This is my favorite of the new quilts. It's made from a trad block called Indian Meadow and the combo of the bright variegated and the black is just stunning. Right now it is spread out on the futon and every time I walk by I have to stop and gape for a moment.




Another trad block, Idaho Beauty, with more variegated and solid, this time watercolor print and lavendar. I'll admit, I'm kinda disappointed in this one. The two yarns go together beautifully, but the final product is a bit blah. That's my Sinda in the pic. She has a sixth sense for when I'm taking pics. I may not like this one, but she sure does.




This one is a birthday gift for my little cousin Logan. The block is called Broken Arrows and I really really like this one. It's a tan/white variegated and bright red and together the yarns just pop. Really pleased with this one.




My hometown had a UFO sighting back in Jan/Feb of this year and the yarn, spring green, is very nearly the color of the little green men. I call this quilt Alien Stars since my first thought is always 'little green men!' when I see it. The block is called Elongated Stars.

Quilt blocks

I have gone just a little bit overboard with the granny square quilt blocks. Just a little bit, mind you, I haven't gone all the way yet. :) These are the ones I have finished so far, but I have a couple in the final stages that use a solid and a print yarn and they are coming out just gorgeous. There are all sorts of great yarns - Red Heart, Amore, TLC, I love this yarn, Carron - and there are all sorts of quilt blocks that can be made with squares and half squares, which means I have all sorts of opportunities waiting for me to go completely overboard. :)




This is a traditional block called Chinese Puzzle Block. I call this quilt "Why so Blue?" which is a horrible pun, but I can't help myself. It's made with Carron Simply Soft Black and Berry Blue. I am a fan of Amish quilts, with their strong, solid colors and there are some blocks that just rock out with black and a bright solid.



This is another trad block called Passion Flower. I made it with "I Love This Yarn" from Hobby Lobby, hunter green, dark raspberry and purple. It was originally for a friend, but after finishing a couple blocks, I decided it was pretty but did not suit my friend at all! I like it and once I finish the rest of the blocks, I'll put it up for sale on Etsy. The thing I really like about 'I love this yarn' is that is is thick like Red Heart, but much much softer.



This block is called Variable star and I went with the Amish idea again, using black and a bright solid, this time Carron Dark Rose Pink. I'm not normally a fan of pink, but this is just a beautiful shade of mauve and Carron always comes out of the wash so incredibly soft. Both Variable and Why so Blue? are going for charity.




This is called the Tea Rose block. I've used the same colors from my friend's original granny square afghan. She picked good colors and they really went together nicely for this block. I've tried other color combinations and none have looked as nice as this one. This quilt is for my uncle's wife, for christmas.

That is my second cat, Sinda, there in the corner. She has a sixth sense for when I am taking pics of my afghans and nearly always manages to sneak in.

Who needs spare time?

Mom seems to think I will get into trouble if she doesn't keep me busy. On the one hand, she is very right. When I am bored, I get into trouble.

She liked the rose afghan so much that she has me making afghans for two coworkers, her boss and the bosses secretary...by Christmas. She also has me making an unknown number of crocheted bookmarks.

On my list of things I need to finish sooner rather than later, is a filet throw I am making for a cousin's wedding in September.




This is from a pattern called Greenbriar over on Celt's. I'm really impressed with the way it looks and I'm planning on making one for myself...or keeping this one and making another for my cousin. :) Right now it's a lap throw. I'm planning on taking one of the bigger curls and turning it into a border pattern, getting it to the size of a full sized bedspread.




I finally figured out how to make ripples. For the longest time, ripples intimidated me and I simply could not figure out how they went together. Then I found a pattern book that showed ripples as diagrams and I could 'see' the pattern and it suddenly all made sense. This one was my first try and I kinda feel sorry for this afghan. First it was for my Dad, then I found something I liked better. Then it was for my brother, but he asked for a different design and now it's mine. :)





Both of these throws are little more than lap blankets. My feet get cold at night, even in the summer and having air (from the fan) blowing directly on my knees and lower legs is a recipe for muscle cramps, so even in the middle of the Texas summer, I have something across my legs. I like the colors in this one, though everyone's reaction is along the lines of 'eye searing'.





