Hello From Phoenix

I have no photos to share with you right now because I left my camera back in the hotel room. I haven't seen my sister in five years.....five years. My great nephew is twice as tall as the last time I saw him. My brothers are here and my older sister's plane was delayed twice but she should be here soon. It's a sibling family reunion!!!


Nicole asked a question in the comments and I need to answer it - OK, she asked several and I need to answer them all.


Question 1: Do I stay with the trusty knit stitch? Not always. I did in the one that's pictured in the last entry but the stitches can vary however you decide.


Question 2: Do I stay with the same needle size? Again, you can switch it up anyway you like and that would really make it interesting because the larger the needles, the lacier the work. I don't know of one where I changed the needle size.


Question 3:Do you use whatever yarn suits your fancy? Indeed I do! What I will do is take an empty bag - like a huge storage bag - and go through my stash and just fill it up with whatever I put my hands on (unless I am going for a certain color then it's whatever yarn of that color I put my hands on) then I pull one out, use it for a few rows, then put it in another empty bag, and use another one.

Question 4: Do I follow a pattern? I look at a pattern then do what I want.

The fun thing is to do what you want how you want. There really are no knit police or we all would be in the knitter jail - just do what you feel like doing - if that means following a pattern, then do it!

I am going to have a soda and spend some time with my sister and brother. I will take some photos and show them when I get back because I forgot to bring the cord that will let me upload them - hey, it was a good thing I remembered the camera!

What's Up With That?

I am in an uncharacteristically bad mood. I woke up with a headache and I went to bed frustrated because...well...I'm not quite sure why.

I know I was feeling a little put out because I stepped away from writing something yesterday and when I came back - a scant few minutes later - there was a man sitting at my computer. My knitting/crocheting didn't go at all well and I always feel a little funky before I go away from home.

I was trying to get myself out of it and then I remembered a line from 'Kingdom Come' which I am going to paraphrase. Sometimes you don't fix things that are wrong sometimes you 'just let it be broke a little while." I am not going to try and talk myself into feeling better. I also will not try and stay in this bad mood. I am going to let it live and see if there is something else within me that will either encourage it to stay or move along. That will tell me a little bit about myself.

Today is my free day. The day I can eat whatever I want and I've already had my sugar fix and I think I'm good. I've finally gotten myself into the groove of it and it is going rather well. Not quite three weeks and the results have been good. Must thank the fabulous Melissa for inspiring me onward.
This afghan, the Bohemian Throw, was 'sold' to the church and given to a wonderful woman named Mary who is moving back to her home in Virginia after being in this area for about 40 years and our church for five or six. Mary has one of those gentle spirits that make you know there are really nice people in the world - and you're not one of them but may consider it for the future.

I am also getting prepped for my next sermon which is to be delivered on May 22 and will be centered on 1 Peter Chapter 2:5-10, especially vs 9-10. Being a chosen people. We are still in the Easter season - the time of sacrifice, resurrection and ascension. And perhaps that's what I am mentally going through. It will be better. Maybe this afternoon. Maybe tomorrow. But it will be better and that's enough to know.

This Week's Top Ten List

It's an interesting morning so far - Mr. Honey is home and there are three police cars outside the house - though the two event are unrelated. But something is going on next door at the newlyweds house - that can't be good.

Atutudes Twilight TuTu by Atutudes. I don't really know if I like the tutu or the mannequin. Either way it make the list.
Original B&W Art by Sometimesiswirl. This is one of those things that just hits you. Don't know why. But then, don't need a reason why.
Angel and Owl by artbykatya I like the colors of this. As always, I am in awe of folks who can paint and draw. My paint by numbers kits come out looking like a Rorschach drawing.
Handmade Shea Butter Soap by Soap Deli - Besides looking really cool, I just got a book on making soap so it's on my radar.
Red Riding Hood Heart by Classic Keepsakes - I was just thinking I had made it through half the list and not a piece of jewelry in sight and this smoky red beauty showed up!

The cars are still there but the bride just showed up and she and my neighbor went into the house with the police. Boy, Wisteria Lane comes to Chicago. In other news, our Easter service was really good. We are slowly getting more folks into the church and the service itself is really meaningful. I feel more spiritually involved and considering I don't have a great attention span, that's pretty good.

