Showing posts with label Chevron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chevron. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Mid Week and 4 simple things that make me happy.


This time of year I never know if I will be in the house crocheting through a storm or outside enjoying the promise of spring.  For the last week, I have made a lot of progress on the scrappy ripple blanket.  We had a few days where it was stormy and cold, and raining.   This photo I took when the winds were so bad, I was certain we would lose power around here.  I made a hot cup of coffee and got out my hook and ripple blanket.  It was so relaxing sitting and hooking and listening to the storm and rain outside.


Here is my blanket about 1/2 of the way finished.  I have made a lot of progress since I took this photo.  It is using up little tiny balls of yarn and if you look real close there are 4 shades of blue, 4 shades of yellow and on and on with several more shades of green, pink, purple, turquoise, and on and on.. My basket of yarn is getting to be pretty empty at this point.  I have been looking at yarn on several web sites already to purchase, and replenish the supply.  In the little town that I live, most the stores that sell acrylic yarn for blankets are very often more times than not out of many colors of yarn.  This means frequent trips to the store until eventually you have enough colors to make something.  Either that, or you must go to the 2 yarn stores which have very beautiful yarn that is cost prohibitive to make large projects like this.  I love those yarn stores and hope to buy enough to make a wool jacket or something for myself some day.  Until then, I am buying budget friendly acrylic yarns for my blankets. 



Soon enough though, the weather cleared and I was able to peg out my first load of laundry this year.  You have no idea how much this excites me!  This means that soon I will be shutting off the tumble dryer until next fall again.  I love going out in the mornings with a load of laundry and listening to the birds sing while I peg out the washing.  It is one of those simple moments in the day where I get to slow down and reflect and meditate on all the wonders in the universe.  I can't imagine life  without a clothesline.  One of these days I will invest in some nice steel T posts and make the old fashioned type lines that string across the yard.  Call me weird if you want, but I like to watch the clothes blowing in the breeze. 


One of the simple pleasures in life is a wonderful and creamy batch of homemade rootbeer.  It is simple to make and ever so tasty. I always add vanilla to give it that creamy flavor as well.  No preservatives and no high fructose corn syrup.  I will need to make another post sometime with some recipes and sterilization techniques on how to make this.  It is made the old fashioned way with champagne yeast for carbonation.  

I hope you dear reader, are having a wonderful week so far.  I am off to tidy floors and do the mid week cleaning as tomorrow is rubbish collection day.  This means that today I clean out the fridge and clean the house and rummage about to make sure the recycling bins and the garbage cans are filled all the way up before first thing in the morning.  If I look hard, there is always enough clutter that needs to be cleared someplace in the house.  I never seem to have a problem finding enough to put out there, it is just finding the inspiration to de-clutter a closet or whatever.  If the TV show hoarders were on every morning, I bet you my house would be spotless at all times.  Now that show is encouragement and inspiring to clean!  I see an hour of that and go crazy cleaning and tossing things out.  

Until next time xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx





Monday, February 11, 2013

New ideas and new projects dancing around my head

A new journey begins...


I decided that I would start on another blanket.  I love blankets!  Why so many do you say?  Because I will make them as many times as I can, and then when the holidays come, or a baby shower or whatever, then I will have gifts to choose from.  Some I keep, and some I gift.  That is just how I roll around here.  I have yet to meet a person that doesn't like to be blessed with a blanket (OK, a few people don't like them! I actually had people reject my humble efforts a time or two believe it or not. So, I can't let myself get too full of myself with my crocheting, it keeps me humble) 

I pulled my basket of yarn out and these are all the balls of yarn I have going at the moment.  Some of the darker colors I will put aside and use in another project.  There is enough yarn here to complete a project with.  I love lots of color but I must use up a lot of what I have going on here.  If the laundry basket is full to the top with balls of yarn, I know that I have enough to make a blanket of some sort.  


I am starting a crazy ripple blanket.  I have no set plans on what I am going to do or make but I need to try to fit in some of the balls of yarn that are getting small in this, and use those up.  It will be interesting to see what this blanket tells me what it wants to be with the color combinations and rows and such.  It will be all kinds of random and whatnot.  I figured it was time for a ripple blanket because the last several projects involved a granny square or motif of some sort.  It is good to mix things up, to keep things new and exciting.

And....


The 4 books on the right arrived from Amazon.com this past weekend.  I was already putting the border on my last project when they arrived so I have yet to try one of these lovely designs.  I haven't even made anything from the books on the left yet, with the exception of the gingerbread man scarf for a Christmas present, from the Twinkie Chan book.  I have some yarn sitting here to make myself one that I have not gotten to yet.  I like to make the smaller projects when the weather is hot out.  I can't stand to have a big blanket across my lap when it is 95 degrees out in the summer.  So for now, it is blankets, and this summer it will be scarves and socks and such.  I figure that I have a rough estimate of 850 motif & square patterns, 450 borders and 500 stitches to use and make into something.  That can be either altering them into something new or using as is.  And we won't mention my large "favorites" list I have going on ravelry and pinterest and on and on....   I have a lot of ideas swimming around in my head.  It is a good thing that it takes a while to make a project or I would be completely out of control.  I have just a few more books that I want and then I feel my basic crochet library will be complete.  

All in all it is a glorious day because I have the excitement and promise of new projects dancing around in my head.