I love quilts and among my favorite quilts are sampler quilts. After perusing Happy Yellow House, I went through my quilt books until I found one that showed the different blocks diagrammed in a way that makes it's very easy to translate them into granny squares.

This quilt/afghan is only in the beginning stages - four put together with two more waiting and a plan to make about 30 in all - but I'm already real happy with it. It will most likely go to an aunt for Christmas.



And on the beading front, I'm making beaded headdresses for two friends. This was my original idea - a simple loop of beaded leaves, but I've since decided to make it more complicated. Should be fun. I'm also working on peyote bookmarks and bracelets.

Like I said, Mom seems to think she needs to find me more things to work on. :)

Is this not the coolest site?

Happy Yellow House

Those are quilt patterns made out of granny squares....*sigh* I honestly can't think of anything more perfect. I love quilts and I love granny squares and I can already think of several people who need a granny square quilt asap, as well as several patterns that can be made with the same technique. :) Some days are just good.

the crafting gods

Ah, the yarn gods were smiling on me today. Not only was I able to get the yarn I need to finish a couple projects, but I found more yarn AND IT WAS ON SALE. :)

Nearly 20 rolls, in various colors, of JP Coats Double Strand Royal Crochet thread, which I adore. It makes up great into just about everything from scarves, skirts, vests and even afghans. One of the colors will be a wedding afghan for a cousin's wedding in September. It was half price (1.97 when usually it's 4.49) and will end up making a couple three skirts, in addition to starting that afghan. :)

About 8 skeins of Sinfonia, which is a nice, just heavy enough cotton poly yarn from Hobby Lobby. I love the way it makes up into shawls and jackets. Heavy, with that hint of weather-protection without being stiff or bulky.


The fabric gods were also smiling. I went looking for the backing for a quilt and I found something I absolutely adore...in fact, I like it so much I think it's going to become a skirt and shirt instead! It's just too pretty...I'm being tempted to the dark side, lol.

My Mom likes roses. I'm pretty sure after nearly 30 years of us giving her roses for every conceivable holiday and reason...she's getting pretty tired of them. :) Hummingbirds as well. What can I say? We aren't real good at giving gifts, so when we find something, we tend to overdo it. Great thing about Mom though, she never complains, though she has been pointing out 'other' things recently as a subtle hint. Happy Mother's Day, Mom.

This pattern is from the May/June '08 issue of Crochet Today! magazine, page 53. I enjoy filet crochet and Mom likes roses and I had bought several skeins of yellow and off-white Carron Simply Soft for no apparent reason just days before...it was kismet. :)

My beading, let me show you it

I can do things other than crochet. :) This trio
of beaded necklaces are done the same way, but
made with different colors and sizes/shapes
of beads gives all three a unique look. Different
sizes of seed beads, along with pearls on the
green, chips of tiger-eye on the brown and
smooth seashell pieces on the red.





The picture doesn't show it very well, but this is
actually a lariat and two anklets. I made them to go along with a long velvet dress I wore to see Phantom of the Opera in San Antonio, back in March. Again with the seed beads (I'm just a bit predictable) and silver dividers.


I'm using the same pattern to make a friend a birthday present. Gold seed beads and pearl dividers, along with a pearl flower for a snazzy spring-flower type head piece. :)

Shawl

I can crochet things other than granny squares, though ironically, I got the idea for this shawl from a granny square. :) I had to crochet 'half' a granny square to fill in the blanks on a vest I am making and the thought wondered across my mind...what would happen if I just kept adding rows?

I call this the 'goddess' shawl because when it is all laid out, the 'arms' curve up and in like the drawings of seen of the female icona. Made with Bernat afghan yarn, which I had in my closet, waiting impatiently for me to twig on to what it wanted to be.

I like this shawl so much, I'm making a light-weight version with Aunt Lydia's crochet thread for summer.