Mustard Yellow Bag by marbled - Not a tote bag but then I never said I loved only tote bags.
Nuage Cowl by Tickled Pink Knits - Cowls are cool (and warm) I like this because of the simple texture.
Quartz and moonstone earrings by aubepine I have a pair similar to these in a different color. These would catch the light and be fabulous!
Crochet Doily by Crochet Style - see, this is the kind of talent that makes you want to go up and slap somebody.
Peridot earrings by Annalis Jewelry - and they come in green, too! Brava!!

Well, the cars have gone, the street is clear and it looks like everything is back to normal. Duke was outside the whole time and he wasn't barking like a banshee so whatever it was didn't excite him and so it probably wasn't much of anything - as much as that can't be anything with three police cars and a half dozen police officers - most of them female, by the way.

I completed another square and another slouch beret. Today I am working on crocheting a bikini - yes, you read it right - I am crocheting a bikini. Live in fear.

Eighth Day

I want you to close your eyes and imagine it is day eight. The very first day eight. You've created the world and you're coming back after the first weekend. Day eight. Close your eyes and view the world you created.

Are there flowers? Water? Is it a lake or an ocean? Is there a waterfall? Are there trees lush and green? Grass that won't ever need cutting and a expansive, cloudless blue sky?

Where's the canyon? You didn't create a canyon? This is why, as often as we play at it, we are not really God. Only God would think to create a canyon and make it as vastly beautiful and breathtaking as that hole in the ground in the place we call Arizona.

Before God (or whomever) created us, he created a place for us to be. We were given a place to plant our feet. We have something firm holding us up while we reach for that which is above us. Hard to imagine we are all on a ball floating in a sky surrounded by a bunch of other balls circling a huge ball of fire and heat.

The same sky and wind that brings a refreshing drizzle can create an awesome tsunami. The heat and light that brings forth our food can also ignite a blaze that with all our technology still takes weeks to bring under control. It works in balance with itself and the time continuum is altered only when man does something to make life easier for ourselves.
The creation of the Earth is the single most awesome thing that ever was.

Before God created us He created a place to put us. A place that we were commanded to take care of because in doing that we would be sustained. God created neither house, sidewalk or street, but a home nonetheless that carries his breath within it. Just like us.

And so we should care for it. We should do what we can to preserve and maintain the first thing God ever created and found good. We may not be able to take ourselves back from the technology we've created - and in truth, none of us want to - but we can be conscious that when we take oil from the earth and replace it with nothing, we have changed the construction of our home. Since we cannot do with it then we should use it efficiently when we drive or heat our homes.

We can all do something to sustain and protect the air, the sky, the sea and the land. It doesn't have to be a grand gesture. Turn out the lights. Take public transportation a couple times a month. Plant a salad and patronize stores that feature locally grown fruits and veggies. Really, something we do can be altered and done in a way that sustains the earth and doesn't put us out at all.

Earth does not come in generic form. It is our duty and our privilege to take care that the beauty of the first day is there on the last day and that we don't hurry that day along because we did not do what was commanded of us.

Stand in the rain. Hug a tree. Happy Earth Day.

Sigh...

There is a new crochet hat sitting on the ottoman waiting to be photographed. In fact, there are several things waiting to be photographed. Yesterday I was logging in my completed items and making a list and I found some finished projects that I knew were somewhere. I also found some yarn.

I am just not in the mood for the photos - wait, I did promise I would show the completed homespun afghan: When I completed the afghan and went to fold it up, I discovered a hole. I think it happened when I was cutting ends and I cut something that should not have been cut. It took some clever mending for me to fix it. The hole was in the light blue section - do you see the hole? No - you don't see the hole. It appears what I did was cut the join when I ran out of yarn - what a dip - and I crochet/knit it all together. After I tried different things like Tunisian crochet and regular crochet. The picture really does not do the colors justice - I've done this afghan maybe three or four times before and this one is the most stunning. It's also the smallest, making it more of a throw than an afghan.

Mr. Honey has given his notice at his job. Working three years after being retired has worn thin. So starting next week he will be home.

Help me, please.

He will be home. When I wake up - he will be there. No more quiet mornings. He will be here. No more leisurely listening to my radio in bed and padding off to the bathroom when I feel like it. He will be here. He will be at my laptop so I will have to fire up the computer in the office so I will have a place to work.

