Easter Greetings

Greetings to you and your families on this important day. Let us not forget the ultimate gift of salvation that was given to us by our Lord.

Are You in the Dark?

If you find yourself trying to crochet and the lighting is too dim, then here's a giveaway that's for you.All Free Knitting is giving a Stitch Light by Buffy Ann Designs to one lucky winner.   If you've ever found yourself in a position where you're eager to get to work on your latest project, but there isn't enough light, you're about to meet a nifty little gadget that will change the way you work.  Introducing the Stitch Light: a portable, lightweight light-and-zippered-pouch combination that's ideal for both knitters and crocheters.  Whether you're working on a project on the couch and it's just a bit too dim or if you're out and about trying to finish up your latest design, this Stitch Light is bound to come in handy.  The digital LED light, which is battery operated using 3 AAA batteries, has three modes (bright, normal and flash) as well as a zoomable lense, meaning crafters can easily adjust the light to be as close to the work as desired.  So go here and put your entry in!

  More Ott Lights

Monday's Link to Free Crochet Pattern (25 March 2013)

Today's link is to an afghan made out of a variety of squares and shapes. It is designated as an easy pattern so even if your crochet skills are still being developed, you can create a beautiful afghan that will be appreciated for many years to come.

Our weather has been rainy and cold. I hope everyone is staying warm. Eventually we may see spring weather!

Hugs,
Sharon

WIP Wednesday--20 March 2013

I'm sloooowly turning out the granny squares for the afghan I'm making for an old high school chum with disabilities. I make the squares in batches of 5 because it makes me feel like I've accomplished something when I finish a batch. I know, sometimes I can be goofy.  Here's the "batch" I'm working on now.

Not much going on today. The mil came over for coffee and after she left, I went to the commissary on post to get some dog food and milk. I came home with over $200 of groceries. I should of had lunch before I left the house because I was hungry and started feeling starved as soon as I walked in the commissary's front door. I rarely go anywhere so I was surprised when I was driving back home to notice my gas light was on. Usually, I only put $20 in the tank at a time and it lasts me a month because I'm a hermit and don't go too many places. I filled my tank and I had to reminisce about the first new car I had. It was a 1980 Dodge Colt and it used to take $12 to fill it from dry to full. Those were the days of gas shortages too. Today it took $49 to fill from bone dry to topped off. I really miss those old days sometimes. 

Take care everyone and thanks for visiting...
Sharon

Two on Tuesday (19 March 2013)

• The gloominess and cold of winter is almost over! Spring pops up and the flowers bloom relieving the bleakness of winter.

First flowers to pop-up this year in our yard.

• When I was younger, I used to say I didn't care about clothing brands. Now that I'm a ripe old 56, I get "tickled" when I find "designer" brands at deep discounts at Burkes Outlet and Rugged Warehouse. I also choose certain brands because not all brands fit alike especially in pants (for me anyway). Bandolino is the way to go for my jeans and I find them at Sam's Club's locations (not online) or the PX at Ft. Knox for a very reasonable price when they get marked down.

That's it for now. Take care everyone!

Hugs,

Sharon

Monday's Link to Free Crochet Pattern (18 March 2013)

Have cold tootsies? This may be the pattern for you. These are some cute slippers. The flower on each slipper makes these cute and feminine. Check them out now. Thanks for looking.

Hugs,
Sharon


 

A "Thank You" and My Current Project (WIP)

Yesterday, the doorbell rang and it was our mailman with 2 packages in his hands. The 1st package was a box of cute buttons and ribbons--the expression "buttons and bows" is running through my mind now. I knew it was from a song so I couldn't resist including a video clip of the song sung by Bob Hope. Debi from Dly's Hooks and Yarn sent this to me because she is a nice lady. "Thank you" very much Debi. The other box was the yarn I ordered from Joanns because I was running short of this color for an afghan I'm making. It is only some Red Heart Super Saver but after checking 3 stores in person for this color I had to order this particular color from an online source and Joanns just happened to have it on sale--SCORE!  This project is working up rather slowly, it's made mostly from granny squares and I'm attempting to be disciplined about weaving in the ends as I make the squares so I don't have to face a gazillion of ends (only half a gazillion) to weave in after joining all the squares together. When I just went to Joanns to get their link information (to copy and paste here) I noticed they have a flat rate shipping of 7 cents today!

These are the crafty goodies sent to me by Debi of DLY's Hooks and Yarns. Her blog is similar to a treasure chest with all sorts of goodies inside. She shows some pretty projects she has created and there are many free patterns for you that she has developed and shares with all of us. Oh, and she's a nice person too!

I ordered 4 of these although I'll probably only need 1 or 2. It's better to have too much rather than too little.

