Crochet: Daisy Square and Helmet Liner

These next two items are things that I made for separate charity projects. I have yet to send them IN to the charities, but they are DONE. Who has time to go to the post office? Apparently, I don't. :(

My favorite is the Daisy Square from KrochetKrystal. The pattern is free, she just asks that you make one and send it to her so that she can use it to make afghans for charity. It is a lot of fun to make and is really quite striking. You use both colors at the same time so it can get a little confusing, but once you get the hang of it they fly right along. I have gotten pretty attached to these two squares so I think I am going to the keep them for a blanket and make a different combination to send to Krystal. I have a bit of rainbow ombre left from Caleb's blanket that would look neat.


The next charity item I made was a "helmetliner" which is really a fancy name for a ski mask for soldiers to wear. These need to be all wool for many reasons so I had to buy some wool since my stash consists mostly of acrylic. Managed to find it on sale at JoAnn's and made this one up, which Scott was gracious enough to model for me. It went quickly, but I don't think I used a big enough hook. Will try using a bigger one next time and hopefully that will keep it from being too tight. I will still send in the one that I made because I am sure not everyone in the military who wears a helmet is a big burly man with a big head. At least I hope....

Some day I will get these things in the mail to the right people. Until then, I will keep them rolled up in my project bag!

Crochet: Ripple and Carrot

I know it has been forever since I updated, but I covered that in yesterday's post. As for today, I hope to get a bunch of photos posted so you can see what I have been up to for the last 2 months crochet wise.

This is the ripple blanket that I finished for Caleb. He loves it and it is the first thing he asks to cuddle up with on the couch when we get home from daycare. I am very glad that he likes it because I am in love with the pattern. I will be making many more like this, especially one for my brother. His birthday isn't until October, but it is already rolling around in my head. More manly colors are definitely a must though, if I have any hopes of him ever using it.


The finished carrot! Actually, the SECOND finished carrot. The first one disappeared off my desk. I have NO idea what happened to it, and am very sad about losing it, but making the replacement wasn't a big deal. Made a coordinating dishcloth and sponge and gave to MIL for Christmas. It was a big hit with everyone I showed it to and I think I am going to make one for myself. Can never have too many bagholders!


Will post more later, but blogger is starting to wear me out. My brain doesn't want to think like this!

New Years resolution....or not

OK, so my New Years resolution to myself was to blog more.....as you can see by the fact that there were no posts in January, I failed miserably. What was holding me back was my last post in December. I tried started, stopped, edited and finally gave up for a while. It was just a really painful wound that I needed to let close a little before I could go on. But, now I am back and here in force! I hope.

Since I linked this blog to my Ravelry notebook/profile, I know there are many more potential people who might be reading this blog....Welcome! Up until now I have been writing to myself. But after a year, I just got my first comment. Wooohoooo! I am on a roll now, Baby!

I had thought about posting my crochet items on a separate blog, but since I have a hard enough time keeping up with this one I don't think that is a good idea. So, I am simply going to continue tagging the crochet specific posts and let the rest of you find them. Good luck!

Good Bye, Uncle Bill

Yesterday was a really hard day. Last Saturday I got a call from my mom saying that my Uncle Bill had passed away. It was very unexpected as he was in great health and only 66, but he died in his sleep and my aunt was unable to revive him. He was my father's older brother by 11 years and had 2 kids and 4 grandkids that will miss him terribly. The funeral was yesterday and the church was full of all the people he had touched over the years.

Uncle Bill was my closest uncle on my Dad's side of the family, since he was also my godfather. I was baptized in the catholic faith, but was raised methodist and that never bothered Uncle Bill one bit. He still took his "job" very seriously and liked to spoil me rotten. I looked forward to his presents the most on birthdays and Christmas because he always managed to know exactly what I wanted, even if I didn't.

Because of family tensions (a really LOOOOONG story that I don't even know completely) we never had much communication with my Dad's brothers and sisters. I only knew Uncle Bill and my Aunt Carol out of the 7 siblings. Uncle Bill has two daughters, neither of which I ever spent much time with. They were older by a few years and I am really sorry that I haven't gotten to know them. Now they both live on opposite ends of the country and I have a feeling I won't ever get much of a chance to develop a relationship.

I think the hardest part of the funeral was putting myself in everyone else's shoes. I have a bad habit of empathizing too deeply with people and I then over react to the situation. Even now I am sitting here with tears running down my face because I just can't help but feel bad for the children who no longer have a grandfather and his wife who no longer has her husband.

Caleb was having a really hard time understanding why we were there and what was going on. Definitely some really big concepts for a 3 YO to handle. He kept asking who the man was and why he was laying there. The only thing I could tell him was that Uncle Bill was sleeping and that Bumpa had to say goodbye to him. He then asked all the way home when we could play with Uncle Bill and why Bumpa was so sad....pretty profound for a boy who had never met his great uncle, and now he never will.

Crochet: finished the bunny hat and MACG meeting

This is a picture of Caleb wearing the bunny hat and mittens that I just finished for a friend of mine at work. Well, actually for her new baby, but you probably figured that part out. It was really easy to make and took me about two nights to get it completely finished. Very quick, painless and adorable.

