Yikes! Where Did Summer Go?

I know it's still summer, still warm and humid here in northern Illinois, but I'm feeling like summer is beginning to wind down and fall will be here before I know it. One indication of a looming autumn is my garden. The last daylily bloomed this week. The late summer surprise lilies are still in bloom, but already beginning to fade.

My garden gets bedraggled in August. Asters: I think asters might be an answer. There used to be an older lady, Eve, in our neighborhood who grew gorgeous purple and pink asters along her parkway. Her yard was a cheery sight as the dog days of summer faded away. Once her husband caught someone picking the flowers! I guess the woman thought the parkway was public property. Sadly, Eve is gone and so are her asters.

My summer has been busy; I've been
working, visiting family, and crocheting.
Right now I'm making some retro-y pillow
covers that I'll show you when I've finished
the second one.

In the meantime, I can show you a Queen Ann's
Lace scarf I completed recently. My daughter
had given me some luscious alpaca yarn for
Christmas (Cascade Yarns Baby Alpaca
Chunky Paints), which worked up beautifully.
Maybe the fall colors of the yarn are what make
me think summer is over.

These autumn colors and the fallen leaves I've
been finding in the birdbath need to be a spur to
me to finish all the projects I had planned for the
summer. I have another pathway to dig, shrubs
to prune, birdhouse to clean out, etc., etc.

Hope you're enjoying whatever season you're in!

Basket Case!

Last week I was down south visiting the old, the sick, and the infirm (aka my family).  While I was there, sometimes with not much to do, I became something of a basket case.  Crocheted baskets!

Aren't the little handles adorable?

I blame my basket craze on Meredith at Mereknits.  Toward the end of August, she began posting pictures of a basket she had crocheted.  Yowza, I was hooked (sorry).  So I hopped on over to Crochet in Color, where Meredith got her pattern, and promptly downloaded the pattern for myself.

Last week I crocheted FOUR baskets.  You can really tell how poor my crochet skills are when I tell you that none of the four baskets turned out the same size or even quite the same shape!  I gave a mulberry-colored one to my mother, so I don't have pictures of it, but you can see what I mean with the picture of the other three.

No consistency at all!

The baskets are worked with a double strand of super bulky yarn.  For some reason, I had the most trouble with the beige basket.  The yarn is all the same brand, Yarn Bee Effortless Super Bulky, but the beige was "hairier" and my hook got caught more often.  Maybe that is why I hooked it tighter.  Another factor that made them different is that with the first one (far right), I accidentally hooked the sides from the inside out (working on the far edge of the basket rather than the side nearest me).  I don't know how I got that going, but I think that's what gave it the slightly bulbous shape.  The second basket (center) was made "correctly," or at least as correctly as I could do it.  It has straight sides.  Because I'd seen the bulbous one first, though, I kind of liked it better, so I made the third basket hooking the sides inside out again.

When I brought home my basket haul, the husband wondered what I am going to do with them.  I could see one in Florida holding sunscreen.  My brother suggested a smaller one with shorter sides as a place to throw car keys.  I'm not sure what will happen to these, but there is some gray Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick and Quick in my yarn bag waiting to be made into yet another basket!

I think I may be developing an addiction.

Dog Walking Beanie Hats

Don't be fooled.  This is his mid-day look.
At 5:30 a.m., he's jumping on the bed.

Here at the Posy house, we are an early rising bunch, and Alfie, that sly dog, is the earliest of all.  Most mornings, he's up and at 'em by 5:30 and ready for his walk.  We actually like to walk early.  It's a bit quieter -- fewer cars on the street -- and we are more likely to spot wildlife as we walk along the river.  There are others who walk or jog around the same time, so we are often able to greet one or two "regulars" and share news of deer or fox sightings or remark on the weather or what have you.

