Pictures of...

Bliss is sometimes hard to come by. But...

Hello everyone.

I know I haven't posted anything new in too long. It wasn't for lack of want but it wasn't possible.

Life has been a jarring roller coaster ride since my last post.

In January 2012, my husband became seriously ill. Despite their efforts, his personal doctors failed to correctly diagnose him. In March 2012, after countless visits to his primary care physicians and three visits to the emergency room (two different hospitals), it was revealed that my beloved had an aggressive and fast-moving lymphoma. By the time it was discovered, it had already spread to his brain and spine.

Thirteen days after the diagnosis, he died.

In between, he had time to receive many calls and visits from friends and family, some of whom traveled hundreds (and thousands) of miles to see him. His last lucid days were spent reminiscing happily with us all.

As difficult as it was to accept that my husband would be leaving me, I loved him enough to accept that he accepted it and to be there for him as I promised: for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, til death.

The remainder of 2012 was hard for my daughter and I. Healing is a continuing process but I am thankful I am no longer the woman I was in those first dark days/weeks/months following my husband's death.

I am thankful for wonderful memories of the years my daughter and I shared with a kind and loving husband and father. He was my best friend. And now he is literally the man of my dreams as he visits me in my dreams quite often. 

Although I still cry when I think about how much I miss my sweetie, I don't cry every time and I no longer cry every day. Life moves forward...

It took a lot of love and prayer to help us move through to where we are now. My daughter and I remain thankful to everyone who helped and who continue to help in ways big and small. Despite what I believed before, I have now seen first hand that we do not know who will be there for us when we need until the need occurs.

It was impossible to crochet while my husband was sick. After he died, I wanted to but couldn't. My spirit was at a low ebb and so much more was important and urgent.

Almost nine months later, my creativity reawakened. Slowly but definitely. I know my husband watches with a smile. He was my biggest fan; my loudest cheerleader. In everything I did, he encouraged me to do better and more because he knew I could.

So in gratitude, I return to crochet, write, update, carry on.

Amen.

A change will do you good.

The year 2011 has been a year of Change for me.

Lots of old energy cleared out and great new things have come to fill the voids.

Amen!

I think it's time for a new name and a new design for this blog.  :)

Stay tuned...

***

Craft Hope's Friendship Bracelet Project : days 22-27

I now have a total of 328 friendship bracelets and there are seven more crochet days on my calendar.

Here are the most recently completed bracelets.

 

***

Craft Hope's Friendship Bracelet Project : days 15-21

I crocheted 48 bracelets in a 7-day period. Not my minimum hoped-for output but I'm getting it done. Part of the problem is feeling like I want them all to look different.

Wellllllllllllllll, I do realize that's not gonna happen but it's still flitting around in the shadows of my mind.

Any whoooo, the latest bracelets bring my total to 236.

Approximately.

And here they are:

***

Craft Hope's Friendship Bracelet Project : days 11-14

Bracelets x 30 = lots of friendship!

***

Hyperbolic Bliss

I took a break from crocheting the Friendship Bracelets for a few days.

During the break, I organized the bracelets. It took a few hours to measure, sort according to length, then bag according to length. I hope that helps make the distribution process easier for those who give them to the children in Russia.

While I was sorting, I decided to crochet my second hyperbolic ball of bliss.

Here it is:

The pattern can be found here: The Rambling Rose. Thank you Julee!

I love this pattern so much that I might be crocheting hyperbolic balls of bliss all summer.

***

Craft Hope's Friendship Bracelet Project : days 7-10

The project has become an obsession of sorts. I've tossed my 10-a-day quota out the window. Instead I just crochet until I get tired.

The decision was a good one as it has resulted in a burst of productivity. However, I know there will be days I don't overachieve as much *chuckle* so I guess I'm getting a head start on myself.  lol

Without further ado, the bracelets.

Total bracelets to date: 153.

