One more try...

There was something I just didn't like about the way the curtains hung... the little dips at the top. So I added more cafe curtain clips... there's now one clip at the top of each shell. I think I like it better this way. No, I think I like it the other way. This way's too formal (I got that from Alison... I didn't think of it on my own!). What do you think?

Lily loves purple!

My granddaughter, Lily, loves purple! I've been working on lace edged socks for her this summer. My goal was to send her a pair every week over the summer. The socks have been completed for a while, but I just mailed the first ones yesterday.

Good news... I just finished the second panel of my crocheted lace curtain! I'll wash and block it in the morning, and hope that it's dry and ready to hang by tomorrow night.

Now I need to choose a new project... or maybe I should finish one I've already started. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what inspires me tomorrow!

Here I am!

I can't believe it... I finally managed to post a picture of myself! I don't know what I did, and it's not my favorite picture, but I managed to get it on there.

This is the last day of Dave's vacation, so I should be able to spend some guilt-free time on all the things I love! We went to Minnesota to visit Andrea, Jake, and Lily. I was the lucky one... I was given babysitting duty while everyone else hung drywall, planted grass seed, killed poison ivy, and painted.

I was working on my crocheted curtains and Lily asked me what I was doing. I told her and she watched very intently. After a few minutes, she said, "It's like knipping." I had to laugh! I thought maybe she remembered helping me knit on her sweater at Easter time, but I think it's more likely that she's been watching Andrea knit a bag that she's going to felt.

I finished the A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie this morning... just what I needed for a light summer read. I can't believe it took me so many years to read one of her books! By the way, I do know that the titles of books should be underlined or italicized, but for some reason the keyboard commands don't work on my Mac... instead, my mail window opens!

Road trip

Dave and I returned from our little road trip around Lake Michigan last night. We had a great time visiting lighthouses and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior.

I took along knitting, tatting, and crocheting, but only worked on my crocheted curtains. I was so excited, because I only had 10 pattern repeats left when I checked mid-afternoon yesterday! Then I decided to admire my work... disaster! Six pattern repeats back (18 rows) I had made a huge mistake! It took me about 20 minutes to undo about 5 hours of crocheting. Oh, well... live and learn. Now I'll check my work after every pattern repeat!

Elation and frustration!

I'm elated because I finally finished a curtain panel that I started several years ago! I'm frustrated because I can't figure out how to add pictures to my blog! I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually, and it might help if I tried in the morning when I'm more alert!

I decided to crochet curtains for my living room, but quickly changed my mind and decided to decorate the bathroom window which is much smaller! I tend to start large projects and then abandon them when the process becomes routine, so this is quite an accomplishment for me! I started the second panel about an hour ago. My goal is to finish and hang the curtains by the time my parents visit in mid-July.

My friend Denise is also crocheting curtains. Hers is a much larger undertaking for the cottage she and her husband have on the Kankakee River. When I saw how much Denise was able to accomplish, I was determined to finish my much simpler pattern!

I found a beautiful basket edging at Vintage Tatting, which I've started making in size 30 Cebelia. The pattern looks difficult, but I was amazed at how quickly I caught on to it. Once the first pattern repeat was finished, I didn't need to refer back to the pattern!