Now, we all know I love me some Mr. Honey - but he's coming back and changing around the calm atmosphere I have developed. I don't quite know how I am going to handle it. This adjustment will be harder on me than it will be on him. Perhaps I will have to visit more knitting places.

I just got a package with my books in it from a craft book club. There's a story there and I can tell it later.

This Week's Top Ten List

I can't even begin to tell you about this week. Twice I've woken up and thought it was Saturday. I have only three sales for the year and I'm piling up finished objects! I think it's a good week - it's always a good week to show what artisans are up to:

Newsboy Cap by Captured Imagination - These are just cute - not as cute as mine, of course- but cute.

Beanie by Lusted to Wander - I can just see this on a little head looking good and feeling fine!

Crochet Floppy Hat by Green Valley Crochet - I would love to be able to make this kind of hat. Maybe one day. In the meantime, this one is pretty nice.

Flower and Bee Necklace by Eclectic Bijoux - I like this because so it's so whimsical.

Rose Turquoise Earrings by ildikojewelry Love the color, love the length, love the look - and isn't that what you need to love about jewelry?

Like I've said, I've been busy this week. I'm in that mood to do more than one project at a time and this is what I've accomplished:

Who knew making leaves would be so much fun and also so satisfying? I don't know if it's because I have that little voice inside my head that says it might not be as easy as it looks or what. I don't know but I loved making these. I have the pattern memorized so I can whip these out wherever, whenever. That's a fun thing. What am I going to use them for? They can sell as embellishments and that's how I am going to use them. I already have several ideas....

I also finished the homespun afghan but will place that pic up at a later time - don't want to show you all the goods at one time.

Let's finish the list.

Infinity scarf by Miss Priscilla Pomeroy - It's lovely and it's $150.

Shawl by Vara - Crazy, Sexy, Cool!!

Red Cherry Earrings by Room of Your Own - I'd eat them but then I couldn't wear them!

Crochet Pin by By Sweet Mom - It doesn't have to bling to be bling. This is fiber bling.

Cowl and Glove Set by reflections by ds - I don't work with mohair much but this is a beautiful set and the pieces would look lovely on their own.

It's rainy and cold today. I wonder what it is we're doing to the earth - taking things out without putting things back. While I ponder that, you can shop locally - and handmade - and not only will that help the economy, it will help the planet. It's the only one we have.

Back To The Future

We had dinner at Ruby Tuesday last night and they have changed their menu and their atmosphere a little. They are going towards being just a tad more upscale while staying neighborhood and family.

That burger was really good. It was an Alpine Swiss Burger. They do a nice burger at this particular RT and I had green beans and onion rings as my sides - it is not my fault they covered the vegetable with a really good, crunchy, tasty covering. I ordered it because it was a veggie. There are some new desserts on the menu and I was salivating over the cupcakes but I did not have any. One day a week I can eat whatever I want and that day is Monday. I will not be returning to RT to get the cupcakes - I had to think about it before reaching that conclusion.

I did return home and did some knitting. I made some progress on strip 3 of the afghan. I think with this afghan there are usually six or seven strips and it is likely to go that way again though I am doing something a little different. I am not making the strips the same width. I thought I'd play around with that a little so I have attached the first two strips already and I will have to measure when this one gets attached.

While working on the afghan (and watching Prince Caspian) I felt the urge to have some crafting success so I turned to crack crochet and I came up with these little beauties:
I also made double thick scrubbies to go with them. I just tickled myself all to heck last night (this morning) making them. I actually had a smile on my face. I imagined placing them out for sale at the craft shows (that are coming up in just six months - I better get a move on!) and people gobbling them up. I happily returned to my afghan after working on them.

Today I am working on one of the squares afghan and I just happen to be doing a crochet square and while I am enjoying it, not the high I got from making the super scrubbies. I am actually looking forward to having both hands filled with a needle.

There will be things to do this weekend. I am attending a concert by a wonderful pianist - Chulei Wang at Concordia University and Sunday we are knitting in a bar - don't tell me tough girls don't knit! I am looking forward to going to a new place and knitting in public.

The weather is supposed to be all over the map this weekend. Despite the conditions of the sky, I hope your spirits are all sunny and warm today and over the weekend!

