hooked together

The more I say that -- hooked together -- the more I like the layers of meaning it evokes.

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The crocheted beauty pictured on the left was given to me by my great-aunt.  I was completely stunned when I unfurled it and saw the hours & hours that she put into it.  And the fact that it is now in my possession -- oh, dear! I can not tell you what it means to me.

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And knowing that my lovely great-aunt -- who had her husband, & her daughter who was riddled with cancer & her Downs son taken from her long before she herself was called to her heavenly home -- I am just struck with the beauty of each crocheted stitch she took. Was she pained with thoughts of the loss of her precious ones as she joined these blocks together? Was it a healing process for her to see this come to shape? She lost so much, but gave so much more. 

(...and I complain because the internet is running slow and I have to wait for 3 red lights!??...)

Now that this is in my possession, I am hooked together with her.  And it is a lovely feeling.

I had visions of finishing this -- and I still might.  Because honestly! don't you just love that a simple block when joined can form such a beautiful petal-shaped labor of love.  Ohhhhhh, I  a.d.o.r.e.  that!

So I too want to leave something that may take years for me to complete...

...but nonetheless, something that just might get passed along.

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So I started paging through old copies of my MAGIC CROCHET magazines and found this gorgeous Sweet William pattern. 

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The block is gorgeous.  Enough said.  But what really struck my fancy about this pattern is that it is so much like the one from my great-aunt.  By itself: pretty.  But when joined together as one, it seems to take on a whole different dimensional quality that is truly fabulous and so, so different from the original block.

 

Time to start joining these 2 blocks with many, many more to come....

bootiful + 3 more

A wee bit addicting, yes.

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That is to say -- crocheting these simply sweet halloween amigurumi from Lion Brand Yarn.

I couldn't stop with just the ghost, spider, pumpkin & witch hat....

...I just had to crochet the bat, owl (btw---I added ears to the owl -- the pattern does not call for them, but our daughter was convinced he looked like a giant, green bug w/o them.) and of course, the cutie-patootie mummy. 

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Don't you just love those bandages?! 

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So fun to make and honestly! -- winding & attaching the crocheted strip around his head was such a hoot.

 

A bootiful & adorable collection, I must say.

bootiful

These amigurumi are so bootiful --- they just tickle my funny bone!

Okay.  They are beyond cute & adorable and the patterns can be found here.  And bonus--> they only take a smidgen of scrap yarn and a H hook.

I just loooooooooove the instant gratification of working up these tiny little things.

Easy on the stitches & easy on the time.

But HuGe on the cute-ibility factor.

berry to the rescue

Instead of being 'berry to the rescue' this post should be entitled: 'curse of the crocheted garment'.
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Yes, I am cursed.
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(And I am saying that entirely in jest, of course.)
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But what else could explain my inability to crochet a garment?!  If you know me, I have grandiose ideas & beginnings for beautiful-steal-your-breath-away (ahem. see previous post.....) garments and I either

1 .get stuck and have to rip out the stitches

v
or I
v

2. get stuck and have to rip out the entire garment

    not once; not twice; but about 5,000,000 times

    to the point where I just want

    to hurl the entire project out the window set the project aside until a later date.

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Okay.  So the progress on my Dragonfly Shawl is not going well.  It has almost resulted in me shedding tears -- I keep adding/losing stitches and rows and......oh, man!......the yarn is so beautiful & fragile.....I hate to see it being ripped back again & again & again & again & again.....

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So, berry to the rescue!

Nothin' like a little strawberry coaster to soothe the 'I-can't-do-this' beast that seems to have taken up residence in my house.

Quick & easy.
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From this delicious book that I was so excited to receive from Di Pais at Christmas time.

This worked up so quickly that I am quite sure that I can get 4 of them done

w/o any tears,
w/o hurling through any windows, or
w/o the sound of stitches being ripped back.

I used a size 5 hook and size 3 crochet thread and just love the look of the FPdc stitch that makes up the body of the berry.  And with the 'lacy' edging that is simply a shell stitch -- it was a delight to do.

Berry good for my almost --Took Up Anything but Crochet moment. 

...and please tell me that you all have moments just like this!



oh! how I love a dragonfly

If I had to pick a favorite bug -- it would be the dragonfly.
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Every time I behold the sheer, translucent, shimmering beauty of the dragonfly's wing -- I am stunned into silence.

 

And guess what?  There is a crochet pattern that involves a dragonfly.   So to speak.

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It is Dragonfly Shawl, designed by Lisa Naskrent and is described as being a

'symphony of elegance with a dance in flight.'

Everything about this pattern is a 'symphony of elegance'!  The pattern can be found here:

interweave CROCHET winter 2008

Now, given the alternative of written directions vs. a diagram -- hands down, I will always pick the diagram.

I mean -- honestly!  I could not wrap my head around any of this:

... s-ch 5 in each ch-5 sp

to first SMK,

[BP-sh-seq, s-ch-5 in next ch-5 sp]

through first ch-5 sp after last

SMK on this side...

What does that mean?!!?
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So, thank goodness for a drawn diagram and probably the most delectable yarn ----  Shadow Tonal Lace Yarn in Blue Violet from KnitPicks  in the most gorgeous shade of periwinkle (read ---> my favorite color!)
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Being a laceweight, I had a super hard time getting used to using a D hook with a size 0 yarn.  And yes, I did have to frog my first 20 attempts at getting this started.  Getting those first 3 rows going was the most difficult for me.
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But, duh! -- after studying the diagram, I realized that the pattern is very, very easy to memorize and now that I can actually see a completely magnificent shawl starting to appear --- I am stealing away as much time as possible to get this done so it can be draped around my shoulders.



sunflower

Sunflowers.  I just love their heavy heads of golden brown goodness.

Ah, sunflower, weary of time,


Who countest the steps of the sun;


Seeking after that sweet golden clime


Where the traveller's journey is done.
-William Blake

So when I can combine the lovely art of irish crochet with the making of a sunflower doily....well that just gets my fancy like you can not believe.

And wouldn't you know it?!  There's a book with just that pattern. 

I love, love, lOvE this book.  The author, Judy Crow has hit upon some gorgeous, out-of-the-ordinary patterns and stitch configurations that just seem to jump right off of the page...

...and onto my hook.

The petals did seem to take forever, but because the pattern for them was easily memorized I could almost do them while standing in line at the grocery store.  (Notice I said almost -- my kids seem to give me the hairy eyeball if I pull out my crochet projects while the cashier is ringing up our corn flakes.)

I would have never thought that I could take one of my most favorite techniques (irish crochet) and use deep, vibrant thread colors...

 
...to make a sunflower doily.

marigold brooch

The intensity of the colors in a marigold are bold, vibrant & yes -- intense.
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I found those same intense colors in Patons Angora Bamboo yarn. Vibrant colors, but oh, my! what truly took my breath away was the ultra-softness of this yarn.

Soft.  Soft as a kitten.

The pattern for this marigold brooch is actually my crocheted peony brooch from here.

Changing it up a bit -- I made it a different color with no embellishment sewn in the middle & crocheted the leaves instead of making them out of fabric.

The leaves are from Nicky Epstein's book:

Pinned to a garment, I can only imagine how much I would just touch caress, pet .......

Okay.   Basically run my fingers through it non-stop....

Shhh.

Yes, I have a problem.

But it's because I am soooooooh addicted to the yarney goodness that comes from a simple hook & yarn.

Happy birthday, sissie! 

The marigold brooch was made just for her.