What I Finished Crocheting in 2008

I just thought that I'd list all the items I crocheted in 2008. I had them listed in my signature for crochetville.org but now that a new year is almost here I'll be starting off there with a clean slate and I didn't want to lose track of what I did in '08. Here they are:
Completed 2008 demi slippers (1pr), chenille afghan, dog sweater (3), ski hat, half moon shawl, hat and scarf set (2), blue & white rr, Purple Cuddler RR, purple gold offwhite rr, scarf with headband set (2), headband, rr for baby(5), pink baby hoodie, ladies slippers (21), men's slippers (6), child slippers (1)spiderman rr for baby, doll outfit I "winged", doorstop, pink rr, washcloth (1), dishcloth (2) granny squares (29) Pet booties (3)

Currently, I am working on a hexagon afghan in shades of pink. It is for a friend. I'm not saying who until it is finished because it is a surprise for her! You can find the free pattern here. When I am finished with it I will definitely post a picture of it for you to see. The picture I have posted in this entry is the rr afghan I made my gd for Christmas. She really loved it!

Crocheted Scarf Sets

This is a hat and neckwarmer I made for my dil's Christmas present. I just "winged" the neckwarmer based loosely on a few patterns I looked at, but I used the shell-stitch for this one.

This is the pattern I used for the hat. The hat pattern was quick and I will most likely use it again.

This is a headband and scarf I made for my dgd's Christmas present. I did not have a pattern and just made it up as I went along. I made it out of scraps of yarn that I had on hand. I think it came out pretty don't you?

Post Christmas Recovery

Christmas this year was much more relaxing than in previous years. I did pretty good with my shopping this year--did not go overboard well too much that is! DH and I had Christmas dinner at my son's house. My ddil is a very good cook and she outdid herself. Anyway,these pictures are of the decorations I put up in my house. I hope you enjoy.

Christmas Greetings 2008

Best Wishes to all...

Dec. 16th, 1653: Cromwell Becomes Lord Protector

On this date, December 16th, in 1653: Oliver Cromwell, a leader in the English Revolution and ruler of England since 1649, is proclaimed Lord Protector of England. This revolution resulted inthe execution of King Charles I, and many high ranked government officials. Many reasons are given for this war including: social, economic, constitutional, and religious. You can go to this page to read a little more about this time in English history. To learn more about Cromwell you may visit this website dedicated to him.

Crochet Scarf for Son #1's Christmas Present

Son #1 works outside and I worry that someone will run over him or something. For Christmas, I made him a scarf with yellow glow-in-the-dark stripes. Here's a picture of it. Hope you like it. Hugs....

Once Again, Some More Crocheting for Christmas Presents

Here's some more slippers I made. This time I have one pair for a man and one pair for a woman. The woman's slippers I made without a cuff because I was running short of yarn. I actually had to half-way frog the first slipper I made because I was short of yarn for the second one I was making. No biggie, the slippers turned out ok. I've had to do this before--as a matter of fact, I'm wearing a pair now that I did not put a cuff on. If you look at November's posts, you will see some other slippers I made with this pattern. Here's the free online pattern for these.

This is a scarf I made for my mil for Christmas. I used bamboo yarn and the free pattern you can find here . I love this yarn! It is so soft and glides over my fingers and hook very easily when I crochet with it. It is a bit pricey though but I lucked out and found it on sale and a Christmas present for my mil is a special thing anyway.

This is a potholder that I made to go in the giftbasket I'm creating for my aunt's Christmas present. Can't remember where I got the pattern but I do know it is free online somewhere. Basically, it is 2 squares and the edges are crocheted together. When I get the basket put together I'll try to remember and post a pic. I'm kind of forgetful sometimes so I hope you'll be patient with me. :)

Hugs!!!

Publication of "Charge of the Light Brigade" by Tennyson

On this day, December 9th, in 1854 "Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, was published in England. You can learn more about him by following the links on this page . Here is the text of this poem and you can also see it written in Tennyson's own hand writing.

How Accurate Is History Depicted In Movies?

There is a wonderful webpage where you can learn about how accurate historical events and times are depicted in recent movies. Dr. Cathy Schultz, a history professor from the University of St. Francis, writes a column that has been printed in newspapers. You can read it here where she maintains a page of the columns. She is a wonderful teacher and I was privileged to have had her as my professor for many classes when I was at student at USF. Go ahead and check out her page; you know you want too.... Hugs to all of my readers.

Xmas Present for Son #2 Crocheted

My son told me that all he wanted for Christmas this year was for me to crochet him a red scarf. I made him one with black accents on it. I used this pattern with the fringe added to it. Adding fringe was a way to not have to weave in all those ends. The hat was from this pattern that can be purchased or may be free if you are a member of the the site. Hat's a little large and I hope it fits him ok. It took less than a full skein of the black yarn and less than a full skein of the red yarn to make both of these items. As you can see, my little boy Opi had to be in the middle of things. He's my little sweetie! Hugs to all...

Still More Slippers for Christmas...Oh Yeah, and Barney!

These are slippers made from the same pattern I've used many times before. I have tied each pair together that's why you see the little strings on the back of the slippers. I really need to calculate how many of these slippers I need and compare to how many I have. I tend to get carried away when I start making these. The black and pink pair on the bottom in the middle are child sized. The royal blue and black on the top middle are man-sized. All the rest of the slippers are for the ladies. Earlier this month I posted the link for the pattern for these if you happen to be interested.

