A Warm Heart, Part II

Memories are the treasures that we keep locked deep within the storehouse of our souls, to keep our hearts warm when we are lonely.  ~Becky Aligada

As I've mentioned a few times this month, I am somewhat obsessed with heart-themed projects.  I posted here on February 9, about the crocheted Valentine's Scarf I was beginning. Well, it is finished and I love it!

Now, I need to find just the right top to really set it off.  I'd like a boatneck or V-neck top, I think.  Even though it is wool, it is not bulky.  Hopefully, I will get some wear out of it before it turns too warm here.  I would like to thank Claire Ortega for making the pattern available for free on Crochet Spot.

Showing Some Progress

The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, but in what direction we are moving.~Oliver Wendell Holmes

I am finally moving in the right direction with my Scrawl on the Wall Shawl. I have begun decreasing now after increasing to 120 stitches.  Many of my fellow members of this Ravelry group have finished their shawls--and they are all beautiful! I have been obsessed with making heart themed projects this month and have not devoted as much time to the shawl as I could have, but it is coming along nicely.  What do you think?

Vegan Bread

"Diabetes is not necessarily a one-way street. Early studies suggest that persons with diabetes can improve and, in some cases, even cure themselves of the disease by switching to an unrefined, vegan diet."

Andrew Nicholson, M.D., Physicians Committee
for Responsible Medicine Good Medicine
Magazine, Winter 1997

I'm still committed to a mostly vegan diet for health reasons and I have been searching for recipes online.  I love making (and eating) bread made in my bread machine. The best recipe I have found for bread thus far, Gary's Vegan Bread, can be found here. It rises beautifully, has great texture, keeps well, and tastes delicious. My husband likes it even better than non-vegan recipes I have made.

 

A Warm Heart

Keep love in your heart. . .The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.  ~Oscar Wilde  

I was searching yesterday for another knitting or crochet pattern with a heart theme.  My love of hearts has turned into an obsession this month and I just can't stop making things with hearts.  I found a lovely crochet pattern here for a neckwarmer with hearts.  I am going to make it a bit longer and use it as a scarf.  I am using Cascade 220 Heathers yarn in the Carmine colorway. So far it has been a quick and easy pattern to follow. I have it memorized already.  I just started this afternoon and this is what I have completed:

And Even More Hearts

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I bought a little artificial tree years ago for Christmas and really enjoyed placing small ornaments on it that I had made or bought over the years.  It always made me a bit sad to take those ornaments off and pack them and the tree up when Christmas time was over.  Then one day, a lovely idea came to me.  Why pack the tree away when it could be decorated throughout the year for the different seasons or holidays?  Here it is in its role as my Valentine's Tree:  

I made this heart garland for my mother-in-law to hang in her living area.  We won't see her for Valentine's Day, but I wanted her to know she was in our thoughts. I made it so she would have a visible proof of our love.  I used Peaches & Creme yarn in the Peppermint colorway.  The pattern Crochet Heart Garland can be found here.  Thanks, Suzetta of Suzies Stuff. It was a lot of fun to make and I love the way the variegated yarn made each heart unique. 

 

Order Out of Chaos

My yesterdays are all boxed up and neatly put away. ~Sheryl Crow

Well, I managed to restore order to my knitting and crochet patterns.  As you can see from the photo they are neatly contained in four binders now.  I still need to buy some more plastic sleeve protectors and some dividers. The binders are now stored on a shelf in my craft closet--the only things in there that are organized.

Chaos

Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it's not all mixed up.  ~A.A. Milne

Oh, why didn't I read the words above before I started printing patterns out?!!  I've been seriously knitting and crocheting for about seven years now and have been printing out patterns for just as long.  Patterns I wanted to make right away (and I have made some); patterns I would like to make some day; patterns I liked the look of; patterns that would teach me a new technique; patterns . . . well, I think you get the idea. 

I began to put them in a binder when I realized that I was collecting quite a few of them.  I brought the binder with me when I moved from Virginia, along with quite a few space bags filled with yarn.  That was almost four years ago and my collection of both patterns and yarn has grown to amazing proportions.  I am attempting to control the stash yarn by not buying any new yarn and knitting and crocheting items that will utilize the yarn I already have in my possession.  Of course, that has necessitated finding and printing out even more patterns that are ideal for the yarn I have.  So, the yarn accumulation is very s-l-o-w-l-y diminishing, but what to do with all the patterns?

The original binder was filled up some time ago and so I began putting the patterns in plastic sleeve protectors.  I kept these on top of the binder in my craft closet, but every time I wanted to find just the right pattern that I knew I had printed out at some time in the distant past, I had to fumble through piles of patterns that I didn't want.  And they slipped and slid all over the place.  

So, yesterday I decided to get organized.  I pulled out every pattern I could find in the craft closet and put them on my kitchen table to begin putting them in order.  I remembered a box of empty binders that came with us from Virginia that has been hanging out in the garage since we moved in here.  Binders! What a perfect place to store all those patterns!  Much easier said than done, however.  I worked for several hours yesterday and this is what I have accomplished:

Why haven't I finished yet?  Today was Super Bowl Sunday and I had company coming over to watch the game with us; and I had food to prepare to munch on while watching the game.  But, no more excuses.  I promise I will have a picture tomorrow of all my patterns arranged in orderly fashion in binders. Just don't hold your breath.