Lazy day

Today was a low key day. I did lots of browsing on the Internet and found this pretty heart pattern on Etsy. I guess I wasn't in tatting mode, because this one is filled with mistakes. I guess I'll just have to try it again.

Daughter Joanne used to braid Sophia's hair every day. She always looked beautiful! Then Sophia started school and didn't want her hair braided. Today, Joanne convinced her to have her hair done. Oh, to have such thick, beautiful hair!

Since I seem to be having trouble following patterns, it seemed best to go back to tatting a familiar pattern.  I'm not putting hangers on these button ornaments, because they will be sewn onto felt trees. I think I'll probably make two more using the red buffalo check buttons and Lizbeth 671 Christmas Red. They do go well together!

Tollway Tatters Zoom!

 

We had our monthly Tollway Tatters Zoom meeting today with nine in attendance. I do miss meeting on the Tollway, but meeting via Zoom means that anyone can join us without worrying about weather or traveling.

My project for today was going to be Robin Perfetti's Classic Heart. However, after about 45 minutes of tatting I realized I hadn't been joining the rings to create a curve. I guess I was having too much fun visiting! Anyway, I quietly snipped off my tatting and decided to work on some button ornaments instead. I'm pretty good at tatting them while chatting!

This afternoon I worked on my newest knitting project, Pebble Arch Shawl by Karen Hoyle. Mom and I found some Christmas sock yarn on sale at Mary Maxim and decided that we should start next year's Christmas knitting now. This color way is called Candy Cane. Mom started Reyna with Mistletoe Sparkle, which is really pretty. However, it has a metallic thread running through it, and that metallic thread was cutting Mom's fingers. The combination of cold, dry air and metallic thread was just too much for Mom. She'll be starting Reyna over again with a beautiful wool that she bought at our local yarn shop, Yarn Hollow. Mom's a pretty fast knitter, so maybe I'll have a picture to share the next time I blog.

Weather predictions are for a snow storm in the middle of the week. We really haven't had much snow this year. I don't get all wound up about storm predictions. It seems they're usually wrong. Still, we are prepared. There's food in the house. Dave has the snowblower ready, and Mom and I have plenty of crafting supplies!

Queen of Hearts

 

It's getting to be that time of year... hearts and flowers for Valentine's Day! I was looking back in my blog, and I haven't attempted Mary Konior's Queen of Hearts from Tatting with Visual Patterns since April of 2010. This is the first time I've come close to tatting this heart in a way that pleases me. I guess having more tatting experience pays off!

I greatly admire those who can design heart patterns. I've tried with no success. Hearts are hard! This one is in size 40 Lizbeth Poppy Red #669. 

I haven't done much tatting since Christmas. I needed to give my hands and wrists a rest. I also find that it's more difficult to tat in the cold weather. So, knitting and crocheting have been my go-to projects.

Daughter Carol bought Wally a teepee. He really enjoyed sitting under the Christmas tree, so this seemed like a fun idea. Carol put the teepee together several days ago, but Wally resisted spending time in there until last night. He looks quite content in his special space!

Relaxing

Carol took a photo of Wally relaxing on his new afghan. I sure am glad he likes it!

I've been relaxing by staying off the computer. I honestly haven't had much to blog about since I've been focusing on knitting. I did finish Reyna this morning. I do enjoy knitting this pattern. This one is done in Fortissima Colori that's been sitting in my stash for years. I think the yardage may be been miscalculated. I've knit this shawl several times and have never run out of yarn. This time I had to leave off two mesh repeats and one garter repeat. Luckily, I stopped when I did. There's only enough yarn left to go across about half the row!

 

Screen shot

 

I updated my computer this weekend, and with the update came a desktop picture that I didn't really like. I was going through the photos on my computer and found one of my Jan Stawasz doily from 2015. I love it as my desktop background.

The fun part came the next morning when I opened my computer. There was my profile picture right in the center of my doily! That photo is from the summer of 2009, so I should probably look for a new one.

We've been having some beautiful sunrises and sunsets lately. Mom asked me to take a picture this morning. I sure wish I could capture the true beauty that we've been seeing.

I've been working on my Reyna shawl. I have three sections left to finish. With some luck, I may be able to finish it this week!

Blanket for Wally

 

Sir William Wallace Cademartori, aka Wally, approved of daughter Carol's 12 Step Sampler Blanket. I decided he deserved a blanket of his own, so I crocheted a giant granny square for him with the leftovers from Carol's blanket. It worked out really well. I only had about a yard of yarn left.

Now I can move on to my next project!

Record time

 

I have no goals, right? Well, I did have a goal of finishing Carol's 12 Step Sampler Blanket by the end of this long weekend, and I did it! I think I finished this blanket in record time, two weeks.

There really isn't much yarn left over from this project. I was pretty excited about finishing it, so Mom and I headed over to Carol's with the blanket and lunch. 

I didn't measure the blanket when it was finished, but my guess is that it's about 60" by 70". 

