Happy Pizza Friday Friends! I didn't have to work today which means that I've been able to spend all day playing around on my new computer and of course eating good food!  The new computer has proven to be a blessing.  I've been ready for a while and when the old laptop wheezed its last breath on Wednesday, there was no reason to put off getting a new one.  Setting it up was a breeze and I've been enjoying the new larger screen and clear, crisp colors.  Of course that meant that I had to do a lot of blog work. (Things look so different now!)  I'm happy about the changes that I've been able to make.  Subtle I think, but going a long way towards making it unique to me, and warmer and more inviting to you (I hope)!  There are always things popping up that I want to change, I have to remind myself that there's plenty of time and I don't have to do it all right now!

This evening it was time for a break and a bit of pizza to make the day complete.  This weekend I'm looking forward to working on my cardigan and putting together some bloggy goodness for next week.  I'm also getting into Crystal Garden so I need to be sure to make time for everything.
Happy weekend to you!
Until next time,
Be blessed and stitch & read with love!

1)    Are they a fan of hand-crafted items? ( Do they have them in their home, sing the praises of their latest purchase at the craft fair? Even go to the craft fairs? and so on)
2)    Have I ever seen them wear or use a hand-made item?
3)    Are they a crafter of any kind (who understands how long it actually takes and how much it really costs to make nice things)?
4)    Why did I put them on the list? (Because I truly want to make something for them or because I feel obligated to give them a gift and they might like something I make?)

It was an interesting process.  Enlightening in fact as I thought about my people a bit more closely.  I also had to remind myself of my own limitations.  Because my intentions will often be grand, but my reality falls short of being able to create masterpieces for everyone!  With all of this information churning about in my brain I allowed adequate time for rumination.  After a draft and an edit I give you the final cut!

• J. - My hubby who loves (and wears!) anything I make for him
• S. - My teenage son.  He asked for a vest (bless his heart he's a bit of a geek like me!)
• Mom B. - My Mother-in-Law who loves hand-made and loves me too!
• Dad B. - My Father-in-Law an outdoors man and gardener who appreciates hard work
• Aunty A. - Fabulously fun with lots of flair and style
• Sis S. -My Sister-in-Law who's making a fresh start and I want to help
• Co-workers (5) - A great gang of women, all with different styles and one thing in common - we all love books!
• The Knit-Wits (3) - This is my core support group for all my crochet questions.
  

That's it.  14.  A very manageable 14 I do believe. 6 of the projects will be larger in scope and as unique as the recipients.  For my co-workers I'm thinking one project made in 5 ways.  I'm not sure about the Knit-Wits yet, but there's plenty of time to figure that out!

I'm excited about the Holiday Stashdown Challenge (HSD).  It's a great way to stay focused on my projects, and I'm pleased with the way that I'm thinking about things this year. If you're a procrastinator like I am I recommend hopping on the Stashdown Bus with us.  My goal is to enjoy making my presents this year and hopefully eliminate the gift giving anxiety that typically surrounds the holidays. Because no one benefits from that!

For more fun and a contest too check out Underground Crafters review of "101 Crochet Stitch Patterns & Edgings".

That's all for today.  Next week it's all about the yarn stash.  Now that'll give me something to think about.  I might even have to do some organizing!

Until next time friends,
Be blessed and stitch & read with love!

I had given a lot of thought to the post I was going to write for today.  It was mainly about finding my balance and keeping the important things in perspective. The day got away from me  and already it's 8 pm.  I could spend my evening writing,but I'd much rather work on the cardi.  And anyway, the pictures really seem to say it all.  Smell the flowers, read the book, make the sweater. Do a little of each everyday and voila, Balance!

Until next time,
Be blessed and stitch & read with love!

Do you have a favorite “go to” pattern that you use for baby blankets?  Should it even be a blanket?  Is there something else you think might be more useful?  Looking back,  I have all of the blankets that were given to me when my son was born (more than 16 years ago), but I don’t have any of the little hats, sweaters or buntings. As cute as they were they all stopped fitting pretty quickly! 