***

Craft Hope's Friendship Bracelet Project: day six

More bracelets crocheted in the wee hours:

Total: 80

***

Craft Hope's Friendship Bracelet Project:: day five

Yesterday I was so busy celebrating Mother's Day that I didn't make any bracelets. I made up for it after midnight, when I started crocheting with a gusto.

I meant to do 20 bracelets but ended up with 21.  *chuckle*

Which is okay. I just need to keep a running tally.

It's possible that I'll make an additional 10 tonight. I'll make more if possible.

Today's haul:

Current total: 69 friendship bracelets.

Gotta add these to the bag with the others.

***

Craft Hope

Are you interested in crafting for a good cause?

Are you looking for a(nother) good cause to craft for?

Have you heard about Craft Hope?

Craft Hope "is a love inspired project designed to share handmade crafts with those less fortunate. It is our hope to combine our love for crafting and desire to help others into a project to make a difference around the world."

Their projects are awesome and their dedication to helping and sharing is awe-inspiring.

I'm crocheting friendship bracelets for their Project #12, to benefit children living in orphanages in Russia.

If you're interested in this project or you just want to see the other cool projects Craft Hope facilitates, check out their blog here: Craft Hope. And their Facebook page here: Craft Hope on Facebook.

Here are pictures of the bracelets I've crocheted so far, 48 and counting.

Darius's Royal Flush Scarf.

In late October 2009, our family went to lunch at Showmar's. It's one of our favorite places to eat, though it's been several months since we've eaten there.

On one occasion neither my husband nor I had any cash to tip our waiter, Darius. So I offered to crochet a warm scarf for him. He said yes.

I put the photo and pattern on Ravelry soon after. And just now, I remembered that we aren't supposed to include patterns in our Ravelry notes. We're supposed to have a link to the pattern, for either a page or a PDF file.

So I'm gonna put the pattern here so I can make this post the link "page".

All terms used are American English crochet terms.

Darius's Royal Flush Scarf

















Materials Needed:

• yarn of your choice (I used Red Heart Grande Craft Yarn)
• hook to match choice of yarn (I used a 9 mm -- aka M/N hook)
  
• tapestry needle to weave in ends (optional)

Finished size will depend on the dimensions you want.

Gauge is not important for this project.

Skill Level: Beginner

sc = single crochet
sk = skip


Pattern:

1. In multiples of 2 + 1, chain desired number of stitches.

2. Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook. Continue sc to end of row. Ch 1, turn.

3. Row 2: Sc in 2nd sc. *Ch 1. Sk next sc. Sc in next ch. Repeat from * to end of row. Ch 1, turn.

5. Row 3: In this row, *sc in ch 1 sp(ace), ch 1, sk next sc. Repeat from * to end.

6. Rows 4-end: Repeat Row 3 to desired length of scarf. Cut yarn and weave in ends.

I've only made this scarf once so if there are any errors, please let me know so I can make corrections.

Thanks and enjoy!

***

Today I am...

... meeting with a gentleman who I hope will hire me as part-time creative director for a project he's working on.

In this capacity, I will have the opportunity to make purchasing decisions as well as sell my own crocheted household and (possibly) personal items.

I am thankful.

Amen.

***

Busier and busier.

Wow!

It's been over a year since I've posted anything here.

:(

But it's because I've been a busy busy crafting lady.

I've made a few pieces of beaded jewelry but mostly I've been crocheting.

Soooooooo many yards of yarn and thread have passed through my hands in a year's time.

Incredible. LOL

My daughter and I joined our local chapter of Newborns in Need several months ago. Membership has been keeping me busy with my hooks and yarn. I've made baby washcloths (and am currently making more) and bookmarks so far.

My current projects:
ng. :o)

1. A set of coasters for my daughter's godmother. Got 2 done so far. :) Hope to have 6 similar to this: coaster.

2. Baby blankets #2 and #3, both of which I started months ago. One is a multi-colored granny square, seen here on Ravelry.