The only trouble with walking first thing, before breakfast and showers, is that my hair often looks like I just rolled out of bed which, of course, I did, but one doesn't want to go out in public like that, even if it is 5:45 a.m.  I have lots of hats for winter walks and that works great as hair camouflage.  Summer is a little tougher.  I've never been a girl to wear a baseball cap.  This summer, I did swipe one from our son's room -- a jazzy plaid number -- and have worn it a few times, but it's really not me.

acrylic version

So I found this little hat pattern, available from DROPS Design.  I have crocheted two of them so far, both in self-striping sock yarn.  The first I made in acrylic, which is really perfect for a summer morning as it's not too hot.  The most recent one I made with wool sock yarn which I had left over from a scarf I made last winter.  They're goofy looking but I like them, and I don't have to worry if my hair is sticking up weird or anything.

Little granny squares with simple double crochet for the body of the cap and as a border below.

I'm afraid, though, that this latest hat will be my last crochet project for a while.  I have developed what I believe is tendinitis in my elbow.  I am going to lay off the needlework and heavy lifting to see if it improves.  I've been doing a lot of outside work lately too (carrying those concrete stepping stones yesterday didn't help), so I'll ease up and see if the pain eases up too.  Any of you crocheters ever have similar trouble?

Crazy Granny Stashghan

If you Google granny stripe afghan, you can find photos of beautiful, color-coordinated crocheted afghans, many in rainbow hues, and some with elaborate borders.  And then there's this:

What I call my crazy granny stashghan.  I admit, calling it "crazy granny" is a little bit politically incorrect.  After all, most grandmothers are not crazy.  My own grandmothers were both hardworking women.  

My paternal grandmother married a Pennsylvania coal miner and raised ten children.  They never had much money, and she never had much free time until she was older.  She was a talented lady though.  She designed and cut her own patterns and sewed clothes for her kids.  She could draw and paint; I'm told she drew beautiful horses. When she was older, she loved Avon and always colored her hair and painted her nails.

My maternal grandmother married a bit later in life.  She married a widower with six children, one of whom wasn't quite two yet, I believe.  She then had two children of her own.  She was a farm wife who cooked three hearty meals a day, every day because farm work was hard work with a mule to plow with and tobacco worms to pick off the plants by hand.  She killed the chickens herself, churned the butter, and made quilts out of flour sacks.  My father, her son-in-law, said she made the best biscuits he ever tasted.  In later years, she lived with her oldest daughter, my aunt, and was the quietest, calmest person I have ever known.

I look back now and wish I'd taken more time to talk to my grandmothers, to hear the stories of their lives.  There are so many things I'll never know.

Perfect for lounging on the hammock.

This is the second granny stripe afghan I have made, both using up excess, leftover yarn from my yarn stash.  Honest, the only yarn I bought was some extra pink and teal to finish the border.  This crazy afghan is a mix of acrylic, wool, and even some cotton.  I love making these because they are so easy to do.  The only pain is weaving in all the ends.  

Serenity Shawl

I am in love!  In love with this gorgeous yarn, Serenity Garden.  After seeing a fabulous crocheted shawl on Teresa Kasner's blog, (see her post about it here), I knew I had to make one too.  I shamelessly copied Teresa entirely, using the same pattern and the same yarn, although in a different colorway.

The pattern is called "Ruby" by Anastasia Roberts, and is available for purchase on Ravelry.  The yarn is Dralon microfiber, machine washable and dryable (love that!) and is part of the Deborah Norville Collection; the color is Sea.  I got the yarn at Jo-Ann Fabric, but I don't know if they still carry it.  I scoured three or four stores to find enough.



My shawl is pretty big, as you can see in relation to a double bed.  I added an additional thirteen three-row repeats in part one of the pattern to make it larger.  I think it would work well in a smaller size though -- it would be more like a triangular scarf.  It's hard to see the subtleties in the color changes of this yarn in these photos, but it is really interesting, and it feels luscious.

Thank you, Teresa, for inspiring me to make this lovely shawl.  You're my hero.

