On 21 April 1689 William III and Mary II Become King & Queen

On April 21,1689 William III & Mary Stuart were proclaimed king & queen of England. Their marriage was largely a political alliance. William III and Mary were first cousins and Mary was 12 years younger than William. Willliam was not faithful--he maintained a long affair with one of Mary's ladies in waiting Elizabeth Villiers. William arrive in England with troops and took over the rule after the abdication of Mary's father James II. James abdicated under pressure because he had tried to make alliances with Catholic countries and this was not popular with Parliament and landowners in England. To read a fairly detailed although short article about William III aka William of Orange go to this page. You may a read a short article about Mary II here.
More about William of Orange

Crochet WIP

OK, I know I said I wasn't going to post a picture of this rr afghan I'm making until it was finished. Well, my ds posted this picture on his myspace and I snagged it and here it is lol! This is Aggie May's pattern from crochetville.org. My addiction for these afghans continues... Anyway, this afghan will be for my uncle. It is the 2nd afghan for him. The first afghan I made him was granny squares and boy did it take a looooong time to make. I hope he likes this one. I have to get back to work on it. Hugs to all...

A Look at Dating in Mid-20th Century

According to Planned Parenthood, about 10 percent of teenage girls in the U.S. become pregnant before age 20 (see article here). That's a pretty scary statistic. Do you wonder what it was like when our parents or perhaps grandparents were teens? The video here is an educational video about dating from 1949. WOW! Things have changed tremendously since then. Remember, you can turn my blog's music off so it will be easier to listen to this video. Hugs to all...
Teenage Dating

Not so Sedentary Lately

I've been working this temp. job for the Census Bureau. I go door-to-door and put dots on a map for where the addresses for residences are. Not too difficult but rather exhausting for an old sedentary lady like me. I'd rather spend my day doing one of three things: reading, crocheting or surfing the Internet. Honestly, I actually enjoy the walking especially when the houses are close together otherwise I have to hop in and out of my car and that's not so much fun. Anyway, things on the home front are starting to fall apart--ok, not starting but have already! I saw this picture and thought it very appropriate lol! Hugs to all...

Susan Boyle--"Cry Me a River"

This lady is fantastic! Her style is reminiscent of the 1940s. What a wonderful talent. To listen to this song, you may want to go to the other column on this page and turn off the sound to my music player. I hope you enjoy this song as much as I did. Hugs to all...

My Take-Out from Taco Bell--Mighty Skimpy

I suppose most of you have seen sizes of many products shrink. Cereal and ice cream are two that immediately come to mind. Fast food places have jumped on the bandwagon. Today, I brought home a bag of tacos from Taco Bell. Well, if I didn't have my glasses on I would have been hard-pressed to see the meat. Here's a picture of the delightful taco that one could almost say was "meat-flavored" instead of having meat. Does anyone else have a similar story to relate?

My GGranddaughter--American Idol

My ggranddaughter is a great songstress. She's a regular diva! Before you play this go to the other column and turn off the old-fogey music.

Thomas Jefferson's Thoughts on National Debt

Thomas Jefferson wrote to William Plumer on July 21, 1816;

"I, however, place economy among the first and most important republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared."

To see a copy of this letter in Jefferson's handwriting visit this page at the Library of Congress online. William Plumer was a politician in the new country of the United States. You may read a short article on him at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

Thomas Jefferson Store

OCD kicks in

Guess my OCD kicked 'cause I'm making another round ripple afghan. This time I'm making one in gold, black and white. I started it not knowing who was going to receive it. After talking to my uncle, he told me that he was seriously considering getting a place in Florida. So, I decided that this would be a housewarming present for him. You're probably wondering why I said my OCD kicked in. Well, I don't really have OCD, I just get hooked on certain things and do them over and over again like make the rr afghan and this one pair of slippers. For a while there I was hooked (no pun intended) on making dishcloths. I have gotten a bit slower on cranking out the round ripples so I'm not going to post a picture quite yet and leave you hanging waiting to see the final result. Take care everyone and hugs to all...

On 06 April 774, Charles the Great Affirms Promise of Quiercy

On this day in 774 Charles the Great affirms Pepin the Short's promise of Quiercy. OK, that's nice but who the heck is Charles the Great and what is Pepin's promise of Quiercy??? You may have heard of Charles the Great by his other moniker--Charlemagne. The Medieval Sourcebook gives a little more information about him that you may be interested in. Pepin (also spelled Pippin) was Charles the Great's father. Anyway, Pepin's promise of Quiercy was to restore to the Catholic church some lands in Central Italy. Pepin did not have these lands, they had to be taken from their conquerors before this could be done. The New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia has a good article about this. Scroll down the page to "Intervention of the Franks Formation of the States of the Church" to read about this event.