I also managed to finish the first of many swiffer shrugs that I want to make for Christmas gifts. LOVE the pattern! It was a lot of fun to do and very easy once I got the hang of it. Took it with me to the MACG (Madison Area Crochet Guild) meeting and it was definitely a big hit. I like the idea that it is environmentally friendly and I think it will actually work BETTER than the ones I buy in the store because it will pick UP the dirt and not just push it around.

I didn't do a whole lot else this weekend, crochet wise, but I did attend the latest MACG meeting at Lakeside Fibers here in Madison. I really look forward to getting together with these ladies and just having a little spontaneous conversation about anything and everything while we all get a chance to crochet. These ladies understand the addiction and don't think less of me for it.

Did manage to work on Caleb's blanket a little more and started on the carrot bagholder, but then realized that I needed an elastic hair band to go any further so had to stop. I think I did the first 6 rounds wrong anyway, so I will frog it and try again. Not a big deal, just gets me back to square one. Now all I have to do is locate me "I" hook....I think a certain 3 YO who shall remain nameless has walked away with it again, which means I may NEVER find it.

I did find a really neat pattern for a crocheted sponge this morning that I am going to make instead of some of the dish clothes I had planned. Sponges, swiffer shrugs, dish cloths and potholders will all make good gifts, I just don't know if I should "theme" them or not. I think I will try, just to make them a little more personal.

Why me? (AKA The animal rescuer)

As I was leaving for work this morning (already late as usual) I noticed there was a dog running around in our backyard. Now, as any of you who may have been to our house know, our backyard is roughly the size of an office cubicle so there was no chance I wasn't going to spot him. He looked like a young chocolate lab and he had tags, so I went out with a couple of dog biscuits to try and see if I could figure out what where he belonged. I felt really sorry for him because he had icicles on his chin, so he had obviously been out for quite a while. He turned out to be a really nice puppy and I decided that I needed to bring him inside to get a closer look at the tags.

I cordoned off the living room and dining area so that he wouldn't try to run upstairs and put Caleb on top of the table, just in case. After a few more biscuits I was able to get his collar off of him and take a look at the tags. The address and phone number were from Plainfield, IL! There goes my chances of this being a quick phone call to some one else in the neighborhood. Now, my only choice was to call animal control....but I only got an answering machine. Then I called the humane society and they said some one would be out to get him, but not until after 9:00. I wasn't about to let him go again so that I could go to work, so I was kind of stuck until some one came to get him. Grrrrr....

At about the same time I was being told that I would be there a while, the dog started scratching and rubbing and my brain immediately thought "FLEAS!" I knew I had to do something other than letting this dog have free run of my house, so I put him in our small bathroom, took Ruby out of her crate, put the gate up in the hallway to keep her upstairs, wrestled her crate downstairs, pulled out her bedding and coaxed the poor puppy in there. He went in reluctantly but easily enough. Of course, he didn't like being in there so I gave him some treats and eventually and bone stuffed with cream cheese to try and keep him busy.

The very nice animal control lady came by at around 9:30 to get him and said that they would find his family. I sincerely hope so because he was really a very nice dog who needs a family to play with.

Want to hear something odd? Last year at this same time (right before Thanksgiving) I had to call animal control because I found a very scared and loving kitty under my back steps. How weird is that? Is my house some how the magnet for stray or lost animals in the neighborhood?

New furnace, new glasses, and a bit of "yarn"

The new furnace is in and working like a charm. My boss thinks we got taken on the deal, but I am just glad it is over with and I can sleep at night again. Since we already paid for it there isn't much we can do about it anyway. There was some lingering smell from the epoxy PVC glue and some oil that had to burn off, but otherwise there isn't a noticeable difference.

Also, I finally got a chance to stop and pick up my new glasses since my meeting in Sauk got out a little early and there was no point in going back to the office. No prescription change but since the old ones were basically worn out, I decided it was time to spring for new frames. Since I am so freaking blind I have to pay big bucks to get thin and light lenses, but it is worth every penny. Got the kind with the magnetic clip-on sunglasses again and this time they aren't that horrible amber color. Yeah! Sometimes it is the little things in life, right?

Typical Wednesday nutty-ness last night with swimming lessons and Noodles and bedtime and everything. I did manage to find some time to check out the yarn sections at both JoAnn and Michael's though. :) Didn't do too much damage, but did pick up some new patterns and the yarn I needed to finish up the bunny hat and mittens I am working on. The baby shower is next week so I am hoping to get it done by then. Will have to put Caleb's blanket on hold for a little while so that I can get going on all these Christmas gifts that I keep adding. Don't know exactly who all of them are for, but I figured I would get a bunch done and then sort it out later. I have several dish clothes made and I know the Swiffer shrugs won't take too long. Want to make a plastic bag holder that looks like a carrot (very cute!) as a gift too.

Speaking of Christmas, I have NO idea when I am going to get my shopping done. Jay may be coming down this weekend but I will spend time showing him what Caleb and Mom want rather than doing my own shopping. Grrrrr.... We will be putting up the Christmas lights on the outside of the house on Saturday so at least we are getting started on the Christmas spirit. Have to get the tree decorated yet, but may work on that tonight during the Packer game. We are lucky enough to have the NFL network (thanks, DirecTV!) so we can watch it at home unlike MANY other people in the state.