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.  

The End of the Never-ending Blanket

If you were a young child in the early 1990s or the parent of such a child, you may know the TV show "Lamb Chop's Play-Along," which aired on PBS from 1992-1997.  My daughter was three years old in 1992, so she was part of the prime demographic for the audience.  The show starred Lamb Chop, of course, and Shari Lewis along with Hush Puppy and Charlie Horse.  Oh my goodness, the goofy skits, the knock-knock jokes, but mostly the closing theme song!  "The Song That Never Ends."  A preschooler can get a lot of fun out of singing that one over and over and driving her mother mad, mad, mad. Lamb Chop was a lot older than she looked though.  I remember seeing Lewis and Lamb Chop on TV during the 1960s, when I was a kid.  According to Wikipedia, Lamb Chop first appeared in 1957.  The point here is that "The Song That Never Ends" has been on my mind lately as I finished up my crochet sampler blanket, which seemed to become the blanket that never ends.  But it did end.

I started making the blanket before I even knew I was making a blanket.  Back in April, I purchased 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws, and Afghans by Jan Eaton.  I thought it would be fun to try a few of the patterns.  Then in June, I showed you my first four squares.  At that point I was thinking about a little lap throw for my daughter.  As things seem to do around here, however, the lap throw got out of hand and turned into this:

Sixty-three squares of crazy.  I think when the daughter saw that I was making a big blanket for her brother, she was determined that hers would be big too.  No sibling rivalry here, folks!  Here's a view from the other side:

Is it perfect?  Goodness no.  Aside from the garish color combinations, let's just say the blanket has character, shall we?  The squares didn't turn out the same size, so there was a fair amount of adding and tweaking.  Still, I had fun doing it and almost each new square became my short-lived favorite.

No two squares are the same pattern.  Here, in alphabetical order, are the patterns I used: Alternate Bobbles, American Beauty, Anemone, Arcadia, Begonia, Big Round, Blocks and Shells, Briar Rose, Bright Flower, Candy Stripe Bobbles, Catherine Wheel, Centered Square, Chocolate Box, Christmas Rose, Coffee and Cream, Colorful Bobbles, Criss Cross, Dahlia, Daisy Chain, Danish Square, Diamond in a Square, Double Stripes, Edwardian Fancy, Four Patch Granny, Four Square, Framed Flower, Fretwork, Fudge, Gothic Square, Granny in the Middle, Granny Stripes, Granny with a Twist, Into the Blue, Italian Cross, Kingcup, Lacy Wheel, Lemon Stripe, Marigold, Nine Patch Granny, Openwork Square, Pastel Delight, Peach Rose, Peony, Primrose Square, Queen Anne's Lace, Saint Petersburg, Seville, Snowflake, Solid Square, Spinner, Square Target, Starflower, Subtle Stripes, Sunray, Sunshine and Showers, Sunshine Lace, Traditional Granny, Tricolor Square, Victorian Lace, Waterlily, Willow, Wisteria, and Zigzag Bobbles.

I think daughter plans to take the blanket back to her apartment next time she visits, but in the meantime, I'm just going to enjoy the color it adds to her room here at home.

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.