Crocheted memories......

A long time ago, a little girl who had been raised in a far away tropical land moved to a strange, new land named kansas. This litle girl did not know how to crochet. She went to college, got a career, married, and soon was expecting her first child. The little girl's grandmother was an avid crocheter/knitter. Soon, the grandmother's swollen, arthritic fingers were delving into creating a baby blanket for the newest clan member.
And so it went, the little girl was soon expecting a baby girl. The grandmother hurridly picked out yarn and started on the next blanket.


Now many years past, the little girl who has now lived in the strange land for 10 years, finds herself alone; raising 2 small children. The years are lean, but joyous. They are a happy little family. The little blankets follow them from apartment, to a cozy, cottage. In time, the girl meets another man, who she marries and thus one last move ensues. The new man tentaively sks,"Would you like to add to our family?",and the little girl, from the far, away tropical land proclaims "Yes!" Then the anticipation of the first new baby in 10 years begins, but alas, the little girl's grandmother passed away the year before. Who will take over the blanket-duty? Who will hurridly pick out just the right color and select the perfect pattern? The little girl's big sister, who is also a stranger in the new land, proudly steps forward and accepts the role as Master Baby Blanket-Maker.

Here is the first of her creations, for the long awaited baby boy.......

And here is the last of her creations, because, now there have been no new baby's for a long time in the family of the new, strange land.



But the story is not over yet! Do you remember that the little girl from the far away land did not know how to crochet or knit? She learned! She felt the need to feel the fibers through her fingers and create. She has now beome the Master Baby Blanket-Maker in the family. Even though the family does not need any baby blankets at this time, she makes them for friends and co-workers who are welcoming joyous babies into their lives.

I am the one who now hurries to the store to pick out the yarn.......
and select the perfect pattern..........
and begin the tradition again.........

Author's note: Sorry about such a long post today, I felt the need to share memories that were stirring. The first 2 blankets were made by my grandmother Candace. The next 2 by my big sis Cheryl, and the last I will share with you when it's complete, by me.

Baby Boy Blue Blankie

A 5th grade teacher in our building is getting ready to give birth to her second baby boy, so here is her blanket. This pattern is so mindless and I think its a perfect baby blanket pattern too.

*Caution* Mama Bragging moment ahead:

Trenton's bird sculpture:

Devin's Dog sculpture:

These were both displayed at our school's art fair and I was so proud.

Week in Review.........

Trenton before Trick or Treating:
Devin at school parade:

It was a good, fast week that ended with Halloween and Trick or Treating. We had parties at school on Friday and then came home for a couple of hours and went out door to door. The weather here was absolutely perfect. It was 70 degrees, no wind (in Kansas?) The boys made it for at least over an hour and came home with some heavy bags. They dumped it out on the floor and made a couple of piles: Good, Dad's, & giveaway. LOL.

I finished the baby blanket that I have been working on since Sept. I frogged the border twice. The first time I started with the wrong stitch and the next time it was too tight and made the blanket pucker all the way around. Now I am pleased with the result and will actually give it to the 3rd grade teacher in our building this coming week at her shower.

Close-up of border:
Entire blanket:

The pattern is from the 2008 365 Days of Crochet calendar and its Nov. 24th.

One more note, I completed and sold the other shrug and made a tidy little profit.

Mugsy made a treasury list on Etsy!

'Bright Bouncing Baby Boy' by aprilderek

A colorful collection to bring a bit of cheer into your nursery:)

Fun Felt Garland - ... tinamagee $19.00	Baby Bib - Zig Zag 38Stitches $7.50	Alphabet Set -Woode... aworkinprogres... $175.00	Personalized Boys R... AppleBlossomPr... $18.00
Wooden Teether Fox ... littlesaplingt... $12.00	Yellow Crochet Baby... DCREATED $49.00	Baby Boy Blanket Ba... HattieDesigns $28.00	Amigurumi Crochet P... FreshStitches $5.00
Little Guy HOLIDAY ... petitepeanut $13.00	vintage blue metal ... industrialreli... $24.00	Mugsee Uglee CarolineChrisc... $10.00	3 Pack SNUGS one si... andrea125 $39.00
Boys Nursery Tree a... wallartdesign $125.00	Fabric Bin Storage ... thespottedbarn $18.00	Adorable vintage Li... beggarsandchoo... $39.99	Baby Mobile in Colo... JennaEBee13 $55.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

New projects.......

Walking the long aisles at WalMart, I came across these:

Which led me to this:



Didn't they come out sweet? Now I have some perfect hostess gifts to take with me whenever I get invited somewhere.

Next is another circle shawl. I had such great success with this one. That when I walked into a yarn store in Blowing Rock, NC, this yarn spoke to me to make another. Here's the progress so far....
Close up of stitch and yummy yarn.....

Last, but certainly not least, the baby blanket maker is making another one. I am trying the Loops and Thread brand baby yarn from Michael's out on this one. I usually use Baby Bernat, but this yarn was cuddly and the color was cute. It's white with a blue and green fleck.

How do you like those freshly painted tootosies on the bottom...hee, hee!

Spring

Spring is here. Not only can you tell by the weather...its 60 plus today, but our schedules are so crammed full of stuff that I haven't had time catch my breath or a minute to blog.
I have been working on quite a few things. First, a blue baby blanket for a coworker due in June. I also made these fruit ami's from Ana Paula's book.
Lastly, the gals over at the ville remarked how much my first tiger ami looked like a mouse...soooooo, Ta Dah!

The other cool thing that happened this week was that we had a mini-shopping event in our school library . Lots of the girls encouraged me to bring a basket of my ami's to sell, so I did. Long story, short...I sold 6 of them. WooHoo! I made a whopping $42. But I'm happy, now I can get my toes done and thes's enough left for some more yarn!!!!! LOL

Pulling out all the Wips!

Fellow bloggers; we have been challeged by Greyt Balls of Yarn to scavenge through our stash and see how many projects we currently have in progress or have left behind. I'm pretty good about finishing most of my Wips up or frogging them and putting the yarn to good use another way. About once a year when I organize my stash, patterns, and magazines; I also make a list of all the projects I may have started and would like to finsih. That is when I frog or finish. So, without further ado...........


The JRT afghan:(currently on row 108 of 125, the end is in sight!)
A shrug, I really want to get this one done this year!!
Floaty fall scarf( From the autumn issue of Crochet Today!)

Started this for Devin's 2nd grade teacher who was pig crazy, well, Devin is in 3rd grade now...maybe I didn't finish this because I was winging it (no pattern!)...LOL

Granny baby blanket, raan out of yarn, need to go buy some with next Michael's coupon.

The Republic scarf from Ravelry is on my needles also, but I frogged it baaack to the first row becasue my gauge was off, so nothing much to see there.
There you have it my dirty laundry...er...my Wips, hung out there for all to see.
Happy MLK day!

Completed projects!

Hi all! I thought I'd take a few spare moments that I have at the end of the day and post 2 projects I completed over the weekend. The first Tah-Dah is the baby blanket I was working on. I love the colors and I think its going to be just perfect for the little boy its meant for.

The second project I stumbled across while I was "Pinteresting" early Sunday morning.

You can find her blog and the tutorial here. Mine is not near as cute as hers, I'm hoping mine will improve when I try again. Wish me luck!