I love granny squares. When Grandma taught me to crochet, it was a granny square that she used. Even now *mumble mumble* years later, granny squares are my first choice and if all else fails, my last. :)

This is a lap aghan I recently finished (okay, I haven't trimmed the ends off yet, I'm lazy and it's tedious) using Red Heart. It's based on the quilt pattern "Around the World" which is a lot of fun to quilt, being quick and easy.


This is a square I'm doing for a friend as a birthday/I'm sorry I keep forgetting important dates gift. Red Heart, like granny squares, tends to be my first choice in afghans.

When I took her to the store, I fully expected to be in there for while, since my friend is not known for her quick decisions, but within five mintues of me saying 'pick five colors' she had these picked out and I really like the way they go together. I'm planning on taking two of the interior colors - the pale blue and green, most likely - and using them as a border, otherwise that dark pink is a bit overwhelming.

Crochet, quilting, beading, sewing....the important things in life

I love the irony of crafting. It's ultimately a solitary pursuit - after all, only one person can hold a crochet hook or a sewing needle or press the foot on a sewing machine - but it's learned most often from another person and most crafter feel compelled to pass on their skills, knowledge and ideas to others.

I learned to crochet from my grandmother when I was a child. I seem to remember several irritated, impatient glances - I was an annoying child, always with the questions and wanting to jump to the end result instead of going patiently step by step - but whenever I would ask for a lesson, she always put down whatever she was working on and obliged me.

Quilting was something I picked up from my coworkers at the fabric store where I worked after college. In many ways it was easier than crochet, since with quilting I had a picture of the finished project there in front of me, while crochet always seemed to exist in some nebulous 'mental' place that did not compute for my child-self.

For several years I played around with the idea of beading. I loved the colors and the components and the little tools, but never could quite 'get it'. I could not see how the pieces went together and I did not understand where to start.

What's more, I could not see where it ended. I'm that annoying person who reads the end of the book first. :)

One day, it just 'clicked' and I could see the end, which meant, I knew how to begin.

Crochet, quilting and beading are my three major interests, with a bit of cross stitch and tatting thrown in for variety. I started cross stitching when I first went to college about 10 years ago, but it's more a stop-gap than a true passion. I cross stitch when I don't have anything else to do. :) Tatting is something I am just now trying. My great-grandmother tatted and I still have some of her pieces and it's always been on my list of 'things to learn' but it's only recently that I've sat down and started studying it, trying to find that key that will show me the end and how to get there.

I also sew, but I don't really consider that a hobby, since anymore I make most of my own clothes. :) I never considered 'shopping' a proper hobby, so it's equivalent isn't either.

Grandma and Mom taught me to sew and after working for several years in a fabric store, I have a closet full of patterns, two sewing machines and enough material to keep me busy for several years. :)

I make clothes that fit my personality and my body shape - exhuberant and pleasantly rounded, respectively - as well as clothes that make me feel *good* to wear. I also make costumes for Ren Faires and Halloween, not to mention the odd book and/or movie release. Yeah, I'm a geek on top of everything else.

Most days, I walk out of the house wearing at least one piece that I have made myself, sometimes my entire outfit is of my own creation. Trousers and tunic from my stash of fabric, necklace and bracelets of my own creation, crocheted pouch for a purse, handmade poncho or jacket...those are good days.

Someone asked me once *why*. Why bother, why spend the money,the time, the effort on what they called a 'pointless hobby'.

The easiest answer is 'because I can'. The true answer is because everytime I pick up a crochet hook, I think of my grandma, gone for four years. She taught me to crochet and sew, as well as that fragile sense of *me*.

Everytime I sew or quilt, I think of the women I worked with, women who meant a great deal to me and taught me several very important lessons about what it meant to be an independent woman.

Everytime I string beads or graph a new design or everytime I look at something I have made, I think about all the other people who are doing that very same thing and I think about all the people who have come before us and all those who will come after us.

I step back and admire what I have created and I think about all the amazing things others have created and know that while crafting is ultimately a solitary pursuit, we are never alone.