I SPY: vintage granny square christmas tree

I just had to make this...

...after I spied this

A vintage granny square Christmas tree.

The dear 93yr. old woman that I take care of had this in her stash of Christmas decorations & when I saw it, I was like 'hey, this is crochet!"

Anything that is crochet
& anything that is vintage & crochet
& then anything that is vintage, crochet & Christmas-y!?...

More than fabulous!

She originally bought the granny square Christmas tree in the '70's -- which you can tell from the scratchy, almost brittle feel of the yarn -- but still ~ I just.loved.it!

So I started thinking that this would be so easy to make.

Because it's just crocheted granny squares ~

...in varying sizes.



Green granny squares with a white edge.

The original tree had 6 granny squares so that's what I made.

From largest to smallest.

And then it's just a simple flip of the bottom edge to form the boughs of the fir tree.

Time to embellish.

I tied the ornaments right through each bough of the tree to attach & keep the tree together.

And crocheted a nice, chunky, brown trunk with just simple rows of dc stitched in the back loop only to give it some texture.

A remake of something  so vintage-y.

And speaking of vintage -- I thought this was soooooo cute & my kids thought it was more than weird -- I also spied this at Ruth's house on the shelf in her bathroom...

Yes.  That is her knitting that she is doing.

sand

Writing in the sand.  Walking in the sand. 

And of course! the color of sand comes to my mind when I start another doily. 

The hook I am using is a size 7 and the thread is Aunt Lydia's Mushroom Bamboo Crochet Thread  and seriously! -- just about as soft as sand.

So while our kids and Bear romped on the sandy beach of Lake Michigan, my husband & I sat quietly and watched.

And enjoyed the sound of waves, laughter and just plain nothing-ness.

There aren't many times when we can simply enjoy the sound of nothing-ness so when those times do come, we embrace them.

And that truly sums up why enjoy the feel of crochet running through my fingers.  It is that same quietness that can see some amazing results!

The pattern is from an out-of-date Magic Crochet (Oct. 1999 - Number 122) and is called Jumbo Edelweiss.  And it will be a whopping 31 inches when completed!

Oooo.  And this?....

I can barely catch my breath!

I received this from one of the funniest, most thoughtful blogirl-friends I have ever had the pleasure of 'meeting'.  She is Andi from here and I love her for so many reasons....the biggest one?  She believes in my ability to make something out of this most delicious yarn. 

I can't say what.

Yet. 

Only because I would put a gigantic curse on myself  okay, I don't actually believe that! but every time I have attempted this ---> I.have.failed.miserably.

But thanks to the generosity & faith of one fine friend....who knows?  This might actually be do-able.

Even for me.

a passion for purple

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a passion for purple. And not just any purple, but that exquisite purple that has a certain hint of dusty light blue -- the color of periwinkle.
/
Well, my package from Kris of Quilted Simple arrived yesterday. The one I was so excited to get because I knew that whatever it was -- it was going to be hand-knit.
.

And when I saw the color of it, I was bowled over -- how did she know? Not only the most gorgeous hue of periwinkle, but this is the cutest, cutest cardi ever!

,

Very simple said --

1. It's knitted.

2. It's purple.

3. Did I say, it's knitted?

4. But most of all -- I loVe it.

eggplant sweater purse (and no more whining...)

Spoiler Alert ---> again! Kris from Quilted Simple --read no further!

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My very funny blogirl-friend, Kris has (I'm pretty sure) had enough of my whining.
.

Whine? Me? Why, yes. I do tend to go on and on and on ( read ---> whine) about not being able to knit. So, either fed up with my continuous rants to not being able to knit, or just being the true friend that she is -- she has been very busy, pain-stakingly knitting me a cardi (and oh, my! I can't wait to see it!!) Just the idea of a lovely knitted cardi that someone is making me -- well it simply warms my heart.
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But now the problem. What could I possibly make for her that would equal such a thoughtful gesture?
.

Well, it was time to hit one of my favorite books:




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And having made this luscious sweater purse once before, I decided to make this one for Kris in a yummy eggplant colored yarn and shorten the length of the purse to be more sporty.
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And the timely appearance of autumn gourds makes for a very fall-ish look.
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I actually purchased a small leather purse and tacked it to the inside of the crocheted one. I wanted Kris to able to tuck a whole bunch of stuff into it and utilize the convenience of so many pockets, but still have the look of a hand-made sweater without smaller items spilling out between the stitches.
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I do hope she likes it. I know that I will just be bursting at the seams when the mailman brings that lovely knitted cardi from her.

into the heart of a friend

~

If, instead of a gem

or even a flower,

we could cast the gift

of a lovely thought

into the heart of a friend,

that would be giving

as angels give.

--george macdonald, 1824-1905

~

A gift of a lovely thought. This vintage hanky is from a lovely blogirl-friend, Marlene. I met this woman through her lovely blog & laugh out loud at her funny, funny insights into every day living and wipe a tear for her heart-tugging endearments.

And she sends me this. Does she know that vintage hankies have such a fond place in my heart? I collect these! I love these! I cherish these with every particle of my collecting self!

Ah. Such blessings. From such a beautiful friend.

thankful

Being thankful for ~

*faith*family*friends*

~~

I am paper-piecing these pumpkins with scraps from my fabric stash & using the 'Pumpkin Crazy' pattern from the Nov. 08 issue of this magazine ~



I am hoping to get this wall-hanging done just in time for Thanksgiving....but hopes aren't necessarily a reality in my world. (On a more personal level --> our Golden Retriever, Jake was hit by a car yesterday and the event has been a devastating detour in our somewhat 'normal' family' life. He is recuperating on the couch and thank goodness we have 3 Florence Nightengales -- in the form of 3 children -- who see to it that all of his needs are being met.)


And seeing my fingers doing something with needle or thread calms & soothes the pains that make their way into that thing called---> LiFe.

Still. I am thankful for so much. And yes, w/ smile on my face, I am thankful for all of the friendships from you, dear readers!

simply friendship

~~~

Elizabeth Barrett Browning: What is the secret of your life?

Tell me, that I may make my life beautiful, too.

Charles Kingsley: I had a friend.

~~~


This from my friend, Kris, Quilted Simple.

Simply beautiful.

Simply thoughtful.

Simply a quilted gesture from a beautiful friend.

~

Thank you. Oh. ThAnK yOu!

~

And what makes this even more special is that I have never met Kris, I have never personally spoken to her, yet -- she has touched me with the gift of a simple friendship.

~~~

~~~

And -- I have a special request for all of you -- yes, even those who do not leave comments....*grin*

If you do happen to make one of these flowers, please post your pics of your fabric flower here. I would love to see them!