a change of heart

Wanting to immerse myself in pinks, reds & whites I tried thinking of simple but pretty things to make for  Valentine's Day.

Initially, I found a beautiful heart in this book:

Motif # 124 --- a gorgeous heart, but a bit too big for this project.  It just seemed to overpower the felt instead of enhancing the look I was going for.

So, back to my stack of books and I found exactly what I was looking for in here:

The perfect heart --- and it truly is my most favorite pattern for a crocheted heart that I have stitched.

Here is how it all went together:

1)Using 2 pieces of 4 x 4 inch felt                                                               2)marking tiny dots with a pencil

3)stitched a simple buttonhole stitch w/ embroidery floss                              4)and before closing, stuffed it with polyfill

5)single crochet the first row                                           6)and chain 3 -- skipping a single crochet for row 2 to create a simple edging

7) and lastly -- adhering the heart in the center

...a perfect change of heart.

ten thousand

I recently read that if you really want to be good at something, you need to practice 10,000 hours.

This got me thinking.

10,000 hours.  Really?  So 10 years of practicing 3 hours a day --- I can become a master in my subject.

This was huge to me because I am so prone to quit something if I don't grasp it right away with the 'aww-I'm-no-good-at-this-mentality'.  Dumb, I know.

So I began to approach this whole knit-a-sock-saga that has been going on for.ever. in a whole different light.

Who cares if I don't become Master Knitter within minutes of picking up a DPNs?  Why the pressure for pete's sake?  This may take years -- not minutes...

...good grief, why was I beating myself up about this?

So it's back to my delicious Felici yarn from my darling (you can do this, Dawn!) friend, Andi and I approached these socks with a whole different attitude.

Relaxed (for a change) I absolutely fell in love with the feel of these as they formed in my hands.  Boy, oh, boy -----> soft, soft, SOFT.  This was the feeling that I was craving and it was right there...in my lap.

Okay.  I realize it's just one sock so far.  But there is a fire deep within that has been lit & the welling up that I feel is proof to my husband/kids that I do need a nice padded room has been ignited and if you hear hootin' & hollerin' that's just me ----> on fire with the knowledge that I can truly knit socks. 

And knit socks I shall do.

a bunny & a 'bad' dog

For every Valentine's Day, I crochet each of 3 kids some sort of amigurumi.  It's a tradition that my son demands I keep.  (And for a soon-to-be-13-yr.old-ALL-boy...I'm tickled pink about that.)

So I started pouring through my books & magazines, looking for some sort of cute amigurumi to make for them.

And I found this darling bunny -- she has her own blog that chronicles all of her adventures! -- how cute is that?! 

The pattern is from here:

Inside Crochet March 2010 Issue 15

I struggled & scratched my head a bit with this pattern, because this magazine hails from the UK and the crochet terms are British English instead of American English.  A little tough at first when they print dc and it actually means sc, but after awhile I whizzing through it with no problem.

I used Caron Simply Soft in Grey Heather with a size G hook.

She's so floppy and adorable that I must keep her away from a certain four-legged creature that goes by the name of Bear.......

...because he, lovable golden retriever that he is...

(ahem)

...thought he would be of assistance and help with the taking down of our Christmas tree.  Never mind that in taking the ornaments off of the tree, he  proceeded to eat them!!...

Argggh.

Bear looking all apologetic.

Yup. 

It worked.

Apology accepted.

Christmas clothespin angels

Christmas is almost here.

And when something as simple as a clothespin can become a Christmas angel...

...well, it must be made.

The pattern for these adorable angels is from here:

And I just love how easy these were to crochet and to keep it even simpler, I opted not to add the halo or wings.

Size 10 crochet thread & my size 7 hook -- along with clothespins (of course) and you have the makings for so many cute Christmas angel ornaments.

...oh. This?

Our son's ornaments.

Ninja style.  Or Tron style --- so he informs me.  Not exactly the darling & whimsical that I was going after...

But when I was trying to come up with the different color combinations for the frilly dresses...well, I felt as if I were designing originals for these tiny, wooden angels.

So perfect as we celebrate this season of angels proclaiming glad tidings of great JOY.

dressy towel

This cute towel topper all started here...

...at an art & craft show that our daughter was showing at.  A warm & wonderful woman next to her booth was selling the most delightful  c*r*o*c*h*e*t*e*d  items.

Oh, just imagine the cutest projects!  And all crocheted!?..

Breathe.

Crocheted ornaments, hotpads, dishcloths, hangars and towels that were made to look like kitchy dresses.  

And everyone was just swarming her booth, swooping up all of her wares.  I was entranced (and yes! I stared shamelessly) at the way she just beamed as people purchased her dearly crocheted items.

So, as soon as there was a lull, my daugher & I poured over her stuff too and I bought her adorable snowman towel.

I love these towel toppers so much I knew I had to make some and began hunting down a pattern that was a bit like the one she had made. 

I was a bit confused by some of the directions I found, so I just studied (and studied.and studied.and studied.) my snowman towel topper instead and came up with this dressy towel topper.

I am off to the store to buy out their selection of Christmas towels.

Can you just imagine how many of these you could make for everyone?...

seeing stars

As much as I do not like the bombardment of Christmas before Thanksgiving has even arrived, I do know that if I want to get anything accomplished before that holiest of holidays arrives, I had better get going on some Christmas items.

And so I am tatting stars.  The pattern is from my Aunt Mae who found it in a pile of tatting patterns from my grandma. 

Yup.  It truly warms my heart like you cannot believe that I am doing an exact pattern that once flew off my grandma's shuttle, too.  

The size 10 thread is from here. (Love their speedy service -- phew!.....it seemed like I hit ENTER for my order and 'wheee!' the package was already in our mailbox!)

Ornaments for the tree...

...or I am even thinking of lovely little package toppers for the many gifts that family and friends will receive this year.

falling back

I'm falling back on the familiar.

That is -- crochet.

And yes, I am still working on knitting those delicious aquamarine socks, but the progress is slow.  So slow that I wondered if it would be better if I would just hang up my knitting needles.  But then I saw Knit & Crochet Now! and they were interviewing Jean Leinhauser (who has since passed away) and I was s.t.u.n.n.e.d. to hear her say that it took her 20 years to get the hang of crochet!

What!?...This woman is the queen of crochet...and it took her 20 years to get the hang of it? 

Yikes.  I usually give up after 20 minutes of trying something and not getting it.

So, I have silently smacked myself upside the head properly chastised myself for wanting to give up so quickly -- and to say I am inspired & motivated by her is the understatement of the year. 

And no, my needles are not in hiding and even if it takes me.....say....20 years....I will knit those socks.

But in the mean time, the crisp autumn days are upon us and are truly a welcome! 

And that change in temperature also brings the realization that the cold weather brings about some muddy boots and shoes. 

So we need a smallish rug that will not take up a lot of room in our somewhat smallish entry way, and since my husband is under the yearly impression that a huge, black, industrial sized rubber mat (the one he picks out is usually bigger than a football field and almost weighs as much) somehow completes the decor in our entry way...

...well, I disagree and quickly got to work with my N hook, purchased some Lion Brand Thick & Quick Wool-Ease in Wheat and with a simple pattern of

*sc, dc* 

...repeated that for this nice textured, wheaty pattern.

A perfect place for boot & shoes.  And so much smaller than a football field.