A Project Finished

Check out my finished project here.

The Ghost

I started the purple fuzzy monster and I didn't like it so I decided to do a ghost. I got some white yarn and started on what I thought would look like a ghost. I finished the first side and it turned out to be a triangle. It didn't look like a ghost at all. I then got on line and started looking for bell patterns. I found one and started to work it up and it didn't look like a ghost at all. Then I started playing around and voila, I got my ghost. I added eyes and a smile and there he was. A few arms and we had our ghost.
Now I am off to work on the pirate and I will have all three done before Halloween.

Another New Blog

I have contacted Lion Brand website and asked them to please look at their blogs that they have on their site. They have approximately 7 blogs and only one blogger is writing at all. I asked them to consider adding other bloggers to their site and to consider me as one of them. They responded with a very nice email stating that they are redoing their site and will be making changes in the spring time including adding and deleting their bloggers who don't write. They asked me to contact them in the spring and they would be happy to consider me.

With that said, I thought it would be wise for me to begin my own blog of my handcrafts for two reasons. One, if they consider me they will need something to look at and this blog would be an excellent example of what kind of material they would get from me. Two, I do so much handwork (almost nightly I pick something up) that it would be a great outlet for you all to see much of my work and my thought process in completing it.

So do check it out. Remember that I have just begun this blog and there isn't much on there right now but it will bulk up quickly.

www.whitneyshandwork.blogspot.com

New Blog to Check Out!

I found this new blog and I think it is great. This guy, Jimbo, hand carves crochet hooks. I love to crochet and I am DEFINITELY going to bid on one!!

He has declared September 12th "International Crochet Day" and I think it is a great idea. Much of our historic handcrafts are falling to the wayside. It is so much easier to go to the store and buy a $5 pair of mittens but it is so much nicer to receive a pair of handmade mittens. We in our fast society are rushing out to the store and just buying what we need and not taking the care, love and time into making exactly what we want! I will always support handcrafts and will always practice them in my home.

So head on over to:http://jimbosfrontporch.blogspot.com/ and check him out. By the way, he is "raffling" off a crochet hook. Scan down to August's blogs and find his entry for the contest. You will see that I entered!!

Update on Laundry and other random thoughts today

I have diminished my pile of laundry. I did 10 loads on Wednesday evening and a bunch of loads on Thursday. The problem with us is that if we don't take the clean clothes out of the dryer and fold them immediately then they stay wherever they are put. I can't put them back in a laundry basket; I can't put them on the couch to fold later. I can't put them on the bed to fold later. If I put them anywhere other than folded and in a drawer then they are forever in their spot. The kids are good about takin the clothes up to their rooms and putting them away when I ask, and my husband is great about shlepping towels and our clothes up the steps. When the family works together then things get done. Otherwise the pile will stay on top of the dryer or in a basket or on the couch FOREVER!

Oh, we had a momentous event today too. We finally installed a new vanity and sink in our downstairs bathroom. We have had the vanity and sink for over a year now and it has been sitting in the laundry room waiting to be installed. Kenneth finally did it and he did a GREAT job! It looks awesome and gives us so much storage in the bathroom now. Yippee!!!

Tomorrow we are off to Frederick, Maryland to pick up a piece of equipment that my husband bought for his business. It is a leaf vacuum.

Recently I have been thinking about trying my hand at thread crochet. I have found a few sites on the internet that have patterns for vintage doilies. These patterns are the original patterns from the 1940's through 1960's. They are pretty cool and I want to start out just making a doily that I can use on the wingback chairs in my living room. I want to put them on the arms which are gettin a little threadbare. Does anyone know of a good pattern that would be fun to start with?

Finally A Project Done!

I have finished the blanket that I was crocheting for Alexandra. I started it in November and I have now just finished it. I have posted a picture of it!! It fits on a twin size bed so it is fairly big. I crocheted it using a medium weight yarn and an H hook. I used a shell pattern and I am very pleased with it. It took a long time because I took about 3 weeks off of working on it. Nightly I could get about 3-4 rows done while watching my favorite TV shows.

Alexandra is excited to have it finished and she thinks she has waited a long time for it. I finished Nicholas' before hers and his was quicker to complete as it was done with a thicker yarn and was completed in blocks. One thing that I learned was that I needed to leave longer tails when changing colors. Shorter ones were harder to weave in and longer ones stayed weaved better.

Caroline's blanket is next. I am thinking about doing squares with hers as it will be easier to manage but I like the pattern of Alexandra's. So I am at a quandry. Any suggestions from anyone would be helpful. She has asked that it be purple, white, and green.