Granny Square Baby Blankie--Finished!

I had a ufo (unfinished object) for sometime that I was kind of frustrated with. Was it hard to do???? Nope, not at all. I was frustrated because I didn't notice the yarn was to be hand washed only. Dang, that's not practical for a baby blanket. I finished it this morning (see the above pics) and after I wash some "necessaries" I'm going to try machine washing it and see how it turns out. I'll let you know how my "laundry experiment" ends up. I didn't have a plan to give this to a baby, I was just making it because the yarn is so "pettable" and I thought it would be great for a special baby sometime in the future. As for the pattern, I started making a big granny square and just kept at it. I edged it with ww yarn in complementary colors. If you are interested in making something like this (you'll probably make a smarter yarn choice than I did lol)-- there are numerous granny square patterns available for free on the Internet and by googling you should be able to find one. Hugs...

Dishcloth Made from Afghan Square

Here is a dishcloth I finished making today. It was one of those carry-in-my-purse projects. I used a pattern for an afghan square to do this. The colors are kinda blah, but they'll do to wash dishes with. The following video will show you how to make this square; the difference in what I did is that I made my final round sc instead of dc. Why don't you try this and let me know how yours turned out? Best wishes and hugs....

"Chocolate Mint" RR Afghan Finished at Last!

At last I finally finished this afghan. It is wider than my 6'1" husband is tall! I wanted to use up some yarn I had been hoarding and I did use almost all but a little ball of the green, but I do have enough brown and tan to make several pairs of slippers. It is really hard for me to judge how much yarn I need so I often over-buy. I bought the tan specifically for this project but I think it looks better with 3 colors instead of 2 anyway. I have a cute picture of one of my chis posing on it but he wanted that picture posted on his blog so you'll have to go there to see it lol! Hugs to all...

Lapghan for Charity--Finished!

I'm finally getting some projects completed so I can post them. Here for your enjoyment is a completed lapghan made by using "magic ball" yarn with another strand (I used black) and basically double crocheting it the desired size. I got the idea from this blog. I liked the idea of using my little "leftover") yarn balls. I think it is better than using the granny square technique because granny squares are (for me) a tedious process of weaving and sewing after the squares are made. UPDATE: My round ripple afghan has only 4 more rounds to go! I hope to have it completed and a picture posted soon. Hugs to all...

Slippers For Friend--Complete!

A dear friend of mine will be having an operation soon. Like so many of us would, she wanted a decent robe and maybe jammies and slippers to take with her. I made these slippers and popped them in the mail to her the other day. She should have them today so I think I'm safe posting a pic of them. The black yarn I used is Caron Pounder and the bright coral (no it's really not pink) is a vintage yarn that I picked up somewhere. The pattern I used is a favorite that you can check my blog and see that I've made many, many times. Here's the pattern.

Crochet Update

I know I have to have adult ADD or something. I find it hard to concentrate on my crochet projects lately. I worked on 3 differed ufos (for non crocheters, that's unfinished objects). I bounced between my chocolate mint rr, and 2 different lapghans I'm making for charity--you can see them here. The one lapghan is a real pain because I have to sew 91 squares together. The other lapghan is made by using the magic ball technique. To make a "magic ball" you windup all sorts of leftover bits of yarn. For the afghan you crochet with another strand of yarn. In this case, I'm using black. You can see pictures of my lapghans here. I'm hoping to donate them to the VA hospital. I think I better get a few more going before I donate the pink one. I wonder if some macho guy would like it???? LOL! Hugs to all...

A Nice Family Day Today

Here's a picture of my baby boy! He was over today and we were setting him up with his own page on one of those online social type places. Duh, I can't think of the name of it just now lol. Anyway, I had to take a few pics of him for his page and I thought I'd post this one on my blog since it has been a while since I posted one of Justin. Anyway, we got him all set up. It is hard to believe that he is 29 and just now getting into learning how to use computers! He's always been a "late bloomer" so I guess this shouldn't be a surprise. Anyway, for the person who snoops here to see pics of my "boys" here's one.

Today, I fixed a very good pork shoulder roast. I had this huge thing in my freezer and I thought I had better make it so I did. I found a great recipe for an oriental style roast and it was yummy. You can see the recipe here. I made rice (of course) to go along with it and I had some stir-fried veggies. Justin, his wife Karen and her gd plus my mil shared the meal with us and just about everyone had seconds so that's a good sign that they enjoyed it. Added 24 March 09--I adapted this recipe to use in the oven instead of the slow cooker. I put the roast in a cooking bag and then mixed all the other ingredients and poured on top of it. Worked out pretty good and the meat just fell off the bone.

