Crocheting Again ~ Christmas Candy Afghan

 

Crocheting Again

My yarn bag keeps calling me to take it out to my yard swing and enjoy the day, 

... so here I am again as my sewing machine patiently waits. 

This is my 

Christmas Candy Striped Sampler Afghan ~ Started Here

It is a monthly BOM kit and I am a few months behind as I have been focused on finishing other projects.

This project was Last Worked On Here.

If it looks like I am stitching the same rows again, it is because I am.

If you look closely you may be able to se there was a dye lot difference in the Snow White yarn in the second month kit. The new ball is much creamier than the first.

At some point I decided that I was going to have to pull the rows in the sixth stripe out and redo them with one dye lot.

I received another skein of whit in a later kit that tuned out to be a perfect match to the first skein, so I only pulled out a few rows.

The ball of creamy white will be saved for use when needed. I think if I use it in stripe that is not too close to other whites the difference will be far less noticeable. I suppose I could request a new skein that is a better match, but it feels trivial at this point.

I shall crochet on.

I hope you are having a good day 

and that your weekend will be a happy one. 

I Like Thursday # 141 ~ One Stitch At A Time

Good Morning, My Friends! 

Time to head over to 

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color 

and share the small things in which we find joy in life.

It is not always as easy to do as it should be.

Quite frankly, there is too much pain and sadness in the world.

Katniss and I have been spending time just stitching and dreaming of peace.

Making and doing for others has always been my go-to form of coping ...

... and going forward one stitch at a time. 

This Finished Shawl Posted Here was made for a friend's 70th birthday, 

so I am calling this on my "Sue Shawl."

I gifted it to her yesterday when we got together with for our monthly lunch day with two other of our dearest friends.  I went thru high school with Sue, so it can be said at that she is my longest lasting friend. 

The body of this shawl was made in the Tunisian Crochet Simple Stitch (tss).

To learn more, click on this link:

All About Tunisian Crochet @ Crochet.com

 I am already planning my next crochet shawl in a different free pattern, 

which will be a gift for another lunch friend later this summer. 

In the interim, I am playing with these fabrics for a quilt.

These are washed yardage fabrics from my stash.

I have used lots of smaller precuts lately in my quilting and had forgotten how nice soft washed fabrics feel when sewing.  I used to always use washed yardage for my quilts.  The resulting quilt will be smoother when washed. This will be a bed quilt for someone who likes restful colors.

I have not much more to share today.

I am sending out happy, restful, peaceful thoughts 

to all of you 

and all the world today.

Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 21

New Finish! 

Welcome to Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 21

This shawl is made using 

Lion Brand Watercolor Yarn

This color is called Teaberry and it is beautiful shades of variegated pink.

and a 9mm Tunisian Crochet Hook 

I made the body of this shawl following the

Phyllite ~ Free Tunsian Crochet Shawl Pattern

This pattern is from Andrea @ 

YarnAndy Homepage

I used almost all of three skeins to complete the body of this shawl.

Then with a forth skein of yarn and a regular crochet hook I added three rounds 

of Front Loop Single Crochet. 

Then I added a picot border on the two bottom sides of the rounded triangular shawl following this free video:

Picot Border Video By Tuula

I made this shawl as a gift for my friend Sue.

My friends and I are gathering today to celebrate.

I will post more how-to photos soon! 

What have you been working on this week?

Please Share ... :) 

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I Like Thursday # 140 ~ Suddenly Summer ~ Suddenly Not

 Good Evening! 

I am late joining my friends @ 

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color 

to share the simply joyful things in life.

It has been a very cool and rainy day so I am enjoying the blooms opening on the big rhododendrons outside my window from the comfort of my sofa today.

Last weekend it was hot for a weekend in mid-May in my corner of the planet.

It seemed summer unexpectedly had arrived mid-Spring. 

Then the strong on-shore winds that have been blowing all spring returned.

Today's day of rain was much more like an early spring day..

This weekend we are forecast to break heat records so summer will be back.

I think we shall have to put our window air conditioners in tomorrow.

Hopefully next week it will not start snowing.

With all these weather changes, there is no telling what may happen.

Time will tell.

My current response to the weather is to carry my yarn bag to wherever it is most comfy. 

On the good days, I took my yarn bag outside to my yard swing

and enjoyed the day until the evening light faded. 

You can see my Sea Shawl Finish ~ Here on my backyard swing.

