Happy Wishes on Son's Birthday

 

Matthew, 37 years ago you were born. I finally learned what true love was when I held you in my arms and kissed your little fingers and toes. You were a tiny baby, 18 inches long and only 5 lbs. 14 ounces but you immediately lit up my life. You made me a mother. I am very proud of you. I know life has given you some struggles but you have met your challenges head-on and have become a person that everyone likes and loves. I am so proud to be your mom.

Monday's Link to Free Crochet Pattern (28 September 2015)

The other day, a friend sent me a picture of a pattern that is being sold on Craftsy.  It is a cute pattern for a pair of ladies booties with crocodile stitch cuffs but it costs $5.50 for this single pattern. To me, that seems an itty bit pricey when I haven't seen this pattern making it's rounds among the crochet groups I belong to or blogs I follow and I don't know it's reputation. However, I found a very similar FREE version here that might be worth taking a look at.

Have a great week everyone!
Sharon


Lammily Real Life barbie doll Normal body Exclusive First Edition

What I'm Doing

I'm watching this video to learn some tricks on crocheting graphghans. I'm working on a small square that has a graphed picture on it to more or less get the hang of doing it before I start a big graphghan project. For me, it's slow going learning how to do it. I wonder if I'm doing it right because I have a gazillion ends. I need to get back to the ol' videos. I have a little confession to make. There is a stereotype of men not needing the directions on how to do things like how to put together kids toys on Christmas Eve. Well, I'm like that too with some things and if it takes more than a cursory reading then I tend to get frustrated. This time I will see it through! I picked a fairly simple pattern and I will do it, yes I will!

Here's the video:

Charted Picture Afghans (Annie's Attic: Crochet)

Monday's Link to Free Crochet Pattern (21 September 2015)

Today's link is for a set of patterns for human mommy and furbaby to have coordinating sweaters with a ripple design. Cute, very cute sweaters to make.

Have a great week everyone!

Sharon

His Life Mattered

Yesterday I had to make a quick trip to my credit union to have a new debit card made. On my way there, I noticed the main drag through my town set up for a funeral procession for Kentucky State Trooper Joseph C. Ponder who was killed in the line of duty on 13 September. I felt compelled to find a place to stand and salute him as his body was transported to the cemetery.

Joseph Cameron Ponder, 31, stopped a vehicle that was driving 103 miles per hour on Interstate 24, and the vehicle then took off with Trooper Ponder in pursuit, according to the State Police. After a short chase, the fleeing vehicle stopped suddenly, causing the trooper’s cruiser to “make contact” with the rear of the suspect’s vehicle, the police said.

The gunman then fired several times into the police cruiser, hitting Trooper Ponder, the police said.

The suspect, who was identified as Joseph Thomas Johnson-Shanks, 25, of Missouri, then ran, the police said. Trooper Ponder was taken to a hospital in Princeton, Ky., where he died shortly before midnight.

Four other people, two of them younger than 6, were in Mr. Johnson-Shanks’s car at the time of the shooting, said Trooper First Class Jay Thomas, a public affairs officer. One of the others, Ambrea R. J. Shanks, 18, was arrested on charges of hindering prosecution or apprehension.

Mr. Johnson-Shanks was found by state troopers in the woods near the highway on Monday morning after an eight-hour manhunt, the police said. Mr. Johnson-Shanks was shot multiple times by the police after he refused to drop his weapon and then aimed it in the troopers’ direction, said Sgt. Michael Webb, the public affairs commander for the Kentucky State Police. Mr. Johnson-Shanks later died at the same hospital in Princeton.

The Kentucky State Police said Trooper Ponder had graduated from the state’s training academy in January and been stationed at the State Police post in Mayfield. He had served as a special Navy diver and been decorated with a Combat Action Ribbon.

He was the second first-year officer with Kentucky’s State Police to die in the line of duty this year. Trooper Eric K. Chrisman was killed in a car accident while on his way to respond to a report of a reckless driver in June.

Gov. Steven L. Beshear said in a statement that Trooper Ponder should be remembered for “how he lived, his selfless service to others and his willingness to give his life for that commitment.”

Mr. Johnson-Shanks lived in Florissant, Mo., and had recent run-ins with law enforcement. Shawn McGuire, a media relations officer with the St. Louis County Police Department, said Mr. Johnson-Shanks was the leading suspect in a May theft of $1,285 in lottery tickets and winnings. Source

Trooper Ponder gave all. His life mattered.