Take care everyone and hugs....>

Chatting About Some Crochet Things

I've seen some very cute crochet things for babies. Some of them I would be a little bit leery of having around babies. Those cute stuffed animals or amigurami could be hazardous to babies if there are little plastic doodads like buttons sewn on them. Babies put just about everything imaginable in their mouths--even their toes! When buttons go into babies mouth, there is a chance that the button will come off and the baby swallow it. Maybe not the first time but on a subsequent time when the thread holding the button on has weakened. I believe it is much better to embroider eyes and other features on these toys for babies.

Most crocheters know that it is not a very good idea to make potholders or hot pads out of acrylic yarn. This yarn will melt if it is exposed to heat. One thing I've seen lately on some projects are plastic eyes used on character hot pads. These too will melt not only messing up the cute crocheted item but also quite possibly getting stuck on one of your nice pots leaving you with lots of scrubbing to do in order to salvage the pot.

Did I do any of these things I've talked about? I'm embarassed to admit that I made a potholder out of acrylic yarn and well, the inevitable happened and it partially melted and stuck to a pot! Yick!

I've wondered about hats that don't cover the ears. They really don't warm you up or keep you warm.




Update on my crocheting: I put aside the afghan for the day. I started and am almost finished making a pair of slippers for a df who is going into the hospital. I haven't told her yet so maybe she won't check out my blog and I can still surprise her. I'll finish them tomorrow and try to get them in mail tomorrow or Saturday morning. Once she gets them I'll post a picture for you. Here's the pattern I'm using. I'm using one strand of black (Caron 1 pounder) and one of a bright coral (a "vintage" find). The picture shows you the colors.

This is it for now. Hugs to all....

Sneak Peek at Latest Afghan WIP

I am posting a couple "sneak peek" photos of the round ripple afghan I am making. It's getting VERY big and I hope it doesn't take too much longer to finish. Hugs...

Potholder Pattern to Coordinate With Meshie-Washie Dishcloth

Here is the pattern I promised you to coordinate with the Meshie-Washie Dishcloth.

This pattern is mine and by being posted here it is copyrighted as of 13 March 2009. You may use this pattern to crochet gifts or for your own use. Absolutely no selling of finished objects! Do not sell the pattern or copy my pictures for your own use or sale because I hold the copyright for them too. You may print out copies of this pattern and the accompanying photos to use as reference only. Do not post this pattern or the accompanying photos elsewhere on the web. You may link to the pattern here please. So enough of that and here's the pattern...

Meshie-Potholder

You will make 2 "squares"

Materials:

All cotton ww yarn (examples use 3 colors)
G Hook
Tapestry needle


Directions:
1st Square: We'll call this the front piece
With color A chain 29
Row 1 In 2nd ch from hook sc then sc across (28 sc), ch 3 then turn

Row 2 skip first sc then dc in next sc, ch1, *skip sc then dc in next, ch 1*

Row 3 sc across {last sc will be between a dc and ch3 ( 28 across)}

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until you have 9 rows of row 2 and 10 rows of row 3

Fasten Off

2nd Square: We'll call this the back piece

With color B chain 29

Row 1 In 2nd ch from hook sc then sc across (28 sc), ch 3 then turn

Row 2 dc across row

Alternate dc with sc rows. Do 10 rows of sc and 9 rows of dc

Fasten off

Weave in Ends (or you can leave this to the end)

Assemble:

Lay the back side of the back piece (are you following me??) down on table with the back side down.

Lay the back side of the front piece on top of the back piece. (Have I confused you yet?)

Matching up the sc and dc rows will simplify crocheting these pieces together.

Edging:
NOTE: Both pieces together

1st round--

attach color B ch1

sc around-- In corners, put 1 sc ch2 and 1sc

slip stitch into first stitch when finishing row

Fasten off

2nd round

attach color C in a corner ch3

dc around--In corners put 2 dc ch1 and 2dc

slip stitch into first stitch when finishing row

Here you may opt to chain 10 and sl st to corner to make a hanger-circle thingie.

Fasten off

Weave in all loose ends

Note: If you see that I have made a "goof" please let me know. I am the only one who has "tested" this pattern so some "goofs" may have been missed.

If you use this pattern please give me some feedback on it. Thank you for visiting and hugs to all...

Potholders Galore