caffe latte potholder

Yum. Coffee in any of its flavors or varieties is a liquid love in my every day life.

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A mystery wrapped in brown,

A fragile enigma,

Enveloping the senses,

With the earthy steam

Of a bean.

The mind wrapped in warmth,

The essence of dark roast,

Heating from within,

The senses thrill,

With every lingering

Sniff of the aroma

In the mug.

--by Drew K

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So I got busy with my mocha colored yarn and added milk white and bright aqua to complement the rich hue of coffee.



And I have seen this lovely potholder pattern that have seen pop up all over the web. Seeing it the first time I would have never believed that it is crocheted as individual blocks and then crocheted in a line with simple border of single crochet. (This is where my daughter wrapped it around her hips and determined it would make the cutest of belts.....hmmm.)

Then a gathering stitch is made through the center of each block and the flower begins to form.

But the real beauty is seen when the corners of each block is finger-pressed to form these caffe latte petals.

It reminds me of the foamy goodness in a steamy cup of caffe latte.

shades of gray

Gray is a neutral, balanced color. It is a cool, conservative color. Gray carries with it some of the strengh and mystery of black. It is a sophisticated color and all shades of gray can be good background colors. --from the meaning of the color gray

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I am beginning to enjoy the color of gray. It seems to be found in subtle places. Vintage cubby holes of shelves & drawers. The siding on a country house. And socks.

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Socks? You know my obsession with socks.....

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.....and now with the ecstatic discovery of Patons Stretch Sock Yarn, I have finally crocheted a sock that easily slips onto the foot. Yes, I did say -- 'easily'. No tugging. No pretending to be one of Cinderella's step-sisters trying to squish a big foot into a teeny, tiny shoe. This went on so effortlessly.

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And this licorice colored yarn is so, so yummy. And here is the key ----> the yarn stretches. And that is huge here in my little crochet world.
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It means that when using this Origami Turkish sock pattern; my new favorite crunch stitch crocheted in the back loop only; a size E hook and this miracle-of-all-sock-yarn; I can actually crochet a sock that is wearable.

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Oh, the possibilities & oh, the yarn choices!

sunburst potholder & bursts of beauty

A burst of sun is an almost every day occurrence for us here in the summertime. And when we drive around, we see bursts of sunflowers in gardens everywhere!
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Using this book Kitchen Basics in Cotton -- which I have used before -- I crocheted another potholder. This time using colors that remind me of sunbursts & sunflowers.
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Young Girl Crocheting by Bouguereau--1889
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And then I found this gorgeous painting, Young Girl Crocheting and it instantly took my breath away. Ahhh. The colors. And she appears so content & satisfied with just thread & hook in hand.
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I used a G hook and Sugar 'n Cream from Lily.
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And then this, I must share!

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I received a email from Bia from Sew You Can Fiber Arts Center. Her poignant email struck such a chord in me because she is passionate -- and I mean passionate with a capital P! -- about sharing her love for sewing with the youth of today. One of the groups that she works with made the fabric flowers that I shared here on my blog -- oh, my GrAnna would just be amazed at the desire to make these flowers that were named after her.
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A Girl Sewing in an Orchard by Edmund Charles Tarbell 1891 -- purses & hats made by the SEW YOU CAN girls

So when I picture my grandma & young girls sewing (and yes, I found another painting--A Girl Sewing in an Orchard -- that depicts this simple love of handwork) I realize that yes, indeed! this profound love of needlework is being passed down to further generations....and that is truly a burst of beauty, isn't it?

Thanks, Bia. For knowing that & sharing that.

i love doris day sweater purse

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I love Doris Day. When I was growing up I wanted to be just like her. Well, now that I am 40-ish that desire still hasn't gone away. Oh! To dress like her. To wear those types of clothes....

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Yikes! Can you hear my daughters groaning? -- Mom! You wouldn't dare!

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Okay. So maybe I won't actually dress like her, but I can carry a bag like one she might carry.

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Time for some inspiration. And yes, I am still working out of this book -- and loving every crochet pattern that Mary Jane has put in there!

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And I found a pattern for a lovely sweater purse. I used medium 4 yarn and size J & G crochet hook. The handle is off of a purse that I bought from the thrift store.

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I love how this went together!

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Just by changing hook size and stitch size, you crochet this sleeve-like shape.

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And amazingly, it folds into a sweater purse. So incredibly easy & yet so beautiful.

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Now to find some white gloves to go with my I Love Doris Day Sweater Purse.

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Ha. Just kidding, girls.

back loop only arm warmers & wonky heels

Back loop only -- or blo, if you are talking crochet lingo. Okay. What exactly does that mean?

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It means that people like me (completely void of any knitting know-how) can achieve a very stretchy, drapey, liquid-feel, almost knitted look to crochet. It means that I can now crochet a wearable accessory without it feeling bulky, cumbersome or truly wonky (I'll share the truly wonky in this post......) It means that I could just kiss Mary Jane Hall for discovering this!

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And where did I get all of this drastically needed information? From her book:

I think she has saved me from myself. Because honestly! I can take the most accurate measurements -- ask my math whiz of a husband to recheck my mathematical calculations (because I stink in this area!) -- measure once more, just to be sure --- and I still get this:



The wonky heeled-sock.

Yikes. Just what is that protruding from the heel? And yes, I measured. And yes, I counted the foundation single crochet correctly. And yes, I tried it on before the fastening off.
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Even this sock below ( a different pattern ) that gave the most splendid of all directions for taking measurement 1, measurement 2, measurement 3, measurement 4 of each individual foot should guarantee a perfect sock for any sized foot --- right?!



No! And yes, my frustration is showing -- and yes, I'm scaring everyone who lives with me. Because although this sock turned out super cute and I was just skipping through the house dancing with it -- it. is. not. wearable. Plain and simple the sock will not go over the heel and there's that dreaded hangy-doodle mimicking a so-called heel.

So I definitely needed to take some sort of cleansing breath and started paging through Mary Jane's book and she hit upon something so explainable -- crochet in the back loop only. Aha! She explains that by doing that the garment/accessory will stretch so much more than if crocheting in the front & back loop together....yes. Exactly.



So I dug out some Caron Simply Soft charcoal heather yarn and my J hook and I made these arm warmers --- this pattern, along with many other stunning patterns are in Mary Jane's book -- and I am completely bowled over the drapey-ness of this stitch!

And the patterns in her book --- L.O.V.E. them. Every single one of them.
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Phew.

And now I wait to see if she comes out with a sock pattern.

the oh! bag

Just imagine the delight of a fabric-loving mom taking her 13yr. old daughter to the fabric store and watching her run from bolt to bolt exclaiming quite loudly that

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She loves this one!

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No.

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This one!

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Oh, but wait!

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I love this fabric more!

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I honestly just stood back and glowed. My husband glows when our son hits a home-run, but I glow when my daughter can be seen hugging a bolt of fabric up and down the aisle looking for that perfect complimentary fabric that will just make the bag she wants.

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She chose this fabric and she was walking on air when she spotted the most perfect handle to complete her bag. All of this purchased at JoAnn Fabric.

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While she & her dad were out shopping, I was able to quickly finish the oh! bag. And because her dad was taking a long time trying to purchase all of the things he wanted -- she made a quick call home to see how much progress I had made.

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Pretending that --yawn-- I was just barely started on it, I could hear her disappointment that Mom could just not seem to sew faster.

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Little did she realize that it was already completed & hanging by the back door for when she & Dad came home.

Oh! She loves her oh! bag. And the cutest thing? -- o.h. are her initials.