A WWII Soldier Gives Back

 As a U.S. Army infantryman during World War II, Vern Farnham saw hard fighting from Marseilles, France, to Stuttgart, Germany.

Along the way, there were 190 days in the front lines with many nights spent shivering in wet or frozen foxholes, and always ferocious resistance from the retreating Germans.

Now, more than 70 years after the end of World War II, the 90-year-old Parrish resident continues to serve his fellow veterans by crocheting colorful afghans for patients at Bay Pines VA Healthcare System.

So far, he's made 425, all to show the vets that someone

cares about them, and bring them a little cheer.(To read more go here)

More Finished Crochet Projects

I'm starting to fall behind with posting my finished objects. Here are some more items for Christmas.

1. First up is a Rubylene Hat made into a slouchy hat. I love, love, LOVE this pattern. This is a hat for a woman/girl. It is easy to make and yet not boring. By modifying the row count, you can make a more traditional beanie or a slouch hat.

2. Next up for the ladies is a pair of slippers. These are made from my "usual" pattern. These slippers are made out of the same yarn as the above hat. There is still probably enough yarn left to make another hat if I wanted to.

3. Here's a hat for the ladies that is one of my favorite patterns to use. This time, I made it with the decorative bow the pattern calls for. In the past, I have put a flower with a button on the side for a different look. For some reason, with this pattern I have to upsize my hook by 1 size. A slight modification I made this time was after the final row, I slip stitched around the edge. It seemed to have give it a more finished, defined edge. I used Red Heart Shimmer yarn in turquoise and it is pretty and soft.

4. Finally, a project for a gentleman. This is made from the pattern A Crochet Seafarer's Cap. It took me a time or 2 making this pattern to like it. Now, it is one of my favorite patterns. This pattern is great for a more traditional cap for a man.

Still have a few Christmas gifts to make but I'm getting close to the end. The yarn I ordered for my graphghan has finally been shipped and should be here by the 19th. 

Best wishes,

Sharon

Crocheters Are Thieves!

It is shocking, but crocheters steal "Crochet World" magazine from a library and it is such a problem, that copies of this magazine are kept behind the counter with the librarian and not with other magazines. Crocheters with sticky fingers, who woulda thunk it? See the video below:



I know that all of you are honest crocheters and wouldn't dream of swiping "Crochet World" from the library.

Happy hooking everyone!

Sharon



Crochet World: magazine and patterns

Men's Extra-Large Slippers

I finished up 2 pairs of extra-large slippers for men. Here they are:

Pattern

These will keep the toes warm for a couple of gentlemen this winter.

The weather here in Kentucky dipped down into the chilly zone last weekend but lucky for us, it should be nice and warm by the weekend. We're going to get together with the neighbor and barbecue some ribs this coming weekend kind of like a last hurrah before the big chill of autumn kicks in.

Hope you're having a nice week.

Sharon

Hooked on Crochet! Slippers

Monday's Link to Free Crochet Pattern (14 September 2015)

Do you or someone you know have a Barbie in need of some clothes? Here is a pattern for a cute crocheted peasant dress that looks like a winner. The blog this is from is Mamma That Makes. There are a plethora of free patterns that this generous blogger shares with us.

Have a great week everyone.

Hugs,
Sharon

My Ancestry DNA Results

About a month or so ago, I did an Ancestry DNA test. I haven't been too gung-ho in recent years with working on my family tree but I thought that it would be interesting to do the test when there was a sale on them. I was a bit surprised to see that biggest percentage of my ancestry is from England. Other big surprises were that 2% of my DNA is from the Middle East and 2% is from Africa (Senegal). Most of the rest of my DNA is from northern European countries with a scattering from other parts of Europe. I am really getting curious about my family tree now!

Sharon

My Grand-Doggie and His New Sweater

Finally I got a chance to see my son's furbaby Tiny. Tiny is an itty-bitty chihuahua that at the ripe age of 7, was adopted by my son and daughter-in-law. As soon as I heard about him and how small he was, I made a nifty blue sweater for him. In the pictures, it is kind of hard to see but there are ridges down the back of the sweater. Pattern is archived but you can still access it. Something I learned a few weeks ago about archived pages, is that if for some reason you can't get to the archived page you want, you can go to the top of the page (with the error message on it) where it shows you a bar graph looking thing with dates and if you click on a different date you may be able to access the page.

And my baby with the grand-doggie:

I am going to be honest with you, I did get in a hurry and "goof" on this sweater. I forgot to put the buttonhole on the front and I ended up putting a snap there and a "dummy" button on top for a decorative look. I love this pattern, it is easy, cute and made for small chihuahuas.

