just a moment

I have to step away....

for just a moment.

Back soon.

ruffles

 

I love scarves & have a whole collection of them that I have collected over the years from my stylish aunts & grandmas & even thrift stores.

 

 

I have especially had my eye on these ruffle scarves that seem to be everywhere! 

 

For example --->I was at the hair salon the other day, & walked in only to see an entire table of these hand-made lovelies (and btw -- priced at $24.95 each.)

 

So recently while at the fabric store --- with nary a thought of purchasing yarn --- ahem...I stumbled upon the display for this yarn: 

Boutique Sashay from Red Heart

Now, I have seen copious patterns for this ruffle scarf, but didn't know if it would be better to crochet or knit it.  I must have been thinking this out loud when I checked out (yes, kids, it's true --- mom does talk to herself out in public) because the clerk went scampering to get her knitting needles and proceeded to show me how to cast-on and go about knitting the ruffles.  Glancing nervously about --- because I did not want anyone in line behind me to be groaning and tapping their foot at the lady getting a free knitting lesson --- I was surprised because they seemed to be just as amazed as me as to how easily this can be done! 

(This shows the almost identical way in which she showed me how to do this.)

Don't you just love the way this comes off of the skein.  I mean!  Who came up with such a delightful yarn?

 

And this knit up in about 30 seconds.  Okay. 

 

Maybe a little bit longer...

 

 

...but what a gorgeous, flow-y, lovely scarf that I  k.N.i.T.!

And thanks to any store employee that goes the extra mile and enthusiastically helps/shares their passion!

Especially when it has to do with yarn.

summer rosette

The color of summer = vibrant shades of watermelon ...in thread!

This yummy thread is Lizbeth from Handy Hands.  Size 10  #628 Salmon Med & #679 Lime Green.

And the gorgeous, tatted rosette pattern is from Jon at Tat-a-Renda.

So while the kids are in the pool & the dogs and I are lazily lounging in the shade...

...there is tatting to be done.

I'm not sure if I have developed a full-blown problem, but I find myself needing to keep my hands busy with some sort of thread work.  And I mean ---> constantly! there must be some sort of yarn or thread passing through my fingers or I start to get physically fidgety in my chair.

This drives.my.husband.nuts. 

But seriously!  Since his John Deere tractor quells an/all sorts of jitters for him...

...well, honey?!...

Thread does it for me.

well, hello dolly

There is no age limit to dolls, is there?

My girls may be in their teens, but I know they share in the same love I do for a doll.

So with my g hook & oodles of leftovers from my stash of yarn...

...I got busy with crocheting a doll.

The pattern is from an old magazine that my great-aunt Bertha was tossing.  I don't even remember the name of the magazine, but knew without a doubt I had to add this pattern to my crochet library.

And how cute can a pattern be when it comes with accessories?  Cape, beret and hatbox.  Oh, my!...just the description of them warrants a need/desire to make them!

Once I saw how adorable this whole ensemble worked out (and because I was flitting thru the house practically dancing with her) my older daughter just wanted me to stop dancing also wanted a doll.

In her color scheme.

With of course, the cape, beret & hatbox.

And here she is.

I changed up the face and hair. And if you know a great tutorial for adding yarn hair, please let me know!  This was a bit of a hit-and-miss with me. (read ---> an almost disaster.)

Regardless of maybe needing to improve the hair, I am pleased with how cute they both turned out.

fat cat ~ tatted.

I tatted a fat cat.

Mainly, because I have a fat cat.

And because I thought the pattern was adorable.  You can find the cat pattern here. 

And the tatted border is from here.

I used a glue stick to adhere scrap fabric to foam-core. Then using that same glue stick, I adhered the tatted elements.  A little bit of yellow ric-rac hot glued to the outside edge...

...and I have a fat cat ~ tatted.

It's time to finish this doily.

I mean!  Look at how gorgeous it will be once it is finished~

And since I started it waaaaaaaaay back here...

...and with the sweet fragrance of lilacs perfuming the air,

I am filled with a zeal that should never be ignored.

(Besides ---> I am embarrassed that I have waited this long to get this thing done!)

So, yes! I.will.finish.this. before the lilacs fade

& with ooooooooooonly 26 more rows to go ~~

~~well...I had better get hookin'.

it's time to confess

I have a confession to make. 

Well, two actually.

First one:
I hate making crochet cables can't make crochet cables.  Let me give you an example of a pattern for crocheting cables:

Directions for cross cable row:

(for a six stitches wide cable) skip next 3 sts,

 tr ps around each of next 3 sts;

working behind last 3 sts, fold last 3 sts forward,

 tr ps around each of 3 skipped sts.

No, I have no idea what that means.

And that is a huge problem when asked to crochet cables in this.  

So this is my dilemma: 

Frog my aran afghan? 

Watch every online tutorial for mastering crochet cables? 

Pull out my hair? 

Admit defeat?...

...or how 'bout trying a knitted cable?

Finding Redheart's pattern for a knitted cabled throw & throwing caution to the wind, I started to knit cables.

Yes. Knit. A. Cable.

Me!

Wow.  Just let me say, comparatively speaking:  a knitted cable is much, much, MUCH easier to do than a crocheted cable.  And for someone who has struggled with knitting (me) I am amazed at how easily this is just flowing off of my needles.

Now for confession #2:

This is a before & after photo of my yarn.  I am ashamed to admit that I stashed my yarn in a rubber tub.  A huge 'no-no', I know.  Completely inexcusable, I admit.

           before                                       after

But then I started seeing paper towel tubes used as nostepinnes for achieving centered pulled skeins of yarn. (btw -- I could do a whole post on the simplicity & beauty of these wooden treasures, but a paper towel tube was much easier to come by.  But rest assured -- I have dropped subtle hints to kids & husband that I would love to have one/more of these handcrafted lovelies in my possession.)  I then proceeded to take every messy skein in my rubber tub & carefully wrap each one into a centered pulled skein of yarn.

A centered pulled skein of yarn is neat, orderly & so lovely to look at!