, if not so smoothly sometime in the next few days.  See you then!

Do you Love crochet?

Sweet Kiwi is hosting a giveaway and you can win some great new patterns.
I have a few of their patterns and love them.
Go to their Facebook page to sign up!

Link >Sweet Kiwi Crochet
Just thought I would share.
Enjoy!

Free Crochet Patterns I have downloaded lately!

Click on the photos to go to patterns or sites that contain the patterns.

I get crochet newsletters and I subscribe to some nifty gals who are into crochet even more than I.  Spring and Summer I am so busy outside in the evenings that my crochet projects get set on the back burner.   They await the long evenings of winter to descend again when I pick them back up.

This twisted cowl pattern is so easy I need to tuck the yarn and my hook into a tote so I can work on it anytime, I would not need to read a pattern once I had the beginning chain done.  I can also see this done in scrap yarn, a rainbow of colors.



This next one is a coaster or small doily pattern, I have another I downloaded and printed over a year ago, I should compare them and see what is the difference, they look so similar.



I really like this Alli crafts blog, she has all sorts of patterns she has shared and I loved this idea of the letters made from Granny Squares.  Wouldn’t this look cute appliqued on a pillow?

Or go even further and make an afghan with someone's initials?



This mini owl purse is too cute.  You can find the pattern over at Paper Dandelions.



The problem is with so many great patterns out there I have a tough time choosing which to do next. 

Enjoy!

Creative crochet critters

Until I picked up my crochet hook this past Fall and started looking for patterns via Blogs and Etsy shops I had never heard of Amigurumi. 

I am sure it has been around forever and I was just missing the boat but now that I have found it I know I will eventually try some of these cutesy designs.  They just make me smile so I have to share a few.

These are called Teacup bunnies….


Image and pattern source

Bright little fishies


Image source and pattern:

Do them in a rainbow of colors


Image source

Some more little bunnies


Image source and pattern

The scrubbing bubbles?  Make bath time fun.


Image source and pattern

This talented crocheter has the cutest pillow pals patterns.  They are for purchase but at a reasonable price.  


Image source and patterns

Colorful fruit anyone?


Image source and pattern

These are merely a few of the numerous patterns out there for quick fun little crochet projects.  You can’t help but get inspired.

Enjoy!

This is a Great Basket

I recently was cleaning a vacation house that had baskets like these setting on the toilet tank lid, they held the extra rolls of toilet paper and I thought they were a nice touch.  I was so thrilled to find a post from a fellow blogger with the pattern!



Crochet In Color is the name of the blog and she has a few crochet patterns I want to try soon.

As soon as I get a chance to make one I will post it.
I think I would like it done in the Ombre fashion like the one she did below.




Just thought I would share, it is a very busy but nice weekend…ta ta..

March is National Crochet Month

Did anyone else know that?  I was clueless until I received a newsletter from Bernat via email with a photo of a gal sitting with a dog wearing a very cute crochet Bolero.  I clicked thru as I would love to have the pattern for that but it did not link to the pattern at all, free or not.

  I am sure it is in one of their pattern books but I wish they would always offer the name or pattern of items they show in their photos instead of having to search and search!

In my search (no success on the bolero I spoke of above) I found some other free patterns that are easy and cute like this one.

Bamboo - Shoulder Shrug (crochet)

I like the dress as much as the shrug…hmmm I may have to try to make one, it could even be a baby doll top I am not sure. 

I received the pattern for this sweater via Lion Brand yarns newsletter.  I love it and it is within my range of expertise too but when I priced how much for the yarn to do one I was taken aback….it would run about $50 to complete this, hmmm I may have to do something a bit different with the pattern…

Free Crochet Pattern: Driftwood Pullover

So many great patterns so little time!

Talca Lace Tunic

I thought this the cutest little thing though I have no idea what I would use it on.


from Love the Blue Bird

I am always checking out the blog Tangled Happy, she finds the best crochet bloggers!  Lots of fun patterns!

Okay, I need to quit dinking around looking at all the crochet fliers I received this morning and get to work.   I have a sign for a Goat Farm to paint today. 
And another painting for a front porch.  It has Iris’ on it and a garden saying.  I will be sure to share soon. 

My Website

 

An Easy Crochet Cardigan

Good morning all.  The predicted snowstorm has hit. The weatherman was right on with this one.  We have been getting a steady onslaught of the white stuff and it continues to fall as we speak. 

Here is a couple photos from yesterday morning..






And now this morning…I have to say my Potting Bench is holding up well in all types of weather!




If you want to see the post the building of our potting bench click on the photo above.

Now that the weather report is done I shall move on to what I really wanted to share today. 

Not long ago I had happened on to this blog post The Green Dragonfly and read about this sweater she had made, I followed the links to this pattern Chevron Lace Cardigan. 

It sounded like a fun project to work on in the evenings.  I have enough scarves and I really wanted to branch out.  It has been at least 20 years since I crocheted a sweater. 

Here is how mine turned out…I took lots of photos but I am not adept at self photography without my tripod and a remote so forgive the less than stellar results.
Here is a shot with the flash…I tried to do some without but of course they have a bit more blur.



Ignore the fact I had not put on make up yet, my laziness outshines my vanity at this point in life.



Now without the flash





My intention in making this was to wear with a sleeveless linen dress I am sewing for myself, and though I am working with some dumbbells to improve the muscles in my upper arms my batwings are still unsightly.  I figured this sweater would disguise the batwings without being too warm.





I fell in love, love, love with this yarn and I will definitely be getting more to do other projects and quite likely another sweater like this one in another color.

I bought this bamboo cotton blend yarn here..Deramores and the service was excellent.  I received my order very swiftly and the shipping was free.  Sign up for their newsletter and you get a 5% discount off your order.

Today I am going to sew some more.  I borrowed a quilt from my mom that my grandmother had made for my dad and I wish to copy the pattern. It is a vintage butterfly pattern and I love the primitive quality of it.  She made her quilts from their shirts and other clothing once they were no longer fit to be apparel. 

And many times those shirts were made from feed sacks.  Oh how I wish the feed suppliers would go back to fun cotton fabrics to package their feed in.  It would be so much nicer to recycle the feed bags into quilts and clothing rather than tossing the plastic ones into landfills like we do now.  

Enjoy your day wherever you may be.