I spoke out on political/serious subjects yesterday. I try to keep this blog fairly free of controversial topics but yesterday was an exception and I'll try to steer clear of these types of topics from now on. Too much drama in the world already and it is nice to have a drama-free zone.

That's all for now folks--hope your weekend is going well.

Sharon

Five on Friday

I saw a "Five on Friday" post on Kate's blog so I thought I'd give it a shot. As I get older, my mind sometimes ponders on a variety of topics. Here's 5 of them.

1. On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Often referred to as 9/11, the attacks resulted in extensive death and destruction, triggering major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defining the presidency of George W. Bush. Over 3,000 people were killed during the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., including more than 400 police officers and firefighters. (To see more go here).

2. One good thing that has come out of the atrocities of 9/11 has been an upward swing in patriotism. I am proud to see our flags flying and respect given to our military members and veterans.

3. Our country is broke, we all need to conserve. During WWII, conservation and recycling were a top priority as is seen in this poster. This isn't only on a personal level, it is also on a level where one's actions cause others to have to offer help such as blowing a paycheck and then going to a food pantry for help with groceries. Most people don't do this of course but after volunteering at an assistance center, there were people coming in for help with food and utilities and they had to show their monthly expenses. Cell phones with all the bells and whistles and premium cable channels are not necessities. How about let's repair our roads and bridges before building new ones? If we don't repair the old ones, soon there were be even more bridges and roads needing repairs and it will be be a continual "catch-up" trying to keep up with the maintenance.

4. I have tried to minimize products I purchase that are made in China. I wanted to stop buying all things made there but I found that it is impossible to do this because American made products are not available or in some cases the cost is formidable for many of us.  Why don't I want to buy Chinese-made products? Because most are of inferior quality and many of these products can kill you or your loved ones. Recently, flooring being made there for a well-known American company is suspected of being carcinogenic. Toys for children were painted with lead-based paint. Drywall made in China and used in American homes caused respiratory problems and damage to homes. Legal action against Chinese drywall manufactures is next to impossible. Treats made in China for our furry friends are even suspect of making our furbabies ill or even causing their deaths--I have called companies that did not have the location of where the treats were made on the label to obtain that information. Recently I thought about trying tilapia. Most tilapia is from China and smaller companies in the tilapia trade have fed pig manure to the fish. If the products don't adversely affect your health, then it's quite likely of inferior quality. There have been several items I've recently purchased that didn't work right out of the box and a granite counter in the bathroom (from Home Depot) that the color comes off of it when in contact with cleaning solutions.

5. I am thankful that I have my crochet to keep me occupied and make gifts for family and friends to show my love for them.

I guess I've had some serious subjects on my mind lately. For all of you who may want to read more Five on Friday posts, click on the button below. 

Have a great week everyone!

Sharon

Gearing Up...

I'm gearing up and psyching myself up to doing a graphghan. I chose a pattern and ordered yarn. Instead of a white background, I'm going to do it in a khaki color because hubby is a retired navy senior chief petty officer and he wore a khaki uniform. Now that I've posted about this I have to follow through with it. I ended up ordering my yarn from yarnspiration. They have a deal if you order $75 worth of items you get free shipping. The yarn hoarder that I am couldn't resist the idea of free shipping so I kept filling my cart until I reached the $75 mark. I don't know why I'm so nervous about making one of these, it's only single crochet so I don't know what's the big deal except maybe I'm just stuck in a rut making slippers and hats too long.

Okay, I'll lay off on my whining. This is about all that's new for now. I need to get to work on my Christmas projects so I can get started on the graphghan.

That's all for now folks,
Sharon

Purple and White Winter Set

Today's show and tell is for a purple and white hat and scarf. At a Roses discount store, I found a skein of "Team Spirit," by Red Heart, as a special purchase. There was only 1 skein but I liked the colors so the yarn hoarder in me quickly grabbed the yarn and threw it in my cart. I decided to use this yarn to make a scarf out of. The scarf is completely done out of single crochet. I did 2 rows of the "Team Spirit" and then 1 row of white. I only had a tiny ball leftover when I finished--good thing I mixed the white in with the "Team Spirit." Then, I made a hat out of white and I had a small ball of purple leftover from another project and the purples matched! So, here's the finished projects:

Hat Pattern

I'm really happy with the design the yarn took on in the scarf. I am not happy with the yarn itself because it is scratchy and stiff. I will wash these items with vinegar in the wash water and use a good fabric softener in the rinse to soften the yarn.