Anyway, my requirements are minimal.  It needs to be a crochet. I have 8.5 oz./761 yds. of Bernat Baby Soft Sport in Baby Pastel Ombre (that's right isn't it?), and 10.5 oz. / 1077 yds in White.  I’d like whatever it is to be simple enough that it won’t take forever, but maybe look like it did?!? 

What do you think?  I’d sure appreciate links to anything that you think fits the bill.  Since this is going to be my next project (along with all the others that live in wip land!) we’ll all be able to watch what happens. Thanks for helping out. 

Until next time,
Be blessed and stitch & read with love!

Wow Wednesday already!  This week I’ve been thinking a lot about balance.  About how important it is to have the appropriate balance of everything in life.  Work – Play, Sleep – Activity, Money – Bills, Being with People – Being Alone, you get the idea. If I start to get to heavy toward one thing I can feel my scales tipping and I get a little wobbly.  When that happens I know it’s time to evaluate what’s going on and get things back into perspective. This hasn’t always been easy, but the older that I get the more important it is for me to have the peace and joy that being in balance gives to my life.  I realized that I have been spending way too much time on the computer and not enough time crocheting.  Now mind you I do both of these things for my own pleasure.  I have no deadlines looming or bosses to please, it’s all for me.  I find that the computer has a way of eating up the hours leaving me with a headache and the feeling that I haven’t accomplished anything really worth while!  So for the rest of the week I’m really going pay attention to how I’m spending my time and how it makes me feel.  And then of course make some changes!

Now about those crochet projects!  This week I’m working on the Big and Little Granny Throw and the Chevron Lace Cardigan.  So where am I at?  The B&L is almost done. (Haven’t we heard this before?)  I have one more big square to make, hooray! Then I have to whip stitch the littles into bigs and all of them into 2 rows!  As long as I keep my focus I should have this done by next Friday. It’s a bummer that the weather is warm now and we won’t actually use it, but it will look good on the back of the couch! 

Now the cardigan is another story.  I’m a beginner at sweaters.  With only two under my belt getting the fit right has been a challenge.  And even though this is a top down construction I set the sleeves too low. Twice.  The second time I was almost done with the body and after trying it on again I decided that it just wasn’t right.  It was hard, but ultimately I want this to be perfect. (well, you know!)  I want to wear it and I know if the fit is only so-so it’ll just end up sitting in the wardrobe.  Plus I really love the way the yarn looks and feels! (It’s Caron Naturals Spa is Soft Sunshine)  So even though I’m basically back to the beginning I’ve learned from my mistakes and I should move quickly once I re-set those sleeves. I did have to give myself a break from it for a few weeks.  I just couldn’t take starting over again right away! But now I’m looking forward to having a light-weight little cardi to wear over my summer dresses and I’m ready to roll!  There you have it, another Wip Wednesday. Be sure to check out other great projects at Tami’s Amis!

Until next time,
Be blessed and stitch & read with love!

I am lazy.  Well, perhaps lazy isn’t exactly right, because I’m always doing something!  I think it’s more like I’m prone to procrastination.  I definitely put off doing boring tasks like grocery shopping and laundry (I have lots of socks!), and the unpleasant things like those annual trips to the doctor.  But I even wait until the last minute to do things that I enjoy, like making gifts for my friends and family!  I’m not sure why I do this.  It always leads to late nights, too much money spent on ho-hum gifts, and a general feeling of failure. 

Not this year!  This year things are going to be different!  I’m going to be organized.  I’ll make lists, start early and I will not be distracted by pretty patterns!  Okay, so I can’t guarantee that will happen, but I really am going to try.  And here’s the best part: I have help!  In fact I wouldn’t even be considering my holiday projects today if it weren’t for The Underground Crafter.  Marie has had the foresight and ambition to create the 2012 Holiday Stash Down Challenge.  And I for one am thankful!  My stash may not be very big, but my desire to create beautiful, hand made gifts for those I love is huge!

Please join us on this adventure as we attempt to complete the perfect gifts for those we have deemed “crochet/knit worthy”*.  May they be done on time, for a reasonable amount of money and with as little stress as possible! As I set out on my journey I’m fresh and ready for the challenges ahead!  I’m not sure exactly where I’ll end up, but I promise that I’ll do my best to have fun along the way!  Hope you’ll join us on the road!