While I sat I had plenty of backyard birds visit me,

like this pair of goldfinches.

This male cardinal is a frequent visitor. He must be feeding his mate and nestlings because he comes and goes from still dark early morning until the last light fades.

I enjoy all the birds, even our small flock of pigeons.

The purple iridescent feathers on this one are beautiful in the setting sun.

 

This is my new Tunisian Crochet start.

Nutmeg and I are making a shawl in another pattern and this lovely

Lion Brand Watercolor Yarn

This color is called Teaberry and it is beautiful shades of variegated pink.

This pattern has three different Tunisian Crochet stitches.

More later.

It is time to call it a night.

Good Night, my friends.

 I hope your Thursday has been lovely, too. 

Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 20 ~ Sea Shawl

... she stitches sea shawls down by the seashore ... 

Summer has arrived in the Scrapatch. 

Welcome to Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 20 

As my faithful followers know, I also stitch in my backyard ... and with my cats ...

and just about anywhere I can take my yarn project bag. 

Since summer has abruptly arrived here, I have been mostly doing just that.

I will try to make an effort to be more present on my blog and your blogs, too, my friends.  I have been finding google has put up a few roadblocks to leaving comments like I used to do.  I will try to circumvent rather than vent about it.

This is my most recent yarn creation, a triangular wrap shawl that I can use in winter as a neck shawl with my camel wool coat.  I plan to keep the shawl with me after I remove my coat to wrap around my shoulders for cool inside spaces.

For this project I started with this lovely

Scarfie Yarn in Seafoam by Lion Brand Yarn

It is part wool and very soft to work with and to wear. 

For this project, Maestro and I selected this 8mm 

Clover Tunisian Crochet Hook

This set is a recent addition to my tools, a Mother's Day gift selected by me and purchased at a great price here:  Clover Tunisian Crochet Hook Set on Amazon

This book was also gifted ... 

Tunisian Crochet Handbook by Toni Lipsey

This shawl started with this basic simple stitch 

Tunisian Crochet Triangle Shawl Video by Claudetta Crochet

As happens with my projects, it soon took a life of its own.

For the long neck side, I added several rows of this Front Loop Single Crochet (FLSC)  and Back Loop Single Crochet (BLSC) pattern with my regular size L - 8mm crochet hook. 

Then Maestro and I decided to add an easy shell border stitch pattern.

This may also be added with the Tunisian Crochet hook without the extension.

For my shell stitch border added to the two sides, I added a *Single Crochet (SC), skip 1 stitch, 5 Double Crochet (DC)* on both short sides. For the right angle turn, I crocheted 5 DC, Chain 1, 5 DC and then skipped 1 and SC in the next stitch. Then I resumed the *...* shell pattern repeat on the last side.

Here is a close up of the top and side borders in progress. 

Here is a closeup of the Simple Tunisian Stitch on the front and the shell border. 

Here is a closeup and the lovely nubby texture on the back. 

Here is my finished Sew Shawl on my backyard swing.

I will be carrying this with my to future trips to the seashore this summer

to wrap around me on breezy days!

What have you been working on this week, my friends?

Please Share! 

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Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 19 ~ Patchwork Crochet Sampler Throw

It s finished! 

 My Patchwork Crochet Sampler Throw ~ Started Here

Welcome to Stitch Sew & Show ~ 2022 ~ Week 19

My finished Patchwork Crochet Sampler Throw is 76" square.

When I started this project to revive and build my crochet skills,

 it was to be 20 squares for this

Crochet Sampler Crochet Along @ The Inspired Wren

It soon took a life of its own and I added setting rectangles

 and granny squares and my own border.

I will be adding "Patchwork Crochet Sampler Throw" 

and the hastag  #patchworkcrochet 

to all my posts for this to make them easier to find. 

This crochet throw is a nice size to snuggle under and share on windy days on our yard swing. 

This makes it a nice size for a topper for a queen size bed.

Folded, it makes a nice kitty size cushion. 

Nutmeg is happy to have tested it. 

My kitties and I have started a new yarn project inspired by these sea colors

which I will show you soon.

Maestro seems to think the cat needs to be out of the bag.

Katniss is still inspecting it though to be sure it is ready to share.

Nutmeg is all for testing it and keeping it under wraps,

as long is she may be the one wrapped.

More photos of this and my sea adventure soon!

What have you been working on this week, my friends?

Please Share! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter