Category: Caron Simply Soft

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Things To Love

I suppose it’s no secret that I’ve turned into a puzzle freak these days. The thing is that I listen to TONS of talks, books on tapes and webinars and I absolutely MUST do something while I listen. If I have a non complicated crochet project, then that’s my busy-hands-project-of-choice. But if not–it’s a puzzle baby!

Sweet little Lyla, taking a much needed nap. Babies coming any day now. Hee hee!!

Did I mention my thing with puzzles? Yeah, I’m not kidding. This one felt good to work on while it was snowing outside.

This pretty little pattern was the forest-y colored request from mama for Linky’s baby blanket. It was soooo soft and stretchy.  I have to pretend that the blanket is actually a hug from Grammy.

Can’t have much of a post about things to love without our crazy man Hobbes being in it. I don’t think he has slept in the same position twice in his life! Haha. We love him so much. He’s such a gooood boy.

This might not look like much to you–but this is a BIG, ENORMOUS deal! When I bought this funny old house, I was stumped that the thermostat was in the bedroom. Weird, right? I mean, in order for the family room to be even slightly warm or cold the bedroom had to be a furnace or icebox. No happy medium what-so-ever.

Well, I’ve fussed about it for years now and thought, ‘why on earth isn’t that thermostat on the front room wall instead of the bedroom wall?’

One day, my sweet son-in-law came to my house and announced that he was moving the thermostat to the right wall. Just like that! And that is exactly what he did!! If you hear squealing from somewhere it’s probably me!

Thank you SO much Josh!!! My house is finally even tempered. Haha. Love you!! 

For a million years now, I’ve had broken, dilapidated photo albums and boxes and stacks of photos. Well not any more! HA! I’ve taken them all and sorted the pictures and put them in nicely labeled tubs. Now, I know all the historians out there won’t like how I’m storing them–for posterities sake. But I promise you, this is better than how it was. Plus, it makes me really happy. We call that a win/win.

Annnnnd again with the puzzles. I can’t help it. It’s a serious problem….

that I love.

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Choosing Colors~ Lesson 1

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Forever and ever, I’ve had a hard time picking out my colors for granny squares and stripy projects. It always looked to me like people just threw their scraps together and everything turned our perfect. Trouble is that whenever I did that, it looked positively nasty and I would end up yanking it all out or throwing it all out. Either way, it was a waste of time and/or money.

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I was just fussing about this very subject the other day to my daughter, and she said, “Ok, look,” as she took a rainbow of primary colored yarn off my shelf, “these are the basic colors…right?”

“Right,” I said.

“They go well together.”

She set them down and picked up a pile of pastels and said, “Basically the same colors, only they’ve added white to them to make them softer and lighter. Do you see that?”

“Ummmm, yeah. I think I do, ” I said.

“They go well together,” she said.

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Then she picked through my beloved Caron stash and chose all of the lovely ones in this basket and said, “Ok, what about these? What can you tell about them?”

Yikes. I hate pop quizzes.

“Well,” I said, “they are…darker. But just a little.”

“Ok, mom, if you were a painter, what would you add to make your primary colors just a bit darker?”

“Mmmmmm,” thinking, thinking, wishing I had taken a painting class in my entire life, thinking, thinking, “…maybe…black? But just a speck.”

“RIGHT!!” she hollered. “And THEY go well together. See, mom, it’s not that hard.  You can totally do this!”

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And without further adieu–

I did.

Gr Signature

 

 

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No Stopping Me

100 Happy Days #36

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I know what you’re thinking. No, I do. But don’t say it.

You’re thinking, wait…didn’t she already show us this lovely, beautiful, amazing, magnamonious–yeah, made that one up– fabulous baby shawl…like before?

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The answer is, no, I did NOT show it to you before…

I showed it to you twice before.

Yeah, I think I’m funny.

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But as I told you last time—mint, and the time before that–white…

this is a fabulously addictive pattern. You simply need to know this utter joy.

And if you don’t crochet– gasp!

you should.

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Flower Vines

100 Happy Days #31

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Here’s just one of the projects in one of the crochet bags that I drag around with me everywhere. It’s call “Flower Vines.” It will make a lovely afghan…for someone.  Haven’t figured that part out yet.

Maybe me.

:]

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Lacy Baby Shawl

Feeling just a bit clever right now. This last little while, I was in the mood to do something I’d never done before even if it was hard. You know how every now and then a project needs to be especially intricate and elegant to fit the occasion? That’s how it felt with this project. Luckily, as with most crochet work, once you get past the 3rd or 4th row, your fingers find the rhythm and the rest is a breeze…a lacy, lovely breeze.

Then there was the edging. “Do a row of crab stitches around…” were the only instructions in the pattern. What the heck is a crab stitch?! Had to Google it to find out, but I’m now completely in love.

Turns out that the crab stitch makes a curly, rope-like edge that lays flatter than most edgings are inclined to do and I just kept setting it out to stare at it. I decided that a row of single crochet inside the double crochet row, just below the crab stitch gave it the finishing touch.

If you’re feeling adventurous or in the mood to make something a bit, well, stunning–this may just be the thing. I used this pattern from Lacy Crochet.

Go ahead. Fall in love again.