Carol tried it on for size first. I was sure it would be big enough for her. But what about Jon? He's a tall guy!

It certainly looks like it will work for him as well!

Even Wally approves of the new blanket!

I think Wally deserves his own blanket, and I just happen to have some leftovers that will work just fine!

Comfort

The 5th pattern repeat of Carol's 12 Step Sampler Blanket is now complete! It's nice to have something so warm and cozy on my lap while enjoying the beauty of winter.

Our sunrises and sunsets have been spectacular. This is the view from my chair every morning.

I'm still treating myself to leftover goodies from Christmas. Dave is a big hot chocolate fan. I prefer coffee with whipped cream on top!

Movin' along

 

I really am enjoying crocheting this 12 Step Sampler Blanket. In fact, I've done absolutely no other crafting since last Friday. I've now finished four repeats. I just may finish this by the end of January!

Daughter Carol wore her scarf to school yesterday. Purple has always been her favorite color, and I think it suits her well!

As predicted...

I didn't have much time for crafting over the past couple of days. After subbing all day, I just didn't have the energy to do much.

Three pattern repeats are done. The blanket looks great! I don't think I'd have chosen these colors, but I know they will look beautiful in Carol's living room.

I've only been working on this for a week, so I think there's a chance it might be finished while the weather is still on the nippy side!

 

Still crocheting

 

I made pretty good progress on Carol's 12 Step Sampler Blanket today, a little over halfway through the next pattern repeat. I'll be subbing for the next two days, so I'm not sure how much more I'll get done before the weekend.

Mom finished my Christmas scarf, and today was the perfect day to give it a try. I love the drape and the color. Thank you, Mom!

Still chillin'

 

Our current cold snap is perfect for working on daughter Carol's 12 Step Sampler Blanket. I've now completed two sections, which means I've been crocheting at a pretty good pace.

It's supposed to be warmer tomorrow, but windy. So, it still might be cool enough to keep a blanket on my lap. Thursday and Friday are supposed to be very cold, so I expect to get a lot done this week.

Daughter Joanne sent a picture of herself wearing her new scarf. I think the colors are fabulous!

Cold day

 

The weather turned really cold here, so Dave went out and harvested carrots... 11 quarts of carrots are now in the freezer. That's a lot of carrots!

We reached a high of 21º today, the coldest day we've had so far. It was the perfect day to sit and crochet. I'm now halfway through the second section of daughter Carol's 12 Step Sampler Blanket. Working on it kept me toasty warm!

Relaxing in the new year

I am retired, so it makes sense that I should take some time to relax. I plan on doing things at an easier pace. Today I chose to spend most of my time crocheting, and I managed to finish the first section of daughter Carol's 12 Step Sampler Blanket. No goals were set, I just enjoyed the day!

I also had fun with buttons. I found a spool of WonderFil Dazzle metallic rayon that I must have purchased a long time ago. It was pretty dusty. There's more sparkle than shows up in the picture. It's a pretty nice thread to work with as far as making Dorset buttons goes. I'll have to see if I like tatting with it.

It was fun playing with my Christmas tree idea today. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, but there's so much I will do differently next time. I was eager to finish this one just so I could see how it would all go together, so I didn't do as much as I could have. Now that I have a prototype, I can let my imagination go wild!

Happy New Year!

Happy new year to all my friends and relatives! May 2022 bring you peace, health, and happiness.

Did you stay up until midnight? In typical fashion, I went to bed at about 8:45. Dave fell asleep in his chair soon after and wound up coming to bed around 11. We are definitely NOT party animals!

Guess what? The new year came even though we did not stay up to greet it.

We spent a restful day at home. We did prepare carrots and ham for freezing. Somehow that always takes more time than I think it will.

I've decided that I'm going to just enjoy making things in the new year. I'm not going to set any goals other than the One Button A Week Challenge put forth by Gina Barrett of Gina-B Silkworks. Looking at the challenges on the list so far, I'm not sure I'll even be able to keep up with that!

The challenge for the week of January 3 is Sparkle. I've been enjoying working with the DMC Diamont. Although it doesn't show up well in pictures, it does have a lot of sparkle!

I may not stick with this, but I thought it would be fun to stitch the buttons I make onto gift tags. On this one, I put the challenge word and the week for the challenge on the front of the tag.

I signed the back of the page and wrote down the actual date that I made the button. I used an awl to punch holes in the tag and then sewed on the button with matching thread.

This tree is probably too small to hold many of the tags with buttons, but it's a good place to start. I'm sure I'll come up with a different idea as I move along.

The Granny afghan has been put on hold. It's not meant for anyone in particular, so I don't mind setting it  aside for daughter Carol's 12 Step Sampler Blanket. I finished one of these blankets for Dave nearly three years ago. it will be fun to see how this one turns out in the colors Carol chose.

My friend Denise asked what my crafting goals are for the new year. I really don't have any goals other than to enjoy the projects I'm working on.

What about you? Do you have any crafting goals?