We Take Them Where We Find Them

Don't ask me what I've been doing today cuz I don't know. I remember making myself get up - I went to bed before midnight, which on my planet, means getting out of bed nine hours later. That's right. The earlier I go to bed the later I wake up. I cannot explain this myself.

I know I went to the store. I purchased my breakfast, lunch and snack meals for the week having run out of all of the same. (I had a very good week diet wise. So much so I was in the bathroom every couple of hours the past few days. No, the blood sugar levels are fine and I actually have been eating more roughage and protein, less of the simple carbs and processed stuff. I need to drink more water - odd given how close the bathroom and I have become this week.)

I've hardly watched the t and v and I've knit just a couple of rows of the next strip in the homespun afghan and yet here it is in the early evening and I have no idea where I've been.

I did, however, while watching Loving Leah, fringe the poncho:
I said I would like it better once I put the fringe on it and this has turned out to be the case. So I will accept this feel good moment.
Let me just give a shout out to the Joann people. They have redone some of their fiber. This one is called Sumptuous and it is a knock off of Lion Brand Thick and Quick. It costs the same as the national brand but you get 1.5 times more yarn and it's rather nice to work with. I'm saying if they get a worsted weight yarn that can give I Love This Yarn a run for the money, they will have something. ILTY is truly great but Hobby Lobby keeps raising the price. They need some competition! Joann could give it to them.

Tonight is date night (Ruby Tuesday) and then I will come back and hopefully get some knitting in while watching shows recorded to the DVR and a movie before going to bed. I'm sure this has been a good day - if only I could remember it!

Petals, Petals, Petals

These are just so cute! Miss Marge called me a couple of weeks ago and asked me to make some kind of flower for the greeters to wear at church. I didn't understand it but Miss Marge told me to do it - so I did. We started the greeters this last Sunday and last Sunday morning I made two of them. Put a safety pin in the back and I wore one (because I was a greeter) and gave the other one to the other greeter.

They were a hit. I don't understand that, either. But they are awfully cute and I can see using these as embellishments for afghans, tee shirts, you can even string them together to make a necklace. The colors just make you happy - OK, you may be more normal than me - they make me happy.

The poncho is off the needles and I need another skein to do the fringe and it needs to be seriously blocked. I expected it to be longer and it fits the mannequin perfectly but somehow it still doesn't look quite right. But maybe after the fringe and the blocking. I will take the photo of it then. Another afghan has taken its place.

So, on the needles: two squares/blocks afghan and the homespun afghan - I've moved into an afghan phase, I guess. There are now 12 squares completed and even though I am continuing with the squares because I am doing two block afghans I am getting really eclectic and not keeping the squares from one book assigned to one afghan. I am going to mix them together and create something altogether different. Cause that's how I roll.

Donald Trump? Seriously?

This Week's Top Ten List

We will not be visiting a particular city today - though I am curious about Fairfax, Green Bay and Houston - but instead, I'm feeling a little bit of wanderlust and looked a little hither and a little yon for this week's top ten:

Dragonfly Charm from shareliving I like these because I can imagine incorporating them into my knitting/crochet. Either on a square in an afghan or as an embellishment on a hat or scarf.

Tea Pot Charms by mksupplies I can definitely see these on tea cozies or mug cozies. What? It's not my fault I ran into two charm stores.

The Cheese Stands Alone by beanforest It was really hard to pick which one of these I wanted to feature. If you want to have some quick laughs, check out the other buttons in the shop!

Groomsmen ties by toybreaker The motto of the shop is 'ties that don't suck' and they hold true to that. There are some beautiful ties here that would make any Father's Day instantly better.

Crochet Beanie by hblackberry - hunh.


I am oh so glad to be back in the house (I will not venture into my backyard with taking my keys unless I know Mr. Honey is no where in the domicile!) I've been a little hat crazy lately and now that all six of the heads have a hat on them my momentum may have been broken a little. I just put a poncho on the needles yesterday. So now I have a poncho and two afghans going - I also had to make some flowers for church yesterday and I knocked those off and want to do some more because they were fun and quick - I told you, crack crochet - I am working on the homespun afghan today. Nice to be busy!


Toddler Bling by dara43 - OK, these are too cute!

Mustache on a stick by maro designs - again, hunh

Rosette Vintage Earrings by bazaar latino - OMG, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna!!