Fourteen New Crochet Squares

I have been a hooking fool, ya'll.  Since my last post about my crochet square project, I have made fourteen more squares.  This has become my evening relaxation -- sitting in a comfy chair, watching a movie, and crocheting a new square.  One evening last week, we rented "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" through OnDemand.  That was one of the most enjoyable movies I've watched in a long time.  I liked it so much that I watched it again the next day (and worked on another square!) as I was waiting for the carpet man to stop by for measurements.  Since I watched the movie, I have found myself thinking, "Everything will be all right in the end.  So if it is not all right, it is not yet the end."  Isn't that a comforting philosophy?  How intriguing to think about setting off on such an adventure when one is "elderly and beautiful."  If you have not seen the movie yet, I highly recommend it.  If you have, what did you think of it?

Here are my latest squares from 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws, and Afghans by Jan Eaton.  One is even called Marigold!  Bear in mind, these have not been blocked yet, so they are a little curly and misshapen.

Top row: #80 Blocks and Shells, #31 Primrose Square, " 83 Diamond in a Square.
Bottom row: #100 Pastel Delight, #137 Criss Cross, and #113 Wisteria

Left column, top to bottom: #20 Colorful Bobbles, #149 Solid Square, # 87 Peony. Middle column, top to bottom:
#85 Lemon Stripe, #51 Bright Flower, # 78 Briar Rose. Right column: #209 Marigold and # 22 St. Petersburg.

Works in Progress

With this awful hot weather and lack of rain I haven't had a lot of gardening to do lately, so I've been working on some things indoors.

My big, horrible project is painting the last room in the basement.  When I say "room," don't get the idea that we have some kind of lovely finished basement.  Not at all.  We have a basement that serves strictly as a laundry room, storage, and my old darkroom (that I haven't used in years).  A basement with 100-plus-year-old stone and brick walls.  The walls need to be coated occasionally to help prevent the mortar from crumbling.  I have finally, after eighteen years in this house, gotten up the motivation to finish the final section.

The first step was decluttering.  I took apart an entire home gym, hauled it to my car, and had both the Salvation Army and the junk shop reject it.  Luckily, the metal scavengers took it from the curb.  I also emptied the husband's computer accessory closet -- 20-year-old software boxes (many empty), manuals for printers that are long gone, textbooks for software that is several generations outdated.  Then on to the fun part.  


And by fun part, I mean drudgery.  This job involves a LOT of shop vac use, wire brushing, more shop vac, filling small cracks and holes, more shop vac, painting with thick, gunky, stinky waterproofing paint - which seems to be the best thing for solidifying the mortar - and, for good measure, another round with the shop vac.  It is a slow project, partly because I work on it for a day or two and then take a couple of days off, but also because it all has to be brushed on by hand in order to cover the rough, pitted stones.  I don't have the words to describe just how yucky this job is, but I think the brand name of the paint -- UGL -- kind of sums up how I feel about it.

This is what I'm dealing with.

Coming along -- s l o w l y.

To take my mind off the horrors of DryLok, I have also been crocheting more squares from 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws and Afghans by Jan Eaton.  The three newest squares are  Victorian Lace (#92, two hook difficulty), Kingcup (#95, three hook), and Spinner (#89, two hook).  I'm really liking the brighter colors in the last two squares.

I also began working on the shawlette I am making with the Alpandina yarn I received from the yarn swap I wrote about in June.  I still have a little ways to go before I get into the lace portion, but I like it so far.  The yarn feels fabulously soft. I am going a bit slow on this because every once in a while my center line gets off by a stitch and it has to be unworked.  I don't notice the problem for a while, so this usually involves taking out one to two complete rows. Confession:  I lack the confidence to undo my knitting mistakes if it's more than a couple of stitches, so I have to wait for my daughter to come home for a visit.  I'm sure she thinks I am incompetent, but she kindly fixes things so that I can continue.

Looks a little like a stingray.

Four Square

Remember playing four square as a kid?  Or two square?  I don't actually have to remember that far back because we have a two square court painted on our driveway.  Our son used to love to play two square and would draw a chalk court onto the blacktop.  One day I suggested he paint one instead.  I guess that's a little atypical for the average home, but it provided lots of fun times, and we even repainted it after the driveway was recoated.  A couple of weeks ago, the son (now 20) and I played a rousing game of two square.  You won't be surprised to hear that I lost.  I mean, how hard is it for a 6'3" strong young guy to beat his middle-aged mother?  Not very.

