Spring in my backyard

Hello my dear friends!

I hope that this spring has brought newness and freshness to everyone.
I realize that many of you are still dealing with the tail end of winter. I know last week my family in Chicago was still dealing with freezing weather.
But take heart, spring always comes around, and when it does, it brings with it such beauty and a desire to start fresh, that its well worth the wait.

One of my favorite springtime events is watching my Wisteria bloom. First the velvety buds, then a flower or two, and before I realize it I step out of my back door and stand under a canopy of the beautiful lavender blue blooms that hang almost like bunches of grapes.
The scent is heavenly, and to hear the bees and bumble bees just buzzing and collecting pollen everywhere, is almost too much. I sometimes can't believe that all this beauty is in my own backyard!!!
I cannot even begin to describe the total loveliness, just beautiful blooms on bare wood, no leaves to distract or take away from their beauty.
I enjoy being in my backyard as much as I can, I try to sit out there to read, enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, or just sit and do absolutely nothing.
In a week or two, the blooms will all have fallen, (that's another beautiful stage, it's like flowers falling from the sky) and new leaves will start to grow. These will be our much needed summertime shade. This is the most beautiful climber I have ever seen anywhere.

So many other things going on in my backyard, and I will share them all with you over the next couple of weeks.

For now, I hope you all have a wonderful week, full of all of Gods
awesome creations.


Hugs and hugs to all!!!!

:: A little bit of this and that ::

Hello my dear friends!


Once again I've gone and disappeared for a bit. I really don't know what it is lately, maybe I get too busy with my hook and needles that everything else just gets put on the back burner ( on low). I really don't know what it is, but I can assure you, there is always yarn in my hands. I'm either crocheting or knitting something, as you can see from my pics. I'll share the completed pieces later.

Lately though, I decided to dust off the old sewing machine. I'll admit, I have sewn a few things which I have neglected to share. ( trust me, nothing too spectacular.). But lately I've been in kind of a recycling, restyling, repurposing kinda mood. You know how it is, you want to get rid of stuff, but then you start to think, hmm, how can I reuse this, or the fabric on this shirt is too nice to throw out, or or or...... Ya know.
Well, last week it came down to one pair of jeans! Yes my dears just one little pair that were still in really good condition but for some reason were not all that comfy. I really never wore them much. I'm a strong believer in spending a few more bucks for a well fitting comfortable pair of jeans. Soooo, I remembered that back in the 70's ( I'm giving away my age huh?) my sister and I got into the "turn- your- old- jeans-into a-skirt" craze.
I think we kinda went overboard and ended up with these horribly sewn denim skirt and no jeans to wear. Waa waa waa.
Anyway, armed with a bit more sewing experience, and a few hints from really good tutorials, I decided to try and recycle these barely worn pair of jeans.
And you know what? They're not turning out so bad. I'm not quite done with them yet, I still have to add a new waistband. And I'm trying to decide on weather to hem them, let them fray naturally, or crochet a nice little edging. I guess that'll be the last thing I'll do. I'll share when I'm done.
For now, back to finishing everything else. Sometimes I wish I were an octopus with hands and fingers. :-/

Well my dear friends, thank you so much for stopping by. I really do appreciate all of you. Hugs, and more hugs to all.

P.S, I apologize for the bad pics, I'm working on that, really. :)

:: One project at a time ::

Good morning friends,

Just a quick note to share one of my latest projects. I crocheted this fancy frock for my granddaughter from a pattern I found in one of my old Interweave crochet magazines. The only difference from the original is that I chose not to add the cap sleeves.
The bodice is simple double crochet, and the skirt is an open work stitch.
I lined the skirt with coordinating 100% cotton. ( fat quarters )
And voila!!!!
She loves it.

Have a great day everyone!!!

:: The sweater that never was ::

Hello my darlings,
I've been away too long. Sometimes I come to this little place that in the past was often updated and always visited, and wonder where have I been?
It's a bit stale and dusty this little bloggy space of mine. But here I go again! A new year, a new beginning.

Back in October I wrote about my trip to my hometown of Chicago. By the way, I took pics but since my camera stayed behind my phone pics were not good enough for posting.
Anyway, for my trip I decided to crochet myself a Bonnie new sweater. With much enthusiasm and very little time I started to crochet this wrap sweater from the stitch n' bitch book by Debbie Stoller. It seemed to be coming along just fine! But then I decided to try it on before I crocheted the lacy edge.
That's where everything short circuited.
OMG!!!!! It was horrible!!!! My gauge was good, it looked ok, but the fit was really awkward. Too snug in the under arms, the collar was kind of funky, and the sleeves made no sense at all !!!!
Don't get me wrong now, I'm not blaming the pattern, I must've done something terribly wrong!!!
So, after all that work ( more then three quarters of the way). I did the unthinkable, I frogged it!!!! It was very frustrating.
Not only that, but now I'm stuck with a gazillion skeins of red yearn that I wasn't even too sure about to begin with.
Enter, my little Ireland and her love of the color red. My daughter gave me a few ideas, and voila!!!! This little knitted tunic top was the result.
She loves it!!! And I loved knitting it.

One little problem, what will I make with the rest of that yarn? Red isn't exactly one of my favorite colors to wear. I guess I'll add it to the bottom of my stash, who knows what ideas Valentines day may bring. Well my dears, if you have any suggestions please feel free to share.

Have great weekend!!!! XOXOXO

:: Have a great and blessed new year :;

:: Merry Christmas ::

Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas!!!!

Feliz Navidad!!!!

~ My Goings On ~

Hello everyone!!!
I am so glad to be back to a [normal?]
routine.
Ever since my return from my mini Chicago vacation it's been a strange kinda time. First, there was Thanksgiving, then missing my family gets me down for a few weeks. I also had to deal with a broken finger, which made life a bit difficult for a while, but all in all I managed to get a few projects completed.
I'm sharing just a few today because I haven't yet taken pics of everything.

Lately I have been a bit "Cowl Crazy".
I just love making and wearing this very odd accessory. They knit up quickly in thick yarn, and are very much in vogue these days. The orangy one I made for my daughter from just one skein of homespun, the other, cest pour moi, that one from just one skein of loops and threads charisma.

I've also had time to whip up a cardi for my granddaughter Milla. This pattern is so cute, and oh so easy to knit!!! (I am not a knitter)
"In threes cardigan" you can find it on Ravelry.com
I made a second cardi for the little granddaughter but I'll show that later.

And last but not least, a quick and easy pair of slippers for the little one of course, at her request, mind you.
It hasn't been easy to knit or crochet lately, but where there is a will or a special request, there is a way.

As I write, I'm sitting on the floor surrounded by my yarn stash, man how it has multiplied!! I think I have gone overboard buying yarn lately, so one of my New Years resolutions is to use up all the yarn in my stash before I make any more purchases, ya think???

NOT!!!!!
I am already looking into some baby alpaca which I will order directly from Peru. Yes, I have the Peruvian hook ups ( no pun intended ).

Well my dears, I will stop for now.
(You can tell I've been gone too long huh?)

I hope everyone is having a calm and happy pre holiday week.
In the hustle and bustle of this joyous season pease remember to hug your loved ones a bit tighter, and smile at the stranger that passes you by.


Hugs and hugs for all!!!!