Scrabble Cufflinks by Cuff links - Come on now, know someone who's an English Teacher or involved with words?

Love Potion Necklace by mylavaliere - This is vintage, retro fresh and intriguing. I would absolutely wear it!


There it is! This week's top ten list. Just goes to show you it takes all kinds to make a crafty type of world. The weather is cooler than the last couple of days but they were too warm for the season. This is just about right and I'm really sleepy! Didn't sleep very well last night so hopefully I will make up for it tonight. If I don't fall asleep right now. Which I can ill afford to do because there's so much on my plate this evening - including cooking dinner!

Well, maybe a little nap.

Details

These little things matter. These two hats were made in 24 hours. I started the one on the left at about 2 yesterday afternoon at StitchCraft and finished it at about 5. The one on the right was started this morning and took about 2 hours. The same pattern using the same size hook. So why the yarn difference and why is the one on the right looser and slightly more slouchy than the one on the left?

Cotton. The difference is cotton. The one on the right is made of cotton. It went across the needle much more smoothly - and I used an acrylic hook to slow it down a little. If I were using an aluminum hook it would have been sliding all over the place.

This also tells me I should go down a hook size when using cotton and trade that J hook in for an I hook - perhaps just for the decreasing and brim parts.

I had the urge to use up the Homespun yarn that's lying around and I tried making a hat with that but it came out big enough to fit the Stay Puff man so I started another afghan - the kind that has always sold. The first strip is already done and I know it's going to be gorgeous.

Today the weather is beautiful and I decided to go out and crochet the above hat. I loved sitting in the fresh air. Mr. Honey came out and played with the dog for a few minutes and then went inside. When I was ready to come inside, I went up the steps and tried to open the backdoor.

Locked.

Not the first time he's done that. So I walked around to the side door.

Locked. Rang the doorbell.

No answer.

Looked out front. My His car is gone.

I will not mention the name I called him but it was neither Mr. nor Honey.

Did I mention I needed to go to the loo? He arrived a few minutes later and noticed the look on my face and when I asked him if he thought it was a good idea to lock me out. He said: "I did? I'm sorry, honey, I really didn't mean to do that."

How does that work? Let's see: I never go out of the house without bringing the dog in but the wife is in the backyard with the dog - right then, I'll just lock up and go.

I think we need to have his levels checked. I tell ya, if he wasn't such a good Mr. Honey the rest of the time I'd be checking nursing homes.

Crack Crochet

It's a little dark but obviously it's a hat. The thing about crochet is that it's so quick. This took less than three hours so why not make them? You get an accomplishment fix fairly quickly and that calms you down so you can get on with the more involved stuff. Crochet is crack. You pick it up and it seems innocent enough and you get that first project done in a small amount of time and you have to do it again just to make sure it wasn't a fluke and before you know it, you're hitting the hook for a quick rush to a finished object. You can justify it by saying you will pick up the needles and knit but it has you and you both know it. I repeat, crochet is crack.

I want to tell you about this past Tuesday night. We are still doing the Lenten Soup suppers on Tuesdays (I've attended two of the four we've had and I intend on going to one of the two remaining.) This Tuesday we were at Elmwood Park UMC where my newest friend Audrey Molina is the pastor. Her husband is also a pastor and together they delivered the message on Tuesday evening going back and forth between English and Spanish - they moved between the two languages with beautiful ease. Some of our members are not fluent in English and I love hearing different languages. I took French in high school, you know, just in case the Parisians took over Chicago.

In any case, they talked about how the kingdom of God is already here and it is up to each of us as individuals and as a community to put that kingdom into action.

Every time you feed the hungry - you live in the kingdom of God
Every time you forgive - you live in the kingdom of God
Every time you lift someone up, every time you lend your heart, your hands, your service - you live in the kingdom of God.

And that God, who was above us and then among us is now within us.

I am in awe of those who obviously live their faith - mainly because I so obviously do not - but seeing their passion and connection with that entity that is both higher than us and within us - just calls to that void within me to be better.

Each time we live the kingdom of God in action, we let God out just a little bit more. Whether that connection comes through Buddha or the Baha'ullah or Christ Jesus, God out in the world and God in the world has to be better than the world without God. It has to be better - even for those who don't believe in anything.

It was a great and inspirational night and I understand a little better why I'm so drawn to Audrey's spirit - which is gentle and lovely and so very well connected with her husband's passionate spirit. I wish you could have been there.