The four square I'm writing about today, though, has nothing to do with asphalt and a rubber playground ball.  I want to show you the first four squares I have crocheted from the 200 Crochet Blocks book by Jan Eaton that I told you about in April.

They're pretty wonky because I haven't blocked them yet.

In 200 Crochet Blocks, Eaton developed a difficulty ranking system for the different blocks.  One hook is a beginner block, two hooks means some experience required, and three hooks is designated as challenging.  Two of the blocks I crocheted are very simple, one-hook-rated patterns -- the Openwork Square (#10 of the 200) and the Traditional Granny (#18).  The other two were a little more complicated.  Italian Cross (#24) is a two-hook pattern, and it taught me the puff stitch, which is really fun.  And Waterlily (#16), a three-hooker, is my first three-dimensional square.

Italian Cross puff stitches

Waterlily

I still have a ways to go on the quality of my crochet -- tension, even stitches, etc. -- but it's fun to learn new stitches and techniques.  I plan to eventually have enough squares to put together a throw for my daughter.  She is a fabulous knitter, but luckily she doesn't crochet, so maybe she will be a tiny bit impressed with a little blanket of squares.  After all, if I can't wow the kids with my playground two-square skills anymore, I'll have to take what little glory I can.

Elfin Granny Slippers

I'm not talking about house shoes for a a little wee wizened old lady.  I'm not even talking about tiny slippers.  These slippers are big and they're loud and I like 'em.  A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned learning to crochet squares and my plan to crochet the granny square slippers I'd seen on Ravelry.

Are these really going to turn into slippers?

I finally finished them last night.  I think they are just too fun.  The pointy toes look a little like elf slippers.  What do you think?

Here are views of the side and the sole.  I decided to make the soles a little more durable/warmer, so I used a combination of single and double crochet rows instead of granny squares.

Ahh, time to sit back and admire the slippers -- while they are still free of Alfie hair!  (Maybe I should have made them the color of golden retriever . . .  .)

Linking to Inspired by Felicity Blog Party

Crochet Plans of Mice and Men, or What Michael's Knew

A couple of weeks ago, I checked out a wonderful crochet book from our local library -- 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws and Afghans: Crochet Squares to Mix and Match by Jan Eaton.  I figuratively drooled over it for a while and tried out a square that was too hard for my meager skills.  After returning it today, I realized I really wanted my very own personal copy.  It is available on Amazon for $16.47 and Wal-Mart's web site for $16.46.  But I had a 40% off coupon from Michael's stashed in a drawer.  (You Michael's regulars probably know where this is going.)

a few of the 200 squares in Eaton's book

I have become a little obsessed with learning to crochet squares.  Never mind that all I've managed to make is one partial granny square of three and a half rounds.  I've seen funky granny square slippers on Ravelry, and I'm determined to make some for myself.  (And won't they look great once I've walked around and collected dog hair on them?)

So today, I headed off to Michael's where I picked out three colors of cheap, on-sale ($1.99 per skein) yarn for the granny square slippers.  And, happy day, they had a copy of Eaton's 200 Blocks book.  Full price at $24.95, but I had that coupon.  I happily handed the cashier my 40% off coupon.

"Coupons aren't good on books or magazines," she said.  Well, of course not.  That would be too good of a deal.  I thought about Amazon's $8 savings (not counting shipping), but I had the book in my hand.  I wanted the darn book.  So I let the cashier ring it up.

No doubt, this is what Michael's counts on: avid crochet book desire and a lack of reading the coupon's fine print.  By the time someone reaches the cashier, she's already bought that book as far as her heart is concerned.

I'm happy to have the book, and I'm just going to forget about the $8 I could have saved.  But I think I'm going to shop at Hobby Lobby for a while.