3. The other will be a light blue-with-white-trim blanket with a stitch pattern I can't recall the name of. (It's 6:35 a.m. right now...)

4. My daddy is waiting for me to finish his sun visor using this pattern: Vizor.

5. I'm working on a bottom-up crocheted triangle to insert in the side slit of a skirt I'm altering.

The washcloths need to be done before June 2. I'm using Hobby Lobby's "I Love This Cotton" in Woods Print and Spunky Print.

Found a Crochet Site I Really Like.

Update:

Oct. 12, 2010 11:51 a.m. 

Sadly, the Slip Stitch Crochet blog no longer exists. *sigh*

__________________________________________

My mom taught me to crochet when I was eight. Since then I've put the hook down and picked it up many times. 

My mom only taught me to chain. Over time, I learned the rest from library books and other crocheters. After a long break from crocheting, I picked my hook up again a few years ago. 

For the most part, I had avoided reading patterns because they always seemed to leave me frustrated. But the past year or so has been a really big one for me in terms of what I'm learning in crochet. I became willing to take my time with crochet definitions and learned to read patterns better. The result is that I've been able to make lots of fun new things. 

I've also joined a few needlework groups -- one specifically for crocheters -- that have not only inspired me to crochet more and better but have also expanded my social circle. Today in my travels on the internet, I came across Slip Stitch Crochet. 

If you want to take your crocheting skills to the next level, go check it out. I was surprised at what I read there. While I'm not ready yet to delve into slip stitch crochet, I know that one day I'll have more time to sink my hooks into it. 

In the mean time, I'll be admiring it from afar and passing on the URL to every hooker I know. 

Help has arrived.

For those of you who, like me, just could not decipher patterns written in the crochet symbols shorthand, I would like to tell you that help is here. 

Today I stumbled across this wonderfully transparent explanation by Faye over at crochet by faye. Here it is: Symbols - criptic or logical? Thanks Faye! 

Now I need to take the time to sit down with a pattern written only in symbols to see if I can understand it well enough to actually make something. 

Let us pray. 

Link to photos of my tiny little baby hats on Ravelry

Who knew making hats could be so easy? I surely didn't! 

 My Knit One, Save One hats. 

 ___________________________________ 

Oct. 10, 2010 1:23 a.m. 

Ahhhh well... 

I just realized you can't see my tiny little baby hats on Ravelry.com unless you already have a Ravelry account. Ravely.com is free and it's fun. If you don't have an account, why not? 

If you do have one, log in to see my tiny little baby hats. 

Either way, here are a few:

Crocheting for charity

Last year I crocheted for two charities. It was my first time participating in such a way. I felt good, knowing that things I created with my two hands and one brain would be appreciated and welcomed by someone somewhere on the planet. 

The two charities I crocheted for were Save the Children and the Special Olympics. I sent in 13 tiny little baby hats for Save the Children's "Knit One, Save One" campaign. Nine (crocheted) hats were mine and 4 (knitted) came from a member of a needlework group I belong to. The 2009 Winter Special Olympics received 4 scarves from me, mailed this year but at least two were started last year. I have photos somewhere... I'll post here when I find them. 

Someone once said that helping others is good for the soul. Who ever they are, they were right. I might never know what baby will wear one of my hats but somehow, our lives will always be bonded. And I might not ever know the athlete who will wear one of the scarves I crocheted but I hope he or she will love it as soon as s/he lays eyes on it, and feel like it was made especially for him or her. My heart is full and I was thankful for the opportunities to help. 

I look forward to doing more crocheting for charity in 2009. 

Amen.

I joined Ravelry!

First I joined the Charlotte Purls.

For a few sessions, that is.

I'm not sure if I'm officially a member yet.

Most of them (all?) are Ravelry members and someone suggested I join Ravelry too. So I did.

It is just all kinds of fun!

I didn't make these but...

...they are just tooooo cute!




Go check them out here: Nicnats at Etsy.