This is the basic layout of the squares for this afghan. The "X "squares will be black and the "green dot" squares will be a 5 color granny--lots of end weaving going on here lol! I will probably treat this as one "giant" granny after all the squares are together and crochet a few times around the assembled squares and finish it up with a shell type edging/border. I still have a while to go on it. So far I have 80+ of the multi-colored grannies done and just a few of the solid black ones.

Color is a bit off here but this is the best I can do today with a gloomy day and artificial lighting. This is actually black, brown, dark sage green, a burgundy-ish, and gold colors. My table cloth color is in reality, cream!

This is about it for now other than an Irish wish for you today, St. Patrick's Day:

May you live a long life

Full of gladness and health,

With a pocket full of gold

As the least of your wealth.

May the dreams you hold dearest,

Be those which come true,

The kindness you spread,

Keep returning to you.

Have a happy St. Paddy's Day and a wonderful week.

Hugs,

Sharon 

Where's the Windows 8 Start Button???

A couple weeks ago, I got a new computer with Windows 8. My old computer operated on Vista so I was really surprised at the setup of the new Windows. I don't care for the smartphone looking start screen (maybe because my cell phone is low tech) so I go to the desktop. There are 2 problems with the desktop--if you have a 64 bit computer, you have to use java for 32 bit computer. No biggie really except when I went to update java, only the 64 bit updated and I had to install and update the 32 bit too. What really peeved me was the lack of a start button. I did some online sleuthing and found a free program that installs a start button. This free program is called Start Menu 8 and you can find it at CNET. Now that I have it I'm a happy computer-er. 

Might snow here tonight. I hope y'all are staying warm and cozy. That's it for now.

Later Gator,
Sharon

Freebies for E Readers

For those of you who enjoy reading romance novels, Harlequin offers a selection of free eBooks. They are in E Pub or pdf format but if your e reader uses a different format, you can download calibre to convert it to whatever your device uses. I'm always out for a good deal so I wanted to share this with you too.

Happy reading!

Edited:  Unfortunately, I discovered that for some reason Calibre will not convert these books. You can read them with Adobe Digital Edition Reader for your PC. There are other programs (not free) that you can use to convert these books so they can be read on Kindles but I know nothing about them. Sorry for misleading you, that wasn't my intention. I thought I found a good deal and wanted to share it.

More Kindles

Monday's Link to Free Crochet Pattern (11 March 2013)

Today's free pattern is for a simple dog sweater. I like this one because you don't have to make leg openings so it is an easy sweater for someone without much experience crocheting. A few years ago I made one for a friend's puppy and it worked up in no time.

Have a great week everyone!

More Crochet Patterns for Your Dog

A Previous UFO--Now a WIP

I am working on what was previously a neglected ufo. It will be an afghan when it's finished. I have promised to make an afghan for a friend and I had started one but it is buried somewhere in the yarn warehouse. I decided that since I've been procrastinating and struggling to regain my crochet mojo that I would finish this one since it is further along than the other one. It is just going to be made of simple granny squares and perhaps a wide border when I see how big it is when it's put together. Last night I played around with graph paper and figured out how I'm going to sew together the solids with the multi-colored squares. Stay tuned...

Finished Object Friday--08 March 2013

I'm trying to get back into my crocheting but I see to have the blahs and only end up making dishcloths lately. Maybe it's the gloominess of the sky and the cold weather that affect me this way. Anyway, here are the 2 dishcloths I finished this week.

Pattern

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Bloopers and Kindle Books

I love reading free books on my Kindle. Unfortunately, editing is obviously not a top priority with many authors of these freebies. I'm reading what I consider to be an excellent story but suddenly, I come to the first noticeable blooper.  "Every day he ordered a plate piled high with rubbery Salisbury Steak and lumpy mashed potatoes drowning in gravy. It was hot, it was fast and it was cheap, but it was barely editable." My newspaper is barely edible too.

Today is my birthday--a big, whopping 56. Hubby got me a tint job for the windows in my car to keep me cool (in more than 1 way) this summer.  Time to go now and snuggle up with the chi babies on the couch. Have a great night everyone.

Hugs to all,
Sharon

Monday's Link to Free Crochet Pattern (04 March 2013)

Baby booties are always a quick project to make. These booties are great because they are a quick project and are made of ww yarn and are great way to use up some of your "left overs."

Have a great week everyone!

More Easter Cookie Cutters

A Couple Finished Things

I finished a few more things this week--a scarf and a pair of slippers. One color of the yarns in the scarf and the variegated color in the slippers is from the bag of odds and ends from a friend of my mil. Here's a couple pics of what I made:

Yarn used is ww.

Yarn used is Homespun and Lion Boucle.

I did some "tweaking" of the pattern I used to work with the amount of yarn I had.

Patterns:

Slippers

Scarf