Yarn Along

Once again I'm joining Ginny at small things for her weekly yarn along.

Time has gotten away from me since last Wednesday and I haven't accomplished very much in the way of crocheting or reading. I haven't done anything on the tote project I posted about last Wednesday, but I have been working sporadically on two other crochet projects--an amigurumi snowman and an afghan square. Both of these projects need a lot more work before they look like much.

The snowman is my March project for the Christmas ornament KAL/CAL-2011 on Ravelry. The pattern for this little guy can be found here on the Lion Brand website. It is free, but you must join to have access to their free patterns. He is my third amigurumi project and I am continuing to enjoy making these cute stuffed toys.

The afghan square is my April square for the 2011 Crochet Block-a-Month CAL, also on Ravelry. The pattern, Crown Jewels Square by Melinda Miller, is also a free pattern, and can be found here. It is the fourth square for the afghan I am making for my grandson for Christmas.

I haven't gotten very far in The Dollmaker since last week, but it is well-written and has captured my interest.  I need to finish reading it by April 22 in order to discuss it at my book club meeting.

Looks like I have a lot of crocheting and reading to accomplish in the next week if I want to show more progress than I have this week.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

These things are fun and fun is good. ~ from One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss

Fun is good and I had lots of fun today. I have been volunteering in my local library by making bookmarks to give out for free to patrons for about two years, but lately I have been filling in when needed as the storyteller lady for the 3-5 year old children on Wednesdays.  Today we had a big celebration in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday.  He would have been 107 today. We had many activities for the children: making Cat in the Hat hats; having their picture taken with their hats on in front of a big poster board of the Cat; being silly in various ways as children love to do; and listening to Dr. Seuss stories.  My assignment was to read One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. I have loved that story since I used to read it to my little sister many, many years ago. The crazy animals and the wonderful rhymes are just what is needed to engage children in the wonder of reading.

Right before I began this post, I was catching up on some of the blogs that I follow regularly and found that I was not the only one mentioning Dr. Seuss in their blog today. Kat, who blogs on Much Ado About Nothing posted a wonderful tribute today to Dr. Seuss here.  She writes about why she loves Dr. Seuss and what he has meant for her in her life.  Her words express how I feel about Dr. Seuss in a way that I never could.  You need to read it!

Making the Best of Things

Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.  ~John Wooden


I have been preparing for the meeting of my Book Club at my home today for several weeks.  First, I made little heart bookmarks for everyone.  Then I decorated my holiday tree with hearts.  And then I made a heart wreath for my front door to welcome my friends.  Finally, I prepared a special family favorite dessert for them--Pineapple Angel Food Cake.  I have made the recipe, which is incredibly simple, many times before, with good success, and expected the same results this time as well.  How wrong could I be?  It was a total disaster as you can see!

 

Now what?  I decided to switch gears and make a trifle using the cake as a base. I searched online and found this recipe.  I purchased a few needed items yesterday and made the trifle today, changing a few things according to the first two reviews written about the recipe. It was beautiful and tasted delicious.  It was a much more impressive dessert than I had planned and earned me kudos from my friends. 

 

It is trite, but true.  When life hands you lemons, make a trifle out of them!

Another Cuppa and Some More Crochet

Throw out those crumpled receipts, old card catalog cards, and ripped up parking tickets and get yourself some real bookmarks. ~Robin K. Blum

One of the book clubs I belong to will be meeting at my home in February for a discussion of Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje.  I wanted to make a little  something for the members as a token of my appreciation for them.  They are a wonderful group and I look forward to our monthly discussions with great anticipation. 

I came up with the idea of making each of them a bookmark and since it is the month of Valentine's Day I found a pattern for a little heart bookmark.  It is quick to crochet and I made four while sipping some Earl Grey tea.   

Little Heart Bookmarks

Sipping tea and crocheting is becoming quite a pleasant habit with me.  Now what tea shall I sip as I make four more bookmarks for my friends?  Vanilla/Cinnamon, Orange Spice, or Winter Mint?  