Until next time,
Be blessed and stitch & read with love!

*How do you decide who's worthy?  That's our prompt for next Tuesday's post.

Slowly.  No sudden movements. Keep your hands where I can see them!  Okay so maybe that’s a bit extreme but I fear that it may be necessary!  It seems that I have been in front of this computer for the better part of 9 hours!  There was a brief break for lunch and a few trips to the privy, but other than that I’ve been right here.  How did that happen?  Really, where did the day go?  It started out harmless enough.  The way each morning does.  Coffee, check the email, see what’s happening on Ravelry.  Maybe update my latest books at LibraryThing.  Next thing I know it’s Sunday evening and what do I have to show for it? Well the blog does have a few new features, and I did visit with a lot of people and see some neat projects.  But I do need to create some element of control, because clearly I have lost my ability to regulate things myself!  Do I enlist hubby? (No, not yet!) What do I do? I know!  I’ll crochet!  That’s what I need!  It doesn’t matter if we have left over spaghetti for dinner!  It doesn’t matter that I’ll have to get up extra early to do laundry before work!  What matters is that I have taken control of this out of hand situation!  That’s it.  I’m done!  I only have to add a picture, and make the post live, and re-publish the blog, and there’s one more site I want to look at, just for a minute!  Oh who am I kidding?  I’ll be here at least ‘til dark!  Honey, would you bring me another coffee??

Until next time,

Be blessed, stitch & read (and blog) with love!

I always try to learn something.  Everyday there are opportunities, we just have to pay attention. I’m not always so good at that part, but I’m trying!  This week I’ve been busy at the library, working on improving the blog, and of course making time to crochet.  Although I will admit that I’ve been devoting more attention to the blog and less to my crochet than I’d like.  After all, if I don’t keep making steady progress on my projects what am I going to write about?  Blogging about blogging isn’t what I set out to do.  However, this week I’ve been researching and reading about how to build a better blog to make it more interesting for all of us.  Here are two cool things that are worth sharing with other beginners like me! 

A Web Widget or just Widget is:
            An application or a component of an interface, that enables a user to perform a function or access a service.

That means they are the little bits and pieces that help give your blog some flash and flair! Here’s a short article with helpful links that clearly explains what they are and where to find them.

I didn’t realize how prevalent they are or how easy they are to find.  I’ve been manually cutting and pasting all of my books’ code from my Amazon account to my blog to add some visual pep.  It’s not hard, but it is time consuming.  In my research I came across many references to LibraryThing and saw book lists and covers on other peoples blog in what I know now are widgets that are “powered by LibraryThing”.  A trip to their site and I found that they’ve set everything up for me to keep track of my library and reviews.  Plus they make it super easy to create a whole variety of good looking widgets.  Today I discovered that when I updated my library with a book rating and review, it automatically updated my widget.  How cool is that!  If you’re a book lover or just looking for an easy place to keep track of your reading, I really recommend that you check it out. 

An Avatar is:
The graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a 3D form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in internet forums and other online communities.

 I didn’t find much written information about avatars, but I did find this great website called DoppelMe where I created avatars for me and my family!  It was terrific fun and I think we look great. Once they were done it was easy to copy and paste the html code (or just a copy of the saved avatar picture) into the blog as well as in my Ravelry and Hotmail accounts.  Oh and did I mention they’re free?  I had been wondering where folks were getting these neat cartoon images and well, now we know at least one place to find them.

So there you have it!  I’m glad to be able to share a little bit of what I learned this week.  And I’m excited to add a bit of spice to my blog.  After all, everything’s better when it’s spicy! 

Until next time,
Be blessed and stitch & read with love

I hope I'm not to late to share my Wednesday project!  I've been working on this throw for what seem like forever!  But I only have 3 big squares left.  Then sew two rows together.  Then put the border on.  Come to think of it, I might still be working on it next Wednesday! But that's okay because I love it and I know it will be done soon enough!  In fact I'm going to work on it right now!

Until next time,
Be Blessed and Stitch & Read with Love!