As I sat at the dining room table crocheting, Barney climbed into one of the little chi's beds. She's a tad bit big for it but she stayed in it long enough to take a nap! What a character she is :)!

I'm Having Problems Here

I remodeled my blog and my list of links disappeared. I'm in the process of reconstructing it but a few may be lost. For some reason I can't rearrange all the modules so please bear with me while I try to figure this out.

Thanksgiving Greeting

Best wishes to everyone on this special day.

George Washington and Thanksgiving

On this day in 1789 President George Washington proclaimed this date (Thursday 26 November) to be the first national Thanksgiving Day holiday. Over time, National Thanksgiving days were periodically proclaimed by presidents, until in 1863 Abraham Lincoln inaugurated the practice of annually setting the fourth Thursday in November aside for Thanksgiving Day. To see Washington's proclamtion click here . To read a little more about the establishment of an "official" day of thanksgiving go to this page. To read about the year there were 2 Thanksgivings, visit this page.

Round Ripple Afghan for Friend Laurie on W. Coast

I love this afghan I just finished for my dear friend from high school(ca 1970s). I'm almost sad to have it finished because the last half of the afghan was really cozy crocheting because it was nice and warm on my lap! Opi, my little chi "son" liked it too. Never fear, I have washed it and Laurie's "baby" shouldn't pick up the scent of another fur baby. Anyway, back to the afghan talk, I made this out of double strands of ww yarn from Caron and Vanna White. Originally, my df sent me the Vanna White yarn to make a sweater for her little fur baby. I don't know what was going on but I just couldn't get one to turn out. GRRRRRR! If you're a free member at Bernat website you can see it here. Anyway, I decided to add the Caron yarn from my stash and make her this afghan. I figured it would be something the two of them could cuddle in together and stay warm. I hope you like this Laurie. It's going in the mail to you on Monday-Tuesday timeframe.

Kitchen Appliances Go Kaput

This week I was reading on one of my favorite websites and a lady wrote in that when a kitchen appliance dies that you should beware that it usually happens in 3s. Well, I'm almost there. This week, the door on the dishwasher wouldn't open. Finally, it did and a small piece of plastic popped out onto the floor. Luckily (I guess) it is still under warranty. We bought it in December last year. OK, repairman was here this morning and he has ordered parts and will be back in a week to install them.

Appliance #2, the microwave, started making a grinding noise reminiscent of a rock tumbler! I decided it might not be wise to use it (duh, ya think?? lol). We happened to mention it to the repairman and he said that it would be better to get a new one. DH is on the way to Lowes to pick-up one that is on sale. Folks, we are spoiled. I have been totally at a disadvantage this week with meal prep. I really admire my mom and other ladies who managed to put three hot squares on the table everyday and did it with only the ol' kitchen stove.

The repairman did give us a few helpful hints about maintaining our dishwasher. He said that no matter if your dishwasher has a built-in garbage disposal or not, never put dishes in that have food chunks stuck to them. He said that the commercials that show someone putting a cake in the washer to demonstrate its effectiveness will cause the pump to bog down and end up costing the consumer for repairs or replacement. Another good hint was to every now and then run a cup of bleach through an empty washer to kill germs and molds that grow in all dishwashers because the drainpipes contain water that breeds these evils. The third tip he gave was to help minimize the build-up of minerals on the heating element, every now and then run the dishwasher (empty) with a cup of vinegar in the bottom. It's the same principal as using vinegar to clean a coffee maker. Hope these hints and my rambling on has given you some good advice or entertainment! Hugs to all of you...

Christmas 2008 Crocheting Continues...

Here's some pictures of what I've finished since the last update on my crocheting. I've also been working on a round ripple afghan and a hat. I tend to jump from one project to another --middle age lack of concentration kicking in lol. The squares (29 so far) I've been making when I just need a mindless project to keep my hands occupied. I'm going to make a bunch of solid colored ones in the off-white yarn so that I'll be able to use color-coordinated squares in each afghan because not all the colors I have look nice together. The squares will be assembled into lapghans for the VA hospital here. The slippers are, of course, from the pattern I've mentioned in previous posts. I hope you enjoy and are inspired to take up the hook for fun and maybe a good cause. Hugs to all my readers...

Mom's Birthday

JoAnn F. (nee Jungles) French

16 Nov. 1936 - 14 Dec. 1969

Rest in Peace

Today is my mom's birthday. Sadly, she passed away many years ago. My brother and I still miss her more than words can express but we know that she has moved on to a better place.

EM1 Sharon M. Gardner

(formerly HM2 Morgan/ HN French)

On this Day In 1918 - World War I came to an end when the Allies and Germany signed an armistice. This day became recognized as Veteran's Day in the United States. Click here to read about this last day of WWI. If you go to this page you can read the text of this armistice. Today is Veterans Day. Originally it was known as Armistice Day. If you go to the Veterans Administration page you can read about the history of this day to honor veterans of our military.

Baby Turns 29 Today!

That's my ds Justin in the blue shirt. Today is his birthday and my baby is 29! Here he is with his dad last month working on Justin's ol' Mustang. They're quite the twosome when they get started on projects together. I really enjoy watching them work or play together. It is great to see a father and son so closely bonded. I love you Sweetie and "Happy Birthday."