Progress on the Hobbit Shawl

It has been very hot here for about a week--upper 90s to 100s. Even though we have air-conditioning and the house is usually comfortably cool, I just haven't felt like working on larger projects. However, yesterday and today I made myself crochet for a while on my Hobbit Shawl for the One Shawl to Rule Them All KAL/CAL on Ravelry. My motivation came from finishing my reading of The Fellowship of the Ring and then re-watching the film. It follows the spirit of the story well, and I wanted to hear some of the more difficult names from the book pronounced aloud. I like the film very much, but the book is wonderful! There is such a difference between the two mediums. I understand why Peter Jackson condensed some of the action and changed some of the story to fit the screen better, but I missed the poetry and the songs from the book. I think they are some of my favorite parts of the book.

I continue to enjoy this shawl pattern and I like the yarn too. It has a crisp rather than a soft hand, but very comfortable to work with. I think it will be very comfortable to wear as well. I wish the yarn was not discontinued. I found some for trade or sell on Ravelry, but I am trying to stay committed to stash burning, so have resisted the temptation. Being cotton, I don't know how it will block, but I am pretty well satisfied with it the way it is now. If it doesn't open up much, I will not be disappointed.

The First FO of 2008!

I finished the first crochet block for the 2008 12" Crochet Block-a-Month CAL on Craftster. I joined it through Ravelry, but details of the CAL and links to the CAL patterns for each month can be found here. The first block, January, is called Dreamcatcher. I finished it in one day, with some frogging. I misinterpreted some of the directions, but figured it out without too much difficulty. Probably would have helped if I hadn't also been watching the NFL's 2008 Wild Card Football games.
The color in this picture is a bit off, but I just couldn't get a true color no matter what lighting I used.

Needle and yarn
Hook
5.5 mm (I)
Yarn
Plymouth Encore Worsted
How much?
1 skein = 200.0 yards (182.9m) (did not use entire skein)
Colorway
1231 (a soft sage green)

I am going to make 2 of each of the monthly blocks and eventually put them together in an afghan for my husband. I had another pattern in mind to use with this yarn, but was intrigued with this pattern and like the idea of a sort of sampler afghan. The other colors I will use are also Plymouth Encore Worsted: 1202, a light tan; and 1203, slightly darker tan. See color cards here.

Now I need to get busy on the scraps scarf I'm making for the READ KNIT COOK group on Ravelry. I received the book we're reading for this group in January today--Knit Two Together by Connie Lane. Can't wait to begin reading. It is a Harlequin which usually I would not be interested in, but read a good review of it on Amazon by Harriet Klausner whom I respect. She is a former librarian and I used to read her reviews in the discussion group for mystery lovers--DorothyL.

Everything's New in the New Year

Yesterday I mentioned that I needed some extra yarn and needles (besides those for the socks I'm currently knitting) to take to Sock Knitting Club so I could learn something new. Well, the new things I learned were the magic cast-on for toe-up socks and knitting socks on 2 circular needles. It was just a beginning and I was all thumbs at first, but I think I'm going to like this method of knitting socks. Thus far, on my first pair I've been using 4 dpns and try as I might I keep getting ladders when I change from one needle to the next.

The ladders are difficult to see in this view, but, believe me, they are there!

I was inspired by my introduction to these new techniques to do some reading when I got home, so I got out a book I've had on my shelves for some time--Cat Bordhi's Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles. Her encouraging attitude and clear instructions made me feel like this is something I can do. I never had the confidence to actually try knitting socks before, let alone on 2 circs, but I am challenging myself to try new things in knitting and crocheting, and in life. My second pair of socks will definitely use the magic cast-on and will be done on 2 circular needles. I am so grateful to my fellow Sock Knitting Club members for their assistance and support in my quest to become a more adventurous knitter.

Speaking of new things, I have joined Ravelry and am profitting from it in so many ways. One of the groups I've joined is called READ KNIT COOK. Its description is: A book-of-the-month of sorts. Every month there's a new knitting or crochet themed book chosen to read, a knit- or crochet-along, and new recipe ideas to try! For the cooking portion this month we were offered 3 different recipes. I chose Buzzard's Breath BBQ Sauce and made it last night for dinner. Instead of processing it in a blender and canning it as the recipe calls for, I used it as is after the simmering and combined it with some cooked Anasazi Beans and left-over pork tenderloin. Cooked for about an hour in the oven at 400 degrees--delicious! My Texas-born husband loved the bite of the habanero pepper in the sauce and yet it wasn't too hot for me.