change of colors

Night-time at our house usually finds us in front of the tv, watching DVD reruns. And with winter temps still the norm, we find warmth under afghans made by both of my grandmas. Unfortunately, their afghan love is starting to show some serious wear.
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Browsing through crochet pattern books, I found this PRIMARY FUN afghan in Quick and Cozy Afghans. I just didn't want to use the deep, dark colors they had chosen.

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I pulled bright, taffy colors of yarn from my Caron stash and loved the way they blended like ribbons of candy.

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Primary fun colors are now ribbons of bright taffy.

Only 9 more strips to go.

more hexagons

While the sun streams through our windows, I can sit & stitch more hexagon petals for grandmother's flower garden quilt.

And my. oh. my. It is because all of you boosted me up SO high with your incredible support & inspiration to work on -- and finish -- these blocks.

Each individual flower block does not take that long to stitch. And seeing them come together -- well, I have to wonder why I stashed this away for so long.

Thank you. You all have charged me with a huge magical dose of initiative to stitch these beauties.

receivin' some sewin' love

Nothing is sweeter than love,

nothing stronger,

nothing higher,

nothing wider,

nothing more pleasant,

nothing fuller nor better

in heaven & earth.

--thomas a kempis 1379-1471

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When the doorbell rings and the FED*EX truck is in your driveway, your heart skips a little in anticipation of what what he might be bringing..

The doorbell rang at my house recently and -- yes, my heart did do that little 'pitter patter' -- and this is what I got ---> a package from Suzee.

We both participated in the Show Some Sewing Love swap and had to make something that involved hearts. She picked such gorgeous colors and made such a beautiful quilted heart banner. And yum. My kids made a mad dash for the most delicious chocolates that she also included. And a book of hugs. I love that.

Her quilting is divine and so is the package that she sent my way. Thank you, Suzee.

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And special, s.p.e.c.i.a.l. thanks to Dandelion Quilts, who choreographed this whole endeavor. She is one of my faves -- I love her -- she is indeed a true blogirl-friend. Make sure you visit her.

grandmother's flower garden

Motivated by Robyn and her great love of hexagons, I have once again tackled these gorgeous blocks that seem to always get tucked away somewhere.

I seem to tackle them with such gusto, only to put them back in a plastic ziploc and re-shelve them. I can only attribute this undesire to complete them because they are all sewn by hand.

If you are familiar with the paper-piecing method, then you know that each hexagon is cut out and then 'sewn to' a paper hexagon template -- all by hand.

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Now -- I love, love LOVE this pattern. And I love, love LOVE even more the grandmother's flower garden quilts that are done in all of their beauty & splendor.....

But all of these hexagons can be a bit daunting.

And a bit time-consuming. Okay. Very time-consuming. Notice that I have not told you how long I have been working on this quilt. And. I. won't. *grin*

But Robyn's enthusiasm has bowled me over. And she has completely kick-started me into diving once again into stitching these retro blocks. (btw-if you haven't been on the receiving end of her love of quilting -- you must visit her -- and heartfelt prayers for her as devastating fires have made their way into Australia.)

Close-ups of some of the blocks:

Isn't that one of the greatest pleasures of quilting? -- putting the different fabrics together in such a harmonious blend?

And these vintage fabrics that look as if they came from my grandma -- undoubtedly fabric choices that are some of my favorites!

bmmmmmmm

Huge gulp of breath because I know that I have to complete sooooo many more before this will ever grace my bed. But being part of the Great Hexagon Quilt-Along, well -- I feel as if these women are sitting right here & motivating me with each stitch that they are taking.

bbbbbbbb

Time to sew.

turtle love

Ah. My last critter for our tween. She loves turtles. And in a way she reminds me of a turtle -- tough on the outside, but so tender & vulnerable on the inside.

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I found the pattern for this adorable amigurumi turtle here at Lion Brand Yarn. I once again used Caron yarn. Love, love the softness -- and the price! -- of this yummy yarn.

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But, notice this heart! Adorable, yes? Well, I have looking & looking for the perfect, stuffed heart to go along with these critters that I am crocheting for our 3 kids for Valentine's Day. And nothing really piqued my interest.......
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......until I spotted this p.e.r.f.e.c.t. pattern from Owlishly. How did she know? This is exactly what I was looking for!

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And unlike other heart patterns, her pattern was so easy & worked up so quickly, I was just smitten with this heart -- especially since it will look so, so sweet with the birdy, the giraffe and now, the turtle!

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Turtle love, indeed.

georgina the giraffe

Our teen has such a love for giraffes. After she saw the quiet tenderness displayed between a mother and her baby giraffe, she has been collecting giraffes ever since.

And with Valentine's Day soon approaching, I like to always make our kids a sweet something -- you have already seen the baby bird that I crocheted for our son.

This is her sweet something.

I used Georgina the Giraffe pattern from Lion Brand Yarn -- you will need to sign in to retrieve the pattern --and Red Heart yarn....and -- well, I am just falling in love with amigurumi!

huge to me

Although this may appear to be just tiny bits of stuff -- just ask my husband & kids about the tiny bit of 'stuff' on moms.craft.table -- I am actually busy.
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ahem.
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Okay. So maybe I'm just playing around with ideas for a crochet granny square purse using purples, pinks and golden yellows of the softest yarn.
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But I am also working on paper-piecing these flower garden hexagons. A project started many moons ago, but the with the house quiet and the sun finally streaming through the windows -- these tiny projects are somehow so huge to me -- I can't wait to get my fingers on them.
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Oh, and here's a peek at Georgina the Giraffe -- yes, I found a pattern! More pics tomorrow.