The soup wasn't bad, either.

Back on the Block

Another block has been completed. I think it's number 12 - might be number 13 - there was another completed that I do not count because it is horrendous - even more horrendous than the one I did that I do count. This one has no cuteness about it. I am artistically challenged. Wait, that's a lie - I don't have enough skill to be artistically challenged. I do not have that gene, germ, synapse whatever is is that people have that helps them become artists. I do not possess it and it clearly does not possess me.

I am a mature woman. I know not all talents are given to all people so this serves as only the means which God is telling me not to apply to the Art Institute or even fill out that match book cover with the advertising 'can you draw me?' when it doesn't matter, if you say 'no, i can't' and send it back, you'll get an acceptance letter. You would. I would get a note saying 'thank God, we would have felt bad taking your money.'

The block is call Bobble Lace because there are bobbles all over it outlining the lace pattern. I am surprised it took only a couple of hours - I would have had it finished by the end of Prince Caspian but I had to take out a few rows near the end and redo them but it was finished only a couple of minutes after.



It was too early to go to bed - a decision I regret as I fall asleep at my laptop - and I looked over a cap I crocheted the night before. I looked it over and decided I could design a slouch beret. Really, how long would it take me? I had an idea in my head and all I needed to do was to start crocheting.

I finally crawled into bed a little after 2 (my usual time but I was tired. Brain freeze. Thinking at that hour of the day is unadvised.) I was up and dressed by 9:30 this morning and came downstairs to finish it off and this is the result though you can't see all of it. The back has similar lace like at the brim with the double crochets in the middle. And it can be slouched or worn like a flapper. I even wrote down the pattern. Now all that is left is to get it tested on Ravelry to see if it makes sense and then I can type it up with the last one I did (the Glee hat) and start selling both of them.

Yeah, that's all. I don't know what gets into my head sometimes but it would be nice if common sense made an appearance. Just on odds it should happen a couple of times a year.

What if it happened already? Did I miss it? Nah, I would have blogged about it.

This Week's Top Ten List

I know the last time I wanted to visit some place for the Top Ten, it was Denmark but I decided to stay stateside this time and visit Detroit - if Eminem can do it, so can I.

Gold Tear Drop Earrings by LadyKJewelry - It's not my fault we start with earrings. These are simple yet stunning.

Nautical Silver Earrings by elisadezignz. Oh, it seems we have some really good jewelry makers in Detroit. It would be wrong of me not to show you what there is and I like these. They're nice and shiny.

Multi Color Turquoise Necklace by StyleKittie - Hey, it's not a pair of earrings. It is a colorful necklace that I can imagine on my neck!

Angel Bead Charm by Silver Heart Studio - I can see this being used in my needlework as a charm on a square or being used as a stitch marker.

Bridesmaid Tote by Memorable Weddings - Now, this is pretty clever. Your bridesmaid tote can hold the spare pair of flats, makeup and other stuff your girl will need for the rehearsal and the big day.

At least one more square has been added to the pile and I finished an 'L' shape shawl and a crochet slouch. i did another count to see if hats had started to outsell every thing else and the answer is no. Afghans are still the thing that sales the most. Hats are second but prayer shawls are coming up fast - who knew? I am thrilled that my afghans sale but they do take some time to be created. (I now have two going - the blocks and one that reminds me of a honeycomb.) You gotta give the people what they want.

The second half of the list finds us leaving Detroit for the great city of Eugene, Oregon. (So many cities, so few days to blog!)

flower Beanie by nixie made - The hat is really cute and the kid is looking like she wants to be somewhere else.

Shabby Flower Garden by Now and Then Quilts - Anyone who can make a quilt has my respect but making one like this is really great. This is vintage right off the bat!

Butterfly Tiara by Butter Kisses - Completely bohemian! This would look good with jeans or with a flowing dress.

Granny Square Bedspread by Forever Design - Can you imagine the work? Neither can I. This had to be started in 1968.

Moon and Stars by bongo beads - Who uses quarters for these? Well, I guess when you sell one you've made it back and more!

If it is at all possible, remember to at least look at local artisans for gifts and other items. Nothing sparks the economy more than patronizing local businesses. What goes around the neighborhood comes around the neighorhood!