:: 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!!!!

:: Newtown Ct. ::

There isn't much that anyone can really express but sadness, anger, frustration, and a very deep sense of loss, after the
horrible tragedy which took place today at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Ct.

I can only hope that we can all as a nation get on bended knee and ask the Lord to bring comfort to the families of all the victims during this difficult time.





Anna E. DeSoto

Hiya!!!!

Hello everyone!
I've ( this blog) been experiencing a few technical difficulties lately, so if you are reading this that means that the problem has been fixed, and I will soon return to my wregular writing wroutine. :). Hehehe

Bye for now!!! Have a great day!!!!

:: Chicago bound, and Roses from England ::

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. :)
I know I know, my posts have been very few and far between lately. I'm still in sort of a slump, but maybe what I need is a change of scenery.

This week has been sort of bitter sweet,
For one I've been fighting a flu since Sunday (bitter)

On the other hand, I've been in total grandma bliss, my granddaughter has been visiting us from Arizona. (Sweet).
I have had a lot of hugging and playing to make up for. It's been almost a year since I last saw her ( custody battles are always heart breaking), but I'm taking full advantage!!!!

And to add to the sweet part, this week I received a beautiful card from my friend Lory all the way from England. It is always nice to open ones mail box and find a hand written envelope.
Thank you so much Lorybelle for your sweet and thoughtful words. They really brought a smile to my face. :)

Now, for that change of scenery, well, next Wednesday, I will taking a much needed trip to the Windy City, I have been preparing for about a month or so, you know trying to lose a few pounds, crocheting warm things to wear and things like that. But the only thing that worked out is my oh so simple neck warmer. After looking through my stash and feeling all the wonderful alpaca, wool, silk, cotton, and yes, acrylic blends, I decided to go with this humble 100% cotton, yes, you know the kind we make wash cloths out of. It's very simple, easy to care for, and just the right shade of taupe, it goes with my Chicago wardrobe.
Anyway, about my trip. I will be attending a family wedding on the 20th, but in order to spend precious time with my parents and family I'm leaving a week earlier then my husband. I'm hoping to get in a bit of the museums, stroll Lake shore drive, a little shopping on Michigan ave. and soak in a bit of the local color. My parents live in an awesome neighborhood called Bucktown/Wicker Park. (Don't know how to link on my smartphone, but you can google it if you like) And of course I will visit a few of the LYS. All in all I hope to have a good time. Even if I don't get to do all of the above mentioned, it will be enough to just be with family.

I guess I'll keep prepping for my trip. See y'all soon!!!

P.S. I do make my blog rounds, I'm amazed at how many of you keep up.
It's great to read all your wonderful posts.