I'm still churning out my Christmas projects. My current project is a supersize pair of slippers for a man. For me, finding a pattern and colors to use for a man aren't very easy. For a few years, my ideas for the colors I used for men's slippers were based on plaid flannel shirts I'd seen. Strange, I know but the men in my family are very traditional with their clothing. As a matter of fact, my husband is "hooked" on the same style of Skecher tennis shoes/sneakers/whatchacallit shoes and I have to go to Amazon to find them. Actually, I should be happy because he did change styles about 3 years ago and prior to that he was stuck on the traditional style of Reeboks for over 20 years. He's becoming more stylish in his old age. 

This is all I have for now. I hope to have a few more finished projects to share with you in a day or 2. Take care my friends.

Hugs,

Sharon

Ott Lights

Monday's Free Crochet Pattern (07 September 2015)

I found this post as a draft since June and I don't know how I missed it for so long. As the old cliche goes "It's better late than never" and here's a great pattern for an afghan.

 

This is a nice alternative to "square" squares. I can visualize this pattern devouring a bunch of small balls of leftover yarn. 

Have fun!
Sharon

Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Here are 2 more Christmas stockings that I was going to post the other day but my pictures were really bad and I had to take new ones.

This is an easy pattern to make and follow. I enjoyed making these but I do have a confession to make about the "oops" I had on all 3 stockings that I made. After finishing the cuff, I cut my yarn forgetting all about making the loop! Guess I was too excited to be so close to finishing. The pics--

Pattern

And this is all for now...

Hope your weekend is going well.

Sharon

Sharing a Secret About Me--

This is so true!

Have a great holiday weekend everyone.

Hugs,
Sharon

Christmas Stocking Complete

I took pictures of the 3 stockings I had completed but 2 photos looked very blurry when I loaded them on the laptop. I'll get some new ones and show them to you later.

This is a stocking for Santa to fill for hubby if he's good and minds the mommy of the house (me). I think the husband will do alright with Santa because he's worked very hard this year.

The pattern is by Red Heart and it is found here. It is pretty simple to make. I love the yarn I used and the way it almost looks plaid. It is made from some mill ends I found at JoAnn's in Florida earlier this year. 

Guess this is it for now folks. Take care!

Sharon

Christmas crochet books

From Head to Toe

Today I have a couple completed projects to show you. These were made previously to my Christmas to-do list so they don't come off the total projects needed to be done for Christmas.  Starting with the head, we have a watch cap for a man.

I love, love this pattern. The first few times I made it, I didn't care for it. I got confused and lost a few times. Now, it is an easy-peasy pattern to make and follow. Next time, I will make a modification because the hat seemed a bit too snug. Here's the pattern. Some help with seaming up the back is on this video. In this video it looks like she may have ended with row 4 instead of 5. I have done it both ways and either way seems to work and look okay. If you like the traditional look in men's winter hats then this pattern may be the one for you.

Down to the toes: there's no surprise when I add another pair of slippers to my completed projects. These are pretty popular and I love making them.

Pattern

This is all for now folks. Take care and have a great day.

Hugs,

Sharon

Christmas yarn

My Crochet To-Do List and a Plan

I'm getting serious about my Christmas crochet list. I already have quite a few things made but these are what I have left to do.

• 2 pair men's extra large slippers
• 2 hats for men
• 5 pair women's slippers
• 5 pair of men's slippers
• 2 women's hats
• 1 scarf for woman
• 2.5 Christmas stockings

I hope this is all I have left to make for Christmas. I have big plans after I finish these projects--I will be attempting a graph afghan--if I don't chicken out. I have a tendency to fall back on many of the same patterns over and over again because I get secure with them. I am also a collector of yarn paraphernalia gadgets. I have butterfly looms, knifty knitter looms and a knook set and I've only used the knifty knitter to make a few hats. I really splurged and bought PC Stitch to make graphs and boy oh boy is it an unfriendly program to use. I am making a resolution here and now to be more adventurous with yarn projects and learn how to use the gadgets I have been hoarding.

I'm going to be seriously watching videos to help me master "graphghaning." Mikey of Crochet Crowd always does a great job with his video tutorials and I expect that these tutorials will be excellent resources to learning how to make a graph afghan. 

Okay, the plan is made and I'm excited about it. Just need to stay motivated and finish the Christmas projects quickly. 

Take care my friends!

Hugs,

Sharon

knifty knitter looms